I’m getting back into my normal routine after the excitement of the holidays and the contests and all. I’m back to my “take a cigar for a walk” thing on a regular basis. Lucky it hasn’t been bitter cold yet, too many degrees below 30 Fahrenheit and it isn’t good for the cigars or me. That doesn’t mean I won’t do it, it just means I’m a bit more selective in the size and makeup of the cigar. Smaller maduros are my usual choice for super cold walks. Enough about the cold, I prefer to think about warmer weather.
Monday evening I was in the mood for something a little out of the norm so I grabbed a La Aurora Fernando Leon Family Reserve from the IPCPR show samples. I smoked one of these at the Miami Cigar and Co./La Aurora after party at the show, but by that point I had developed quite a head cold and along with everything else going on I really couldn’t enjoy it as much as I would have liked. This was Fernando Leon’s personal blend which was released at the show last summer and has a Dominican Corojo wrapper and binder and fillers from Brazil, Dominican Republic and Peru. This cigar burned nicely and had an enjoyable flavor. It’s a fine smoke that I wouldn’t mind revisiting on a nice, balmy evening.
Tuesday I got home a little later than normal due to inventory at work, and needed something short, yet awesome. I had a couple sample Liga Privada Papas Fritas from the show that have been burning a hole in my humidor, so it seemed like the perfect occasion to fire one up. The Papas Fritas (French Fries in Spanish) is a super premium mixed filler cigar from Drew Estate, using the cuttings from the Liga Privada production. They collect up these cuttings and re-sort them and make these little guys up. It’s a 4½” x 44 cigar with a dark broadleaf wrapper. This is like smoking a miniature No. 9 and it’s impossible to tell its not a long filler cigar. These come in tins of four, and the tins are modeled after tins that Cuban petite coronas used to be packaged in that I believe, and I could be wrong, they used to give out on trans-Atlantic flights back in the good old days when you could smoke on planes. I have an old Romeo y Julieta tin around someplace that I picked up many years ago because I though it was cool. If I wasn’t so lazy I’d have dug it out and taken a picture, but it’s buried in the basement someplace. These aren’t cheap at around $24 for the tin of four, but boy is it a satisfying little smoke.
Tonight I took the dog for a walk with a 601 La Bomba Atom. This is a powerful smoke, but loaded with flavor. I picked this example up back in November of 2011 and age hasn’t hurt it. Maybe it wasn’t quite as super strong as it was back then, but still packs a punch. The Atom is just about my favorite size cigar, a 5½” x 46 Cuban Corona with a long, fuse-like, pigtail cap. The Habano wrapper is quite tasty and the cigar starts with a tingly spicy blast and never really calms down too much. It was a terrific companion on my walk and was hard to put down. This is a terrific smoke if you like them strong, it’s a flavor bomb.
Ironically, I received the following information from Espinosa Premium Cigars today:
ESPINOSA PREMIUM CIGARS PRESENTS THE 601 LA BOMBA CHALLENGE
Miami, Florida (January 9, 2013) – Can you handle the STRONGEST cigar around? Think so? Well take the 601 La Bomba Challenge today!
Espinosa Premium Cigars announces the promotion for the 601 La Bomba Challenge, where cigar enthusiasts take a BEFORE and AFTER picture of their smoking experience with the 601 La Bomba cigar and share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. The contest will run for 6 weeks and a different winner will be selected each week [6 winners in total]. The winners will be announced on the following 2013 dates 1/18, 1/25, 2/1, 2/8, 2/15 & 2/22. Each winner will receive a 601 La Bomba Ashtray and a 601 LA BOMBA SQUAD t-shirt.
Complete rules of the contest are posted on the company’s newly redesigned website www.espinosacigars.com/601labombachallenge.
The 601 La Bomba is a full bodied and full flavored BOMB! Handcrafted in Esteli, Nicaragua with 100% Nicaraguan tobacco. WARNING: Extremely full bodied cigar. Not recommended for novice smokers.
…Not that I am a fan of contests or anything :-)! Check it out, get your hands on some La Bombas and take a shot at winning some cool goodies! It’s really hard to go wrong with anything from Eric Espinosa in my opinion. He makes some great smokes and is a heck of a nice guy.
That’s it for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
