Tag Archives: La Aurora

by CigarCraig | March 17, 2013 · 8:09 am

A La Aurora, a Visit to CI in Hamburg and a Stogieboys Contest Winner!

It been a busy week and I really haven’t been able to smoke too many cigars. I know, usually when I say that I spew out three or four cigars I’ve enjoyed over the previous couple days, but this time I really mean it. In the news department, I received word this week that Cigarfrombrazil.com has relaunched their website and Wes gave me a discount code to pass on to you to get 10% off your purchases. Enter MPCGRS10 when you check out. Wes has been a generous supporter here and the Monte Pascoal cigars are delicious Brazilian puros that are a must-try. Check out the new site and give their cigars a try.

In some other news, the website LivingSocial.com, a site similar to Groupon, ran a deal for Gotham Cigars. For $25 you get a voucher that will give you $50 to spend on their site. I’ve gotten deals like this before and I’m a sucker for cheap cigars! I’ll let you know what I end up getting. As of this writing, the deal is good for another 3 or 4 days, and if you use this link, I might get my deal for free! Of course, you too will get a link to share in hopes of getting 3 friends to buy it then you too will get it for free! Its a great deal either way and Gotham has been around quite a while and is a reputable outfit.

Thursday evening I took a nice little walk with the dog and a La Aurora 107 Corona. La Aurora is a great company, and they make great cigars. The first box of cigars I ever purchased back in the ’90s was a box of La Aurora Bristol Especiales. So far, there are only a couple cigars in their lines that I really enjoy, the Cameroon, the Vintage 2003 and that’s about all I can think of. Something just doesn’t suit my palate right in the majority of La Aurora cigars I smoke. This 107 was tasty, it was perfectly constructed, and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t for me (I know, I said I enjoyed it, but I didn’t like it…just because there’s some aspect of the flavor that I don’t care for, it wasn’t offensive, and the experience of smoking a cigar is half the battle here. As long as I’m not physically repulsed by the flavor, a cigar I don’t like can be a great experience!). I need to find a 107 Maduro, perhaps that will be more in line with my personal tastes.

Today, Sunday, March 17th, my wife and I are taking a drive up to Cigars International‘s little shop in Hamburg, PA to have a cigar and make some plans for my upcoming surprise birthday party. I’m hoping to find the new Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan there to smoke. I’m leaving tomorrow for a business trip to the Los Angeles area, which I’m not particularly looking forward to, but I’m planning to visit Bo’s Cigar Lounge in Torrance sometime Monday evening around 5:30, so if anyone is in the area stop in and look for me. I’ll be the guy smoking a cigar!

Contest!

The folks at StogieBoys.com were very generous in sponsoring this month’s contest! Thanks to Sheryl for setting the whole thing up! As usual, I use Random.org to select a winner. This time I need the winner to e-mail me their contact information so that I can pass it on to Sheryl so she can ship you your prize. There were 45 entries, and the random number generator spewed forth the number 13. By my calculations Travis is the winner! Please send me your details. Thanks to everyone for participating, and check back frequently, one never knows when another contest might pop up!

That’s it for now. I’m off to the cigar store, then have to pack and get ready for a 6 hour flight tomorrow. I don’t know how you folks who travel for business on a regular basis do it! Also, Happy St. Patrick’s Day!! Any day that celebrates an anti-snake sentiment is OK by me!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

3 Comments

Filed under Contest, News, Review

Tagged as Alec Bradley, cigar, cigar store, cigars, Cigars International, Contest, La Aurora, Stogie Boys

by CigarCraig | January 9, 2013 · 6:06 pm

Getting Back to Normal: A Fernando Leon, a Papas Fritas and a La Bomba

I’m getting back into my normal routine after the excitement of the holidays and the contests and all. I’m back to my “take a cigar for a walk” thing on a regular basis. Lucky it hasn’t been bitter cold yet, too many degrees below 30 Fahrenheit and it isn’t good for the cigars or me. That doesn’t mean I won’t do it, it just means I’m a bit more selective in the size and makeup of the cigar. Smaller maduros are my usual choice for super cold walks. Enough about the cold, I prefer to think about warmer weather.

