Tag Archives: Micallef

Micallef Red, La Aurora Fuerte Sol and Mr. Sinistro Cigars

I’m super late to the party on this first cigar.  In the past I’ve only had the Micallef Black and Blue, with the Black being my favorite of the two. I found a Micallef Red toro in the humidor and it piqued my interest.  This 6″ x 52 toro has a Mexican San Andrés Habano wrapper, a Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan, Mexican fillers, it’s right up my alley!  I really liked this cigar, maybe more than the Micallef Black, but I think the most noteworthy to me was that it was different, there was a cinnamon sensation in the beginning, along with the nice Habano sweetness that I like.  I can see myself smoking more of these, and they are attractively priced.  I have a lot of work to do sampling the rest of the Micallef color series.

 

Another cigar I found in the humidor this week that was new to me was the La Aurora Family Creed Series Fuerte Sol.  This is the first of four cigars in this series, named for the León family creed, which is “I will always remember that: We are a proud family of rural origin, forged with persistent work under a strong sun. Humble and honest people. People who, along with cultivating the land, cultivate love, happiness and faith. For this I promise: To work for the common good, maintaining integrity, authenticity, frankness, perseverance, honesty and passion for excellence, which distinguishes us as a successful family. A family which values and loves its roots, and which yearns to preserve that legacy that, by the grace of God, we have received from our parents. This intangible inheritance is what we pass on to our children, with passion and conviction. That is our greatest wealth.”  The Fuert Sol I smoked was a box pressed Robusto, 5″ x 50, with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Pennsylvania, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.  I absolutely loved this cigar.  It had a dark dried fruit sort of sweetness, burn and draw were perfect, as they should be for a pricier cigar.  The first box of cigars I bought back in 1996 was a box of La Aurora Bristol Especiales and it probably cost around $40 (I still have one left, and I think my daughter, named Aurora, still has the box!). As you can see, the La Aurora brand is sentimental to me.  I can’t spend $300+ for a box of cigars, but if money were no object, I’d get more of these.  I’m reminded of the Extreme series from a while ago.

 

The final cigar today was the Mr. Sinistro Robusto from Sinistro Cigars.  I’ve talked to these guys a few times, and I know people who make their cigars, and people who have their cigars made by them, but I haven’t smoked a ton of their Sinistro branded stuff. I really should try to find some more of their cigars.  I believe all three cigars today came from the Best Cigar Prices Smoke-onos event, by the way.  This cigar has an interesting blend. It has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Pennsylvania Broadleaf binder and fillers from Paraguay and Dominican Republic (olor ligero, piloto cubano ligero, and corojo ligero).  I smoked the Robusto size, which is a hefty 5½” x 54. The first note is that the wrapper burned like a Habano 2000 wrapper from the 90s, that is, not very well.  It took some coaxing to get it to burn right.  That said, the flavor was really nice.  It was a heavy espresso shot, just right for a Saturday afternoon. I was slightly distracted, because we just brought home a new rescue dog, and we’re all feeling one another out. He’s a Pomsky, yes that’s photo credit to a stranger who took the pic at the adoption event Pomeranian and Husky mixed. He was a stud at a puppy mill not far from where the binder in this cigar was grown. He also has some vision impairment, which will be challenging.  He’s super cool though, and while I was against getting another dog, my wife and I fell for this one. We always seem to end up with special needs dogs!  We’ll call him Cicero.  Anyway, Mr. Sinistro was good, I wish the wrapper had burned better. I’ll definitely sample another one. 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

 

 

😃+
Share

1 Comment

Filed under Review

Camacho, Plasencia and Micallef Cigars

I saw Jack Heyer at the Camacho booth at the Smoke-Onos event last month, and, funny enough, I received some samples of the new Camacho Limited Edition 2025 last week.  I’ve smoked a lot of Camacho cigars over the years, going back to the ’90s when Christian Eiroa owned the company.  I even went through a box of the Camacho Candela Monarcas.  This new cigar has a San Andrés wrapper, Honduran binder and Honduran and Dominican fillers.  It’s offered in a 6″ x 52 Toro and they come in tins of 20 priced at $17.50 each.  I smoked a couple of these, it’s unusual for me to smoke the same cigar over a week’s time, but the first one I smoked was so good, I had to smoke another one.  These suit my palate ( but not necessarily my wallet!).  It’s a really good cigar, loads of espresso, with some spice. This is an excellent cigar.

