Tag Archives: Partagas

by CigarCraig | July 25, 2010 · 9:55 am

More Cigars: RyJ, Partagas, Fuente and a Contest! – Sunday July 25, 2010

We left off this week with a disappointing Maria Mancini, and pick up with a Romeo y Julietta Habana Reserve Torpedo which had a similar problem. While this was a nice cigar with an appealing flavor, it behaved like an over humidified cigar. This was puzzling to me in that other cigars are smoking well out of the same humidor. This leads me to believe that some tobacco prefers different humidity than others. Figuring this out is a crap shoot, and maintaining multiple humidors is a nuisance, so finding a happy medium is key. I smoke right out of my coolerdor, with the cigars stored in boxes, if not their original, then another box. Some of the singles boxes have been in there for years with cigars rotating through them, so new additions shouldn’t make any big swings. Point is, most cigars in the cooler are smoking nicely, so I’m not going to sweat a couple less than optimal cigars from time to time. The Romeo y Julietta was nice anyway, and the cigar had an interesting box press which I found endearing for some reason.

Thursday evening I went with a Partagas Limited Reserve No. II, which was a 5½” x 50 robusto. NICE cigar!! Really smooth and rich without being strong. Perfect burn, perfect draw (and from the same humidor as the last two!), what a delight. Now, I hadn’t done any research on this except having smoked a Limited Reserve years ago, so I expected it was a pricey cigar, which was another from the collection my buddy Jason sent a while back. I was pretty amazed to find out that these run around $17.50 by the box. Considering how much I enjoyed this cigar, I’m tempted to say it would be worth that price, but the cheap bastard in me, the one who thinks $17.50 is a little steep for a 5 pack, just couldn’t ever justify spending that kind of scratch on one cigar. I really enjoyed it though and thank Jason again for sharing a bunch of cigars that I wouldn’t otherwise have tried on my own. If you find yourself in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, look up Rock’s Smoke Shop and buy a bunch of cigars from Jason!

Saturday brought 100 degree temps to SE PA, so I waited until it cooled off to the 90s before popping outside with a Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente. This particular cedar wrapped beauty was given to me by a non-smoking friend who had been given the cigar by a friend. It was claro almost to the point of candela, I actually had to dig around to try to see if Fuente ever made candela Chateaus. Their website is pretty cool looking, but woefully inadequate when it comes to technical data. A perfect cigar for a hot evening sitting on the deck reading a biography. Draw was great, burn wasn’t too bad and it was a flavorful medium bodied cigar. There are so many great cigars out there, but sometimes the classics hit the spot. I enjoyed this cigar, as well as the Partagas, accompanied by a nice cold bottle of Reed’s Extra Ginger Beer, a ginger ale on steroids that goes great with cigars.

Contest Time!

Once again it’s time to give some stuff away! Several years ago my daughter made this box for me for Christmas. As you may recall from the contest back in March, I save my bands. I used to have bags of them laying around before I got my big-ass vase to keep them in. Well, she got a hold of one of those bags and went to work, creating this great box, which I use to keep lighters, cutters and stuff like that in. Guess how many bands adorn this box to win a box of 5 Liga Privada no.9 cigars courtesy of Drew Estate. If someone guesses the exact number, I’ll include a Drew Estate cap. So spread the word, leave your guess in the comments and good luck! Someone is going to get 5 amazing cigars for nothing more than taking a couple seconds to leave a comment! I’ll open the envelope and announce the winner next Sunday, August 1.

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

CigarCraig

28 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, Contest, drew estate, fuente, general, habana, liga privada, Partagas, romeo y julieta

by CigarCraig | July 7, 2010 · 7:29 pm

Vegas de Santiago Cigar Contest Winner – July 7, 2010

My apologies for dragging my feet on this. Apparently the cat union shut down this week citing excessive heat. I just couldn’t get any of the cats to cooperate. I should have made the contest to guess how many hours a day they sleep or something. In the mean time, as I was trying to get some reaction out of the cats, I managed to enjoy a couple cigars.

Monday evening I smoked a Perdomo Tierra del Sol Corona. This is a nice looking square pressed (actually, it’s more tongue depressor shaped) long corona measuring 6 ½” x 42. My 20 year old son bought a bundle of these to take to a graduation party and managed to select these on his own. I had never had one so I was concerned that they may not have been a good choice. He got lucky and found a very nice cigar for a very reasonable price. These are a nice, smooth cigar, quite suitable for the occasional smoker or newbie. I found the one he gifted me to be tasty and well behaved, certainly suitable for a more experienced smoker as well. My son liked them too, which is good since he now has a bunch of them in his humidor.

I know, you’re waiting for me to announce the winner….

