Tag Archives: ORTSAC

by CigarCraig | March 31, 2013 · 1:40 pm

Gurkhas and Nubs, ORTSACS and La Palinas – Cigars and Hockey

Today is Easter Sunday here, and we had the family over for breakfast. Not that I would normally have a cigar in the morning, but I usually spend my Sunday mornings writing, so that’s why today’s post is a bit later than usual. I will, no doubt, have a cigar later today when things settle down. It may not surprise you to know that I managed to smoke a cigar or two this week, here’s the rundown. The last part of the week was kind of a blur, so I’ll do the best I can. I stuck with some favorites, I needed a change of pace.

Thursday I went to the Flyers game with my brother-in-law, Jeff. On the drive down we fired up a couple Gurkha Seduction robustos. This is a cigar that really suits me. I love the flavor of this Ecuador Habano wrapped cigar, and it’s perfectly made. I’ve been using nothing but my new Xikar XV cutter since I got it, and the V cut worked perfectly. It was a delicious cigar that perfectly fit the hour long drive from home to the Wells Fargo Center in Philly. I would have preferred it if the Flyers had won, they blew a 2 goal lead then lost in a shoot out against the Islanders. After the game we retired to the cigar bar once again. I find sometimes my time is better spent having a cigar there as opposed to sitting in traffic. I had a couple Nub 464Ts in my pocket and I smoked a Cameroon. I hadn’t thought about it when I grabbed these, but I only had the V cutter. As it works out, the V cut on the torpedo wasn’t terrible, and it worked out OK on this tasty Cameroon wrapped cigar. The 464T is not a short smoke, we left about thirty minutes into the cigars and they just about lasted the drive back home.

Friday I took a walk with an ORTSAC 1962 Habano. This is a cigar that was gifted to me by Victor Vitale, cigar maker, importer & distributor a few months ago. It came in a neat little box with another Habano and two of the San Andreas varieties. It’s no secret that I adore the San Andreas, as a matter of fact, I will be on a mission to get some more of those in the near future. The Habano is no slouch either. It has a wonderful flavor and construction, and really works for me. Here’s a suggestion to Victor: package the Habano and San Andreas in either boxes of ten with five of each, and/or boxes of twenty with ten of each. I don’t know about anyone else, but that would make ME extremely happy, because now I’m not really sure if I like one better than the other! If I had both I could continue to argue this point with myself. Please let me know when and where these will be available! 🙂

Saturday afternoon my wife an I went to the Flyers game again, this time they beat the Bruins in regulation. (short side note: At the beginning of every game they bring five kids out to stand with the players during the singing of the Star Spangled Banner. There was one little kid, couldn’t have been more than six, who could barely stand on his skates Kudos to defenseman Bruno Gervais for holding this kids hand while he was out there. Seems like a little thing, but this little act of kindness was the highlight of the game for me. Well done Bruno!) Circumstances prevented us from attending the unveiling of a statue of Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent hoisting the Stanley Cup after they won it in 1974, which is in front of the Xfinity Live entertainment/dining complex adjacent to the Wells Fargo Center. Also, due to some logistics, as well as the onset of a migraine, we decided to forgo the usual cigar bar visit and head home after the game. After getting home and medicating, I took the dog, and a cigar for a walk. I selected a La Palina El Diario robusto and gave it a snip with the Xikar XV. I am loving this cutter more and more every time I use it. Anyway, this is another nice, Habano wrapped cigar made in Honduras. It performed quite well, although the draw seemed to tighten up as the cigar burned. I gave it another cut with the V cutter, making an X which opened it up a little. By that time I was just about through with it anyway, but it was a great smoke. The meds I take for migraines can sometimes space me out a little, but the walk along with the cigar took my mind off, and by the time I was done with the cigar, the headache was pretty much gone and I was left with the fatigue which comes along with whole experience. I enjoy the El Diario line, although I find that they aren’t exactly priced like a “Daily” cigar in my world. The Classic and the Maduro are also excellent smokes, however I have not had any experience with the initial line of La Palina cigars, which are priced well out of my comfort zone. As I said, the cigars I have smoked are great, and you can’t beat the people in the company, great bunch of folks!

