Another full work week under my belt, getting in the swing of working an unusual schedule. This week I had Monday and Wednesday off. I should have announced the winner of the great Big Papi humidor from El Artista Wednesday, but I ended up posting a news item about Foundry Cigars reuniting with founder Michael Giannini and handing out candy to trick-or-treaters instead while smoking a really old Casa Toraño Maduro Lancero. Congrats again to Matt Hopper! One other news item that I posted was that Drew Newman, General Council of JC Newman Cigar Co., spoke at the FDA Conference, which was actually the Tobacco Product Application Review: A Public Meeting, which was a multi day event with many speakers, the full agenda can be found here: https://www.fda.gov/downloads/TobaccoProducts/NewsEvents/UCM622683.pdf. I added this link in the comments of the original post, but the article could have been a little more specific about what the FDA meeting was all about. Anyway, lets talk about a few cigars I smoked this week!
Last year I smoked a few Mombacho cigars, the Tierra Volcan and the Liga Maestro, and I remember really liking one, and not really liking the other, and I couldn’t recall which one was which. I came across a pair of them in the humidor and decided it was about time to figure it out once and for all (and try not to forget this time!). Both samples were from the 2016 vintage and came from the 2017 IPCPR show. I started with the Tierra Volcan in the 5½” x 50 Classico size. this is a Nicaraguan Puro with a sun grown Jalapa Habano wrapper, criollo viso Condega Habano binder, and Condega and Jalapa tobaccos in the filler. I really liked this medium bodied cigar, it had a nice, sweet flavor that I appreciated, and it burned very well. This wasn’t the one I didn’t like!
I smoked the Tierra Volcan on Monday, on Wednesday I smoked the Mombacho Liga Maestro, and it’s sometimes hard for me to get excited about smoking a cigar when, in the back of my head, I think maybe I’m not going to like it. This was the 5″ x 54 “Gordo”, I think, it didn’t seem all that “gordo” to me…but it was certainly five inches long, that is for sure. this one is also a Nicaraguan puro, with a shade grown Jalapa Habano wrapper, Jalapa Criollo binder and Condega and Jalapa fillers. I enjoyed this cigar too! I just have to think that when I smoked one or the other of these two cigars before I must have eaten something that conflicted with the flavor of the cigar and put me off. While the Liga Maestro wasn’t as sweet as the Tierra Volcan, it was more on the savory side, it was still a very good tasting cigar, one I’ll happily smoke again. I really look forward to a time when circumstances are such that I can, one day, visit Grenada again and tour Casa Favilli, as I understand it’s a beautiful factory. My brief visit to Granada in 2011 was little more than a drive by.
I went back to a favorite, the classic Fuente Añejo No. 50, on Thursday. Sometimes one just needs comfort food, and this cigar is so good. The barrel aged Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper compliments the Opus X filler blend (or whatever the blend, I don’t care because it’s good) so well. It’s loaded with wonderful cocoa and espresso flavors that I love. I am fortunate to have a box of these resting in the humidor and will try to keep my hands out of it long enough to let it age a while, it hasn’t even been in there a year yet. These are delicious cigars, I have some other classic cigars from the Fuente family that I will revisit in the near future, the Hemingway Classic is calling to me.
Friday evening after work, and before going out to the movies, I ran down to Old Havana Cigars south of West Chester, PA to have a visit with Ricky Rodriguez and finally smoke a CAO Nicaragua. I bought some Toros, as that’s my go-to size, and it’s the only size I saw there. They say this is the first CAO cigar that is Nicaraguan-centric in the blend, which I find hard to believe, but now that I think about it, I guess it’s true. The blend is a Jamastran wrapper and binder, and filler from Jalapa, Esteli and Condega. I love hanging out with Ricky, he’s an actual friend, I’ve known him a long time and try not to miss him when he’s in the area. He’s blended this CAO Nicaragua to be different from other Nicaraguan cigars, it’s not heavy, it’s medium bodies with a peasant sweetness and I really enjoyed it. Considering I smoked it before going out to a late dinner, it was a good thing it wasn’t a strong cigar! I actually wanted to smoke another one last night, but I got done work too late and didn’t feel like going out for a cigar when I got home. I’ll probably smoke one after work today!
That’s all I have for today, Hopefully you remembered to mess with your clocks if you live in a place that does that. I hate that it will be dark earlier for the foreseeable future! I really wish they’d just leave daylight savings time in place year round, but I probably say that every year! I can’t wait for spring! Until the next time,
CigarCraig
