Tag Archives: Gran Habano

by | November 8, 2018 · 1:57 pm

News: Gran Habano Unveils The Corojo #5 Gran Reserva 2012

Here’s a little Thursday afternoon news from the folks at Gran Habano. The Corojo No.5 is one of those cigars I always seem to enjoy when I smoke it, I just never seem to smoke it often enough! Maybe I just don’t see it on my local shop’s shelves, or it just isn’t represented enough locally?  It’s not like Gran Habano isn’t on my radar!  

 

Father and son team, Guillermo and George Rico, are proud to announce the official release of the Gran Habano Corojo No. 5 Gran Reserva .

Gran Habano’s Gran Reserva cigars are made using the top 10% best leaf from the yearly crop and aged for an extra seven to eight years prior to the cigar being rolled. It is then aged for a period of four to six years additionally as cigars. The 2012 installment has been aged an additional three years longer than any other prior Gran Reserva release. These cigars offer a bold new experience in full-bodied premium cigars made with vintage tobaccos. Expect a remarkably smooth, earthy and spicy smoke, accompanied by notes of sweet wood and espresso for this aged smoke. The Gran Habano Corojo #5 Gran Reserva 2012 is currently shipping to retailers nationwide.

The Gran Reserva 2012 is available in five sizes in 20 count boxes:

Corona Gorda Gran Robusto Imperial

Czar Grandioso

5 5/8 x 46 6×54 6×60 6×66 7×70

$ 8.10 $ 8.60 $ 9.40 $11.10 $11.50

Country of Origin: Honduras

Factory: G.R. Tabacaleras Unidas, S.A. Distributor: Gran Habano

Body: Full

Wrapper: Nicaragua

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua & Costa Rica

3261 N.W. 82 Avenue, Doral, FL 33122 (305) 436-5960 | www.ghicgars.com

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by | June 10, 2018 · 11:00 am

Gran Habano, La Palina, Umbagog and Xurvivor Cigars

I smoked a few cigars from long time supporters of the site this week, by accident mostly, it just so happened that cigars I grabbed were mostly from friends who happen to advertise with me.  Gran Habano is the newest of the bunch, advertiser, that is, they are one of the more established cigar companies out there. While I don’t see a lot of Gran Habano cigars in my local shops, they are readily available, and they make many tasty cigars. I smoked GranHabano_PersianKing_Rajahthe unbanded Gran Habano Persian King Rajah, a 6″ x 50 Nicaraguan puro made in Honduras with what appears to be a shade closed foot with a knot on the end. It’s been my experience that cigars with this kind of foot are what leads to holes in shirts if one isn’t careful upon lighting. This was a very nice smoke and well-behaved, on the high side of medium bodied despite the company’s description as full. Perhaps I’m jaded. I liked it, and if the little bit of shopping around I did is right, these can be had around $5 and are a very good value. this cigar has apparently been around for quite a while.

 

I came across some IPCPR samples from La Palina that I hadn’t gotten to and smoked a pre-release No. 1  (I’ll revisit that later, not that there was anything wrong with it) and the La Palina Classic Natural. Because I’m a geek, La Palina_ClassicNatural_RobustoI can guess upon looking at this cigar that it’s made at the General Cigar factory in Santiago, DR. The round head is the giveaway. The Classic Natural has a Wrapper and Binder from Honduras and fillers from Nicaragua and Dominican Republic and is a tasty smoke. The Classic line came out in 2012 and was made at the PDR factory, but was revamped and moved to the General Cigar factory in 2017. I personally have preferred the later versions, and this natural was no exception. It’s smooth, with some nuts and spice and earthiness. The construction was perfect and it was very satisfying. La Palina was one of the first cigar companies to advertise with CigarCraig.com, and I greatly appreciate their support.

 

Umbagog_ToroToroNext up isn’t from an advertiser, but a long time friend and someone who without his early encouragement, I may never have put myself out there in the way that I have today.  In 1996 a guy was doing a “Monthly Officious Taste Test” on a usenet newsgroup which I was lucky enough to be selected to take part in, and it kick started my interest in yammering on about cigars. Twenty-some years later here I am smoking one of his cigars and enjoying the crap out of it, as I do most of his creations.  I smoked an Umbagog Toro Toro this week, and this is just about the perfect cigar for my palate. It’s maybe the less sophisticated sibling of the Mi Querida, similar blend with the wrappers deemed by Saka to be not attractive enough for the Mi Querida, which, from what I’ve seen is balderdash. OK, I saw what looks like a water spot the size of a pinhead near the band. I’ve said before that Steve will tell you I like cheap cigars, and while the Umbagog isn’t cheap, it is the low-end of the Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust line, and worth every penny. Loads of my favorite espresso and cocoa flavors, the 6″ x 52 size is my jam, and it’s  just the right strength. Thanks Steve! Umbagog is a damn great cigar!

