Tag Archives: palio

by | December 11, 2011 · 8:44 am

12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways Countdown! A Monte Pascoal, a My Uzi and a Cain

It’s been a busy week, I’ve been gearing up for the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways and the weather was mild and rainy for the fist part of the week, and cold at the end.  This didn’t stop me from getting in a few interesting cigars though!

 

Mid way through the week I took a walk with a Monte Pascoal Minuto.  This Brazilian puro is a tasty little firecracker of a smoke.  The cigar is 4 3/8″ x 42, with Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper and binder and Mata Fina and Mata Norte fillers.  The word on the street is that the smaller sizes are stronger than the larger sizes, based on the higher wrapper to filler ratio, but I find this difficult to comprehend given that the blend is so heavily weighted toward the same tobacco variety. Perhaps I’ll ask Wes at Tabacos Mata Fina USA about this the next time I see him.

 

Last night it was cold.  I needed to get some cash, and the nearest ATM is probably a mile and a half away, so I grabbed the 7″x 60 My Uzi Weighs A Ton pre-release sample Jonathan Drew sent me quite a few months ago. This cigar is a joint venture between Joya de Nicaragua and Drew Estate/Subculture Studio, and was released at this years IPCPR show. Certainly this monstrous cigar would last me the entire walk, and then some.  There’s nothing more frustrating that finishing the cigar before the walk.  Anyway, this cigar had a nice flavor, and as has been said many times by others, it’s not a killer strong cigar as the name may imply.  It’s just a really nice, balanced, medium bodied cigar that was an excellent companion for the 3 mile walk!

 

Yesterday I felt inspired to smoke a Cain Daytona Corona after a big Olive Garden meal with my wife.  I really needed a couple laps around the block to burn off the pasta!  I love the Cain line, but most of them are just too strong for me.  Not the Daytona!  It’s another medium bodied cigar that’s packed with delicious flavors.  What led me to this cigar was a meeting earlier in the day with my areas Oliva rep, Mike Staiber, who provided a terrific prize for the upcoming contest.  Always nice to see Mike, and I wish we’d have had the time to sit and smoke one together.

 

Speaking of the contest, it starts TOMORROW!  Keep any eye here bright and early each morning for the next two weeks for a fantastic parade of prizes!  Leave a comment to win and check back every day for the winner and the next prize!  This is a contest that is unprecedented in the history of CigarCraig.com!  Many thanks to the following companies who have made this contest possible:

La Gloria Cubana

Villiger Stokkebye

Brothers of the Leaf, LLC

Miami Cigar and Co.

Oliva

CAO

Cigar Journal

Pipes and Cigars

C-Gars Ltd. 

Tabacos Mata Fina USA

Oja Cigars

and more to come!

 

My deepest gratitude for everyone for helping to make this a terrific 12 days of contests!

That’s it for now, more tomorrow!

CigarCraig

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by | July 20, 2011 · 12:13 pm

IPCPR Show Report, Blogger Party, Marc Aub from Palio and Esencia Cigars

I’ve been quite busy running around at the IPCPR show, talking to people and collecting great information and education to present to you over the coming weeks and months. Some of the highlights have been a New Media party held by Drew Estate at the MGM Grand, which was a veritable who’s who of bloggers and journalists (and me!). Several traditional print media folks were there, including Frank Seltzer (an old friend who writes for Smoke Magazine, Cigar Weekly and many others, Thor Nielson (Cigar Press Magazine) and his crew, Stephen Boyajian (Cigar Network Magazine), Jerry and Brian from StogieReview.com, Charlie from TheCigarFeed.com, Brooks from SmokingStogie.com, Mario from CigarExplorer.com, Teresa and Tim from SmokingHotCigarChick.com, Mitch from About.com, Patrick from Examiner.com, William Cooper from Cigar-Coop.com, and I’m sure some others whom I’ll be embarrassed about omitting when they tell me I forgot to mention them! Steve Saka, Marvin Samel, Jonathan Drew and Scott Chester all were there as well as Johnny Brooke, who, along with Charlie, were instrumental in organizing the event. We all received and incredibly generous bag of smokes and had a great time schmoozing. This is another example of why I hold Drew Estate in such high regard and think of them as great friends. I also had the good fortune to meet and talk to Tom Navarro, who is the worlds biggest Drew Estate fan, a CigarCraig.com reader and a fellow Cigar Safarian. It was a wonderful night with a balcony overlooking New York, New York and Excalibur hotels with great friends new and old. Thank you to Drew Estate for hosting (even though getting all these people in one place at the same time would have given Seltzer a great opportunity to get rid of us en masse!)