Monday evening I was in the mood for something a little out of the norm so I grabbed a La Aurora Fernando Leon Family Reserve from the IPCPR show samples. I smoked one of these at the Miami Cigar and Co./La Aurora after party at the show, but by that point I had developed quite a head cold and along with everything else going on I really couldn’t enjoy it as much as I would have liked. This was Fernando Leon’s personal blend which was released at the show last summer and has a Dominican Corojo wrapper and binder and fillers from Brazil, Dominican Republic and Peru. This cigar burned nicely and had an enjoyable flavor. It’s a fine smoke that I wouldn’t mind revisiting on a nice, balmy evening.

Tuesday I got home a little later than normal due to inventory at work, and needed something short, yet awesome. I had a couple sample Liga Privada Papas Fritas from the show that have been burning a hole in my humidor, so it seemed like the perfect occasion to fire one up. The Papas Fritas (French Fries in Spanish) is a super premium mixed filler cigar from Drew Estate, using the cuttings from the Liga Privada production. They collect up these cuttings and re-sort them and make these little guys up. It’s a 4½” x 44 cigar with a dark broadleaf wrapper. This is like smoking a miniature No. 9 and it’s impossible to tell its not a long filler cigar. These come in tins of four, and the tins are modeled after tins that Cuban petite coronas used to be packaged in that I believe, and I could be wrong, they used to give out on trans-Atlantic flights back in the good old days when you could smoke on planes. I have an old Romeo y Julieta tin around someplace that I picked up many years ago because I though it was cool. If I wasn’t so lazy I’d have dug it out and taken a picture, but it’s buried in the basement someplace. These aren’t cheap at around $24 for the tin of four, but boy is it a satisfying little smoke.

Tonight I took the dog for a walk with a 601 La Bomba Atom. This is a powerful smoke, but loaded with flavor. I picked this example up back in November of 2011 and age hasn’t hurt it. Maybe it wasn’t quite as super strong as it was back then, but still packs a punch. The Atom is just about my favorite size cigar, a 5½” x 46 Cuban Corona with a long, fuse-like, pigtail cap. The Habano wrapper is quite tasty and the cigar starts with a tingly spicy blast and never really calms down too much. It was a terrific companion on my walk and was hard to put down. This is a terrific smoke if you like them strong, it’s a flavor bomb.

Ironically, I received the following information from Espinosa Premium Cigars today:

ESPINOSA PREMIUM CIGARS PRESENTS THE 601 LA BOMBA CHALLENGE

Miami, Florida (January 9, 2013) – Can you handle the STRONGEST cigar around? Think so? Well take the 601 La Bomba Challenge today!

Espinosa Premium Cigars announces the promotion for the 601 La Bomba Challenge, where cigar enthusiasts take a BEFORE and AFTER picture of their smoking experience with the 601 La Bomba cigar and share it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. The contest will run for 6 weeks and a different winner will be selected each week [6 winners in total]. The winners will be announced on the following 2013 dates 1/18, 1/25, 2/1, 2/8, 2/15 & 2/22. Each winner will receive a 601 La Bomba Ashtray and a 601 LA BOMBA SQUAD t-shirt.

Complete rules of the contest are posted on the company’s newly redesigned website www.espinosacigars.com/601labombachallenge.

The 601 La Bomba is a full bodied and full flavored BOMB! Handcrafted in Esteli, Nicaragua with 100% Nicaraguan tobacco. WARNING: Extremely full bodied cigar. Not recommended for novice smokers.

…Not that I am a fan of contests or anything :-)! Check it out, get your hands on some La Bombas and take a shot at winning some cool goodies! It’s really hard to go wrong with anything from Eric Espinosa in my opinion. He makes some great smokes and is a heck of a nice guy.

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

CigarCraig

7 Comments

Filed under Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as 601, cigar, cigars, Contest, drew estate, Espinosa, Fernando Leon, La Aurora, La Bomba, Papas Fritas

