Tag Archives: Quesada

by Craig Vanderslice | June 4, 2023 · 9:40 am

Smoking Some Tobacco Plaza Ltd. 50th Anniversary Cigars

I was talking to Danny Ditkowich of Tobacco Plaza in Great Neck, NY recently and the subject of the store’s 50th Anniversary and the special cigars that accompanied it came up. So I decided to smoke some and highlight them here. I’ll get it out of the way, the links I put in this post will go to the store’s website, where you could purchase each of these cigars. Danny mentioned that the Tatuaje (along with the Tuxtla series) are 10% off while supplies last, and there’s free shipping fo the month of June. All that out of the way, let’s talk about these three tasty cigars! The first one I smoked was the Tatuaje TP DD 50th Exclusive. If I recall, Danny worked with Pete on a DD for the 40th anniversary, and it was 6″x 58 torpedo, this one is a 6″ x 60 torpedo, with a beautiful Broadleaf wrapper, over Nicaraguan fillers and binder, rolled at the My Father factory. The original was based on the Fausto blend, and I’m not sure if this one is too, but it’s a pretty strong cigar! It’s loaded with the coffee and spice that I enjoy, and it was a really great cigar. I may smoke another one today! If you’re a fan of the Tatuaje Broadleaf, or Tatuaje cigars in general, this would be a great one to try. Not a cheap date, but what is anymore?

I took a relatively early walk yesterday after doing a bee inspection with my wife, planting a tree and doing some trimming, all before 10am for some reason. So I grabbed the Tobacco Plaza 50th Anniversary Quesada Keg. I don’t think I ever had the original Keg, as I am not immediately drawn to things drink related, so I can’t compare. This is another 6″ x 60, and if it’s just a size variation, it has a Dominican Corojo seed wrapper, with Dominican binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s presented in a 15 count box as opposed to a barrel. This is another cigar that I enjoyed quite a bit. It had an interesting bready flavor, kind of a dark bread and it was on the medium bodied side. I know Danny has had a great relationship with Quesada as they make the Oceano brand in the La Sirena portfolio, another cigar I really enjoy.

The third and final cigar in Tobacco Plaza’s 50th anniversary series is the TPLFD Magnum Chisel Maduro. This cigar is listed as 6″ x 58 box pressed, but it’s really 6½”. The chisel shape is cool, and one of the only, if not THE only, shape that’s legally protected by a patent. This is has a maduro wrapper, with the Tobacco Plaza logo applied to the cigar in a lighter leaf. LFD has made a bit of a name for themselves with these artistic embellishments, I have one from the Ybor festival with a Rooster, and one from a dinner that Tobacco Plaza hosted in 2021 with an Iced Tea glass. They are quite neat and must take a lot of effort to produce. Someone has to make a “cookie cutter” apparatus to punch the design out of a leaf. It’s impressive. The cigar is impressive as well, it’s a great tasting smoke. I’ve been enjoying afternoons on my porch watching TV, the last few Saturday’s it’s been an Amazon show called “Clarkson’s Farm”, with Jeremy Clarkson, formerly of the British Top Gear and Amazon’s The Grand Tour (also hysterical). This Magnum Chisel got me through the last two episodes, set aside 2 hours for this one. It was rich with cocoa and spice. Another winner. I have to get up to Great Neck some time to visit Tobacco Plaza.

That’s all I got for this week, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 50th Anniversary, Chisel, cigar, cigars, DD, Keg, La Flor Dominicana, LFD, Quesada, tatuaje, Tobacco Plaza

by Craig Vanderslice | November 18, 2020 · 10:22 pm

My Father Fonseca Robusto and Some Other Fonseca Cigars

Last week while I was out and about, I picked up a couple of the new My Father Fonseca robustos. I’ve been looking forward to trying this cigar for a while. It was a bit of a surprise when Quesada sold the Fonseca brand to My Father, and it took a year of two before My Father came out with their version of this iconic brand. I’ve personally smoked a bunch of Fonseca cigars over the years. I had a box of Havana Fonseca Cadet KDT many years ago that were really very nice. A few years ago I really got into the Fonseca Nicaragua, more on that in a bit. This new My Father Fonseca Robusto is 5½” x 52 and has a shade grown Corojo 99 rosado wrapper, and Garcia grown Nicaraguan fillers. At $9.50, it’s not an inexpensive cigar, but after smoking it, I certainly wasn’t disappointed! This was a really terrific tasting cigar, I think it captured the spirit of Fonseca quite nicely. It’s medium bodied, and has a delicious sweetness. It’s a nice, sophisticated blend, really nice. It’s got that hard candy sweetness I like. The Garcias did a really nice job with the Fonseca brand.

