Tag Archives: La Aurora

by Craig Vanderslice | December 8, 2019 · 10:39 am

Random Cigars and a Dunbarton Event at BnB Cigars in Philly

I already posted this week about the new cigar I smoked, and I’ll get to the other one in a bit, but first I want to recap a few other cigars I revisited during the course of the week. I’ve been busying myself helping out a friend and continuing my job search. It’s a bad time of year for this sort of thing, but I did it once in 2002, so I should be able to pull it off again. so I’ve been continuing my evening routine of having a cigar and taking a walk, weather permitting. It’s been cold (or advancing age has reduced my tolerance), so I’ve been choosing more robustos, so one day this week I grabbed a La Aurora 1962 Corojo Robusto. Since I bought my first box of cigars in 1996 (La Aurora Bristol Especiales), I’ve always had some La Auroras in the humidor. It’s a sentimental choice for a few reasons. My celebration cigar when my grandchildren were born was the 2003 Puro Vintage, and I have two stashed for the next two grand children, but I suspect they will be very well aged by the time I’ll be smoking them. My daughter’s name is Aurora, which might be important information in this story, ties it together, I suppose. She may still have that old box from 1996 someplace. Anyway, the 1962 Corojo uses a Dominican Corojo wrapper, Ecuador binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers and is a medium bodied cigar with nice flavor. It’s one of those cigars that I can’t really pinpoint flavors but it’s flavors I like, and I know I can just grab one and have a good experience. Honestly, I’ve only ever smoked the 5″ x 50 robusto, so I’d solve to try this in the toro or Churchill size one of these days. I want to say the the 1903 Cameroon and 1987 Connecticut have the same binder and filler, with only the wrapper being different, I like all three.

If I were going to do something crazy, like have a cigar of the year, my next cigar would be in the running, or at least the brand would. I might just do it, because the Don Juan Calavera line from Danli Honduras Tabaco has really captured my corozón! I smoked the Connecticut this week, because it’s hard for me to not smoke these all up. I’m at a serious crossroads as to which of their three offerings is my favorite, Connecticut, Sumatra, or Maduro. The Connecticut is atypical, it is creamy, but not grassy, and not at all mild. Like every cigar I’ve smoked from the line, the construction has been excellent, burn and draw have been perfect. I’m trying to find out the best pathway to purchase these, so far e-mailing them, using the form on their website, or contacting them via Facebook seems to be the only way to buy them. As soon as can provide an easy to follow guide to purchasing these I’ll post it, because everyone should be enjoying these. Edit: I just received word that at this time contacting the manufacturer is one way to get them, but two stores in Virginia carry them, Blacksburg Pipe & Tobacco (Blacksburg VA) and Milan Tobacconists (Roanoke VA). Try calling these stores to purchase the cigars. I should save some gushing for that cigar brand of the year post! Shh…don’t tell anyone!

Yesterday I finally had the opportunity to smoke the Mi Querida Triqui Traca, and I did so at BnB Cigars in Chestnut Hill, PA. They were having an event there with Steve Saka and Dave Lafferty (Cindy Saka was there too) of Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, with a bunch of test blends that Steve had accumulated over the years as add-ons to purchases. I smoked one which was obviously a Mi Querida Gordita with some variation of the wrapper, although who could tell? It was delicious. Of course, I always learn stuff hanging with these guys, and the store is a cornucopia of boutique cigars. I highly recommend a visit there, if not in person, check them out for your online shopping, as Vince has curated an amazing selection of cigars. The lounge is comfortable and the clientele is friendly as well (which will mean nothing if you shop online). Anyway, the Mi Querida Triqui Traca I smoked was the 648, which is a clever name, as it’s 6″ x 48. This blend is based off of the Mi Querida Firecracker blend that Steve made for Two Guys Cigars last year, so it’s got a little more oomph than the Mi Querida line. I really enjoyed it, although it’s too early to tell if I like it more than the regular line, I don’t think I really need to have a preference actually, I can like them both equally! The Triqui Traca had the great espresso and spice that I love with more of the ligero power. I was told that the strength manifests itself more if you keep it in your mouth while smoking, which I don’t, so I guess I missed out on that aspect. It, as always, is great seeing my friends and spending time with them. I was surprised there weren’t as many Saka fans there, but I’m sure many wish they could have been.

