Fortaleza | CigarCraig's Blog

Sunday I decided to go hang out at one of my locals shops that I’ve been to a few times and had mixed feelings about, Light’n Up Premier Smokeshop in Ludwigs Corner, PA. This shop is about 5 miles from home and I pass it on my commute every day. In the past I’ve had less than competent service, and limited selection. This visit, along with my last, was better and I want to give another chance. I spent a few minutes browsing the humidor and found the selection to be adequate although sparse. There were numerous empty boxes on the shelves which I suppose is excusable in the off season, but not something I like seeing, especially when it’s something that interests me. I would have picked up a couple more of the Padilla Reserva Maduros if they had them, but they did not. I ended up picking up a Cain Daytona torpedo and smoking it in the shop while talking with Rudy, the gentleman working in the shop, and several of the patrons who came in for a smoke. I think there was a football game on the TV too. I also picked up a couple other cigars I wanted to try as well. The Cain Daytona Torpedo was an excellent smoke, I like all of the Cain cigars, but I think the smoothness of the Daytonas makes it my favorite. It doesn’t pack quite the punch that the rest of the line does. I spent about 2 hours at the shop and the worst thing I can say about this visit is that they close at 4 pm on Sundays, not that I would have hung out longer on this particular occasion, but it would be nice if they were open a little later.

After dinner I took the dog for a walk with one of the other cigars I picked up at the shop, a Perla del Mar 3¾x56 stubby, fat little robusto. I have a sample from the trade show floating around someplace in the depths of the humidor, but I was too lazy to fish it out and figured the shorter size would be better for a damp and dreary evening. By the way, don’t visit the website with a full bladder, just a bit of friendly advice. This cigar is from J.C. Newman and is made in the same factory as the Brickhouse and El Baton in Nicaragua. It’s a Nicaraguan blend with an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper. I found it to be a pleasant smoke, medium bodied and flavorful and well behaved. It’s a good, well priced cigar. Personally, I’d love to see a Brickhouse maduro in the same size.

Monday’s evening smoke was a Rodrigo Forteleza Absoluto, a sample I received from Gary at Emilio Cigars, the distributor for Rodrigo Cigars. George Rodriguez had sent me samples of his original line a while back and I really dug the lancero over the larger ring gauges, so, I was looking forward to smoking this pretty little pigtail capped corona (5 ⅛” x 43). It started out pretty bold, and continued to be a full bodied, full flavored smoke. This is a very nice cigar! I can understand why this had such critical acclaim. I found it to be quite a satisfying smoke. I’ll try this in a larger ring gauge one of these days when I run across them in a shop someplace.

Tuesday I was having a little trouble deciding what to smoke, so I went with an old friend, the La Gloria Cubana Retro Especiale Club. This is a cigar that I’ve smoked quite a few of, and 5¾“ x 47 is a really nice size for me. It’s a different cigar than what I generally gravitate toward, it’s bright and mellow as opposed to dark and spicy, but it provides me with a nice change and the cigar is interesting enough to keep my attention, but not particularly challenging to smoke. Once in awhile I just want to smoke a cigar without thinking about it too much and the Retro Especiale is one like that. This isn’t a knock on the cigar, quite the opposite. I’ve always enjoyed the La Gloria Cubana line and have some of the new Trunk Show samples to smoke, but they are just enormous! Too large for winter smoking. I also continue to beat myself up for not picking up the Rabito de Cochino 3 pack when I saw it at Cigars International on my last visit. That’s a cigar I’ve wanted to try and I can’t believe I didn’t grab one. I will, no doubt, smoke more Retros this summer.

I received an email today about a new product and I’d be curious to know what you think of it? I’m far too impatient to use matches to light my cigars, but this is a pretty slick match case/striker combo that could be a great gift item for the cigar smoke who has everything, and I’m told the target MSRP will be around $8, so it’s priced right. Check it out at http://www.quirky.com/products/215-Strike-new-match.