Last night I had the good fortune to have attended the Cigar Journal annual awards, where at one point I was sitting between Mitchell Orchant of C-Gars Ltd. And Jose Blanco, talk about rubbing elbows with giants in teh industry! I’ll expand more on that after I’ve had a chance to go through the video and transcribe all the winners. After that I had been invited to attend General Cigar‘s party, which was held in the Tryst nightclub in the Wynne hotel. Everyone was hanging out on outside by a waterfall smoking and drinking. I again managed to sit with Frank Seltzer along with Victoria McKee, General Cigars PR Director and a great friend of CigarCraig.com, who I thank for her support, the invitation and for rolling out the red carpet once again in the trade show booth and really treating us blogger types well!

I’ve got some appointments this morning to talk to some more wonderful folks on my last day at the show. I fly home tonight after what has been a pretty long but productive and enjoyable week. I’m going to leave you with the first of many short videos I’ve been taking of exhibitors. Here’s Marc Aub, another great friend and supporter, telling us about the great products at Palio and Esencia!

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | June 5, 2011 · 11:22 am

Cigar Adventures: NYC, an Alec Bradley New York, a Partagas, a Fuente and a Contest!

Last Tuesday was a day we had been looking forward to for some time.  We, once again, had the honor and privilege of being on the guest list for a New York City Dinner Cruise hosted by our friend Mitchell Orchant of C-Gars Ltd.   Mitchell is an old friend.  We first “met” through an e-mail and continued through the alt.smokers.cigars usenet group back in the ’90s.  We met face to face at a little herf in Vegas in 1999 known amongst those in the usenet world as “Boondoggle III“, which was held at the MGM Grand over a 3 day span.  This event comprised about 300 people who only knew one another through the wild west of the internet, an oddity at the time!  Anyway, we’ve been to Mitchell and his wife’s wedding in London, we’ve taken them sight-seeing in NYC, and been friends for a long time. Mitchell has taken to hosting this dinner cruise every year, which I reported on last year, which spends a couple hours cruising around Manhattan, with beautiful views of the skyline, the bridges, and the Statue of Liberty.  I thought it would be appropriate to enjoy an Alec Bradley New York Robusto, which I had picked up at De La Concha on my last visit to the city.  This is a very nice cigar!  This was created for the ridiculously highly taxed  New York State shops, designed to give the local tobacconists a little more margins in hopes that they can stay open!! Anyway, it’s a good cigar, pick some up if you see them in New York and support the oppressed businesses in the state.

Back to the event.  In attendance were  Marc Aub and Mike DaVersa of Brothers of the Leaf, LLC, makers of Palio cutters and Esencia cigars, whom I had met last year and seen at the IPCPR show last July.  Always a pleasure to chat with Marc, who’s as passionate as they come about his products.  Mitchell is the UK distributor for Palio Cutters, and just became the UK distributor for Arturo Fuente cigars, so, in addition to the fine Bolivar Belicoso Finos in the goody bag, there was a Fuente Hemingway Signature as well. These happen to be 2 of my all time favorite cigars that I rarely get to enjoy.We also got to catch up with some other old friends, Karen from Albany, George from South Jersey and even Barry from California.  I finished the night off with a Partagas Petit Coronas Expeciale from a box I had been waiting to arrive at cruise time last year.  I’ve really been digging these cigars and hope that the exchange rate comes down a little in the future so that I can get another box one day! I was even able to gift Mitchell a cigar, something that’s pretty rare as he always declines.  I had an extra Partagas Serie P No.2 that I got at his wedding coming up on 5 years ago. The Hunters and Frankau rep was handing these out at the reception, and Mitchell’s dad insisted I get an extra to take home.  I figured this would be a fitting “thank you” for the nice things he does for us.  At the end of the night Mitchell opened a box of Opus X Perfecxion X and passed it around, to cap off the evening.

Contest!

One of the neat items in the goody bags, was a ring gauge guide.  I managed to score a couple spares and will send one to a random reader who leaves a comment.  Heck, these will be cheap to mail, make that two!  So leave a comment to enter and see the rules on the winners and rules page, and I’ll make this one a short one and announce a winner on Wednesday if all goes to plan.  Give Mitchell’s site a visit when you get a chance and see all the neat stuff he’s got.  Also look for a mention of his book in the latest Smoke Magazine!

 

LAst night I selected a Fuente Anejo 50 that had been kicking around the box for a while now, maybe 4 years.  It was the first of this line that I’ve smoked and boy was it tasty.  It started a little slow, but it built into just the kind of cigar I like.  It had the nice, dark flavors I like and just the right level of nicotine.  Goes with out saying that it was well made, as it’s a Fuente.  I know these are pricey and availability is spotty, but if you have the chance, smoke one, I don’t think you’ll have any regrets. I selected this in honor of Mitchell’s a fore mentioned acquisition of the Fuente distributorship in the UK.

