Tag Archives: Platinum Nova

by | November 21, 2021 · 11:07 am

Alec and Bradley Blind Faith, Perla Del Mar Corojo Toro and Platinum Nova Corona Cigars

While we were driving home from South Carolina a few weeks back we took a rest stop at the JRs in Selma, NC. It’s been a few years since we were there, it’s downsized a bit. We were expecting to shop for some bed linens, alas that part of the business is gone, and it’s just a tobacco store. Right inside the door of the cigar department was a large area of stuff marked down 50% off. I immediately rescued a partial box of Sobremesa, and a box of RomaCraft Intemperance. I was told that it was stock from another store that had closed. Upon catching wind of my purchase, Saka (who, by the way, for some reason hasn’t bothered to share any of my Stillwell Star posts, while sharing other content creators work, I thought we were friends…I’m not mad, just disappointed) put his people on JRs about this. My assumption is that he has an agreement with his accounts that he’d rather buy back inventory than have it discounted. I just wanted to spare him the indignity of having it on the discount rack (and get a killer deal on some Short Churchills!). This is all a lot of words leading into talking about the Alec and Bradley Blind Faith. My wife was actually suggesting I buy a box of these, and I didn’t want to without having smoked a few. I know it’s a ridiculous problem to have, and sounds like bragging, but I’m pretty strapped for storage space. I had to shoehorn the little box of Intemperance in, no way I’d fit a box of A&B. Anyway, I bought a couple singles, and I smoked one this week. It’s weird, you know, I went into it hoping I didn’t love the cigar and kick myself for not listening to my wife! When your wife tells you to buy a box of cigars you should do it, right? Anyway, this has a Honduran wrapper, Honduran/Nicaraguan double binder and NIcaraguan fillers, made at Raices Cubanas in Honduras. I would have tolerated having a box in the humidor, but I’m not kicking myself for walking away, let’s put it that way. It’s a good smoke, tasty. Nothing wrong with the burn and draw, nice presentation, and it’s a shame that these were on the discount rack. Honestly, there was a LOT of stuff that was in that area that shouldn’t have been. I could have gone broke, but I’d have had to go back to using coolers for storage. 

 

Last year J.C.Newman re-packaged the Perla Del Mar line, and introduced the Corojo to the mix. Late this year they added the Toro to the Corojo family. I’ve long been a fan of the Maduro, but the Corojo might be my new favorite.  This line is another great example of how the wrapper changes the flavor of the cigar. They use the same blend across all three lines, with only the wrapper changing, so smoke all three to get an idea of what the wrapper adds. In the case of the Corojo, which covers Nicaraguan binder

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and filler, by the way, it adds an almost candy sweetness, as opposed to a dark chocolate sweetness in the case of the maduro. It’s a terrific cigar, well made, nicely box pressed, I just wish they had been a little more creative with the band, the old one was prettier, the new one makes me think of another cigar company. It’s a great cigar and well priced, so screw the band, I’m a fan.

 

Last night my wife and I went to the movies, probably the first time in nearly two years. The dine-in feature was sub-par, had to order at the bar and food was served in takeout containers, whether that’s life in the pandemic world or life in the short-staffed world, I’m not sure. Call me old fashioned, but if I’m asked to put a gratuity on my check up front without knowing what kind of service I’m going to get, I’m going to tip conservatively. Maybe that works against me? I have no way of knowing. The food was pretty good though, and the movie was entertaining (discount tickets). We got home and I hung out on the porch to watch the last period of the Flyers game with a Platinum Nova Corona from the 2020 TPE. I’ve been passing by these because they are fairly small for me, but it was late, and I didn’t want to be up all night. This is a (ridiculously) expensive cigar, at $23, it’s a pigtail capped 5″ x 43 Ecuador H2000 wrapped cigar with Dominican Piloto Cubano binder and Dominican fillers. The cigar ended up being good for nearly an hour and a half, but I had to relight it a few time. It had a definite floral flavor, nearly perfumy. I rarely get this flavor, it’s not one I’m particularly fond of.

