Tag Archives: Ghost

by | April 2, 2023 · 9:38 am

Toscano, Gurkha, Dos Niños and Cavalier Cigars

I started off this week with something a little different.  I had a Toscano Master Aged Serie 3 in the humidor from last year’s PCA show, and I decided it was time to give it a try.  I’ve been enjoying Toscano cigars for over 20 years, my wife brought me some from a trip to Italy in 2000 (Anticos), and I’ve been a fan.  I bought some more when I went to Italy myself a few years back, Unfortunately, I have so many other cigars to smoke, these get pushed to the back of the rotation. They are dry cured, so they are great to keep in the car in case of emergency, and it’s totally acceptable to cut them in half.  The Master Aged 3 I smoked is a high end Toscano, made with aged Kentucky tobacco, which is fire cured and tastes like it.  I probably should have cut it in half, because it had a hole in the middle of the cigar, under the band, which I had to cover with a finger to get a decent amount of smoke.  I only realize as I type that I could have cut it in half, it never occured to me when I was smoking it.  that would have saved me some frustration!  It was a bold, tasty cigar with the smoky, bar-be-cue type of flavors which is nice from time to time.  I still think the Modigliani is the best  Toscano I’ve smoked.

 

I bought a Gurkha Ghost Gold a few weeks ago after hearing someone rave about it.  I like the original Ghost well enough, so I wanted to give this a try.  They have replaced the Brazilian wrapper with a Habano, grown in Ecuador. I have to give a little critique of the Gurkha website here, on the Ghost pages there are some errors, the Gold list all three sizes the same, when it should be the Shadow at 5″ x 54, and the Exorcist at 6″ x 60, with the Asura, 6″X 54 being the only one correct.  There is also an inconsistency in the blend info, one place it says a Criollo 98 binder and Mexican in another. I tend to believe it has a Mexican binder.  This was a very nice smoke, I smoked it while watching Blazing Saddles, which may be a little ironic. The cigar burned well and had a nice, creamy sweetness.  I dug it, although it wouldn’t make any lists for me.  I’d smoke either the Ghost or the Gold again.

 

Another PCA show leftover was a Dos Niños robusto, which I believe to be the Corojo variety.  The guy behind this cigar is someone I’ve known for many years, from the Usenet days, named Chris Kelly. There are an abundance of Chris Kellys in the cigar business, one owns Tesa Cigars in Chicago, one is one of the owners of  Ezra Zion/Cigar Federation, and one is the owner of Leaf Lovers Tobacconist in the incorrectly named town of North East, PA. (it’s near Erie, with is in the North West part of the state). It’s the third one who owns the Dos Niños brand. From what I remember, he started this brand rolling the cigars himself in his shop. If I also remember correctly, which is a crapshoot, by the way, the are now produced by Francisco Almonte of DBL Cigars, and distributed by Sutliff. This cigar started off bold, which is why I think it was the Corojo as opposed to the Habano. It had a rich, heavy chocolate flavor that was quite good. It was less of a sweet chocolate, but very lush and satisfying.  I quite enjoyed the cigar, although I’ve been passing it over for the last 8 months, worried that if I smoked it and didn’t enjoy it I’d hurt a friend’s feelings.  No issue, it was very good. I’ve spent my weekend power-watching House of the Dragon before my free trial expires, and this got me through an episode and a half, pretty good for a 5″ x 50 robusto.

 

