Tag Archives: La Sirena

by | October 19, 2014 · 10:53 am

A Joya de Nicaragua Event, an Oceano and a Rocky Patel Cigar

Thursday evening I was headed home after work with the intention of heading out to The Wooden Indian in Havertown, PA  for a Joya de Nicaragua event with Dr. Alejandro Martinez Cuenca, who I first met and got to know at the 2011 IPCPR show.  I was excited for the chance to see Dr. Cuenca again, it’s been a few months.  As I was about a mile from home and my airbag deployed and I felt a yaris vs deer rnd 2 10172014bang, and I see a large buck flying to my left in my mirror.  This was quite a surprise to me, as I never saw the deer, it must have darted out from my left. I can only think that not seeing the buck might have been a good thing as I never swerved, braked, or did anything foolish that may have caused a worse accident.  Long story short, I joya_de_nic_darkcorojo_elMartillodidn’t get to the event, and, after having the car towed and calling the insurance company, it was too late. I decided I needed a Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo El Martillo to get my bearings.  Great cigar, loaded with sweet and spicy flavors. This may be one of my favorite “goto” cigars.  I’ll be interested to see if the car is a total loss or not. The irony is that the house we just bought is on Buck Run Lane.  This was the second deer that’s run into that car in the last eleven  months.

 

Oceano_IndianFriday I smoked the new offering from my friends at La Sirena Cigar Co., the Oceano. The five sizes in thei line are named after the Oceans, and I smoked the Indian, which is 5½ x 50. This cigar is a beauty, the Dominican Habano Vuelta Arriba wrapper is a nice chocolate color, it has a Dominican Criollo binder and Dominiucan and Nicaraguan fillers with the Visos and Ligeros from the DR and the Seco from Nicaragua, all assembled at the Quesada factory. The big surprise here is that this is a powerhouse of a smoke!  The draw was free and easy, and it burned perfectly. It had some horsepower to it!  This was a great smoke.

 

RockyPatel_Royale_ToroYesterday we moved some furniture and stuff to the new house and got good and worn out. We’re not even close to beig ready to move in yet, but at least we got some stuff over there. PODS are great, but can get expensive over time.  After we got home I took Macha for a walk with a cigar. I came across a cache of Rocky Patel cigars in the humidor, I guess they’ve been accumulating over the years. The Royale looked tasty so I figured I try it out. This toro has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper,  Connecticut shade & Connecticut broadleaf double binder and fillers from Condega and Esteli in Nicarauga,  All this combined for a darned tasty smoke!  Rich expresso and cocoa flavors and a nice, straight burn. Rocky has a lot of cigars under his umbrella, and this is one of the best I’ve had. Very enjoyable.

 

That’s it for today!  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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by | September 28, 2014 · 12:44 pm

Busy Cigar Weekend: Lunch with Herrera and The Smokin Goose Festival

I took a much needed vacation day on Friday to go hang out with Willie Herrera and Chris Stone of Drew Estate Cigars.  Cigar Mojo was the scene of the event, as Chris and Willie were making stops throughout the area. In True Mojo style, Trae provided pizza, and offered a Buy 5 and one is free special on Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua cigars. Sadly, they had sold out of the new Norteño, which was the whole reason I took the day off!  Trae was kind enough to find a Norteño in the Coronita size, which is a nice little pressed 4″ x 46. This is right up my alley with the San Andrès wrapper.  It was full of dark, rich flavors, this is a winner and I can’t wait to get some more of these and sample the range of sizes.  Hopefully Cigar Mojo gets them back in again soon! It’s always fun hanging out at Mojo especially with Willie and Chris.  There’s a reason this new shop placed highly in the recent “Philly Hot List” poll.

 

 