 

Finally, is a relatively new brand that’s made in the USA.  Xurvivor Cigars is a factory in Ybor City that’s making some very good cigars. This brand was previously known as Galano Cigars, and changed names last year. I’ve smoked a couple of the Xurvivor Americano 2018 and really enjoyed them. I smoked one yesterday, and intended to Xurvivor_Americano2018smoke a Galano Primero, which you can read about here, but I was left quite satisfied after the Xurvivor Americano that I wasn’t feeling the need for another cigar! Here’s the details on the Xurvivor Americano 2018 as I was given them: “The Americano 2018 has a Maduro wrapper from Nicaragua, with a binder from Ecuador, and a Nicaragua & Dominican filler blend”.  Maybe I’ll grab one of the Galano Primeros today, I don’t recall there being a lot of similarities in the blend, and the Xurvivor Americano is much more reasonably priced at just under $10, than the Galano Primero was (they were in the $26 range if memory serves). Ironically, I think the Galano had a PA Broadleaf wrapper, and the Americano has no US tobacco, but $10 for a USA rolled cigar is pretty impressive, and the cigar is quite good. It’s on my recommended list. Hopefully this small company gets the recognition it deserves.

 

That’s all for today. Still working on the podcast concept, feedback is appreciated. Best value smoke of the week goes to the Macanudo Inspirado Red Gigante with a nearly three-hour burn time and great flavor. I continue to be impressed with that cigar in all sizes, but that 6×60 burns forever! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | February 25, 2018 · 11:11 am

A La Palina, a Nick & Jim PBE, a Man O War and another Gran Habano Cigar

I’ve managed to smoke nine cigars since we last talked, and I’ve got to say, they were all pretty darned good!  I went about 60/40 for cigars I knew I liked and cigars that were new to me.  I’ll throw a couple of comments about the latter at the end, but feel free to follow me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook if you care to see my daily consumption. A little behind the scenes: if you see me smoking something new on Instagram, and you don’t see it mentioned here, I had some issue with it that didn’t give me a good first impression. Feel free to ask privately about those, I make it a point not to publicly trash cigars unless there’s a very good reason.  LaPalina_NicaraguaConnecticut_RobustoAnyway, last Sunday I started the day off with a La Palina Nicaragua Robusto.  I don’t mind taking shots offering constructive criticism of companies websites, and I feel the need to point out that they seem to have the descriptions of the Robusto and Gordo inverted on this product page. Maybe not even the case, but it looks that way to me. This La Palina Nicaragua Connecticut was an amazingly good Connecticut shade cigar, rolled at AJ Fernandez Factory in Esteli with an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I smoked this early in the day, while watching an afternoon Flyers game, and it wasn’t nearly as mild as I expected it to be. I put it at medium in strength, a very good smoke in my opinion. I don’t see a broad range of La Palina on my local tobacconist’s shelves, they have a staggering number of products, made in several great factories. Like any brand, there’s some I like and some I can take or leave, but I don’t remember hating anything in the range.

 

Nick&Jim PBEMonday I decided to revisit the Nick & Jim P.B.E. toro. I had really enjoyed the IPCPR sample that Nick Syris gave me when I saw him there, although when I smoked it I wasn’t sure that it was the collaboration with Island Jim Robinson that ended up being the P.B.E. (pre-banded edition, it was supposed to be called La Vida Isla, but there was a trademark issue). Here is a case of a not great name on a great cigar.  These are made in the factory in Costa Rica where Nick’s LH Premium Cigars line is produced (check out Nick’s interview on Coop’s Prime Time Show, linked here, for the whole story), the same factory that makes Atabey, Byron, MBombay, Vegas de Santiago and probably others.  The P.B.E. comes in one vitola, a 6 x 54 Toro, with an Ecuador Vuelta Abajo seed wrapper and binder, and fillers from Nicaragua and Peru. It’s likely the Peruvian tobacco that give this cigar something a little different and special. It’s a very rich and full tasting cigar, loads of flavor. I bought a fiver of these because I had enjoyed that  trade-show sample so much I wanted to try the regular production, my amigo Rodrigo Cigars had them available first, so I grabbed some. Good e-tailer to deal with, by the way.  The cigar has some wood and leather, but that Peruvian spice really adds something special to the flavor. I love toros, and I especially love the uncut foot.  I like the cigar a lot, the original name was much better!

