Tag Archives: Legacy Brands

by | October 23, 2013 · 7:59 pm

An Ora Vivo, a Macanudo, a Padilla and the Gurkha Cigar Contest Winner!

Wow. Monday was a huge day as far as website traffic and comments went. It actually eclipsed my best day ever, last December when I was giving away a bunch of Drew Estate cigars and swag! I seem to have severely underestimated the Gurkha Nation, they are a force to be reckoned with! We have a crazy number of entries, stay tuned for the winner announcement after we talk about a couple cigars I smoked this week!

 

OraVivo_7x58Sunday afternoon I took a really long walk with a Ora Vivo Armand Assante 7½” x 58. This is a cigar that was released that the 2013 IPCPR show by Victor Vitale’s Legacy Brands. I published a story and video about it here. This example was a gift from my dear friend Mike Perry up in New York State, and I’ve since purchased a robusto while I was in New Hampshire a few weeks ago. Who would have thought I would smoke this great big cigar before the much more manageable 5” x 54 in October when it’s getting cooler and the days are getting shorter! The one word which comes to mind with this cigar is “elegance”. The band is beautiful, the wrapper is flawless and the smoke is smooth and tasty. It’s an expensive cigar, but I smoked it for two-plus hours and enjoyed every bit of it. Another winner from Victor Vitale. This would be incredible in a lancero!

 

Macanudo Estate Reserve_NoIIIMonday evening I stepped out of my comfort zone a little and selected an IPCPR sample from the General Cigar booth. Macanudo Estate Reserve is the new ultra-premium offering commemorating the brand’s 45th anniversary.  Most Macanudos have a Mexican binder, this one has a Dominican binder that’s 8-10 years old, covered with a Connecticut Shade wrapper.  The cigar is beautiful to look at and burned perfectly, with an equally perfect draw.  The No. III I smoked was a standard 5″ x 50 with a perfect round head.  It was mild and smooth and not without very nice flavors.  At $14 a piece, it should be perfect, as far as I’m concerned, but I’m a picky bastard. These are presented in boxes of ten in individual coffins at retail.  It would make a spiffy gift for the guy who likes milder cigars, that’s for sure. It’s one of those cigars that I’m thankful to have the opportunity to smoke.

 

Padilla StudioTobac_FiguradoTuesday afternoon we settled on our old house, which had been on the market for the last year.  To celebrate, after my wife and I went out to a nice dinner, I pulled out a Padilla Studio Tobac Figurado which had been given to me by my favorite local cigar rep, Oliva‘s Mike Staiber.  This is a 6″ x 60 perfecto which was a joint venture between Padilla Cigars and Oliva’s Studio Tobac arm.  It uses an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers.  To be honest, I expected to have my head blown off, but this cigar bordered on mild.  I’m not complaining, mind you, it was great fun to smoke and super tasty.  I never had to touch it up, and really had a hard time putting it down.  It was awesome.  This is another once in a lifetime smoke for me, probably, and it was worth the time spent smoking it for sure.  It was later than I usually go for a smoke, usually in that case I’d pick something smaller, but this was a celebratory smoke and I wanted something special. I got something special, it was delightful down to the tiniest nub (and I think I’m officially allowed to use the word “nub” since I’m talking about a cigar from the same manufacturer of the Nub line!) Thanks Mike!

 

Contest Winner

Gurkha Prize2_102013

OK, I know, everyone just wants to know who won the Gurkha prize pack I put together.  As I said earlier, the turnout was awesome.  We had 193 entries, almost doubling up the previous best showing.  If this is any Random_10232013indication, this Christmas contests is going to be pretty rough (for me!).  Anyway, I plugged 193 into the Random.org random number generator and it spit back the number 65.  Give me a while to figure out who that was…..OK, I’m back.  The winner is Gabriel!
contest_10232013I need you to e-mail me your contact information so I can get this out to you.  I don’t want to have to chase you down!!  Thanks to everyone for entering! Contests are always a lot of fun, which is one of the reasons I torture myself and my family every December for 2 weeks! Many thanks again to Gurkha for making this possible.

 

That’s enough for now, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | July 14, 2013 · 9:50 pm

IPCPR 2013 Day 1: A Moment With Victor Vitale of Legacy Brands

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Myself, Armand Asante and my wife Jenn

Day one at the Annual IPCPR Tradeshow is in the books for us, and we had a great day on the show floor. Of course, it went by too fast and we are fortunate to have a couple more days to soak it all up. We had some great meetings and interviews which will all be shared over time. One of the great ones came today as I had an opportunity to sit with Victor Vitale of Legacy Brands and talk about his new ventures. (you can read about them here) Victor recently sold his old company, and is off to a rip roaring start with Legacy Brands, featuring Tortuga and his new offering, Ora Viva Armand Asante. Mr. Asante was in the booth and I had the pleasure of talking with him for a few minutes. I’ll see if I can get a chance to do a video with him over the next couple days.  I’m looking forward to trying these two new cigars from Victor.

