Tag Archives: Espinosa

by | December 12, 2021 · 10:41 am

Cigar Prop Back in Black and HVC Black Friday Cigars

Thinking back, I suppose I should have smoked an Alec Bradley Black Market to complete the thematic trilogy, honestly, I wasn’t even thinking about both of these cigars having anything in common. Let’s start out with the Cigar Prop Back In Black By Espinosa (not a sponsored link). This cigar might be lesser known outside of certain circles. It’s a collaboration between Kevin Shahan at Cigar Prop and Espinosa Cigars, and was/is exclusive to Smoke Inn. This was the third one of these I’ve smoked, the first out of the production run, and the first I’ve been able to talk about. Kevin had sent me some samples of prototypes for my feedback some time ago, and there were two blends, this excellent blend which, obviously went into production, and another even better blend, which better fit the theme of the project (in my opinion), which ended up not being sustainable due to material shortages. Kevin likes barber pole style cigars. This one has a Habano (the wrapper Espinosa uses on the La Bomba line) and a San Andrés, and a Jalapa binder and viso and ligero fillers from Estelí and Condega. It’s a 6″ x 52, which we all know is a size I like, and has a simple black band. Funny that Kevin doesn’t usually like powerful cigars, not that this one is super strong, but it does have a little kick to it, it isn’t mild! I loved the samples I smoked, and I am glad I bought a box when they were finally released. These are suited to my palate, they are rich, with cocoa/espresso flavors like I enjoy. I’ve yet to have a barber pole cigar that I could detect any flavor changes, I mean, the wrappers are spiralled, they are both burning at the same time through the course of the cigar, but it’s a neat look, and as long as it burns well, I’m happy, and these have. Congratulations to Cigar Prop on his first collaboration! It’s fun to see the name on a box, isn’t it? I remember when he was but a simple CigarCraig.com reader…

 

I followed the Back in Black later in the day with the HVC Black Friday 2021. Maybe there’s a subconscious connection to my mood this time of year. I seemed to be in a better frame of mind back in the days when I could spend the two weeks leading up to Christmas giving away tons of cigars and swag. Can you believe 2015 was the last year I had one of my mega-day giveaways?  On the other hand it was a major time suck, but a great one! Anyway, I have a few goodies stashed away for next week, stay tuned. So a normal person might have smoked the HVC Black Friday on the day after Thanksgiving, but I forgot about it. I probably have a few of them around, one from last year, a couple Firecrackers, and then this one I picked up a few weeks back on the recommendation of Brian at Son’s. This keeps happening with HVC cigars and the guys at Son’s, they ask me if I’ve tried one yet, I say know and take the one from them and buy it. I should always buy more than one. Either they need to learn or I do. The Black Friday 2021 is a 4 3/8″ x 54 short, chubby robusto, with a mottled broadleaf wrapper. Last years was a Corona Gorda, now that I think of it, I just saw one when rooting through the humidor. The rest of the blend is Nicaraguan, made at the Aganorsa Factory in Esteli. I was told it was strong, to smoke it after a hearty meal. I prepared by eating a leftover slice of Sicilian pizza with sausage and bacon. It was good. I’ll reiterate my failure to buy/Son’s failure to sell additional examples of this cigar. This is a friggen outstanding cigar. Yeah, it’s got some power, but not porcelain hugging level power. The size is good for a little over an hour for me, I could have smoked it in a toro last night as it was fairly mild for a december evening, but it was still quite satisfying. As I think about it, maybe a toro would have been too much and would have ratcheted it up to an uncomfortable level. This is going on my list of cigars to grab a few more of (box of 50? let’s not get carried away). The Corona Gorda and Firecrackers better hide.

 

Everyone who signed up for the Secret Santa should have gotten their assignments.  I am to understand at least one person signed up and for whatever reason it didn’t take in the system. It seems like there’s always something that goes wrong when I try to do these things! I sent mine out yesterday, and posted a small rant on Facebook and Instagram about how the USPS sets the expectation of 2 day shipping right on the label, I didn’t ask for it. It’s their idea, they should make goo on it, right?  Anyway, we’ll see how that goes…that’s al for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | August 2, 2020 · 10:48 am

Espinosa Hush Money, Exactus Cigars, Flor de Cesar, and a Rant

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

 

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by | June 21, 2020 · 10:49 am