 

ManOWar_SalomonThis one was a bit of a surprise. Wednesday was a rare February day with temps in the 70s, so I grabbed a large cigar for the evening walk.Last year some time I bit on one of CIs specials for three different Man O War blends in the Salomon vitola for something stupid like $5 delivered. Maybe there was shipping on top of that, I don’t remember, but the price was so cheap I would have been an idiot not to spring for it. The cigar was a whopping 7″ x 58, with a very nice shape, and the construction was excellent. It had a great, rich flavor that had a nice blend of spice, cocoa and coffee with a creamy mouth feel. This was a really good smoke, not surprising;y made by AJ Fernandez and distributed by Meier and Dutch, Cigars International’s distribution arm. This line is probably most often associated with CI, but it’s a gem, and I’ve had some really good cigars with the Man O’ War name on them.

 

GranHabano_Connecticut#1Finally, early yesterday I grabbed a Gran Habano Connecticut #1 robusto for an early morning walk.  This cigar was a 5″ x 50 robusto with an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  I don’t generally have a cigar as early as I did, but we had to go to to New Jersey for a memorial service for a recently departed family member and there was a break in the rain. Macha hadn’t been for a Machawalk in a while so we headed out.  Whether it was the time of day, or the lack of a substantial breakfast, I don’t know, but this was stronger than I imagined it would be, and had a definite toasty flavor. Like the other Gran Habano cigars I’ve smoked lately, this one was very enjoyable.  The burn and draw were perfect, and I believe thees can be had at a reasonable price. This is a brand that has been around a long time and makes great cigars. This is another line I don’t see in local shops, perhaps the online sales hurts then in the B&M space. Great cigars, and I’m pleased to welcome them as a supporter of CigarCraig.com.

 

A couple of the other cigars I smoked this week included some cigars I know to satisfy me every time. I had a Dirty Rat, a Mi Querida Ancho Corto, a La Sirena Trident (La Zona made, I still have a few of the old My Father versions) and a Cro-Magnon Cranium.  I almost forgot last night’s Fuente Hemingway Best Seller maduro!  All great cigars that hit my palate right for one reason or another.  I never really plan what I’m going to smoke, some of the fun for me is picking something out of the humidor, sometimes it takes me 15 minutes to decide! One more thing that’s important for my Pennsylvania readers: It seems that there is still a bill out there that would ban smoking in cigar stores.  Go to http://capwiz.com/cigarrights/issues/alert/?alertid=77245626 and let your reps know that this is stupid, anti-small business and that they have better things to worry about!  Unless they plan to ban drinking in bars, and eating in restaurants, leave the cigar stores alone! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | February 18, 2018 · 10:41 am

Gran Habano ZuluZulu, Black Dalia, La Conquista and Corojo No. 5 Maduro Cigars

GranHabanoSTK_ZuluZuluWhite_CoronaGordaThis week had me smoking through some Gran Habano offerings that I hadn’t smoked before. Gran Habano has been around a long time, although I don’t see them in a lot of my local brick and mortar shops (CI might have them, I never thought to look, and their website indicates a couple nearby shops, I’l have to look again!).  I’ve enjoyed many cigars from George Rico and his father, Guillermo, and their Honduras factory.  I started out this week with the corona gorda (5-5/8″ x 46) sized ZuluZulu Mas Paz White.  This tasty cigar has a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper with a Nicaraguan Habano binder, and Nicaraguan fillers.  This is part of the S.T.K. Miami line, but all indications are that they are rolled in Honduras. I really don’t care where it was rolled, it was a damned fine cigar. I thought it was smooth and creamy, with some earthiness, coffee and caramel. The cigar comes in a full sleeve, I don’t know what to call the material, glassine paper, maybe?  It is translucent to a point where one can see the band underneath. The artwork featured on the packaging is by  Colombian-American artist, “Mas Paz”, a friend of George Rico.  The S.T.K. Line was originally George Rico’s private blends. This one was very good.