I found a few older Fonseca cigars in the humidor, so I figured I’d see how they compared. I smoked the Fonseca Nicaragua toro, which was new a few years ago and was fairly inexpensive. This was Quesada‘s last iteration of the Fonseca I believe. These were actually made by Placencia for Quesada, and had tobaccos from Jalapa, Esteli and Ometepe. I really liked these and smoked a bunch of them when they came out in 2016. I remember smoking one at the IPCPR show with Terrance Reilly in the Quesada booth and loving it, and seeking more out when they hit the stores. I smoked the 6″ x 50 toro and it had held up well over time. There were similarities to the new version, which is also Nicaraguan. It had that sweetness, it had some earthiness, and was as I remembered, a very good smoke. I enjoyed it and will miss these when I smoke the last of the few I have left!

Finally, I found a Dominican Fonseca, and I don’t even know how old this one was, where it came from or much about it at all. If I had to guess, I’d say it had a Sumatra wrapper, based on looks and flavor. There was a hint of that same candy sweetness that is in the new version that I love so much. This is another cigar that had aged well. The burn was perfect, it just was a pleasure to smoke. I wish I knew how old this one was, or where it came from! I’m just glad I had the chance to smoke it. I still have one Cuban KDT Cadets from the box that I had maybe in the middle of the 2000s. They were pretty strong little cigars, but I imagine fifteen years might have mellowed it out a bit.

That’s all for today. Remember the CigarCraig.com Readers Poll. 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. It’ll be fun! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Fonseca, My Father, Quesada

by Craig Vanderslice | June 27, 2019 · 7:10 am

News: Ventura Cigars Announces Cuban CigarFactory Blends

Is this one of the last news items before the IPCPR show? I kinda doubt it, but here it is, none the less. This is an interesting project with Ventura and Manuel Quesada and Benji Menendez. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting both of these gentlemen, rue legends in the cigar game.

INSPIRED BY THE OLD WORLD, CREATED FOR THE NEW
VENTURA CIGAR COMPANY TO LAUNCH 2 BLENDS CREATED BY MASTERS FOR CUBAN CIGAR FACTORY BRAND.

“Hide not your talents. They for use were made. What’s a sundial in the shade?” (Benjamin Franklin)

Benjamin “Benji” Menendez and Manuel “Manolo” Quesada: two of the greatest of all time. Cigar industry pioneers, builders, blenders, visionaries, creators, and friends. True legends of the business, Menendez and Quesada are teaming up for the first time in an exciting new passion project from Michael Giannini and Ventura Cigar Company (VCC). Led by their longtime friend, Giannini, Menendez and Quesada have each collaborated on a namesake blend for Cuban Cigar Factory. A celebration of tradition and talent, this collaboration for Ventura Cigar Company’s Cuban Cigar Factory is bringing the importance of Old-World Cuban expat expertise to the palates of the present and generations to come.

Behind the Blends
Benji Menendez enjoyed an early beginning in the Cuban tobacco business at his father’s factory. Forced to leave his home and livelihood when Castro came to power, Menendez had to start completely over. However, as a seeker of opportunity and a purveyor of fine tobacco, he soon established a new foothold, becoming a mastermind behind cigars and factories in nearly every cigar-making country. His career has been legendary, working in 8 different countries to produce some of the best cigars to hit the
market. “I still think about the cigar factory every day of my life,” says Benji Menendez.

The Benji Menendez for Cuban Cigar Factory: available in a Robusto, Toro, and Belicoso, a rich, silky smooth blend featuring a Dominican binder, Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers, and a Connecticut Ecuadorian wrapper.

Manolo Quesada is a fourth-generation master from a lineage of tobacco growers, brokers, and blenders that stretch back over a century. His career began in pre-Castro Cuba, where he first developed a taste for the intricacies of tobacco at his father’s company. Also forced to leave Cuba by Castro’s rise to power, Quesada went to the Dominican Republic, where he founded MATASA in 1972, from the humble beginnings of a chair, a phone, three rollers, and $100. Over the decades, MATASA has flourished under Quesada’s intuitive, expert eye for quality and flavor, making his knowledge for the past and present a natural fit for the Cuban Cigar Factory project.

