Tag Archives: san lotano

by CigarCraig | January 8, 2017 · 10:51 am

Padilla, San Lotano and Nestor Miranda Cigars

Winter has set in here in Pennsylvania, with the first snows over the last couple days, thankfully only an inch or two each time. I’m good with basically sweeping the snow off the driveway as opposed to the two foot heavy wet snows we get now and then. Anyway, I smoked a few good cigars over the past couple days, although not all new to the market. I broke open a pack of Padilla Reservas that Ernesto Padilla gave me at the IPCPR show, which was the same pack he gave me at the previous year’s show, I think. I selected the San Andrès of course, there was also a Corojo, Criollo and Connecticut to choose from. This is a 5″ x 54 robusto made at the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras, with the San Andrès wrapper, with Nicaraguan binder and filler. I mentioned this cigar in a post last November, but I feel like this cigar was “dirtier” than the one I smoked before, or else I just didn’t mention that last year. It was like an espresso, strong, with some bitterness that was really enjoyable especially in the cold winter air. Loads of flavor for sure, and I liked it a lot. As I said last time, this is a cigar that’s priced right and well worth picking up if you like that in your face, down and dirty kind of cigar now and then.

Last week I was in a local shop and picked up a few cigars that I hadn’t tried yet, but have been around a while. The AJ Fernandez San Lotano Bull caught my eye as such a cigar. I love the San Lotano line, and am a little mystified that I hadn’t tried the Bull yet. So I picked up a couple and took one as my Friday smoke. This was the 6″ x 54 toro size, and the binder and filler are “AJF Select” Nicaraguan with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper. As you can see in the picture, the cigar comes with a cedar sleeve with a bull on it, this must be removed prior to lighting (hard to believe, but I’ve seen it done!). This was another fairly strong cigar, lots of nice, sweet, creamy coffee and cedar flavors. Why, oh, why did I take so long to try this cigar? I’m glad I bought more than one. Again, nothing new here, I think AJ Fernandez released this in 2013.

This cigar is new this year! I have enjoyed all of the Nestor Miranda Collection Robustos I’ve smoked, and I really should try other sizes, but the Coffee Break 4½” x 50 size is really appealing to me. It’s perfect for those nights when it’s too cold for a walk, but an hour on the porch with the propane heater is pretty comfortable. Such was the case last night. This line has previously been offered in Connecticut, Maduro and Habano, all excellent, and all made in Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father factory in Esteli. This year they released the Corojo, which might just be the best in the line to my palate. This little cigar has a lot going on, a little sweet, a little coffee and a little nuttiness, in a perfect burning package. I smoked one a couple of weeks ago and was interrupted by something and had to put it down and it made me sad. This one was enjoyed until fingers started burning, so good. I’ve acquired some new tools from the Tommy Bahama line that I’ve been playing with, and so far I’m happy with the cutter and lighters. I used the table lighter to light this and holding the lighter about eight inches from the foot of the cigar made the foot look like an Apollo space capsule on re-entry. lots of horsepower in a large, quad-jet lighter. More on those tools later, but I’ve become a fan of the Tommy Bahama cigar accouterments from Island Lifestyle Importers. I just wish I were sitting on a beach lighting my cigars…

That’s it for now. Keep an eye on the CigarCraig.com Facebook page for the next contest, I’m going to try something a little different to mix things up. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as aj fernandez, cigar, cigars, Nestor Miranda, Padilla, san lotano, Tommy Bahama