Finally, I smoked a Cavalier Geneve White toro last night. I was watching TV, and a wicked thunderstorm passed through, knocking out the power for 45 minutes or so. Oddly, when the main TV came back on, and we were trying to watch hockey, it didn’t have any sound.  I was quite unhappy since the TV was only a few months old. I did some Googling,  and came across an unlikely solution which involved turning the TV off, unplugging it, then holding down the power button in the remote for 30 seconds.  Seemed far fetched, but I was desperate. It actually worked. Reduced my stress level considerably. This all went down after I finished the cigar.  I first encountered this brand at the 2016 show where I met Sebastien Decoppet, who started this brand shortly before that.  He’s a young, hip guy with the beard and tattoos, last time I talked to him was in the Starbucks line after the ’22 TPE where he was kind enough to buy me a coffee.  Phil of Comedy-Cigars-Music fame sent me this Cavalier Geneve White toro, which I hadn’t had the chance to try yet.  This 6″x 52 cigar has a Habano wrapper, a Connecticut binder (guessing broadleaf, shade isn’t used for a binder often, if ever), and Habano fillers, probably made in Cavalier’s own factory in Honduras. Again, I was distracted by a reasonably violent thunderstorm, but this tasted very good, on the mild to medium side, with some bready notes and some spice. I can never taste the 24k gold leaf when I burn though it, but it’s a cool touch.  I’ve enjoyed the Cavalier cigars I’ve smoked, although it’s been limited to a handful of the “Black” varieties. This White was really good, and another thanks to Phil for sending this!

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | May 26, 2019 · 10:35 am

Henry Clay War Hawk, a Gurkha Ghost, a Hamlet Liberation and a Cohiba Connecticut Cigar

I had a visit to Goose’s shop in Limerick this week as my wife had a meeting with Goose to work on a super secret project, so I picked up a few cigars while there, and smoke the new addition to the Henry Clay line, the War Hawk. I’ve been looking forward to trying this new addition to a line I’ve long been fond of, going back to the days when they were ugly things. I really like the Stalk Cut, despite the silliness of the name (all the Connecticut Broadleaf and Habano tobacco in stalk cut anyway, so it’s really no big deal), it’s a poor man’s Henry Clay Tattoo, which is a spectacular cigar. The cigar is beautiful, with an Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper, Broadleaf binder and Honduran fillers, made at Altadis’ Flor de Copan factory in Honduras (which is for sale, by the way, a few billion and it could be yours). I really liked this cigar for what it was, as it bore no resemblance, in my opinion, to a Henry Clay that I could think of. It stood on it’s own as a really great tasting cigar with a nice nutty flavor with balanced nicely with the sweetness of the broadleaf binder and the earthiness of the Honduran fillers and was, overall, a really enjoyable medium bodied cigar!

 

A few months ago I was headed to the airport to pick up my son and stopped in Jacoub’s Cigars in Ridley Park, which is only about four miles from PHL.  I didn’t have time for a cigar, but I bought a few, and one of the ones that caught my eye was a short, fat Gurkha Ghost perfecto. This cigar was about 4″ x 60, I guess, I neither took the time to note the size or name of the cigar when I bought it, and the little bit of research I did when I decided to smoke it turned up no information. To be honest, I didn’t look that hard. People tend to crap all over the Gurkha brand, I know they have a bunch of bundle-esque stuff in the catalogue market and they hype a lot of stuff too much, but there are a bunch of cigars in their portfolio that are worthy of mention, and the Ghost, to me, at least, is one of them. I got a late start and was looking for a shorter smoke, and this short perfecto was about what I needed. It’s just about the same size and shape of a Flying Pig, with a Brazilian, Arapiraca Maduro wrapper, Criollo ’98 binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It looks like they call this vitola the “Spook”, I just did a little more research. Anyway, it’s made in a major factory, Placencia or someone like that, and it burns well, has a great flavor and I was satisfied by the experience. Ghost, most of the Cellar Reserves and Seduction are all Gurkha cigars I enjoy.

 

While at Goose’s, Alex Kraft, the local Rocky Patel rep, happened to stop in with Dave Bullock, the VP of sales who was traveling with him. I had not met Dave before, and hadn’t seen Alex in some time, so it was nice to get aquatinted. Somehow or other a rather large Hamlet Liberation found its way into my pocket, Goose had something to do with it. This is a 6 ½ x 55 large toro with a tapered head and a shaggy foot. A very interesting looking cigar. I lit the unfinished foot and expected the flavor to change once it started burning the Habano wrapper, but, sadly, I never really noticed a difference. It was a good cigar, well behaved, and certainly good for about 2 hours of smoking time. there was never a real “wow” moment, but it was a solid, good tasting cigar. It has some spice and woody flavors and is and all-around good cigar. I enjoyed the size and shape of the cigar, the classic Cuban “109” style head is unique and interesting,

