Tag Archives: PDR

by | August 28, 2022 · 9:59 am

A New Rojas and a Couple More PDR Cigars

I smoked a few more new cigars this week, but I’ll revisit them another time because I was less than impressed with them. It’s not that they were bad, it’s just that either they needed more time, or weren’t the ideal size.  I’ll get back to them eventually. I was really impressed with the Rojas Unfinished Business.  I see where Rojas has been celebrating the grand opening of their factory in Esteli, I know a few people that were there.  I’ve really enjoyed the recent Rojas cigars I’ve smoked. The Street Tacos, and the cigars by Stolen Throne have been impressive. There’s a few I need to smoke yet, but, overall, Noel is making great cigars. I night have an old Guayacan cigar in the humidor someplace!  Anyway, I smoked the Unfinished Business Toro this week that Noel gave me at the PCA show and it was really to my liking.  It has an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua and Mexico. The blend hits a lot of “likes” for me.  It was dark and rich, with all the flavors I like, espresso, a little spice, and some sweetness. I very much enjoyed this cigar.  Definitely a future revisit.  

 

I’m catching up on the PDR cigars, I think I only have one more in the queue for now. I actually need to organize the humidor I put these in to make sure I’m not missing any!  I started with the A. Flores 1975 Serie Privada Maduro in Robusto.  This is a 5″ x 50 robusto, and PDR has done a great job with consistency in branding with the little paper sleeves on each cigar and the name of each cigar on the band.  The look is uniform and quite classy.  This cigar has an Ecuadorian Habano Maduro wrapper, Nicaraguan Habano binder and Nicaraguan Habano and Dominican Corojo fillers. Oddly, this is not a sweet maduro, but more on the savory side.  Burn and draw were acceptable and it was an enjoyable smoke.  In the past few years I’ve gotten away from the Robusto size, but on a Saturday when I am going to smoke two cigars, this fit the bill.  

 

I followed the Serie Privada Maduro with the A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Maduro, also in a robusto size, after dinner.  This cigar has a Mexico San Andres Maduro wrapper, with Olor Dominican Republic binder and  Dominican Corojo and Nicaraguan Habano fillers. It seems to go without saying that all of PDR cigars are made in the Dominican Republic. The PDR originally stood for “Pinar del Rio” after that region in Cuba, but they recently changed it to “Puros Dominican Republic” to better reflect the brand and factory. It was still on the savory side for a maduro, but had more spice and a hint of sweetness.  It must be the Dominican Corojo that has the savory component.  I enjoyed it while listening to Will Cooper guest on The Cigar Authority (I think he’s now one appearance behind me!). He gave me a shout-out and I appreciate that!  He referenced my interview with George Hamilton (available here in the archives and still out there on my long defunct podcast, which is one of the few that Coop has never been on!). I always thought Hamilton missed the mark by not having a lighter wrapper under the band, so when you  took the band off it looked like a tan line. The A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Maduro was good. 

 

That’s all for today. Tomorrow marks the thirteenth anniversary of CigarCraig.com, looking forward to year 14!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

Share

2 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | August 21, 2022 · 10:11 am

A Couple PDR Cigars and a Las Calaveras

I’m working on something a little different, should be announced any day now.  I found myself with more gear from the Barnsmoker than I know what to do with, so I’m going to have a fundraiser raffle for a worthy charity. I’m still working out the details, but the prizes are pretty cool.  I felt the need to do something more than just the usual pick a random comment giveaway. We’ll see how it goes, stay tuned. I did manage to smoke some cigars this week, funny that there were several that I just didn’t enjoy, but here are a couple highlights!  Let’s get the Las Calaveras from Crowned Heads out of the way. This was the first Las Calaveras I’ve smoked. A friend commented that he was surprised by this, but I don’t fall all over myself for Crowned Heads in general. I did, however pick one of these up a week or two ago when I saw them, out of curiosity. The one I smoked was the Las Calaveras Edición Limitada 2022 LC46 (5¾” x 46).  It’s a Nicaraguan puro made at the My Father factory in Esteli.  It has a dark Corojo wrapper, I believe, and packs a punch. I enjoyed the rich, espresso flavors, but. I thought it was stronger than I’d have liked, the strength overpowered the flavor at times. Perhaps a few years in the humidor would settle it down, but I’m not inclined to go out of my way to find out. I did enjoy it, and it was not, by far, the worst cigar I had all week. 

