Tag Archives: PDR

by Craig Vanderslice | July 10, 2019 · 10:22 am

PDR Cigars 1878 Capa Oscura and 1878 Roast Cafe Natural Roast

I’m trying to get back to posting actual content mid-week. My work schedule hasn’t really been conducive to keeping up, as I generally work late Wednesdays, so I thought I’d make good use of the Wednesday morning off. Last week I received some samples from Rich at PDR Cigars, and last night I busted out the PDR 1878 Capa Oscura toro.You know me, I always start with the darkest and work my way to the lightest. The maduro might be darker, but I went with the Oscura anyway. I’m pretty sure I’ve smoked these before, probably at the Don Leonsis shop in New Orleans, which is partly owned by the Flores family, I believe. The wrapper on this is Ecuadorian Sun Grown Oscuro, with a Dominican Habano binder and Dominican Criollo 98 & Dominican Corojo fillers. Richie must know what I like, because he sent me a bunch of toro samples, which are 6″ x 52, my favorite size. I instantly like him. I found this to be a really well made, medium to full bodied cigar, which built up to pretty strong by the end. It was more Earthy than sweet to my palate, but there was a hint of sweetness, and it wasn’t a cigar that I disliked. I had taken a break on Monday night, so I was quite looking forward my my evening walk and cigar on Tuesday. It did hit the spot. I was impressed, as I always am, by the burn, which left a flat ember, indicating all of the tobaccos burning at the same rate. I do look forward to working through the rest of the line.

I am doing something I don’t often do, but it seemed appropriate. As I write this, I’m having a cigar with my morning coffee. I know many people do this, and it’s a very enjoyable thing to do, I must work it in on my late days more often. It make sense since the cigar is a PDR 1874 Roast Cafe coffee infused cigar, the Natural Roast Cafe. This one is the Ecuador Connecticut wrapped version, hence the “natural” in the name. This has a Dominican Criollo 98 binder and Dominican Criollo 98 & Nicaraguan Criollo 98 fillers. It has a bit of a sweet cap, which quickly dissipates, and has a smooth flavor. Considering the pungency of the coffee aroma in the bag of cigars, I was concerned that this was going to have an overwhelming coffee infusion, but it’s very subtle. After the first few inches, it was hard to tell it was a coffee infused cigar at all. I’m not biased against coffee infused cigars at all, I rather enjoy them from time to time, and this one is really nice. The Connecticut, or Natural Roast, was a good choice for me today, I think. The flavor is very good, creamy with some (this is going to be weird, because I drink black coffee and despise any sort of flavoring in coffee) maybe hazelnut, and was enjoyable to the end, which is right about now as I’m typing. In this instance, perhaps a toro is a little much, but I still like the size. My only complaint would be that the ash is a bit flaky, I’m going to have to shake out my bathrobe (TMI?).

That’s al for today, watch for some more PDR cigars sneaking into my routine over the next few weeks. Thanks to PDR for sharing them with me! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Capa Oscura, cigar, cigars, PDR, ROAST CAFE

by CigarCraig | June 11, 2017 · 9:47 am

San Lotano Bull, Aging Room Havao, A Flores AFR-75 Cigars and the Contest Winner

I’ve been poking around the humidor lately looking for some interesting cigars and came across a San Lotano Bull Toro Friday. AJ Fernandez has been getting a ton of attention lately for his work with other companies, notably General Cigars and Altadis. I figured it would be good to spotlight the San Lotano as the companies own brands seem to be flying under the radar a little. Sure the New World and Bellas Artes get a little attention, but I really enjoyed the San Lotano line, specially the full-bodied The Bull. I find it funny that they called the 6″ x 54 the Toro, seems redundant to me, but what else would you call it? This cigar has a dark Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, with binder and filler AJ Fernandez’ proprietary tobacco grown on their farms. There aren’t many AJF cigars I don’t like, the Bull is one I really like. It’s got the coffee and spice I want with a hint of wood from the cedar sleeve and a year or so in the humidor. Perfect draw and burn made this a great cigar to end the week. Abdel Fernandez is a tobacco and cigar genius, his factories make great cigars.

