Tag Archives: Jacobs Ladder

by CigarCraig | July 15, 2018 · 10:35 am

Pennsylvania Tobacco Week on CigarCraig.com

While I watch the cigar industry in Las Vegas for the 86th annual IPCPR show and waffle between regret of missing seeing friends and relief of sparing myself the hassle of travel and the work that goes into going to the show, I spent this week, after bathroom remodeling and job hunting, keeping it close to home and smoking cigars with local ingredients. This week I embarked on an experiment. A few weeks back my amigo Mike gifted me a Best of PA TobaccoÂ sampler he picked up from Famous Smoke Shop (thereâ€™s an ad on the left sidebar, by the way, itâ€™s an affiliate program which throws a couple of cents my way if you use it. In nine years off trying affiliate programs, Iâ€™ve never had one pay out. Just so you know, anything I make off the site goes back in, contests, hosting, stuff like that. My P&L is more L than P). Anyway, thanks to Mike for sharing this great four pack of cigars with me, I happen to be a fan of Pennsylvania Broadleaf, it literally hits close to home.

VUDU DARK NO. 7

I started with the largest of the four, the Vudu Dark No. 7.Â This a cigar I hadn’t heard of until now, and I suspect is a Famous Smoke Shop Exclusive.Â It features Nicaraguan longfillers under a Pennsylvania sungrown wrapper. It’s packaged in a neat vacuum seal humidor jar with Boveda pack included, which we’ll see again later. This was a very enjoyable cigar for me, it had some power, and the fairly ugly, mottled PA wrapper had nice spice and sweetness that I like in that tobacco. It’s not pretty, the band is hard to make out in what seems like black on black skull or alien face or something, it took me a while to figure out what it was.

FULL SPECIFICATIONS:Â Size: 5 3/4 x 50,Â Country: Honduras,Â Wrapper Origin: Pennsylvania,Â Wrapper Leaf: Broadleaf

CAMACHO AMERICAN BARREL AGED ROBUSTO

I’ve smoked this cigar before and enjoyed it, although, like any barrel aged cigar, any boozeyness from that process is lost on me. What is fascinating about this blend to me is the abundance of american tobacco in the blend. This one has “American Broadleaf” listed as the wrapper and binder, which one can assume is Connecticut, because they specify Pennsylvania “maduro” in the filler, along with American Broadleaf again and “Barrel Aged Corojo” of unspecified origin. Really, it wouldn’t be that hard to say it was Nicaraguan or Honduran Corojo, right?Â Anyway, I like this one, it’s really interesting to smoke a predominantly USA tobacco cigar, and it’s got, obviously, a lot of the sweetness I like in the Connecticut Broadleaf.Â This one was a 5″ x 50 Robusto, Famous Smoke’s site lists this as made in the DR, which I wonder about, I associate Camacho with Honduras, although with Davidoff owning Camacho, I suppose it’s possible. I don’t think they are right about the wrapper being PA broadleaf either. Further fact checking may be in order.

Southern Draw Jacobs Ladder

This is one that is pretty well-known to be a favorite of mine that doesn’t last long in my humidor. As I write this, Robert Holt and his family are probably having the best IPCPR show of their lives and maybe one of the biggest hits of the show. I know that my visit to his booth last year was one of my highlights. For some reason I’ve fallen off their media radar, not sure if I did or said something to offend or what, I’m the kind of guy who wants t be liked by everyone for being a nice guy, but I’m not going out of my way to endear myself to people, whatever will be, will be. I gotta be me…anyway, not to kiss anyone’s ass or anything, but the Jacob’s Ladder is one spectacular smoke, and the PA Broadleaf wrapper is fermented to a dark maduro and is sweet and spicy and delicious. This is loaded with ligero, so it’s strong, but, for me, the sweetness of the wrapper tames the pepper in the ligero enough to lull you into a false sense of the strength of this cigar. I need to resupply the humidors with these, I’m interested to see what some age does, I just can’t hold on to any long enough to find out. It made my “Top Five Memorable Cigars of 2017” and is also a great Rush song! Helpful hint: remove the cedar sleeve before smoking, this applies to all cedar sleeved cigars!

