Tag Archives: Gran Habano

by Craig Vanderslice | October 16, 2022 · 8:13 am

Gran Habano 20th Aniversario and Persian King Cigars

I had the opportunity to smoke a couple new offerings from Gran Habano Cigars this week. Gran Habano is a pretty good sized cigar company, sadly I don’t see their cigars in my local brick and mortar stores. I’d probably smoke more of them if they were, I really like the Corojo No.5 and Persian King cigars. Anyway, I’ve always had good interactions with George and Natasha Rico. I was excited to try the Gran Habano 20th Aniversario, and was quite delighted with it when I did. I smoked the 5″ x 52 “El Sueño” size. This has a Nicaraguan Corojo shade grown wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua, Columbia, and Peru. The Columbian tobacco is notable because George Rico’s family comes from Columbia. I find that Peruvian tobacco adds an interesting spice. This was a really unique tasting cigar, in a good way. There’s a sweet tobacco flavor, I hate to say this, but if you’ve ever stuck your nose in a pouch of Redman chewing tobacco, it’s kinda like that. I don’t like that description because it comes off rather pedestrian, and this cigar isn’t that at all. It was delicious, interesting spice flavors and well aged tobaccos. I liked it very much.

I said that I like the Persian King, especially the maduro, so I was very interested in trying the Type-Mod 60. This 6″ x 60 cigar is interesting in that it’s made in such a way that it can be smoked either way. It has a torpedo cap on one end, and a standard cap on the other, and is blended to provide a different experience dependent on which end you light. It has a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, and the ends are capped with Ecuador Connecticut. The rest of the cigar is Nicaraguan. I smoked the first one as a torpedo, and I broke from my usage of the CigarMedics The Baller cutter for these cigars, as a straight cut seemed like it would work better. My go-to straight cut is the Magpulse™ by Screwpop, I love that thing. I lopped off the head and foot of these cigars, I’ve tried burning through the cap, but that doesn’t ever work. The first one, smoked with the torpedo end as the head of the cigar, was very tasty. I didn’t get a real transition from bold to smooth as advertised, but it was a decent cigar with toasty, leathery kind of flavors, solidly medium bodied. On the second one I lit the torpedo end. Oddly, this cigar was very mild, so much so that it was hard to get a handle on the flavors. I figured it would open up when it got to the full diameter of the cigar, but it remained super mild. I know I did this as an experiment, but I was quickly regretting my decision. This isn’t the first time I’ve smoked a cigar that’s designed to be smoked from either end, with a different experience, the Fratello ViceVersa (due in stores early in 2023) is another one, which didn’t have the polar opposite flavors that this one did. I can’t wrap my head around the phenomenon, I expected the second one to build in strength, it never did. Very interesting, and I’m glad I tried it, but I would smoke this like a torpedo, if I chose to smoke it again. I may just stick with the standard Persian Kings.

That’s about all I have for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 20th Aniversario, cigar, cigars, Gran Habano, Persian King, Type-Mod 60

by Craig Vanderslice | June 29, 2022 · 5:32 pm

News: Gran Habano Announces 20th Aniversario Cigar

I like Gran Habano and George Rico, so here’s some news from them about their anniversary cigar. I’ll try to stop by and congratulate them next week at the show.

GRAN HABANO ANNOUNCES 20TH ANIVERSARIO

Gran Habano announces the release of the 20th Aniversario, a cigar celebrating an incredible milestone in the family business. The inspiration for making this cigar was drawn on the first chapter of the Gran Habano story: El Sueño (the dream), El Desafío (the struggle), and El Triunfo (the success). Gran Habano is thankful to everyone that believed in us and supported us along the way. The best is yet to come.

“It is with great pride that after 27 years in business as a company, we celebrate the 20th anniversary of our brand, Gran Habano. It is a wonderful feeling to reach this special milestone as a brand, as we will continue to maintain our culture as a company by following our principals to pursue making quality cigars. We look forward to the next chapter in our family’s journey, and to the new generations continuing the family tradition that has allowed four previous generations to be successful in the industry of tobacco.” – George Rico

Gran Habano 20th Aniversario

Description: The Gran Habano 20th Aniversario is described as having a four year aged lush rosado wrapper from Jalapa Valley, Nicaragua, enveloping a rich Nicaraguan binder and unique blend of Colombian, Nicaraguan, and Peruvian fillers.