The Smokin Goose is a multi-vendor event put on by Goose’s Tobacco Outlet and Cafe in Limerick, PA.  This was their first event of this kind and was held at the historic Sunnybrook Ballroom in Pottstown, PA.  The event featured twenty or so premium cigar brands, including a couple reasonably local small brands.  It was held in a pavilion outside of the ballroom building, which, of course, is smoke free and the weather was a beautiful 80 degree day. Late September can be hit or miss in this part of the world, it can be cold and windy, or a great day like yesterday was.  Attendees received a goodie bag with a bunch of cigars, a Xikar travel humidor and assorted swag. There was food available all day in the pavilion, and the admission price included a meal at the restaurant too. I didn’t see people leaving the event to eat at the restaurant, which was across the parking lot, but as we were leaving it occurred to me that people were waiting until the event wrapped up (with the raffle prize announcements, as usual) and went to eat after.  Makes sense so people didn’t miss any of the festivities.  For an inaugural event, it seemed to go well. The 75 or so attendees seemed to have smiles on their faces.  Operation: Cigars for Warriors was there and was the beneficiary of the proceeds of the raffles.  I am going to have to pay a visit to Goose’s shop sometime in the near future, because I think I won one of the silent auctions.  It was a good event, John and Joanne Giese and their team did a nice job putting all together, I’m sure it was worth all the stress and anxiety that goes into putting something like this together. All the vendors and manufacturers who were there are to be commended as well. I’ll be interested to see next year’s version of The Smokin Goose!  I enjoyed making some new friends and catching up with some old ones. I appreciate being included.

 

The event space
Arielle from La Sirena Cigars
The goodie bag (thanks Jay)
It was Bianca from Gurkha’s birthday!
Jon “The Player” from Alec Bradley
The silent auction table
The Goosemobile
Alex of Evil Genius Cigars
Cigar Art by Eric Whitfield

 

Some of the brands represented there were La Sirena, Villiger, My Father, Altadis, Alec Bradley, Blanco Cigars, Gurkha, CLE/Asylum, Dominican Big Leager, Jenneff and Evil Genius Cigars from the Lehigh Vallley area in PA, Jason Alexander, John Hay, and Al Capone, as well as The Cigartist, Eric Whitfield. Also, thanks to Joe K for introducing himself!  Once again, it was a great way to spend an afternoon, and I’m certain all the attendees got more than their money’s worth.

 

That’s it for now, I’ve got some catching up to do after goofing off for the last couple days!  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | July 30, 2014 · 9:30 pm

Royal Gold Nirvana, Villiger Caberete and Nat Sherman Timeless Cigars

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day so, after doing a little yardwork, I alternated between smoking cigars in my chair in the yard and smoking cigars in the pool.  We’ll be moving soon, so whether we’ll have a pool in the future is quite uncertain, so I’m trying to take advantage of the pool as much as possible.  I started the day with an old La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especialé Cubano from a box that came back with me from the DR in 2011.  These have aged nicely.  When that was done, I found a Merlion Robusto from La Sirena. I figured the aquatic theme would fit in with my day. I’ve had this robusto since at least a year ago and age has been Royal Gold_Nirvana_Robustokind to this cigar made in the La Aurora factory. Both were on the smooth and mild side, which was nice on a hot day.  After dinner I grabbed a new-to-me cigar that came out after last years IPCPR show.  Royal Gold is the premium cigar division of Swisher International, and I talked to Alex Goldman, the president of the division at the Cigarnival a month or so ago.  The Nirvana is made by Drew Estate and has an African Cameroon wrapper. It had the construction you’d expect from a Drew Estate cigar, and had a nice flavor with that Camerooniness that I love.  It was sweet tobacco all the way through and was quite tasty.  I have examples of their other lines, the Kismet and Casino Gold which I’ll get to in the coming weeks.  Based on the Nirvana, I’m impressed.

 

Monday morning I got to work and there was no power, the previous nights storms had taken down a couple poles, so we did what we could and got out of there early.  I came home and took a nap, then grabbed a cigar for my evening walk with the dog.  I’ve been a fan of Villiger Cigars for a while, and I came across a new cigar from them called Caberete Maduro. This jet black, box pressed cigar looked like one I’d enjoy, and is made at the Tabacalera Palma factory. This factory has been producing lines like Aging Room, Señorial, etc, and is one of the hottest factories in the Dominican Republic right now.  The cigar was quite enjoyable, medium bodied, with a strong coffee/cocoa flavor. It burned admirable and gave me a very nice smoking experience.   The cigar I smoked was the Toro Largo size at 6″ x 54 and had a severe box press.  I look forward to smoking more of these. More information about this can be found here, as Villiger’s site has yet to updated with the latest information.