by CigarCraig | November 11, 2012 · 9:54 am

A Brick, a San Lotano and a La Aurora and Some News

The second half of my week started with taking a walk with my youngest son and his dog. A few weeks ago Sheryl at StogieBoys.com sent me a few samples of various vitolas of The Brick Box Press by Toraño. All three of these sizes were pretty large for me for cold weather, so I grabbed the smallest one, a 5½x60 “Robusto” that appears smaller due to the square press. The other two cigars were a torpedo and Churchill, both longer than I wanted for a cold evening. I had first experienced this brand back in 2004 when my wife and I held a cigar event at the Freehold Raceway in New Jersey. The folks at Toraño were very generous and sent a bundle of Brick torpedoes along with a box of Exodus 1959 to give to the attendees and at the time I thought it was a decent bundle cigar. Really nothing memorable, but not a bad cigar. I enjoyed this box pressed version, it wasn’t incredible, just a quality cigar at a reasonable price. The 60 ring gauge in the box press was very manageable. It burned well and while one dimensional, it had a pleasing flavor. I’ll smoke the larger sizes as the opportunity arises, I neither like to freeze my buns off for two hours nor waste a cigar putting it down prematurely. Thanks again to Sheryl at StogieBoys.com for providing me with samples and for working with CigarCraig.com.

Friday evening I grabbed a cigar I purchased a few weeks back at Total Tobacco in Newtown Square, PA. You should know after reading a little bit that I am a self-proclaimed cheap bastid. When I visited this store on it’s grand opening I picked up some cigars that I hadn’t tried and I don’t see everywhere. One of those cigars was this San Lotano Oval Maduro robusto. I love the Oval, I love the San Lotano Maduro so I felt compelled to shell out nearly $10 (ouch) to try this cigar that surely would be a home run. Obviously, the shape is unique, and very comfortable in the hand and mouth. The cigar was pretty terrific, but it wasn’t really that much more terrific than the regular San Lotano Maduro that I could justify the up-charge. This is just my opinion, mind you, the Oval IS a terrific cigar, the draw was effortless and it was loaded with all of the dark, rich flavors that I love. Just for me, for a couple bucks less I’m happier with the regular maduro. I’m happy I took the plunge and gave it a try, we have to do that from time to time. There can be no doubt that A.J. Fernandez is a superstar in the cigar world. As an aside, I have never been quite so proud as when he thanked me for doing what I do in English, which is not a language in which he is fluent.

Saturday was a pretty nice day, the temperatures were back in line with what they should be this time of year, perhaps a little warmer. My wife and I spent a fun afternoon babysitting out 1½ year old granddaughter, so we were pretty worn out! After dinner I selected a La Aurora robusto from the IPCPR show that was nice and dark. I wasn’t sure what this was to begin with, I thought it looked maduro, but I wasn’t sure. My bro Barry from Miami Cigar and Co. suggested it looked like the new Cameroon line, which it turned out being, of course. I was thrown off by the appearance and the flavor. This didn’t look like a Cameroon wrapper, it was dark and smooth, I expect a milk chocolate brown with lots of tooth. The flavors were deep and dark, maduroish, not the signature Camerooniness that I know and love. This will sound strange, but I love the La Aurora brand, but I’m often not fond of many of their cigars. generally there’s a little something that doesn’t appeal to me. However, this Cameroon was awesome. The best La Aurora cigar I’ve ever had. It was rich, complex and loaded with flavor. I smoke a lot of different cigars, and it’s rare that I have one that compels me to want a box, but this one is the one. The worst part about it was that it was too short. DAMN it was a great smoke!

News

Not to knock off ACigarSmoker.com‘s Sunday links, here are a couple links that caught my eye this week:

From the Miami New Times Blog: The Wynwood Cigar Factory: Smokes and Street Art Galore (Photos)

A bit of local (to me) from The Canadian: UFO: Cigar-like craft hovers over Philadelphia

From the LA Times, a little dated but appropriate for today: Veteran loves his cigars

Fine Tobacco NYC debuts their Sunday Cigar Shots: SUNDAY CIGAR SHOTS VIA #FINETOBACCONYC – NOVEMBER 11TH, 2012

And to be a little ironic, from ACigarSmoker.com: Sunday Links – 11/11/12

It’s supposed to be a nice day here in PA, so I’m off to see what kind of trouble I can get into. Happy Veterans Day in the US and Armistice Day or Remembrance Day in other parts of the world. Smoke a nice cigar today and dedicate it to all who have served.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

2 Comments

Filed under News, Review

Tagged as Cameroon, cigar, cigars, IPCPR, La Aurora, Links, oval, san lotano, Stogie Boys, The Brick

by CigarCraig | October 10, 2012 · 10:46 pm

Seafood and Columbus Day – A Merlion, a Trinidad and a Añoranza

Sunday evening my wife cooked an enormous piece of salmon and it was delicious. I wanted a cigar to follow the fish, and I couldn’t think of anything better than the new Merlion from La Sirena and Miami Cigar and Company. I’ve mentioned this cigar before (here) and it’s a solid cigar, made by La Aurora and featuring a Corojo wrapper around a three country blend. I may have enjoyed this one more than the first, it was perfect after the meal and really hit the spot. It’s a very tasty stick, well balanced and smooth. Another winner from Arielle.

