Tag Archives: La Unica

by | August 20, 2023 · 9:15 am

La Unica, Partagas and Black Works Studios Cigars

I’ve had a handful of these enormous La Unica No. 100 cigars in the humidor for a few months and have only had a few occasions to smoke them come up. This is an 8½” x 52 double corona made at Tabacalera Fuente for J.C. Newman.  Back in the ’90s La Unica was the first premium cigar that was sold in a bundle, it’s since been moved to boxes, more befitting the quality of the cigars.  I generally lean toward heavier cigars, but this Connecticut shade wrapped cigar is really quite good.  It’s smooth and creamy, and actually burns a little bit faster than one might think, sadly, I clocked in around two and a quarter hours with it, which worked fine for my schedule.  It was creamy and nutty, and I enjoyed it. These are also available in a Connecticut Broadleaf, which are also very good, and something I want to revisit, it’s been years!

 

I was surprised with a package of samples from STG this week and felt compelled to smoke one of the Partagas Valle Verde Toros right out of the box.  Of course, this can be a risky proposition, but that’s what the Cigarmedics Humidimeter is for!  This Partagas is a bit of an odd duck, it has a green band, a San Andrés wrapper, some San Andrés in the filler along with Nicaraguan, and a Cameroon binder.  It’s also made in the HATSA factory, which is in Honduras, which seems to be another oddity for a Partagas, which is normally made in the DR. I’ve long been a fan of the Partagas line, they have been second only to Fuente in their mastery of Cameroon, and their Broadleaf Partagas Black ain’t bad either. This Valle Verde was really quite good in my estimation.  It hit all my preferred flavor receptors. I got the earthy black coffee from the Mexican, the sweet nuts from the Cameroon and some sweet spice from the Esteli Ligero.  I’ll be shocked and amazed of this isn’t my favorite out of the batch of samples, I hope I’m not disappointed! More on those in future posts.  I would urge sampling the Partagas Valle Verde if you enjoy the same kinds of cigars I enjoy!

 

Remember last week (I think, maybe the week before) when I said that I really like Black Label Trading Company‘s cigars, but I find that they all kind of hit me the same?  I clearly haven’t smoked enough of them, because I smoked the new Black Works Studio Poison Dart Corona Gorda yesterday and it was clearly on another level.  Now, I get that the Studio does some different stuff than the regular line.  The Poison Dart just came out at the July trade show, and Famous Smoke Shop had them when I was there recently so I grabbed one.  This is a 5½” x 46 corona gorda with a pointy cap, a Brazilian Matafina wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers.  This cigar had a rich, mouth-coating kinda thing going on, almost licoricy, or maybe meaty, or some weird combo of the two.  It was delicious and was good for ninety minutes or so of afternoon enjoyment.  Lots of cocoa, coffee and spice, not unlike a lot of the BLTC cigars, but more intense.  I liked it a lot. 

 

That’s  about it for today. I am smoking a Buffalo Ten Connecticut while writing, a perfectly acceptable cigar with coffee, actually quite good.  I keep saying I don’t lean toward shade cigars, but I really quite enjoy them when I smoke them. I don’t know what’s wrong with me.  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | May 7, 2023 · 9:08 am

Some Illusione and J.C. Newman Cigars

We were going to take a roadtrip this weekend, but decided against it early in the week.  After a week of rain and overcast, it was going to be a beautiful weekend and we had some stuff we needed to get done around the yard. Today my back is feeling it.  Anyway, I figured I’d smoke some cigars this week!  Wednesday I have a regular group therapy session that we call “The Round Panel”, or, sometimes, the “Secret Society”, which is usually good for around 2 hours of hysteria.  I tend to grab a larger cigar, and this week I went with a La Unica #100. This cigar is a beefy 8½” x 52, Connecticut shade wrapper with Dominican fillers, made at the Fuente factory.  Back in the mid-90s, this was the first premium cigar to come in a bundle, or was it the first bundle cigar to be premium? I think they are presented in a box now.  This is a really nice shade cigar. Shade cigars aren’t really my preference, although there are a few that I like.  It’s creamy and mellow, certainly not without flavor.  My only gripe was that it smoked in about an hour and a half, which is my usual smoking time for a Toro, not sure why that it, I’ll have to smoke another one and clock it. La Unicas are great cigars, always have been, at a wallet friendly price. 

 

You’ll recall I had gotten a sampler of Illusione cigars a few weeks back, and decided to finish it off this week.  The Garagiste has been one I’ve been anxious to try since it came out a few years ago.  I had the 6″ x 54 Gordo size (the whole sampler was 6″ x 56, I like the size!). This is a bit of a departure from the usual Illusione range, as it’s a rather strong cigar, with a lot of pepper to start out.  It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper with Criollo 98, Corojo 99 (both Aganorsa staples, with Ligeros from two Nicaraguan regions. Like I said, the Ligero is apparent in the strength of the cigar. I found this to be a very enjoyable cigar, there are certainly more in my future. 