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I smoked an Undercrown 10 earlier in the day that was more to my liking, much less flowery. It’s not that I didn’t like it, it’s just that it’s not one I’d gravitate to on a regular basis. not offensive, not bad, just not me. 

 

That’s more than enough from me today. What do you all think about doing a CigarCraig.com Secret Santa again?  Weigh in in the comments. If we get more than one person I’ll make it happen! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig 

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by | November 29, 2020 · 10:06 am

Sobremesa Brulee Blue, Platinum Nova, HVC Black Friday and Triqui Traca Cigars

We had a really low key Thanksgiving. We didn’t have a big meal, just the immediate family hanging out around the house. We actually ordered sandwiches from Wawa for dinner! It was much more relaxing than the stress of preparing a big meal and cleaning it all up in all honesty! I, like many days, treated myself to some great cigars. I realized that I haven’t written anything about the Sobremesa Brulee Blue yet, so I figured it was about time. This is a 6 ¼” x 46 lonsdale cigar with a pigtail cap. I used a cutter because I’ve evolved to use tools, I’m not an animal. Also, even though Saka sent me this cigar, it’s a $15 cigar and I’m not risking screwing it up by manhandling it. Of course, I’ve smoked a few Brulee’s, including the STFU! set, and I don’t believe this had a sweet cap. It certainly has a natural sweetness to the tobacco, and a creaminess to the smoke that’s really nice. There’s plenty of body and some spice to the smoke too, making it a really interesting and entertaining cigar to smoke. The bands a re really pretty too.

 

I guess I had the blue in the Sobremesa bands in my head when I went to select my after dinner cigar. Full disclosure, while the rest of the family had “Gobblers”, I had an Italian hoagie, as I am not a fan of the turkey sandwich with the thanksgiving meal fixings on it. It’s my holiday, I’ll celebrate it the way I want! So I went to the humidor and selected Limited Edition Platinum Nova Torpedo. This was a cigar that Ari and Leo of Nova Cigars gave me at the TPE show last January, and I’ve probably mentioned it here before. It’s a 5 ½” x 55 torpedo that retails around $30, so it’s no cheap date. It’s got Dominican Binder and Fillers with a Habano 2000 wrapper. Remember when the Habano 2000 wrapper came on the scene and it didn’t burn? Now it’s on $30 cigars! This cigar has a really delicate, floral flavor profile. If you like that sort of thing, this is a cigar for you. It’s an entertaining change of pace for me. Of course, it burned perfectly, I’d have been disappointed for it hadn’t. this company makes some really good cigars. You don’t hear about them a lot, I hear about them on the Smokin Tabacco podcast/show, a show which Matt Tabacco (his real name) and Jon Carney which is entertaining. It’s a good thing that Ari and Leo started Platinum Nova when they did, because they worked for Nat Sherman, and would have been looking for jobs now anyway.

 

Friday I smoked the HVC Black Friday Firecracker. I thought I might have missed out on this, but when I went to 2 Guys website on the Tuesday after they came out, I was still able to get some. From the hype, I thought they would sell out. I got lucky, I guess. So I added some to my stash of various Firecrackers, and smoked one Friday before my granddaughters came over for the afternoon. This is a 3½” x 50 little smoke with a long “fuse” and a closed foot. Initially the spicy “hotness” covers any flavor to me. It was overwhelmingly strong off the bat. The Corona Gorda was strong, but this little bastard was really strong. It eventually settled down, but by the time it settled down, it started ramping back up because it was getting near the end. It’s pretty much pepper and strong, black coffee flavors, which is OK. If you aren’t prepared for the strength, it might me troublesome, and it’s a darned good thing it’s only 3½” long.

