Tag Archives: Perdomo

by CigarCraig | January 10, 2016 · 10:53 am

Señorial, Perdomo, Illusione at Goose’s and CAO Flathead Cigars

It’s almost half way through January already, we’ve had no snow, it’s going to be 60 today (but raining) and, once again, I did not win the Powerball! What are the odds I didn’t win the $900,000,000 jackpot? I think something like 292 million to one. it’s kind of a long shot, and the next couple days are going to be ridiculous at the places that sell lottery tickets as it’s over a billion dollars now since nobody won. I’m fortunate that I don’t have to rely on winning the lottery to smoke nice cigars right now and lat week was another good cigar week. I started off with a Señorial Maduro in the Lognsdale Refinado size. This is a 6½” x 44 lonsdale size cigar, and I’ve found a discrepancy. The sticker on the cigar is spelled “Longsdale“, everywhere else it’s listed as “Lonsdale” (except for the Las Cumbres Tabaco website, which does not feature the six month or more old Maduro line at all…C’mon José! You’re supposed to be hip to this whole internet jive!). Call it whatever you want, it’s a great cigar. I picked up a few of these at an event with José at the Wooden Indian a couple of months ago and I’m happy I did. Loads of flavor from the San Andrés wrapper, perfect construction and a wonderful smoking experience. Great cigar from a great guy. I see a Freyja in my future, it’s been a while since I smoked one of those.

A couple of evenings this week were pretty darned cold, not that I should be surprised, it is, January anyway, but I wanted something shorter, with lots of flavor (cold and subtlety don’t mix!) so I reached for a Perdomo Champagne Noir Robusto. I didn’t care for the regular Champagne AT ALL. I would be hard pressed to try another one based upon the experience I had with the first, but the Noir is another story. It’s a Nicaraguan puro, it’s got the cocoa/coffee flavors I like and is a very nice cigar. I will eventually revisit the Connecticut wrapped 10th Anniversary Champagne, but I have an aversion to spending my cigar time with something I didn’t like the first time. If I don’t know I don’t like a cigar it’s one thing. Anyway, the Noir may be my second favorite Perdomo next to the 20th Maduro, but there are a lot of enjoyable cigars in the line. I actually wouldn’t mind taking the Perdomo factory tour one of these days.

Yesterday I wanted to get some of those Powerball tickets everyone is talking about, and I know that the seller of the winning ticket gets a nice little bonus for selling the winner, so I headed over to Goose’s in Limerick, PA and bought my lottery tickets and a handful of cigars, and settled into the lounge with an Illusione HL to watch the Flyers game. I haven’t smoked a great many Illusione cigars, and I need to change this. I’ve met Dion a bunch of times, I think he knows who I am, yet, my experience with his line is sorely lacking. The HL is the 7½” x 40 lancero in the “Original Documents” series which has to be about 10 years old, right? I didn’t really do my due diligence on this one, so I’m going to guess that this was the Habano wrapped version as it certainly wasn’t candela (on my wish list) and it didn’t strike me as San Andrés Maduro. As I was watching the hockey game in Goose’s lounge, a couple of flavors stood out to me, leather with some sweetness. I enjoyed the heck out of this perfectly constructed lancero, it was perfect for two periods of hockey, at which time I ran home to catch the end of the game.

For my Saturday evening walk I selected Cigar Aficionado’s number 3 pick on their top 25 list, the CAO Flathead 660 Carb. I’ve heard some sentiments expressed to the negative about this choice for CA, but I, who have been a fan of the line from the start, think it was a solid selection. I was out of these, so I picked some up at Goose’s (I was actually surprised they were in stock). Obviously, the 660 Carb is 6″ x 60, but it’s severely box pressed, so it really doesn’t feel like a 60 ring cigar. I punched this one, as is nearly mandatory with the flat cap, and got a great burn and draw. I find punching is the easiest way with these (and the RoMaCraft Neanderthal), but I’m going to try some other methods in the future just to see how they work. I guess I just like the neatness of the punch in this case. A large bore punch is best, my Screwpop 2.0 punch is 9mm (the 1.0 was 7m, not that you asked). I love the Broadleaf wrapper on these, and I love the fact that the different sizes present a different smoking experience. The 660 is smooth, but loaded with the great espresso, dark chocolate and tobacco flavors I love. This marque is on my shortlist of box buys right now I just don’t know which size I like best!