PANTHEON IMPERATOR ROBUSTO BY AJ

From Famous’ Website:

“Two titans collided to make the Pantheon Imperator Robusto cigars, AJ Fernandez and Famous Smoke Shop, giants among cigars, labored together to bring you a medium bodied cigar with a taste of heaven. Carefully blended long filler from Esteli and Condega intertwine with a sweet and beefy Connecticut Broadleaf binder while an oily Ecuadorian Habano wrapper puts the cap on it. There’s no questioning AJ’s blending ability and Famous’ low prices, so while you’re looking for deal on a quality smoke- pick a Pantheon!”

SPECIFICATIONS:Â

Shape:Â Robusto
Size:Â 5×50
Country:Â Nicaragua
Color:Â Natural
Wrapper Origin:Â Ecuadorian
Wrapper Leaf:Â Â Habano

OK, What seems to be missing from the above description that you would think would appear in the description of a cigar that’s in a PA tobacco sampler is the inclusion of PA tobacco!Â Someone goofed somewhere along the lines! When Mike gave me this sampler I had just returned from Rome, where I had visited the Pantheon, which is an incredible building, the largest un-reinforced concrete dome in the world, and it’s nearly 2000 years old! It’s ridiculously cool to stand in a building that old that’s still in use. Anyway, regardless if the fact that theÂ Pantheon Imperator Robusto doesn’t appear to fit in with the theme of this post, it’s a tasty cigar, very rich, smooth and creamy. Like the Vudo above, this comes in a spiffy jar, and is well priced. I think this is a nice cigar for someone who’s looking for a smooth, creamy, anytime of the day cigar.Â Like the Vudo, I’d smoke this again.

Once I finished the sampler from Famous, I grabbed a couple other cigars that I knew had PA tobacco in them that were wildly different.Â The first that came to mind was the Sobremesa, which I smoked in the Cervantes Fino size. PA Broadleaf is often associated with power and raw, earthy power, but here it is in an elegant, sophisticated blend!Â How about that!Â I wrapped up the week smoking a Diesel Unholy Cocktail with six or seven years of age, which had mellowed a little over the years, but still had the power and spice that I like in that cigar. Obviously there are tons of cigars with PA tobacco, it’s been a hot commodity over the last few years.Â I draw the line at the “Pennsylvania Amish” cigars that are available at souvenir stands throughout Lancaster County, although I did punish a bunch of friends back in the late ’90s with a taste test (still out there on a Tripod site!).

That’s more than enough for now. Hopefully now that the IPCPR is underway, the news will slow down and Ill get back to my regular routine. Anyone want to come over and smoke a cigar and record a podcast?Â Let me know! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as American Barrel Aged, Camacho, cigar, cigars, diesel, Famous Smoke, Jacobs Ladder, Parthenon, Pennsylvania Broadleaf, Sobremesa, Southern Draw, Vudu

by CigarCraig | December 29, 2017 · 3:26 pm

CigarCraig’s Top Five Memorable Cigars of 2017

This is a little early but Sunday’s post just might be another contest and I don’t want to confuse things! I was trying to get this posted Wednesday, but things weren’t working out the way I wanted them to! Just like last year, my criteria is simple, a cigar that I consider “Memorable” is one I smoked, made a positive impression on me to the point where I really want to smoke more of that cigar. I noted last year that this format, in no particular order, would keep me off Halfwheel’s Consensus list, but I just recently came to find out that my 2016 was included on their 2016 Awards: The Consensus Top 25 Cigars which included at least three of my five most memorable. So, without further ado, here’s my list of memorable cigars of last year.

I’ve been a fan of La Gloria Cubana cigars since the mid-nineties when I started really getting into the premium cigars. Back then they were made by Ernesto Perez Carillo in Miami and later the Dominican Republic and were excellent. Time has passed, along with ownership of the company, and Ernesto has gone on to do his own thing, but he came back to partner with General to make the Coleccion Reserva. one a side note, the current contest running now until Sunday includes ten of these great cigars, and let me tel you it’s going to be hard to let go of them! I kid, I’m happy to share such great cigars. These are manufactured at Ernesto’s Tabacalera La Alianza in the Dominican Republic using materials from both companies. I like them so much I bought a box of the Presidente size for full retail! This cigar exemplifies the cooperative nature of the cigar industries where competing companies work together. It doesn’t always work, but in the case of the La Gloria Cubana Coleccion Reserva is does. Smoking one with Ernesto at a local event puts it at the top of my most memorable list ( I know, I said it was in no particular order!).