Saturday I had a chance to enjoy an early cigar and I chose an Aging Room Havao Treble, the 6″ x 50 toro. Funny how 50 ring seems small these days, 6″ x 50 used to be the common toro size, now it’s 52 or 54. This is an elegant cigar in size, appearance and flavor. It’s got an Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper and Habano Criollo in the filler and binder. I generally stay away from Criollo wrappers, but this cigar works very well with it in the filler. It’s a terrific smoke, it’s loaded with flavor, lots of depth with the creaminess from the shade wrapper. This was an absolutely wonderful cigar for the time, and it was very well-behaved with a perfectly straight burn line. Now that Altadis is distributing the Aging Room line, and Rafael Nodal is working for them, it’ll be interesting to see where this brand goes. I would choose this over a Connecticut wrapped Monte any day of the week, personally, so I hope the competition isn’t bad for the Aging Room brand.

I was hunting for a short smoke before going out to see a friend’s band play, and came across a cigar from PDR Cigars that I forgot I had. Maybe I thought it was a L’Atelier maduro as it was face down in the tray, or it just got buried. I actually can’t even recall where this cigar came from. As the size was what I was looking for, I looked closer and was delighted to find that it was an A. Flores AFR-75 Catador, a cool little 4″ x 54 pigtailed robusto. This cigar has a San Andrés wrapper, Criollo 98 Nicaragua binder and Habano D.R., Connecticut Broadleaf & Criollo 98 Nicaragua fillers. Again with the Criollo, interesting. If you haven’t tried this cigar, it’s worth seeking out and dropping a few bucks on, because they are on the high side, this little guy coming in just north of $12. this price point tells me that someone must have given this to me or it was a sample, as I probably wouldn’t have shelled out that kind of coin for such a small cigar. It is a brilliant smoke though, dark espresso and a surprisingly long burn of around an hour. It’s a super premium cigar, but it’s super good, so worth it in my opinion.

Contest

Last week I threw out a contest for a whole bunch of cool odds and ends that have been accumulating around here and I’ll never use. It seems right to share them with someone who will appreciate them. I’m sure some cigars will be included to keep stuff from rattling around in the box! I see there were 26 entries, less one for Olie who won the last time. The Random Number Generator at Random.org spit out the number 12 out of 25, which corresponds to Dave Wisniewski, who commented that this would make a nice Father’s Day present. I think Dave is fairly local to me, so either he gets his address to me in a hurry and I can get it out this week, or week work out a meet-up which is always fun. Dave, you know how to reach me! Thanks to all of you who took the time to enter, I’ll scrounge more goodies up for a future contest!

That’s all for today, I’ve got a deck that needs power-washing, which isn’t a good activity to enjoy a cigar, so it’ll wait until after! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as AFR-75, Aging Room, aj fernandez, cigar, cigars, Contest, Havao, PDR

by CigarCraig | February 18, 2015 · 10:33 pm

My Father Connecticut, Oliva Orchant, a Little PDR, and a Toraño

Sunday afternoon I took the two mile trip to the cigar shop since it was bitterly cold and windy. I finally smoked the My Father Connecticut Toro. This is a 6½” x 54 Ecuador wrapped beauty is made from tobacco grown on the Garcia’s farms in Nicaragua (except the wrapper) and cut and lit nicely. I was quite impressed with everything about this cigar. It burned perfectly, had a great draw and gave me a nice hour and a half or so of relaxation. I have been spending more time at this shop, but still haven’t wandered into the Montecristo Lounge, I just sat out in the front in a leather chair watching some golf, perusing some magazines and hanging out. I know the former owner, who still works there, but he wasn’t there. This Connecticut shade wrapped cigar is a winner, great smoking experience.

Monday was another cold night, so I went with a smaller cigar, the “Skinny” corona in Mitchell Orchant’s Oliva Orchant Seleccion. I smoked the 4″ x 60 Chubby a couple weeks ago and really enjoyed it. This 5″ x 43 corona was excellent, although different from the Chubby. The flavor was more direct, less smooth and mellow than the larger ring. Obviously the wrapper to filler ratio makes a very big difference, and I’m very interested in trying the robusto in this line to see if it falls in the middle. I love all cigars, sometimes I like the sharper, more focussed flavors of a smaller ring gauge, other times I enjoy larger rings, they are generally a little cooler. Mostly I like a longer smoke though, as every cigar is mini vacation. It’s a shame these aren’t available on this side of the pond, I’m finding them to be a bit more refined than the already pretty refined Oliva Serie V.