The Manolo Quesada for Cuban Cigar Factory: available in a Robusto, Toro, and Belicoso, a rich and savory blend featuring an Ecuadorian binder, Dominican fillers, and a Habano Ecuador wrapper.

“I feel like I’m a Rick Rubin of the cigar industry,” says Michael Giannini, General Manager at Ventura Cigar. “I’m bringing people together- people who I admire, my great friends who laid the foundation of the cigar industry, and people of the next generation. The creators and the consumers. Everyone has something to offer. We have a duty to engage this talent, not to let these great minds and their priceless knowledge fade away. They’re now our mentors, an inspiration to us all, and they’re still here. They’re still on the court, so let’s play ball. Let’s show everyone what we can do.”

Both Cuban Cigar Factory cigars are created at the MATASA factory in the Dominican Republic, in
collaboration with Ventura Cigar Company. They are set to debut at IPCPR 2019, and are planned for a
late summer ship date. The Benji Menendez and Manolo Quesada blends will each be available as
follows:

Robusto: 5″x50, $12.99 each or $259.98 for a box of 20
Toro: 6″x50, $13.99 each or $279.98 for a box of 20
Belicoso: 6.25″x52, $14.49 each, or $289.98 for a box of 20

For more information about Cuban Cigar Factory, or any other cigars in the Ventura Cigar Company
Portfolio, please visit venturacigar.com.

About Ventura Cigar Company

Ventura Cigar Company (VCC) is a unique cigar brand born in sunny Southern California that is on a
mission to create memorable, complex cigar blends that excite the senses and reward discriminating
palates. Their flagship Archetype, Case Study, Project805, and PSyKo SEVEN brands offer multiple
award-winning blends that earned 90+ ratings in Cigar Aficionado, Cigar & Spirits, and Cigar Snob. And
Archetype’s Axis Mundi won #13 Cigar of the Year for 2017 from Cigar Aficionado. Ventura Cigar

Company also distributes Tommy Bahama Luxury Cigar Accessories and the 4 th Generation Tobacconist
and Comoy’s of London lines of pipe tobacco products, extending its reach and tradition of offering top-
quality tobacconist products. Pipes and blends under these brands are cultivated through generations of
craftsmanship, making them longtime favorites of pipe tobacco enthusiasts.

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Tagged as Benji Menendez, cigar, cigars, Cuban Cigar Factory, IPCPR, Manual Quesada, Menendez, Quesada, Ventura

by CigarCraig | September 9, 2018 · 11:15 am

Quesada Oktoberfest, Fratello and Joya Silver Cigars

Earlier in the week I was going through one of the desktop humidors refreshing my memory on what was in there, and I came across a cigar that I remember buying a couple of at a local shop on closeout. I distinctly remember the occasion, it was a bitter cold January evening the first winter we had moved to our current house, making it the winter of 2015. After dinner I ran up to the local shop with my tablet to write a blog post and smoke a cigar in the warmth of the shop, and got there around 6, not realizing they closed at 7. They had these 2011 Quesada Oktoberfest Über, a monolithic 6″ x 65 cigar, in the discount area priced at $5, and, not being able to resist a bargain, I grabbed a handful. Of course, I didn’t get too far into the behemoth before having to head home to finish the cigar bundled up on the cigar porch. I came across the last of the few I bought that night in the bottom corner of this humidor sitting there un-cello’d, and lonely, and I hate to see a cigar sitting there like that, all vulnerable and whatnot, so I decided to take it for one last walk. It’s kind of amazing how much room that one cigar freed up on the humidor, but I wish I had more! After three and a half years in my humidor, and much longer than that since being rolled, this cigar developed into the most floral flavored cigar I’ve smoked in a very long time. I’m not normally into that, but this was enjoyable for being outside of the norm. Every puff of the nearly three-hour smoke was delightfully refreshing, and I don’t recall the ones I smoked previously smoking that way. I think I still have a 2016 Oktoberfest around, should I smoking now, or wait until 2023?