Body: Medium

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo Shade Wrapper

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua, Colombia, Peru

Box Ct: 20

Sizes: El Sueño 5 x 52 (MSRP $14), El Desafío 6 x 54 (MSRP $15), El Triunfo 6 x 60 ($16)

The 20th Aniversario is a limited-production release with 4,000 boxes of each size made and released each quarter. Only 200 retailers will be carrying the cigar. The Gran Habano 20th Aniversario is rolled at the company’s factory in Danli, Honduras, Gran Habano Honduras. The 20th Aniversario will be making its official debut at the PCA trade show in Las Vegas July 9-12, and starts shipping in August.

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by Craig Vanderslice | December 29, 2019 · 10:52 am

A Four Kicks, an Island LifeStyle and a Gran Habano, and Some Other Cigars

It’s been a busy holiday week. When Christmas falls on a Wednesday, it seems to make things a little nutty. I imagine if I had a job it would be even worse. I continue to pound the pavement, but it’s a tricky time to try to get an interview! I have confidence that things will open up after next week. I managed to have a cigar or two since my last post, and I did skip a midweek post due to the holiday. I took part in a Secret Santa on one of the Facebook Groups, so I smoked a gifted cigar from Adam just before Christmas, a Four Kicks Maduro Lancero LE 2018. While I don’t have a great deal of experience with the Crowned Heads line, I am a big fan of the EP Carrillo cigars, and this cigar is made at Tabacalera La Alianza, S.A. factory, in the DR, and I like Maduros and I like Lanceros. I felt like this cigar would be a treat. My friends, I was not wrong, this cigar was, indeed, a treat. It’s a true Laguito No. 1 Vitola, 7 ½” x 38, with a fantail cap. The burn and draw were perfect, and I took care, as I usually do, to smoke it slowly so as not to overheat it and get a hot, bitter taste. It was delicious maduro espresso and dark chocolate and I dug it. I met Adam at the PA Barn Smoker and am looking forward to the next time we can hang out and have a cigar together, he and his wife are super-cool folks. Thanks for the experience!

I don’t recall if I mentioned it or not, but a few weeks ago I popped over to Goose’s Montecristo Lounge in Limerick, PA for a bit and hung out with Ryan and Rick from Island Lifestyle Importers. I’ve hung out with them at the IPCPR show, and been a big fan of their Tommy Bahama cigar accessories and, of course, their Island Lifestyle Aged Reserve line of premium cigars. While I was there I smoked their Aged Reserve Maduro in the Churchill size, and revisited it this week. They have changed their production from Perdomo to Oliva, oddly enough due to FDA regulation on box counts. Is that screwy or what? By the way, their factory was a tightly held secret, I tried for a long time to get them to spill, to no avail. This Maduro is a Nicaraguan wrapper, and is a beautiful oily maduro wrapper. The examples I’ve smoked have been absolute perfection, burn and draw were spot on, well balanced and right up my alley flavor-wise. Rich black coffee with some cocoa sweetness and some earthines, and good to the nub. Completely enjoyable. I also dig the Sungrown too, but this Maduro is great. The “Churchill” is large, 7″ x 54, I called it a Double Corona, but it’s a great smoke. I love the lighters, cutters and other cool stuff in the Tommy Bahama line too, it’s cool and works great. It was great seeing them and I hope to see them at the TPE show.

One of the other great cigars I smoked this week was a Gran Habano Gran Reserva No.5 2012 Corona Gorda. I love a Corona Gorda, much more than a Corona or Robusto. It’s like a scaled down Toro. For whatever reason, I’ve just always been a fan of the 5 1/8 x 46 shape, although there have been a few lines that I’ve preferred other sizes. In this case, they use the top 10% of the Corojo No.5 leaf and give the finished cigars additional aging. The wrapper and binder is Nicaraguan and the filler is Nicaraguan and Costa Rican and it’s a darned tasty blend. It’s smooth and rich. I always enjoy the Corojo No. 5, and this is a more refined version. I’m not entirely sure what they cost, or where to find them, but they are good, and I’d buy them in a heartbeat! Good stuff!

What else did I smoke? I had a RoMaCraft Baka, a Diamond Crown Black Diamond, a Davidoff Escurio, a Joya Cinco Decadas, and, of course, one of my favorites this year, a Don Juan Calavera Connecticut. That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Crowned Heads, Four Kicks, Goose's, Gran Habano, Gran Reserva 2012, Island Lifestyle, Tommy Bahama