Providencia Spectrum and Espinosa Comfortably Numb Cigars and Other Stuff

Happy Father’s day. Later today I’ll smoke the last cigar from a box of cigars I bought for Father’s Day in 2000. It’ll be a hard cigar not to save, but I’m going to bite the bullet and light it anyway. I didn’t smoke the whole box one every Father’s Day, it took a few years for me to develop that tradition. I had smoked a few and shared a few, but over the years I had a few gifted to me as well to supplement the inventory, thanks to Mike Perry for extending my tradition for a few years by sharing some of his aged stash with me! So today will see the last Esperanza Para Los Niños toro, a cigar made by Christian Eiroa in 1999 with the help of some guys from a usenet group who met up in Danli and selected this blend and sold it with proceeds going to children orphaned by hurricane Mitch. $85 a box was a fortune for me at the time, a bargain now for an excellent cigar, which was heavy bodied, not unlike the old Camacho Triple Maduro. It’s always an adventure smoking a 20 year old cigar, I’m rather looking forward to it, but it’ll come with some sadness as I’ll never have another! I still have the box someplace though! 

 

On to some cigars I actually smoked! I went on a brief Southern Draw bender on the heels of their press release announcing the cancelation of all of their public events for the rest of the year due to pandemic concerns. Personally, I find this to be a responsible decision, as areas that seem to be lax in their preventative measures seem to have a higher infection rate, and who amung us doesn’t want to protect their families? I think the Rose of Sharon Desert Rose is one of the top Connecticut shade style cigars out there, and the Kudzu Lustron is definitely a top notch cigar as well! I smoked both, they are the same box pressed torpedo vitola and are delicious. Speaking of box pressed torpedos from a Texas-based cigar company, I also smoked a cigar from Providencia Cigars. This cigar is called Spectrum, and my assumption is that it has an autism charity connection, considering the colorful puzzle pieces on the band. I can appreciate this theme. If I were to guess, I’d say it was 5″ x 52ish, and the only information I have on it is that it has a Sumatra wrapper that was characterized as delicate and thin. I was advised to avoid wind and humidity due to the fragility of the wrapper, so I did. This is an abso-friggin-lutely delicious cigar! As with just about every Providencia cigar I’ve ever smoked, the cigar burned perfectly. This was the rival of another Sumatra wrapped, honduran made cigar I love in flavor, balance and overall enjoyability (Don Juan Calavera). There’s a sweetness that I really dig, I really have to buy a mixed bag of old-timey hard candy and try to isolate that flavor, but there’s a candy sweetness that makes this cigar a great desert smoke. Absolute joy. I don’t have any idea what the availability of this is or was, but try it if you can. 

 

I believe the Espinosa Comfortably Numb Vol.1 is a Meier and Dutch distributed brand, which is the distribution arm of Cigars International. I picked this one up a few years ago at the CI store in Hamburg when Erik Espinosa was there the day Cigar Fest tickets went on sale. I was just there for the spectacle of it all, hundreds of people lined up outside for hours in the freezing cold for tickets, not my bag, baby. This is a toro with an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Corojo binder and Nicaraguan fillers and is surprisingly mellow. It almost smoked like a shade wrapped cigar. It doesn’t have the grassy flavor, but it does have a sweet, nutty flavor that is pretty nice, and it seemed to have aged pretty well. I say “aged”, it was February of 2018 when I picked this cigar up, so, it’s hardly aged compared to a lot of things, but it held up. Tasty cigar, and not badly priced. I’d be very tempted to sample the madur version, the Vol. 2, the next time I happen to be in a CI store, or if I see it in a shop. Older folks will note the Alton Kelley/Wes Wilson inspired band design.

 

Speaking of “aging”, I smoked one of the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Famous Smoke Shop 80th Anniversary cigars from last October last night and it was spectacular. There’s not a lot of Saka’s cigars I don’t like, but this one is pretty special. Well, on with the day, have a great one, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | January 5, 2020 · 11:24 am

Happy New Year Cigars, a Cornelius and Anthony, and a Warzone

Happy New Year to everyone!  I hope everyone stayed safe and enjoyed whatever celebration you chose to partake in.  I enjoyed a 5 year old Padrón 1964 Anniversary Exclusivo Natural which was magnificent. It was from a box which was a gift from Padrón from my first magazine article which featured them in Prime Living Magazine in 2014, signed by the senior señor Padrón. I’ve heard people say that Padróns don’t age well, but I beg to differ. This cigar smoked just fine. Perhaps it’s because it’s the natural wrapper variety, I’m not sure. I love the Maduros, but these Naturals have been fantastic cigars, and I’ve been savoring them because it’s a special box, ya know? One of these days I’ll get around to trying a 1926 or one of the other anniversary cigars, but the 1964s are so good, and not outrageously priced, how can one go wrong? I was in bed early, but neighborhood fireworks upset the dog.