Don’t forget the promo codes currently available for you to use at these two sites:

You can use the code “MPCGRS10” on CigarFromBrazil.com to get %10 off any purchase on the site. The Monte Pascoal cigars are very nice.

ItalianSmokes.com has a special offer code for you, it’s CIGCRAIG10 and will get you 10% off your purchase of their selection of Toscano style cigars.

That’s it for today! Whatever way you are celebrating the day, enjoy yourself. I know I’m going to go ritually sacrifice some tobacco this afternoon.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

Comments Off on Gurkhas and Nubs, ORTSACS and La Palinas – Cigars and Hockey

Filed under Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Flyers, Gurkha, La Palina, nub, ORTSAC, xikar

by CigarCraig | December 21, 2012 · 6:34 am

CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways Day 10: Drew Estate

Someone was spreading the word yesterday, because we had quite a few new readers enter. I love that, and I hope some of you stick around! Yesterday’s lucky winner of a box of 20 Minutes in Detroit Congress courtesy of NewestCigars.com is Mike, who says he’s 20 minutes from Detroit! Please send me your info ASAP so these can make it to your humidor!

It’s Day 10 already and what a special day today is! Today we have an amazing collection of goodies from the fine folks at Drew Estate. They have really outdone themselves with a nice selection of stuff! We have a Stinky Ashtray, but not just any old Stinky, a floor stand model! Also, there are three different cool Acid T-shirts (XL), a My Uzi Weighs a Ton Cap, an Undercrown cap and a Drew Estate Cutter (I love these cutters!). As if that wasn’t enough of a prize for today, there’s a box of Acid Kuba Kuba to ice the cake! Honestly, this could have been split up over more than one day, but it’s the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways!

Many thanks to John Brooke and everyone at Drew Estate for providing this copious bounty of goodies! Shipping on this one may break me! You know the drill! Leave a comment to enter and check back tomorrow to see if you won (and enter tomorrow’s contest if you didn’t)!

Until tomorrow,

CigarCraig

100 Comments

Filed under Contest

Tagged as 12 days, Acid, cigar, cigars, Contest, drew estate, My Uzi Weighs a Ton, ORTSAC, The Cigar Agency, undercrown

by CigarCraig | December 19, 2012 · 6:28 am

CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways Day 8: The Cigar Agency

Wow, we never had so many entries in a single contest! Watch for some surprises over the next few days, as if every day isn’t a surprise! Once again, I’m grateful for all the sponsors who make it possible for me to play Santa Claus a little bit. Please visit the links in each day’s posts to learn more about these fine cigars. The box of Pinolaro cigars from A.J. Fernandez and a 5 pack of cigars from Emilio Cigars goes to DB! Please forward me your details so we can get this out to you!

I can’t believe it’s Day 8 already! Today we have one of my favorite new cigars this year, a box of ORTSAC 1962 San Andreas from The Cigar Agency. This is a terrific smoke with loads of deep, dark flavors that make my palate dance! The San Andreas wrapper is dark and oily and beautiful. I will personally be quite jealous of the lucky winner of today’s cigars! This cigar was introduced at the 2012 IPCPR show so it’s brand new.

Thanks go to my good friend Victor Vitale of The Cigar Agency for providing this outstanding item! Did I mention I love this cigar? Too bad I’m ineligible! Leave a comment, win a box of cigars, what could be easier?

Until tomorrow,

CigarCraig

Rules

Here’s how you enter: leave a comment. That’s it, plain and simple. Tweets don’t count, but feel free to spread the word, only comments on this page count as an entry. Each day there will be a different prize and the winner will be drawn from that day’s comments. The winner will be announced on the next day’s post. The contest is open to everyone, even if you’ve won one of my contests in the past six months, but once you’ve won, you are ineligible to win again in this series of contests. All prizes will be mailed as soon as I get a chance to go to the post office, or whenever the sponsor decides to ship, whichever is the case, so don’t make me chase down your address! Please e-mail your contact information to 12days@cigarcraig.com as soon as possible!