 

NatSherman_Timeless No2Tuesday I grabbed a cigar that had been gifted to me by a work associate, the Nat Sherman Timeless No. 2.  I have no excuse for not having sampled this line before. Back in the eighties I smoked Nat Sherman MCD cigarettes for a while. They were gool because they were brown, and they were all tobacco so they went out if you didn’t pay attention.  Totally irrelevant to this story, but I used to get their catalogs at the time.  It may have had a little to do with my cigar fascination.  Anyway, this is a nice torpedo shaped cigar, a classic 6¼” x 52, made in the Dominican Republic with a Honduran wrapper and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers.  I don’t have sophisticated tastebuds, so I was surprised when I got cinnamon. Is wasn’t cinnamon stick as much as a hard cinnamon candy.  I really enjoyed the flavors of this cigar and I’m sorry I haven’t smoked this line before. I’ll have to try some more, as well as the Nicaraguan line.  What an interesting and tasty smoke.

 

That’s about it.  We’re running out of time to comment publicly on the FDA Deeming Document. Go HERE and tell the FDA that regulating premium cigars will devastate not only local economies and put people out work, as well as hurting economies internationally.  It’s important, and I can’t wait to stop talking about it!

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

You might also like:

http://www.cigarcraig.com/?s=retro+especiale

http://www.cigarcraig.com/?s=Merlion

http://www.cigarcraig.com/?s=Villiger

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by | June 11, 2014 · 9:09 pm

Jaxx LT, Stixx and Jaxx from La Sirena Cigars

A few weeks ago La Sirena Cigars announced the acquisition of Old School Cigar Co. and the addition of their three lines to their own. I received samples and eagerly smoked a Jaxx and a Stixx after a week in the humidor. I didn’t comment on them here, because something was a little off, there was an odd aftertaste that was quite off-putting. I had a hard time believing that two cigars made in different factories could share that one odd aftertaste. I mentioned this to Max at Team La Sirena, and he suggested some additional humidor time, as he had noted some humidification issues himself.  Being that I am of the mind that every cigar is someone’s baby, and who the heck am I to pass judgement anyway, I took his advice. This week I decided to revisit the line, especially after smoking the Jaxx LT, which, according to Arielle herself, was the reason she picked up the line in the first place.

 

JaxxLT_RobustoThe Jaxx LT I smoked is an Ecuador Connecticut wrapped 5½ x 50 robusto with a Nicaraguan binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers made at the Placencia factory.  It’s a beautiful cigar, very uniform in shape and color. The burn and draw were about as perfect as any cigar I’ve had, it was really a pleasure to smoke. I enjoyed the distinctive grassy flavor the Ecuador Connecticut wrapper provides, it’s not nearly as grassy as a US Connecticut, I’ll call it a muted grassiness.  It wasn’t a particularly mild cigar, it had a nice load of flavor and was very entertaining.  It certainly held my interest and is a cigar I look forward to smoking these again.  There are really mild Connecticuts an there are cigars like this one that have a good body and flavor.  Recommended.

 

Stixx_BelicosoTuesday I picked up the Stixx Belicoso for the re-try.  This one is made at the Quesada factory in the Domincan Republic. This belicoso is more of a pyramid in that it’s 6″ x 52, but that’s not really important. The wrapper is a dark Brazilian Broadleaf Maduro with a Dominican binder and Dominican Criollo and Habana Vuelta Bajo fillers. What is important is that it was a totally different cigar than the first one I smoked.  This one burned well too, and the draw was firm, and I smoked it until my fingers burned.  I got a nice sweet flavor throughout the cigar, quite likely due to the Brazilian Broadleaf wrapper.  I was very pleasantly surprised with this cigar, a couple extra weeks to settle made all the difference in the world.

 

Jaxx_ToroTonight I figured I’d complete the hat trick, or the trifecta if you prefer horse racing over ice hockey metaphors. The Jaxx Toro is made in Nicaragua at Rocky Patel’s factory, but I won’t hold that against it (It’s a joke! I’m kidding! Just because I don’t smoke a bunch of RP cigars doesn’t mean they aren’t making quality cigars!) The wrapper is a nice, dark Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro, which is appealing to me. The binder is listed as Nicaraguan Banda Criolla, the fillers are Nicaraguan Seco and Ligero from Jalapa, and Brazilian Mata Fina Viso. The wrapper was slightly lighter at the head and became darker toward the foot. It smoked quite well and was very enjoyable. Again, the extra couple weeks of rest did wonders for this and it’s Stixx sibling.  All three are solid cigars that I wouldn’t mind smoking on a regular basis, and I won’t hesitate to buy these when I see them in the shop.