I would like to ask that anyone who was a winner in the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways who did NOT receive your winnings please let me know. No need to publicly heap praise upon me, although the sponsors wouldn’t mind, just want to make sure everyone is happy. That’s it for now, off to enclose the back porch for the winter to make it more comfortable for cold weather cigar smoking!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as CAO, cigar, cigars, Flathead, illusione, maduro, Perdomo, Senorial

by CigarCraig | August 2, 2015 · 9:41 am

Nica Rustica Belly Release Party in Louisville, KY

When we heard about the Nica Rustica Belly Release Party put on by Cox’s Smokers Outlet in Lousiville, Kentucky, my wife realized it fell the night before she was planning a silent retreat at the nearby Abbey of Gethsemani. She suggested I take a couple days off work and drive there with her, then fly back the next day. We set out Thursday around 4:30 in the morning and made the ten-plus hour drive. Once we checked in to our hotel, took a power nap, and refreshed from the drive, we headed over to J. Shepherd Cigars for a little pregame. They were having a bit of an event, with specials on Drew Estate, Viaje and Leccia cigars, so I bought a few Viaje’s since I really haven’t jumped into the Viaje pool yet, just dipped a toe in here and there. I got a couple Oro Reserva and a couple Summerfests and we hung out on the front porch. I lit up one of the Summerfests and couldn’t complain about it. It was a nice, medium bodies cigar, which was good, because we hadn’t really eaten a whole lot all day, choosing to snack in the car as opposed to wasting time stopping for food. It’s fortunate that it was a beautiful day, as there is no indoor smoking allowed in Louisville! The J Shepherd show was nice enough, although it looked like either they recent;y moved in, of just got a shipment, as there were boxes on the one side of the store. The walk in humidor was large and had a nice selection of boutique cigars, and some items were priced higher than I’m used to (I’m spoiled in PA, no cigar tax), but some items were inexplicable close to what I see here. We met a couple people on the front porch while I enjoyed that Viaje Summerfest, a couple guys we saw later at the event, and Mike, a very friendly and hospitable local who we really had a nice conversation with. He even set us up with a rootbeer and cream soda, as we abstain from the generously offered Bourbon. I’m told that J. Shepherd is the best shop in the area, and, at the risk of offending the owner, who wasn’t there at the time, it really could be a lot less cluttered and better organized, as I was a little glad that we had to go outside to smoke, and the gentlemen we met were very friendly.

From there we went to Louisville Water Tower Park, an 1860 era water works along the Ohio River. What a beautiful venue, and the weather couldn’t have been better. Jonathan Drew was there well before the 7:00 PM start time, and the line was already growing. The unfortunate part of this event was that the first two hours or more was just people standing in line to talk to JD. We got through the line early, and of course we got a chance to visit with Gary (JD’s dad), Pedro Gomez, and Zev and Ben from the DE sales force. With the $35 ticket price we each got a Nica Rustica Belly, and Undercrown Toro and a Kentucky Fire Cured Hamhock, as well as an Undercrown Manifesto, along with a dinner of Nicaraguan fare, short ribs, pork, rice, beans, etc. The food was delicious, and we got to chat with some of the locals, including Tom Person from Commonwealth Cedar Spills. They also had a wide variety of Drew Estate cigars available for sale, including bundles of the new Belly, which I took advantage of the opportunity and purchased. Every purchase received a raffle ticket, and the evening concluded, like at many events, with a raffle. Many of the prizes were shirts, hats and cutters, with some ashtrays (my name was drawn for one of those big, pewter MUWAT ashtrays, which will class up the patio smoking lounge. The big prizes were a box of Pappy VanWinkle cigars and one of two existing boxes of the Nasty Fritas, the Papas Fritas mixed fill blend in their little cone shaped Nasty size. JD added one last prize at the end, which was a shirt, a cutter and the winners choice of any box in the DE line (I wonder if the winner of that knew about the 100 count Liga Privada No.9 Parejo boxes?) Cox’s Smokers Outlet did a great job of putting this event together. Despite costing me a bunch of cash (CAD: Cigar Acquisition Disorder. I need to find a treatment program…), it was an excellent event, I’m quite glad we made the trip.

Yesterday I swung by The Wooden Indian in Havertown, PA, where they were celebrating their 10th Anniversary. Nick Perdomo Jr., his son Nick III, and Joe Winder from Perdomo Cigars were on hand, as well as Rich from Xikar, Kosta from SMoKE Manayunk, Alex Mayer from House of Emilio, and Alan Price from Cigar Rights of America. It was quite the turnout for one of the best shops in the Philadelphia area. Dave and his staff do a great job. I smoked one of the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Maduro since I hadn’t tried that before. This cigar is another barrel aged cigar, which is one of the trendy catch phrases in the cigar industry today. It was a very good smoke, rich, sweet and chocolaty/coffee flavors that I enjoy, and perfectly made. Since there was a Buy 4, get 1 promotion, I had to pick up some of the Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduros in the Corona Grande size that I like so much (and enjoyed on my evening walk later). Once again, CAD rears it’s ugly head. Congrats to Dave and the Wooden Indian family on their first decade, and I hope I can be at the 20th anniversary celebration.

