Tag Archives: Gran Reserva 2012

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 | 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.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Cinco Decadas, Costa Fuerte, El Primer Mundo, Gran Habano, Gran Reserva 2012, joya de nicaragua

by CigarCraig | December 16, 2018 · 10:45 am

Alec Bradley Magic Toast, Gran Habano Gran Reserva2012 and Assorted Dark Cigars

I found myself on a dark cigar kick this week. All I was reaching for were the darker wrappers, Partagas Black. Leccia Luchador, Perdomo 20th Maduro, incidentally, all favorites over many years that fall into the “comfort food” category, so I guess that says something about the time of year and my frame of mind. One night I work late, and my new job does have me working the occasional closing shift, I grabbed an old Chateau Real Maduro Small Club Corona, one of the remaining few from a box I bought when they discontinued these back around 2011, I guess. This is still a fantastic blend, and it’s a darned shame it was discontinued. I had occasion to ask Jonathan Drew personally why it was dropped, and he blamed me for not buying enough! I tried, sorry folks. I smoked a lot of these in this size and the perfecto size, and really liked the maduro and shade versions, but I think they were maybe too expensive for the time they were introduced, and, at that time, they were one of the first non-infused cigars Drew Estate sold (people seem to forget about La Vieja Habana). Happy to say that the Chateau Real Maduro held up nicely over the years, I still have a small stash, and if you see these in the wild, pick them up!

I also smoked the RoMEo San Andrés again, which continues to be my favorite in that line, and one of my favorites in the Altadis portfolio, as well as smoking the La Gloria Cubana Esteli in the toro size. Oddly, the LGC Toro didn’t captivate me as much as the little robusto did, but maybe with some humidor time my mind will change, or maybe it just wasn’t the right cigar for me? It happens. A Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo El Martillo always hits the spot and is an all time favorite. Like I said, I didn’t really stick to one wrapper type this week, but they were all darker, on the fuller side cigars, I craved full flavored cigars this week for some reason, whether it’s the weather, or the stresses of the season. I’ll try out a Connecticut wrapped cigar today and see if I find it satisfying!

One of the new-to-me cigars I picked up last week was the Alec Bradley Magic Toast in a 6″ x 52 Toro size (who woulda guessed I’d buy the Toro?). This came recommended by Kevin, the manager at the CigarCigars shop in Downingtown, PA. If you mention CigarCraig to him he’ll add 10% to your total at the register! 🙂 I’ve been wanting to try this cigar, named for raising a glass to honor someone or something, rather than bread browned on both sides, presumably by supernatural forces. The cigar has a Honduran wrapper, one would think it’s from the very special crop of tobacco which was shown to Alan Rubin by flashlight on night which prompted the opening of a rare bottle of whisky prompting the toast for which this cigar is named, bound with both Nicaraguan and Honduran leaves, with Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. The results of the blend delighted my palate. While I love a cigar that has a balance of the bitterness of espresso with some semi-sweet chocolate sweetness, this had the coffee flavor, with some earthiness, and it worked really well. There was spice there too, and I really liked it. I want to put some more of these in my humidor. (Jon, are you reading this? Just checkin.) I suppose when I stop by the shop next Ill grab some more of these, as well as Alec and Bradley’s Blind Faith, which I’ve been wanting to try as well. The Magic Toast is a winner, if you like cigars I like, give this one a try.

Last night I lit up a Gran Habano Gran Reserva No. 5 2012, which was announced last month. This is what they have to say about the cigar:

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.

I smoked the Gran Robusto, which is the perfect size for me, 6″ x 54, and it’s nicely presented in a cedar sleeve. Looking at said sleeve, there’s no mistaking this from the Gran Reserva 2011, this is for certain, as it has “Gran Reserva 2012” printed on it several times around the circumference of the sleeve. not a criticism, just an observation. Just like the 2011, it’s got a Nicaraguan wrapper and binder and Nicaraguan and Costa Rican fillers. The cigar smoked brilliantly, the draw and burn were perfect. For a mid-December evening in PA, it wasn’t freezing cold, but it was damp out, raining outside, but the cigar was unaffected by this. Ironically, George Rico was in Philadelphia doing an event at Twin Smoke Shoppe the night before. I might have been able to make it there if I wanted to spend hours mired in traffic on a rainy night after a long day at work. I wimped out and opted for an evening with a cigar at home. Anyway, The Gran Reserva 2012 is another cigar that I found to be very enjoyable and one I’d happily smoke on the regular.

That’s enough for today. I guess I need to start scraping together some stuff to give away starting this week! I have a few things in the vault that are pretty nice, unfortunately just a shadow of days gone by. It’ll still be fun! Stay tuned! I’ll dust off my Santa hat. Until the next time,

CigarCraig