 

When I ordered the Firecrackers, I added on a few of the new sizes of the Mi Querida Triqui Tracas that recently came out that weren’t included in Saka’s media pack 😁. Here’s a couple of ethical disclosures: I buy a lot of cigars, and I get samples of cigars from vendors. If there is a problem with a cigar I get from a vendor, I don’t trash it, I talk to the vendor. I try to smoke cigars that I like. There has been an instance recently where I was given an item to review, I found it to be sub-par, I gave the vendor a draft of the review, told them I didn’t want to post the review and offered to return the item to them, which they agreed to do, even though two other items I’ve been given and reviewed in the past have been excellent. I can’t damage someone’s business with my opinions. I don’t have a problem endorsing something I can stand behind, but I’m not going out of my way to tear something down. Anyway, not quite sure why I went on that tangent, but I took Macha out to Valley Forge Park yesterday for a walk and took the huge Triqui Traca 764 along. This is a big cigar, as the name suggests, it’s 7” x 64, clever guy, that Saka. I suppose it’s better than calling it Donkey D*ck, but not quite as good as Gran Buffalo (which is what he called the same size in the Mi Querida). I lit this up and used it to maintain social distance, with both the smoke and physical size of the cigar. We walked for a while, then turned back, drove home, then I spent another few hours on the porch finishing the cigar. There are monuments at Valley Forge smaller than this cigar. It’s larger than some of the canons. They built cabins for the soldiers out of logs smaller than this cigar. It was a lot of good cigar, and I look forward to smoking the 652, because I felt like the 764 was maybe less flavorful, or maybe just a lot of work getting to the flavor. I bought more than one, so perhaps next summer I’ll work on another one.

 

Keep those Reader’s Choice Cigar of the year entries coming! Please e-mail me at craig@cigarcraig.com with your choice for the 2020 cigar of the year. I’ll compile the results and post them on December 31. Please be as specific as possible. That’s more than enough for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | July 15, 2020 · 10:13 am

Groovy Guy Gifts, Some Miami News, and a Platinum Nova Perfecto Cigar

My friends over at Groovy Guy Gifts have, once again, increased their selection of cigar related offerings. I always applaud mainstream companies that include cigar items in their product mix. Tommy Bahama does it, and Groovy Guy Gifts does it too. I have a few items from them that they’ve personalized, which they do very well. They are great for getting gifts, for guys…I guess that’s obvious. One of the new items they offer is the Stinky Car Ashtray. Unfortunately, this can’t be personalized, but it ships quick, tracking is provided and it’s a solid ashcan for the car. It has a solid hinge, and the spring clips to hold your cigar are gentle enough not to damage a reasonable sized vitola. This is only going to be useful in a cup holder though, as the lid throws the balance off (the Xikar Ashcan has the advantage here, it can be used as a stand-alone unit). This will be a welcome addition to the car, as it fits in the cup holder better than the Xikar, it’s one piece, where the Xikar is two, and the rest/holder is more secure. I’ve always had great interactions with the folks at Groovy Guy Gifts, if you have an event or occasion where you need a little something personalized for some guys, this is the place to get it done.

 

Here’s a news item for my readers in the south Florida area mostly, or those traveling there. It’s an odd time for this, in my thinking. I suppose if you planned this for a long time and kept to your timeline, this is the way it works out. I wish everyone involved the best with this!

EMPIRE SOCIAL LOUNGE LOCATED IN SOUTH MIAMI (DOWNTOWN DADELAND) NOW OPEN

The much-anticipated Empire Social Lounge is the newest project by the proprietors of Casa De Montecristo by Prime Cigar & Whiskey Bar

 

South Miami welcomes Empire Social Lounge, the second Miami location by the founders of the Prime Cigar brand. Located in Downtown Dadeland at 8955 Dadeland Blvd #D-170, Miami, Florida 33156, Empire Social is bringing a dose of “Sophisticated Relaxation” to South Miami. Proprietors Jason Reznik, Ryan Leeds and Peter Berntsen will proudly unveil Empire Social (which is the evolution of the Prime Cigar brand). Hour of operation Sunday – Saturday, 12:00 Noon until close.