Tuesday I opted for a really short smoke, the A. Flores Gran Reserva Half Corona, a 2006 Dominican Corojo wrapped little flavor bomb from PDR Cigars. It has Dominican Corojo and Nicaraguan Habano filler, Dominican binder, and packs a lot of flavor into a 3½” x 46 cigar. This is a great half hour smoke, and gives a big cigar experience in a small package. These are available in neat tins that are very handy, and are really delicious little cigars. Perfect for a frigid and busy evening.

We’ve been furnace shopping, as ours is failing, and finally came to a decision. The new furnace and water heater goes in Friday. To celebrate I grabbed a favorite, the Toraño Exodus 1959 50 Year, with the copper colored bands. This tasty 5″ x 50 robusto has a dark Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, Honduran binder and Nicaraguan fillers. I really love the flavor of this cigar, it has a unique toasty cocoa flavor that is very appealing. this one has been in the humidor for a while, and I hope that the change in ownership doesn’t change the flavor of this smoke. This is probably my favorite in the Exodus series.

That’s it for now, it’s been a wild week with the furnace and all. Fortunately we are getting it replaced before it fails completely, it’s really the wrong time of year fro that nonsense, and we’ve been unhappy with the hot water since we moved in. I really don’t want the water heater failing, that tends to get messy and we just had new carpet (and walls) in the room adjacent to the room with all the mechanicals. We are REALLY looking forward to spring! That’s it for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as A. Flores, CGars Ltd, cigar, cigars, My Father, PDR, Toraño

by CigarCraig | February 4, 2015 · 10:05 pm

An Ortega Mini Cigar, a Nestor Miranda and a Short Story

It’s been Maduro week so far! Monday turned out to be very cold and windy, and after taking Macha on a car ride (she loves the car) to PetSmart for a little outing in lieu of out evening walk, I hit the back patio with an Ortega Mini Cigar in maduro. Oddly, I was about to grab a little A. Flores Gran Reserva half corona when I came across the Ortega Mini Maduro from the 2013 IPCPR show. These are both made in the PDR factory in the Dominican Republic, which didn’t occur to me until I lit up the Ortega. I enjoy everything that I’ve smoked from Eddie Ortega, especially the Serie D maduros, and these little 4″ x 38 cigars are perfect for a half hour or so in my protected, but unheated patio. It smokes like a much larger cigar, with all the richness and flavor. It’s kinda like the last half of a lancero without the time commitment.

Tuesday was a little better, although still pretty cold, so I went with a Nestor Miranda Collection Maduro in the 4½ x 50 Robusto size. I’ve had the good fortune of smoking a few of these and it’s a really tasty cigar. It’s made in Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father factory, so it’s got a bit of the signature spice that one would expect, but is loaded with smooth, cocoa flavors and burns and draws exceptionally well. The new bands on these are very cool, the maduro having the red accents with black and silver foil, which makes it tricky for an amateur like me to photograph, but is quite striking otherwise. This is a tasty smoke, as is it’s Habano wrapped sibling. I am looking forward to sampling the Ecuador Connecticut one of these days when the weather is better. I find that lighter cigars get lost in the cold weather, and the risk of the fragile wrapper splitting is greater. Jason Wood at Miami Cigar an Co. did a really nice job on this line.

Tonight I got off to a late start after replacing the guts in one of the toilets. I’m hesitant to replace these commodes with modern ones, I never realized how much I missed the flushing power of the old three gallon flush johns. Somehow it seems more efficient to use three gallons once, as opposed to 1.6 gallons twice or more. Another case of shortsighted over regulation I suppose. Along those lines, I re-upped my CRA membership today, something everyone should do. Anyway, I just came in from enjoying the heck out of an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story Maduro that I had bought 2 years ago. A business associate just sent me a bag of Fuente cigars, and there was a Short Story Maduro in there, so I figured it was as good a time as any to burn the one I had been holding on to. Because of the way the head of these is finished, I recommend a straight cut as opposed to the punch. There was a fold that the punch didn’t get and I wasn’t getting a good draw, even after burning through the perfecto tip. A quick snip and it was free flowing broadleaf goodness all the way down to a tiny nub. The Short Story has been a special treat for me for nearly twenty years, but the maduro is a relatively new version for me. I loved it, but there’s nothing quite like the Cameroon wrapped SS. Either way this is a cigar that should be experienced, if it seems pricey for such a little cigar, and I can get thing in the $6 range here in PA, I think it’s a classic, and a great value as it gives an excellent smoking experience.