by Craig Vanderslice | December 6, 2019 · 9:44 am

Gran Habano Persian King Maduro Rajah Cigar

It’s kind of rare when I post about a single cigar, but I do like to mix things up a bit, and I have been slacking on original content lately. Considering I smoked a new-to-me cigar this week that impressed me I figured it was deserving of a post. My friends at Gran Habano recently sent along some of their new cigars for me to try, and the Gran Habano Persian King Maduro Rajah stood out to me and demanded smoking right away. I remembered smoking it’s “natural” sibling in June of 2018 and liking it. I also remember that these can be had for under $5 each when purchased in boxes of 50, making them quite a good value. The Rajah is 6″ x 50, just about my perfect size, and is also available in the Tiger, which is 6″ x 60. The wrapper on this cigar is a gorgeous, oily, Nicaraguan Sun Grown maduro, with three quarters of an inch or so of shade at the foot, finished in a knot. As I noted before, with all cigars finished this way, care must be taken when lighting so that loose, burning tobacco doesn’t fall off and burn holes in clothing. I’ve had this happen, CAO owes me two shirts (on second thought, I’ll let them slide, they’ve taken pretty good care of me). This cigar burned really well, the draw was perfect, and it was well behaved throughout the 90 or so minutes it took me to smoke it. It started out tasting like a Connecticut shade cigar a little bit, then once it got through that shade wrapper and into the sungrown Maduro, the beautiful, rich coffee and roasty flavors kicked in. There were moments here and there where there was a cinnamon hint in the smoke, I like that when it happens. I’d call this a complex cigar, which is surprising for an unbanded cigar in the sub $8 price range. I’d have no problems handing this cigar out to friends, regardless of their experience level, and would look forward to smoking it again and again. CigarCraig’s classification: Yummy!

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

CigarCraig

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by Craig Vanderslice | November 17, 2019 · 10:56 am

Gran Habano, El Primer Mundo and Joya de Nicaragua Cigars

I’ve been all over the place this week with cigars, follow my Instagram, Twitter or Facebook to seem my dailies. I had some cigars I really like trying to buoy my spirits, an EPC Inch Ringmaster, a Diesel Whiskey Row Cherry Cask and a CAO Flathead V19, all really great cigars! But I wanted to talk about three other cigars for some reason. First of which was the Gran Habano Gran Reserva 2012 in the Gran Robusto size. I reached for this cigar for a few reasons. First it’s really a Toro, 6”x 54, and I like that size, I’m surprised it’s lasted this long in the humidor. Second, I feel like Gran Habano is a bit underrated, I generally dig their cigars, and I don’t see them in my local stores. Third, they have been a great supporter of my site, and I just received a little care package from them with some corona gorda sized 2012s and seeing those made me want to smoke one. So this cigar has Nicaraguan wrapper and binder with Nicaraguan and Costa Rican fillers, and they use the top 10% of the leaf that they use in the Corojo No.5 blend and then age it for 7-8 years. The cigar is pretty darned good, with some earthiness and cedar and a bit of spice. The aged tobaccos smooth this cigar out nicely and it burned perfectly. This was a delightful cigar.

A while ago I picked up a 10 pack of what I thought to be old El Primer Mundo La Hermandad Costa Fuerte Embajador Toros and put them in the humidor. I hadn’t seen these for a long time and was a fan of a great many of the El Primer Mundo offerings. For those who don’t know, El Primer Mundo was the company founded by Sean Williams, who is now the Cohiba brand ambassador. I’ve known Sean a long time, he’s a cool dude. Anyway, these were made at the PDR factory in the DR, where Sean spent a stint as the director of sales. They have a Brazilian wrapper from Bahia, Dominican Olor binder, and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. I believe these to be older cigars, based on how they smoke, however, they seem to be still available in the wild (OK, one site in particular, easy to find, and very fairly priced). This confuses me a little because it’s really a very good cigar. It’s got a nice coffee flavor with some sweetness and spice that I like. This is one you can’t smoke with the band on!

Finally, this is a cigar I’ve had in the humidor for a while, and I’ve been waiting for the right time to dig in. Between the weather, and having a cold, and general malaise, I haven’t felt like the time was right. The cigar in question, of course, is the Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Decadas Fundador. This is a new size this year, a box pressed 6″ x 54 Toro in addition to the 7″ x 50 El General and the also 6″ x 54 Diadema. I get out of typing up the wrapper, binder filler on these because they don’t disclose the ingredients. One would suspect it’s a Nicaraguan puro, considering it commemorates the company’s 50th anniversary, at least that would be the hope. I have found it curious that they didn’t promote that outright. Interestingly enough, this cigar is rather unlike their powerhouse blends like the Antaños, and is far more refined, it’s definitely a super-premium, luxury offering. When these came out last year I made the comparison the the Joya Silver, and confirmed that they share some lineage. The Fundador is a treat, it’s rich, it’s creamy, it has subtle espresso and spices which intensify toward the end. Another masterpiece from one of my favorite factories. Friggin yum.