Tag Archives: La Gloria Cubana

by CigarCraig | April 10, 2011 · 6:37 pm

Sunday’s Cigar: La Gloria Cubana Obilesco and a Contest Winner

Last August while visiting the IPCPR show in New Orleans, I received a tour of the General Cigar booth where I was introduced to all of the brand managers, received information about all of their new releases and was given samples of those cigars. One of the cigars I received was the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Obilesco. This is a unique shape, it’s 5″ x 44-57 figurado, and square pressed. The shape is inspired by the Monument to the Heroes of the Restoration in Santiago, Dominican Republic, it looks like an obelisk much like the Washington Monument. The presentation is enhanced by a semi-circle box which is also quite unique and beautiful. The sample I had lacked the foot band which the production version has, which is fine by me since I find the secondary band on the foot to be a nuisance. This cigar lit easily and had a terrific draw. I really enjoyed the flavors, there was a sweetness that I found very enjoyable. All in all a wonderful cigar that I enjoyed while taking a short walk around the block and sitting on my porch talking to an old friend I ran into along the way. I’ve said before, I’ve been enjoying La Gloria Cubana Cigars for the last 15 years or so, and I can’t say I’ve ever had one that I didn’t enjoy. This cigar, as well as the Artesanos de Tabaqueros and Serie N are excellent additions to a classic line.

It’s time to give away another 5 pack of La Gloria Cubana Serie N cigars, generously provided by General Cigar. We had 32 entries, one of which I took the liberty of disqualifying since I just set him a 5 pack of these last week! As it turned out, it didn’t matter, and his number didn’t come up. I had to use a new random number generator since Random.org didn’t seem to be working. I chose one at mathgoodies.com, which provided me with the desired results. I’m happy to announce that a longtime reader and follower of my contests was selected as the recipient of these tasty treats. Lloyd, please e-mail me your contact information so that I can get these out to you. You called your shot! Congrats!

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

CigarCraig

5 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Contest, general, general cigars, La Gloria Cubana, Take A Cigar For A Walk

by CigarCraig | April 4, 2011 · 8:02 pm

Tommy Takes a La Gloria Serie R For a Walk, and a Contest!

Finally! Tommy has re-emerged and is still walking and smoking! Here is his latest installment:

“Well, hello! I have been tied up getting ready to buy a new home, shopping for a home, and we just put in an offer today…so wish us luck! Over the past few weeks, I have enjoyed several much needed walks…with a cigar. One in particular that I want to talk about today is the La Gloria Cubana Serie R. This one’s been around for awhile now, but is always a great full bodied smoke. However, I had an issue with it keeping a solid and strait ash. This one kept canoeing on me. I plan to take another on a walk soon to see if it was the stick, my batch, or just me. But, with the “troubles” slowing me down a few times during the walk I still had a great time smoking this particular cigar. Something about walking, moving around…with a cigar has become very enjoyable. These “R’s” are a great “upper mid-class” cigar with great flavors and I love the look of the wrapper. Overall, it was a good walk…a good smoke, not great…but like I said earlier…I plan on taking another one soon and will report back as to how it went.

Long ashes to ya!

–Tommy”

I too have been walking. I took a couple walks with the new Punch Rare Corojo 10th Anniversary Robusto, generously provided by the fine folks at General Cigar. I enjoyed the two I smoked, although I can see where some age will smooth them out a bit. The cigars are very nice looking 5″x50 with a box press. I haven’t had a Rare Corojo in ages, but I remember them being a little richer in flavor. Certainly worth trying when they become available. I also smoked the last Cain Habano and it didn’t make me ill.

In honor of Tommy smoking a LA Gloria Cubana, it’s time to give away another five pack of the delicious Serie N JSB. Leave a comment to enter, wish Tommy good luck with his new home buying experience, or give him some encouragement in his fitness regimen, whatever. I’ll pick a winner on Sunday ,April 10, 2011. Thanks again to Team La Gloria for providing these cigars for my readers!

That’s it for now, thanks to Tommy for another fine contribution and my best wishes to him and his family for the momentous occasion of purchasing their first home!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

32 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as blog, cigar, cigars, Contest, general, general cigars, La Gloria Cubana, punch

by CigarCraig | April 1, 2011 · 6:27 pm

Take a Cigar For a Walk – Catching Up…

I’ve been busy reporting on my trip, then the La Gloria Cubana festivities, but I’ve been taking cigars for walks all along. I’ve been hoping to hear from Tommy but he hasn’t responded to my e-mails lately. I can only assume he’s busy with work and family, but I hope everything’s OK with him. I also am waiting for another guest “Take A Cigar For A Walk” report that I will post when I receive it. I don’t have exact dates for the cigars that follow, I could look them up but I’m too lazy and I figure it really doesn’t matter to my readers much anyway!

Back on St. Patrick’s day I took a Camacho Corojo Monarca Candela for a walk. I enjoy the occasional green cigar, and this is a powerhouse. I’m coming to the end of a box of these that I bought 2 years ago or so. The cigars from this box all have had a very loose draw, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the punch is the way to go with these. Great burn, that almost refreshing grassy organic flavor from the candela wrapper. Nice cigar.

My next TACFAW cigar was a 777 Maduro Corona. I picked up a few of these at my local shop around Christmas and really enjoy them. Well made, nice dark maduro flavors. I should try the 777 Corojo next time as I’ve heard good things about them. I can’t find a website for Jesus Fuego, can anyone point me to it?