 

PDR Cigars has been sending samples to me on a regular basis. They could save a lot on shipping by combining shipments, but that’s their business.  One of the first cigars they sent me, maybe 6 weeks ago now (this summer has gone by far too fast for my liking), was the Flores y Rodriguez 10th Anniversary Reserva Limitada.  I smoked one on or around my wedding anniversary and quite enjoyed it. It’s a beautiful perfecto, 6½” x 52, but it’s also available in a Robusto, Gran Toro and Wide Churchill. it has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Dominican Olor binder and 7 year old Dominican Seco and Piloto Cubano Ligero, as well as Viso from Jalapa, Nicaragua.  The filler tobaccos aren’t specifically named, but they taste great! The cigar burned perfectly and had nice sweet, nutty flavors.  This may have been the best cigar I smoked all week (starting the week on Monday, of course, the bar was admittedly pretty low!).  It’s a fairly sophisticated cigar, befitting of a milestone anniversary.  

 

Another PDR cigar I smoked was the El Trovador Rosado, in the Corona Gorda (6″ x 46) size.  Again, PDR isn’t very specific with the varietals, but it has an Ecuadorian Rosado wrapper, double binder described as one Nicaraguan and one Nicaragua Corojo, and fillers described as 2 Ligero Nicaragua, 1 ½ Viso Nicaragua. I really loved this cigar, second best of the week.  It was pretty strong, without sacrificing flavor. It had some dark flavors, with some leather and spices.  I dug it, and, like the other PDR cigars I’ve smoked recently, it burned perfectly.  I have a few more to get to, and another package due this week, so watch for more PDR cigars sneaking into my rotation in the coming weeks.  

 

That’s all for today. I need to get to work on that fundraiser thing. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

Share

Comments Off on A Couple PDR Cigars and a Las Calaveras

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , , ,

by | August 7, 2022 · 10:21 am

PDR and German Engineered Cigars

Welcome to post number 1601!  I’m not sure if that’s a milestone, but I noticed that I had made 1600 posts over the course of the last 13 years (officially at the end of the month, but close enough!), and that seemed like something worth mentioning.  That’s 123 posts per year, or 10 per month.  I know it’s not Coop or Halfwheel, but I think it must show some level of dedication, right?  Anyway, naturally I celebrated by smoking some cigars.  As I write this I’m smoking a PDR El Criollito (pronunciation tips gladly accepted).  This 5″ x 54 Robusto has an Ecuador Criollo 98 wrapper, San Andrés binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan Criollo 98 fillers.  I’ll preface this by saying that I’m not the biggest Criollo fan. This cigar, however, is darned tasty. It’s a little nutty, but mostly just good, well cared for tobacco.  I also don’t normally smoke in the mornings, but this is going very nicely with coffee. I’m kinda digging it.  

 

I also smoked PDR’s Connecticut Valley Reserve Azul Churchill again this week.  This is an interesting cigar. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado wrapper, Binder from Jalapa and Dominican Corojo, Condega, Nicaragua Criollo fillers.  More Criollo.  Obviously the wrapper isn’t fermented to maduro like we are used to with Broadleaf, so it’s not quite a sweet as usual, but still has some sweetness, with some drying sensation on the palate. It still was quite good. By the way, the band is gorgeous on this cigar, not that that makes a huge difference.  The construction was exceptional, it burned with a flat ember that always amazes me, getting all the fillers to burn as the exact same rate is impressive. 

 

Also this week I sampled a couple vitolas in the German Engineered Cigars Raumzeit line.  This is what they have to say about it on their website:

 

 

Your first impression of RAUMZEIT is characterized by a light, silky, fragrant wrapper.

Its smoke combines aromas of nuts, cream, honey, stardust, and malt with white pepper, minerals, cloves, flying saucer, and nutmeg into a wondrously sweet and complex experience.

 

Body: light to medium

Wrapper: Nicaragua – Connecticut

Binder: Indonesia – Sumatra

Filler: Nicaragua -Jalapa & Dominican Republic – Piloto

 

First, “Raumzeit” is German for “Spacetime”.  I wasn’t really much of a fan of the flavor of these, I found them rather floral. Perhaps is was just too complex for my palate.  I did note that the construction on these was excellent, and the 3½” x 44 Half Corona was a bit more intense than the 5″ x 54 Robusto. Perhaps I just don’t care for stardust and flying saucer flavors, I guess,  but if you like cigars that I don’t care for, these would probably be a great option to try. I didn’t get a chance to meet the German Engineered Cigars guys at the PCA show, they were busy when I walked by and I didn’t get back to them. I’ll make a point of it if we re in the same place at the same time again.