 

“Sophisticated Relaxation” is a motto created by Empire Social/Prime Cigars founders, Jason Reznik and Ryan Leeds.It was embraced by patrons of their first venture which was Prime Cigar Boca Raton, considered THE cigar & whiskey lounge in all of Florida. The popularity of Prime Cigar Boca Raton carried over to their second venture, the widely acclaimed Casa de Montecristo by Prime Cigar & Whiskey Bar in Brickell-Miami. The success of these two locations created a demand in the Magic City which will spawn the much-anticipated Empire Social Lounge.

 

The Empire Social brand is a sophisticated lounge, which features a walk-in humidor, full bar stocked with rare and hard to find whiskeys, member’s lounge, and patio. Custom furniture and design elements (which exude simple elegance) will please the cigar aficionados, or those looking for a unique experience, a rare whiskey, craft cocktails, or a nightcap. Empire Social is perfect anchor location for one of Miami’s most dynamic neighborhoods, Downtown Dadeland.

The owners and management are well known for being customer-centric which led to the commission of a state-of-the-art air control system for Empire Social Lounge. This innovative A/C replaces 100 percent of the air constantly to provide an environment which will curb smoke and create a comfortable environment for patrons.

 

The Prime Cigar/Empire Social brand was born out of the life experiences between father and son. Ryan Leeds and his father shared a close relationship, as they bonded over the love of premium cigars, fine spirits, traveling, and all things luxury. Ryan was inspired to bring together best elements of his travels under one roof. Today, guests come from all over the world to experience “Sophisticated Relaxation.”

 

About Empire Social Lounge


Empire Social is the evolution of the Prime Cigar brand, founded in 2010, which ushered in a new way to engage those who enjoy sophisticated experiences. Empire Social Lounge will feature premium cigars, top-shelf spirits, and fine wines while boasting a state-of-the-art air control system, ensuring a comfortable smoke-friendly environment. Empire Social Lounge will open its doors respecting all CDC guidelines including social distancing. 

 

For more information about Empire Social Lounge, please visit www.empiresociallounge.com

Follow on social via @EmpireSocialLounge

 

 

We’ve been freshening up the back porch, the place I spend most of my time. Repainiting and replacing the screens, mostly, and replacing some wood here and there. I’d say it’s about 40% done. I’m trying to figure out the best way to put windows on the north-east facing side that gets the most rain comin

g in, solid plexiglass sheets? Old-style jalousie type louvers? As you can imagine, now is not the time to be trying to buy sheets of plexiglass! Anyway, between coats of paint yesterday I smoked a Platinum Nova Perfecto that I brought home from the TPE show. I generally wouldn’t sit down, all sweaty, paint on my hands, needing a shower, and smoke a $25 cigar, but this one had been at the top of the humidor, and I’m pretty low on cigars I haven’t smoked before. So I figured, screw it, it’s a perfect size for between coats, I’ll smoke it anyway. This is a beautiful 4½” x 56 perfecto, with a Nicaragua Rojiza 2000 wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican 98 (Criollo? not telling what varietal of Dominican!) filler. Rojiza means Reddish or ruddy, and the wrapper is that, it’s on the rosado side. The cigar was a brilliant cigar in every way, maybe one of the best Nova cigars I’ve smoked. It had a sweet, floral flavor, very interesting and pleasing. It was on the milder side of medium, but it had a lot of flavor, if that makes sense, and the flavor was entertaining. I really enjoyed this little cigars, although I don’t know how I feel about the cost. Personally, I wouldn’t be able to pry my wallet open that far for a short cigar like this, but it was a great smoke, there’s no denying the quality. I’m humbled to have had the opportunity to smoke this, it was delicious! I smoked a spectacular Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust Todos Las Dias Thick Lonsdale last night too, my favorite size in that line, for sure. 

