Tag Archives: macanudo

Sunday Cigar Recap: Joya de Nicaragua, Brick House, Berger & Argenti, Broadway and a Contest Winner!

Here’s a few cigars I smoked this week:

Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta Robusto – I just love these cigars.  I loved them before I watched them being rolled in the factory, and I love them more every time I smoke one.  Such a good cigar.  Well balanced, great tasting and beautifully constructed.  To me they are special because I watched them rolled in Nicaragua, and they are reasonably priced (which is astounding considering the extra steps taken in the rolling process), and suite my taste buds.  If you haven’t tried these, you should.  I will purchase a box of the lanceros at some point, it’s just a matter of time…

 

Brick House Mighty Mighty 6¼” x 60   – For some reason I’ve been in the mood for large cigars, and this was a big one. This line has been around a while and received glowing reviews and is another reasonably priced cigar.  I picked this one up on my Father’s Day cigar run.  Very nicely made with rich flavors.  A most enjoyable 90 minute vacation in a cigar.  This line received an award from Cigar Journal magazine for the best value Nicaraguan cigar last month at the IPCPR show, an event which I was fortunate enough to attend.  This is made by the folks at J.C.Newman in Nicaragua based on one of the company’s first brands in the US. Again, a very nice cigar for a fair price.

 

Berger and Argenti Entubar Double Corona (7 5/8” x 54)  – Another large cigar, this one carrying a warning band at the foot advising to toast the entire foot, not just the protuberance of ligero, under penalty of death.  I was tempted to ignore this sage advise, but having spoken to both Kiki Berger (who gave me this sample) and Al Argenti at the show, I decided not to risk it and did as instructed.  There is something to be said for the entubado method of construction as the burn and draw were spectacular on this cigar.  It tasted good too, the Ecuadorian ‘Desflorado’ Connecticut wrapper, which seems to be all the rage these days, was very nice (I believe “Desflorado” means “deflowered”, and I was under the impression that all of the tobacco plants except for the absolute healthiest and strongest specimens have the flowers removed, so I’m not sure what this means in the description, but it is a cool sounding word!).

 

Broadway by La Aurora – I picked this up last March on a family trip to NYC at De La Concha. This is a cigar that La Aurora made specifically to help New York tobacconists survive after the 75% Tax on cigars was put into place. I picked up similar themed cigars from Alec Bradley and Gurkha while I was there. This is a nice cigar that starts out with a little kick. It’s a 5¾ x 54 with a unique double wrapper of Ecuador Sumatra and Nicaraguan, with Dominican Corojo binder and Dominican, Nicaraguan and Peruvian fillers. Mine burned fairly well, although my son, who smoked one with me, had some trouble with the burn on his. We may need to check his humidor, I can imagine with a double wrapper, the right humidity is going to be the key to a good burn with this. I’m trying to figure out how they manage to reduce the manufacturing cost of this cigar for sale in New York, but use two wrappers. It seems counter-intuitive, but I suppose it works, because the cigar is pretty tasty.

 

Here is a quick video of Kiki Berger from Cuban Crafters at last month’s IPCPR show. I’ll take this opportunity to thank Don Kiki again for taking the time to talk to me, hooking me up with a Cuban coffee and some samples, and giving me this spiffy new Perfect Cut cutter. I’ve been using this a lot in the last few weeks and I like it a lot. Unlike similar cutters that I like a lot, this one has a resin (plastic) body that is very light in the pocket. My other favorite cutter is all stainless steel and quite heavy. This one does a great job, has a cool hole in the back so you can cut a torpedo and doesn’t drag your trousers to the ground!

 

In the News

Here are a few interesting links I came across this week, the first is about an old brand that was made up the road from me in Reading, PA. The second one isn’t really cigar related, but is a cool article about a Beatles themed bar in Havana.

http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=325430#.TkPxXgeipfs.email

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/08/world/americas/08havana.html?_r=3

 

Also, many thanks to our local newspaper, the Daily Local News for including this site on their Blogtown page and featuring it on the front page of their site yesterday!