 

I went looking for an interesting New Years Day smoke, something to smoke between watching the Mummers Parade, and the NHL Winter Classic. I remembered that I had a couple of Montecristo Le Cigares des Artes 2000 Millennium Edition that had been gifted by a great friend probably 18 or 19 years ago. These originally came in a really neat box with artwork by Michael Delacroix. You still see the Delacroix art in Montecristo branded lounges, so now you know it goes back 20 years. I little useless trivia fr you. Anyway, this was a Churchill sized cigar of Dominican descent, which caused me some concern about how this might have held up over the last 20 years. I chose the one with the broken tube, I don’t know how it broke, it’s been moved around from humidor to humidor over the years, I’m not a fan of glass tubes for this reason. I’m far too careless for fragile things that are meant to protect fragile things. There’s a reason egg cartons aren’t made out of glass. Oddly, the cigar had some white spots on it, mold or plume, hard to say. I’d have said it was mold but it seemed unlikely, it dusted right off, and there was no intrusion into the foot. If it was plume, it was the blotchiest plume I’ve seen. Regardless, it had no bearing on the smoking experience, however, I would not have bought a cigar that looked like it looked. The cigar started off very mild, as expected, but it built up in flavor as time went on and ended up being a very enjoyable and flavorful cigar. It had the delicate sophistication of a well aged cigar. I’ve smoked plenty of old cigars before, and this was one of the better ones. It held up well. I have smoke a Padrón Millenium in the past few years and it has also held up, but it wasn’t as impactful as it was when it was younger, and, not having smoked the Montecristo in it’s youth, I have nothing to compare it to. I would say that if you have these, smoke one! Why not? It’s fun to smoke a well aged cigar now and then. I still have a Cuban Romeo y Julietta from 1977 someplace that I’ll smoke one day. 

 

I followed up the old Montecristo with a favorite flavor-bomb, the Cornelius and Anthony Señor Esugars Toro. This was made at La Zona by Espinosa. I have asked Steven Bailey directly about the future of Cornelius and Anthony and gotten no response. I’ve talked to high level sources at both factories that made his cigars and pretty much confirmed that he is out of the premium cigar business. Unless the brand is bought by someone, and, considering the history and branding were so intimately tied to the Bailey family I don’t see it happening, I fear the brand is dead. It’s a shame. Cornelius and Señor Esugars toros have been two of my favorite cigars over the past 3 years. The Gent, Venganza and Meridian are really good cigars. Daddy Mac never really did it for me, and the Mistress is the only cigar that ever made me barf. I hope that Espinosa recycles the blends and someone lets me know what the Señor Esugars blend becomes, because I absolutely love that cigar! Now I have to ration out the last box I have, as well as the Cornelius Toros and handful of Lonsdales! Adios Cornelius and Anthony! We saw the writing on the wall…stock up while you can. 

 

On to a newer cigar! This week I stopped in to CigarCigars in Downingtown, PA to see Kevin, the manager there. Kevin asked me if I knew anything about the CigarMedics Humidimeter, and, whattayknow, I do happen to know about it! I went over to demonstrate it to him. We talked about the relative merits of the Humidimeter, I shared my experiences and knowledge, and he felt like he could find some good uses for it in the shop and ordered one. This was on a Thursday evening, and he received it the next day! Talk about great service. If you look in the right hand sidebar on this site, you’ll notice that there is now an ad there for CigarMedics, so if you find that you’d like more information, or want to get one for yourself, there’s a quick and easy way to get there! Welcome CigarMedics to the CigarCraig family! Like I said, I went to CigarCigars, and I picked up a couple cigars I hadn’t smoked before. One of them was the Warzone, the collaboration between Espinosa and General Cigar Co. I got the 5½” x 52 Robusto. This is made at the La Zona factory with a Cameroon wrapper from General Cigar (who has used amazing Cameroon wrapper on cigars for years, Partagas come immediately to mind), and it being distributed by General. I’ve been anxious to try this cigar, I’m a fan of Cameroon, a lot of the La Zona (see above), and a lot of General, so this cigar had a lot going for it out of the gate. I was encouraged by the Humidimeter readings off the shelf, Kevin does a good job keeping the stock in the store right. It’s a humidified store, no small feat. The Warzone was much as I expected, nutty “Camerooniness”, medium bodied, smooth and delicious. I have another that I’m looking forward to smoking (thank you Kevin!) and really concentrating on, I was busy talking and in a store, one can’t completely concentrate on a cigar that way. I picked up a couple of Black Label Trading Company Morphines while I was there too, a great corona gorda (I smoked one last night, great flavor, the draw got snug, I noticed a gob of tar on the head. Fortunately it didn’t touch my lips or tongue. I wiped it off and the draw opened up! I hate that liquid tar build up. if it hits your mouth you’re done!). The also have some of the Dunbarton Tobacco And Trust line there. 