 

Many thanks to Max and Arielle at La Sirena Cigars for sharing these samples with me and for consulting on the initial experience. I’m so happy these redeemed themselves in my eyes, at least.  I look forward to the future offerings from this company, it’s my understanding that the La Sirena line is, in fact, moving production to La Zona, since I’ve been having very good experiences with cigars from that factory. I also still have to ship out the last contest prize, my apologies for dragging my heels on this, but I will get it packed up and out this week.

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | May 21, 2014 · 9:21 pm

A Sindicato, a Dunhill, a Debonaire and a Cigar Contest

I finally got around to putting some contest goodies together.  Some of the cigars were some spare samples, and some were ones I bought and enjoy quite a bit. More on that at the end of the post, maybe folks will read to the end, some may scroll down. If you scroll down, you might miss reading about some of the cigars I’ve smoked so far this week.

 

Sindicato_CoronaGordaMonday evening I picked out a new cigar from Sindicato Cigars. These guys are a little different than other manufactures. Jim Colucci is the president of the company, and he comes from many years at the helm of Altadis, probably the largest cigar company on the planet. The company is made up of a bunch of retailers across the country, so they have a unique perspective of what sells in tobacco shops and what consumers want. Last year they came out with the Hex and Affinity, along with the very inexpensive Casa Bella.  I’ve smoked all three and they are very nice smokes. This latest offering, the Sindicato, is at the high end of the price range, running from $10.95 to $13.95 and are made by the folks at Casa Fernandez with Aganorsa tobacco.  I smoked the Corona Gorda, a 5½” x 48 cigar with a nice pigtail and partially closed foot.   I really enjoyed this cigar, it was lush and meaty and loaded with delicious tobacco flavor. It burned perfectly and was a very satisfying smoke.  Thanks to Yoffy for sending these along.

 

Dunhill1907_BoxPressedToroTuesday I selected another new cigar, this one from General Cigar Co. This is the Dunhill 1907 Box Pressed Toro, measuring 6″ x 54 with a Honduran Olancho wrapper. The wrapper is wrapper mottled, not at all what I expected from a Dunhill, as they are generally beautiful cigars. The rest of the cigar is Dominican and Brazilian Mata Fina.  It was a nice smoke, although I think a few more months in the humidor will benefit it. I received two, so I’ll revisit it in a few months. It was medium bodied, and had a nice flavor, reminiscent of the CAO OSA Sol, which has a similar wrapper (although I think the OSA Sol’s wrapper was prettier). It had similar bright tobacco sweetness that I enjoy from time to time. This was a nice smoke, I look forward to smoking it again after a long rest in the humidor.

 

Debonaire_SagitaTonight I smoked a Debonaire Sagita petite lancero.  The reason I grabbed this one is a little less than debonair, I’m afraid.  Phil Zanghi is the man behind the brand. He developed the Indian Tabac line back in the ’90s and sold it to Rocky Patel. I’ve heard him on at least two podcasts describe this cigar as a 5½ x 48, which I knew was wrong. It’s a 38 ring gauge (I measured it), although I would have loved this in a corona gorda size. This is an ultra premium cigar, it even states it on the band. Another feature of the band was on the inside, where it has the box date,  which was July of 2013 (this was an IPCPR show sample).  The blend isn’t listed specifically, but they use high priming, excellent quality tobaccos, and are rolled with great care. The cigar was exceptional, it was meaty, like prime rib, and burned perfectly. It had a nice little pigtail cap too. I put a very small nub in the ashtray when I was done.  I would almost say this would be worth the nearly $10 price tag, if I wasn’t such a cheap SOB.  Worth trying if you have the opportunity.

 

Contest

OK, it’s been over 5 months since I had a contest.  Sorry about that, but after the December contests I guess I got a little burned out. So here is the prize.

 

Contest_052014

 

There are 15 cigars, including some special cigars from La Sirena (including a Merlion Sea Lion and a La Sirena Dubloon, which are very limited), a couple Alec Bradleys, a couple of the New Partagas 1845 offerings, and some of the house brands from Best Cigar Prices. There’s a few other cigars in there that I enjoy too.  Also a CAO cap (had to include a CAO concert to go with along with it), a Nomad S-307 and a Foundry Compounds, Elements and Musings Vanadium from the box I bought a few months ago. There’s a nice La Gloria Cubana tube too (now I have to find a La Gloria to throw in). A little something for everyone, I can’t imagine anyone complaining. So leave a comment to enter. Feel free to Tweet and share, but only the comments on this post will count. Good luck, and I’ll select a winner on Sunday!

 

That’s it, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

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