Tag Archives: La Aroma de Cuba

by CigarCraig | June 19, 2016 · 9:15 am

A La Aroma de Cuba, Serino Cigars and Cornelius & Anthony’s Daddy Mac

Happy Father’s Day! I have a special cigar lined up for later, it’s been a tradition since 2000 that I smoke an Esperanza para los Niños every year. I’ve written about this cigar before, long story short, it was made by Christian Eiroa in 1998 to benefit the children orphaned by Hurricane Mitch, and was pretty much blended by and for members of the Usenet group alt.smokers.cigars. I still have a few left, one from a box I bought and some from the generosity of my friend Mike. Of course, this week I started a new job, which has occupied my thoughts, but I was able to enjoy some great cigars.

Tuesday I posted the great contest sponsored by Holt’s, and I went looking for a La Aroma de Cuba and the only one found was a Noblesse which was a birthday gift from Will Cooper a few years ago. He shouldn’t have, but he did and I quite enjoyed this cigar. The Noblesse is the top of the line La Aroma de Cuba, it’s got a Habano rosado wrapper, a double binder consisting of Habano and Criollo, and an aged selection of filler tobaccos from the Garcia family’s farms in the growing regions of Estelí, Jalapa and Namanji (which is about a 45 minute drive east of Esteli). It comes in a 6½” x toro and they only made 3000 x 24 count boxes in total. I found this to be an exceptional smoke, perfect construction and subtle and refined flavors from the well aged tobaccos, it had some sweetness and some spice, a really nice cigar.

Wednesday I dug into a sampler from Serino Cigars. The Serino Royale line is available in four blends, three of which I will talk about today (I didn’t get to the Medio blend, which is a Ecuador Habano Claro wrapped cigar). The cigars are made by Omar Gonzalez Alemán, who was the master blender at Cuba’s Partagas and La Corona Factories before starting the La Corona factory in Esteli (which may sound familiar as the factory that works which Hirochi Robaina, from what I recall). I started with the cigar that probably would have been the second cigar I chose, but the interesting size swayed me and fit the circumstance better. The Serino Royale Maduro in the Belicoso size is a 5½” x 60 figurado with a dark and oily Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper. This was a great smoke with some of the dark chocolate and coffee flavors I like. I’d smoke this again.

Thursday I went with the Connecticut Torpedo in the Serino Royale line. This is a classic 6 1/8″ x 52 torpedo with a Ecuador shade grown Connecticut wrapper. This medium bodied smoke was, once again, perfectly constructed and had fairly typical nutty, mellow flavors, but there was a lot of flavor so it was a very satisfying and enjoyable smoke. The entire range in the Serino Royale line has Jalapa binders and five years aged fillers from Omar Gonzalez Alemán’s own farms, and have been aging in La Corona’s aging rooms since 2014, and the age is apparent in the combustion and flavor of the cigars. These all seem to run in the $12-$13 area, so they are no cheap date, but worthy cigars none the less.

Friday I took a break from the Serino line to enjoy a Cornelius & Anthony Daddy Mac Gordo. I’ve smoked a couple of these in the toro and gordo sizes and these appear to be another great cigar out of the La Zona factory. Actually, last Sunday I enjoyed a Cornelius & Anthony Cornelius toro again, but you can refer back to my past post about that great cigar. the Daddy Mac line has a Brazilian wrapper, Ecuador binder and Nicaraguan fillers. As with all cigars from La Zona, the construction was right, the burn was right and it was a great smoke. I thought it was fairly chocolaty with some sweetness like a dried fruit and a little twinge of pepper. I have a couple of the smaller sizes in this line yet to smoke, but the 6″ x 60 Gordo was a very nice smoke. I look forward to catching up with the Cornelius & Anthony folks at the IPCPR show. I gotta say, I love the colors in the bands on these cigars.

Wrapping up the smokes for the week was the Serino Royale I would have led off with under normal circumstances, the Maduro XX Sublime (6¼”x54). Once again, this is wrapped in a Habano 2000 Oscuro from Ecuador and is a fuller bodied blend of the Maduro from earlier in the week. After spending the day painting ceilings (vaulted, no less), this was a great way to end the day. The Serino Royale Maduro XX is a strong cigar with great flavors of espresso and cocoa. While it was strong, it was fairy well-balanced, which is a good thing. This is a cigar I’ll be looking for more of. Carson Serino, the VP of Serino Cigars sent me a nice letter and pricelist along with the sampler, which was presented very nicely in a classy cardboard box, which was very helpful, considering they don’t seem to have a website to refer to. I can make the same complaint about Cornelius & Anthony, but at least they have a “coming soon” page. I also will have to find Serino Cigars at the show and ask them to explain the “20th Anniversary” on the packaging, there’s nothing I could find explaining that. These are very good smokes, although a bit pricy, but we better get used to that.