 

GranHabanoSTK_BlackDalia RobustoThe next cigar I smoked was also from the S.T.K. line was the Black Dalia Robusto. I was drawn to the beautiful band on this one, it was striking, although I’m not certain what exactly it is. It looks like maybe some sort of headdress with gold leaf, a black flower (presumably the Dalia) and light pink. The band shouldn’t matter, but first impressions do play into the perception of a cigar’s quality. I’ve smoked many great, premium cigars that have bands that look like bundle cigar bands and it did take away from the experience for me. I suppose I’m a snob in some ways.  Anyway, this Black Dalia smoked very well.  It was a 5″ x 52 robusto with a Nicaraguan Shade Grown Corojo wrapper, a double binder of Habano and Nicaraguan and fillers from Nicaragua, Columbia and Costa Rica. Gran Habano lists Habano often in their literature with no indication of where it’s grown. The wrapper is beautiful, the cigar has nice flavors of coffee with some spice and nuts.  I think I liked this less than the Zulu White, but it was still very tasty and left me satisfied.

 

GranHabano_LaConquista_RobustoThe next cigar that was new to me from Gran Habano was the La Conquista, presented with a cedar sleeve.  Again, I smoked the 5″ x 52 Robusto with a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan, Colombian and Costa Rican fillers.  This and the Black Dalia are listed as Full Bodied, but they were solid mediums for my jaded palate.  The cedar sleeve seemed to impart a very woody flavor to the first half of this cigar, it’s a flavor I don’t much care for in a cigar, but just because I don’t like it doesn’t mean others don’t. When it comes to food, there are a lot of normal things I don’t like the flavor of, potatoes, for example (unless they are crispy), lots of vegetables, I’m weird. Once the wood note faded eventually and I really did enjoy the cigar. It went from woody to leathery, which I guess makes sense.  It lacked the sweetness I like in a cigar, but it burned well. I’ve been shying away from robustos lately because I seem to need a little more time with a cigar lately, but the Gran Habano offerings I’ve smoked in that size seem to last a good amount of time, maybe an hour and a half?  Impressive.

 

GranHabano_CorojoNo5Maduro_RobustoI still have the S.T.K. ZuluZulu Black to try, as well as the staple #5 Corojo and # 1 Connecticut to revisit, but I had to go Maduro for yesterday’s cigar. The Gran Habano No. 5 Maduro was my kinda cigar!  This is presented in the style of the Havana Partagas Serie Edition Limitadas, with the red band and the gold secondary “LE” band. I often fantasize about being the kind of cigar smoker who has a rotation of 8 or 10 staple cigars, and this would probably be among them. If I were able to be that kind of smoker it would save me a lot of time with selection and taking pictures and stuff, but it would be very boring for you.  Anyway, this is listed as the strongest in the Gran Habano portfolio and I tend to agree. It’s espresso and dark chocolate all day long and like Maxwell House, it’s good to the last drop. I think I put this one down with less than a half-inch left.  This has a Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper (assuming it’s a Corojo, as the band says “Corojo No. 5”), Habano binder, and Nicaraguan and Costa Rican fillers. This is a really tasty smoke and I don’t think they break the bank price wise.  Great cigar, for my palate, at least.

 

I need to vent a little.  I got a mess of press releases this week, and my fellow bloggers and cigar media brethren are orders of magnitude better at posting news than I am.  That’s not my area of expertise, and I’m happy to point people to other outlets that excel in that area. Cigar-Coop, HalfWheel, Developing Palates, BlindMansPuff, Cigar Dojo, the list goes on. One “news” item that mystified me this week was that Crowned Heads was releasing a line of new…..hats! OK, when Rocky Patel announces that he’s got 8 new lighters coming out, that’s weird but cigar related.  Granted, I’m neither a fan of hats for the most part, or Crowned Heads (I fall into the apathy category about the brand if I’m honest), and maybe this is why I don’t care much about the brand (although I apparently care enough to bitch about it).  Hats….seriously? This is worthy of cigar news?  Macanudo is celebrating its 50th anniversary. News. Famous Smoke Shop upgraded their Cigar Monster auction site. News. Gurkha has a new lounge exclusive cigar. news. A company that sells good cigars adds to their baseball cap line?  Are they a cigar maker or a hat company?  People will argue that they make great cigars (they have great cigars made), and they are “cool”, but I don’t get it, and it doesn’t interest me. That’s enough of this edition of “you kids get the hell off my lawn”, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | August 23, 2015 · 6:21 am