I finally got around to smoking the Fratello Navetta this week, and I smoked both the Endeavor, the 6 ¼” x 54 Toro and the Atlantis Boxer 6 ¼” x 52 Box Pressed Torpedo. Obviously both are similar in size, but they smoked differently. The blend is an Ecuadorian Oscuro Wrapper, Dominican Binder and Nicaragua Filler, with one of the components having a good amount of age, and I can’t remember which, I should have made note of that, it’s an important detail that doesn’t seem to be noted anywhere. This line was released in 2017 and commemorates the NASA Space Shuttle program, Omar was a part of 21 shuttle missions with NASA. In line with the Italian name of his brand, Navatta is Italian for Shuttle. Why did it take me so long to sample the Navetta when I’ve been such a fan of the Fratello brand since it’s beginnings in 2012? I guess I just haven’t seen them on shelves and haven’t gone nuts hunting them down. This week I happened to be in two shops that had them, and received the Endeavor as a generous gift, and bought the Atlantis at a Fratello event. This cigar is medium bodied and what I call sophisticated, with a nice subtle spice and some light espresso. The box pressed torpedo had a more open draw, so it expressed those flavors a little more than that toro, which was less generous with the smoke output. I really enjoy the “Boxer” vitola in all of Omar’s Fratello lines, and I really dug the Atlantis in the Navetta as well. there’s something about the box pressed torpedo that works for me. These are pricey, but really exceptional smokes, and I’m anxious to try the Navetta Inverso when it hits retailers in the coming months. Stay tuned for the upcoming CigarCraig’s Podcast where I talk with Omar de Frias. I also smoked a Fratello Bianco IV, the 6 ½ x 54 in the line at the event at Old Havana Cigar Co. in West Chester, PA Friday and loved it.

Since the Fratello Bianco and Navetta (and Classico, everything but the Oro line) is made at the Joya de Nicaragua factory, and I get on streaks, I figured I’d smoke the Joya Silver Ultra, which is the Corona Extra in the line. I really liked the Toro I smoked, and I don’t think I mentioned it in a blog post, I think I was waiting to smoke some of the other sizes first, and I still want to get my hands on some more of the Toros, we all know I like Toros. I have a Robusto and Corona left to sample, and so far the Corona Extra was really good, but not as good as the Toro. I think additional heat from the smaller ring gauge reduced the sweetness a bit to me. The blend is an Ecuador Habano wrapper with a San Andrès binder and Nicaraguan fillers, but I found the flavor to be very unique and appealing to me, with the smaller ring gauge having a predictable sharper sensation. I’ll be interested to see how the corona and robusto compare. So far, in Joya’s “New Age” line, this is my favorite, the Red is OK, and I never really was able to get a handle on the Black, which perplexed me, I should have been all over that line, but it hasn’t grabbed me, perhaps I’ll give it another go. They include the Cabinetta in the Joya series, which I love. I can always rely on an Antaño 1970 or Dark Corojo, or any of the related special cigars in the Joya de Nicaragua stable, it remains a favorite factory of mine.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Bianco, cigar, cigars, Fratello, joya de nicaragua, Navetta, Quesada, Silver, Uber, Ultra

by CigarCraig | August 5, 2018 · 10:20 am

La Sirena LT Double Corona Corona and Other Cigars

Back in 2014, La Sirena Cigars acquired Old School cigars, which went back to about 2007, when Danny Ditkowich and his partners founded the brand.In 2014, Arielle Ditkowich,the president of La Sirena, bought the Old School brands and folded them in to La Sirena, briefly marketing them as Jaxx by La Sirena, Jaxx LT by La Sirena and Stixx by La Sirena. What was cool about this, in my opinion, was that it gave the company some pre-predicate date blends, as well as relationships with two more factories (Jaxx LT at Plasencia in Honduras and Jaxx at Rocky Patel’s Tavicusa in Nicaragua). Of course, La Sirena remains a family operation, with father, Danny involved in the day-to-day operation as well as Mariah adding another face to the brand selling and marketing. Danny is also a partner in the Tobacco Plaza retail store in Great Neck, Long Island, a store I look forward to visiting one of these days (add it to the list!). So that sets up a some back story behind the La Sirena LT, which debuted (that’s an awkward word…”debuted”…so is “awkward”…I digress…) at the 2016 IPCPR. This year they added a new size, a double corona, which is a massive 7 ½” x 52 to the line. Danny was kind enough to send me a couple of these to try, heavily over-packaged, I might add, but assured to make it to me in pristine condition, which is much appreciated.

Before I get to the LT DC, since I wanted to give the cigars a rest from their short journey, even though they came in a ziplock with a Boveda, packed in a cigar box, in a bubble UPS mailer, overnighted only about 140 miles, I decided to smoke an old favorite, a La Sirena Trident of a newer vintage. I’ve smoked a bunch of the original, My Father made Tridents, but this is from a newer box, which is out of La Zona. I really enjoy the heck out of these cigars, over the last I don’t know, seven years or so, La Sirena has been a go-to brand for me. There’s something for every occasion in the portfolio, and the Classic line is great evening cigar with some strength and body, and spice. I still have a few of the Don Pepin Tridents left, but it’s unfair to judge a cigar with five years of age to a newer one and expect a fair comparison, but I think the new and the old compare favorably.

