Tag Archives: JR Cigars

by | November 13, 2011 · 9:51 am

A 601 La Bomba, a San Lotano Oval, News and a Contest Winner!

While perusing CigarEvents.com it came to my attention that Eddie Ortega of EO Brands was going to be making an appearance at my local shop, JM Cigars, in Exton, PA. After dinner my son and I made our way over there.  We promptly purchased some of the last 601 La Bombas that they had and fired one of these badboys up and visited with Eddie for a while. I have been patronizing this shop since the mid-90s and it’s one of the best around.  The shop was packed and the LA Bomba was awesome. I had only previously had a pre-release sample, which I loved.  These are terrific cigars with a little bit of strength.  It’s always a good time hanging out with Eddie, and I got to catch up with an old friend, Rob, after the shop cleared out.  Nice bunch of folks, and a fine way to spend a chilly Friday evening.

 

Saturday’s walk cigar was a San Lotano Oval which I received from Clay at AJ Fernandez a few months ago.  These cigars are unique in the fact that they, as the name implies, are oval shaped.  I smoked the 6 x 54 toro, which looks like it was squished.  The shape is very comfortable to smoke, and, like a box press, it doesn’t roll off the table when you set it down. there’s a bright flavor in this cigar that I enjoy but can’t put a finger on.  All I know is that this is a tasty, well made and interesting cigar! I look forward to a maduro version one day!

 

News

There were two new entries into the blogosphere recently that I think are notable.  First, Frank Seltzer, who you see writing in all the big cigar magazines and around the web, is now contributing to the JR Cigars blog.   Frank is a real journalist, and I’m proud to say he’s an old friend.  He has a couple articles in the latest JR catalog as well.  Also breaking into the blog world is Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars, with “From Seed To Smoke“.  Gary’s pretty prolific on Twitter and he’s making some outstanding cigars and is a heck of a nice guy who I’m also proud to call friend.  I look forward to reading what he has to say.  I HAVE to get down to Delaware and visit him at his shop one of these days!

 

Contest!

Let’s get to the part you’ve all been waiting for, the selection of this month’s contest winner.  The prize consists of the following: a Drew Estate cap and a Liga Privada cutter, a Stogieboys.com Cigar Journal, a C-Gars Ltd. ring gauge card, a Liga Privada T52 Belicoso, a Monte Pascoal Belicoso and a American Eagles Half Corona.   Thank you to all of the generous sponsors of this contest. As usual, I created a spreadsheet of the eligible entries and assigned them numbers based upon the time of the entry.  I consulted with the Random.Org True Random Number Generator for the winning number.  The number 19 came up, which corresponds to an entry via Twitter by @s5592c, aka Steve Christopher.  Congrats to Steve and thanks for reading!  Please e-mail me your contact info so I can ship this stuff out to you! Thanks to everyone for entering, and keep an eye out for next months contest!

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | June 22, 2011 · 7:14 pm

Take A Cigar For A Walk with Tommy Berry, Jr.: Acid Kuba Kuba, Montecristo, Diesel

Here’s a couple of “Take A Cigar For A Walk” installments from Tommy:

Well hello fellow cigar smokers! This past weekend, I took the opportunity to enjoy a recently purchased Acid Kuba Kuba. I was sitting on my front porch, enjoying the warm weather and this great smoke, when it dawned on me…what am I doing…sitting! So, I got up…at the point where you see my cigar in the photo and began to walk. I loved every minute of it. It was mid-afternoon…hot and loads of humidity. But, that is one sure way to lose some weight! So, I ended up walking for about 60 minutes while enjoying the Kuba Kuba. Now, I don’t care for many flavored cigars, but I really like the infused collection of Acid. The Kuba Kuba starts off very sweet. The flavors are then switched around between several noticeable spices and sweet tones. You’d really have to try one as I can never explain the actual “infused flavors” as Acid takes these to a whole new level. This cigar burned evenly throughout and I only had to relight one time. I think that was due to me not puffing on it often enough as I walked briskly. Overall, the Kuba Kuba was a new one to me but I enjoyed every minute of it…I would highly recommend you try this one.

