Before I get to the cigars, I feel the need to bring up an incident that happened at a local cigar shop, one of the brick and mortar outlets of Cigars International in Bethlehem, PA. I’ve been to this location several times. I encourage you to watch the Philadelphia NBC affiliate’s video, which had surveillance camera footage of the incident (linked). Whatever your thoughts on the matter, Pennsylvania mandates that masks be worn outside of the home, business have a mandate to require masks, and signs are posted. In my mind it’s a very simple thing, if you have a problem wearing a mask, don’t go someplace that requires you to wear a mask. Most places provide accomodations, and CI has such accommodations, ie. curbside service. Friday this person went into the Bethlehem Superstore sans mask, was told he needed a mask, was indignant, walked out with two cigars, was followed out by an employee (who, I’m under the understanding, was a retired military or law enforcement officer, obviously unarmed) with the intention of collecting information to report the theft to the police. The guy went to his car, returned with a gun and took shots at the employee (this can be seen in the video), it’s a miracle he wasn’t hit or worse, then left. Saturday he was apprehended after a shootout with police (link to story here). It cannot be argued that he went to the store with the intention of stealing cigars, I believe he went to buy cigars. It astounds me that people are so unwilling to change one little thing to get along in an unusual situation that they risk their life to defend their “rights”. It’s such a small thing to ask, isn’t it? Even if it weren’t a state mandate, if it were an matter of private property rights, if it was my private business, and I required a mask, who the hell are you to demand that your rights supersede mine? Nobody thinks twice about “no shoes, no shirt, no service” right? Why is this different? OK, I’ve left myself open for enough criticism. Wear a mask, don’t wear a mask, if you choose not to wear a mask and tell me if I’m so afraid to stay home, do me a favor, you stay home, rights go both ways.
OK, cigars. Of course, I smoked a bunch this week. My man Adam was very kind and sent me a few cigars, once he and his family get settled after their move I’ll respond in some way. It’s fun to share cigars with them because his wife loves cigars too! Anyway, he sent me an Espinosa Hush Money Churchill, I cigar with which I was not familiar. 
I’m guessing this is a Famous Smoke Shop exclusive, from the limited research I did. The cigar was a Churchill size, 7″ x 50, which is a size I’m quite comfortable with on a nice summer day. I have a vast collection of robustos, and anymore I just find them too short for my liking. I try to amass toros and better for my daily consumption. I suppose it’s a luxury to have the time to enjoy an hour and a half or more with a cigar. Anyway, Famous Smoke doesn’t list much information about this except that it’s Nicaraguan and Maduro, and it’s on the lighter side of maduro (I wouldn’t have guessed based on color or flavor, honestly, I would have said Habano). It started out a little harsh, and I wondered what Adam had set me up for, but after the first half inch it settled down and I spent the next 90 minutes really enjoying a nice, sweet ride. It burned very well, and was a very enjoyable cigar, and for around $5 when bought by the bundle (10), quite a deal. Thank you to Adam for sharing this with me, I can see why you like this so much!
El Artista Cigars was a long time advertiser here, and I spent some time with Ram and Kevin at the TPE show last January. They make some great cigars, I really like the Buffalo Ten (and I know that Adam does too), and they make the Big Papi as well as Pulita that are excellent. When I first took them on as an advertiser I bought a handful of their cigars to try out, I always like to have a personal connection with companies that I present on my site. I don’t feel right having ads on my page that I can’t get behind myself. you can rest assured that every company represented on my page has been personally vetted by me and carries my seal of approval. As great as a relationship as I have with the folks at El Artista, I wasn’t able to provide them with what they were looking for this year, so we took a break, but I still dig their cigars, and they are great folks. I found a lonely old Exactus Maduro Toro in the humidor and decided to take it for a spin. This cigar has an Ecuador HBA wrapper, and I don’t know what HBA stands for (HVA I know, but HBA, not a clue). The binder is a Dominican wine fermented Criollo 98, and the filler is Dominican. The cigar had nice, dark dried fruit and espresso flavors, and the most impressive thing about it was that it burned forever! I must have spent darned near three hours smoking this 6″ x 50 toro. Granted, I had to relight it a few times, but it was a slow burner. It had been in my humidor for a few years too, maybe five or six? I lose track of time. I wish I had more. They make this in the Super Coloso, which is 11″ x 90, I wonder how long that would burn?
Finally, I was watching some NHL yesterday and lit up a Flor de Cesar Gold Robusto that I. should have smoked last year sometime. This is from a 2019 batch made at Oveja Negra in Esteli. Flor de Cesar is, more or less, the house brand of BnB Cigars in Chestnut Hill (Philadelphia) PA. It has a rosado Brazilian Matafina wrapper, Ecuador binder and fillers from Nicaragua, Brazil and the Dominican Republic. BnB is a great shop, loaded to the ceiling with great cigars. You never know what, or who, you might find there. It’s a must visit if you find yourself in Philly. This cigar might have been the highlight of my week, cigar-wise. The depth of flavor was exceptional, and very clean on the palate. It had a nice earthy sweetness. I just found it to be extremely flavorful, delicious, and satisfying. it made me want to dig out something else from Oveja Negra later, sadly I got distracted and opted for my last CroMagnon Cranium. The Flor de Cesar Gold was tremendous.
I think I’m going to try to set up the projector on the porch and watch the Flyers on the big screen, and tomorrow I’m going to Goose’s Golf outing. It occurs to me that I haven’t been to a cigar event, or even to a cigar shop, since February or March, which is pretty strange. Full report on that to follow. Watch my social media feeds for photos and video. That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
I smoked a couple cigars from Espinosa Cigars over the last few days, just because I, for some reason, don’t find myself smoking a great many cigars from the Espinosa line. I do enjoy many cigars made at La Zona, as I told Jack Toraño one evening when I was hanging out with him at the hotel lounge, one of my favorite La Zona cigars is the La Sirena. I had picked up an Espinosa Habano on Sunday when I stopped into Son’s (more news from that visit to come), as I hadn’t had one in a very long time. I smoked it Monday. This is a nice smoke, cedary and earthy, with a little bit of sweetness and some spice. Not so much in my personal wheelhouse, but an enjoyable cigar nonetheless. This, of course, was the 6″ x 52 No. 5 vitola.
When I met with Erik at the TPE he gave me a Laranja Escuro, in the box pressed 6″ x 52 Toro size. This is the Brazilian Matafina wrapped version of the Laranja, made at the A.J. Fernandez’ San Lotano Factory. This cigar is more up my alley, as I generally favor a maduro. It performed perfectly, and had loads of dark rich flavors, which included espresso, and some nice spices. I was thoroughly impressed and satisfied by this cigar, and I don’t believe I had smoked this cigar before, and I don’t know why. It will definately be on my list in the future. 