That’s it for today, it’s been a long week of travel and herfing. Time to get some work done around the house and get ready to start smoking samples from the IPCPR show and posting about them. On that note, I did smoke a few show samples this week that deserve mention. The CAO Flathead Steel Horse: The Flathead blend in the round, in a 5½” 58, is a wonderful addition to a tasty line. Thesample I smoked was ready to go, burned great, tasted great. Like the rest of the line, a large bore punch is the way to go as the cap is flat and doesn’t play well with other cutter styles. Freyja from La Cumbres Tobacco: This toro from Emma Viktorsson is sneaky, it starts mild and before I knew it I was feeling the effects. Great flavor and performance. A must-try. Finally, the Undercrown Shade: This is a terrific Connecticut shade wrapped cigar. There are a bunch of full flavored shade wrapped cigars out there and this is another one. Great cigar, but I didn’t really find it to be much different than some other great cigars in that category. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a great cigar, it’s just hard to find much unique about it. I’d buy it over many in that genre.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Events, Review, Stores, Trip Report

Tagged as CAO, cigar, cigars, Cox's, drew estate, Freyja, Louisville, Nica Rustica, Perdomo, undercrown, wooden indian

by CigarCraig | March 22, 2015 · 9:57 am

RomaCrafts, Perdomo and a Contest Winner

It’s been a roller coaster week, and things aren’t any better today than Wednesday. My 80-year-old father drove himself to the hospital last Saturday with tightness in his chest and just not feeling right, and on Wednesday, just when my mom thought she was going to bring him home, they found a thoracic aortic aneurysm and flew him to another hospital in the area that happened to have one of the few surgeons on the planet who could fix things. When they got him on the operating table the next morning his lung, kidney and liver functions were off and they had to get those things squared away before fixing things. So far, those areas are moving in a positive direction, and we are waiting for the surgeon to return from overseas mid-week. It’s hard on my mother, who won’t drive to the hospital, nor do I want her to, and not knowing what’s going to happen. I know this is more than belongs in a cigar blog, but it’s therapeutic for me to share, and I appreciate your positive thoughts and for indulging me.

In an attempt to process all that’s going on, and maybe escape a little, I’ve smoked a few cigars this week. most have been just random cigars that I didn’t feel like taking the time to document, but a couple of them are worth mentioning. a few weeks ago while visiting Cigar Mojo, I picked up some RoMaCraft cigars. I want Skip to know I bought his cigars and am not your run of the mill weasel. I smoked a CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger early in the week which was exceptional. I love the 4″ x 52 size for a satisfying smoke that doesn’t take all day. The Broadleaf wrapper over the Cameroon binder is a personal favorite flavor combo for me, I think the interplay of the different sweetness between the two leaves is really interesting. These are worth a try for sure, and are not unweaselably priced. I’ll grab some more the next time.

After a particularly trying week, I grabbed a favorite, the Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduro in the Corona Grande size. This size was Nick III’s creation, is it a mini Churchill? A maxi corona? Maybe it’s an overweight lonsdale or an anorexic toro, I don’t know, but it’s just about a perfect size at 6½ x 48. Now I’m half expecting someone to come out with a line of cigars with a weight disorder theme, remember you heard it here first. Anyway, the Perdomo 20th Anniversary maduro has a Nicaraguan wrapper that’s aged in bourbon barrels an additional 14 months and is rich, smooth and very tasty. This is my favorite Perdomo cigar, bar none, and I needed a favorite to balance out the highs and lows of the week.

Last night I took a walk with another cigar from the RoMaCraft stable, the Aquitaine Cranium. This is the same blend as the CroMagnon from the binder on in, the difference being the Ecuador Habano Ligero wrapper. If you ever wonder about the claims about how much the wrapper contributes to the flavor and strength of a cigar, smoke a CroMagnon, then smoke the Aquitaine. The Aquitaine was SO much stronger than the CroMagnon, and I can’t attribute that to the size difference (the Cranium is a 6″ x 54 toro). It had an unbelievable amount of spice through the nose, and almost literally kicked my butt around the block. It tasted great, burned great, but was pretty darned strong. Skip and Mike and their crew down in Esteli are really making some great cigars. my only real gripe is that the bands, while very attractive and classy in their simplicity, are a pain in the tuckus. I would think the same effect could be achieved more cost effectively by making them a single band instead of one over top of the white base. As one who saves bands for no good reason, and probably due to the CDO, I like it when a band comes off easily and in once piece. These do not. I’ve now purchased far more than I’ve weaseled, which either means my weasel game is weak, or I have some integrity…not sure which it is…