Boot camp is going well, I have lost a total of 21lbs to date but I am feeling a lot of difference in my energy, my strength, and a lot of this has to do with my modified diet as well. I have a goal to get from where I started at 326 to 185. That is a big goal, so I am taking it one day at a time. I have had some slip ups on my eating, but my trainer and fellow recruits have really helped push me to stay on course. The TACFAW really helps give me the extra cardio that I need to sustain weight loss and keep moving forward. Signing up for this has definitely been one of the best things I could have done…in a long time!

It looks like we may get to close on our new home sometime next week…my fingers are staying crossed and hopefully I will have more to give on this come the next entry.

Most importantly, make sure that you are staying at it if you too are taking a cigar for a walk. Craig is doing awesome, and now I want to hear your stories too! Be sure to comment often on your success and even failures as myself and others may can help you stay on track to a better, fitter you…all the while enjoying your passion of a great cigar!

Long ashes to ya!

Tommy Berry, Jr.”

And:

I enjoyed a Montecristo Peruvian Buena Fortuna Maduro on a walk last night, thanks to waterboy…a friend of mine over at General Cigar’s website. I took my little dog with me so he too could enjoy the breeze (and we both needed the exercise!). This particular cigar came out of an 8 pack of two different cigars that “JR Cigars” offers in a small hard case “shopping bag”. This was my first time to smoke such a cigar and I have to say that I loved every minute of it. It was a great smoke, full of flavor, stayed lit the entire walk and burned perfectly. I tend to lean towards these sizes (5×47) and I was able to smoke it for about 45 minutes, a little short on the smoke time but still well worth it. The hints of coffee and “woods” that came from this also peppery smoke was a pleasant surprise indeed.

The walk was great and it ended my Father’s Day on a great note. I bought me some new shoes last week for boot camp, some Sketchers Shape Ups…which drove me to another walk last night, where I normally, on a Sunday would have just stayed home. I have to say that I love these shoes!

Anyway, I hope you are able to get out the door and on the sidewalk to enjoy a great cigar with a little exercise. Let us know…

Coming soon, I plan on doing a contest for other fellow TACFAW “players”…more details later!

Long ashes to ya!

Tommy Berry, Jr.

 

The last Kuba Kuba I smoked was a maduro in Nicaragua and it was the last cigar of the day (about the 8th).  It was not a bad cigar!  Once the saccharine sweetness on the wrapper disappeared, that is.  The Kuba Kuba is probably one of Drew Estate‘s best selling cigars, and I recall Marvin Samel telling a story of hearing that Johnny Depp was seen buying some Kuba Kuba’s and passing them out on a movie set and Marvin sent him a box.  There was a similar story about Steven Tyler.  Also, there was a news article about the Cuban government suing Drew Estate over the use of Kuba in the name.  How many of us ever thought the Acid Kuba Kuba might be a Havana cigar?  Pretty laughable….

I took a Diesel Unholy Cocktail for about a 2 mile walk last night that Tommy very kindly sent me a few weeks ago.  It was a fine cigar, I really like the flavor of the Pennsylvania broadleaf wrapper.  This one could have produced more smoke, but it was enjoyable none the less, and I deeply appreciate the gift!  Thanks to Tommy for the cigar and for your contributions!  As nice as it is to lounge around with a nice cigar, it doesn’t hurt to do some walking along with it.  I keep thinking about my visit to the Vulcan Masaya volcano in Nicaragua and how I probably would have struggled with the 177 steps to the observation area had I not been a fairly avid walker.