Monday was Columbus Day, the day set aside to celebrate Columbus’ discovery of cigars! So I was digging around looking for a San Cristobal (de la Habana or otherwise) and came across a really old Trinidad corona. Someone correct me if my memory is off here, but back in the late ’90s, the Trinidad brand was released in the US, and it was made by Fuente. At some point the brand and production changed to being under the Altadis group of brands. This corona was from the original release, with really yellow cello. I had to cut the cello off, it was so brittle and sticky and beautiful. This actually took me back many years, it still had loads of flavor, but not a lot of nicotine. It was a really sweet, satisfying smoke which burned perfectly. This was the epitome of a well aged cigar. I think there’s one more floating around the humidor, I wonder what another few years of age will do to it?

On Tuesday I was rummaging around for something to smoke and the Añoranza Robusto lept out at me and demanded to be smoked. This dark beauty from Miami Cigar and Company was a sample from the IPCPR show, and I had been looking forward to smoking it. I will have to get my hands on some more, as it was really right up my alley. It was loaded with deep, rich cocoa and coffee flavors that I really enjoy. The wrapper is listed as Habana Oscuro, and while it didn’t look as dark as many oscuro wrappers, it tasted it, if that makes sense. I savored this cigar to a finger burning nub. Here is a quick video from the IPCPR show with Jason Wood, or Miami Cigar and Co., talking about the new La Aurora Cien Años Maduro, which I don’t think I got a sample of, but I will track one down to smoke because it looked really tasty!

There you go, two really nice smokes from the folks at Miami Cigar and Company, and a well aged cigar that you’ll probably never see again! Sorry about the later, but hunt down the Merlion and Añoranza and give them a try (as well as the new La Aurora offering!). Now…I need to see what kind of trouble I can get into for Sunday’s installment!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

3 Comments

Filed under IPCPR, Review, Video

Tagged as Añoranza, cigar, cigars, IPCPR, La Aurora, La Sirena, Merlion, Miami Cigar and Co, trinidad

by CigarCraig | September 2, 2012 · 8:48 am

IPCPR 2012 – A La Sirena Merlion and Someone Wins Some Cigars!

Friday evening, the start of a holiday weekend, the (sigh) end of summer, all good reasons to spark up a good cigar. One of the cigars I’ve really been looking forward to smoking from the IPCPR show is the Merlion from La Sirena and Miami Cigar and Co. The sample I smoked was the Toro size, measuring 5½” x 54, which is a nice size for a late summer evening. The cigars are made at the La Aurora factory with Ecuadoran Corojo wrapper, a Brazilian Sumatra binder and Dominican Corojo, Dominican Criollo, Nicaraguan ligero and Brazilian Mata Fina fillers. It’s a very nice cigar. I could certainly taste the influence of the La Aurora factory in the blend, there’s a signature flavor that I’m familiar with that stands out. It performed perfectly and was a nice, satisfying smoke. Another winner from Arielle Ditkowich and the folks at Miami Cigar and Co. Arielle took a few moments to talk to me at the show, here’s the video.

Thank you, Arielle, for being one of my first few interviews at the show. Keep making tasty smokes!

Contest

I know, nobody is interested in video of me talking to a lovely lady about cigars, you just want to know who won this weeks contest! I was pretty amazed by the response, especially considering I was pretty vague about what the prize was (and I’m sorry, there will not be a Taboada in the prize pack! I had one and that was it). What is in the package is a pair of Tortuga LE 2011 torpedoes from Victor Vitale, along with a selection of General Cigar Co. goodies, including some new releases and special cigars that are only available at special events. I also threw in a few favorites from my humidors. As usual, I’ve consulted with the Random Number Generator at Random.org which has produced the number 15, which corresponds to Christian Logay by my figuring. Congrats Christian! Please send me your contact info so I can get this in the mail to you! Again, thanks to everyone for reading along and making the last 3 years very special for me.