Tag Archives: Partagas

by | October 16, 2011 · 7:34 am

The Heartbreak Of A Damaged Liga Privada T52

First off, I’d like to welcome Oja Cigars, my latest site sponsor.  Click on the ad on the right and try their cigars if you get the chance.  Oja has four lines of cigars in several sizes, all made in Esteli.  It’s no secret that these have become a favorite of mine over the last several months.  Each line has a little something special to distinguish itself from the others.  Thank you to Luis Garcia and Oja Cigars for the support!

As I was rummaging around the humidor picking out some cigars to pack for my trip, I noticed a Liga Privada T52 robusto that had a cracked wrapper.  Imagine my horror.  This particular cigar came from the Drew Estate Blogger Party in Vegas at the IPCPR show, so it had been through a lot in it’s life.  Vegas isn’t kind to cigars.  Anyway, once i find a damaged cigar in my humidor, it has to go.  No question about it, it can’t continue to exist with the rest of it’s perfect brethren.  Maybe I’m shallow, or bigoted.  Certainly my CDO (that’s OCD in the correct, alphabetical order by the way!), but that’s just the way it is.  So I smoked it.  I peeled off the cap and used it as a bit of a band-aid of sorts, although the cap didn’t cover the entire crack, but it turned out OK.  I was expecting it to explode when it heated up, but it didn’t.  As usual, the T52 was a terrific cigar, despite the damage.  It burned like a champ, didn’t explode, and, while not as enjoyable as a perfect cigar, it delivered in the flavor department and was very satisfying.   Liga Privada, be it No.9, T52, or Serie Ünico, are exceptional cigars, one of the few cigars I consider worthy of the price-tag.

 

I’ve been alluding to my upcoming trip, and the day has come.  This time tomorrow I’ll be waking up in Santiago, Dominican Republic, and getting ready for a 3 day tour of the General Cigar factories and fields.  Stay tuned for updates along the way.  I’ll be taking pictures and video along the way and will try to upload something interesting over the next couple days, dependent upon connectivity.  Myself, and my 14 fellow bloggers will have a full schedule of educational activities and tours.  I feel very fortunate to be able to have this experience and share it with my readers.

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

 

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by | September 18, 2011 · 11:18 am

The Delaware Cigar Festival and Another Contest!

Saturday, September 17 marked the long awaited fifth annual Delaware Cigar Festival, organized and hosted by Gary Griffith, the Premium Cigar Manager of Delaware Cigars and the creator of Emilio and Grimalkin Cigars.  The event took place at Delaware Park, which is already one of our favorite places in the area to go and waste some money on the ponies, or drop some pennies in the slots.  The event was unique, as it is a big herf disguised as a charity event, although Gary won’t use the charity aspect to promote it.  The format is that the manufacturers and reps sell their samples for $3 each, with all of the proceeds going to charity, which this time benefited the family of a slain police officer (news report here), this was just in the last few days and quite tragic.

 

Photo Courtesy of Charlie Greenbacker

For your entrance price you got a bag with about 20 or 25 cigars (nice stuff too, I looked!) and assorted swag, a nice picnic buffet with burgers, dogs, chicken, ribs and beans, and the opportunity to talk with the assorted cigar makers and reps who were there.  Brands represented were:  Inked Magazine, Rocky Patel, Arturo Fuente/JC Newman, Emilio Cigars with brand creator Gary Griffith, Drew Estate, Altadis USA, Oliva, Perdomo, La Sirena with Brand Ambassador Arielle Ditkowich, La Flor Dominicana, Cigar Rights of America, EO Brands with Eddie Ortega, Miami Cigar, General Cigar, 262 Cigars, Kristoff Cigars, El Primer Mundo with Sean Williams, Veritas Cigar Co., and The Cigar Agency. Keith Park from Prometheous was also there.  All of these companies donated TONS of stuff, either cigars that were sold for $3 each, or stuff to be raffled off (we bought 10 tickets didn’t win a darned thing!).  The attendance was capped at 300 people, including staff, press and exhibitors, so it was a nice sized crowd. It was rarely a problem to have a chat with the vendors.