 

Here is a video interview I did with Victor telling us about his new offerings:

 

As you can imagine, I’m worn out from the day’s events, and have some parties to go to tonight yet. I’ll be trying to get something else posted tomorrow and Tuesday. I hope you enjoy my style of coverage of the show, there’s loads of stuff to come. Be patient though, uploading video is time consuming over the hotel WIFI! If the video isn’t there right away, give it 20 minutes or so.

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | July 10, 2013 · 11:47 pm

Breaking News from Victor Vitale and Legacy Brands

I rarely post press releases, but these two arrived in my inbox tonight and I wanted to get the news out as soon as possible.  I’m looking forward to visiting with Victor Vitale at the show and will get more information.  Victor recently sold his company, The Cigar Agency to focus on new projects.  Here’s the latest from Victor:

 

Set to launch in Las Vegas next week at the IPCPR trade show, is the much anticipated Tortuga 215 Reserva by Victor Vitale.

Tortuga 215 is a limited production brand that is allocated in small quantities to only Appointed Merchants. The Tortuga 215 Reserva by Victor Vitale is a Nicaraguan puro with the majority of tobaccos from Esteli.

The Tortuga 215 Reserva by Victor Vitale will be an all box-pressed line up and initially debuted, as four sizes, for purchasing at the IPCPR trade show. Additional sizes will be made available in the upcoming months. Victor Vitale is looking forward to meeting with present merchants and also appointing some new merchants next week, at IPCPR 2013.

Tortuga 215 Reserva is a Legacy Brands by Victor Vitale product. For more information please visit www.VictorVitale.com and www.TortugaCigars.com

 

LegacyBrands

 

And:

Victor Vitale producer of the highly rated Tortuga 215 cigar brand has created a new blend, Ora Vivo Armand Assante.

Armand Assante, an artist, musician and golden globe award winner has had a 35 year love affair with cigars as is evident in many of his films. Throughout his career as an Actor, companies such as L’Oreal as well as Calvin Klein pursued Armand Assante as one of the few iconic images to be associated with their products. Other than Studio and International Independent Films and Television Armand never entertained the ‘commercial market’ save for the voice of Lincoln Continental and Serta in the nineties, and as host of stellar narration to political Documentaries. Though he comes from an exceptionally cultivated Family, his Grandfather an Italian Chef/Restaurateur in New York, his parents both Artists and Uncles and Aunts in Politics and Education, in the last few years the international scene has beckoned Assante once again to trade his persona on product such as casked Limoncello from Sorrento, Italy, Vodka from the oldest distillery in Russia, Spanish Vineyards as well as venues in Las Vegas. Assante seriously considered but stayed focused on a long time thought.

 

In the meantime offers to have his name on a cigar have been made consistently in the past but nothing inspired him enough to “make the cut”. He has a cultivated knowledge of cigars.

 

The desire to create a Legacy started with his career in the film industry thirty five years ago and Premium Cigars were only a part of his personal life and not a possible staple. He was not about to consider something that wasn’t personal. ‘Ora Vivo’, was an inevitability.

 

Armand writes:

I’ve lived an amazing life literally all over the planet. I don’t take it for granted. I wanted to express that. Sometimes what is unattainable can be approached if you choose the talent as well that comprehends you. Not that it’s a common occurrence. It rarely happens in Film being an industry defined often by consensus.

With ‘Ora Vivo’ I am creator and monitor of the product. If I create or distribute a product it would have to qualify as a product of legacy.

The product must have the necessary endurance to be associated with ‘Ora Vivo’.

Victor Vitale and Gary Macchione are of the same belief as me. What we create is a living expression of us. It’s the way we were raised. When we initially discussed creating a blend of a superior cigar in all respects we appointed Victor Vitale as our mentor. Victor Vitale has a long and tested career in the tobacco industry and his passion for tobacco and the cigar business is contagious. He created many successful brands such as the Tortuga 215 which is apart of his Legacy Brands cigar company. Victor brings 20 years of industry experience to our Ora Vivo cigar brand.

Gary Macchione has a passion for cigars, a talent for understanding and connecting with the consumer, and the ability to establish key relationships and create opportunities by bringing the right people together. Macchione has proudly partnered with veteran cigar maker Victor Vitale and screen legend and Cigar Aficionado Armand Assante to help create the cigar brand Ora Vivo.

Gary and I watched Victor carefully. He has the same discipline, knowledge and devotion to the blends as to the whole industry. He has been a student of the Latin American culture of Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua for 20 years and always speaks about ‘A tribute to the art and tobacco culture’. You have to respect culture. If you are willing to embrace people… and to learn from their culture… inevitably your own sensibilities will evolve… if you’ve seriously considered their branch of knowledge. What we wish for ‘Ora Vivo’ is it to be our tribute and honor to the Cigar industry’s brotherhood… of cultures. We want those nations that have created the magic of Cigars to be honored together, and shared, by one, such as the one Victor and Gary and I have created. This is our gift to those nations. We tasted Victor’s tobacco blends until we knew we had tasted the tribute those cultures deserve. That is the fundamental philosophy shared between us as men. We do not take the cultural legacy that goes into the creation of a great Cigar for granted… or the legacy that goes into the creation of anything for that matter.

