Tag Archives: humidor

by CigarCraig | March 15, 2015 · 9:06 am

A 1502 Corona or Two or Three, an Ezra Zion, and a New Humidor

I’m on a House of Emilio kick this week. Enrique at Global Premium Cigars recently released his three core lines in corona sizes, and I was lucky enough to have a couple of each arrive in my mailbox a week or so ago. Thursday I grabbed one of the 1502 Cigars Black Gold Coronas, who would expect otherwise? I’ve been a fan of the 1502 line in general and the Black Gold in specific. All the coronas are 5½ x 42, and are box pressed, and my ScrewPop 2.0 punch was the perfect diameter to fit the cap. The burn and draw were perfect, the flavors were dark and rich with some spice. The San Andrés wrapper on this is dark with a nice sheen of oil. As I think back to last May when I smoked the 1502 Lanceros last, I liked the Emerald the best, where I enjoy the Black Gold more in the larger ring gauge. I’m interested to see if that is the case with the Coronas.

To mix things up a little, Friday I wrapped up the week with another cigar from the House of Emilio family, the Ezra Zion Eminence in the Belicoso Gran Toro size. That’s a unique name for this, it would be like calling a Fuente Don Carlos No.4 a Torpedo Petite Corona, I guess. It’s 5″ x 58, so calling it a Belicoso would have sufficed. This is another cigar with a San Andrés maduro wrapper that started off really spicy and smooths out over the course of the smoke. It’s reasonably strong too, so better to smoke this on a full belly. The cigar performed admirable, burning and drawing well after snipping a bit of the tapered head off with the scissors. I really like using the scissors for pointy headed cigars. This had been in my humidors for a year or two, long enough for me to have forgotten when I got it, and long enough for it to settle a little more than my prior experience (here)! Another great cigar from Chris and Kyle at Ezra Zion.

Just so you know, this is NOT the new humidor I bought, but one that came to my attention and I though it would make sense to bring up. The folks at Brown Safe like cigars and take cigar storage seriously. I’ll be heading over to their place when the nukes go off or Armageddon hits because they will be the only ones with cigars that are still in perfect condition!

The special-edition Cigar Safe features a custom sealed Spanish cedar interior for storing and aging cigars, in addition to state of the art security features Brown Safe is known for. The Cigar Safe is a celebration of everything the modern man cherishes….and often wants to keep to himself. Ballistic steel, fire cladding, anti-drive, and triple redundant relockers come standard, and complement the carbon fiber accents and integrated Thermo/Hygrometer from esteemed maritime instrument maker Wempe Chronometerwerke Maritim. Depending on features, price for the new special edition Man Safe ranges from $7,800 – $22,500

Just a little something for the man who has everything! I have more modest needs, so I went with the Lemans from 1st Class Cigar Humidors. I purchased this from Keith there because he’s been a long time supporter of the site, but make no mistake, I did purchase it! It arrived yesterday and I’m in the process of seasoning it before filling it up (I suppose if I “fill” it I’m going to have some ‘splaining to to, since my wife asked if I was sure if it would be big enough. I love that woman! It was her Christmas present to me) I was quite relieved to find that Victor Vitale has the same humidor and gave it a good endorsement. More pics as I fill it, but I put the Cigar Oasis unit in, and filled up the old school humidifiers up with distilled water (these will, no doubt, be replaced at some point) and it’s looking pretty good sitting at about 75% over night. I want it to be at about 65% before I load it up. It arrived in good shape, it was very well packed, and I ‘ve got a huge pile of cardboard and styrofoam to dispose of! The order process was smooth and I was notified when it shipped, no complaints at all with the service from 1st Class Cigar Humidors. I’m looking forward to not having to rummage through coolers!

While I was waiting I indulged in a 1502 Emerald corona, another 5 x 42 box pressed beauty from Enrique Sanchez. It rained all day, so I sat on my covered front porch waiting for the delivery. Very much like the Lancero series, I think the Emerald might be my favorite of the three. While it’s on the milder side in comparison with the others, it’s loaded with flavor, and very well balanced. I enjoyed the cigar very much, although I had to keep waiting for the delivery. they had given me a 9:30-5 delivery window, and when 6:00 rolled around I decided to fire up the 1502 Ruby corona and walk up and down the street. Wouldn’t you know the driver finally called to say he was running late (well duh), and would be there in 20 minutes. I still really liked the Ruby Corona, it falls solidly in between the Emerald and the Black Gold in strength, and has a hearty flavor with hint of sweetness. As the truck pulled in, I had to abandon the cigar before the band, which I hated doing, so I’ll revisit this one in the near future. The coronas are terrific, on a par with the terrificness of the lanceros. I’m a big fan of the whole line anyway, but these smaller ring gauge cigars add a whole new dimension. Well done, Enrique, and thank you to Gary Griffith at the House of Emilio for sharing these goodies!