Don’t forget we have a contest going where someone can win a box of Oja Meztizo Artefactos courtesy of Luis of Oja Cigars!  Submit a patriotic picture link in the comments of the last post (http://www.cigarcraig.com/?p=1892) for a chance to win!  Also, pay a visit to Stogieboys.com and check out their selection.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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by | September 17, 2010 · 6:37 pm

The Week’s Cigars: Camacho, Murcialago, CAO – Friday, September 17, 2010

Sunday evening my family went to our local park to see the final installment of the Concerts in the Park series which featured Liverpool Beat, a Philadelphia area Beatles tribute band. I took along a Camacho Connecticut 11/18 to smoke during the show. Both the band and the cigar were excellent. The 11/18 is a perfecto shape of sorts, looks like a toro with a bulging middle (not unlike myself), at 6″ x 48/54/48 ring gauge. The Connecticut wrapper, which was flawless, tempers the strength of the blend a bit, but it’s still a formidable cigar strength-wise. I like the Camacho line quite a bit, but the lines that lean more toward medium are my favorites, the Havana line, Connecticut and, yes, the Corojo Candela are cigars that suit my palate the best. The band played a rousing set of early Beatles hits in costume and in character and were very entertaining. You can see my wife’s review of the band on her site Beatles-Freak.com.

On Thursday I noticed a tweet from Eddie Ortega (@eddieor) of EO Brands that he was traveling to the Philly area and visiting a local shop. My son and I took the 20 minute drive to Old Havana Cigars in West Chester to say hello. Eddie greeted us like an old friend. I picked up a handful of Murcialago robustos and lit one up (it was the traditional “buy 3, get one” deal, I got 3 robustos and got a free 601  Robusto). I lit up the Murcialago and hung out with Eddie for a while. Old Havana Cigars is a nice shop with a spacious lounge in the back. The walk-in humidor is also quite large and seemed well stocked. I have only stopped into this shop once before and found their prices on the high side, but I’m a cheap bastard and am easily sticker-shocked. The Murcialagos were in the $6 range and the 601s were around $7, which isn’t bad, all things considered. The cigar was very nice. It had a dark Mexican maduro wrapper that was very pretty. The burn was good and it had a nice, full flavor. I gave my son one and he enjoyed it as well. Here’s some cigar math for you: I purchased 3 cigars and got one free. I smoked one and gave one to my son, I walked out with two cigars. My son purchased 3 cigars, got one free, AND Eddie hooked him up with another cigar. He walked out with 5 cigars. Something went horribly wrong for me! Generally the rules of Bad cellphone pic! Forgot the camera again!cigar math are that when you go to a herf or an event, no matter how many cigars you smoke or gift, you always seem to come home with more than you took (which, in fairness, I did). I just have to assume that every once in a while there has to be some karmic correction or something. What comes around, goes around. In all seriousness, I take great pleasure in gifting a cigar, and to know that my son enjoyed the cigar and doesn’t mind hanging out with his old dad for an evening is worth much more to me than the cost of a fine cigar.  I took a little tangent there… It was a very nice evening hanging out with Eddie, who is a great guy and quite a character, as well as the folks at the shop. We spent quite a while chatting with one of the locals, a lawyer we’ll call “Alex”. Chatting with “Alex” reinforced my opinion that cigars can bring folks together that perhaps normally wouldn’t have the chance to interact with one another. We came across so many little things we had in common in a brief chat that it was pretty incredible. All in all it was a nice way to spend a rainy Thursday evening.

This Just In!

In the “new inmates in the humidor” department, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to buy a box of Chateau Real Small Club Coronas on JR Cigars Dutch Auction this week.  As I’m sure you know, I really enjoy this line and I fear that it is going away.  I’ll get some confirmation on that, but I picked up the box of 32 for under $50 delivered, which I thought was a dynamite deal for a cigar I like.  Heck, I’ve paid more than that for cigars I don’t like!  I also threw in a couple of cheap Klip-it key ring punch cutters to make me feel better about the $8.95 shipping charge.  Believe it or not, in 15 years of smoking cigars I’ve never owned a punch.  I figured for a whopping $1.25 I’d get a couple and see how they work.  s I’m writing this I’m enjoying a  CAO Black Bengal that I punched.  I have not particularly enjoyed this cigar in the past, but this one is very nice.  I doubt very much that the punch has anything to do with that, perhaps a couple more months in the humidor has helped, or maybe something else.  This is a nice, medium smoke that I’ve been enjoying on my deck as I type.  The burn has been dead even and except for a little flakiness in the ash, it’s exceeded my expectations.  The punch will find a home on my key ring for sure.

