Tag Archives: Jaime Garcia

by | October 6, 2024 · 9:29 am

Jaime Garcia, Kristoff and Stolen Throne Cigars

Once again I picked up some new-to-me cigars at various shops.  I can’t quite remember why, but I stopped in to the Cigar Mojo shop nearest to me and came across the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Suceser, which I initially misspelled, my mind saw the english version, which is “successor”.  From what I can devine, this comes in two sizes with two different wrapper, which is interesting.  I got the 6″ x 56 Toro with a Sumatra seed wrapper and there’s also a 6 1/8″ x 52 Torpedo which has a Habano seed wrapper.  I have to hunt down a torpedo, I guess. I was unable to find any more information about the blend than that!  I recently smoked the Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial and was really into it,  this was a very different cigar.  I found it to be very spicy, much more so than the Broadleaf counterpart.  The spice held on throughout the cigar. I liked it well enough, but I think I’ll stick with the Broadleaf, but I still want to try the Suceser Torpedo.

 

I’ve been hearing about the Kristoff Guardrail for quite a while and finally picked one up at a Cigar Cigars shop a couple towns over.  I went there to meet a guy who wanted me to try out some Dominican cigars that he has an idea that he wants to import and give a go at selling.  Young guy, filled with optimism…I’ve got my thoughts on the cigars which I’m going to share with him, but I’m not sure how to tell him it’s probably nore a great idea.  Anyone in the industry want to offer this guy some advice?  Anyway, the Guardrail is an homage to Kristoff’s owner, Glen Case, having a horrific motorcycle accident returning from a charity ride on a rented Harley. He was banged up pretty good, and we’re lucky he’s still with us (he’s genuinely a very nice man). This was the 6 ½” x 56 Matador size, has a Brazilian Maduro wrapper, bindier from the Dominican Republic and fillers from the Dominican Republic & Zimbabwe.  I’ve honestly smoked more Zimbabwe tobacco in the last few weeks than I have in my life (and that could be said if I had only smoked one cigar with that tobacco, and I’ve smoked this and the CAO Thunder Smoke).  This has a hint of the mesquite flavor that the CAO had, not as prominent bu there, along with some sweetness from the Brazilian wrapper.  This was very nice, I’d smoke it again.

 

In another recent shop visit, this time the Wooden Indian, I got a couple of the new Stolen Throne Argos, this one is 6″ x 52 with a pigtail cap and a semi-closed foot.  This is an interesting project with started as an exclusive to Winston’s Humidor in Midlothian, VA, with proceeds going toward animal rescue organizations. I don’t know if this is still the case, but knowing Lee Marsh as I do, I wouldn’t doubt that it is. Lee hates that I love the Three Kingdoms and Crook of the Crown, but am not a fan of the Call to Arms and Yorktown Fleet, the latter of which is growing on me.  I think this Argos falls somewhere in between.  It has a sour note that I find in the Yorktown, perhaps that’s the “roasted oranges” that is mentioned on the website (one roasts oranges?). I also got some leather and some dry baking cocoa sort of flavor. I found it enjoyable, and very much appreciate Dave at the Wooden Indian for hooking me up with these.  I just wish these had bands, maybe whip something up on a laser printer or something? 🙂 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | September 22, 2024 · 9:28 am

New Big Payback and CAO Cigars, a Jaime Garcia and a Vegas Cubanas

This week I smoked some cigars I received from General Cigars and Forged, along with a couple cigars I picked up locally that I hadn’t smoked before.  I couple of them were obnoxiously large!  First off was the Room 101 Big Payback 70s Maduro.  I rather enjoyed the Olancho San Augustin (which they are now referring to as Sumatra, I never made that connection!) wrapped version that came out last year, despite its size.  This one has a US Broadleaf wrapper (Connecticut? Massachusetts?  Pennsylvania? My guess is the PA) over a Nicaraguan binder with fillers from the DR and Honduras, and it’s made at their factory in Honduras. I smoked this cigar for about two and a half hours and it burned well and had a pleasing flavor.  It’s pretty much what one would expect, although the excessive ring gauge makes it fairly mild. It has earthy cocoa and some sweetness.  Very nice cigar if you have a long time to do something like chat with friends or watch a game or a movie, as it doesn’t necessarily demand your attention. It has a $9 MSRP so it’s a good value.

 

I smoked a couple of the new CAO Arcana Thunder Smoke this week.  After the Arcana Firewalker debacle, I was a tad concerned.  This is an interesting blend, it has the Olancho San Augustin wrapper, a San Andrés binder and fillers from Africa: Zimbabwe, South Africa and Cameroon.  I watched the final episode of The Grand Tour on Prime yesterday, and it just made sense to smoke a cigar with tobacco from Zimbabwe. I watched this on the recommendation of Nick from The Cigar Pulpit podcast, and a great recommendation it was. I’ve been a big fan of Top Gear, The Grand Tour, and many of the presenters offshoot shows for many years. This cigar, third in the Arcana series, the first was the Mortal Coil, followed by the abysmal Firewalker, then this one.  This was a really enjoyable cigar for me. It’s got a unique Mesquite flavor going on, something rather different and pleasing.  The band is oversized, but that’s about the only bad thing I can say about it!  I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed the Mortal Coil, which I liked a great deal. 