 

My last cigar to talk about today is the new Cohiba Connecticut. This cigar hit the shelves in March, and was a late addition to my sample humidor, but a welcomed one. I certainly don’t mind sampling new cigars, but I rarely (read: never) will splurge on a $20 cigar, and this starts at $19.99 for the Robusto, which is the vitola which was generously supplied to me by General Cigar Co. It’s 5½” x 50, which is a nice size, and has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper which is grown by an independent grower in the Los Rios Province in Ecuador. It has Brazilian Mata Fina, Dominican Piloto Cubana and Nicaraguan Jalapa in the filler blend, and,not unlike the classic Macanudo, it has a San Andrés binder. It got me thinking that I might have to revisit what I consider a miss in the Cohiba portfolio, the Blue, the OSA wrapped “budget” priced Cohiba, just to see if that’s gotten any better over time.  This Connecticut was a good Connecticut cigar. It was on the high side of mild, with good flavor, some sweet notes to balance the bitterness of the shade leaf, and an over-all nice smoke. I kind of forgot I was smoking a high-end, luxury cigar for a while there as the burn was a bit funky. At this level, I rather expect perfection in the burn and draw, and the burn was wavy and required some correction. I expect a certain aesthetic, that I certainly forgive in a lower priced cigar. I seem to remember having the same complaint with the much more expensive Septre. Obviously, this is targeting a certain niche market, and I may not fit into that niche, but it’s a good smoke, if you have a chance to smoke one, don’t be afraid of being disappointed!

 

OK, that’s enough for today, time to get moving.  Happy Memorial Day to everyone. I’ll be working tomorrow, although I was lucky enough to have a rare weekend off. Remember why we celebrate. Enjoy some good cigars while remembering those who gave their lives so that you can enjoy yours. Also remember those family members who lost loved ones, they sacrificed too. Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | February 17, 2019 · 8:45 am

A Rant, A Gurkha Ghost and A Room101 Uncle Lee Cigar

It’s been a long week and it’ll be Thursday before I get another day off. This will be a short one as I have to work today. Tuesday was my last day off, and I had to pick my son up at Philly airport, so I decided I should kill some time at a cigar shop close to there, but I decided too late (it was snowing/raining and took longer than I thought to get there), so I just stopped in Jacoubs Cigar Shop in Ridley Park and picked up a few cigars. This place is four miles from PHL, so a little better planning in the future is in order. Had I thought of this an hour earlier I would have easily been able to have a relaxing smoke in the spacious lounge at the shop after selecting a cigar from the walk-in humidor. Jacoub, the owner, is a welcoming gent, and gave me a dime for the parking meter (bring change, the rates are fair). He said that the Gurkha Ghosts sold well for him, so I bought a couple of the Phantom and Spook sizes, because they are newer and I like perfectos and hadn’t smoked them yet. I smoked a Phantom later and really enjoyed it. The Phantom is a 5″ x 58 perfecto with a curly bun on the cap which pinches off easily, but a snip with a cutter opens it up better. The Brazillian Arapiraca wrapper is dark and oily and has a nice look, and has the dark cocoa flavor I like. In truth, when these first came out five or so years ago, it took me a while to warm to the blend, there was something I didn’t like a about the first several I smoked, and I wanted to like this cigar. Now I like it, and it’s one of my favorites in the Gurkha range. The prismy band is pretty spiffy too.

 

