Tag Archives: Providencia

Murcialago, Providencia Trinitas and Cornelius Lonsdale Cigars

Murcialago_RobustoLast week one of the cigars I picked up at Cigars International’s Espinosa event was the new Murcialago. I remember when this came out int the EO Brands days, it was Eddie Ortega’s go-to, made at the My Father Factory with a rich, dark San Andrés wrapper. These had a red bat-shaped band, appropriate since murcialago is Spanish for bat.  Seems like a long word for bat, but that’s neither here nor there. I remember the original release being sometime in the 2011 area. In the Ortega/Espinosa amicable divorce, Erik got custody of the Murcialago brand, and it hibernated for a few years. Recently the brand has re-emerged, and I grabbed a few of the red banded robustos, as well as a silver banded Churchill. I know the latest release, with the silver band, is being made at AJ Fernandez’ new San Lotano factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua, but I’m not sure if the red banded cigars were made there or La Zona. I suppose it would have been prudent of me to ask that question of Erik while I was talking to him.  The Robusto is a box pressed 5″ x 54, and, given my recent avoidance of robustos, I’m surprised I didn’t get the toro instead, perhaps they were out.  The cigar smoked as one would expect it would, perfect burn and draw, dark, rich flavors of espresso and some spice. I recall really liking the old version, but it’s been so long since I smoked one I can’t really draw a direct comparison, but it was good and I liked it.

 

Providencia_The TrinitasYesterday afternoon I decided to give the Trinitas from Providencia Cigars a try. These cigars are made in Honduras with Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco. This cigar came to mind because I know two of the company principles are from the Philadelphia area and are big Eagles fans. Apparently the Eagles won a big game, and were recognized with a parade in Philly last week, and I’m sure Ray and Jim wish they had been there. All this Eagles stuff in the news made me think of Providencia cigars for some reason, so I pulled out the Trinitas to give it a try. This is a beautiful 6½” x 52 perfecto with a box press, and has “Triple Ligero” on the band.  Curiously, their website notes that it has Lijero, whether this is a typo or linguistic difference, I don’t know. I give them points for keeping their site up to date, so I give them a pass.  This Trinitas was only recently released, and is a small batch cigar, and is offered in boxes of ten or bundles of 11.  I was expecting a much stronger cigar, given the triple ligero descriptor, but what I got was a medium bodied, very refined and well-balanced cigar that was really very good.  It had some sweetness, and earthy/nutty flavors that were quite enjoyable on a rainy Saturday on the porch watching the Olympics.  These are not widely distributed, but I’ve had very good experiences now with all three of their lines, the El Padre and El Santo are also excellent. Even though they aren’t in a lot of shops, they do offer their cigars for sale on their site. These cigars are worthy of sampling, in my opinion.

 

CorneliusandAnthony_Cornelius_LonsdaleLast night I came across my last IPCPR sample of the Cornelius and Anthony Cornelius Lonsdale. I received a couple new samples last week, and I’m sure it’s common knowledge that this brand, is on the top of my list recently. I cracked a box of Señor Esugars toros earlier in the week and am really going to have trouble not smoking them all up real fast, the cigar was awesome. I’ll smoke another one soon and give it more attention here. For me, in all six Cornelius and Anthony lines, the toro is the size that does it for me. That being said, this year’s release of the Cornelius in the Lonsdale size intrigued me. I recapped my IPCPR visit along with a video with Steven Bailey back in August, you can check that out here. My initial impression of the cigar remains the same as the first smoking, the 6½” x 42 Lonsdale may seem a little stronger than the Toro largely because a narrower ring cigar is going to burn a bit hotter, making the flavors sharper. People always think there’s some magic wrapper to filler ratio that makes smaller ring cigars taste different, but it’s the heat. Certainly the blend proportions have to change across a range of ring gauges, but if proportions were exactly the same, the thinner cigars would still have a sharper flavor, easily confused with more flavor, because it inherently burns hotter. It’s a fact. This Lonsdale presents all the elegance and subtlety of the Toro, but with a little more oomph, making it a similar, but different experience.  I like it, I like it a lot.