Cornelius and Anthony makes an appearance again this year, I still go to the Cornelius Toro as my “go to” special occasion cigar, but there aren’t a lot of cigars in their portfolio that I don’t like. OK, I don’t think there are any that I don’t like. OK, OK, there aren’t any I don’t like! This year they released two new lines, the Aerial with a Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper, and the Señor Esugars with a San Andrés wrapper, which is my second selection on my memorable list. These are made at the La Zona factory in Esteli. I really dig this cigar, which, like the Aerial, has a super secret US grown binder. they are tight-lipped about the origin of the leaf they use, but considering the Bailey family has been growing tobacco in Virginia for 150 years, one cant help but think it’s grown in Virginia. It certainly adds a unique component to the cigars, and the Señor Esugars hits my palate just right. There’s a super cool dog on the box too. Full disclosure: Cornelius and Anthony is an advertiser on CigarCraig.com, but the only effect that has on my opinion is in that bearing contacted by them to advertise put them on my radar, and meeting Steven Bailey and his team adds to the memorability.

Southern Draw Cigars has been on my radar for a while, but at this year’s IPCPR I finally got to meet Robert Holt, his wife, Sharon, and their family. Upon meeting, Robert did a convincing job of knowing who I was and was generous with his time. Robert is a gentleman, a veteran, a spiritual man and is behind some of the best cigars coming out of Tabacalera AJ Fernandez. New to me this year was the Jacobs Ladder, his Pennsylvania Broadleaf flavor bomb. The name hints at his commitment to family and faith, and the cigar is awesome. I’m currently on the hunt for more, because it’s one I want to smoke more of, and it’s an especially good choice for the cold weather we’ve been having as the weight of the flavor cuts through the crisp air. The Rose of Sharon is also a stellar offering in the Ecuador Connecticut wrapper (there should be little doubt by now that a maduro is almost always winning out over a shade wrapper with me!), it’s among the best out there (the above mentioned Aerial and the Fratello Oro get honorable mentions). So that makes the Southern Draw Jacobs Ladder my third memorable smoke of 2017.

Next up is another cigar I really enjoyed this year, the Oscar Habano. Funny think about this one is that I had bought some of the Toro and Gordo sizes an really enjoyed them, but it wasn’t until I had the Robusto that was part of 2 Guys Smokeshop‘s Contenders pack that I really saw the beauty of this cigar. Listen to The Cigar Authority tomorrow (Saturday 12/30) to see if they get it right and select this cigar as the Cigar of the Year. As I think about it, I may dig out the one toro I still have and smoke it today. Oscar makes some great cigars, the Leaf by Oscar line is very good (there’s another Ecuador Connecticut cigar that’s really good!), it’s nice that he made something exceptional to put his name on (wait…his name is on the Leaf by Oscar isn’t it?) Great smoke, I hope 2 Guys Smokeshop makes the right call on this one.

Finally, I really can’t get enough of the Florida Sungrown from Drew Estate. This uses tobacco that’s grown on Jeff Borysiewicz’s (Corona Cigar Co.) Farm where he’s growing Corojo tobacco, the first time Cigar tobaco has been grown in Florida for something like 40 years. Willie Hererra blended the cigar using Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos with the Florida leaf adding that little something different in the flavor. I have to admit, it was a toss-up between the FSG and the Undercrown Sungrown, both are exceptional and I really dig them, but the FSG has a great story and inches out the Undercrown by a hair. Drew Estate continues to bring new and interesting cigars to the market, I have to admit that I rather liked the new Acid Kuba Candela too. While I’m more of a traditional cigar smoker, this one was a treat, the bitterness of the candela wrapper offset the sweetness of the infusion. Good stuff.

That’s it for my five most memorable cigars of the past year. There were probably others that I thought were excellent but didn’t have the little extra to make them stand out. The La Palina El Año 1816 was on my list too, I just need to smoke a few more before I can make a strong recommendation (the La Palina Classic Maduro I smoked last night was really quite tasty too!). Hopefully 2018 brings some new and interesting cigars. Once again, thanks to all the readers and sponsors, without whom I’d be typing for my own entertainment!