I was going to have a contest today, but things got a little busy. Look for something on Wednesday, it’ll be good. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Review

Tagged as 1502 Cigars, 1st Class Cigar Humidors, cigar, cigars, Ezra Zion, House of Emilio, humidor

by CigarCraig | June 9, 2013 · 9:43 am

A La Musa, a Wicked Indie, a Chinnock Cellars and a Prototype

Thursday turned into a rainy evening, and I would have liked to have gotten to a fairly local shop for an event, but I couldn’t manage the energy to get out the door. I took the dog for a quick walk and then settled into my chair in the garage and fired up a La Musa Robusto from Emilio Cigars. This is the first of the re-named version of this cigar I’ve sampled, and it’s every bit as good as the numerous Grimalkin cigars I’ve enjoyed. You may recall that this was re-branded last year, but it remains a terrific smoke. There’s a complexity and subtlety in this cigar that I appreciate, bright flavors dance around the palate. This was a very enjoyable, finger-burner that really hit the spot.

East India Trading Company is the oldest trademark in the world. It was purchased a a few years ago by Gurkha Cigars, under which they’ve released some wallet friendly marques, the first of which being the Wicked Indie. This has been out for a few years and I just got around to picking a few up on my recent visit to Señor Juan‘s in Belmar, NJ. This was a very enjoyable cigar for me, it was right up the middle as far as strength goes and had nice flavor. I enjoyed this one while sitting in the garage watching it pour rain. Sorry, it’s just too much work walking the dog with an umbrella and a cigar. The dog got a brief walk then I sat down for my smoke.

Saturday afternoon the rain had stopped and I hit the pavement with a Chinnock Cellars Terroir torpedo which was a gift from @MattSRoss81 when I met him a few months ago. This is a nice looking cigar from a California wine company of the same name. It has a neat pewter looking metal band that slid off with a little effort so as not to damage the wrapper. These were blended by Willie Herrera and manufactured at El Titan de Bronze in Miami. The cigar is nicely built with a light Ecuador wrapper and burned dead even and drew perfectly with only a small snip off the torpedo head. This is a buttery smooth cigar, and it was a very nice companion for a nice, although overcast afternoon. Thanks again Matt!

After a nice dinner of some big ol’ barbecue ribs and corn on the cob, I flossed and decided one Willie Herrera blended cigar wasn’t enough for one day, so I dug out a cigar that I received on my recent Cigar Safari trip. This was a prototype of a box pressed cigar Willie’s working on, and I have to say it’s a winner. I hope this one makes it into production because as good as the Herrera Esteli is, and it’s very good, I think I liked this better. The cuadrado press on this 6″ x 50 cigar was very comfortable to smoke as it was rectangular as opposed to square, but not quite tongue depressor thin. The V-cut I gave it was about perfect for the available real estate on the cap and I got a great draw down until I burned my fingers. It was buttery smooth and loaded with flavor. Considering my penchant for stronger cigars, this, along with the Chinnock Cellars, were medium bodied, smooth cigars that I really, really enjoyed!

Humidor Update

I filled it. I probably could have given it another week, but it looked and felt right so I loaded it up with a selection of La Gloria Cubanas, some Foundrys, a few Macanudo 1968s and a handful of OpusX (just to mix it up a little). I got at least 40 large cigars in there and it appears to be holding steady humidity. So far, I’ve taken the hygrometer at face value, I may drop a digital unit in just to check it. I will leave it alone for a couple of weeks and smoke something out of it and really get an idea how its working. I remain impressed with the Adorini humidor. I like everything about it so far. One interesting features of this humidor is that it came with plastic label holders that snap on the dividers so one can identify ones inventory. I suppose this would be handy if you had various unbanded cigars, but the dividers, in my opinion, are too short. I have cigars stacked three deep, and the dividers only come up to the second layer. The system is clever with the slotted interior that not only allows for flexible placement of the dividers, but also increases the airflow by providing channels around the cigars. More to come.