Which kinda leads into my rant, only because Gurkha seems to be a frequent target of this topic. Too often I see people on social media, and to a lesser extent in shops, stating as fact, that cigar X is “crap”, “garbage”, or some other word that states definitively that the cigars is sub-standard and unworthy of the title of cigar, as if that person was an expert on such things. This irritates me to no end. This is actually why I don’t review cigars per se, and don’t use a rating scale on my site, even though it would probably benefit me as manufacturers like ratings and would publicize my site more if I were to go that route. Here’s the thing: taste is subjective. Sure, there are objective qualities of cigars, construction, draw, combustion, but there are very few cigars that make it far with long-term problems in these areas. If a cigar tastes bad to me, that’s my problem, not the cigar’s problem, so the cigar isn’t a bad cigar. An example I like to use is this: I don’t like Lima beans, the flavor is disgusting to me, I can’t imagine how anyone would put sometime so vile in their mouths, but people eat them, and, presumably, like them! By that logic, obviously, Lima beans aren’t crap, they just aren’t for me. Let’s apply that to cigars, if we have a cigar and the flavor doesn’t appeal to us, let’s not go on social media and declare that brand Y, which, by the way, may have a huge, loyal following and has been in business for 20 years, is “crap”, but accept that maybe their cigars aren’t for us and move to the hundreds of other brands out there that may suit us better!

 

Now that I got that off my chest, which is a little congested this morning, lets circle back to a few nights past, when I cracked open a ten-count box of Room 101 Uncle Lees that I almost forgot I had and came across while rummaging around the humidor. Not complaining, misplacing a box of cigars in the humidor isn’t a bad problem to have. I bought this box after smoking an Uncle Lee at one of Matt Booth’s last events before he left Davidoff, so it’s been a few years. This cigar is presented in the 6½” x 50 Ranfla perfecto size, wrapped in tissue paper with a paper sleeve, much like the Chief Cool arrow and Johnny Tabacconaut series were. I love this blend, it has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers, but is has a flavor unlike any other cigar I’ve smoked. There’s an almost floral flavor that’s light and refreshing. It’s an interesting change of pace, and if I thought I would ever be able to replace these cigars, I’d probably smoke the other 9 cigars in the box pretty quick. I’ll ration them out as it is. Uncle Lee should be proud.

 

That’s all for this Sunday, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | April 16, 2014 · 10:06 pm

Three Toros: Gurkha, Nica Rustica and Tortuga Cigars

The weather here in PA is all over the place!  Sunday it was darned near 80, and today it snowed in some places and the temps didn’t get too far out of the 40s.  This didn’t stop me from smoking what used to be considered larger cigars. The Toro has been among my favorite sizes since I started smoking cigars in the 90s. Six inches by 50, 52 or 56 is in the ballpark, not as fat as the 60 ring gauge cigars, nor as long as a Churchill or double corona.  They are usually good for an hour to an hour and a half. I like Robustos too, but the Toro is a great size.

 

Gurkha_GhostThe first toro I smoked this week was a Gurkha Ghost Asura, at 6″ x 54. I bought a couple of these at a shop in New Jersey, and they’ve taken some time to grow on me, the first few I smoked I didn’t quite get.  I figured I should like this cigar, it has a maduro Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper (interestingly mispelled on the Gurkha website), and I usually like that wrapper. Eventually, I’ve come to enjoy this cigar, it’s on the rustic side, appearance wise, and it’s got a nice, fairly heavy flavor of dark roast coffee that I like. This one burned well with a dark grey ash that hung on pretty well.  Lots of people think Gurkha cigars are all hype, but they have a bunch of cigars that are really very good.

 

Nica Rustica_El BrujitoLast night I grabbed a Drew Estate Nica Rustica El Brujito for my evening walk.  This 6″ x 52 toro has a closed foot so you get a nice blast of flavor from the Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. the fist time I tried this it was a pre-release sample from the factory, and it had a half a leaf of a “wild” Esteli tobacco that added a real special little zing to the blend. I suppose the availability of this tobacco wasn’t  in keeping with the idea to make an affordable and sustainable blend, so it was replaced with something more available. The cigar is still a winner, it’s got some strength and good, hearty flavor.  The reason I grabbed this was that I was thinking about the recent earthquakes in Nicaragua. I happened to see a comment on a cigar makers post asking for positive thoughts and prayers for the Nicaraguan people and someone responded with something along the lines of “keep the cigars safe”, which I thought was about the most selfish comment.  Really? Losing a few cigars is more important that people dying?  We all love cigars, but are they more important than lives?  I don’t think so.  I haven’t heard anything more about the earthquakes,  except they were preparing for “the big one”, like the one in 1972 that pretty much leveled Managua. Let’s hope that the seismic activity settles down in that part of the world, they have it bad enough. Anyway, the El Brujito  is one of my favorite new cigars in the last year. For around $6, if you like stronger cigars these are worth a try.