Contest

I promised to announce a winner of the La Sirena Cigars sampler today and am a man of my word. I can’t say I’ll be as punctual with sending the winnings out with everything going on, but I will do my best. I was very pleased with the number of entries, 100 comments in a non-December contest is pretty darned good. Normally I would pick a random number, but this time I think I’m going to give the prize to the 81st comment, because my dad will be 81 in a couple of weeks and I really want him to reach that birthday. Whether that’s fair or not, I really don’t care, I’m going with it anyway! It’s not a plan I had more than 5 minutes ago. So lucky number 81 is ray jones. If you don’t send me you’re address I’ll eventually get around to harassing you by e-mail, but it will just be easier if you drop me a note. Again, I appreciate everyone’s positive thoughts and prayers to your respective deities. It’s no small comfort to know so many people care enough to spare a thought in their busy lives.

I had also made a bit of a contest (see the CigarCraig.com Facebook page) out of getting my Twitter followers to 2000, and that threshold has been met. I lack the energy to pick a winner, I want to disqualify the corporate Twitter users and keep it to individuals, so that will have to sit on the back burner for a bit. If someday you get a DM on twitter asking for your address, you’ll be the winner. I’ll get to it eventually.

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

CigarCraig

18 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as Aquitaine, cigar, cigars, Contest, CroMagnon, La Sirena, Perdomo, RoMaCraft

by CigarCraig | February 8, 2015 · 9:19 am

Smoking Semi-Traditional Cigars from Rocky Patel, Perdomo and La Flor Dominicana

I titled this the way I did because it seems like there are three basic categories when it comes to cigar brands, the old school, the boom brands that stuck, and the newer boutiques. Obviously the brands with Cuban names fall into the first category, Partagas, Montecristo, as well as Macanudo, which has been around since way before the mid-90s cigar boom. Then there are brands like Perdomo, Rocky Patel, La Flor Dominicana, that started in the 90s, either had a family tradition in the tobacco industry or not, but managed to succeed in making consistently great cigars over the years. Then there are the hundreds of boutiques that have come along in the last few years, some have morphed into huge enterprises like AJ Fernandez and Pepin Garcia and Drew Estate, others keep it small and cater to a niche market. Just something that I thought about after I looked back at what I smoked this week and realized that, once again, there was a pattern.

To start off, Thursday I was rummaging around looking for something to smoke when I came across a box pressed robusto called Evolution by Rocky Patel. It’s so hard to keep Rocky’s releases straight, but Will Cooper let me know it was a Famous Smoke Shop exclusive. This was a 5″ x 50 with a Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, and was not a bad cigar that can be bought for around $3 by the box. I wasn’t “wowed”, but it was perfectly acceptable. I personally think my lowest rating on a cigar would be either “disappointing”, or “a waste of my time”, and this was neither. While it wasn’t particularly notable, there was nothing bad I can say about it. Flavor was good, burn and draw were excellent, it was a good cigar. The name of this cigar didn’t have anything to do with the complexity as far as I was concerned, but it’s a good smoke that I found satisfying. Perhaps I’ve become a cigar snob…

Friday nights call for a great cigar, so I picked out my last Perdomo 20th Anniversary Sun Grown Robusto. I really developed a fondness for this cigar in the Maduro wrapper, especially in the Corona Grande size, but this 5″ x 56 robusto is a really nice smoke. I noticed that it had been Nick Perdomo’s 50th birthday (the dude is younger than me!), so it seemed fitting to smoke one of his cigars. I remember my 50th birthday like it was a year and a half ago…but I digress. The 20th Anniversary uses the highest primings from Esteli, Condega and Jalapa in Nicaragua, and that sun grown wrapper is aged in a bourbon barrel for an additional 14 months (one would imagine it aged in traditional bales for several years before it’s day in the barrel). This is one smoove and flavorful cigar, and very well made. It really may be a toss up now which wrapper I prefer, I’d have to say there’s a time and a place for both, and this Sun Grown version of the 20th Anniversary is rich and elegant and quite enjoyable.