That’s it for today, time to get out there and enjoy this nice Sunday.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Review

Tagged as Chinnock Cellars, cigar, cigars, Emilio, general cigars, Gurkha, humidor, La Gloria Cubana, La Musa, Wicked Indie, Willie Hererra

by CigarCraig | February 1, 2012 · 8:53 pm

A Toraño, a La Palina and a Vegas de Santiago Cigar

We have been having unseasonably nice weather here in south-eastern PA, so I’ve taken to smoking some larger cigars than I normally would this time of year. Last winter we’d had probably four feet of snow, not conducive to enjoying a fine cigar. Daytime highs near 60 have left the evenings prime for long walks with excellent cigars.

Sunday afternoon I selected a Toraño Loyal BFC, and I think, like the Emilio BMF, I know what the letters stand for. This 6″ x 60 cigar could be considered a Big Fricken Cigar. I had picked this up sometime over the last few months at a local shop, and it wasn’t awfully expensive, because, let’s face it, I don’t buy too many cigars that are awfully expensive. This was a nice, medium bodied cigar that smoked very well. At the price point around $5, this is a really tasty, well made cigar.

For Tuesday’s evening walk I was joined by a La Palina El Diaro Torpedo, which I receive a month or so ago from the folks at La Palina, who is also an advertiser on this site. The cigar is a classic torpedo size, 6 1/8″ x 52, which is always a favorite of mine. I have to say that I think I like the robusto better in this cigar. The torpedo was good, don’t misunderstand, but is lacked something that the robusto had. I think i found the smaller size slightly more refined than the torpedo. As I was smoking it, I couldn’t help but wonder what this blend would be like with a maduro wrapper. Again, a very nice cigar, but something was missing for me.

Tonight’s cigar was a Vegas de Santiago Secretos de Maestro Don Luis Laguito No.1 maduro. This cigar came into my possession over a year ago after a conversation with Rudi and Lani, the manufacturers in Costa Rico. I have had an association with this folks going back to a couple of events my wife and I hosted which they generously donated their cigars for the attendees. Vegas de Santiago makes some really nice cigars at a very reasonable price. They send me some of these cigars in what they refer to as a maduro wrapper. This is maduro in the sense that the Cuban maduro cigars are, darker than their “natural”, but not the dark, heavy wrapper that we see in a broadleaf or Mexican maduro. The cigar is a beautiful chocolate brown, and it well made with a nice pigtail cap. I enjoyed the heck out of this cigar, except that there were a couple hints of ammonia near the end, which confused me since these have been buried in the humidor for over a year. An enjoyable smoke on a relatively balmy evening (for February 1st, light jacket and no gloves is a treat!).

My wife has been doing some research and in so doing came across the Philadelphia news papers archives. Here’s a comic from the Philadelphia Inquirer dated June 6, 1922 that is as relevant now as it was then. You may need to click on the image to open it in a new window to read it.

On a final note, I’d like to welcome my newest advertiser, 1st Class Cigar Humidors. They have some really nice stuff on their site if you are in the market for a humidor or accessories!

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

CigarCraig

4 Comments

Filed under Editorial, Humor, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Comics, El Diaro, Emilio, History, humidor, Humor, La Palina, lancero, Loyal, Take A Cigar For A Walk, Toraño, torpedo, vegas de santiago

by CigarCraig | October 9, 2011 · 11:01 am

CigarCraig’s Cigar Travel Humidors

Since I’ve got an upcoming cigar trip, I thought it would be appropriate to write about traveling with cigars. Since shortly after I began enjoying the wonders of the hand rolled cigar, I began traveling to far-away places. Since my first trip to Vegas in 1997 to smoke cigars with a bunch of “strangers” to the present, I’ve been to Vegas several times, North Carolina, Western PA, Buffalo, Central PA, Reno, New York, New Jersey, New Orleans, London, and other places I’m not remembering at the time, always with various quantities of cigars in tow. One of the things about our cigar hobby, besides just the cigars, is the accouterments that accompany them, and here is a little showcase of the travel humidors I’ve collected over the years.