 

Contest!

I need to select a winner of my General Cigars prize pack.  As you can see, the prize pack has doubled since I announced it a week ago, thanks to Victoria at General Cigars for sending along some more goodies.  Be sure to get on over to http://www.macanudomillionaire.com and enter to win a trip to Vegas and a chance to win a million bucks.  We had 17 entries, with one being disqualified since he won in the last 6 months.  So I entered  16 into the random number generator and it spit out the number 11 which corresponds to Paul.  Please drop me an e-mail with your address so I can get this out to you!  I hate to have to work too hard to give stuff away, so get your contact info to me with me having to chase you down! 🙂

 

That’s all I have for now, and I think we can all agree that it was enough…so until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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General Cigars Week, a Macanudo, IPCPR Booth Tours and a Contest!

First off I’d like to thank and welcome Bonita Smoke Shop, our newest advertiser! Please give them a visit, either if you’re in Bonita Springs, FL, or by clicking on the graphic on the right! Nice folks with a great selection who were among the first shops with an internet presence back in the wild west days of the ’90s!

 

We left off having smoked a series of CAO cigars, and, since CAO is now part of General Cigar, I figured I’d wrap up the week with some more General products and a contest!  In an unrelated note, I had been approached some time ago by the marketing folks for a jazz artist named Anders Holst to review his CD, but it seems like I procrastinated and reviews have appeared on several other blog sites.  I don’t want to be repetitive, so check out Barry’s interview and review at ACigarSmoker.com.  I was going to try to tie it in with a review, but decided it’s been done, so thanks to Anders and the folks at his PR company for thinking of me.

 

The other evening I enjoyed a Macanudo 1968 Robusto again, I punched this one and the draw was excellent. I have really been digging these lately. A good friend related a story to me that when these were initially released he offered them unbanded, in a Havana cigar box, at an event and people thought they were Cuban. I don’t know about all that, and the power of suggestion can’t be discounted, but I really don’t draw a comparison. That’s not to say the Mac 68 isn’t a fine cigar, it is. It’s well made and very tasty. Since they lowered the price on these a few months back, it’s even a better cigar.

 

Saturday brought a migraine, which I tried to sleep off in anticipation of visiting a hookah and cigar lounge that’s opened in West Chester, PA (which is a few miles up the road from us). They are supposed to have a belly dancer on Friday and Saturday nights, and we’ve been trying to get there for a smoke. I’ve never tried the hookah, but I’m not repulsed by it and they do include cigars in the name of the place, so I’m open to try it out. I also was going to drive out to Lancaster PA to a cigar shop to meet up with a few folks, notably some of the guys from StogieReview.com. In the end, the migraine, along with my wife getting home from a business event later than anticipated, won the battle and we stayed in.

 

While I’m thinking about it, head on over to http://www.macanudomillionaire.com and enter the contest to win a trip to Vegas and a chance to win a million bucks. From the press release:

“Between now and September 30, consumers 21 year of age or older can enter to win an all-expense paid, three-day, two night trip to the in Las Vegas. While in Sin City, each winner and their guests will be treated to a VIP evening at the Playboy Club. There, a trio of Playboy Playmates will stand in for Lady Luck when each of the contestants and their guests play a high-stakes round of poker. If either the contest winners or their guests have a straight flush or higher, Macanudo will award the $1,000,000 prize.”

 

Here are a few videos I shot during my tour of the General Cigars booth at the IPCPR show. As always, these are raw videos, and, due to the ambient noise in the aircraft hangar they call an exhibition hall, they aren’t all that easy to hear. Thanks again to General Cigars for rolling out the red carpet for me again. They have quite a few exciting items again this year.

 

 

Contest!

 

Leave a comment to enter to win at least a five pack of General Cigar goodies, maybe more, but it will be at least five, I may be able to scrounge up more goodies. Contest will run for one week, with the winner being drawn on Sunday, August 14, 2011. Usual rules apply.  The prize may grow over the course of the week, hard to say!