Contest Winner

Thanks again to the folks at Holt’s for providing the great La Aroma/San Cristobal ’92-95′ Rated Assortment for this week’s contest! If you get to Philly stop in to their shop and hang out for a bit. They have a nice lounge in the back (and Ashton Cigar Bar is upstairs). Whenever I get in there I am overwhelmed with the selection, and generally walk out with way more cigars than I need. I think they always run a “buy 5, get one free” thing, so that gets me in trouble. Thanks to Lexi there for putting this together. I’ve selected a winner at random and will need Allinton /wattley to send me an address to pass on to Holt’s. Thanks to all who entered and stay tuned for the next contest (probably won’t be quite as close together as the last two).

That’s all for today. Yesterday was the ceiling, today is the floor, followed by the Esparanza and we’ll see what else! Also, check out the special Bobalu Cigars is offering our readers for a limited time! Until the next time,

Cigar Craig

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Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Contest, Cornelius & Anthony, holt's, La Aroma de Cuba, Serino

by CigarCraig | June 14, 2016 · 9:09 pm

Father’s Day Cigar Contest Courtesy of Holt’s Cigar Company

OK, I still haven’t delivered the last contest winnings to Tim, who ended up being local to me. I’m a slug, I need to plan to meet up with him, I might have to put it in the mail to get it to him so he doesn’t think I’m a bad blogger! This week’s contest solves that problem as Holt’s Cigar Company will ship the present to the lucky winner. For Father’s day, they have been featuring a whole bunch of specials (here), so even if you aren’t the winner, you can be by visiting and picking something nice up for your dad, or for yourself! They have lots of great samplers and gifts for every budget and palate, and I’ve always enjoyed excellent service from them, going back nearly two decades both mail order and in their Philadelphia store.
Holt’s has generously offered their La Aroma/San Cristobal ’92-95′ Rated Assortment. This sampler includes 1 – La Aroma de Cuba Robusto (5.25 X 54), 1 – La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Belicoso (5.5 X 54), 1 – La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Reserva Maximo (5.5 X 54), 1 – San Cristobal Monumento (7.25 X 49) and 1 – San Cristobal Revelation Legend (6.25 X 52) I happen to enjoy these lines myself quite a bit, they are made in Esteli, Nicaragua by legendary cigar-maker Jose ‘Pepin’ Garcia. What a great assortment! Thanks to Lexi at Holt’s for providing this wonderful prize!

Rules are the same as always, if you’ve won recently, give everyone else a chance, and you must be of legal age to purchase tobacco in your jurisdiction. Leave a comment to enter, one per person, and only comments on this blog post count. I’ll select a winner at random on Sunday, June 19, 2016, which happens to be Father’s Day. The winner will need to send me their information so I can pass it on to the folks at Holt’s. Good Luck!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Contest, holt's, La Aroma de Cuba

by CigarCraig | February 12, 2014 · 9:35 am

My Sunday Visit to The Cigar Inn in New York City

Sunday I found myself in New York City with a few hours to kill and made my way to The Cigar Inn on 2nd Avenue around 54th street. This place came highly recommended and I hadn’t been there before, so it seemed like the right choice. I arrived at about 9:30 which was about an hour and a half early, so I wandered to a nearby McDonalds and had breakfast and sat down to fix Sunday’s post that I goofed up! That’s what happens when I deviate from my schedule and pre-write a post. I got it fixed for the most part, apologies to those who had to suffer through the less than optimally formatted post. Anyway, I headed back to The Cigar Inn right on time for their 11:00 opening time. If I have one complaint about this shop it was that it was late opening. It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine, if your sign says you open at a certain time, you should be open! I understand stuff happens, and the weather lately has not been exactly cooperating. I sucked it up and was happy to come in out of the cold when one of the owners arrived to open shop. As I had some time to look at the storefront while I waited, I noted that there was a small cigar store Indian, some shaving equipment, and some hats and shirts, no real evidence of cigars present, except for the name on the awning. Is this how the future may be?