 

My youngest son has taken to getting me a couple cigars for Father’s Day the last couple years.  He stops in CIgar Mojo in King Of Prussia, PA and they have done and excellent job of recommending cigars that I haven’t had before.  This year one of the cigars was the new Plasencia Alma De Cielo Amancer, the Hexagon pressed 6″ x 60.  The press isn’t as the Alma Fuerte Sixto, which has sharper corners.  This isn’t a surprise, given that the wrapper appears to be quite thin. It looks like a shade wrapper, but it’s actually a Nicaraguan wrapper from Condega, which they say is grown at 1300 meters above sea level. They say it’s the highest Elevation cigar on the market. The rest of the cigar is Nicaraguan as well, binder and filler, obviously made at the Plasencia factory.  This is on the milder side, which starts out a little drying on the palate.  There’s a sweet cream sort of thing going on.  As it heats, it rounds out, losing the press. I’m always embarrassed when my kids give me cigars, especially when they spend so much, it was a very generous gift. A great gift is something I wouldn’t buy for myself.

 

A cigar on the opposite end of the spectrum in several ways is the Micallef Black Firecracker.  Like the Camacho, it has a San Andrés maduro wrapper, with an Ecuador binder and Nicaraguan fillers.  The format is 3½” x 50 with a fuse pigtail cap. I’ve smoked many of the seasonal Firecracker releases, I try to buy them  from Two Guys Cigars when they come out, I think I missed a couple here and there. The most memorable was probably the Fratello that I smoked on the Spanish Steps in Rome.  I keep a bunch around for those times when I don’t have a lot of time. I also like the Micallef Black blend, I’m a fan.  This was a strong little cigar.  It started out with a blast of pepper, the mellowed slightly, although never dropping below strong.  The burn was perfect, and it was a  very enjoyable cigar.  The only problem is that it’s priced a touch higher than the toro (and the box pressed toro that’s a Smoke Inn exclusive, also excellent), but it’s a different cigar, and requires a bit more work to make.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

Share

Comments Off on Camacho, Plasencia and Micallef Cigars

Filed under Review

Tobacco Queen Super A, Timeless Supreme and a Couple Cigars at Smoke Inn

A few weeks ago I featured some cigars from Cigar Ambassador in the Tobacco Queen line.  This is a company that has been a major leaf supplier to the Asian market out of the DR.  I was waiting for the right time to tackle the Tobacco Queen Super A, a 9¼” x 48 actual A size cigar, and that time presented itself this week.  Set aside a hair over two hours for this one.  I was surprised that this started out with a lot of flavor, many times A size cigars start mild, this one had some spice and cinnamon to start.  For such a long cigar, it burned perfectly, and had a reasonable consistent flavor all the way through.  It was a fun smoke, it kept my interest throughout, and I’d smoke it again.  As long as it keeps my interest, I like a long smoke.  

 

I had picked up a Ferio Tego Timeless Supreme 660 recently because I hadn’t yet smoked anything Ferio Tego branded yet.  I don’t know how this happened, I just know that I need to fix it.  The Timeless Supreme is a box-pressed Nicaraguan puro, made by Placencia.  The 6″ x 60 box pressed doesn’t feel too large, and it smoked perfectly.  This cigar was chocolaty with a hint of spice tingle, and I really liked it. Why haven’t I smoked this before? It could easily be a go-to cigar for me, it’s fits my preferences just right.  I will need to further explore the Timeless series. 

 

Friday morning I decided to make a Saturday visit to the Smoke Inn Casa de Montecristo in West Palm Beach, Florida.  I know, you’re saying “CigarCraig, you live in Pennsylvania, how can this be?”  Well, my wife got me a Frontier Airlines Go-pass that allows unlimited flights at short notice.  All I have to pay is the taxes, which in the last three trips to Florida are about $30 round trip. Of course, there are limitations: blackout dates, limited destinations and times, stuff like that.  One must also be willing to endure the discomfort of a budget airline, and I’ll put up with a lot to save a buck.  Anyway I booked flights to Palm Beach International Airport and picked the closest Smoke Inn location to the airport, not realizing that the Headquarters store wasn’t too much further away.  That’s how I ended up hanging out at Smoke Inn West Palm Beach for the day yesterday. 

