Tag Archives: hoyo de monterrey

by | July 18, 2012 · 7:20 pm

A La Gloria Cubana, a Brun del Re, a La Palina and a Hoyo de Monterrey Contest Winner!

I think the combination of the outrageously high heat and humidity and the air conditioning being on in the house has wreaked havoc with a couple cigars this week.  I’ve been taking the cigar out of the humidor, getting ready to take it outside, sometimes it hangs out unprotected in the dry air conditioning for 10 minutes or so, then I drag it out into the hot and humid out of doors.  I fail to see how these short periods of time have any effect, but I’ve had a few cigars that seem to smoke “wet”, as if they dried out a little inside, then soaked up a big drink of water upon going outside!  I know this is unreasonable, but I can’t think of anything else.  Other cigars from the same humidor are fine.  Certainly some tobaccos burn differently at various humidities, or maybe I just got a couple duds!  The first cigar to give me a little trouble was the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros retro tour edition, the one with the Sumatra and Broadleaf, as opposed to the Connecticut and Sumatra configuration that’s in regular production.  I have had a couple of these in the Robusto size and absolutely loved them.  It took some work getting the smoke out, having to double and triple draw for the first half to get at that deliciousness.  Once it got to the half way point it started working a little better.  In my experience, this is a terrific smoke, once you hit the broadleaf wrapper those nice, dark flavors really take off.  If you ever get a chance to get to a La Gloria Cubana event and mooch one of these, do it, they are tasty as all get out!

 

Mondays can sometimes be “experimental” cigar days.  I chose a Brun del Re Don Corazza robusto from the couple of cigars left over rom last year’s IPCPR show.  I had smoked this cigar in a 4″ x 60 format and was less than impressed, which is one of the reasons I’ve passed over the robusto in my humidor.   I figured after a year of age I’d give it another shot.  I’m a strong believer in the idea that every cigar is someone’s baby, so this Don Corazza guy must love this cigar.  It smoked pretty well, with a little hint of the “smoking wet” feeling I got with the La Gloria.  I did enjoy the cigar past the band, it burned evenly and had a pleasing flavor.  It may not be something that’s necessarily up my alley, but it’s still a nice smoke.  I think I have a Brun del Re Premium Connecticut floating around someplace that I’ll have to try soon.

 

Tuesday, for some reason, I decided on a La Palina El Diaro Torpedo for my usual walk.  This one had been sitting in my Griffin’s humidor for about six months or so, and it was one of those situations where I thought of that cigar for some reason during the day.  I felt compelled to smoke it and I don’t know why.  I’m glad I did because it was a terrific smoke! This line is one of those that I can’t put a name to any flavors, but I just know I like them and that they are always a high quality smoking experience.  The construction is spectacular and they are smooth and rich and tasty.  I am so looking forward to the maduro version, you know how much I love the San Andreas maduro wrappers!

 

Contest!

 

It’s time to select a winner for the third week of our Hoyo de Monterrey Reposado en Cedros contests!  If you haven’t already, make sure you enter Hoyo’s Box-a-Day contest at HoyodeMonterrey.com.  I consulted the random number generator at Random.org once again, and it spit out the number 7.  By my figuring, foozer69 left the 7th comment so he’s the winner!  Send me your contact info so I can send you cigars.  Sunday will be another contest, so you’ll have another chance to win a six-pack of cigars. Many thanks to the fine folks at General Cigar Co. for sponsoring this series of contests!

 

Finally, as long as you’re leaving comments on Sunday (or on this post), do me a favor and tell me what you’d like me to ask manufacturers and brand owners at the IPCPR show.  I’d like to come back with information that you, the readers, want to hear, so I figured it would be easiest to ask!  So let me know!

 

That’s more than enough for today, until Sunday,

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | July 15, 2012 · 9:32 am

An Old La Aurora, Emilio Visits The Wooden Indian, and Another Hoyo de Monterrey Contest!

Friday evening I decided the time had come for a La Aurora Preferidos No.2 that has been knocking around my humidors for years.  I’m going to assume this was a Corojo wrapper, as it certainly wasn’t maduro or Connecticut, and it sure didn’t taste like Cameroon. On side note: on the La Aurora website they either have the Maduro No.2 pictured incorrectly, or the Maduro No.1 labelled incorrectly – Barry: get on that, would you bro!)  This cigar is a handsome 5″ x 54 perfecto, really quite a unique shape these days, although it used to be the standard, what cigars looked like 100 years ago.  As you can see from the picture, this poor cigar had a couple chips in the wrapper, no doubt from so many years rolling around naked in various humidors over the last 5 or 10 years, I honestly can’t remember how long.  This cigar burned perfectly, the draw and smoke were perfect, and it had that smoothness and refinement of flavor that years of age bring. I saved this cigar for a special occasion for so long, I finally decided it was time and went for it.  Glad I did, because it was a terrific experience.

