Tag Archives: JRE

by | September 1, 2024 · 9:25 am

A Djeep Lighter, New La Gloria Cubana, Punch and Los Statos Deluxe Cigars

Welcome to the “last weekend  of summer”.  My birthday and Labor Day always get me down as they indicate the coming of cooler, and eventually cold, weather, which I dislike.  I like summer.  I like stepping outside in the morning and feeling warm.  I like not having to bundle up.  I know some people like autumn, but it just depresses me.  I’m already looking forward to spring! Anyway, I was going through the checkout line at Walmart this week and my eye usually looks at the selection of lighters, and I saw something I hadn’t seen before, a Djeep Turbo Lighter.  I figured for $5 it was worth a try. I broke a couple torches lately, although I still have plenty, but one more won’t hurt.  It comes full of butane, ready to go, and really works well. It brings to mind the classic Blazer PB207, as it has a cap secured with a chain. It, thankfully, doesn’t have a switch to lock the flame on, which I always thought was a liability. The flame is adjustable and it’s refillable. I’ll use the heck out of it and see how it holds up, but initially I’m impressed.  Djeep is a good name in lighters, the soft flame disposable has always done well, I think I had one Macanudo branded many years ago.  There are probably cheaper torches that work just fine, but this is a brand name and is easily accessible. The link is to Amazon where they sell a six pack and is an affiliate link. If twenty of you buy these it might pay for the one I bought! 

 

I received some new releases from Forged Cigars and General cigars a couple weeks back, and was disappointed to receive the press release, but not the cigars,  for a new La Gloria Cubana, a long time favorite brand.  Fortunately, my friend Phil of Comedy-Cigars-Music shared a couple of his with me.  The La Gloria Cubana Gran Legado is a large figurado, 7¾” x 62, with a Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper over Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers.  Each cigar has a secondary band with a signature of one of the team who created it, and they only use rollers with 15 or more years of experience.  I had a busy week at the day job, and was ready to sit down and relax with a cigar Friday, and I chose this large cigar to do it with.  This was a really good smoke.  I’ve had some issues with some of the La Gloria releases lately, but this ain’t one of them.  It’s huge, so it smoked for about two and a half hours, and had some nice cocoa flavors with some spice through the nose.  Mid way through there was some interesting savory flavors, a cigar this large needs some transitions to keep it interesting.  I really enjoyed this cigar, I think it’s very fairly priced at $15, and I really appreciate Phil sharing his with me.  

 

Next up from Forged was the latest Matt Booth/Justin Andrews colab in the Los Statos Deluxe line, the Connecticut. I’ll be honest, I thought the other “LSD” offerings were OK, but I really like this one, and it’s really hard to get me excited about shade wrapped cigars.  This one has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Esteli, Jalapa, Nicaraguan Habano, and PA Broadleaf fillers, and, get this, it’s made at the Joya de Nicaragua factory!  No wonder I liked it.  Before I read where it was made, I was thinking that this was a really good budget alternative to a Sobremesa Brulee, and now I know why!  This is on a par with the Antaño CT and the Brulee as far as I’m concerned. I’ve smoked a couple of these and really enjoyed them, it’s a smooth, creamy cigar, with some cane sugar sweetness and an appropriate amount of spice.  I need to find some of the other sizes, the Churchill especially.  Look for the purple packaging, because you can’t see the wrapper to know what you’re getting!

 

Moving from the Forged division of STG to the General Cigar Co. side,  I smoked the new Punch Golden Era in Lancero.  Nearly a year ago I wrote about the robusto in this collaboration with Julio and Justo Eiroa of JRE Cigars.  I remember getting the Golden Era along with the Macanudo Vintage Maduro 2013 and being confused by the fact that the Macanudo was the stronger cigar. Like I mentioned last year, unlike the Punch Rare Corojo, this Golden Era actually has Corojo in the blend, Honduran Corojo wrapper with Honduran Corojo and Habano fillers.  This is a nice cigar with some bread and caramel notes.  The press release incorrectly states that this is the only Punch lancero, unless the 7″ x 37 Chop Suey doesn’t count because it was limited.  I think the lancero was better than the robusto, I planned to smoke one while writing this, but a persisting migraine made me scrap that idea. I’ll have one later.  