That’s it for now!  We have an update from  Tommy Berry coming up next time, so until then,

CigarCraig

Watch for a new discount code from StogieBoys.com coming soon.

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by | June 3, 2010 · 11:31 am

C.Gars Ltd. Cigar Dinner Cruise – Wednesday June 2, 2010

My lovely wife Jenn, myself and friend Karen

Last night we had the good fortune of having been invited on a dinner cruise hosted by our dear friend Mitchell Orchant of C.Gars Ltd.  The cruise was around Manhattan for about 4 hours on the Marco Polo Cruises “Jewel”, which is a 120 foot long ship with a dining room and a covered deck above.  There was a buffet of both Italian and Kosher cuisine that  was delicious and plentiful.  The attendees were a collection of customers, friends and business associates, all smoking non-stop for the duration of the event.

We began the day with my son and I visiting Shaving Grace in Exton, PA for some grooming.  The shop has a big flat panel TV, leather couch, pool and poker tables and various paraphernalia, including cigars, cigar boxes and ashtrays (although smoking is not allowed).  I have never had a professional shave and it was quite a treat to have the hot towels and all the various lotions and lather associated with it.  It’s not something I’d do all the time, but it was a treat.  I’m a little conflicted in that it’s kind of girly, in a very manly way.

Mitchell and Jenn

Shortly after the manscaping trip, we hit the road to NYC.  It typically takes over 2 hours to get from Southeast, PA to NYC so we allowed plenty of time for traffic and construction delays.  We made the Holland Tunnel in 2 hours and found our way to the docks, then found our way to the correct docks!  We were a good hour early but lucky for us Mitchell and his wife Karyn were aboard already with a few other early folks, including George whom we’d met with Mitchell in Vegas a few years ago.  Already we knew people, woohoo!

The vessel eventually filled up and we got under way.  I enjoyed a little Tabak Especial Colada Dulce while we were waiting.  I was pretty much on an empty stomach and wanted something to smoke that wasn’t too challenging.  It was pretty tasty for a flavored cigar.  After we got going I lit up a Hoyo de Tradicion Toro which was also very nice.  In these social situations I generally smoke cigars I don’t have to think about too much.  A great cigar can distract me from a conversation and I don’t want to appear rude.  We spent the evening catching up with old friends we hadn’t seen in a while and meeting new folks. I believe it was Oliva who provided the roller who was demonstrating his craft in the dining room, and all reports are that the cigars he was rolling were very good.

Myself and Mark Aub

One of the gentlemen I had the good fortune of meeting was Marc Aub of Brother of the Leaf, LLC, maker of the Palio cutter and Esencia Cigars.  Marc is an instantly likable fellow.  We talked about the newsgroups and forums, blogs and podcasts, and the state of the industry.  The discussion turned briefly to the IPCPR show and what place we bloggers have there.  I have been to the show once with a retailers badge but with the understanding that the people exhibiting are there to sell their product to retailers.  We made it a point to step back when talking to someone when they had real customers.  Marc suggested that the IPCPR add a membership category for the media, to which my wife made the suggestion of charging an annual fee.  I think this is a great idea, considering any schmoo can have a cigar blog (just look at me!) and get a press pass.   Charging a membership fee makes people think twice and gives the experience some value.

Mitchell "SmokeyMO" Orchant

Marc very generously put an Esencia Lancero in my mouth at one point which was just the perfect cigar to top off a great evening.   From what he said, the lancero isn’t available other than from him or in a special sampler pack that was available on a limited basis.  First, I love the size and feel of a lancero.  It’s elegant, it requires a bit more time and patience to smoke.  This one burned slow and even and was smooth and flavorful down to about 3/4″ when it gave up on me.  It started out with a little zing which I liked.  Marc confirmed what I suspected, that it was a Nicaraguan puro.  I have only heard about these here and there, but all of the good things I’ve heard were confirmed with this very satisfying cigar. On a slightly embarrassing note, it occurred to me moments after I did it that I cut it with my favorite cheapie cutter and not a Palio.  I don’t think Marc noticed (phew!) Unfortunately I didn’t take the time to snap a picture of the cigar, but it was a beauty.

After a terrific evening with a great bunch of folks, the boat docked and we said our thank-yous and farewells to our friends and hosts.  We have been so fortunate to have made such good friends over the years, it’s a treat to be able to hang out with them for a while every so often.  It was also fun to take my son along so that he could experience some of the kinds of events we’ve been attending while he was growing up.  He had a great time as well and is moving along through his cigar education.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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