We’re getting close to the end, I sure wish I could run contests every day, but I think 12 days in a row is enough for just about anyone. We’ll go back to monthly (or as the spirit moves me) after the first of the year. I can always find something to give away! Now, once again we consult Random.org for a number, and that number is 3. So would Brian please e-mail me so I can send you your gift certificate! (I save postage on this one!)
Today on CigarCraig’s 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways we have a selection of cigar from AJ Fernandez! We have two San Lotano Oval Toros and two San Lotano Habano Robustos. Cigar Journal just named the San Lotano Oval as #2 best cigar of 2011, and it is a really nice cigar! Co-sponsoring today is Emilio Cigars. The AF series are made and named after AJ Fernandez and are exceptional cigars! Gary Grifith has provided 3 each of the AF1 and AF2s.
Thank you to Clay Roberts at AJ Fernandez and Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars for their generous contributions, and to AJ for making exceptional cigars!
You know what to do! Leave a comment to enter and good luck!
While perusing CigarEvents.com it came to my attention that Eddie Ortega of EO Brands was going to be making an appearance at my local shop, JM Cigars, in Exton, PA. After dinner my son and I made our way over there. We promptly purchased some of the last 601 La Bombas that they had and fired one of these badboys up and visited with Eddie for a while. I have been patronizing this shop since the mid-90s and it’s one of the best around. The shop was packed and the LA Bomba was awesome. I had only previously had a pre-release sample, which I loved. These are terrific cigars with a little bit of strength. It’s always a good time hanging out with Eddie, and I got to catch up with an old friend, Rob, after the shop cleared out. Nice bunch of folks, and a fine way to spend a chilly Friday evening.
Saturday’s walk cigar was a San Lotano Oval which I received from Clay at AJ Fernandez a few months ago. These cigars are unique in the fact that they, as the name implies, are oval shaped. I smoked the 6 x 54 toro, which looks like it was squished. The shape is very comfortable to smoke, and, like a box press, it doesn’t roll off the table when you set it down. there’s a bright flavor in this cigar that I enjoy but can’t put a finger on. All I know is that this is a tasty, well made and interesting cigar! I look forward to a maduro version one day!
News
There were two new entries into the blogosphere recently that I think are notable. First, Frank Seltzer, who you see writing in all the big cigar magazines and around the web, is now contributing to the JR Cigars blog. Frank is a real journalist, and I’m proud to say he’s an old friend. He has a couple articles in the latest JR catalog as well. Also breaking into the blog world is Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars, with “From Seed To Smoke“. Gary’s pretty prolific on Twitter and he’s making some outstanding cigars and is a heck of a nice guy who I’m also proud to call friend. I look forward to reading what he has to say. I HAVE to get down to Delaware and visit him at his shop one of these days!
Contest!
Let’s get to the part you’ve all been waiting for, the selection of this month’s contest winner. The prize consists of the following: a Drew Estate cap and a Liga Privada cutter, a Stogieboys.com Cigar Journal, a C-Gars Ltd. ring gauge card, a Liga Privada T52 Belicoso, a Monte Pascoal Belicoso and a American Eagles Half Corona. Thank you to all of the generous sponsors of this contest. As usual, I created a spreadsheet of the eligible entries and assigned them numbers based upon the time of the entry. I consulted with the Random.Org True Random Number Generator for the winning number. The number 19 came up, which corresponds to an entry via Twitter by @s5592c, aka Steve Christopher. Congrats to Steve and thanks for reading! Please e-mail me your contact info so I can ship this stuff out to you! Thanks to everyone for entering, and keep an eye out for next months contest!
It was a good thing I finished my Sunday post on Saturday and scheduled it for Sunday morning, because Hurricane Irene brushed past us and knocked our power out for about 40 hours or so. We were luckier than some, of course, we only lost a couple quarts of ice cream and had a little water in the basement. No damage and just a minor inconvenience. We take out electricity for granted, don’t we. I’m glad we have gas hot water and stove, and a French press. I did manage to smoke a few cigars so far this week:
Cain Maduro 660 – Picked this up a few weeks ago at Top Shelf Cigars in Skippack, PA for just under $5 on closeout. I should have left this rest for a while longer, but it called to me…you know how it is…I’d been hearing hurriCAIN all weekend, been without electricity for 20 hours and needed some POWER. My past experience with the Cain line has been that I love the flavor, but they tend to knock be on my ass with the strength. I like a strong cigar as much as the next guy, but I smoke to relax, not to feel queezy and want to barf. In my mind, these feelings detract from the experience. This one was good, it could have had a better draw, odd for a 60 ring cigar, but it was pretty hefty in the hand. I have one left that I’ll try to ignore for a while, plus a couple of habano torps.
Bolivar Royal Corona – Last year on my birthday I decided to try selecting a cigar with a ring gauge to match my age, I turned 47, so a Havana Churchill was in order. I couldn’t find a 48 ring cigar in my humidors, was out of anything in the Hermosa vitola, so I abandoned that tradition and went with a Bolivar Royal Corona. I selected this because I love Bolivars and wanted to smoke something special on my 48th birthday. It was not a bad choice, I loved it, it had a few years of age on it and burned nicely. It had that typical Havana twang to it that I love from time to time. With the over-all quality of Nicaraguan/Honduran/Dominican cigars being so high recently, the Havana cigar remains distinctive, maybe not “better” but different. Bolivars have a flavor that hits me just right, and this one was a very nice way to celebrate another journey around the sun.
San Lotano Oval – This one was a sample from the IPCPR show, although I just received another pair of them from Clay Roberts of AJ Fernandez. I think I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve smoked from AJ Fernandez, the Emilio AF1 and 2, and the Diesel Unholy Cocktail, although this is a small sampling of the many cigars this gentleman has had a hand in making. The first thing you notice about this aptly named cigar is the shape, take a guess… OK, I’ll tell you, it’s oval. I love the shape, it has a very natural mouth feel, and is still round, yet doesn’t roll off the table. Very creative presentation. I liked the cigar, I consider it medium, with a very nice, savory and satisfying flavor. This is another cigar I smoked well below the band. Here’s a video I shot at the show with AJ talking about the Oval line:
That’s about all I have for now. I think I’ll have a contest starting Sunday, so check back then.