 

The last cigar I had from the Illusione sampler was the Original Documents MJ12. This was another 6″ x 56 cigar, with a Corojo Rosado wrapper from parts unknown, and the Criollo 98 and Corojo 99 in the fillers.  Let me start by expressing my displeasure with the tinfoil wrapper. It was a pain to get off, and the only identification on it was the barcode label.  It’s not big enough to make a hat out of, so why bother, let’s see the beautiful cigar!  The cigar smoked perfectly, and was really a pleasure to smoke.  It had some spice, but more citric than the pepper that the Garagiste had.  I’d certainly smoke this again, but I’m afraid I’d avoid it because of the foil wrapper.  

 

Finally, I smoked the new Angel Cuesta from J.C. Newman in the Toro size.  This is another cigar with a Rosado wrapper, along with what the company describes as tobaccos from three continents. I had the opportunity while I was at the factory last December to see some of these being rolled, ironically, by a gentleman named Angel.  This line is named after Angel Cuesta, who was one of the founders of the Cuesta Rey brand.  I got to see the aging room filled with these cigars as well. I was fortunate enough to get a sampling of all three sizes of this, and started with the 6¼” x 52 Toro with a pigtail cap.  This cigar smoked wonderfully, and I can’t recall, but I’d bet it has some Florida Sungrown tobacco in the blend, it has that tang to me.  It’s not a cheap date, heck, it’s made in the USA, ranging from $18-22.  Definitely worth a try. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | June 7, 2020 · 10:44 am

La Unica, Quorum and Brick House Cigars

I really would love to get down to Tampa in the near future to see what J.C. Newman is doing with the historic “El Reloj” factory there. They have been remodeling it in celebration of their 125th anniversary, and I imagine it’s going to be spectacular. I haven’t ever really been to Tampa, funny enough. It’s just such a weird time. Anyway, I smoked some of the more pedestrian of the J.C. Newman offerings lately, and I figured I’d discuss them here. Let’s start out with the Quorum. I’ve actually smoked a bunch of these maduro toros over the last few weeks and I have to be honest, they aren’t bad. They’ve all had pretty good construction and a nice mild to medium strength. These are made in J.C. Newman’s PENSA factory in Esteli, and run around $2.50 a cigar. I’ll be honest, I’ve avoided these for years figuring they were cheap and just not good, but I was wrong. They are inexpensive, but they are a tasty smoke. The Maduro has a Sumatra wrapper, Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan fillers, and has a bit of a meaty flavor, with a hint of sweetness. For what it is, it’s not a bad cigar at all. If I’m sitting down to relax with a cigar and I’m worried about the price, I’m probably spending a few dollars more for something else, but If I want a decent cigar to smoke while I’m doing something else, this isn’t a bad way to go. I really need to work on being less of a cigar snob.

 

La Unica is a brand that takes me back. This was probably the first premium cigar that was sold in a bundle. Of course, now it’s a boxed brand, but in the 80s and 90s it was in a bundle, and it wasn’t a particularly cheap bundle, but cheaper than box brands at the time. It was made by the Fuentes, and came/comes in Connecticut shade and Connecticut Broadleaf. Of course, 25 years ago when I smoked these, I preferred the maduro, and I probably still would, but I smoked the Connecticut Shade No. 400, the 4½” x 50 Rothschild this week, and I’ll be darned if it didn’t taste exactly like I remember them tasting 20+ years ago. I thought it was a very good tasting shade cigar, and shade cigars are usually my last choice. I recently listened to a certain podcast where the tasting panel didn’t particularly care for it, and I can’t agree with their assessment. I felt like it was a perfectly tasty cigar, and would and will smoke it again. Of course, I want to smoke the Maduro version now! Smoking the La Unica was a bit of a sentimental journey for me, it made me want to line up an Excalibur, a Don Carlos Robusto and maybe find a Canaria de Oro Rothschild.

 

Last night I felt like continuing with the J.C. Newman theme, and I really wanted to smoke a Diamond Crown, but I didn’t really feel like there was anything happening that was worth celebrating with a cigar like that. I know I’ve been smoking some great cigars here and there lately, but I still feel like I need something to go right in my world before I feel like I deserve to smoke a Diamond Crown. It’s a weird way to think. I might have to just grab one and take a walk today and get over it. Heck, there are other more expensive cigars I’ve smoked over the last several months that I didn’t “deserve”. Whatever. I did feel like I deserved a Brick House yesterday, and I found a Corona Larga. Brick House is one of the few brands where I’m not picky when it comes to wrapper, I enjoy all three equally. This one had the Ecuador Havana Seed wrapper, and is 6¼” x 46 with Nicaraguan binder and filler made in the same factory as the Quorum. The burn and draw on this cigar was perfect, as good I could expect from any Diamond Crown. Flat ember with all components burning at exactly the same rate, a miracle. The flavor is sweet and earthy tobacco, and it’s good. It’s a small ring gauge, so it requires a slow draw. The 60 ring Mighty Mighty is good too, and you can afford to puff on that a bit more aggressively, but this one requires some more finesse and patience when smoking. It still falls into the budget range, and is worth every penny. Good stuff.

 

Well, that’s about it for today, it looks like it’ll be a beautiful day. Whether you’re relaxing, getting some yard/house work done, or attending a local peaceful protest while observing the appropriate social distancing, I hope you enjoy a great cigar along the way! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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