That’s plenty for today. I have a Sobremesa Brulé on the menu for today, I actually haven’t smoked regular production versions yet, so I’m looking forward to it. If I have the time there might be other goodies from yesterday to smoke. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as BNB Cigars, cigar, cigar store, cigars, Danli Honduras Tabacos, DOn Juan Calavera, Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust, La Aurora, Mi Querida, Triqui Traca

by CigarCraig | January 20, 2019 · 11:21 am

La Aurora, Camacho and Ventura Cigars

The latter half of my week was a little goofy with a couple of late work days, and an odd weekend off. Now we have weird weather on top of that with a threatened winter storm, which turned into rain, and now it’s going to go from an unseasonably balmy 40s down to the single digits in a matter of hours today. If I don’t have a migraine today sometime I’ll be surprised! Anyway, this has all conspired to throw my rhythm off a bit. Thursday evening I came home and repaired to the back porch smoking lounge a bit later than normal with a sentimental favorite, a La Aurora Corojo 1962 Robusto. I use the term “sentimental favorite” for La Aurora in general, not this cigar specifically, as a box of Bristol Especiales was my first big premium cigar purchase in 1996. I think they were under $40, it looks like they have gone up by about $100 since then. My daughter might still have the box, I know she has several La Aurora boxes being that her name is Aurora. That might be what motivated me to buy that first box and what maintains my attachment to the brand. When my granddaughters were born my celebratory smokes of choice were the La Aurora Puro Vintage 2003s. There are a lot of cigars in La Aurora’s portfolio that don’t particularly line up with my preferences, but smoking one always brings a smile to my face anyway. The Corojo, is one of the cigars that I like enough, this one was packed a little tight near the head and had a snug draw. Still a tasty cigar and I like everything in this series, the Connecticut, Cameroon and this Corojo. I suspect there will always be a selection of La Aurora cigars in my humidor. One of my secrets is, if we are at a family function and I have a chance to smoke a cigar, and I think my daughter may poo-poo the idea, I smoke a La Aurora, then she can’t be upset with me! Don’t tell anyone!

Saturday I unsuccessfully struggled with a plumbing issue, then took a walk before the alleged winter storm which didn’t happen with a Camacho Triple Maduro 6×60. It’s been years since I had a Camacho Triple Maduro, I think the last time was when Camacho had a promotion with three cigars banded A, B and C, with a story line to go along with it and I can’t remember the details, nor can I find anything I wrote about it, so it may have been pre-2009. I’ll really have to dig through the archives, which are filed in a bankers box in a warehouse in the desert in Nevada, several aisles away from where the Ark of the Covenant is stored. I’ve said too much. Anyway, I remember the robusto being pretty strong, but the gordo seemed to temper the strength and I thought it was pretty smooth and medium for me. It was a very tasty cigar, loads of espresso, low on the sweetness scale, oddly enough, but much to my liking. Brother Kevin, of CigarProp fame, commented that the Triple Maduro made his throat hurt, which made me think he was doing something wrong. BTW, check out Kevin’s latest video interview with Steve Saka, it’s outstanding and your’s truly gets a nice mention, TY!. I guess the point of all this is that I still like the Camacho cigars in the Davidoff era, but is it unreasonable to think that a company like Davidoff would not be able to make quality cigars? They’ve continued to make good smokes, with eye-catching packaging, and kept the prices fair. I’ll still smoke them!

Finally, a couple of weeks ago I gave a way almost all of my Ventura cigars in a contest, but I still had a couple here and there, and I found a Case Study CS/02 from the 2016 IPCPR in the humidor that was about the size cigar I was looking for, so I figured it was a good time to light it up. This one is in their “Master Editions” line, which I believe is regular production, while they have a limited edition line with is more along the lines of a “we found this batch in a aging room, put our bands on them, and once they are gone, they are gone” model. I smoking this cigar and felt like there was a familiarity about it. It had a really nice flavor, a milk chocolate-brown Habano wrapper with a sweetness to go along with it. It was very “clean”, well-balanced, and lacked any aggression, just a nice, well-mannered, luxurious sweet smoke. A little research turned up that this cigar is made at La Aurora. It indeed has an Ecuador Habano Wrapper, a Sumatra binder from Brazil, and an undisclosed filler blend. It was tasty, it was smooth, if I ever see these around, I might pick some up, but I haven’t seen these in stores locally. All I every see from Ventura are Archetype, it seems, I don’t even see the Psyko Sevens in my local shop, which sucks because I’d buy the maduos from them all the time!