This is a beautiful shop, with a complete bar, well stocked humidor and helpful staff. Considering it’s been winter here, and was sunny and 80 there, I sat out on the lanai, as the Floridians like to call a patio.  The patio had three TVs, and the music at a barely audible level so one doesn’t have to yell to converse, which I like a lot.  The regulars engaged in the ball busting that seems to happen in every lounge I visit. I picked up a handful of cigars I hadn’t seen before and lit up a Micallef Black Box Pressed Toro, a Smoke Inn exclusive.  This is a 6½” x 54 with a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuadorian Habano binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. I’m interested to see what Micallef does with this blend in the firecracker format, this is a much better value!  I regret not bringing some back with me. It’s about $9, with some spice and cocoa, just the way I like it.  I know that next weekend is the Great Smoke, and the stores there are going to be super busy.  Would it have been better to go then?  Perhaps, but the dates were blacked out and I was happy to hang out there with an old friend from the alt.smokers.cigars usenet days, Don Payne. It was great catching up with him.  I was home in bed before midnight.  This is two weekends in a row I’ve taken day trips to Florida, next weekend I’m staying home! 

 

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

 

CigarCraig

Share

Comments Off on Tobacco Queen Super A, Timeless Supreme and a Couple Cigars at Smoke Inn

Filed under Review, Stores, Trip Report

Devil In Disguise, La Lina and Micallef Blue Cigars

It’s just after 8am on Sunday, Father’s Day, and I’ve just lit up a My Father El Centurion H 2K CT corona to smoke while I write this.  I love summer!  I can sit on the porch on a beautiful Sunday morning and enjoy a cigar with coffee.  This cigar is several years old (the price tag of $7.50 was still on it) and smoking well. Looking forward to a lovely day.  Yesterday Lina and John Remer of New Tobacco Vill

online pharmacy purchase tetracycline online with best prices today in the USA

age in Whitehall, PA launched a cigar called the Devil in Disguise, a toro made by Espinosa Cigars.  I believe this to be exclusive to New Tobacco Village and I’m quite sure they can be ordered through their website. I stopped in this store once and it was a really nice shop. It had a very welcoming feel, and loads of great cigars.  I regret not stopping in yesterday when they launched the new cigar.  The Devil in Disguise is a toro with a Habano Rosado wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  I smoked one Thursday and found it to be really quite good, it started with a pretty good dose of a citrus tang, which lessened through

online pharmacy purchase modafinil online with best prices today in the USA

the smoke, but remained there.  It was quite enjoyable.  Burn and draw were perfect and I dug it.  John and Lina are nice people, I remember the first time I met John, he was doing one of his Facebook lives from an event and was standing right next to him and commented on the post, which he read, then someone told him I was right there.  It was a little funny. 

 

Speaking of Lina, she is the proprietor of New Tobacco Village, and, I assume, who the La Lina cigar was named for.  John and Lina got married at a Vegas wedding chapel at the last PCA trade show, which was attended by a star studded cast of characters.  I was invited, but wasn’t in town at the time.  I’ve actually had this La Lina toro in my humidor for a few years. I ran into John and Lina at a TPE show and was given this cigar.  The La Lina Limited Edition is also a toro, and appears to also be available on their website.  This cigar has an Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper, Indonesian binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers.  I found it to have a leathery flavor, with some sweetness in the background. It was a very good cigar, and well priced for an LE. There are links above to purchase both of these cigars, not a paid ad, but the cigars were provided to me gratis.  A couple cigars get you a lot here at CigarCraig.com!

 

I ordered some of the latest Firecrackers from 2 Guys Cigars and added a couple other cigars I wanted to try but don’t see locally often. As long as I’m paying for shipping, right?  One of the cigars was the new Micallef Blue in a toro size.  I really liked the Micallef Black, and who can argue with the prices of these?  They are both good $8 cigars.  The Blue has a Mexican San Andrés Sumatra wrapper, Ecuadorian habano binder and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. I smoked this soon after receiving it, but I gave it the Humidimeter check and it was ready to go. 2 Guys always does a great job fulfilling orders quickly with great communication.  The predominant flavor on the Blue, to me, at least, was leather. I didn’t get any sweetness at all. I didn’t not enjoy it, I just prefer the Black in this case. It’s great that they are producing affordable cigars, especially good affordable cigars, especially when the came on the market not too many years ago with very expensive cigars. I suppose the next cigar in this line will be a claro of some variety. White would be the clichè choice, with Red for a rosado.  Whatever they go with, I’m sure they will be decent cigars.

 

At some point today I’ll smoke my traditional Father’s Day cigar, the Esperanza Para Los Niños, which is a 25 year old cigar at this point.  Thank you to my old friend Roger F. for allowing me to continue this tradition! You can search this site for the whole story, but this cigar was made by Christian Eiroa when her still owned Camacho and the blend was chosen by a group of guys from  the alt.smokers.cigars usenet group. It was sold to benefit children orphaned by hurricane Mitch which devastated Honduras in October of 1998. That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

Share

Comments Off on Devil In Disguise, La Lina and Micallef Blue Cigars

Filed under Review

A Micallef and Some New Cigars from Cayman Cigar Co.