by CigarCraig | January 31, 2016 · 9:45 am

Duran Premium Cigars, Henry Clay, San Lotano and Six Zero

I’m having some palate issues lately. I don’t know if it’s a low-grade head cold that is barely there, or what. I take that into account on the cigars I’ve smoked this week, nothing has been really satisfying or quite right. I should just not even talk about cigars, but it’s Sunday and I don’t have anything else to do! My first clue was a Duran Signature robusto. I first chalked it up to thinking this just might not be a cold weather cigar. Jack Toraño dropped a challenge on Facebook the other night, offering some prizes which I respectfully asked not to be included, I don’t like entering contests, I like having them! I get enough goodies anyway, I prefer to let other people have the chance. Anyway, he wanted a picture of folks with their dogs, I have one of those. Extra points if you were in the snow, got snow, and additional credit if you’re smoking a cigar, I do that every night. So I grabbed my last Duran. I was going to go for the kill and get a picture of me and Macha, in the snow, smoking a Naya F8 Big Jack, the 7″ x 70 in their line named after Jack, but it was cold and I wasn’t wiling to commit three hours to a cigar just then…that’s an obscenely large cigar. I’ll smoke it one day when it’s warm and I have no place to be for a few hours. Anyway, I enjoyed the cigar, but there was something just not there with the flavor. Granted, this is a refined, complex and delicate blend, and smoking it in the cold sometimes isn’t conducive to the proper enjoyment of such a cigar, but this was the first hint that something was off.

So, not wanting to believe I was getting a cold, or that anything was out of the ordinary, I succumbed to the temptation to sample the recently received Henry Clay Stalk Cut. I also can’t help to compare it to the Henry Clay Tattoo, which was a collaboration between Altadis’ Groupo de Maestros and Pete Johnson, and was a very good cigar that was limited, sold out at the trade show last summer, and I wish I had bought more of. I posted info on this cigar last week, and I didn’t find the wrapper to be as much “a dark Connecticut Broadleaf Vintage 2012 wrapper” as much as a chocolate-brown wrapper. While I really enjoyed this cigar, and look forward to revisiting it in the near future, I found it milder than I expected too. Neither of these are a bad thing, it was a great tasting (taking into account my afore-mentioned palate irregularity) and performed flawlessly. I will let the other samples I have rest for a while and see if they match up with my pre-conceived notion of what this cigar should taste like, not that it should taste like what I think it should taste like at all, I just think that if a brand has a certain profile, that should be taken into account with subsequent releases. I don’t imagine this was supposed to be a mild cigar and blame my palate for that. That was a lot of words to say nothing…

Yesterday I took an uncharacteristically early walk with a San Lotano Requiem Connecticut Lancero which was a trade show sample. Since it was before lunch, I wanted something which I perceived would be on the milder side, and this lancero jumped out at me. This is a 7″ x 38 lancero with a pigtail cap, very pretty and traditional. The wrapper is a Equador Connecticut shade with Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan, Honduran and AJ Fernandez proprietary leaf. This is a the cigar that really made me pain fully aware that something’s wrong with my palate. This was very bitter-tasting, off-puttingly so. I kept inspecting the head of the cigar to see if there was tar oozing from it, but there was not. Except for the bitter flavor it was a really enjoyable cigar to smoke (I know, weird, right?). The burn and draw were great and I smoked it well beyond the band (because I’m an optimist). I have a lot of lanceros, and I’m always amazed at the skill it takes to roll this cigar to make it work right. I look forward to smoking this again on a warm day, with a properly functioning palate. I think this was a great smoke that I wasn’t physically able to appreciate.

So, in a last-ditch effort to see if it actually is my palate that’s off, I went with a cigar that I’ve smoked a bunch of and I feel like I’m familiar with. The Six Zero Robolo is a BestCigarPrices.com exclusive that’s made at Tabacalera Palma in the Dominican Republic, the same factory responsible for Aging Room, Señorial and so many other great cigars. This is a San Andres wrapped 4½” x 60 cigar that is generally loaded with rich, espresso flavors that hit me right. While this had a great flavor, it was a bit muted, confirming that I’m just not tasting things right. I have a few review samples I’m sitting on that I was going to smoke for Wednesday’s post, but I think I[‘m going to wait a bit. I really hate it when this happens. Anyway, I dig the Six Zero, and the Robolo size is a bit of a guilty pleasure, it just works for me, what can I say. I always said I liked the Nub cigars, but wished they were longer. This one is a little longer and it’s just about right for me. I know, I’m weird.