After that I grabbed the last of the CAO Italia robustos I had. I want to like these. The examples I had didn’t burn worth a damn, they all ran up one side, burned unevenly, needed constant attention. I enjoy the flavor, the bit of Italian leaf gives them a little bit of a unique flavor, but the burn problems detract from the experience for me.

I was in a lancero mood one night and grabbed a Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Maduro Lancero. I had picked this up last summer on a visit to a shop about an hour away. I took the scooter for a spin and met up with Walt White of StogieReview and Dave Wagner of Oliva at Sire Stogies in Gilbertsville, PA. This one behaved much better that the one I smoked in the shop. Burned great and had a nice flavor. Good for 2 laps around the neighborhood (about 1.6 miles) and a cool down.

Sunday’s walk cigar was a La Gloria Cubana Serie N JSB. I enjoyed the one I smoked during Friday nights webcast so much I had to spark up another one. Don’t worry, I’m not dipping into the contest prize stash, but I will need to show some restraint! I did a little shopping around and found that several of the larger internet retailers are selling the Serie N for very good prices. One could get a box of 24 for under $90 delivered, which is not a bad price for these cigars.

Last night I dug out a Don Tomas Classico Corona Grande for my walk. I only have a couple of these left from a box I got a few years ago. I have enjoyed them quote a bit and the fact that they are tubed makes them a nice cigar to grab and throw in you r pocket. I gave this a punch since it’s a 44 ring and I’ve been playing with the punch lately for smaller ring cigars. I enjoyed this cigar while I took a nice long walk, but when I got home I noticed that I had some brown stains on my fingers. It seems there was some brown goo coming from the punch, which I clipped off as soon as I noticed. I didn’t taste anything, and I’ve had this happen in the past but haven’t experienced it in many years. I noticed afterward that my fingers smelled like I had been sifting through some Marlboro smoker’s ashtray, it was terrible! I had to use a scrub brush on my hands to get the smell off. I love the cigars, but I don’t want to have that happen again!

March was a record month as far as visitors to CigarCraig.com by more the triple! I’d like to thank everyone for visiting and following along.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

2 Comments

Filed under Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as 777, Camacho, CAO, cigar, cigars, general, general cigars, Jesus Fuego, La Gloria Cubana, maduro, rocky patel, Take A Cigar For A Walk

by CigarCraig | March 30, 2011 · 9:20 pm

LGC Serie N Contest Winner Announcement!

In the wake of La Gloria Cubana Serie N day, I’m giving away a whole bunch of Serie N JSB cigars. Tonight I’m selecting 2 winners from the 28 people who commented on my last post. The rule is that if I select your name as a winner in my highly scientific and unimpeachably fair method, you need to e-mail me your address so I can mail your prize. In the past I’ve had to chase folks down, and I don’t want to have to do that! So, I’ve assigned each entrant a number based upon the order the comments were left. Using the random number generator at random.org, I’ve selected the following numbers:

By my calculations the winners are Duane Holmes and Agent 86. Congratulations to the two of you! E-mail me with your contact information so I can get your cigars to you. Watch for the next La Gloria Cubana Serie N 5 pack contest coming up soon! Many thanks to General Cigars for providing the cigars for this contest series!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

6 Comments

Filed under Contest

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Contest, general, general cigars, La Gloria Cubana

by CigarCraig | March 25, 2011 · 10:29 pm

La Gloria Cubana Serie N Contest and a Visit to NYC!

In honor of La Gloria Cubana Serie N Day, I’ll be giving away two (2) Five packs of Serie N JSB (5½ x 54) to two people who leave a comment on this page. Winners will be drawn randomly on or around Wednesday, March 30, 2011. I will also be giving away five packs for the next 3 weeks, so stay tuned!

I had the honor and pleasure of participating in the Serie N day webcast, and, in case you missed it, I asked how they could possibly manufacture the Serie N cigars with the light tobacco leave “N” and sell it for a reasonable price. Having recently seen all the steps that go into the manufacture of a cigar, it’s incredible that the cost can be kept as reasonable as it is, and the “N”s are hand applied. If you look at a box of Serie N cigars you will notice that all the “N”s line up and are nice and straight. This is a testament to the attention to detail paid to this one little distinctive feature. The cigars smoke great, and if you like maduro cigars with some oomph to them, the La Gloria Cubana Serie N is well worth a try. General Cigars was very generous in providing samples as well as the cigars for these contests, many thanks to all involved in this very special event. It was fun to participate in this event, and I always appreciate the opportunity to embarrass myself!

We took a family trip to New York City today (Saturday) and I had an opportunity to stop by De La Concha and pick up a few cigars. It’s very convenient that the store is right around the corner from Tiffany’s, where my wife always likes to visit. Of course, I spent more than I normally would on cigars, but I wanted to try some of the New York only cigars that have been released recently. I picked up a La Aurora Broadway, a couple sizes of the Alec Bradley New York Series and a Gurkha Para la Gente. These cigars were created specifically to help out New York State cigar retailers after the cigar taxes were raised. The cigars were pricey by my standards, but probably provide the retailer with better margins than other cigars. I wanted to pick some up as much for the novelty as anything, and I’ve never had a Gurkha, believe it or not. Maybe I’ll have a “NY Cigar Week” in the coming months! As a side note, we walked at least 50 blocks on our visit, but I passed on having a cigar because it was so crowded, cold and windy I wouldn’t have enjoyed it. How many miles is 50 city blocks?