Before I get into a couple cigars, check in here tomorrow morning for a special giveaway.  I keep remembering back a decade ago when I was doing the 12+ days of giveaways and thinking about how much fun that was, but how many hours I spent on it!  It consumed me!  I have a few good giveaways up my sleeve yet, I can’t let this time of year pass without giving some stuff away! Stop by any time during the week and leave a comment on the contest post to enter!  Along the holiday festive spirit lines, my Secret Santa was local and dropped off a generous package to me this week.  I had a problem that I was able to solve Friday evening so I dug right into the cigars and selected the Micallef Gomez/Sanchez Family 1934 Reserva Churchill.  This is a beautiful 7″ x 52 double corona, and I believe this is a the Limitada Privada that was among the first Micallef cigars to come out, carrying a higher price tag.  I’m not sure if knowing this was a super expensive cigar would have changed my decision to smoke it when I did or not, I was feeling pretty celebratory, having the kitchen sink clogged all week and fixing  it without calling a plumber felt pretty good.  This cigar had what I call bright tobacco flavors, with some floral, almost perfuminess especially in the second half.  It was medium bodied and sophisticated and complex.  Quite a nice smoke, and I thank my friend with the excellent first name for the special gift.  He managed to present me with a selection of cigars that were almost all new to me, no easy feat.  

 

Last week I heard from an old friend, Anthony, who I met back in 2011 on a trip to the Dominican Republic.  He was a blogger then, and has since been a broker and done some other work in the cigar industry.  I feel bad that I didn’t get a chance to catch up with him during a brief time when he was living up this way, but it was during that odd time in history around 2020 when things were weird and some of us didn’t get out much. Apparently he’s working with the guys at Cayman Cigar Co. in the Cayman Islands and had them send a couple of their newest blends.  Yesterday seemed like a good day for aquatic themed cigars, since I managed to break a pipe in an upstairs bathroom sink that had always been really slow to drain.  It resulted in cutting out wet drywall in a downstairs ceiling to find a hole in the pipe, and a bit of a mess. My project for today is fixing that problem.  I love plumbing problems…so while I was trying to get a plan together I smoked the Mariner. This cigar has a Corojo wrapper, and is 5¼ x 50.  Best I can figure, this is rolled in the factory in the Cayman Islands, by Maria Delvis Hernandez, their master roller who learned her craft in the Partagas factory in Havana. This had an interesting and different tobacco flavor. I don’t often get “salty”, but I think this one had it.  Maybe that was the Mariner imagery in my head, or maybe it really was salty, but it was good, and it help prepare me for wet ceiling drywall and leaky drain pipes.  

 

The other new cigar from Cayman, and one Anthony worked with them on developing, is the Caravel. Another 5¼” x 50, this one is made at Tabacalera la Isla, Hostos Quesada’s factory, in the Dominican Republic.  One of my favorite cigars, the La Sirena Mexican Mermaid is made at this factory. This Robusto has an Ecuador Connec

buy bupropion online http://nomaa.org/images/gif/bupropion.html no prescription pharmacy

ticut wrapper which is on the darker side, it could almost be confused for a Habano.  It has fillers from the DR and Nicaragua. To me, this one was loaded with a citrus tang, I found it very refreshing. I may smoke another today after I fix the plumbing.  Aside: the guy at Home Depot gave me a perfect setup last night: he asked if I was handy with a torch. I said, “sure, if I’m lighting a cigar!” For the record, I shy away from sweating pipes, using a torch in proximity

buy zithromax online http://nomaa.org/images/gif/zithromax.html no prescription pharmacy

to 60 year old rafters and waste pipes with possibly volatile gasses gives me the willies. I digress. I suppose I smoke enough cigars to be considered jaded when it comes to deciding whether a cigar is full bodied or not, this is described as full bodied, I found it pleasantly medium.  This line is a bit more financially approachable than  some of their others, I suspect the manufacturing costs are higher in the Cayman Islands thank in the DR. I’d love to visit some winter and see the factory ;-). 

 

That’s all for today.  Next Sunday will be Christmas Eve, so I’ll have to write a short post, announce the contest winner, and go shopping!  Just kidding. Maybe. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

Share

Comments Off on A Micallef and Some New Cigars from Cayman Cigar Co.

Filed under Review