 

I’ve been slacking on my midweek posts over the last couple weeks, winter blues, I guess, but, if you watch my Instagram feed, I’m still enjoying a daily cigar, although I’ve been quite hedonistic in my choices lately. I get home from a long day at work and want to relax with a cigar and just enjoy it without worrying about thinking of something to write about it. I’ve always been pretty open about the fact that I’m in this for the enjoyment, when smoking cigars, or writing this blog, feel like work, it’s not fun anymore!  Anyway, it’s time to get on with my day, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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A Tortuga Reserva Maduro, a Providencia El Padre and a Joya Black Cigar

On New Years Eve I stopped in to CigarCigars store near my house for a smoke and picked up a handful of Tortuga Reserva Maduro “El Coyote Negro” in the Cedro No. 500 belicoso size. These were, sadly, marked down, and I’d seen this box on the bottom shelf in the past. I think the right thing for me to do is to go back and grab some more.  Of course, Victor Vitale’s Tortuga line has been a Tortuga Reserva Maduro No. 500favorite of mine for several years, and I like to keep a bunch on hand, and this is nowhere near the first time this brand has come up on these pages. I was checking, and I think the first mention of Tortuga was early in 2012, in a piece I wrote after visiting the Reading Terminal Market in Philly, Victor’s home town. The El Coyote Negra No. 500 had some age, the cello was amber, and the cigar was awesome. These have a Brazilian Oscuro wrapper and Nicaraguan filler and binder, and are made in Honduras.  I’ve been hoping to catch up with Victor as it’s been way too long, but the last I heard he was working on another Ora Vivo Armand Assante cigar, which is exciting as I really enjoy those too. I think I’ve liked all of Victor’s cigars since launching Tortuga and Ora Vivo, as I mention in the article from six years ago, I wasn’t overly impressed with his ORTSAC line, although it certainly wasn’t bad (Dave Garofalo owns the ORTSAC brand now). I look forward to catching up with Victor again soon!

 

Providencia_El Padre_TorpedoOdd thing: I can’t remember having dreams about cigars, but yesterday morning I awoke from a dream that was very specifically about Providencia cigars. I’m not sure how that particular brand slipped into my subconscious, perhaps I spotted one or two while rummaging in the humidor recently. I took this as a sign that I should smoke one, so I rummaged again and found an El Padre Torpedo.  This is a very small brand, of the retailers listed on their website, none are in Pennsylvania, which is odd because something makes me think one of the owners of the brand has a Philly connection too.  The torpedo is a 6″ x 52 with a Nicaraguan grown Connecticut Shade wrapper, and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers and is a really tasty shade cigar.  Their website mentions “mature cigar smokers”, I’m not sure how to take that…I’m old, but I hardly consider myself mature…but it is a great tasting and performing cigar. I had a short, stocky Providencia El Santo (with a Sumatra Nicaraguan Maduro wrapper) on deck for after dinner, but decided that I posted about these two cigars together back in July.  I found the El Padre to be a very nice, full flavored, medium cigar.

 

JoyadeNicaragua_Joya Black_RobustoHave you ever had a cigar that you want to like? You really should like it, because it’s from a company that makes a lot of cigars you really like, and have visited and know some of the principles.  In addition to that, it has one of your favorite wrappers. The Joya Black from Joya de Nicaragua is that cigar for me. I know it’s been highly rated, made lists, and all, I just keep trying this cigar and keep being disappointed. I’ve had a selection in my humidor for the better part of a year, and keep trying them and keep having problems. It’s nothing to do with the flavor, it has more to do with getting the flavor, as there always seems to be a draw issue with the samples I’ve smoked. It’s funny, to me, at least, of Joya’s “Modern Line-Up” including the Red, Black and Cabinetta, I only really like the Cabinetta, and I’ve enjoyed that cigar for a long time. The Red never really did it for me, and now the same with the Black. I’ll keep trying, because, like I said, I want to like this cigar, but if it comes to choosing between the Black and an Antaño of any kind, I’m smoking the Antaño.  Joya de Nicaragua is one of my favorite factories, I’ve visited twice, I know the major people there, and love most of what’s produced there (Fratello, Sobremesa included), so it pains me to not like a cigar from there.

 

A quick rant about top <insert number here>, I’m probably missing out by not doing a formal list.  I see social media posts by many popular cigar makers when their cigar makes a list. By not doing a Top 10 or whatever list that included those who I know would spread it around, am I passing up good exposure?  I post the memorable cigars of the year for me, and I’m comfortable with that. I’m thrilled when my posts get shared (thanks to those who do it!), but I’m here just doing whatever it is I’m doing because I love cigars, certainly not for fame and fortune. I don’t mean this as a criticism of people posting lists, but maybe it sounds that way (I have been called a cynical, sarcastic bastard).