 

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

CigarCraig

 

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Win a Box of Oja Cigars, Take A Cigar For A Walk with Partagas, Macanudo and Fuente

Last Friday my hosting provider had something go horribly wrong which resulted in all of my comments disappearing, not being able to leave any comments, and several other strange anomalies. In light of the fact that no one was able to leave any comments and enter the current contest, I’m extending the deadline to Saturday, July 9 at Midnight.  So go back to the contest posted on Father’s Day (here) and leave a comment with a link to a nice, patriotic picture to enter.  I really want to have to wade through a ton of entries, so get to it!  There are already two excellent entries. If you have trouble posting a pic someplace just e-mail it to me and I’ll make it work.  This is a great box of cigars, at least I think so.

 

On the Take A Cigar For A Walk (TACFAW) front, I’ve been hitting the pavement in training for my trip to Vegas for the IPCPR show, which, I’m proud to say, I will be attending as an Internet Media Member of the IPCPR.  It’s going to be a grueling experience, but I hope to provide my readers with a glimpse into the goings on of the trade show.  It’s amazing the lengths I’ll go to try to give you some interesting reason to visit!

 

 

I grabbed a Partagas Benji Menendez to start the week.  I had been looking at this one for over a year, it came from a bunch of cigars Jaso of Rock’s Smoke Shop sent me from the 2009 Trade Show.  It was a very nice cigar, well made and well balanced. It was like a refined version of the Partagas line, very smooth and tasty.

 

 

Next up was a Macanudo Crü Royale, which I was given at the show last year.  This was another one which I looked forward to smoking. It is, in fact, I Macanudo with some strength, not unlike the 1968.  Now, the first premium cigar I ever really tried was a Macando and it made me wonder what the big deal with “real” cigars was, but I have appreciated what most consider the mild and flavorless Macanudos in the past.  I appreciate the mellow subtleties of the Connecticut shade wrapper from time to time.  The Crü Royale is a very different beast, and really delighted me with it’s fuller body.  A must try.

 

 

Tonight I treated myself to a very old Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No. 3, which is a tasty corona.  I love the Cameroonieness in these, and while my experiences with Don Carlos are few and far between, there have been some memorable moments shared with cigars from this line. I’m reminded of a slots tournament in Vegas in 1997 at the first big herf I attended where I went out not knowing a soul and made some life-long friends, lost my $20 pretty quick, but enjoyed the heck out of a DC Robusto. Another tome I remember meeting a friend from out of town in Philly, sharing some of the first Presidente size when they came out, and running into some other friends and smoking the evening away.  Amazing how a cigar can evoke such memories of a decade or more ago.

 

 

That’s it for now, enter the contest, and take a cigar for a walk if you get a chance!

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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My Latest Cigar Adventures, IPCPR Show – Wednesday August 11, 2010

My family vacation to New Orleans this past weekend allowed me the opportunity to make a quick stop at the annual International Premium Cigar and  Pipe Retailers convention.  The IPCPR’s annual show is where all of the manufacturers and distributors gather to sell their wares to the retailers.  I had 3 hours to spend at the show as I had to catch a plane, so I tried to visit as many old friends as I could and meet some new ones.  As I was standing in the wrong line to register I met Wesley Gensel, who handles several brands of cigars from Brazil.  He had been interviewed not long ago on  Dogwatch Cigar Radio, real nice guy.  I moved from the “exhibitors” line to the empty “retailers” line and got my badge and waited to enter the show where I struck up a conversation with Thomas Bender and a couple of his cohorts from Cigar Weekly.  I also ran into Mark Aub from Brother’s of the Leaf/Palio whom I had met a couple months ago.