To recap: three days, only smoked cigars on two of those days, but smoked three enjoyable cigars. Check out CigarProp’s Youtube Channel. If you haven’t already, check out The Retrohale Podcast, They’ve been kind enough to promote my site for a while, and I’ve provided them some content, have fallen behind on that (as well as my own podcast). I’m going to be a guest on their show this week, so we’ll see how that goes. Finally, I’m proud to welcome J.C. Newman to the sponsor family! Click the banner on the right and enter the contest! That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Camacho, Case Study, cigar, cigars, Corojo, La Aurora, Triple Maduro, Ventura

by CigarCraig | August 19, 2018 · 11:05 am

Dapper Cigars Cubo Claro and Maduro and the Contest Winner!

But first, Thursday evening my wife and I went to Philadelphia’s Diner en Blanc, which is a picnic, of sorts, where everyone wears white, brings their own table and chairs and meets in places around the city, and it transported to a public space that is kept secret until the last minute. These happen all over the world and it’s quite a sight. In this case, Philadelphia’s had 5500 people, the largest in the US. Last year there was a cigar lounge set up with a local outfit, the Travelling Tobacconist, featuring an Airstream trailer, this year, no such luck, as it was held at Philadelphia’s City Hall, and the park surrounding it is non-smoking. We actually were sitting on a wall at the perimeter of the park enjoying a small cigar with a white band, and got chased one foot to the sidewalk…absurd. So while we were at the meeting point, which was at the subway stop outside of Citizens Bank Park (where, at the same time, Will Cooper will tell you the Phillies were having their heads handed to them by the Mets in the first game of a double header), I enjoyed a Macanudo Inspirado White with my buddy Bruce. I’ve known Bruce for 20 years, we go back to the old alt.smokers.cigars Usenet group days, and he now lives a few miles from me. I select appropriately themed cigars for this occasion, last year it was a Fratello Bianco, a Montecristo White, and my wife smoked a Leccia White. Some think this event is pretentious and a waste of city resources, and I’ve heard the term “white privilege” tossed around ignorantly. First, the organization pays it’s way on the set-up and cleanup, and donates generously to local charities. Regarding the “white privilege”, anyone who took a half a glance at the attendees of one of these events would see the most diverse group of people imaginable eating together side by side, hanging out, partying, having a good time. It’s a cool event. The local news even talked to me on camera, but I guess I was too cool for them to use on the news.

I’m still finding a couple of samples from last year’s IPCPR, and a couple of my good friends in the industry have shared some samples from this years show which I did not attend, so I need to make room. I had a couple Cubos from Dapper Cigars out of California that were begging to be smoked, so Friday was the day. I had to drop the car off in the morning so I grabbed the Ecuador Connecticut wrapped Cubo Claro toro for the walk home. First off, I appreciate any company that calls their shade wrapped cigar “Claro”, it’s way easier to type than Ecuador Connecticut or Connecticut shade. Sure, it’s ambiguous and requires clarification, so does Connecticut Shade anymore so why not? Dapper likes to provide specifics about their tobaccos, and I’ve compared this to Steve Saka when he launched Sobremesa. Funny enough, some of Dapper’s cigars are made in NACSA, where Mi Querida and Umbagog are made, but the Cubo’s are not made at NACSA, they are made at Tabacaleras Carreras S.A., which also makes, perhaps not surprisingly, Esteban Carreras Cigars.

