I’ll start out with a cigar I smoked last Sunday evening after a really great day which included my daughter and her family coming over and making me a birthday cake. We got a lot accomplished throughout the day and  I decided to celebrate with a Davidoff Nicaragua Box Pressed, having never smoked the Davidoff Nicaragua before. I received a very nice care package from Davidoff after the show, it was  huge box, and the presentation was amazing. The Davidoff Nicaragua came in a leather-bound box, with a box of cigar matches, a brochure, and some sort of metal box that I haven’t quite figured out yet. It seems to have a bottle opener on the end, and a compass and a flashlight inside. I’d be grateful if someone would shed some light on the purpose for this item! It’s still really cool, and I was anxious to fire up one of the Box Pressed Toros. I don’t have a lot of experience with the Davidoff line, but I expect a high quality smoke based on reputation and price, and I wasn’t disappointed. The cigar burned about as perfect as you’d want, and tasted fantastic, solidly 
medium and some spice and a bit of cocoa. I’m sure “yummy” isn’t as classy a description as Davidoff might like, but that’s what I’m calling it. Â Note the cool Screwpop Ashtray in the photo. I love the Screwpop Punch, I have the original and the 2.0, and while I prefer the design of the 2.0 and the larger diameter punch, the original is great for very small ring cigars. These guys have a vast selection of key chain tools, the only thing missing from the lineup is a large keychain to hold them all! Anyway, this ashtray is a pretty nicely designed little item. This isn’t the ashtray you are putting out when you have a bunch of people over, but it’s perfect for a single cigar, it’s designed with a post in the tray to knock off your ash (particularly handy if your cigar goes out and you want to get as much ash off before re-lighting), and two different sized rests, one for a large cigar and one for a cigarillo. It’s made of melamine, so it cleans up easily and won’t break of dropped, and it looks nice too. I haven’t been able to figure out how to open a bottle with it, or put it on my key ring, but other than that it’s a nice little item! The coolest part is that a mainstream company embraces cigars and makes useful tools for them, along with their other tools. Cool designs from cool company! The Davidoff Nicaragua Box Pressed was great too!
Thursday I picked out an IPCPR sample, although not necessarily a new cigar really. Recently Steve Ysidron joined Kuuts Cigars as their president, and brought a couple of his lines with him, the Carnavale and the Gonzo Santeria. The Gonzo Santeria features a cool dia de los Muertos skull band and a pigtail cap of sorts.  The 6″ x 52 Toro has a San Andrés wrapper, a dual binder with San Andrés and Jalapa leaf and Nicaraguan fillers. I smoked the Santeria a couple years ago and really enjoyed it, as I really enjoyed this one. It’s got that kinda sweet, kinda dirty flavor that the Mexican tobacco brings. Right up my alley and a really nice cigar. Steve Ysidron is a really cool dude, and I wish him the best with Kuuts!
Friday I got off to a late start so I went with a robusto sized Flor de Gonzalez 90 Miles Unidos on the back porch. There’s not a lot of information out there about this cigar. I can tell you that it’s a dos capa, barber pole style cigar with what appears to me to be Habano and Connecticut shade wrappers. beautifully applied. If I had to guess on the filler, I’d go with Nicaraguan. It was a really tasty cigar, although, like many cigars wrapped in this style, did not have the straightest burn line.  I don’t really think the barber pole wrap brings anything  too much to the table flavor wise, no more than a double binder would, but it looks cool and I admit to smoking with my eyes. I appreciate the artistry of a well done dos capa (or tres, more on that next week), as it takes some talent and patience to pull off, especially with the consistency needed to line a bunch of them up in a box and have them all look exactly the same.  I’ve long been a fan of Yadi Gonzalez’s 90 miles line, and the new line extensions are off to a good start with the Unidos (there is also a Habano and Connecticut).
Finally, I wrapped up another busy Saturday with another IPCPR sample. This is another much-anticipated cigar for me, as I enjoy the other cigars in the line a lot. Epic Cigars had their Limited Edition Project E San Andrés at the IPCPR show, although they had temporary bands on the samples. The regular release will have a tobacco “band” applied to the cigar, a cut-out “E” which has to piss off the poor people who have to cut out and apply it to the cigar, but it’s a cool touch. The cigar comes on one size, the Gran Ola, a 6½” x 54, and has  little pigtail cap. Once again, you know my tastes, this should be a cigar I love, right?  Well, it was. This cigar burned my fingers, and had the prettiest burn and ash I’ve seen on a cigar in some time. It was a joy to smoke and tasted great.  It was loaded with espresso and earthy flavors with some sweetness. Once again Dean Parsons gets his shot on net with this one.
That’s it for today, I’m off to do some holiday weekend demolition which will include moving some of the humidors, followed by a couple of great cigars this afternoon! There’s apparently a reason they call it Labor Day weekend!
Until the next time,
CigarCraig
Yesterday, after spending time at the new house clearing brush and ancient overgrown hedges for a fence to contain Macha (and keep the 16 year old Cocker Spaniel from wandering off), I came home to a cool package in the mail. This package contained the redesigned 
clip/opener end so that it could remain clipped to something, and the other was to make it self clearing, as the original version tended to keep the cap cuts in the body of the unit. It seems my suggestions were taken to heart, and here we have the new version of the punch. Of course, I had to try it out. I 