 

That’ll do it for today.  Next weekend I’ll be going to the Connecticut Barnsmoker (to make up for missing the PA).  Looking forward to seeing everyone there.  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

Share

Comments Off on PDR and German Engineered Cigars

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

by | August 11, 2019 · 8:08 am

A few More PDR Cigars and Some Villiger News

Let’s see, what do I want to talk about today?  I’ve been stuck working weekends and evenings a lot, so I’ve been kind of slacking on smoking the newer stuff, plus i don’t have a great many new cigars to smoke around. Earlier this week I reeved a news release from Villiger Cigars that I wanted to share, but I had just posted the contest on Wednesday, and wanted to leave it front and center for as long as possible. So I figured I’d enjoy a Villiger cigar Friday evening, and selected a La Vencedora Churchill since the only La Flor de Ynclans I had were the mis-named Lancero, and I couldn’t find them! I wanted a longer smoke anyway, and I enjoy the Joya de Nicaragua made La Vencedora. La Vencedora is a Nicaraguan Puro with a Habana Oscuro wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. The Churchill is Americanized in size, it’s 7″ x 50, which is OK by me, it’s like a toro, only an inch better. It’s a medium-plus cigar, with some dark sweetness and some spice. Here’s the News about the new La Flor de Ynclan:

 

VILLIGER CIGARS TO PRESENT THE VILLIGER LA FLOR DE YNCLAN IN NEW TORO SIZE

The Villiger La Flor de Ynclan Toro will come in an elegant 10 count box

Villiger Cigars announces that the Villiger La Flor de Ynclan will be presented in a new Toro 6X52 size. The Villiger La Flor De Ynclan robusto in 2017 garnered a 93 rating, ranked as the number 10 cigar in the world by Cigar Aficionado Magazine and voted the 2017 number 6 cigar in the world byTobacco Business Magazine.

The medium- bodied Villiger La Flor de Ynclan was described in Cigar Aficionado Magazine during their unveiling of the best cigars in the world in these words: “The cigar is a fantastic smoke, sweet and charming from first puff to last, anchored by simple-yet-pleasing notes of chocolate and salt, and then refined by more precise intonations of walnut and orange marmalade. “

Heinrich Villiger and Master Blender Matias Maragoto once again came together to tweak the Villiger La Flor De Ynclan. Feeling that the blend could once again be improved on, the Toro 6X52 was agreed upon.

Chairman of the Board Heinrich Villiger said, “The Villiger La Flor de Ynclan seems to be a blend that we keep going back to. Over ten Years ago Matias Maragoto and I began on this journey to create a blend that would pay homage to the Pre-Revolutionary style of Cuban cigars. Although, the brand has received many important accolades, I still felt that the blend can be an even better version of itself. We expect the Villiger La Flor de Ynclan in this new Toro size to be an upgrade from the already highly rated robusto vitola.

The Villiger La Flor de Ynclan in Toro 6X52 Toro size will come in elegantly packaged 10 count boxes.

MSRP: $13.00

About the Villiger La Flor de Ynclan: Diligently crafted by Heinrich Villiger and master blender Jose Matias Maragoto of ABAM Cigar Factory in the Dominican Republic, the Villiger La Flor de Ynclan was a cigar 10 years in the making. Villiger Cigars produced a small batch of La Flor De Ynclan over a decade ago. Unsatisfied with the result; the decision was made to cease production. The tobacco was set aside and aged, while Matias meticulously tweaked the amount of the Indonesian, Dominican, and Nicaraguan tobacco within its Ecuadorian wrapper. Present day, the La Flor De Ynclan is what both imagined it could be. The result was a smashing success as it received numerous accolades after its re-launch in 2017. The highlight being a 93 rating and being named the 2017 number 10 cigar in world by Cigar Aficionado Magazine.

ABOUT VILLIGER SONS LIMITED AND VILLIGER NORTH AMERICA:
Villiger Sons Limited was established in 1888 by Jean Villiger in the small town of Pfeffikon, Switzerland, where Villiger remains headquartered to this day. The company manufactures and sells more than 1.5 billion cigars annually, world-wide. Today, under the leadership of Heinrich Villiger, the company prides itself in its commitment to quality, in all their products made in many countries around the globe.

Follow the Villiger Cigars on social @VilligerCigar #TheOriginalClassic

 

I smoked a few more cigars from PDR Cigars this week too. One of the cigars that I had been looking forward to smoking was the 6″ x 60 DBL Magnum size of the El Criollito. Now, I have historically not had a great appreciation for Criollo 98 tobacco in a lot of cases. so I always am curious to see if a cigar will change my mind. This cigar does have a rosado colored Criollo 98 wrapper, as well as Dominican and Nicaraguan Criollo 98 fillers, with a Mexican San Andrès binder. Maybe I hoped the binder would turn the tide for me on this one. It was a perfectly good cigar, the burn and draw were excellent, and I smoked it to the end, but the flavor wasn’t in my wheelhouse particularly. I think it had a leathery flavor that isn’t one I really lean toward. Some people like that, I prefer the sweeter and spicier flavors.