Once inside, the store is really beautiful, lots of dark wood and leather. There’s a generously stocked walk in humidor to the left, and the counter on the right. Just past the humidor there is a fully appointed barbershop with two antique barber chairs and sinks. Just beyond that there’s a shoeshine stand on a raised platform. From there back there is a large bank of humidor lockers with tables and stools in front of them. The Cigar Aficionado branded lounge takes up the back of the store with comfy leather seating and several TVs. The back of the store has an atrium kind of feel with floor to ceiling windows looking out on a garden sort of area. Classical music is quietly playing in the background lending even more class to the place.

I bought my day’s supply of cigar from Bacz (I believe that was his name), who recommended their house brand and offered me the Brooklyn size to try. This is a 6″x60 with Nicaraguan fillers, a Honduran binder and a wrapper from Peru. This is a very nice smoke. It had a unique flavor, not your typical house blend, I think that the Peruvian wrapper really adds a flavor that sets it apart. It reminded me a little of the C-Gars Ltd. Inka Secret Blend from the UK. It was obviously my first cigar of the day and it wasn’t too heavy, but it wasn’t mild either. Loads of pleasant flavors, smokes very well with perfect construction and burn (I gave it a V-cut). I ended up going back and buying another Brooklyn and the 5″ x 60 Bronx. They were out of the smaller ring gauge sizes. At $9 in NYC, you have to try it if you find yourself in a Cigar Inn Shop.

I smoked a La Aroma de Cuba Monarch next, followed by the new Camacho Corojo Maduro toro, both I found to be pretty reasonable by NYC standards at around $8 each. Oddly, and I have to wonder if the first cigar may have had something to do with this, but both cigars had an “ashy” taste to them. I will need to revisit both of these because neither were very enjoyable, and they should have been. It’s a Winston cigarette kind of taste, which certainly may not be something everyone can relate to, but that’s how it struck me. I get the same sensation from Cuban Cuaba and Victor Sinclair cigars. I will say that it didn’t detract from the ambiance of the lounge, and I smoked the Camacho in the company of Matthias Clock, who writes the FineTobaccoNYC site. I had corresponded with him in the past and dropped him a note that I’d be in town. He was gracious enough to take some time to meet up with me and hang out for an hour or so. I always enjoy meeting peers in this endeavor of cigar smoking. Matthias organizes cigar events in New York City, so if you’re in the area check his site for the latest goings on. All in all, I had a nice, relaxing day in the big city, just hanging out and smoking cigars. If it hadn’t been so frigidly cold I might have been tempted to break some laws and have a cigar in Times Square or Central Park!

On a related note, last night I smoked an Inferno Flashpoint, a Famous Smoke Shop exclusive made for them by Oliva. From the website:

Inferno Flashpoint cigars are the sister act to the original Inferno by Oliva. The core blend consists of perfectly fermented, estate-grown Nicaraguan ligero longfillers balanced by a healthy dose of sweeter Jalapa-grown leaves, deftly wrapped in an exquisite Sumatra leaf. Expect a medium start that blooms into a creamy, complex, full-bodied flavor bomb. Order a box now, or test drive a 5-pack and discover this affordably-priced selection that will spread like wildfire among cigar lovers.

This cigar is a winner. The flavor was very clean, that’s what kept coming to mind. I really enjoyed the creamy flavor and smoked it until I could no longer tolerate the juxtaposition of freezing/burning fingers. As it says above, it’s smooth and creamy, but loaded with flavor. The burn was perfect and I never had to touch flame to it after the initial lighting. From the name you might think this would be a knock your head off spice bomb, but it’s not. It’s a rich, satisfying experience. Thanks to Travis at Famous for allowing me to experience these!

That’s plenty for now. Heading out to NYC again tonight to attend “The Official Memorial Tribute To Sid Bernstein – Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of “The Beatles’ Historic First Concerts at Carnegie Hall” Presented by The Bernstein Family and Sid Bernstein Presents…” at The Cutting Room. Won’t be a cigar journey this time, but will be pretty incredible anyway. Hopefully the impending snow storm tomorrow doesn’t get in the way! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Camacho, cigar, cigar store, cigars, Famous Smoke Shop, Flashpoint, Inferno, La Aroma de Cuba, oliva, The Cigar Inn

by CigarCraig | April 7, 2013 · 9:53 am

A Weekend In North Joisey: Casa Hispaniola in Englewood and Cigar Emporium in Lyndhurst

This weekend I’ve been in Secaucus, New Jersey hanging out with my wife while she helps some of her clients out at the New York Metro Fest For Beatles Fans. This festival takes over the entire Empire Meadowlands Hotel, and let me tell you, it’s an interesting group of folks. I’ve been Tweeting short videos via Keek here and there. I love the Beatles, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a reason one of my wife’s sites is Beatles-Freaks.com! There’s no shortage of loonies here. I’ve been poking fun via Keek and Twitter, but it’s probably not that much different than a herf or cigar festival is to the outside observer (OK, maybe there aren’t too many people dressed as their favorite cigar maker at cigar fests..). It’s certainly something to be experienced. Fortunately, while my wife was busy with her duties at the show, I was able to visit a few cigar shops and smoke some cigars.