 

In addition to getting to schmooze with some of my friends on the manufacturers side, I was able to hang out a bit with some fellow blogger types such as Barry from ACigarSmoker.com, Walt  from StogieReview.com and Michael from CigarEvents.com.  I also had the great pleasure of meeting one of my readers, Charlie, who won big in the raffle give-aways!  These events are always about the people, and you just don’t meet nicer folks that those associated with cigars for some reason!

 

What a wonderful event that I would recommend highly next year if you are within a 3 or 4 hour drive.  Gary is a fine gentleman and I appreciate him welcoming myself and my wife for the afternoon.  It’s refreshing to see a retailer put on a “not for profit” event, and to have so many people there enjoying cigars and camaraderie.  I’d love to see more manufacturers participate in the future as the event is for good causes and shows the cigar business in a positive light.   The only downside was that the weather could have been a little nicer, it was overcast and under 70 until we drove off the premises, then the sun came out and it was nice!  Hardly anyone’s fault.  I managed to win about $4 on the ponies over the course of the day too!

 

In honor of the event, I’m going to have another quick give-away!  I know, I JUST had one that ended this week, but we got a couple Rosie Napravnik Bobbleheads at the park for Racing Fan Appreciation Day and I thought I’d combine it with a beautiful Veritas Connecticut Salamone that I purchased from the Delaware based Veritas Cigar Co. at the event.  So leave a comment to enter, and I’ll pick a winner next Sunday, September 25th.

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

CigarCraig

Photo Courtesy of Charlie Greenbacker
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by | July 6, 2011 · 10:39 pm

Fourth of July Cigars and a TACFAW: My Uzi Weighs A Ton

fathersday_haul_2I decided to take a drive back down to Light’n Up Cigars in Frazer, PA to use my last LivingSocial Coupon that I got from my daughter for Father’s Day. My sons had some stops they wanted to make, so we made the cigar shop one of our stops.  The shelves were nearly bare.  They had gotten some boxes of Art Decos in, from the looks of the full tin boxes, so I grabbed one of those, as well as a La Traviata natural (which I still haven’t tried, I had the Maduro and wasn’t impressed), and an Alec Bradley American Classic, probably for next July 4th.  Another three new inmates in the asylum.

party_shortI have a couple of traditions when Independence Day comes along. As the 4th is my wedding anniversary, as well as our nation’s birthday, I always like to exercise some civil disobedience and smoke a fine Havana cigar.  This year I went with a very old Partagas Short.  While not a huge cigar, it’s got enormous flavor.  I love these little guys and this one had been sitting around the humidors for the better part of the last decade.  It burned great and was a very nice companion while the grill got fired up.  Nice little cigar.

cao_americaAfter burgers and hot dogs while waiting around for fireworks to start, I decided on a CAO America Constitution that I had received at the CAO party at the IPCPR show in 2008.  High marks for presentation on this dos capas cigar, with a nice Connecticut Broadleaf over a Connecticut shade wrapper, only revealing a pinstripe of the shade wrapper, a very nice spin on the barber pole wrapper.  The cigar was very nice, although not really overly distinctive.  It was a good cigar, no question, but not one I’d go out of my way for particularly.  Love the band and, in this case, I’ll even tolerate the foot band.

Take A Cigar For A Walk

MyUzi5x60Tuesday I felt the need to take a power walk.  Some people will take hand weights on their walk.  I decided to take a heavy cigar.  A couple weeks back I received a package from Jonathan Drew with two of his new cigar, My Uzi Weighs A Ton in the 5″ x 60 and 7″ x 60 sizes, along with a really cool Liga Privada cap, which matches my hair color in black and silver. This new line is from Jonathan’s Subculture Studios and Joya de Nicaragua, using tobacco from both Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua and rolled at the Joya de Nicaragua factory.  I opted for the 5″ x 60 for my walk, which took me almost 3 miles.  Based on the description of the blend of this cigar, I must admit I was expecting a little richer flavor.  The burn was perfect, which is to be expected from cigars rolled at the Joya de Nicaragua factory, and has Jonathan’s hand in it.  The Mexican wrapper wasn’t as flavorful as I would have thought, and I expected more from the Brazilian filler.  I still really enjoyed this cigar, and I can’t wait to smoke the 7″ monster.  I think I’ll use a stopwatch with that and a 7″ lancero and see if my theory that length is the biggest factor in smoking time holds true.  Many thanks to Jonathan for sending me these goodies!