 

That’s all for today, I think. I need to go to Home Depot and buy some trim for the outside of the screens and put it on, and stop for a birthday cake for my wife. We usually go out for dinner to celebrate, but I don’t see that happening, so maybe I’ll order out tonight. Weird times we live in. It would be so much easier if I could just give her a nice cigar!  Anyway, that’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig 

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by | April 29, 2020 · 9:08 pm

Platinum Nova Congress Cigar

Before I get into the cigar, I’ve found myself noticing maybe people getting a little antsy on the Facebook groups and either providing bad information or berating people for doing things “wrong” with their cigars. In the spirit of positivity and to be helpful and educational, I’ve offered my advice where I see fit. A few examples: one poster removes the wrappers (cello) in his humidor because having plastic next to his cigars doesn’t seems natural. This was offered in what I took as a condescending way. This was my gentle response: “it’s not plastic, it’s cellophane, which is made from wood fiber and is water permeable. I figure if cigar makers are ok putting cellophane on the cigars then who am I to second guess th

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em? If it’s an aesthetic thing and you like the look of naked cigars in your humidors, that’s another story, but there’s absolutely no functional reason not to store cigars in cellophane long term.” In another group a gentleman posted a photo of a cigar with a severe runner. He was lambasted for not touching it up, told that he was smoking in the wind, ripped up and down for what he did wrong, and he defended himself, said he tried to touch it up. I offered the following “Some
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times the Ligero isn’t placed right in the bunch and the cigar doesn’t burn right, it happens and it isn’t the poor guys fault for not touching up his burn, being in the wind or not rotating his cigars in the humidor or having bad karma or whatever. More positivity folks!” Hopefully these replies were helpful and taken in the spirit in which they were offered. When I see bad information or piling on for the wrong reasons I have trouble keeping my mouth shut.

 

This afternoon I selected a cigar from the new cigars that came back with me from the TPE show. The supply of these is running low, but I still have a few. The folks at Nova Cigars were quite generous and treated me to a wide range of their offerings. The Platinum Nova Congress is a 7” x 43 cigar, not entirely sure what to call it, it’s to big a ring for a Lancero, and too long to be a Lonsdale, but it has a nice “bun” style cap. It has a H2000 CT Ecuador wrapper and Dominican binder and f

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illers, made in the DR. This cigar is in their lower priced line, but it’s still $18, well above my typical price threshold. This is a beautiful cigar, and the burn and draw are what I expect from a cigar of this caliber. I smoked this cigar slowly, so as not to overheat it, as is my custom with thinner ring gauge cigars. I was struck with a distinct caramel flavor especially on the retrohale. This was a very elegant cigar, smooth, creamy, and very tasty. I enjoyed it quite a bit on a nice spring day.  

 

It seems like I’ve smoked a bunch of cigars since Sunday, notable, to me at least, have been a RoMaCraft Cromagnon Fomorian, a Macanudo Red, a LFD Reserva Especial, and another Danli Honduras Tabaco The Clown. Tonight’s cigar was an oldie from deep in the humidor, a Rauchvergnügen No 42, a bit of an obscure “German Engineered” cigar, which had aged quite nicely. I wrote about this cigar almost four years ago (here). That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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by | March 29, 2020 · 10:40 am

Another The Clown, Martinez and Platinum Nova Cigars

Funny thing, I’ve been on a two cigar a day thing this week, which is more than normal. It’s not like my schedule has really changed too much, but it’s psychological, I suppose. I’ve been taking an afternoon and evening walk when possible, just to get out of the house for a little bit. I also haven’t been smoking many new cigars, which doesn’t give me a lot to talk about here. Follow my Instagram (or Facebook) feed to see what I’ve been smoking and feel free to interact with me on those platforms. A few of the cigars I smoked this week I feel like talking about, first of which is The Clown. This is the latest cigar from Danli Honduras Tabacos, the little Honduran company that I’ve been enamoured with over the last year. This is t

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he company which make the Don Juan Calavera, Flor Maya and Marchetti cigars which have become go-to cigars for me. The Clown is a Doble Capa cigar, with Mexican Maduro and Jamastran Connecticut wrappers in a Barber Pole configuration. It has a Nicaraguan  Habano binder and the fillers are secos from Jalapa and Condega in Nicaragua and Visos from Jamastran and Copan in Honduras. You’ll notice there’s no ligero in the blend, so it’s a very smooth, medium bodied cigar, but it has a lot of sweet, nutty flavors, and is very well balanced. This is a cigar that is perfectly suited for any time of the day, great for any experience level, and just an all around wonderful cigar. It looks nice too, and the presentation is nice, as long as scary clowns don’t freak you out. I saw an online vender started carrying these saying they are the exclusive, however I know that isn’t the case, as I know of a few brick and mortar shops who have them. That being said, in the current state of things, it’s hard to say who’s open and shipping. 