Wrapper: Ecuador / Connecticut desflorado / CASJUCA / A.S.P. (Perez)

Binder: Nicaragua / Jalapa / Habano / Dorado / Oliva Tobacco Co

Fillers: Nicaragua / Condega / gk Relleno / Oliva Tobacco Co
Nicaragua / Esteli / Guadalupe / Oliva Tobacco Co

This was a really nice claro cigar with enough strength and body to be enjoyed any time of the day, not just in the morning, as I did. I’m not a regular morning smoker, it’s just no something I usually do, but now and then I have cigar in the morning and it’s usually a shade wrapped cigar or a coffee infused cigar, I guess I fall for the stereotype. This was a really good tasting cigar, it had the trademark shade wrapper flavor, but there was a bit of spice and rich tobacco flavor and it was a good, satisfying cigar. I was anticipating smoking the maduro later.

After dinner, which is my usual routine, I did smoke the Cubo Maduro Toro as I took my second walk of the day, a short one around the block. First off, this is a visually stunning maduro cigar. It has a beautiful oily wrapper, very even coloration, nicely made. Both this and the Claro were nice looking cigars, and the bands are very attractive as well. High scores for presentation. I haven’t seen the boxes, but according to the website they are packaged in natural cedar sliding lid boxes with Boveda packs, again, the information provided the website is extremely thorough. I found the Maduro to be considerably stronger than the Claro, which isn’t uncommon, and the spicy cocoa from the Mexican wrapper was much to my liking.

Wrapper: Mexico / San Andrés Negro / Turrent Family

Binder: Nicaragua / Jalapa / Cofradía / Oliva Tobacco Co.

Fillers: Nicaragua / Condega / gk Relleno / Oliva Tobacco Co.
Nicaragua / Jalapa / Cofradía / Oliva Tobacco Co.

I’m a little surprised with all the detail provided that they leave out the primings, that seems like a geek-point that should be there. As you might imagine, this was a cigar that hit me the right way, it was rich and decadent and I liked it a lot. I don’t see any of Dapper’s offerings around here, but I haven’t looked really hard, but they sure make some good cigars.

Contest!

I was a little over the top with my “contest entrant shaming” in my last post, sorry about that. I think it scared people off, because we only had 19 entries, and it’s been probably 8 years or so since I’ve had that few entries. maybe it’s summer and people are busy, maybe the economy’s good and people don’t want free cigars, I don’t know. I do know that that makes the odds better for those of you who entered! I said I was sweetening the deal, so I grabbed a few more cigars out of the humidor, three of which are from La Aurora, which, by the way, was the common thread I was really looking for, all of the cigars I mentioned in the contest post were made at the La Aurora factory in the Dominican Republic. So the prize is 10 cigars from La Sirena, La Auroa, etc. and a Stage V Clinger cigar holder. It’s also true that they all have two bands and they all have tobaccos from the DR, so I can’t exactly disqualify any of those answers as incorrect, so all entries count. In a strange twist, the random number generator spit out 15, and I had thrown out Brian I’s first entry, which was actually the first entry, and he ens up being the 15th comment. So Brian I is the winner! Please send me your address privately so I can get these goodies out to you! I guess I need to step up the contest game here! Apparently I’ve slacked off or something, contests used to be my bag, baby. Thanks to Stage V Clinger and my friends at La Sirena and La Aurora for their continued support!

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

CigarCraig

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Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Claro, Contest, Cubo, Dapper, La Aurora, La Sirena, maduro, Stage V Clinger