Friday evening I ventured north to Englewood, NJ to seek out Casa Hispaniola. This is the retail/lounge arm of Hispaniola Cigars. Through a series of Tweets I had the great pleasure of meeting with Hugo Melo, one of the owners of the company. This is a nice little shop and lounge in what appears to be an upscale suburb of New York City. The shop has cabinet humidors lining two walls, plenty of comfy seating and quite a relaxing atmosphere. The selection was reasonable and certainly included the Hispaniola line of cigars, of which I smoked a Tres Carabelas, a name which refers to the three ships that Columbus sailed to explore the new world. This 5″ x 50 rubusto was smooth and tasty, and I found it to be fairly strong, on the high side of medium to me. It’s a Dominican puro, wrapped with a ruddy wrapper which is described as a “Havano Oscuro Vuelta Arriba”. Hugo mentioned that it contained several leaves of ligero, which was evident in the burn, it required some touch ups, but nethier the draw or flavor seemed to be compromised. In short, it was a tasty treat. Prior to Hugo’s arrival at the shop I enjoyed a La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor robusto, and, as I stated in my previous article’s comments, I can be reasonably certain that this is the same as the UK/Europe market’s La Aroma del Caribe Mi Amor. It was a stellar smoke, spice at the start and nice cocoa/coffee flavors throughout. It was a great way to spend and evening and reinforces the theory that a cigar shop is a safe haven for any traveler, one feels at home and a stranger can sit down and join in on the conversation and feel at home.

Saturday, after a very surreal late Friday night, seeing everything from people with Beatles t-shirts, to a Jake Blues impersonator (?), and after a decent continental breakfast at the hotel, I managed to make my way a few miles to Cigar Emporium in Lyndhurst, NJ. I had put out some correspondence to some of the locals, and Alex Martinez (Stogiecop.com), Matt Ross (@MattSRoss81) and Antonio Lam (Reinado Cigars) were kind enough to take time out of their Saturday and bring some friends along as well to smoke a few cigars with an out-of-towner. The shop is very nice. The walk-in humidor is expansive and I like the fact that it’s down a few steps from the lounge area. I don’t know why I liked that, but it was different and sets it apart from other shops. The selection was quite good, and the prices were typical New Jersey prices. I selected an EP Carillo Core Maduro Club 52 to get started. This was a very nice cigar, not strong at all, but very well balanced and flavorful. I followed that with an enormous San Lotano Oval Gordo, a 6½” x 60. The “oval” presentation makes this easier to handle, and it’s a tremendous smoke. This lasted me close to two hours. I was there for about 5 hours, and it went by in a flash. I appreciate these guys coming out, it was great to see Antonio again and actually get to talk to him as opposed to interviewing him at the IPCPR show, and I look forward to smoking his Grand Empire Reserve again (stay tuned). I was also quite happy to finally meet Alex and Matt after having corresponded with them both over the years. Thanks for a great afternoon, and thanks to the staff of Cigar Emporium for their hospitality.

I have a few hours to kill this afternoon, maybe I’ll head back to Cigar Emporium since it was so close and so good. It’s been a great weekend. Don’t forget to go back to Wednesday’s post and enter the contest to win some excellent Recluse Kanu No. 1 cigars. I’ll select a winner in next Sunday’s post, so leave a comment answering the question: “What do you know about Recluse Cigars?”

Also, don’t forget the promo codes that are currently available for your use:

You can use the code “MPCGRS10” on CigarFromBrazil.com to get %10 off any purchase on the site. The Monte Pascoal cigars are very nice.

ItalianSmokes.com has a special offer code for you, it’s CIGCRAIG10 and will get you 10% off your purchase of their selection of Toscano style cigars.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Casa Hispaniola, cigar, Cigar Emporium, cigar store, cigars, Contest, EP Carillo, Hispaniola, La Aroma de Cuba, New Jersey, san lotano