That’s a whole lotta nuthin from me for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Duran, Henry Clay, san lotano, Six Zero

by CigarCraig | March 26, 2014 · 8:01 pm

An Undercrown, A Six-Zero, a Nomad and a San Lotano Cigar

At some point last week, probably Friday, I grabbed an Undercrown Gordito from the Drew Estate Humidor and took it out for a walk. I enjoy the undercrown line, especially the Corona Viva, but there are some sizes I like better than others. This 6” x 60 turns out to be one of my favorites oddly enough (not including the Viva, which is a slightly different blend). Of course, I love the San Andrés wrapper, and I feel like the larger girth smooths out the blend for me. This was an eminently enjoyable cigar that was hard to put down. It was rich with a little bite to let you know you’re smoking something great. I continue to be a fan of this cigar.

Sunday evening I wanted something enjoyable but unchallenging, if that makes sense. Sometimes you just want to grab a cigar and enjoy it without thinking about it. A month or so ago a picked up a fiver of Six-Zero Robolo’s from BestCigarPrices.com. This is a 4½x60 San Andrés wrapped cigar made for BCP by Boutique Blends. While I haven’t sampled a lot of the Boutique Blends products, this is my favorite. I really enjoy the medium strength and full flavor of this fat rubusto (or short Gordo?). These are a no-brainer at around $3 each for flavor, construction and burn. As I said, I purchased these, they weren’t provided for review. I dig these cigars, I’d buy a bundle in a heartbeat.

Monday I selected possibly the most appropriately named cigar for my evening walk, the Nomad Vagabond. I purchased this nice little Dominican perfecto last year at the end of my vacation week after I came home from Nicaragua. Fred Rewey (@Godfadr) of Nomad Cigars was at a local shop (The Wooden Indian) along with the Ezra Zion guys and Nate McIntyre of Team Emilio. It was technically an Ezra Zion event, but I had to buy a handful of Fred’s cigars as well. This is a really nice, smooth Dominican cigar with hints of sweetness and a really nice draw, at least after I cut it a second time. Funny thing, I gave it a little snip with my Xikar scissors and it was fine, but about an inch into the cigar it kinda clogged. Very strange, but once I cut another eighth of an inch off it drew fine! This is a neat shape, very fun and enjoyable to smoke. I think this is the best in the Dominican line I’ve smoked.

Tuesday I wanted a sure thing, and I happened to come across a lonely San Lotano Maduro Robusto. I think I bought this a couple years ago at an AJ Fernandez event at another shop in Lancaster, PA. I really like this blend, and the box pressed robusto really worked well. It possessed my favorite aesthetic feature in a cigar, a nice, flat coal. I know what you’re thinking, again with the San Andrés wrapper, but what can I say, I’ve been in the mood for that flavor this week. This Robusto is 5½ x 54 and is sweet and creamy with a hint of spice. I have trouble finding anything wrong with most of AJ Fernandez’ work. I had actually thought earlier in the day that I wish I had a Man ‘O War Dark Aged Maduro, so when I saw this San Lotano I knew it was the one.

That’s about all I have this time around! I’m REALLY looking forward to consistently warm weather! I certainly won’t be complaining that it’s too hot this summer after the winter we’ve had! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as aj fernandez, cigar, cigars, drew estate, Nomad, san lotano, Six Zero, undercrown

by CigarCraig | April 7, 2013 · 9:53 am

A Weekend In North Joisey: Casa Hispaniola in Englewood and Cigar Emporium in Lyndhurst

This weekend I’ve been in Secaucus, New Jersey hanging out with my wife while she helps some of her clients out at the New York Metro Fest For Beatles Fans. This festival takes over the entire Empire Meadowlands Hotel, and let me tell you, it’s an interesting group of folks. I’ve been Tweeting short videos via Keek here and there. I love the Beatles, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a reason one of my wife’s sites is Beatles-Freaks.com! There’s no shortage of loonies here. I’ve been poking fun via Keek and Twitter, but it’s probably not that much different than a herf or cigar festival is to the outside observer (OK, maybe there aren’t too many people dressed as their favorite cigar maker at cigar fests..). It’s certainly something to be experienced. Fortunately, while my wife was busy with her duties at the show, I was able to visit a few cigar shops and smoke some cigars.