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | April 3, 2022 · 10:41 am

Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua, Aladino Vintage and Punch Rare Corojo Cigars

I had an interesting week, so I smoked some interesting cigars, at least to me. I had a situation which required fasting, so I smoked a Perla Del Mar Connecticut which was really quite good, and after breaking the fast, I had a Diamond Crown, keeping it in the family, and also fairly mild! But let’s start with the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua in the Vibrato size. This is a 6″ x 54 box pressed toro with a dark Nicaraguan Sumatra wrapper. It’s a puro, all Nicaraguan. This cigar was in a sampler I received at the TPE show from the Altadis USA booth. There were some Upmann and Romeo cigars in there too. I think it’s weird that this size isn’t lists on the Altadis website, so maybe it’s new.  As folks who have followed along may recall, my preferences don’t generally favor Altadis products, with some exceptions, notably the cigars made by A.J. Fernandez, and the occasional Montecristo here and there. I’m not entirely sure why this is, it just is. Different strokes, I guess. Anyway, this one was exceptional. It was CA’s cigar of the year in 2019, I guess, and I remember smoking it back then, but this one was much better, darker, more rich and dense. There was a sweetness, which I attribute to the Sumatra. I enjoyed this cigar so much more than I remember liking the cigar of the year when I smoking it in early 2020. The size was to my liking as well.

 

Friday evening one of the cigars I smoked while working at Son’s was an Aladino Vintage Selection Elegante, which is the 7″ x 38 lancero. For some reason I was in a Lancero mood. It seems that the interruptions, interactions, et cetera, involved in smoking while working retail lend themselves nicely to the pacing required to the enjoyment of a lancero. At least for me. This cigar has a Habano wrapper, and, unlike the next cigar I’m going to talk about, has Corojo binder and fillers. Of course, the Eiroa family is well known for Corojo tobacco. I can’t tell you how many Camacho Corojos I smoked back in the early 2000’s. This was a very good smoke, again with a hint of sweetness, but overall just good, clean tobacco goodness. Even after having smoked a very good Oliva Masterblend 3, not nearly as good as they used to be, by the way, the Aladino Lancero was excellent. I think it smoked for nearly 2 hours. 

 

Yesterday I smoked the new Punch Rare Corojo Aristocrat. The funny thing about this cigar has always been, despite the name, it has never had any Corojo tobacco in the blend. It has an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan, Honduran and Dominican fillers. I never could figure out why they called it Rare Corojo, obviously the Corojo is so rare in this cigar that it’s non-existent! Let’s talk about the size of this cigar for a minute. It’s a 6 1/8” x 40/54 figurado. The press release says “This special size was originally made at the Villazon factory, commissioned by Frank Llaneza who founded Punch in Honduras. Frank made what he referred to as a baseball bat-size cigar for Red Auerbach and Art Rooney, two sports legends.” It reminds me of the Cuban Partagas Presidente, but I looked it up and that’s only a 47 ring gauge, and an eighth of an inch longer. I love the size and shape. I also love the flavor, and always have enjoyed the Rare Corojos, despite the name thing. That hint of sweetness from the Sumatra that I love, and it builds in strength. I dig it.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | September 13, 2020 · 10:24 am

Aladino Vintage Sellection and Fratello Sorello Cigars

First a note about my STFU!!! post of last week. This is directed to those who didn’t read it because of the spoiler factor (Will Cooper), please bookmark it and circle back to it after Saka reveals the details, or you’ve made your own judgements, whatever your personal criteria might be, as I think you’ll find some entertainment value in the piece regardless of my findings on the sampler. At least I hope so! I always go for laughs first, at least it reads that way in my head! Thanks for those who did read and comment!

 

This week flew by, and I found myself grabbing cigars that I’d written about before, so yesterday I had to smoke a few new ones. I ran some errands in the morning then cut the grass, so I went for a short cigar, the 4½ x 48 Aladino Vintage Selection Rothschild.  I believe this is relatively new to the market, and I also believe that this has a relatively reasonable price point, just over $6. This cigar has a Habano wrapper and Corojo binder and fillers grown in Honduras by the Eiroas, and they were rolled 4 or 5 years ago, hence the “Vintage” moniker. Had this been priced higher due to the “Vintage” tag, I would have been a little bummed, but as it is, it was a really tasty cigar. Here’s what I mean by that: As I was smoking it I was thinking that this wasn’t really anything more special than the regular Aladino line, which is really good, mond you. I saw the “Vintage” sub-band and had a perception that it was going to be more expensive and therefore should be more special. When I saw the price, I thought, hey, this is a darned good smoke, full flavored, nice spice, like a well aged Camacho Corojo from 2002ish. Was that a negative thing to say about the cigar? I don’t think so, I think it’s a great cigar that’s priced right! 