 

That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | May 5, 2019 · 10:51 am

Some Espinosa Cigars and the New Diesel Whiskey Row Sherry Cask

Wednesday evening I stopped in to Old Havana Cigars south of West Chester, PA and caught up with Jack Toraño of Espinosa Cigars and Mark Weisenburger, the area broker for the brand. I had the day off and hoped to catch them earlier in the day, but I got caught up cutting the grass and finishing up putting the roof on the new chicken enclosure I’d been building, so I didn’t get out as early as I would have liked. It worked out, I got to hang out with Jack and smoke the new Laranga Reserva Escuro toro. The original Laranga Reserva was so-named because of the orange hue to the wrapper and Laranga is Portuguese for Orange. The Escuro has a Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper that is very dark, and one must assume that Escuro is Portuguese for Oscuro (or really dark). I bought a couple of these and lit one up and it was much to my liking. It had deep, rich flavors of espresso, exactly what I like in a cigar. After the busy day I had, which was personally rewarding, having finally solved a problem in construction of my chicken run which had bothered me for some time, as inconsequential as that sounds, it was an extremely satisfying cigar. Quite lovely, and certainly enhanced by the company! I learned many things from Jack, lots of secrets and things I didn’t know! ;-)  I also picked up an Espinosa Habano No.8, which is a Gordo, that I smoked the following evening on a walk, which I enjoyed, it’s an excellent cigar, especially for the price. I have been enjoying a lot of La Zona cigars, but not enough Espinosa cigars. I have to start picking more up as I see them. Now I know a few places that carry them!

 

Here’s a little rant unrelated to cigars, but related to blogging in general. I receive a few e-mails a week from folks who are “regular readers” and would like to submit a guest post.  Usually they are in an area my readers may be interested in, like finance, fashion, sometimes it’s vape or hookah (at least that’s close).  This paragraph is really just for those “regular readers”. Don’t lie about being a regular reader. If you were a regular reader you’d know that I don’t have a lot of guest posts or sponsored posts, my content is original except in a few very isolated instances. Regular readers also will know that there are very few posts about vape, hookah, finance or fashion (especially fashion). If you are an aspiring writer and are shopping around articles for whatever reason, be honest, don’t think I’m a fool and buy in to your BS about being a big fan of my site and wanting to be a part of it. It’s irritating, it makes you look like an idiot and I delete your email. When I get your second email saying “I know you’re busy, just wanted to make sure you saw my first e-mail”, I sent the reply telling you I don’t have any use for you. Since all you guest post writers are “regular readers”, this should save you all a lot of time, to my real regular readers, sorry to have wasted yours!

 

Last week I posted a few times about Diesel cigars and mentioned that I was looking forward to the new Whiskey Row Sherry Cask. Low and behold, what should appear in my mailbox but some samples of said cigar. To recap, Diesel Whiskey Row: not a fan. Diesel Hair of the Dog: big fan.  Anything aged in booze barrels with any expectation of flavors from the cask: no frame of reference. Just reading the description of the Whiskey Row Sherry Cask had me intrigued. I could care less about the liquor angle, this is well established, the fact that it’s made by A.J. Fernandez just tells me that the quality is going to me spot on. It’s wrapped in Connecticut Broadleaf, it has a Brazilian Arapiraca binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The press release say that the tobaccos are cultivated on three continents, which I’m trying to figure out. I only count North and South America. I need a ruling on this one. Here’s a perfect example of tasting with one’s eyes. Looking at the cigar’s presentation: the dark brown wrapper with the band with a purple accent, reminds me of semi-sweet chocolate with raspberry. We had cooked a turkey and made all the trimmings as if it were Thanksgiving and had that for lunch, so this was desert, and dammit if it didn’t remind me of semisweet chocolate with raspberry cake, and boy was it delicious! This was the polar opposite of the Whiskey Row for me, and I know people who think that cigar is a great cigar, and, even though they work for another cigar company, still smoke them (without bands, even at their own events! not naming any names…). If aging the Arapiraca binder in the sherry cask is the trick, or it’s the combination of the Broadleaf and Arapiraca, or (probably) the overall blend of the cigar, for my palate, this was a real treat and I hope that it wasn’t just the first one that wow’d me. I’ll be picking up Toro and Gigante sizes to sample when these hit the stores next month. This is the best tasting cigar from General since the Macanudo Inspirado Red to my palate.

 

That’s all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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