 

I realized that My Father cigars were severely underrepresented on my site, and in my rotation, so I decided to branch out and pick something I haven’t tried before up every now and then.  I grabbed a Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Super Gordo a week or so ago at a local shop.  The Super Gordo is 5¾” x 66, in a torpedo format so the excessive girth isn’t quite so unwieldy.  This does come in a 7″ x 70, which they didn’t have, nor would I have bought.  It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, an Ecuador binder and fillers from the Garcia farms in Nicaragua. Now that I remember, I smoked one of these last May in the Toro size and, although I had a cold, recall enjoying it. These are reasonably priced, hovering around $10 depending on the size. This Super Gordo might have been around $11.  This was an exceptional cigar, I really liked it.  It started out spicy, and the strength built up as it smoked, to a pretty full bodied cigar near the end. It had the sweet coffee/cocoa that I like in a Broadleaf wrapper. This was excellent. I want more.

 

Finally, I spied the Don Pepin Garcia Vegas Cubanas on the shelf, the green band is ey-catching.  This is another line that has been around a while, but has eluded my attention. This is another reasonably priced cigar, I think the Generosos (6″ x 50) was under $9.  Funny, ten years ago buying an $9 cigar to me was like buying a +$15 cigar today, it was very hard for me to justify!  This cigar has a nice looking Habano Rosado wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers. This is one I’ll pass on revisiting, I’m afraid.  It was nice enough, although it had a floral component that didn’t really do it for me.  Maybe it would be better in the morning, although floral isn’t ever really in my wheelhouse. I tolerate it, but it’s not a preference. If you enjoy floral cigar, this is for you!  Next time I’ll pick up some other cigars in the Don Pepin line, I haven’t had any of them in a while.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | May 26, 2024 · 8:39 am

Villiger 1888, Diesel Whiskey Row and Jaime Garcia Cigars

I’m going to preface this post with the following disclaimer:  ignore any tasting notes I might write this week.  I had probably the worst cold I’ve had in years this week, so I took a few days off smoking (not in a row!).  I did a fair amount of nose spray (I have a very low tolerance for not being able to breath through my nose), some cough drops, and some Nyquil to get through it.  I’m feeling much better, thanks.  Since I quit smoking cigarettes and had sinus surgery in 2007 I haven’t had nearly the severe colds that I used to get, and I haven’t had bronchitis since, which is a very good thing.  This cold was way worse than when I had Covid two years ago. When I finally had a cigar Friday, it tasted interesting. I started back with a Villiger 1888 Nicaragua in Churchill size. I wrote about this line almost a year ago (here), Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Pennsylvanian fillers, made at the Villiger de Nicaragua (Joya de Nicaragua) factory.  I forgot to ask René about the factory situation when I saw him last week. This is a proper Churchill at 7″ x 47, which I love. Anyway, the flavor was popping with a rich, mouth-coating cocoa with a hint of licorice.  I loved the flavor, although I didn’t remember this cigar having those qualities.  I loved it.

 

Saturday I had accomplished a lot by about 2:30, so I figured it was time for a cigar.  I had gone to home depot, picked up a bundle of oak hardwood flooring, started installing the hardwood (we had about a 50 square foot section that we tore up because it was badly stained), and mowed the backyard. I picked a Diesel Whisky Row Founders Collection Mizanura that was gifted to me by a dude I see at cigar events all over.  I even ran into Steve when I was in Tampa a year or so ago.  From the Diesel website: “This full-bodied blend boasts a dark Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper and spicy filler tobacco from Nicaragua, but the real star lies at its core. We aged the Connecticut Broadleaf binder in Rabbit Hole’s rare Japanese Mizunara oak barrels—the same ones used to age their Founder’s Collection Bourbon. The result? A smooth, robust cigar with great complexity.” Tis is presented in a 6″ x 52 Toro. I’m a big fan of the Sherry Cask version of the Whiskey Row, not so much the original blend. This was another cigar that had very pronounced flavor, however, it was very much like the last.  This is a cigar I’m going to have to find another and try again when I’m back to full health. Now, the flavor I’m getting from these cigars is really great, it’s a flavor I enjoy, but if all cigars taste the same that’s no fun, is it?  I really enjoyed this cigar, thanks Steve!

 

Finally, I had picked up a Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Toro locally, and, again, I’ll grab another one one of these days to see what it really tastes like!  I hope it tastes as good as this one.  I usually think that having a cold adversely affects taste, this time it really seemed to enhance it. This was a delicious cigar.  It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, an Ecuador binder and fillers from the Garcia farms in Nicaragua.  This toro is 6″ x 54.  Like I said, this was a great smoke, hard to believe I haven’t smoked this before. I can’t help but compare the flavors to the previous two, although there’s little reason the three should taste similar, except that my taste buds are compromised.  I’m going to smoke a Connecticut shade cigar today and see what happens. If it tastes the same I’m going to smoke some cigars that I don’t usually care for! Usually cigars don’t taste this good on the downside of a cold!  Whatever the cause, I’m not mad about it, the cigars tasted great.  Weird stuff.  While I can’t say that you’ll taste what I tasted in these three cigars, I thought they were all excellent, so don’t be afraid to try them if you haven’t already!  

 

Many thanks to our fallen soldiers and their families as we celebrate Memorial Day in our own ways.  I’m hoping to finish up this floor over the next two days, and get the front lawn cut.  I’ll smoke  a few cigars too. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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