 

Earlier in the week I received a message from Dave, the owner of the Wooden Indian Tobacco Shop in Havertown, PA letting me in on the fact that Gary Griffith and Nathan McIntyre of Emilio Cigars would be visiting Saturday at 9am.  Of course, my initial response was something like “9:00 on a Saturday morning?” But I sucked it up, threw on some clothes, and drove out to have a rare morning cigar.  When I arrived, the guys were all in the spacious walk-in humidor looking at the selection of Emilio cigars.  As I had yet to try the AF Suave, I picked up a handful of corona on Nathan’s recommendation, headed to the cash register, and fired one up.   What a tasty cigar, perfect for the morning, although it would certainly be satisfying any time of day.  Another winner from the Emilio stable.  It was great meeting Nate finally, always a pleasure spending time with Gary, and seeing  Alan Price, Emilio rep, CRA ambassador and all-around good guy was an added bonus.  As always, Dave and his staff at the Indian are always exceptional and entertaining.  If you ever find yourself in the Philadelphia area and want a great selection as well as a very comfortable Liga Privada Lounge (the first!), head west on Market street and find the shop, you won’t be sorry.  I wrapped up the day with an Emilio AF1 Toro, which was just delicious and may be my favorite in the line.

 

Contest

What am I going to do in a few weeks when I don’t have a Sunday contest to post?  We’ll, I suppose I’ll be at Disneyworld with my wife, and then getting IPCPR stuff ready for you after a short travel break.  Anyway, there’s still time to enter the Hoyo de Monterrey Box-a-day give-away at HoyodeMonterreyCigar.com, and I have another pair of Reposados en Cedros 3-packs to give away to a lucky reader who leaves a comment here and send me his (or her) address after the winner is announced on Wednesday.  The latter part is critical!  My last two winners, Allen and Joel, were very prompt and their packages are on their way. Let the games begin!

 

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

CigarCraig

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by | July 11, 2012 · 6:57 pm

A Pool Cigar, Chateau Real, Hammer & Sickle and another Hoyo de Monterrey Contest Winner!

Sunday I spent a few hours lounging in the pool with my wife, enjoying a couple of frosty IBC root beers and a Maria Mancini Robusto Larga. After working until 3am and getting a few hours sleep, hanging out in the warm pool was very relaxing. I encountered an interesting phenomenon with the cigar though. In my sleep deprived state, I absent-mindedly dropped my travel humidor in my cooler bag along with my supply of frosty root beers. By the time I lit up a cigar it was pretty cold. I noticed that the cigar, of which I’ve smoked hundreds of over the years and almost never had a problem with, didn’t draw as well as I would have liked until about half way through the smoke. Is it possible that the sudden temperature change effected the relative humidity that quickly? I suppose that the lower temperature would allow the leaves to hold more moisture and give me that over humidified, “steamy” tight draw. I’ll have to do some reading on RH and see if that even makes sense, but I know that temperature determines whether a water molecule is in a gas or liquid state, and at lower temperatures it’s more likely to be in a liquid state. Would this have a profound effect on our beloved roll of leaves in a hour or two’s time? It turned out to be a very enjoyable smoke, once it got going, but just about any cigar would have been good under those circumstances.

 

Monday I took a nice little walk with an old friend, the Chateau Real Gran Cru Perfecto Maduro. I absolutely love these cigars. I purchased a box nearly two years ago and have been smoking them very sparingly, as the maduro seems to be discontinued. It’s a real shame too, because I adore the Mexican maduro wrapper on these, I think it makes the cigar. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the mild and creamy Ecuador Connecticut wrapped version, but the maduro hits the spot for me. I have a handful of these left, as well as nearly half a box of the Small Club in maduro and will be sad when they are gone. I’ll have to find another favorite, I suppose! With so many great cigars sporting that San Andreas maduro wrapper lately, it shouldn’t be hard, but it’s a shame to see a favorite go away.