Friday evening I ventured north to Englewood, NJ to seek out Casa Hispaniola. This is the retail/lounge arm of Hispaniola Cigars. Through a series of Tweets I had the great pleasure of meeting with Hugo Melo, one of the owners of the company. This is a nice little shop and lounge in what appears to be an upscale suburb of New York City. The shop has cabinet humidors lining two walls, plenty of comfy seating and quite a relaxing atmosphere. The selection was reasonable and certainly included the Hispaniola line of cigars, of which I smoked a Tres Carabelas, a name which refers to the three ships that Columbus sailed to explore the new world. This 5″ x 50 rubusto was smooth and tasty, and I found it to be fairly strong, on the high side of medium to me. It’s a Dominican puro, wrapped with a ruddy wrapper which is described as a “Havano Oscuro Vuelta Arriba”. Hugo mentioned that it contained several leaves of ligero, which was evident in the burn, it required some touch ups, but nethier the draw or flavor seemed to be compromised. In short, it was a tasty treat. Prior to Hugo’s arrival at the shop I enjoyed a La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor robusto, and, as I stated in my previous article’s comments, I can be reasonably certain that this is the same as the UK/Europe market’s La Aroma del Caribe Mi Amor. It was a stellar smoke, spice at the start and nice cocoa/coffee flavors throughout. It was a great way to spend and evening and reinforces the theory that a cigar shop is a safe haven for any traveler, one feels at home and a stranger can sit down and join in on the conversation and feel at home.

Saturday, after a very surreal late Friday night, seeing everything from people with Beatles t-shirts, to a Jake Blues impersonator (?), and after a decent continental breakfast at the hotel, I managed to make my way a few miles to Cigar Emporium in Lyndhurst, NJ. I had put out some correspondence to some of the locals, and Alex Martinez (Stogiecop.com), Matt Ross (@MattSRoss81) and Antonio Lam (Reinado Cigars) were kind enough to take time out of their Saturday and bring some friends along as well to smoke a few cigars with an out-of-towner. The shop is very nice. The walk-in humidor is expansive and I like the fact that it’s down a few steps from the lounge area. I don’t know why I liked that, but it was different and sets it apart from other shops. The selection was quite good, and the prices were typical New Jersey prices. I selected an EP Carillo Core Maduro Club 52 to get started. This was a very nice cigar, not strong at all, but very well balanced and flavorful. I followed that with an enormous San Lotano Oval Gordo, a 6½” x 60. The “oval” presentation makes this easier to handle, and it’s a tremendous smoke. This lasted me close to two hours. I was there for about 5 hours, and it went by in a flash. I appreciate these guys coming out, it was great to see Antonio again and actually get to talk to him as opposed to interviewing him at the IPCPR show, and I look forward to smoking his Grand Empire Reserve again (stay tuned). I was also quite happy to finally meet Alex and Matt after having corresponded with them both over the years. Thanks for a great afternoon, and thanks to the staff of Cigar Emporium for their hospitality.

I have a few hours to kill this afternoon, maybe I’ll head back to Cigar Emporium since it was so close and so good. It’s been a great weekend. Don’t forget to go back to Wednesday’s post and enter the contest to win some excellent Recluse Kanu No. 1 cigars. I’ll select a winner in next Sunday’s post, so leave a comment answering the question: “What do you know about Recluse Cigars?”

Also, don’t forget the promo codes that are currently available for your use:

You can use the code “MPCGRS10” on CigarFromBrazil.com to get %10 off any purchase on the site. The Monte Pascoal cigars are very nice.