That’s all for now, don’t forget the contest! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Coleccion Reserva, Cornelius and Anthony, drew estate, Florida Sun Grown, FSG, general cigars, IPCPR, Jacobs Ladder, La Gloria Cubana, Oscar Habano, Señor Esugars, Southern Draw

by CigarCraig | July 30, 2017 · 9:36 am

IPCPR 2017 – Southern Draw Cigars

At the IPCPR show this year I finally had the chance to meet Robert Holt of Southern Draw cigars at his award-winning booth. The booth had an inviting back porch feel, and as I was standing at the booth waiting to introduce myself I met his in-laws (I hope I’m right remembering the relationships) who were helping man the booth. Lovely folks giving the Southern Draw company the family feel that is consistent with what I’ve heard of the company. When Robert finished he came and greeted me like an old friend, already knowing who I was. I can’t get used to being recognized, I was similarly surprised earlier in the week by Mickey of Blind Mans Puff, who is a long time reader and former contest winner. Anyway, as it was the end of the second day of the show, we agreed to meet first thing Thursday morning when the show opened.

Southern Draw featured three new cigars this year, the Jacobs Ladder, the Rose of Sharon and the Quick Draw with a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper. I smoked the Rose of Sharon at the show, it’s named after Robert’s wife Sharon. Since I can’t really make any kind of judgments on cigars smoked at the show, I smoked another one last night in the Gordo format, a generous 6.5″ x 60. Â The wrapper is Ecuadorian Sun Grown Connecticut (Ecuador has perpetual cloud cover, so the sun Â grown description is accurate, but the wrapper is indistinguishable from a shade grown Connecticut wrapper). The binder and filler are Nicaraguan, ~~based on the information on the website I don’t think there’s ligero in the blend~~. (edit: after watching the video again, Robert said that it has 25% ligero! Still smooth and flavorful!) As with all of the Southern Draw cigars, this is made at the AJ Fernandez factory. The Rose of Sharon is buttery smooth, with loads of flavor. It has the signature nutty/grassy shade wrapper flavor with a level of richness and depth that was really enjoyable. I enjoyed the heck out of the Rose of Sharon at the show, and even more on last night’s walk and for an hour or so after getting back.

Rewind to Thursday when I selected the Jacobs Ladder, again in the 6.5″ x 60 Gordo size. This new cigar isn’t yet listed on the company website, but it is listed at Famous Smokeshop, which says it has a PA broadleaf wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers specifying Esteli ligero and Ecuador Habano binder. The name is both a biblical reference and another family name as Robert and Sharon have a son named Jacob (middle name). The importance of family was abundantly clear in the IPCPR booth. I didn’t like the Jacobs Ladder. Â I LOVED it. Holy crap this is a great cigar! Strength, flavor and balance like crazy. It’s not a morning smoke, or a cigar for the faint of heart. Â The PA broadleaf (incidentally, grown in the next county to the west of where I live). It hit on my favorites, cocoa, espresso, with some spice and earth from the broadleaf. I appreciate the signature closed foot on Robert’s cigars, as it gives an initial blast of wrapper flavor at the start, that is, unless you toast it like you would a finish footed cigar. I go straight to the mouth with the closed feet cigars so I don’t miss anything (let to a burn hole in a shirt once…). This is another gem from Southern Draw, I think that makes them five for five with me now, I dig the Kudzu, Firethorn and Quickdraws too (although I’m behind on sampling the Quickdraws, haven’t had the Connecticut or PA Broadleaf yet). Generally the cigars coming out of AJ Fernandez appeal to me and these cigars from Southern Draw are at the top of the heap. Well done, Robert Holt!

Speaking of Famous Smoke Shop, they have a new Cuban Cigars Hub on their site. Since it’s now permissible to buy Cuban cigars in countries where they are legally available (most) and bring them in to the U.S., The folks at Famous have put together this hub to further educate consumers on not only the cigars, but the rules and the history of the Cuban Embargo and all it encompasses. Head toÂ http://cubancigars.famous-smoke.com/, there’s a lot of great information they’ve put together.Â

Finally, I stopped in to my favorite local shop, the Wooden Indian, Friday night for there Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust event with Steve Saka. Of course, if my old friend Steve is in my ‘hood, I feel compelled to visit, buy his cigars and hang out and smoke with him for a while. As a bonus, his wife Cindy was there too. I smoked the new Mi Querida Mas Sucia, which is an enormous 7″ x 58 which generally more of a good thing in the Mi Querida line. It started mellow and built over the two and a half hours I smoked it. Odd that I smoked all very large cigars this week, but why not? I enjoyed them all! I also managed to score a never released Liga Privada No. 9 with a Connecticut wrapper with my purchase, which will be a very interesting cigar, considering it’s seven years old.