 

Finally, last night I smoked a PDR 1878 Capa Sun Grown Toro. This 6″ x 52 toro has an Ecuador Sun Grown wrapper, Dominican Criollo 98 and Dominican Corojo fillers and a Criollo 98 binder. Yeah, more Criollo 98. Funny enough, I found this to be  very good tasting cigar! Perhaps the sweetness and creaminess of the Corojo and Ecuador balanced out the leather of the Criollo for me and made for a really pleasant smoke. Like the other cigars in the 1878 line, this is finished with a closed foot and a pigtail cap, but I still used the Screwpop Magpulse cutter to give it a nice, clean straight cut which gave a nice draw and plumes of sweet, creamy smoke. Part of me wanted to to just reach for a favorite “safe” cigar last night, but I figured I’d be adventurous, fortunately, I had a great smoke.

 

Remember the contest for the Illusione prize pack from Fox Cigars is going on until Wednesday. I fixed the date, originally it had last Wednesday’s date, which was the date it was posted! Oops. I’ll post a winner the morning of Wednesday, August 14.  That’s all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

Share

2 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , , , , ,

by | July 17, 2019 · 9:24 am

PDR Cigars 1878 Capa Madura and 1878 Roast Cafe Dark Roast

Last Wednesday I brought you the Capa Oscuro and the Natural Roast Cafe cigars from PDR, this week I’m writing about the 1878 Capa Madura and the 1878 Cafe Dark Roast. I find it a bit difficult when I receive a half dozen different cigars from a given company, I don’t really want to smoke them back to back and spend a week writing about the same brand, or one long post. I’m also at a point where I just need more variety and after a long day there are times I just want to smoke what I want to smoke!  Selfish of me, I know!  Anyway, this is another Wednesday PDR post. Last night I grabbed the PDR 1878 Capa Madura toro for my evening walk. Like I said about the Capa Oscuro, I’m sure I’ve smoked this before, but it’s been a while, and was probably in New Orleans. This Capa Madura is a Brazilian Arapiraca Maduro, with a Dominican Criollo 98 binder and Dominican Criollo 98 and Nicaraguan Criollo 98 fillers. We are in the beginnings of a summer heat wave, it’s mid-July, so we shouldn’t be surprised by hot and humid conditions. As far as I was concerned it was a reasonably comfortable evening for a walk after a hectic day at work. I rather enjoy the closed foot and pigtail cap treatment on the PDR cigars, it’s fun, and one gets a blast of wrapper flavor on the initial lighting. the downside is one must be wary of errant bits of flaming wrapper flying around, I’ve burned a hole in a shirt that way! It also makes it hard to tell of one will have draw problems. One didn’t this time, although the cigar did seem to absorb ambient humidity through the hour and a half I spent smoking it so that by the end it was burning a little wetter than I would like. I think this was a function of the moisture in the air, a thunderstorm was coming, than anything else. It had a nice flavor, less of the typical maduro flavors I’m drawn and more woody, earthy notes.  All-in-all and enjoyable smoke, though.

 

Once again, I have a late shift on a Wednesday, so while I write this I’ve smoking the cigar I’m writing about (about which I’m writing?  I know that’s grammatically correct, but it’s not the way I talk!). I’ve got a cup of coffee, comfortably ensconced in my screened in porch, typing away while enjoying a PDR 1878 Dark Roast Cafe Toro. After last week’s post, PJ in Florida has an image in his head of me, I’ll just leave it at that. This cigar has very much the same blend as the Capa Madura, Brazilian Maduro wrapper, with a Dominican Criollo 98 binder and Dominican Criollo 98 and Nicaraguan Criollo 98 fillers. The wrapper isn’t specifically identified as Arapiraca, so maybe it’s a less expensive wrapper, I don’t know, but the big difference is the coffee infusion. There’s really no information on the website about that, I don’t know the process, or what kind of coffee they use. I have to trust that it’s a natural process. The unlit aroma is a little bit musty, but that’s the only downside for me. I actually really like this cigar. It’s not cloyingly sweet or overwhelmingly infused. The coffee flavor is subtle, much like the coffee notes I get in many maduro cigars. The burn is perfect, a flat ember, good, but, like the Natural roast, slightly flaky ash, and just right draw. I suppose it could be a mixed filler cigar, as it’s priced around $6 a cigar, but it’s hard to say.  Of course, it’s great with my black coffee, but few cigars aren’t.  I’m pretty choosy lately, but this is actually a cigar I’d smoke on the regular. I dig it.

 

That’s all for today, let’s see if next week brings another PDR Wednesday. I’ll be attending the Drew Estate PA Barnsmoker on Saturday, so if you happen to be there, please say hello. I hope to be doing some joint media work with Kevin of CigarProp.com if possible. I know he’ll be doing a lot of videos for his Youtube channel.  Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

Share

2 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as , , , , ,