ItalianSmokes.com has a special offer code for you, it’s CIGCRAIG10 and will get you 10% off your purchase of their selection of Toscano style cigars.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Casa Hispaniola, cigar, Cigar Emporium, cigar store, cigars, Contest, EP Carillo, Hispaniola, La Aroma de Cuba, New Jersey, san lotano

by CigarCraig | March 21, 2013 · 2:07 am

A Non-Cigar West Coast Swing – A San Lotano at Bo’s and a La Atelier at Old Oaks

I was going to wait until I got home to post, but I hate to miss a Wednesday post (it’s still Wednesday on the west coast) so I thought I’d share a couple experiences I managed to have on my business trip to the Los Angeles area.Â My trip’s focus was to visit a couple of the venders I buy from and visit my company’s home office.Â Fortunately, my boss likes a cigar, so Monday evening when we got into town we located Bo’s Cigar Lounge.Â I was expecting sticker shock in California, and I wasn’t disapointed.Â However, this lounge was very nice.Â They have plenty of TVs which had the Flyers game on, and very comfortable seating. There was even a TV in the loo!Â There are two locations, the one closest to us was in Torrance.Â One of the highlights was that one on my longest and most loyal readers, DB, came down to meet and have a cigar or two with us.Â It’s always a treat to meet a cigar friend whomÂ I had only corresponded with electronically, and I’ve done it hundreds of times.Â I really appreciate DB taking the time to make the trip down, it was great to finally have a cigar with him in person.Â The lounge patrons were very friendly and we didn’t feel out of place at all.Â The selection was excellent, but, as I said, the prices were roughly double what I see inÂ Pennsylvania, which was shocking.Â Given that we were hanging out in the lounge, the price was justifiable, as one would spend more than that hanging at a bar or something.Â I picked out a San Lotano Maduro that was a terrific smoke.Â I think I like this better than the Oval line, theÂ Mexican Maduro is loaded with sweet coffee/cocoa flavors and burned perfectly.Â We ended up being joined by one of the venders we were meeting later in the week who also is a cigar lover, and ended up having a fine Mexican dinner before parting ways.

Wednesday, after all of the meetings and tours and whatnot, our host took us to his local cigar shop, Old Oaks Cigar Co. in Thousand Oaks, CA.Â First, I was blown away by the prices in this shop as they were only a dollar or two more than PA prices.Â How do they do this.Â They also had a gentleman in the humidor rolling cigars that were also well priced.Â I really should have picked a couple up in retrospect.Â I seleceted a La Atelier LAT 56 as I hadn’t smoked one of them before.Â It should be noted that the cigars I smoked on this trip were not paid forÂ by me.Â Kevin, our host is a regular at this shop, and introduced me to the owner, Albert, who has an amazing operation.Â In addition to cigars, theyÂ have what my boss described as an unbeliveable selectionÂ of Scotches, as well as wine, and a very busyÂ lounge.Â Â Kevin directed us to the enclosed patio area in the rear where we enjoyed our smokes and watched some hockey.Â The LAT 56Â was a very nice cigar.Â Not mild or strong, yet very flavorful and interesting.Â This was a great shop, exceptional selection and the pricing wasn’t rediculous!Â Highly recommended.

These couple cigars over the course of a few days really helped relieve the stress I had about this trip.Â It’s always nice to visit a strange place (and I think we can agree that LA fits that description) and find friendly cigar folks to spend an hour or two communing with.Â I appreciate everyone’s hospitality.Â This post was brief, but it’s late andÂ I’m away from home.Â I didn’t even mention having gone to Cigars International last Sunday and smoking an Alec Bradley Filthy Hooligan, which was delicious, by the way. If you have been scared off of the candela wrappers, give this one a try.Â The blend takes the grassy, chlorophyll flavor out of the wrapper, and the wrapper mellows out the filler blend a bit.Â I think it’s a fine smoke.