In The News

The Monday Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article on a new shop in town, Xhale Lounge.  I dropped Brad, the owner a note and hope to catch up with him in Vegas, and eventually visit his shop. Here’s a link to the story: http://articles.philly.com/2011-07-04/business/29736221_1_cigar-shop-cigar-industry-cigar-smokers It was nice to see an article about something so  un-PC as a cigar shop!  The paper had large, color photos and everything!

That’s it for now.  Don’t forget to go back and enter the contest that ends this Saturday.  Leave a comment with a link to a patriotic picture on any post since the contest started back on June 19th.  Since there were some technical difficulties on my provider’s end, I felt like I should loosen up the rules.  There have been three very cool entries and it will be hard to pick a winner so far.  Please make it even harder with more entries!

Until next time,

CigarCraig

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by | June 29, 2011 · 9:14 pm

Win a Box of Oja Cigars, Take A Cigar For A Walk with Partagas, Macanudo and Fuente

Last Friday my hosting provider had something go horribly wrong which resulted in all of my comments disappearing, not being able to leave any comments, and several other strange anomalies. In light of the fact that no one was able to leave any comments and enter the current contest, I’m extending the deadline to Saturday, July 9 at Midnight.  So go back to the contest posted on Father’s Day (here) and leave a comment with a link to a nice, patriotic picture to enter.  I really want to have to wade through a ton of entries, so get to it!  There are already two excellent entries. If you have trouble posting a pic someplace just e-mail it to me and I’ll make it work.  This is a great box of cigars, at least I think so.

 

On the Take A Cigar For A Walk (TACFAW) front, I’ve been hitting the pavement in training for my trip to Vegas for the IPCPR show, which, I’m proud to say, I will be attending as an Internet Media Member of the IPCPR.  It’s going to be a grueling experience, but I hope to provide my readers with a glimpse into the goings on of the trade show.  It’s amazing the lengths I’ll go to try to give you some interesting reason to visit!

 

 

I grabbed a Partagas Benji Menendez to start the week.  I had been looking at this one for over a year, it came from a bunch of cigars Jaso of Rock’s Smoke Shop sent me from the 2009 Trade Show.  It was a very nice cigar, well made and well balanced. It was like a refined version of the Partagas line, very smooth and tasty.

 

 

Next up was a Macanudo Crü Royale, which I was given at the show last year.  This was another one which I looked forward to smoking. It is, in fact, I Macanudo with some strength, not unlike the 1968.  Now, the first premium cigar I ever really tried was a Macando and it made me wonder what the big deal with “real” cigars was, but I have appreciated what most consider the mild and flavorless Macanudos in the past.  I appreciate the mellow subtleties of the Connecticut shade wrapper from time to time.  The Crü Royale is a very different beast, and really delighted me with it’s fuller body.  A must try.

 

 

Tonight I treated myself to a very old Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No. 3, which is a tasty corona.  I love the Cameroonieness in these, and while my experiences with Don Carlos are few and far between, there have been some memorable moments shared with cigars from this line. I’m reminded of a slots tournament in Vegas in 1997 at the first big herf I attended where I went out not knowing a soul and made some life-long friends, lost my $20 pretty quick, but enjoyed the heck out of a DC Robusto. Another tome I remember meeting a friend from out of town in Philly, sharing some of the first Presidente size when they came out, and running into some other friends and smoking the evening away.  Amazing how a cigar can evoke such memories of a decade or more ago.

 

 

That’s it for now, enter the contest, and take a cigar for a walk if you get a chance!

 

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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