That’s all I have for now. I have a cigar I need to smoke this week for an upcoming Prime Living Magazine article I’m in the midst of writing, you can check out my prior articles in the Gentleman’s Room area of their website. This month features Arielle of La Sirena‘s Oceano, a very tasty smoke.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Arturo Fuente, cigar, cigars, Eddie Ortega, Miami Cigar and Co, Nestor Miranda, PDR

by CigarCraig | March 12, 2014 · 5:17 pm

Back to Cigars! A La Sirena, a Gurkha and a Little PDR

I got that whole IPCPR thing off my chest last time, thanks to everyone who weighed in in the comments. I have one more little rant to get out of the way. This is something that’s been bothering me for a while, and, as a public service announcement, I’d like to present my views, and it will only piss off those who have an over inflated opinion of themselves! I listen to a lot of cigar podcasts and read a lot of blogs, as I’m sure you all do too. I am in no way shape or form a cigar expert, and no other cigar bloggers or podcasters are either! I constantly hear mis-information and, maybe worse, opinion related as fact. The experts are the people that work the fields and curing barns, blend and manufacture cigars. For instance, when someone states with authority regarding an Oliva cigar that they have “a gazillion farms in Central America”, they are wrong and don’t know that there is a difference between Oliva Cigar Co. and Oliva Tobacco Co.. I see and hear this sort of silliness all the time and it annoys me because I figure some readers/listeners are taking this as gospel. I would also contend that there are no Cuban Cigar experts in the US, we are like fish out of water when it comes to Havanas, they’ve been illegal to buy for 50 years. If you want a Cuban cigar expert, you will have to go outside of US borders. Talk to my friend Mitchell Orchant of C.Gars Ltd. in the UK, I would categorize him as an expert on all things Havana, and I’d be dissapointed if he didn’t argue that fact. Don’t believe everything you read or hear, unless it comes from Jose Blanco or someone of that ilk! Enough of my ranting, now you kids get the hell off my lawn!

Sunday was a really nice, late winter day. It’s the first day of Daylight Savings Time, which they should just leave as Standard time, in my opinion! I much prefer longer evenings to earlier mornings. Anyway, the day called for a large cigar and a long walk. I recently came into possession of some rather limited La Sirena Dubloons, I’ve been looking for an excuse to fire one up and this was it. Unlike the other sizes in the La Sirena line which have a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper (yum), this cigar has the same Habana Oscuro wrapper found on the La Sirena A (another I have in the humidor that I ‘m waiting for an appropriate time to smoke). The cigar is a beautiful 7¼” x 56 Salamone, or enormous perfecto, shaped cigar. This cigar smoked perfectly, and was loaded with dark, rich flavors. I smoked this for the better part of two hours and was left quite sated. If you run across this vitola, give it a shot, it’s a big ol’ tasty treat.

Monday I celebrated taking my evening walk in the daylight by smoking a Gurkha Seduction which has been tempting from the humidor since I received it as an IPCPR sample at the 2012 trade show. I’ve smoked plenty of the robustos and love them, this was my first in the toro size. This is a great tasting cigar, the Habano wrapper is just delicious. Gurkha’s really getting their stuff together, I think. I avoided them for a while just because their product offering was so large and confusing, but they are coming out with some really tasty cigars in this Seduction, the Ghost and the Cellar Reserve (the maduro LE especially). Somewhere around here I have a five fingered Gurkha tin case with five cigars in it. I’ll have to dig that out one of these days. It was a Groupon deal which made paying $10 per cigar seem like a good idea (it was a gift, which I’m very thankful for!) They seem to have tamed down the over the top marketing too. They have a huge and loyal following, just watch the next time I have a Gurkha contest.

Tuesday evening my wife an I had an event to go to so I only had a half hour or so to get my walk and cigar in. Fortunately, I had received a sample tin of the A. Flores Gran Reserva Half Coronas from PDR Cigars. I’ve enjoyed the Gran Reserva line in the past, so I was excited for an opportunity to smoke this little guy. This is a 3½” x 46 cedar wrapped cigar with a Dominican Corojo wrappper and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s fortunate that I only had a short amount of time, or I would be tempted to chain smoke the entire tin of five of these decadent and diminutive beauties. These come in a pocket friendly tin (although not sealed, so take care not to visit too arid or swampy places). Good things sometimes do come in small packages (I’ve been telling this to my……oh, nevermind…..). Thank you to PDR Cigars for the samples.