 

When I bought the Macanudo Inspirado Greens a few weeks back, I also added on a Fratello Space Fresh Pack, which I honestly thought I had missed out on. I saw them listed, and for $20 even, I had to add one on, and I’m kinda kicking myself for not getting two. The Space Fresh Pack has the Fratello Classico, Fratello Bianco II, the Arlequin and the Sorella, all in 6″ x 50 formats. This was a bit of a test flight, if you will, for the Arlquin and Sorella, and they decided to release the Sorella in two sizes (newither being the 6″ x 50) in Europe. So I smoked the Sorella last night. Sorella features an Habano Ecuador wrapper, Indonesian Binder and Nicaragua and Dominican filler. There are very few Fratello cigars I don’t like, OK, there aren’t any really. There are obviously some I like over others, I love the Bianco Boxer most of all I think. I believe I understand why this cigar might appeal to the European palette, and this isn’t a slight on either the Europeans or the cigar. The cigar was a very good cigar, it was subtle, nuanced, without the pronounced flavors that the American palate is accustomed to. I think this is why it might have more appeal abroad than in the US. I’m excited to try the Arlequin now, and might have to get more packs. I bought them at one of the great sites who supports my site (Fox). 

 

I revisited the Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro this week and have to say I still prefer the 20th Maduro and the 10th Habano. Weird, huh? Anyway, that’s all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig 

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by | August 23, 2020 · 10:46 am

A Liga Privada Serie Unico “A” and Some JRE Aladino Cigars

Friday wrapped up my first week at the new job, and I felt like it was a success, and my boss expressed his satisfaction, so it seems like it’s going to be a good gig. As I often do, I rummaged through the humidors looking for a cigar, and I wanted something befitting the occasion, but not only did I want something to celebrate the end of the work week (by the way, this is the first time since April of 2018 that I’ve worked Monday to Friday, 8-4:30, like a regular person!), but I also wanted something that would get me fairly deep into game 6 of the Flyers, possibly clinching, playoff game. I was in the NewAir CC-300H and spied a pair of Drew Estate Liga Privada Serie Unico “A”s, one each from two of the Barnsmokers I’ve been to on the top shelf. I also have a coffin with two that’s probably 6 years old in there, but these two were just sitting there on the shelf, vulnerable, so I took one to smoke. I figured this was a great occasion for a 9¼” x 48 cigar. I must have smoked one of these sometime over the past few years, because I should have had one more I think, but I can’t really remember. I took a walk, my usual one mile loop, and got back and had a double corona. By the time the Hockey game started I had a Churchill. The cigar got me through the first two periods. The timing was excellent. Flavorwise it was a nice cigar, T-52ish on the Liga scale. It has the Stalk Cut Connecticut Habano wrapper, which is amazing that the grow the leaves that large.  It starts a little milder than a normal Liga, but the smoke has a mile of tobacco to filter it. It was a great tasting cigar, not overly unique or exciting, but interesting enough to not get bored with it over the two and a half hours I spent smoking it. Would I smoke another one? You bet! 

 

I’m smoking an JRE Aladino Connecticut Robusto as I type this, more as we go along. CigarProp Kevin sent me an Aladino sampler and apart from the Maduro, Toro and Lancero I really haven’t smoked any JRE cigars. I’ve been working my way through the sampler this weekend. I started with the Aladino Corojo Reserva. One can’t help but notice the similarity between the Aladino band and the old Camacho bands, and the similarity extends to the authentic corojo in blend and the fact that the flavor of the cigar harkens back to the many Camacho Corojos I smoked in the 90s and early 2000s, when Julio Eiroa and his son Christian owned Camacho. I actually smoked my first Camacho in 1996, but it was pre-Christian’s involvement I think. This is a bold smoke with rich leather and spice and I liked it a lot, as much for the sentimentality as the flavor. It was perfectly constructed, and a pleasure to smoke.

 

The Connecticut is very flavorful, not at all mild, and quite tasty! Perfect with coffee and staying lit while I’m ignoring it for long stretches while I type my nonsense. I was quite intrigued by the JRE Aladino Cameroon. Any time I see a Cameroon made by someone that’s not Fuente, La Aurora, Partagas, or someone who’s been making Cameroon cigars for decades, I look forward to seeing the interpretation. I love Cameroon, it’s a great tasting wrapper, and even when used as a binder it adds a little something extra (look at the CroMagnon, it has a Cameroon binder and I think that is part of what makes it unique). This is another Aladino that burned perfectly. They really know how to make cigars right in this factory. I’m guessing the whole Bayer Crop Science processes they use on the farms extends to the factory as well, with regards to the quality control processes. The Cameroon had the nutty flavor on top of a fairly full bodied core which is a little different. Cameroon was almost a background flavor and not dominant, as it is in many cigars with that wrapper. That was my take on it anyway. The same can be said for this Connecticut I’m smoking now, although the shade wrapper flavor is a bit more dominant, but the slight sweet grassiness is there, but it’s got a bit off ass to it! It’s no wimpy smoke. I have to say, my favorite Connecticut wrapped cigars hail from Honduras, and this ranks right up there. Very nice. 