72 Comments

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Tagged as 12 days, aj fernandez, cigar, cigars, Contest, Emilio, Los Regalos, ORTSAC, Pinolero, The Cigar Agency

by CigarCraig | November 21, 2012 · 8:55 pm

Thanksgiving Week Cigars – Cain, ORTSAC, Reinado and an Opus X

It’s the eve of Thanksgiving, and leading up to the holiday I smoked some tasty cigars! I know, what makes this week any different, you ask? It’s one of the many things I have to be thankful for. In addition to having a nice home and a wonderful family, we have some great cigars to smoke! Things could be a lot worse, and they are for a lot of people. Anyway, I smoked a few cigars this week, so here’s a little recap:

I started off the week, or ended the weekend, with a really nice Cain F 550. This is a beautiful 5¾ x 50 cigar with loads of flavor and strength. I have enjoyed the Cain line since it’s launch, generally prefer them with some age. This one I believe came from the IPCPR show, so it didn’t have too much age, but enough to round out the rough edges. The tubed lancero in this line is awesome, and this cross between a robusto and a toro was just as tasty. Smoke one after a nice steak dinner, you won’t be disappointed! I’ve got Cains scattered around the humidors and I’m thankful that I do!

Monday evening I just knew I had to try the ORTSAC 1962 Habano. I received a pair of these along with the ORTSAC 1962 San Andreas that I raved about in a previous post. This was a different, but outstanding cigar. It was well rounded and smoked very well. If you’re keeping score, I didn’t really much care for the regular ORTSAC 1962, but the San Andreas and Habano have made me a believer. Since I’m a fan of the Tortuga line from Victor Vitale’s stable, I’m quickly becoming a fan of this gentleman’s blends. One can’t be expected to like everything, but the last several blends have been winners for me. Victor is a heck of a nice guy too, and I’m looking forward to meeting up with him for a smoke in the not too distant future.

Tuesday I selected a Reinado Grand Empire Reserve for my evening smoke. I was given this robusto by brand owner Antonio Lam at the IPCPR show last August. I spoke with Antonio for minute at the show, you can watch the video below. This is a lovely Nicaraguan cigar that burned perfectly and provided me with in excess of an hour of smokey enjoyment. It was savory with a little sweetness that made my palate happy. I’ll hunt down a few of these to keep in the humidor as it was a really nice smoke.

To celebrate the end of a short work week, and the beginning of a four day weekend, I cracked open my “special” humidor. This humidor was a gift to me for my tenth wedding anniversary. My wife had a furniture maker friend make it, so it’s truly one of a kind. It’s been the home to the small selection of Havanas as well as some higher end cigars. It’s been about ten months since I really smoked anything from this humidor, I pulled a couple of Romeo y Julieta Coronitas en Cedros from it to celebrate my youngest son’s 18th birthday. Anyway, it’s my obligation to test a cigar from there periodically to make sure they are in good shape so I selected an Fuente Fuente Opus X Super Belicoso that must have spent the last decade or so resting in there. I can’t remember the last time I smoked an Opus X, it could have been in 2000. I initially thought the unlit wrapper smelled like cocoa beans, but my wife smelled cedar and I have to go along with her on that. I guess the conditions in that humidor are acceptable, because the cigar burned great and was loaded with classic cedary flavors. It was a great smoke, I wish I could remember where it came from. It had a $13.49 price sticker on the amber cello, and I haven’t priced these recently so I don’t know what that means! I think there are a couple more Opus X cigars floating around in there, I suppose I’ll have to smoke another one of these days!

That’s it for now, enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday if you are in the US. If you are in the rest of the world, have a great weekend!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

4 Comments

Filed under IPCPR, Review, Video

Tagged as cain, cigar, cigars, fuente, oliva, Opus X, ORTSAC, Reinado

by CigarCraig | November 18, 2012 · 11:27 am

Alec Bradley American, ORTSAC 1962, Nestor Miranda and Brick Cigars

Can I start out by stating that this is my least favorite time of year? It’s dark when I get up, it’s dark when I get home, and the temperatures are dropping. It makes it harder to smoke larger cigars and really be able to relax. My evening routine usually involves walking the dog with a cigar. I’ve been walking with cigars for years, at least walking keeps me warm and I generally walk for half or more of a cigar and finish the other half off while I “cool down”. An added benefit is that I get a little exercise while I enjoy a smoke. I have found that stronger cigars tend to hold up better in the cold and milder cigars tend to get lost.