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

CigarCraig

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by | July 21, 2010 · 5:12 pm

Mid-week Cigar Post: Cohiba, Punch, Maria Mancini – Wednesday July 21, 2010

Saturday, after posting about the recent Cohiba judgment in favor of General Cigar, I pulled a Cohiba Puro Dominicana out of the box of goodies my friend Jason sent me some time ago. Cohibas, Dominican or Cuban, have never been in my regular rotation. I’ve always enjoyed them, but they just don’t really have the “bang for the buck” that falls into my comfort zone. I smoked this particular cigar, which measured about 5½ x 50 and it was OK…good cigar, but not mind-blowing. With about 2 inches or so left it didn’t want to stay lit. I was a little bored with it anyway so I let it go out. Since I couldn’t find this listed in my 2008 Perelman’s Guide, I assumed that it was a sample from last years IPCPR show. I looked on line and was stunned to find that these retail for between $13 and $16 each! Well, there are a lot of cigars that cost a lot less that I enjoy a lot more, heck, one can get very nice Cuban cigars for half that or better (not that I advocate any illegal activities such as purchasing contraband cigars). I would almost be more inclined to pay that much for a Havana Cohiba…almost. I would like to try the Lancero one of these days, but I’m not going to go out of my way to get one.

Sunday after grilling some very interesting seafood sausages we found at Trader Joes, I lit up a Punch Gran Puro Rancho. The sausages were interesting, a casing stuffed with shrimp, scallops and white fish which I grilled until they were nice and hot with grill marks. We ate them on some Amorosos rolls, but we just weren’t sure how to condimentize them. I suppose tartar sauce would have worked. Anyway, this isn’t a grilling blog, it’s about cigars. The Gran Puro was a nice cigar, not overpowering and it worked well after the seafood sausage. It had the consistency I expect from a Punch. Burned and drew nicely. A very pleasant hour or so spent smoking while I walked to the convenience store to collect my lottery winnings ($7 in the Powerball! Woohoo!).

Tuesday brought the first really disappointing cigar I’ve had in a while. I was in the mood for a Maria Mancini, and grabbed a Robusto Larga. These are stored in the same humidor as the rest of the cigars I have been smoking, but this cigar seemed like it was over-humidified. It tasted fine, but the smoke took some effort to get to and just felt damp. It wasn’t plugged, nor did it have any wrapper flaws, it just seemed too wet. I stuck with it for a while, but did put it down sooner than I would normally. I shouldn’t be to upset that a $2 cigar wasn’t great, but I’ve had a lot of luck with this line. I have so little time in my day to enjoy a cigar that when I get a dud it hurts a little.

Blowing Off Steam

It seems that rants have become fashionable in the cigar blogosphere, so here’s mine:   Foot bands.  I don’t like ’em.  They make the first part of the cigar taste funny….ok, kidding here, I do take them off before I light ’em, but that’s a pain as far as I’m concerned.  If I have a cigar with a normal band I leave it on until I get to the point where it’s going to be in the way, unless it’s coming off by itself. Foot bands have to be removed, no ifs, ands or buts.  Sorry Rocky, Sam, whoever else uses foot bands, if I’m cigar shopping I’ll probably pass unless it’s a single I really want to try.  I wouldn’t buy a box of foot banded cigars as that would just drive me insane.  Since I have to take the band off to light it, besides possibly damaging the foot of the cigar, I sometimes forget what it is I’m smoking!   And how are my pretentious friends supposed to know that I’m smoking?  Where’s the fun in that? So if you are coming out with a new cigar, skip the foot band, stick with the traditional placement. While your at it, don’t pattern the band after the Cuban Cohiba either, that’s just cliche and hokey.