Life is a fleeting glance and taste of beauty. We honor it… in all its forms.

Ora Vivo is our salute.

— Armand Assante

Ora Vivo is a Legacy Brands by Victor Vitale product. For more information please visit
www.VictorVitale.com and www.OraVivo.com

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | May 22, 2013 · 7:35 pm

Undercrown, La Palina, CyB and Tortuga Cigars

undercrownI’m still basking in the afterglow of my recent trip to Nicaragua, so Sunday I grabbed an Undercrown Corona Viva for my afternoon smoke. I think I picked this up on a visit to Cigars International’s store in Hamburg, PA.  It wasn’t a very nice spring weekend, but the rains stopped long enough for me to enjoy the heck out of this cigar.  I think this is my favorite size in the Undercrown line, although I have trouble finding fault with any of the sizes I’ve smoked.  Saying that these are the poor man’s Liga Privada would be incorrect, as I still think they are a little pricey.  But they are worth the splurge.  I actually have (as do all of us blogger/media types who were on the trips, a Corona Viva along with four “grado puros” of the Ligero, Viso and Seco which I will smoke all at once some day and attempt to report upon my findings.  I’ve   done this before and it’s a sure way to burn out the palate. Maybe it will be a good subject for a rare video.  Great smokes, the Undercrown, and they will always bring back fond memories.

 

LaPalina_Maduro_ToroMonday I selected my last La Palina Maduro in the toro size.  It’s hard for me not to like a cigar wrapped in San Andreas maduro leaf.  These are nice smokes, heavy on the coffee and dark flavors I relish in a cigar.  It was a humid evening, and this one wasn’t burning as nicely as I’d like. I actually let it go out after the dog took us on a bit of a romp through the neighborhood. She got loose and took a route toward home that we were unable to follow due to the briars and underbrush.  We walked home hoping she’d be there and when she wasn’t I took a walk down the yard and toward the woods and eventually spotted here wandering through a neighbors yard.  I came back with her (leash still attached) and sat down and finished my smoke. Having to frequently re-light and touch up was well worth it for the flavors.  This was a sample graciously provided by La Palina, but I will purchase these to have on hand as they are a darned satisfying smoke. Perhaps in the future I’ll keep these in a slightly drier humidor.

 

CyB_LanceroTuesday evening I was in a lancero mood.  This mood strikes me every now and again and I have a handful to choose from. I decided another refugee from Cigar Safari would hit the spot, and selected a CyB Lancero from Joya de Nicaragua.  This is a cigar that’s probably not on store shelves yet, but when it is, get some.  The CyBs (nee Cuenca y Blanco) I’ve had have underwhelmed me a bit, but to be fair, I’ve only had the toro size from the IPCPR show.  I need to pick up some of the other sizes. A couple of important (to me) factors of this cigar which stood out were the aesthetics.  This is a beautiful cigar, and it burned dead even, and when I tipped the ash it left a perfectly flat coal. This tells me that incredible care was taken to make sure all of the components were arranged in that thin ring gauge so that all of the different tobaccos burned at exactly the same rate. I also really enjoyed the flavor of this lancero.  It was smooth and perfectly balanced. I smoked one on the trip, but it was after several cigars and the nuances were largely lost on me (they usually are anyway, who am I kidding?) I smoked this down to about a half inch, it was so good.  A V-cut was perfect, the cigar was perfect, and I would have been happy if it had been about a foot longer!  It adds to my enjoyment when I’m personally acquainted with the people who blended this, and I had the good fortune to have spent time with both Dr. Cuenca and José Blanco on my trip.  True gentlemen who know what they are doing.  Many thanks to José for making sure I had one of these lanceros to smoke on a fresh palate and truly enjoy!

 

The consolation prize from last week’s contest will be going out tomorrow to Lloyd, but I still haven’t heard from smoke770. I’ll have to go and e-mail him now since he’s slacking on me.  I sure hate having to track down guys to give them goodies!

 

As I write this evening,outside on the deck in lovely spring weather, I’m enjoying a Tortuga 215 Edicion Limitada from Victor Vitale’s Legacy Brands Cigar Company. This is a cigar that is growing on me quite a bit, I’m afraid.  It’s a solid cigar that is loaded with flavor.  These are made in the Domincan Republic, with a Nicaraguan wrapper and binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers.  This one got an X-cut, that is crossed V-cuts because the single V wasn’t doing it for me and I didn’t have a straight cutter on me.  Do I have to carry two cutters now?  Nice smoke, but I still like the incredibly elusive Tortuga 1950 Natural Aged Maduro better.  Keep an eye on Legacy Brands.

 

That’s enough rambling for one evening, I’m going to try to get to a cigar event Friday, then pick out some good cigars for the holiday weekend.  Be careful out there and enjoy your smokes!

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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