 

So far, I have to say that to my palate, the JRE line suits me more than the CLE line. I’ve known Christian personally for many years (and he’s never once given me a cigar, btw 😁, no that it factors in to this), but I haven’t yet found a CLE cigar that trips my trigger. The Asylums I like. JRE, in my limited sampling, are outstanding, remind me of the tons of Camachos I smoked years ago, and get my attention. Thanks again to Kevin for sharing. Speaking of Kevin, and there will be more on this later, but head over to Smoke Inn and buy one of his samplers in their Battle of the Bands! All of the contestants are great, all of them are friends of mine, but I think Kevin is the new guy on the block and the underdog, and has a great sampler. That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig 

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by | November 25, 2018 · 10:39 am

Thanksgiving Week Cigars, Partagas, Aladino, Ashton, etc.

It was a long week with a holiday that included traveling and working Black Friday for the first time in 29 years (I might have worked one in there somewhere, but it was a rare occasion)! It was also unseasonably cold this week, so between that and my schedule, I didn’t take my usual evening walks and opted to relax on the porch after a long day instead. So I don’t have anything really new to report on this week. The cigars I smoked were all cigars I’ve enjoyed in the past. There was an Umbagog from Dunbarton Tobacco ad Trust in the mix, a great smoke which I adore. This is on my “goto” list with the likes of the Nica Rustica and Cornelius & Anthony Señor Esugars when I want cigar perfection. I had a La Gloria Coleccoin Reserva in there too, another recent favorite. This time I went big with the Presidente, despite the cold, the porch was tolerable and the cigar was fantastic.

 

I try to smoke something special on holidays, so when we finally got home on Thanksgiving after spending a nice day in New Jersey with family, I lit up an Ashton VSG Belicoso No.1 from a box I’ve had for a year and half or more. The Belicoso No.1 is 5¼ x 52 and is wrapped in a Sumatra wrapper grown on a private estate in Ecuador, which is ironic considering Ecuador is typically always cloud-covered, at least where the Ecuador Connecticut tobacco is grown is, yet it’s called Virgin Sun Grown. It’s a Dominican cigar, made by Fuente, but it’s not a mild cigar by any stretch of the imagination, it’s full flavored and on the high side of medium. This like has been around since 1999, and is another one of those classic cigars that has stood the test of time, and I think should be a staple in every humidor.

 

Friday I got home from the Black Friday craziness and had an Aladino Maduro Toro from JRE Tobacco.  This is a box pressed 6″ x 50 cigar that was originally exclusive to 2 Guys Smoke Shop, I assume it’s in wider distribution now. Side note, it was a year ago today that my wife, Macha and I went up to 2 Guys in Salem, NH and witnessed the 400th episode of The Cigar Authority. It’s hard to believe it’s been a year!  Anyway, this Aladina Maduro is less “maduro” tasting than I expected or remembered from smoking it before, which is OK, because it’s still very good. It harkens back to the old Camacho Corojos from years ago a little, as it is all Corojo with a San Andrés wrapper. It really was an enjoyable cigar, although I was expecting it to be more along the lines of what one expects from a San Andrés wrapped cigar. This was from the original release, I ordered a couple of each of the toro and lancero to try when they came out, I think I have a lancero left still. That will have to wait until warmer weather, I avoid lanceros in the colder months usually.

 

Last night I got home and just had it in my head that I wanted to smoke a Partagas Legend for some reason. I happened to have the 6¼” x 54 Toro Leyenda on hand, which is my preferred size anyway, although a robusto would have been fine (it doesn’t come in a robusto). This cigar has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, the Honduran Olancho San Augustine Binder that General uses on a lot of cigars lately (they, no doubt, bought the entire crop and had a great yield a few years back! it seems to show up in just about every new cigar description), and Dominican fillers. I sat down and lit this up on the porch with the Flyers game on the iPad, which got turned off after the first period because it was so bad, and threatened to ruin the great cigar. You know how José Blanco says that sitting next to an Asshole will ruin a great cigar?  well, watching a bad hockey game can do it too. I really like this cigar, although it’s not necessarily a cheap date at around $14 each, but still a very good cigar.

 

That’s about all for today, I hope everyone had a safe and satisfying Thanksgiving if you are in the US and celebrate such things! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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