by CigarCraig | June 17, 2018 · 9:44 am

Todos Las Dias, Farce and Truth and La Aurora at the Track

Happy Father’s Day to all the Dad’s out there, I know later today I’ll be digging out my traditional father’s day cigar for the 19th or 20th year (I’ve lost track…the cigars came out in 1998, but I think it was 1999 by the time I bought a box, can’t remember). I refer, of course, to the obscure Esperanza Para los Niños, which was made by Christian Eiroa when he owned Camacho as a charity project to help children orphaned by hurricane Mitch. The cigars have held up extremely well, and it’s through the kindness of several friends that I’ve been able to continue the tradition of smoking one on Father’s Day every year this long, and I might be good until 2020 when the last toro from the box I bought will go down. Until cigar time rolls around, I got some typing to do, so lets recap some notable smokes I had this week! I smoked another Todos las Dias from Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust this week. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of the brand, everything Steve has produced has been a win for my palate, but this liga has been a slow starter for me. Maybe it’s because the first three examples I smoked didn’t draw well enough (moisture…ironic given Steve was checking internal humidity of each sample at the trade show, video here, and they came from multiple sources, they just have to be kept dryer, I guess). To recap, the Todos las Dias Double Wide Belicoso is a 4.75″x 60 figurado identical in size to the Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Gran Consul and the Rosalones 460, using the same molds and made in the same factory. It’s a Nicaraguan puro, with a sungrown Nicaraguan wrapper, and fillers from Esteli and Jalapa. This blend is growing on e finally, I’m starting to get the cocoa and a hint of the chili spice reported, and the cigar was great to the last drop. This is a cool shape, I still think I’m reaching for the TlD fourth in line in the regular DTT production, but it’s good, I like it.

Friday was a special day in the small village of Frazer, PA. The CigarCigars store, just 1.7 miles from my home, was host to a cigar event featuring Matt Booth of Room 101 Cigars, and, as is their custom at this shop, the event was from noon to 3. Normally this would cause me problems, life has not been normal in recent months. So I was able to be present for this auspicious event and hang out with Mr. Booth, although, culturally, Frazer, PA is pretty much polar opposite of what Mr Booth is used to…it’s not Amish country, but it’s not the Sunset Strip either…anyway, I had occasion to smoke the new Farce. This is important, and I can’t stress this enough, it’s Farce, not THE Farce…just Farce. Very important to note. Farce is made in the Ventura factory in the DR, it’s a full flavored, complex and sophisticated blend and was very nice. I liked it, I picked up a couple and will smoke another very soon in a non-event environment. I also smoked The T, not Mr. T, it the Toro size. I had previously smoked an IPCPR sample of this collaboration between Booth, Caldwell and AJ Fernandez made in Nicaragua and really liked it, and this one was no different. It’s dark and rich and heavy and right up my alley. My biggest regret was setting it in an ashtray with a couple of inches left and Steve, the manager cleaning up after the event thinking I was done with it, which I was not…my bad. Watch for the next CigarCraig podcast in the next few days, by the way. I highly recommend attending an event featuring Mr. Booth if you have the opportunity, he’s a gentleman and a scholar, and one who’s earned every one of his eccentricities.

Another annual family tradition which may seem odd to some is celebrating our granddaughters birthdays at the horse races. There is a track that’s reasonably convenient to both sides of the family free to park and get in, had a family friendly picnic grove with tables and bounce houses and slides and playgrounds for the kids, of course, horse races, and is cigar friendly! We try to get there early to get a good spot and have a cigar before everyone gets there. I lit up a La Aurora Preferidos Emerald Ecuador Corona, and there’s a reason I usually light up something from La Aurora at family events. My daughter’s name is Aurora, and I figure she’s not going to get upset at me for smoking a cigar if it’s got her name on it. Clever, eh? She’s a great kid, got me cigar related coffee for Father’s day! Anyway, I really was enjoying the crap out of that corona, what flavor and balance! Nice tobacco sweetness I didn’t want to put down, and I felt bad standing off to the side after people started showing up. I wanted to join the party, eat lunch, but I wanted to enjoy the cigar too, it was one of the few times I wished I had chosen an even smaller cigar! We stuck it out until the Ninth (last) race, because Smoke En Fire was running, and we put $5 on it to win, which it did, and paid $9.50! It was a beautiful day with family at a great horse park. I don’t know if Delaware Cigars still has their cigar festival there in the fall or not, but the coupe times I attended that event it was a good time!

That’s all for today. Time to get some stuff done! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigar store, CigarCigars, cigars, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, Farce, La Aurora, Matt Booth, Preferidos, Room 101, the T, Todos Las Dias

by CigarCraig | June 4, 2017 · 9:41 am

A Fratello Cigars Event, a La Aurora, a L’Atelier and a Contest!