 A sign from the elevators in the Crown Plaza Hotel in Managua

A sign from the elevators in the Crown Plaza Hotel in Managua

 

Tonight I dug deep into one of the coolers and selected a Tortuga 215 Edición Limitada 2011 Toro. This is a 6″ x 50 traditional toro that’s made in the Dominican Republic with Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos. This is from a ten count box that was a generous gift from Victor Vitale a few years ago. These are aging very nicely. It’s a cigar with a lot of balance and class.  Where the Ghost and the Nica Rustica are pretty brash, in your face kind of cigars, this one is loaded with flavors that are delicate and refined. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of Victor Vitale‘s cigars, and I only have a few of these left, which I’ll savor slowly because I don’t think there’s many of these left in the market.  I know I have one enormous double corona that was a gift from a great friend in New York State that will be a great pool cigar this summer!  Keep up the great work Victor!

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | July 3, 2013 · 11:08 pm

A Gurkha, a Couple More Villiger NicaRomas, a Leccia Black and a Guest Cigar Review

Gurkha_GhostIt’s the eve of Independence Day, and I have a four day weekend ahead of me.  Then it’s five long work days before heading to Vegas for the IPCPR show.  I’ll be throwing out videos and photos from the show as wireless access allows.  We are looking forward to bringing unique content from the show.  Gee, I hope there’s something new and interesting there to see!  Anyway, I smoked a few cigars this week. starting with a Gurkha Ghost Asura (6″x52) Sunday evening.  This is a cigar that was released at last years IPCPR show, and has a Brazilian Arapiraca Maduro wrapper.  I picked this cigar up a few weeks ago at Señor Juan’s Cigars in Belmar, NJ.  It being New Jersey, it was not inexpensive!  Anyway, this is a heck of a nice cigar.  It burned very nicely and had a pleasing flavor with some coffee flavors. The website notes cinnamon in the profile, which I didn’t get, but will look for the next time I smoke one.  In truth, I’ve only ever gotten cinnamon once in a cigar, and that was a Havana Bolivar Coronas Gigantes many years ago which was gifted to me by my friend Bruce at a party at my house.  I can still remember smoking it in the house and looking at it in amazement. This was many years ago! Anyway, The Ghost was a nice cigar, and the holographic band is pretty darned cool.

Villiger_NicaRoma_HabanoMonday evening I grabbed the Villiger NicaRoma Habano for my evening walk.  Once again, this is a budget cigar made with 60% long filler and 40% picadura (scraps).   This one, as the name implies, has a Habano wrapper. One would never know this is a mixed filler cigar as it burned well and, with a V-cut, it didn’t leave scraps in the mouth.  It’s a solidly medium cigar that has a nice flavor and is a pleasure to smoke.  I think I liked this as much as the Maduro I smoked last week.

Villiger_NicaRoma_CT

Tuesday I selected the Villiger NicaRoma Connecticut, similar to the above cigar, but with a Honduras grown Connecticut wrapper. Like it’s siblings, this isn’t a pretty cigar, just a solid mild to medium cigar with a decent flavor.  I enjoyed this one quite a bit,  I would rank this third after the Maduro and Habano, but that’s just my personal preference.  These all have Nicaraguan fillers and binders, with the only difference being the wrapper.  Nice, smooth, flavorful cigars that won’t break the bank. Try them if you see them.

Recently I send some of these to a reader who left a comment that prompted me to declare a spontaneous contest.  Agent86 smoked a couple of the cigars, including the Villiger NicaRoma Maduro and was kind enough to send a review.  So Agent86 is now an honorary Craig for the day, here’s his thoughts on the Maduro:

Agent 86 reporting from a top secret assignment.  Recently I had the pleasure of trying a couple of smokes courtesy of our own CigarCraig.  This was a pleasant surprise and the smokes were different enough to draw me out of my semi-retirement to report on them.