Tuesday evening the mercury was approaching 100 (the display on my scooter read 97), so my wife and I took a walk down to get her a frosty water ice. The Rita’s Water Ice outlets are fairly common on the east coast of the US (and Texas, go figure) and are quite the hot spots (so to speak) on a hot summer day. She got a Green Apple water ice and I enjoyed another Partagas Petit Coronas Especiale. I picked this one out of sheer laziness, I’ll admit. I had my eye on a Camacho Maduro, but I didn’t feel like taking a picture of it. I also didn’t want to have to think about it too hard. While I’m thinking of it, here’s a little confession: I never take notes on cigars, I pretty much write about them after the fact from memory. This is why I say I’m a crappy cigar reviewer. In all honesty, I smoke cigar to relax, and I’m afraid that If I put too much effort into trying to write a review, it will become more like a job and won’t be as enjoyable. That’s why this blog will try to concentrate on my experiences more than any kind of serious reviews. I am a little envious of folks who can describe a cigar in such a way that I can almost taste it. I’ll stick with a simple “I would smoke this again” or “Smoke this dog rocket at your own risk” rating scale.

Here’s an neat article I came across at Huffington Post about Cigar Vacations: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tom-johansmeyer/cigar-travel-the-latest-i_b_634668.html

OK, here’s a little video of the winner selection this time. I just threw it together, so to speak. I won’t try this method again…really, I feel the need to apologize for wasting two minutes of your time. Here it is:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4zhVNLuJCc

Anyway, I have Joel’s address around here someplace, I’ll hunt it down and get your prize pack of Vegas de Santiago cigars out to you this week! The music in the video is “Northern Lights” by Cliff Hillis from his album “The Long Now”. Thanks to the fine folks at Vegas de Santiago for sending some great cigars!

Thanks to all who participated! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

2 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as cigar, cigars, cliff hillis, Contest, Partagas, Perdomo, rita's, tierra del sol, vegas de

by CigarCraig | July 4, 2010 · 7:54 pm

Holiday Weekend Cigars,- July 4, 2010

I started off the weekend with a really nice CAO VR maduro Moby, a 6″ x 50 toro, although it seemed more like a 46 ring gauge than 50. This came in a sampler my wife gave me back in February. It’s Nicaraguan and Mexican fillers dressed in a beautiful dark and oily Brazilian wrapper. I like this cigar. It’s a solid, maduro cigar. I’m not sure I think it’s a $6 or $7 cigar, but I did enjoy it and if it were in the $3 range it would represent a good value. I believe this is a Cigars International exclusive.

Last night, between dinner with my wife, daughter and her husband and the local fireworks display, I lit up another Partagas Petit Coronas Especial from the box I received last month. It seems that a couple weeks rest really settled these down. It was a nice, smooth cigar that made me very pleased that I made the purchase. At right around $5 each, this is a very nice old style Havana cigar. It has the little zing that tells me what I’m smoking. The construction seems superb as it burned really well. I smoked it to a finger burning nub, then moved to the front porch to watch the fireworks.

Today I lit up a Montecristo No. 1 to celebrate the birth of our nation. I almost always smoke something a little exotic on the 4th, as I think that our nation has some basis in civil disobedience. I also think our southern neighbor makes some darned tasty cigars. This particular example came into my possession around 2004 as a gift, and was at least 5 years old if not more at the time. Time has been good to this cigar as it was smooth and flavorful, with that little bit of citrus that I’ve found in Montecristo No. 4s in the past. It has suffered some unfortunate wrapper damage, but burned as if nothing were wrong, even with an excellent draw. An exceptional cigar.

I would like to direct you to another hysterical video of one of my cats selecting a winner in my Vegas de Santiago contest, but, alas, I cannot. I don’t know if the cat union won’t allow them to work on a holiday or what, but I just could not get one of them to do a damned thing today. I’ll try to get something tomorrow, but if I don’t, I’ll have to select the winner in a more mundane fashion. I sincerely hope it doesn’t come to that.

Well, that’s all I have for now, I hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday and wish me luck getting these cats to do one little thing I ask of them.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

1 Comment

Filed under Contest, Events, Review

Tagged as CAO, cigar, cigars, Contest, Montecristo, Partagas, vegas de santiago

by CigarCraig | June 18, 2010 · 5:55 pm

Week’s Cigars: Maria Mancini, CAO Brazilia, Etc. – Friday June 18, 2010

It’s been a busy week so not a lot to report I’m afraid. Wednesday I grabbed a Maria Mancini Magic Mountain for a walk to the store. This particular cigar has a little looser draw than I prefer, so I had to smoke it a little slower. It rather amazes me every time I smoke one of these how good a $2 cigar can be. I’ve smoked dozens of Maria Mancinis over the years and have never had a major problem with them. They taste great and generally burn well. As I’ve mentioned before, I have always had some of these in my humidors over the last decade. I imagine these could go for $3 or $4 retail, but you can get 5-packs from JR Cigars for a shade over $10. Even if you order online and have to pay shipping they are still a great deal.

Thursday evening, after having a brief conversation with a friend about his recent CAO buying spree, I was inspired to light up a CAO Brazilia Robusto. There are quite a few CAO cigars I’ve enjoyed over the years, and there’s a few that just don’t do it for me, like the Criollo line. I loved the cameroon wrapped line back when it was called the Anniversario, then later L’Anniversaire, and they were severely box pressed. The corona in particular was like a tongue depresser it was so flat! I had a box of the Tubos in that line which were really nice. Now I guess they are just called Cameroon. Back to the Brazilia. Beautiful dark wrapper. Dense smoke. Good stuff.