Please use the picture at the right (I’ll call it the “Tower of Traveldors”) as a guide during my meandering narrative.

Number 1 is a really nice wood travel humidor made by the long since defunct York Humidor Company. This is truly a mini humidor in every way, it’s materials and joinery are top notch and it’s really nice. It’s a shame it only holds 2 cigars and is a bit bulky making it reasonably useless to me. I got this (my wife has one as well) at a big herf in York, PA in 1999. The company was out of business at the time and I think they were there liquidating what they had.

Number 2 is a 5 count “Cigar Caddy” that was a gift to me years ago. This has gotten the most use of any of my travel humidors, more than the leather cases. It, as well as the rest that follow, offers unrivaled cigar protection. It’s crush proof and seals tight. It will hold 5 Churchill sized cigars, but it gets a little tight when you try to pack in anything over a 52 ring gauge. The Cigar Caddy used to be owned by Otterbox, but I believe they’ve been spun off to their own company. They still use the Otterbox for the shell.

Number 3 is actually my son’s. It’s a Xikar case that holds 15 cigars. It has foam trays that cradle each cigar and is the same kind of indestructible box that the Cigar Caddy is, it has o-ring seals and you can run it over with a truck. Again, you have some cigar girth limitations, but it’s hard to go wrong with this sort of case if you need to travel with a dozen or so cigars.

Number 4 is brand new to me, and was a gift from the folks at Cigar Mechanic. It’s advertised as a 5 cigar traveldor, but the rub with this one is that it will hold five 60 ring gauge cigars, or 10 robustos. I was able to get the five 6x60s in, with two robustos as well (see the photo below). Same excellent construction as well as a miniature Cigar Mechanic humidifier in the lid. Thanks to Chris for this, it will certainly get a lot of use. They offer a lot of sizes up to suitcase sized with wheels and a pull out handle for the hardcore cigar traveller.

Number 5 is one I’ve had for many years and has also seen its share of travel. Back around ’97 or ’98 a group of contributors on the alt.smokers.cigars usenet group bought a bunch of Pelican cases, foam, humidifiers and hygrometers and put together a large travel humidor and called it the “Herfdor”. The one they used had 5 trays and held 30 cigars. My wife got me this 18 cigar capacity model a few years later through Cigar Express. The 30 count version was too big and bulky for my taste, and I can fit many more than 18 in mine by taking out two of the trays. as long as the cigars are cello’d they are fine, and I leave the bottom tray in for the uncello’d singles and to cushion the whole lot. I’ve had to open it more than once at airport security. These were modeled after the Road Warrior and TheSherman traveldors at the time, which were very expensive. The Group buy project made these original “Herfdors” very reasonable. This one, as well as the Cigar Mechanic, have pressure relief valves so you can open it after it’s been at altitude, as it can seal pretty tight when there’s a pressure differential.

There was a time when I used a six-pack sized cooler placed into an insulated picnic-type bag to travel with my cigars. This worked reasonably well, but lacked the foam protection that these modern marvels of cigar transport provide. All but number one above provide support and climate control so that our precious cigars are in perfect smoking condition for wherever it is we travel. Smaller ones fit in your golf bag, larger ones have handles or wheels, whatever your cigar travel needs, there is a traveldor to fit them. There are all kinds of fancy wood, aluminum and leather travel humidors as well. My personal taste leans toward function and utility over form, as I’d hate to scratch up a beautiful wood humidor in my luggage or tossing it in the back seat of the car. Many of these cases include a humidifier of some sort, which I find to be a bit useless. These cases seal so tight that unless you are opening them hourly in the desert, they will keep your cigars just fine. I once accidentally left a charged humidifier in the large case and after a few months storage, I opened it and the foam was wet to the point that you could almost wring it out. Too long in a sealed case with a charged humidifier will result in soaked sticks, which will not enhance your cigar travel!

I hope this has provided some infotainment for you today, please let me know what you use for cigar transport in the comments section, I always enjoy hearing the creative way others protect their cigars on the road.

That’s it for today, happy Columbus Day to all, he is the one who discovered cigars, isn’t he?

CigarCraig

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Filed under Accessories, Editorial, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigar caddy, cigar case, Cigar Mechanic, cigars, humidor, otterbox, pelican, travel, travel humidor, traveldor