Gran Habano, Cult, Foyle and Viaje Cigars

GranHabano_Gran Reserva No5 2011_RobustoIt’s been a bit of a busy week, I went out Wednesday and bought a new car, a Chevy Spark in Lime Green. I know, I’m a big ol’ dork who likes small cars and scooters…what can I say?  I got a good deal on what I think is a cool little car, so I’m happy. I did manage to smoke a few cigars this week, From Gran Habano, the Gran Reserva #5 2011, which arrived in the mail a week before the IPCPR show, which was handy because that was a few less cigars I had to lug back from New Orleans.  This  was a nice looking milk chocolate-brown cigar presented in a cedar sleeve. It’s listed as full-bodied, but I found it solidly medium, and it has a Corojo wrapper, Habano binder and fillers from the Jalapa Valley in Nicaragua. It’s apparently available in five sizes,Corona Gorda: 5 5/8 x 46, Gran Robusto: 6 x 54, Imperial: 6 x 60, CZAR: 6 x 66  and Grandioso: 7 x 70, however this example was a 5″ x 50ish robusto. Not sure what that’s all about.   It smoked very well, it was smooth, had a nice woody flavor from the cedar sleeve, and some sweetness.  This is certainly a cigar I’d smoke again.

 

Foyle_EpeeAfter getting home late from car buying on Wednesday, I took a quick walk with a Foyle Epee petite corona.  The Foyle line was introduced to us during the media tour of the Aging Room/Boutique Blends booth, and is basically a private label cigar made in Tabacalera Palma ( I believe, there were previous Foyle Cigars made at Raices Cubana, and the information listed on their website is quite vague) for Alliance Cigars, a wholesaler out of New York state.  This little 4″ x 40 cigar was loaded with flavor right from the start. The flavors were fairly sharp and focused, and it interested me quite a bit. I can’t really pinpoint the flavor, except that it intrigued me, so much so that I wanted to sample this in a larger format, which I did the following evening.  It was a very interesting little smoke.

 

CultClassic_ToroGenerally when one registers at the IPCPR show, one receives a bag with literature and this time it also had a couple of cigars included. It’s been my past experience that media did not receive these bags, but we did this year and I gave up on complaining.  One of the cigars was a Cult Classic in a toro size. It came packaged in a neat cult_boxcardboard display box with their booth number and a run-down of their line.  Unfortunately, the packaging is generic, so it was up to me to deduce that this cigar was the Classic Toro. I assume this was just somethingg they did for the trade show and not a retail packaging anyway. They list the ingredients as Ecuador wrapper, Indonesian Binder and Jalapa, Nicaragua filler.  I found it to be a nice cigar, smooth, nice flavors and I regret that I missed the booth at the show, I have no excuse, the booth number was right there on the box!  I would pick this brand up again.

 

Foyle_PudaoThursday I went to the opposite end of the Foyle spectrum, selecting the Foyle Pudau at 7″ x 52.  This was a pretty cigar with a slight box press and felt good in the hand.  The burn and draw were perfect, and it provided better than two hours of relaxation. It was markedly milder than it’s baby sibling, and the flavors were far more muted and mellow.  I actually had a hard time finding that same unique flavor I got in the Epee, but that’s not to say it wasn’t a very enjoyable cigar.  I think it definitely highlighted the flavor difference between large and small ring gauges, it’s just a different experience altogether. I really liked the Foyle Padua, as much as the Epee, but for different reasons, and look forward to trying it in the toro and perfecto sizes. I’m guessing this can be found at retailers who buy from Alliance Cigar, there’s a list on the Foyle website.

 

ViajeOro_ElPadreFriday I wrapped up yet another summer week with a Viaje Oro El Padre that I picked up a few weeks ago when we stopped in J. Shepherd Cigars in Louisville, KY. They were having a bit of an event with a special on Viaje, Drew Estate and Leccia, and I was going to just get some Nica Rusticas and Luchadors, but I decided I had a bunch of Luchadors, and I was headed to a Nica Rustica event, so I decided to dip my toe in the Viaje pool. I haven’t sampled many Viajes, and an Oro may have been one of the few I’ve tried, and it was very good. I grabbed some of the Summer Blends and Oros, and decided an Oro was a good choice for my Friday evening cigar.  I was right, it was good. This is a milder cigar with tons of rich, yet subtle flavors. It was super smooth and creamy and was a really nice smoking experience. the draw and burn were as perfect as I’ve had in a while.  It did build in strength, but never too much.  This is a  great cigar, and I will continue to sample the Viaje line as I come across them.

 

That’s about it for today. I’m off to run my first 5K today, the last time I did any running was when I had a stress test a few years ago :-).  I ran a few times this week, enough to get a feeling for what my run/walk ratio might be and how far off the winning time I’ll be, and I’m fine with it. I’m doing it for fun and charity anyway, and look forward to a nice cigar poolside when it’s all over!  Have a great week, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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