 

Tuesday I decided to re-visit the Hammer and Sickle Robusto that I was given last year at the trade show. My dear old friend Mike Perry was working the booth for Eric Hanson and Victor Vitale last year and made sure I got a couple of these to try. Sadly, I hear he won’t make it to the show this year due to recovering from some health issues. I met Mike at a herf in Vegas in 1999, he’s a tremendous guy, and I look forward to seeing him again soon. Anyway, I believe these are made by Hendrik Kelner, and the quality really shows. I love a cigar that burns with a flat coal, all of the tobaccos burning at exactly the same rate. It’s a thing of beauty. It’s a nice smoke, I’d smoke it again for sure, and if you ever come across a box of these you’ll know it, it’s probably the only cigar to come in a crystal box! Always an interesting presentation from The Cigar Agency! I look forward to seeing Victor again at the show, his Tortuga 1950 Maduro is amazingly good!

 

Contest

 

So it’s time to select another winner! I’m embarrassed to admit that I haven’t yet shipped out Allen’s cigars, I was waiting for some boxes that I received Monday. I’ll get it shipped out tomorrow I promise!  I’ve closed the comments and consulted once again with Random.org‘s random number generator and came up with the number 8, which corresponds to JScott. Congrats!  Please send me your address so I can ship your pair of three-packs of Hoyo de Monterrey Reposado en Cedros cigars, even though I probably have it around here someplace!

Don’t forget to enter the Box-a-Day contest at HoydeMonterreycigar.com, and keep an eye here on Sunday for another Reposado en Cedros six-pack contest!.

 

That’s it for today, until Sunday,

 

CigarCraig

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by | July 8, 2012 · 8:18 am

4th of July Cigars, an Oliva, a La Gloria, and Hoyo De Monterrey Reposados Contest No.2

As I mentioned in my previous post, the 4th of July was my 25th wedding anniversary, so special cigars were in order. I have a humidor that my wife had custom made for me for our 10th anniversary in which I keep a selection of “special cigars”, some Opus X and Ashton VSG, a couple of specially rolled cigars that I can’t see ever smoking, and a handful of Havanas collected over the years. It’s my custom to select from this humidor on my anniversary.  I selected an old favorite, a Bolivar Belicosos Finos for my first celebratory smoke. I know what you’re thinking, this is usually a breakfast cigar!  OK, that’s an old joke most won’t get.  The Belicosos Finos, or BBF, or Boli Beli, has a reputation as a strong cigar.  The Havana Bolivar line has long been a favorite of mine, but more for the interesting flavors than the strength.  I once had a Coronas Gigantes that tasted line cinnamon, the first and only time I remember tasting that in a cigar.  Anyway, this Boli Beli was enjoyed after a dinner out with my wife for our anniversary.  It had been in my humidor over a year, and I have no idea how old it was when it came into my possession, but I suspect that it would have been ready to go.  I can see that this cigar would have been fine if I had waited several more years to smoke it, but it hit the spot.  I will say that every Cuban cigar I have smoked over the last few years really proves the point that cigars from the rest of the cigar producing countries have caught up and in many ways surpassed Cuba.  There still remains a flavor, a “twang”, if you will, that sets Havana cigars apart from the rest.  An awesome cigar to celebrate a wonderful day.

 

We can watch our town’s fireworks from our front porch, which is preferable to  battling the crowds in my opinion.  Sure, there are some trees obscuring the view of some of the lower altitude fireworks, but it’s still nice to be at home for the show.  I went back to the anniversary humidor and selected a little Ashton Virgin Sungrown Tres Mystique for the show.  This cigar has been in that humidor for well over 5 years, I honestly can’t remember where it came from, certainly in a trade or something like that.  It’s a 4 3/8 x 44 petit corona with a beautiful dark brown wrapper that glistens with oil.  I have to describe the smoke as lush and meaty, like a great steak.  I wish it had been a little longer, as I had to put it down before the show ended.  That’s OK, it was a stellar cigar, worthy of the moment.  I forgot to snap a photo of it before I lit it up, so the photo here is from Ashton’s website (which will explain it’s superior quality!).

 

Thursday, after a delicious sausage, peppers and pasta dinner made by my wife, and a relaxing swim in the pool, I came home and dug out an Oliva Serie G Belicoso and took the dog for a walk.  The last natural version of this cigar let me down a little, but this one had Camerooniness all over the place!  It burned well and tasted great. I don’t think I would have wanted to smoke this in the pool, the wrapper is a little too delicate for that, but it was perfect for relaxing after.  Nice cigar and quite reasonably priced.