Saturday I went with a La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel Maduro which I’ve had taunting me on the top tray of one of the humidors (one of my two Adorini humidors, which have turned out to be really excellent, rock solid humidors. I can only hope the new cabinet is as trouble free when it arrives!). The chisel is a fun size to smoke. It’s a torpedo with a flattened head, somewhat akin to a pipe stem. I chose to snip a bit off with the scissors, as I’ve been unimpressed with any of the other creative ways people have found to cut this, including Litto Gomez’s recommended method of squeeze and pop the cap off. I like a more open draw, so I took about an eighth of an inch off. This cigar had one of the straightest, most perfect burns I’ve seem on a cigar in some time. The draw was good, the flavor was rich, meaty, spicy but not overpowering. I remember smoking the smaller version of this nearly 20 years ago, a Chiselito, and it was great, it’s nice to see that they are still great after all these years. LFD is really doing it right, I’ve enjoyed several cigars from the line after becoming re-acquainted with it last year. I smoked this cigar until I couldn’t hold it any longer.

That’s it for today. It’s supposed to be in the 50’s here today, and if it weren’t for the little bit of snow remaining on the ground, I’d drag the chipper out and get some yard waste cleaned up. No snow tires on the chipper though, plenty of other things that need doing.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, La Flor Dominicana, Perdomo, rocky patel

by CigarCraig | November 2, 2014 · 9:34 am

A Cigar-Mojo/Rocky Patel Event, a Perdomo and a New A.J. Fernandez Cigar

Thursday evening was the first anniversary party at Cigar Mojo in King of Prussia, PA and they combined it with a Rocky Patel event with a Halloween costume contest. Mark Weisenburger (pictured, from his Facebook page) was present pimping the Rocky Patel line so I picked up a couple of the Vintage 2003 Cameroon robustos and lit one up. They were also featuring Alan Price’s cigar that he blended at Rocky Patel’s factory. Alan works part time at Mojo and is our area Cigar Rights of America Ambassador. I picked up a couple of these as well, it’ll be interesting to see how he did blending this cigar. Interestingly, it’s about the same size as the last cigar I blended at Drew Estate last year, a chunky toro in the 6″ x 54 range. Anyway, there was a big crowd for a Thursday evening, and regulars Bruce and Arline won the costume contest. I’m sure the party went into the night, but I excused myself when I was done with my cigar to go home and watch the Flyers losing effort. Congrats to Wade and Trae at Mojo for an excellent first year. They are doing a great job in selection and service. It’s a great place to hang out.

Friday was Halloween, and we don’t have any kids come to our house trick or treating. It’s a matter of where we currently live, not any commentary on who we are or anything. There is a neighborhood around the corner where I always take Macha for a walk and there are a handful of kids who mostly have met Macha and love seeing her. I grabbed a Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduro Corona Grande for the evening walk, and Macha had fun seeing the kids (she loves kids, they taste good!). The Corona Grande is a 6½” x 48 that was the creation of Nick Perdomo III. For me it’s the best size of the bunch, for both the representation of the blend and the comfort of smoking it. It’s a smooth, rich maduro with a hint of espresso bitterness, which I like. I know, I should have smoked a Tatuaje Monster, or a Gurkha Ghost, or even an Asylum Ogre or something cliche, but I was in the mood for the Perdomo, so that’s what I smoked!

Saturday we spent the morning gutting the family room in the new house. We had taken out the carpet and padding to have the asbestos tile removed, so what better time to take the paneling off! Of course, it was just paneling over a thin vapor barrier and cinder block and brick, so we have some insulating and dry-walling to do. Best to get it done before having carpet installed! It’ll be a great space once it’s done, and directly adjacent to the screened in cigar porch! After getting that done I took a quick spin over to Goose’s Tobacco in Limerick, PA to pick up and pay for the box of Asylum Straight Jacket Robustos I won in the Operation: Cigars for Warriors silent auction at the Smokin Goose festival last month. Always happy to support OP:CFW, thank you to Goose’s and Asylum Cigars for their contribution to that fine organization. When I got home I took a walk with A.J. Fernandez’s newest offering, the New World in a box pressed belicoso size called the Almirante. The New World is the first cigar that A.J. made together with his father, Ismeal, and is a Nicaragua Puro, with tobaccos from all over the country, including Ometepe. This medium bodied cigar burned perfectly and had really nice sweet spicy flavor. Considering I paid somewhere under $6 each for these at JM Cigars in Exton, PA, this is an absolute must try.

That’s all for now. We’ve got to visit Home Depot or Lowe’s and look into some room finishing options and come up with a plan. Then I’ll be digging into the humidor once again looking for something fun to smoke. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as aj fernandez, cigar, Cigar Mojo, cigar store, cigars, Goose's, Perdomo, rocky patel