Thursday evening I decided the La Sirena LT Double Corona had enough time to recover, so I took it for a walk. I mentioned the Jaxx LT above, and the La Sirena LT is the same blend, made at the same factory, Plasencia’s El Paraiso in Honduras. As I said above, this is a 7½” x 52 cigar, set aside two and a half hours if you smoke at a reasonable rate. The usually large looking La Sirena band looks normal on this cigar, and it lacks the small under-band, but it does have a secondary foot-band. Many of the regular La Sirena cigars have a small band under the large one, so those with short memories, like myself, can remember what we are smoking when we take the large band off! Obviously, due to its excessive length, this cigar starts out pretty mild, but it builds up pretty quickly to a reasonably robust smoke for a Connecticut (Ecuadoran). It has a rich flavor, with the sweet grassiness you expect from the Connectucut, but it’s not without body. Like I said, set aside a good amount of time to dedicate to this large cigar, I walked a mile, and still had a whole toro left when I got home! This was perfectly built, burn and draw were as they should be. These carry a $10 MSRP, which seems quite fair in this day and age.

I had to continue the La Sirena theme, so Friday I went with another large vitola, from yet another factory that they have making their cigars, Quesada in the DR. I really enjoy the Oceano line, I went with the Atlantic, the large belicoso in the line, at 7″ x 52. This has a Dominican Habano Vuelta Arriba wrapper, Dominican Criollo binder and Dominican Criollo Visos and Ligeros and Nicaraguan Viso in the filler blend. Oddly, it’s a stronger blend than the La Sirena line, certainly the strongest in the portfolio in my estimation. I’ve had this box for about two and a half years, and they just keep getting better and better. It’s kinda on the sweet, peppery and earthy side of the flavor spectrum to me. I really like the blend. I featured the Indian in an article for a 2014 issue of Prime Living Magazine.

I was going to include one more cigar, a Perdomo Factory Tour Blend Connecticut Robusto that I smoked last night, but I’m thinking it might not fit in with the overall theme. I came across the cigar while rooting around one of the trays in the cabinet humidor (that sounds pretentious…) and remembered sitting with Dave Garafalo and Mr. Jonathon at the “Gala” opening party at the 2016 IPCPR. I put Gala in quotes because that year was about the worst opening reception I can recall in the 8 years of IPCPRs I’ve been to, the food ran out in the first 15 minutes, the cash bar was stupid expensive ($6 for a water, granted it was Fiji, but still!), it was lame. Last year, and what I’ve heard from this year, General Cigar Co. has demonstrated what an opening gala should be. But, since few of my readers can experience that, since IPCPR is an industry event, that really doesn’t mean a lot to most of you. Anyway, we were hanging out with Dave and Mr. J chatting, and Roy Kirby, Dave’s Perdomo rep, came over and handed us these Perdomo Factory Tour Connecticut cigars. He didn’t have to, it was very nice of him to do. I guess this one got shuffled to the back and overlooked over the last two years, it’s not like I could miss what it was given the enormity of the band. I guess it was the week for large banded cigars. Anyway, it was a nice, Connecticut cigar, lots of flavor, and you don’t have to take the factory tour to get them. It has a Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Jalapa binder and Esteli fillers. I enjoyed it quite a bit, but, I’m still not going to say too much about it…

I posted episode 6 of the CigarCraig Podcast on Friday where I said my peace about the Altria FDA letter, but I’ll add this: Of course I support the exemption of premium cigar from FDA regulation and everyone who’s fighting for it. I just happen to be realistic in my thinking. I think Altria could have worded their response a little better than “we agree with the FDA that there is “no appropriate justification to exclude premium cigars from regulation”, but, as has been pointed out, they supported the passage of the Tobacco Control Act from the get go, as it helps them from a monopoly standpoint. Anyway, I stand by my belief, as pessimistic as it may be, that regulation is inevitable, and Altria’s letter was more positive than negative in that it provided for a common sense definition of what a premium cigar is and that they should be treated with more lenience. That’s it for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, La Sirena, La Sirena LT, La Zona, Oceano, Perdomo, Plasencia, Quesada, Tobacco Plaza