Friday evening we took a family trip over to the Wooden Indian cigar shop in Havertown, PA to have a visit with Omar de Frias and his amazing Fratello cigars. When I say family, my wife sometimes joins me on these trips, but this time my son Corey came along, and, at the invitation of the shop owner, Dave, Macha joined us too. Macha loves these outings as she gets a lot of attention and loves everybody. She was well-behaved, most of the time just laying down and relaxing, something I wish she’d do at home when we get back from a long walk and I just want to finish my cigar and she wants to play in the yard! Anyway, she had a great time, and I smoked one of my favorite cigars from last year, the Fratello Bianco Boxer. This is a box pressed torpedo wrapped in a beautiful San Andrés wrapper, Dominican binder and fillers from Pennsylvania, Nicaragua and Peru. What distinguishes the Boxer from the regular Bianco line, and this holds true with the regular and Oro Boxers as well, is that they use a little extra ligero in the blend. Not only does the cigar smoke perfectly and taste amazing, it’s got a little extra kick! I picked up a few more for the humidor, along with some other goodies, and enjoyed a great evening at the Wooden Indian with my buddy Omar. It was the fist time I’ve seem Omar without his goatee, is that the breaking news here? Omar Shaves Goatee!…only at CigarCraig.com, Sorry Halfwheel and Cigar-Coop, I was first with this bombshell!

Yesterday was a beautiful Saturday to go to the track, and my daughter decided to have our grand-daughters joint birthday party in the picnic grove at Delaware Park. We got there early to secure a spot, and while we were waiting for everyone I smoked a La Aurora Preferido Corona in the Diamond or Broadleaf wrapper. Since I smoked this the first time over two years ago the pungency and cloying flavor I got then has settled down and it’s more like what I would expect from an aged Connecticut Broadleaf. It was a little over the top the last time I smoked it, but it was slightly underwhelming to me yesterday. Honestly, I forgot that I didn’t really like this cigar the first time around, but was looking forward to a tasty Broadleaf cigar. I usually don’t choose my granddaughters events to enjoy a cigar, but when it’s reasonably appropriate, like at the track 45 minutes before they arrive, I go for it, and it’s usually something from La Aurora because Aurora is also my daughter’s name and how could she get mad at me, right? It works in my head. Anyway, I didn’t lose all my money, had a nice day playing the ponies and hanging with the family.

Last night I rummaged through the Lancero tray and came up with a L’Atelier LAT 38 Special. This 7½” x 38 Lancero was a beauty, with a dark, Sancti Spíritus Ecuador wrapper, binder and filler from Nicaragua rolled at the My Father Factory in Nicaragua. I wanted to smoke something from the Johnson family of cigars, but I was only finding rubustos, and I craved more than that. I have a ton of rubustos in the humidor and should probably just go on a rubusto bender and work them down. There was a time when that was my vitola of choice, but I’ve either gotten more patient or have more time because I want a toro or larger more times than not. I digress, theLAT 38 was a beauty, and the flavor was outstanding. It had the savory and sweet flavor I’d expect more from the Broadleaf than the Sancti Spiritus that the L’Atelier line is known for. I can’t remember when I got this, it may have been at an event at a shop in Colorado I was at back in 2014, but it was good. I haven’t found many cigar in any of Pete Johnson’s portfolio that don’t satisfy my palate. My only complaint with this cigar was that it suffered from Nomex Wrapper Syndrome (Nomex is the stuff that electrical wiring is wrapped with so it doesn’t burn) it required a lot of attention with the lighter, and I was being careful not to overheat the cigar since Lanceros can easily be ruined by smoking too aggressively. The humidor these are in stays in the mid to low 60s so it wasn’t wet.

Contest!

Since we got to the track early yesterday they were giving out hats, and since I’m not a huge hat wearing guy, I figured it might be a good time to have another giveaway. I’ve assembled some odds and ends that have been collecting for a while to go with the Delaware Park hat. There are a couple of bottle openers including one for your key chain from Nomad Cigars, a torch lighter from El Artista, a couple cutters, a highly collectible Matt Booth Room 101 punch cutter, a Ninety Degree magnetic cigar holder and a nice Balmoral flask. As always, a few cigars might fall into the box as I’m packing it up, it happens, I can’t help it! So the usual rules apply, must be of legal smoking age in your municipality, one entry by way of leaving a comment on this post, and have fun! I’ll pick a winner next Sunday, June 11, 2017.