That’s all I got for now,Time to go smoke a cigar.

CigarCraig

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by | June 20, 2010 · 7:42 pm

Weekend Cigars: La Aurora, Liga Privada, Esperanza – June 20, 2010

Today was Father’s Day, and leading up to it, I managed to smoke a few cigars this weekend.

Friday started the weekend with a La Aurora 1495 Robusto.  This cigar was well made and burned and drew nicely.  I didn’t particularly care for the flavor.  It had a rustic Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper, which I verified through a brief exchange with La Aurora company president Guillermo Leon via Twitter.  I was actually unaware that this was also offered in Cameroon, Corojo and Brazilian maduro until Guillermo asked me which wrapper it was.  I think I would like this in any of these other 3 wrappers over the one I smoked.  It’s pretty special to be able to communicate with someone of Señor Leon’s stature so quickly and easily, something that was not so easy in years past.  Most people involved in the cigar business are very approachable, but to have almost instant access is pretty cool!

Saturday my daughter and her husband took us out to the Longhorn Steakhouse for dinner.  After a great meal, which I partook of all 4 food groups (Filet, bacon wrapped scallops, and a piece of chicken from my wife’s salad), we came home and my children presented me with a very exciting Father’s Day gift.  They established a bank account for me to use to save up for a trip to Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari!  What a great gift and they even chipped in cash to get me started.  Now I just have to get to saving up so I can go to Nicaragua and visit the Drew Estate factory!  I had chosen a cigar to smoke after that great dinner, but quickly put it away and decided a Liga Privada No.9 Parejo since it seemed much more appropriate.  The cigar was exceptional as usual.  These are amazing cigars which are satisfying and delicious while not being overwhelming.  For those who don’t know, the Liga Privada line was blended as the personal cigar for company president Steve Saka.  I first became acquainted with Steve through the alt.smokers.cigars Usenet group in 1996.  He was a prolific poster on that group for many years until he took a job with JR’s Cigars, then eventually became president of Drew Estate.  He rarely is seen without a Liga Privada clenched in his jaw.  This is a cigar that is so smooth and satisfying that you really could smoke them all the time.  A tremendous cigar that I reserve for special occasions.

Since purchasing a box of Esperanza Para los Niños in 2000 for Father’s day I have smoked one of these every year since.  The cigar is a beautiful box pressed maduro that was made by Christian Eiroa of Camacho to raise money for children orphaned by Hurricane Mitch, which devastated Honduras in 1998.  Christian was an active contributor to alt.smokers.cigars at the time and brought several people to his facility to work on the blend for this cigar, with the proceeds going to charity.  They came up with this amazing blend and sold 45,000 cigars through their dedicated website.  I purchased a box of toros, of which I have one left after smoking and gifting them sparingly over the years.  Tonight I smoked a Chruchill which was gifted to me by a good friend who won a box a few years ago and knew that they were very special to me.  Oddly, the several cigars I’ve smoked over the past few years from this batch have been wonderful, lush and heavy maduro cigars, but when approaching the band have hit an almost amonia stretch.  I find this odd in a twelve year old cigar.  Still, this remains a special cigar to celebrate Father’s Day with, and I will continue to do so for the next few years.  That last toro will be the last to go, probably close to two decades after it was rolled.

I’m quite pleased to note that CigarCraig.com has risen two places on CigarTopsite.com from 19 to 17 in the past couple weeks.  Thank you very much to all of the folks who’ve paid a visit and mentioned and linked to the site.  This is something I enjoy writing, and it humbles me to know that there are folks who check in on a regular basis.  A Thank You is also due to my lovely bride who got me started on this and puts up with my obsession!  Keep an eye open for another contest coming up soon as July closes in on us!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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