 

That’s all for today, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

 

 

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Providencia El Santo and El Padre Cigars

Providencia_El Santo_PrensadoYesterday I had the luxury of smoking two cigars, so I decided to make it a “theme day” and smoke two that were new to me from Providencia Cigars. The cigars are made in Honduras with Honduran and Nicaraguan tobacco in two blends, the El Padre and the El Santo, The Father and the Saint respectively. Based on the fact that the El Padre is a Connecticut and the El Santo is the maduro, any guess which one I went to first?  Of course, I grabbed the El Santo Prensado, the box pressed, 6″ x 52 toro size. This also comes in a Robusto Gordo which measures 4½”x 58. The details on this cigar are vague according to the information I was provided, it lists the wrapper as Sumatra Nicaraguan Maduro, and “a proprietary blend” of Honduran tobaccos that they grow on their own plantations, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It’s impressive that they have their own farms and, one would assume, process their own leaf. small tangent: I think it’s equally impressive that they only produce 25,000 cigars a year between the two blends, and they are priced at $8 each across the board. There is no mention that I could find that they own a factory or in what factory they are produced.  Back to the El Santo. The cigar had a soft box press and was very comfortable in the hand. I lit it up on the back porch as I was receiving text alerts about thunderstorms, which isn’t a problem in an enclosed porch unless the wind gets crazy, which it did not. I had no complaints about the burn and draw, both were exceptional. I generally expect sweetness and cocoa from a cigar that looks like this, but I was pleasantly surprised that it had more of a savory, steak-like feel to it. I liked that it wasn’t your standard maduro (I love standard maduros!), it was interesting, entertaining, and delicious. My mouth watered. Thunderstorms ensued, although not distracting me from the enjoyment. Now I’m looking forward to smoking the Robusto Gordo quite a bit (that’s a size I like to). Providencia El Santo Prensado gets two thumbs up.

 

Providencia_El Padre_RobustoGordoAfter dinner and a couple of Game of Thrones episodes (I’m way behind the curve, I read the book a long time ago, but only recently had the access to the HBO series and they were playing it all weekend). I took a walk with the Providencia El Padre in that Robusto Gordo size. This also comes in a 6″x 52 torpedo, which was their first cigar. The El Padre lists a Connecticut Nicaraguan wrapper, which is not all that common.  The wrapper was a flawless blond leaf with fine veins as one would expect. My only complaint would be that it took a little coaxing to get the bottom side of the foot properly lit, but one it got going it burned like a champ. Smoke production was great with the El Padre as it was with the El Santo, and there was little mildness about it. It was rich and, dare I say it again?, meaty. Not strong, but full-bodied enough to know you’re smoking a cigar, for sure. The wrapper added a creaminess to the mix, and it was an extremely pleasing cigar. After twenty years of sampling all kinds of cigars, from un-known cigars in the boom of the 90s that were just terrible, to boutiques like this one, I’m a bit of a curmudgeon anymore, almost hating the idea of wasting my valuable cigar time with an unknown. It’s cigars like these that keep me doing it (and the strange desire to share my thoughts on a website), the surprise of being entertained and satisfied by something new. Are there the new cigars that I try that meet my sometimes negative expectation?  Sure there are, but lines like Providencia are what keep me experimenting. The fact that they sell for $8 each doesn’t hurt. Good job to the guys behind this line. These are available for sale on their website as well as select tobacconists (listed on the site).

 

Prop1Prop2I’m testing a prototype of Cigar Prop‘s new portable prop, a two piece design that when apart is roughly credit card sized. It works, it holds up a cigar, much like it’s less portable brethren. I have a feeling it will not work well in my wallet flying to Vegas next week, TSA may frown upon it, I’m not quite sure. I have to say, I use one of the Cigar Props every day, whether it’s just to take a picture for Instagram or, as it’s intended, for a place to rest my cigar when I need to do something else.  A handy and good-looking solution to a common problem!

 

That’s all for now. Some may have a long weekend for the 4th of July. I have to work tomorrow, so weekendus interuptus for me, but Tuesday will require some special cigars. One for the anniversary of the USA and one for my wife and I celebrating our wedding anniversary. Guaranteed one of those cigars will have “anniversary” in the name. Stay safe, don’t blow off any body parts, and have a great weekend! Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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