 

First up is the NicaRoma Maduro from Villiger.  I know Craig recently reviewed these on here, but I want to see if I had any impressions different than his.  This was a Toro with a Mexican San Andreas Maduro wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler.  Craig has more information in his write up about the actual make of this cigar.

 

Villiger_NicaRoma_ToroAfter unwrapping the cigar I took the time to feel and smell it.  The feel of the cigar is really loose, almost too much so for my preference.  The smell was actually very non-descript without anything in particular to set it apart.  After lighting it produced a dark grey and black ash that flaked and crumbled quite frequently.  The cigar also was prone to going out in the first half requiring three relights.

 

One thing that is very unusual to my tastes with this cigar is that it actually seemed more like two cigars.  The first half was a medium flavor, medium strength cigar with a lot of bitterness and kind of a “tarry” flavor to it.  Not altogether good or bad, just kind of uninspiring.  The second half is a different story.  After the halfway point the cigar started to really open up and the flavors expanded.  The bitterness I detected faded down to a tolerable level and there were some really good flavors with just a bit of spice.  The really strange part was that the strength increased too.  By the time I got down to the last couple inches it was actually pretty strong and left me feeling more than a bit light-headed.

 

I’m not positive on what the pricing on these would be around where I live, if they were available, but as a budget cigar it would work for a pleasant change of pace.  If it came out at 7 bucks or higher though I think I would stick with a Gran Habano #3.  This is a competent budget smoke, but not something I think will ever replace any of my regulars.

Thank you to Agent86 for sharing his experience with that, and considering his second review, I chose to smoke a Leccia Black myself tonight. It’s a unique smoke, for sure.  The example I smoked was a bit tighter than I would like, but it still had the smoky, barbecue flavor that the “Darkfire” tobacco that is featured in this cigar. This is a nice smoke, and I have one more that I’ll let rest for a while.  Here’s what AgentCraig86 had to say:

 

The second cigar that I would like to review is the Leccia Tobacco Black, also courtesy of CigarCraig.  This, as was mentioned on here, is part of the new line from Sam Leccia, Black and White.  I have had mixed impressions of Sams cigars in the past when he was working for his previous employers, so I really didn’t know what to expect.

 

The Black Robusto I picked out had a nice firm construction and the “cow pasture” smell I expect from a good stronger flavored cigar with the added boost of a smoky odor that was particularly pleasant.  The cigar lit well, burned evenly and had a nice grey ash that held together 3/4 of the length of the smoke.

 

LecciaBlack_RobustoThe flavors started out pleasant, but not anything really different from any other medium/full flavor cigar.  After the first couple inches though things really changed.  A nice strong smoky flavor similar to that of good barbecue or a pleasant campfire started to make itself known.  This flavor continued all the way to the end of the cigar and remained on the taste buds even after the cigar was done.  The strength of the smoke never went beyond medium for me, but the flavors stayed nice and strong, but never overpowering.  It was so pleasant I was able to smoke this cigar far past where I normally would have.  Also, something was different about the cigars construction since it never became too hot for my fingers or lips.  I guess all the time rolling Nubs gave Sam a few extra tricks for helping someone squeeze out those last few minutes of cigar enjoyment.

 

If this cigar becomes available locally and isn’t too expensive I could easily see it becoming one of my regular smokes.

 

Reporting from parts unknown, Agent 86 is out.

Once again, thanks to Agent86 for sharing his experiences with us.  I’m always happy to include reviews from readers, especially on prizes they won here, even if it was an impromptu contest I made up on the spot.  There are rumors of some pretty good contests coming on the horizon, so stay tuned! Also, if you’re shopping this weekend, take a look at BestCigarPrices.com, they have a special  page with some specials for CigarCraig.com readers.

That’s it for now, please try not to blow anything up this weekend!  Keep it safe and smoke a bunch of great cigars!  I’ll be enjoying a cookout tomorrow with family and will smoke something exceptional after they’ve left (I make a point to wait until the grandchildren leave before sitting down to enjoy a smoke).  My wife and I also celebrate our wedding anniversary on July 4th, so Happy Anniversary to my greatest supporter.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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