 

Yesterday I smoked a few new-to-me cigars, the first of which was a cigar that was given to me by the guys from Martinez Cigars in New York City at the TPE show. This cigar, the Forty Five Series in the Natural Robusto, celebrates their 45 years in business. From their website: 

In celebration of 45 years in business, we are introducing our newest blend of cigars

“THE FORTY FIVE SERIES!”

This incredible cigar was Created by both of our Master Tobacconist Crystian Polanco and Marino Rosario.

You will encounter a nice progression of flavor beginning as a true medium body and building up to a rich robust full body cigar.

We combined four different fillers from Nicaragua and Dominican Republic, along with a rich Nicaraguan binder and finished off with a natural Habano or San Andres maduro wrapper.

I smoked the Natural wrapper version  in the 5″ x 54 vitola, it’s also available in a torpedo, on the porch while watching a Harry Potter movie on the iPad. 😀  There’s an interesting quality I find across the board about the Martinez cigars, and maybe it’s hokey, but there’s a Havana style flavor profile that I get. It’s strange, but Whenever I smoke a Martinez cigar I’m reminded of a Cuban cigar for some reason. It’s probably just me, and I look at it as a good thing, I really enjoy the cigars. Of course, they have more complexity generally, and in the case of this Forty Five Series, it was just a really good smoke. The burn was perfect, it was full flavored with some spice and leather and coffee notes. I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is not an inexpensive cigar, it’s $15 before shipping on their site. I’d me interested to smoke this in the San Andrés wrapper, maybe when the dust settles, life returns to normal, I’llvisitt them in NYC again. Hopefully it’s before too many years pass beyond that 45th anniversary. In the mean time, here’s the interview from the TPE again:

 

 

The last cigar I had was last night. I took a break from the Harry Potter marathon for a while and smoked another cigar from the Platinum Nova line. This was another cigar from their Limited Edition (read: not cheap) line. Yesterday was rainy and about 50°F all day, so it wasn’t a beautiful day, so I wasn’t looking for three hour smokes. I chose the 5½” x 52 square pressed Legacy. This is a beautiful cigar with a Habano 2000 wrapper, Esteli binder and Dominican 98 filler (Criollo?) This cigar runs a whopping $31. I’ve had the good fortune to have smoked (not necessarily bought) some pricey cigars, many times they leave me wondering why they are price the way they are. Nova Cigars has several cigar that are in the $30 range, they have a factory in the US, they don’t make a great many cigars, they hold very high standards, and they produce a high end, luxury product, I get why they are priced where they are. In the case of this cigar, it tastes and performs at a very high level. Burn and draw are perfect, as should be expected. It had bright flavors, some complexity, although I can’t go as far as identifying the flavors that are listed on their website, but it was interesting and entertaining smoke that just made me happy, no small feat recently. Ari and Leo were very generous with cigars and their time at the TPE show! I appreciate them sharing these with me. And you know I occasionally incorporate a theme in my smoking routine, I was going to smoke a Joya de Nicaragua Quatro Cinco to follow the Martinez, but chose this, with the connection being that Ari and Leo both used to work for Nat Sherman in NYC. 

 

Who has partaken in any virtual herfs? I want to get in on one, but haven’t found one that fits my time schedule. I have Zoom, wou

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ld anyone be interested in setting up a herf? How should we schedule it? Reach out to me and let me know if you’d be interested. My best time is afternoons or early evenings Eastern Time.  Anyway, that’s enough for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

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