Tag Archives: Marcus Daniel

Another Marcus Daniel Kiev and Some La Aurora Preferidos

MarcusDanielKiev_CG_Gran ParejoSunday afternoon I decided to tackle the Connecticut Shade version of the Marcus Daniel Kiev Gran Parejo, which is a large 6½ x 57 shade wrapped cigar. The cigar is pretty, and it smoked very nicely. It was very mild for the first half, almost to the point of being off-putting, making me wish I had selected something else. It eventually picked up to near medium with a smooth, mellow flavor profile. This is a cigar that needs to be paid attention to, the flavors are there, but they aren’t jumping all over the palate.  Based on the pricing on the website, $1032.75 for a box of 25, I’d definitely take a pass, there’s no way these are $45 cigars, but I’m happy for the opportunity to have sampled them, and it’s my fervent hope that my recently retired friend who brought these back was given them by the store owner and didn’t pay that ridiculous amount for them. I’m admittedly frugal, and there are very few cigars that would get me to open my wallet that far, if any.  If you find yourself in Olde Naples, FL, stop in and check out the store, it sounds like a nice place to have a smoke, and he seems to have a good selection of other boutique cigars and realistic prices.

 

LaAuroraPreferidos_Corona_ConnecticutI decided this would be a good week to dig into some samples of the La Aurora Preferidos Coronas that are making their ways to shelves in the NorthEast part of the US.  There are six varieties, representing the six wrappers used on the regular Preferidos line.  I wrestled with what order to smoke them, should I do what I usually do and start with the darkest first and go from there? My wife pointed out that that may set me up for disappointment, given my proclivity for the maduro leaf. Then I wondered if I should go alphabetically. I decided to go with the opposite of what I’d normally do and go light to dark. I started with the Connecticut. I’ll preface this by saying these are all 5½” x 42 coronas, a very elegant size as far as I’m concerned. They also all have the wrapper designated on the band, which is handy.  The Connecticut was a terrific example of a smooth and creamy cigar.  It burned perfectly for the better part of and hour and a half, building nicely in strength and flavor.

 

LaAuroraPreferidos_Corona_CorojoI like a Connecticut shade wrapper, Ecuador or US, but it’s not on my go-to wrapper list, basically above Indonesian and  Criollo in preference, so things are looking very good for me enjoying the rest of the Preferido Corona offerings. Next in line was the Corojo.  Naturally, the Corojo should be a little stronger, and it certainly had a stronger flavor, which was unique and interesting.  Again, the construction was perfect, however I had to wipe some oozing tar of the head at the halfway point as I began to get an off taste. Once the goo was gone, it was back to tasting pretty darned great.  Another winner, although I’ll switch from the punch to a straight cut for the rest of the series.

 

LaAuroraPreferidos_Corona_CameroonTonight I went with the Cameroon corona.  Cameroon is an interesting wrapper with a distinctive flavor, nutty maybe?  The first La Auroras I bought, a box of Bristol Especiales back in 1995, had Cameroon wrappers and I recall they ended up not being great, almost vegetal and they had some construction issues. Granted, I didn’t have the storage experience that I have now, and probably had no business buying a box of anything at that point in my cigar journey. The box was about $40 and my daughter (who’s name is Aurora) may still have the box, that certainly figured into my purchase.  That being said, this Preferidos Cameroon was spectacular. Well balanced and loaded with Camerooniness!  Three for three!  So far the Preferidos Coronas have all been wonderful. Many thanks to Jason Wood of Miami Cigar and Co. and Gabriel Piñeres of Creativas for sending samples as well as sponsoring Day 14 of the 12SDoCG.

 

I’ll continue working through the last three, the Ecuador (Sumatra), Maduro (Brazil) and Broadleaf (Connecticut), taking a break on Friday to head out to Goose’s in Limerick, PA to attend an event featuring the great Bernie Parent and his line of Rocky Patel cigars. Bernie is a legend in Philadelphia sports, he’ll be there with his Stanley Cup rings from ’74 and ’75. He’s a hoot, I’ve been fortunate to enjoy several cigars with him over the last couple years.  With that, I’ll wrap this up and get to watching the Flyers game.

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

Share

7 Comments

Filed under Review

Gran Habano STK Baracuda and a Marcus Daniel Cigars Kiev and a Video

GranHabanoSTK_Baracuda_MaduroIt’s been a slow smoking week for me, the bitter cold here having some bearing on that.  So I figured it would be a good time so smoke some new, interesting and unusual cigars.  Friday I decided to spark up the Baracuda Maduro that the the folks at Gran Habano had sent me a few months ago. This was presented at last summer’s IPCPR show, and features a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper, not something you typically see!  The wrapper was a few shades lighter than a typical maduro, and it had a totally different flavor than I have come to expect from a cigar labeled “maduro”.  That being said, the flavor was exceptional! Very different and unique, with frequent flavor changes that made it very interesting. One moment there would be some coffee flavors, the next some earth and pepper. This was a very entertaining cigar to smoke and I’ll be on the look out for a couple more to see if the experience repeats.

 

MarcusDanielKiev_LR_Gran ParejoA couple months ago a recent;y retired former co-worker returned from a wedding in Florida where he met a cigar roller who was demonstrating his skill at the wedding.  Knowing I  am a cigar fan, this gentlemen managed to procure some samples after chatting up the gentleman rolling, who was, apparently, Marcus Daniel Morine, the proprietor of Marcus Daniel Tobacconist in Olde Naples, Florida.  The three cigars I was given were all on the larger side, and I wanted to give them some humidor time before smoking them, as I had no idea how long they had been out of the humidor and wanted to give them the best opportunity to present themselves as the blender intended.  There were two of the Dominican made Kiev line of cigars, a “Cloud Grown” Ecuador Connecticut, and a Habano Limited Reserve, and a Miami made Marcus Daniel® Habano.  I chose the darker of the three last night for my evening walk and cigar, the Kiev LR Gran Parejo. This is a substantial cigar, 6½” x 57, well made, with an easy draw.  My example had a bit of damage on the foot, which I never noticed at all when smoking.  It burned perfectly and had pleasant flavors on the medium bodied side.  As I’m writing this and doing a little research, I came across the price list for these on their website and I don’t think I would buy this cigar in the $45 price bracket. I was a bit stunned at that pricing. For me, it was a good, $8 or$9 cigar, nothing so special to warrant that kind of pricing (really, what cigar does?), but it was a nice, satisfying smoke.

 

Since I’m a little light on content this time, I thought I’d share a neat video that I was asked to watch and share.  Frank Correnti Cigars in Toronto, Canada, has been making what were called “Clear Havanas” in the ’50s. They hand make cigars from Havana leaf, and claim to be the only factory doing that in Canada.  I’ve never smoked their cigars, but I’ve heard of them over the years, and the folks at Notion Boulevard did a really nice job with this video.  Thanks to Zack there for passing this along.

 

 

That’s if for today. Not sure what’s on my schedule, but I may try another one of the cigars from Marcus Daniel, or I may rummage around for something else that strikes me as interesting, I rarely know until I dive into the humidors what I’m going to smoke at any given time.  So, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

Share

7 Comments

Filed under Review, Video