 

Friday evening I had La Gloria Cubaba Serie N on my mind, and dug out the last one from over a year ago, a 5½” x 54 JSB.  I love the dark, oily wrapper on these, and I’ll never forget getting to see the “N” being painstakingly applied in the factory when I visited. They have a punch, like a paper punch, that punches the “N”s out of light colored leaves.  The “N”s are all over the benches and the poor ladies have to carefully apply them just right on the cigar.  It’s a neat touch that sets this cigar apart from the rest.  Another thing that sets it apart are the rich and dark flavors. This cigar is darned tasty!  It’s dark maduro Ecuador Sumatra wrapper is delicious, but mine didn’t want to stay light as well as I’d like.  Still, a nice smoke, I’d buy a box in a heartbeat (and the box is way cool too).

 

Contest!

 

Once again, it’s contest time!  I have another two (2) three-packs of Hoyo de Monterrey Reposados en Cedros cigars for one reader who leaves a comment on this post.  I got a timely response from last week’s winner, Allen, and his cigars will be heading out to his duty station where ever that may be next week.  So, leave a comment, tell your friends, win some cigars courtesy of our friends at General Cigars.  If you haven’t already, head over to HoyodeMonterreycigar.com and enter to win a box of these.  They are giving a box away every day through the end of the month!  (note: There is still the CAO Last Stick Standing contest going on at lss.caocigars.com too!)  Please note, the prize is the two 3-packs.  The photo here has a display representing of the special “Inmersion” process used to age these cigars, not part of the prize.

 

That’s all I have for now! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | July 4, 2012 · 3:58 pm

C and C, Berger and Argenti, Undercrown Cigars and a Hoyo de Monterrey Contest Winner!

After a long weekend of work and play, I finished up with a  C and C Connecticut Robusto.  Purchased in a three pack along with a Corojo and a LRMD a bunch of weeks ago, this was the final cigar.  If I had been smoking the three of these in one sitting my inclination would have been to smoke them in the opposite order, Connecticut, Corojo and LRMD.  The Connecticut was an excellent cigar considering the $3.33 price tag.  I’d put this up against many Connecticut cigars priced higher, just as I think the Corojo and LRMD are comparable to similar cigars.  C and C cigars offer a really good smoking experience at a really fair price, and there’s something for everyone.  This is certainly a cigar line I wouldn’t mind having on hand, expecially the LRMD which is my favorite of the bunch. The Connecticut was a nice, smooth smoke, everything I’d expect from a Connecticut wrapped cigar.

 

Monday I picked up a Berger and Argenti Entubar v32 Khilla Korona for the evening walk with the dog.  This oddly shaped cigar takes a little care to light properly and I almost forgot to take the foot band off!  I chose it because it was a relatively smaller cigar, I was in a maduro mood, and I was up against the clock.  This badboy burned really slow.  It took about an hour and a half to smoke, but it was pretty darned good.  It burns well, but the draw was a little bit firmer than I would have preferred.  Either way, nice cigar on the stronger side, with good coffee/cocoa flavors.

 

With the 4th of July holiday falling on a Wednesday, Tuesday was a little like a Friday (a short week, a really short weekend, and another short week!).  I selected my last Undercrown Gran Toro for the evening’s walk.  Mexican maduro strikes again! This cigar was excellent. It’s burn was perfect, draw perfect and was fantastic with a nice cold IBC root beer.  This particular example, which has been in my humidor for eleven months, held it’s own with it’s Liga Privada brethren.  It was great, everything I wanted in a cigar at the time.  If I were forced to choose between this cigar and the Emilio AF1, I think The Emilio has the edge, but not by much.

 

Contest

General Cigar Co. has been having a contest on their HoyoDeMonterreyCigar.com site where they are giving away a box of their Reposado en Cedros cigars every day so head over there and try to win a box!  In the mean time, I’m having four weeks worth of contests myself giving away two (2) three-packs of Reposados en Cedros cigars, I’ll announce the contest on Sundays, and reveal the winner that following Wednesday.  This being Wednesday, I need to announce a winner, so I turn to Random.org‘s random number generator to pick from the 27 entries. The winner is comment number 9, which is Allen!  This was a totally random selection, but I’m pleased with it, since Allen is serving in the Navy and it couldn’t be more fitting to send a member of the US military some smokes on the Fourth of July!  Thanks to reading Allen, and of course for your service!  Stay tuned for the next round on Sunday!  I appreciate everyone who reads and leaves a comment, thanks very much!!

 

As it’s Independence Day in the US, and, more importantly, my wife and my 25th wedding anniversary today, I’m going to head out and smoke some great cigars to celebrate!  Everyone keep it safe out there!

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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