At about 10 minutes to 10 they opened the doors to the show.  I remember two years ago when we visited the show in Vegas it was like opening the floodgates when the show opened.  This time it wasn’t quite so crowded.  I’m not sure if it was a lower turnout or the exhibit space was larger, but it just seemed like there was a lot more room to move.  I headed over to the Drew Estate booth (which was awarded “Best in Show”) and Steve Saka was there, who is an old friend, and I introduced myself to Jonathan Drew and Johnny Brooke, whom I hadn’t met before.  It was nice to see Marvin Samel again, as well as Dave Lafferty and Kevin McCormack,  the sales guys for my area.  The booth was loaded with sneakers.  Racks of hightops on the floor and shelves of them around the perimeter.  Very cool and quite different.  I didn’t notice if Saka was wearing a pair of Liga Privada Chuck Taylors or not.

I stopped and introduced myself to Pete Johnson of Tatuaje and Dion Giolito of Illusione cigars.  I stopped to see Charlie Toraño, who’s booth was quite busy, said hello to Sam Leccia and  Dave Weber at the Oliva booth.  Stopped by the Camacho booth to see Christian Eiroa, and ran into old friend Bobby Holstein from Fuji Publishing, who used me to mule a cup of Scotch to Saka.  I also stopped by the CAO booth to see Paul Spence, whom I’ve met on several occasions before, and said hello to Jon Huber on the way out.   I was able to meet Bob and Dale from Dogwatch Cigar Radio finally, after having corresponded with them for quite a while, and ran into the crew from Stogie Review, of whom I’d only met Walt White prior. I also ran into Scott Smyth of Scott Smyths World of Cigars while talking to Kurt Kendall of 7-20-4 Cigars, both of whom were very nice guys.  I also ran into Abe Dababneh of Smoke Inn, whom I had met at the 2008 show.  He is on the IPCPR board and gave me some very interesting information about why they have restricted the number of passes available to retailers for the show.  It seems that some retailer was buying additional passes and reselling them to their customers for a profit.  They currently only allow two passes per store from what I’m led to believe.  I may have to break down and get press credentials the next time I go!

One of the highlights for me was visiting the General Cigar booth.  I had been contacted (me and a bunch of other blog types) by Victoria McKee Jaworski, General’s Director of Public Relations, some time ago and stopped to say hello. She was busy with a customer, but her assistant gave me the tour of the booth, introducing me to the brand managers and providing me with samples of some of the new offerings.  In the not so distant future I will be smoking a new Macanudo, the Cru Royale, a couple new La Glorias and a new Hoyo de Monterrey.  What is most interesting about these new offerings is that they are not ridiculously priced.  I’m especially eager to try the LA Gloria Cubana Serie N, which is Nicaraguan and will have an “N” made out of light colored tobacco leaf  as part of the wrapper.  The presentations of all of these new items are very impressive and will stand out on tobacconist’s shelves.  They also have some pretty cool items that will be coming out for the holidays, various collections and samplers with lighters and ashtrays and such.  They also showed me a Partagas 150 humidor and a La Gloria Cubana Travel bag which were beautiful and very high end.  Along with the samples, they provided me with a CD with photos of everything, which is good because I took a bunch of pictures at the show on the macro setting and everything came out blurry…anyway my visit to General’s booth was extremely positive, and I’m pleased that they see a value in what people like me do (free advertising?) and really go a long way to make us feel welcome at what is supposed to be a selling show.

I was a little disappointed  that I couldn’t find the La Aurora booth, either it was hidden away or not as big as I expected, or I was just in such a hurried and sensory overloaded state that I missed it, hard to tell.   There were a few other blogger types that I had hoped to run into but didn’t, but in three hours I managed to cover a lot of ground and make some good contacts.  I wish I had some good pictures, but there will be plenty floating around.

In an unrelated note, I received an e-mail while I was away telling me that CigarCraig.com was included in an article, Top 50 Cigar Appreciation Blogs For Becoming a True Aficionado”, which is pretty cool!  I appreciate being included in their list.

More on my adventures the next time,

CigarCraig

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