As my son and I were walking around the block I introduced myseld to a neighbor who I’d seen smoking a cigar while cutting his grass. He said that he had just returned from the Netherlands and was enjoying a Partagas which he had picked up there. You have to love a guy who smokes Havanas while pushing a lawn mower! Naturally, I mentioned that I had recently received a box of similar Partagas cigars and my son (who is 20 and enjoying the occasional cigar) asked if he could have one. He lit one up after our trip around the block. I warned him that these were a little on the aggressive side, but he enjoyed the experience. His first cigar was a Romey y Julieta Coronitas en Cedro when he was 18 which I had gotten for my daughter’s wedding. Spoiled brat 🙂

Sunday is Father’s day, so I will be dipping into my dwindling stash of Esperanza Para los Niños. These are over 10 years old, so every year I wonder how they’ve aged. I will probably smoke a Churchill, as I still have a few of them. It’ll get difficult when A) I’m down to the last one or two, and B) if I find that they are losing their flavor with age. For some reason the Churchills have had some burn issues for me in the past, so we’ll see how it goes. I think the last one I smoke will be the Toro from the box that I bought in 2000, and it will likely be to celebrate some major kid-related milestone of some sort. We’ll see.

While I’m thinking of it, for those of you who live in Pennsylvania, or purchase cigars from vendors in PA (which I’m willing to bet most have at one time or another), our government is at it again, trying to fill budget gaps with tobacco taxes. Here’s the letter I sent to my representatives, with some help from the IPCPR‘s legislative action center:

I urge you to oppose any new taxes on premium cigars and other premium

tobacco products! Additional taxes will drive business out of state,

drive consumers to purchase out of state, and will result in less revenue.

Business taxes, sales tax, income tax, all will be reduced as a result.

What will be taxed after tobacco to make up that deficit?

Please remember, your tax revenues come from me-and I vote! We do not need

more taxes–not during this recession!

The IPCPR and CRA both have information on how to contact the PA Politicians and I would urge everyone to drop them a note pointing out the folly of thinking a tobacco tax is going to accomplish anything besides driving businesses out of PA. Here’s a press release from the IPCPR: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/06/prweb4154864.htm

4 Comments

Filed under News, Review

Tagged as CAO, cigar, cigar rights, cigars, CRA, IPCPR, Maria Mancini, Partagas

by CigarCraig | June 13, 2010 · 7:13 pm

This Week in Cigars: Vegas de Santiago, Partagas, Rocky Patel, Sir Stogies – Sunday June 13, 2010

Tuesday or Wednesday I decided to try a Partagas Petit Coronas Especial, a box of which recently arrived from overseas. I will revisit these periodically, as this had only had about a week in the humidor after traveling. It behaved like a well kept cigar, burn was straight, draw was good, flavor was nice, but had a harshness that should smooth out with age. These have a June ’08 box date so they are only 2 years old. Looking forward to seeing how they develop. These are a tremendous bargain for the size and quality.

Later in the week I grabbed a Vegas de Santiago Chaman Panetela Extra which was from a 5 pack that I received from the manufacturer after I signed up for their Yahoo Group. Another smaller cigar that burned well, but it had a grassy taste that wasn’t really to my liking. Not bad, mind you, but not what I look for flavor-wise. I will be featuring several of the Vegas de Santiago offerings in the coming weeks along with a contest in which someone will win some of their cigars.

Saturday I took the scooter for a ride about 30 miles north to Sir Stogies in Gilbertsville, PA. It was a fine ride, although it was hot and I hit every light. I met up with Walt of Stogie Review who was there hanging out for the afternoon. Also there was Dave Weber, the national sales manager for Oliva Cigars. I had met Dave once before and was flattered that he remembered me. Sir Stogies is a fine shop. I was greeted by Ken (I believe that was his name) who asked if I’d been there before and showed me to the walk in humidor. The first thing I spied was a box of Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve Maduro Lanceros which were on sale for $5.00 a stick. I grabbed 2 of them and didn’t really look any further. This turned out to have been a mistake since I was later to find out that they had La Aurora 107s and I probably would have picked one up. It was a nice way to spend an afternoon. The shop is spacious and comfortable. Highly recommended if your in the area.

This evening I took a break from writing this and went to our local park to see my favorite local band, “Now and Then” play in the summer “Concerts in the Park” series. I took a Montecristo No.2 which was awesome. It was smooth and delicious, not the powerhouse that I remember from years past though. This was in a gift bag that I received on the dinner cruise we attended last week. My son had a Rocky Patel Decade Maduro torpedo which he enjoyed. I don’t think I saw anyone give us looks, but I wasn’t looking. I saw some old friends there and it was a good time. Great band, great cigar, great friends.

In my last post I asked for comments on this picture. There were a lot of great guesses, I especially liked the IPhone ap comment from Jeff. What was I really doing? I was listening to the band of course!