Wednesday I grabbed an Alec Bradley American Sungrown robusto that I had purchased a couple weeks ago at the Cigars International grand opening. I had wanted to try these since they came out and this was the first time I thought to buy some. I love the American Classic blend, it’s a really nice cigar that’s smooth and tasty and well priced. I hoped for something a little bolder from the Sungrown version and I wasn’t disappointed. It was a very tasty cigar that was quite satisfying. At the $5 price point this is a must try, along with its American Classic sibling. Both are excellent smokes at a really reasonable price.

Thursday I went with a ORTSAC 1962 San Andreas from The Cigar Agency. I had smoked a sample at the IPCPR show reluctantly, and I say that because I love San Andreas wrappers and when Victor gave me a sample at the show and I lit it up, I was concerned that smoking it at the show wouldn’t give me the best opportunity to enjoy it. I find it very awkward to walk into a venders booth smoking someone else’s cigar, and I had an appointment shortly after I spoke with Victor. I was thrilled when a couple more showed up in my mailbox a few weeks ago. If I’m honest, and I try to be, I’m not a huge fan of the regular ORTSAC 1962 Bulletproof, it just doesn’t suit my palate. However, the addition of the San Andreas wrapper makes all the difference for me. It’s got just the right balance of strength and rich flavors that I crave, especially in the colder months. It’s a primo smoke and I’m looking forward to giving the Habano wrapped version a try as well. These shouldn’t be tough to miss on the shelves as they are packaged in colorful EVA material zippered boxes that are unique. This one’s a winner.

Friday evenings I usually grab something special, and this time it was a Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve 2012 which arrived a few weeks back in an unexpected package from Barry at Miami Cigar Co. This is a beautiful torpedo with a nice Connecticut Broadleaf , another favorite wrapper of mine. This cigar had a really nice feel, it was appealing in both appearance and flavor. I have not smoked many cigars from the Nestor Miranda Collection, but the few I have smoked I’ve enjoyed. This cigar was no different, although I think this is a better cigar for a nice sunny and warm afternoon than an evening walk. I get as much enjoyment out of watching a cigar burn as I do smoking it sometimes. This is a very limited release and I’m thankful to Barry for sending a couple my way, otherwise I probably wouldn’t have had the chance to try it.

A few weeks back the folks at Stogieboys.com sent me a selection of The Brick line from Toraño. These were all larger vitolas which gives me the additional challenge of finding time to smoke a large cigar. I grabbed the Torpedo yesterday to putter around the yard. It was a nice day, and I took the dog out for some play while I smoked the cigar. This dog is full of youthful exuberance and likes to run when she gets a chance. Thinking I could give her a little more room to explore I took her toward the back of the yard on the 25 foot cable, wrapping it around my hand like a super long leash. She saw something and bolted at about the same time I let my guard down and pulled me off my feet, of course the cable squished my hand and I let go, and she took off through the woods. I tried to follow, but the prickers and underbrush slowed me down and I lost track of her. I actually did a somersault when she first bolted and the ash stayed on the cigar! I ended up putting the cigar down to go hunting for her and came back to it later, but at some point the wrapper developed some cracks and started to flake away. I didn’t exactly give this cigar the attention it deserved. The good news is that this is an inexpensive bundle cigar that doesn’t skimp on quality and flavor. I have to admit that I wouldn’t have opted to smoke this if I were just going to be sitting outside on a beautiful fall day relaxing, but it gets high marks for dog chasing! I still have a Churchill for another day, hopefully a warm day, and I thank the folks at StogieBoys.com for sending these samples and for sponsoring a day in the 12 Days of Cigar Giveaways coming in December.