Tag Archives: Senorial

by CigarCraig | March 11, 2018 · 11:04 am

Jose Blanco at Goose’s Montecristo Lounge & a Cross Street Tobacco Visit

Friday evening I was privileged to attend one of José Blanco’s (of E.P. Carillo Cigars) educational tasting events at Goose’s Montecristo Lounge and Tobacconist in Limerick, PA. José has done over 900 of these events around the world, and they are unique. My first experience with his seminar was at an IPCPR show in 2011 in a room with several hundred people. It involved four separate cigars, if memory serves, not the single toro cigar with four stripes of different wrappers applied. This time there were fifteen in attendance, I dragged my amigo Mike along for the ride, I’ve gone to many events with Mike, but this is the first with an educational component. Mike has been smoking cigars longer than I have, and met a couple years ago when he was a winner of one of my holiday contests and we met at another local shop. I always enjoy smoking cigars with Mike. I don’t think I’ve had a bad time smoking cigars with José Blanco either, he’s never ruined a great cigar for me (if you’ve ever been to one of his events, or read just about anything about them, José’s theory is that a perfect cigar can be ruined by smoking it next to an asshole, so that’s my way of saying he’s not an asshole). Not to brag or anything, but I was able to partially identify three of the four wrappers presented on the special cigar, they were mostly educated guesses, or just luck. The one I missed was embarrassing, as it was probably a tobacco I’ve smoked as much of in my life as any. I’m intentionally leaving out specifics so José doesn’t have to have the factory change up the cigars, which he said the rollers only are able to make 50 or 60 of a day, and they would be very expensive if they were regular production. The base cigar was very good on its own, however, being able to taste the subtle differences each wrapper presents is neat and educational. Any time spent with Jose is educational and enjoyable, the attendees at the event were friendly and engaged in the event, a couple of them even claimed to be readers of this site! It was a fun evening complete with great cigars, and they even had a photographer, Brian Miller of http://www.chorusphotography.com there taking photos! He took a great photo of me, no easy task since I usually look like a deer in headlights in pictures. Find me on Facebook as I’ made it my profile picture. I wrapped the evening up with the Broadleaf wrapped EP Carillo Dusk in the toro size. I love the Broadleaf, and this one wears it well. It’s rich and had that cocoa/espresso thing going on which I gravitate toward.

Yesterday, all my troubles….nevermind, although the reference is appropriate since I was supposed to drop my wife off at the Fest for Beatles Fans in Jersey City yesterday and go visit Hoboken Cigars. Plans changed and we decided to head the other direction and go to Baltimore in search of Beatles books, my wife reviews books on her blog, Beatles-Freak’s Reviews, so we went to The Book Thing, went to Philip’s at the Inner Harbor for lunch (Crab Mac & Cheese!), then found another little used book store on the way to Cross Street Tobacco for an after lunch cigar. There was a cigar lounge closer to the Inner Harbor, but it was in Larry Flynt’s Hussler Club, which didn’t sound like a family friendly place. Cross Street Tobacco is a great little shop with a very well stocked humidor and a lively clientele. There were about 20 chairs in the shop, and they brought out some folding chairs at one point. Sanford was working, he’s been working there Saturdays since they opened in 1996. They had a great selection, it was hard for me to choose what I wanted to smoke. Of course, since I’m in Pennsylvania, the land of no cigar tax, I’m often sticker-shocked when I shop in other states. That being said, their prices weren’t terrible, I picked up a couple of Inch Maduro No. 62, at 5″ x 62 with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. I really like Connecticut Broadleaf! It had occurred to me the night before that I hadn’t smoked the Inch line at all, don’t know why, just never managed to pick any up. It’s not like I’m averse to large ring gauges, and I’m certainly a fan of Ernesto Carillo‘s work, and it had come up in conversation last night. We ended up talking to a patron who was a music fan who told us we had to visit Protean Books & Records, which is in the shadow of Camden Yards, a couple blocks away, which we ended up doing. I can’t recommend Cross Street Tobacco in Baltimore more highly. Although small, it’s a classic shop with a great selection and staff and a lively customer base. The cigar was great, as was the overall experience.

I got home late last night and needed to get Macha out for a walk, so I was thinking about what cigar might fit in with the theme of the weekend. I could smoke another E.P. Carillo cigar, I’ve accumulated a few here and there, or a La Gloria Cubana. Then I came across a Señorial Maduro El Cuadro by José Blanco. A corona gorda measuring 5¾” x 46, actually one of my favorite sizes, was perfect for a short walk and unwinding from a two-hour drive. Señorial is getting hard to find around here, although, and it pains me to say, a local shop had these on their clearance shelf. The Señorial Maduro has a Mexican San Andrés Negro wrapper, with Dominican binder and filler. This vitola was presented at the 2016 IPCPR show, and might have been the last domestic release of the brand. It was a lovely cigar with a sweet earthy flavor that made me happy. The cigar was neither too big or too short, it was just right. I linked to the Señorial Facebook page because the Las Cumbres Tobaco site seems to now be about make-up, fitness and breast enhancement, I have no idea what that’s all about. Anyway, the Señorial was great, buy them up if you can find them. Maybe I’ll smoke a Freya today, I haven’t smoked on of those since I was in Iceland, where it seemed like the appropriate cigar to smoke.

It was a great weekend, even if it’s an hour shorter than 50 other weekends in the year. The payoff for the shortened weekend is more daylight in the evening hours, which I like. That’s all for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Events, Review

Tagged as Baltimore, cigar, cigar store, cigars, Cross Street Tobacco, Dusk, EP Carillo, Goose's, Inch, Jose Blanco, Seminar, Senorial

by CigarCraig | January 17, 2016 · 10:19 am

An EP Carillo Robolo and a Freyja and Señorial Event at Suburban Tavern

Some retailers have a shtick….Stogies in Houston has a line of exclusive Lanceros, and, on the opposite end of the spectrum Best Cigar Prices has their Robolo series. Oddly, I’m a fan of both sizes. The Robolo is a 4½” x 60, a little longer than an Oliva Nub, and not quite as long as a 6″ x 60, obviously. I’ve smoked a few of what must be about 15 lines in this size, and find it to be a pleasant size to smoke in terms of smoking time and quality of the smoke and burn. Yesterday I lit up one of the newer additions to this category, the EP Carillo Robolo. This is the 4½” x 60 take on the EPC Core Line blend, and I don’t know that I’ve smoked many of the regular sizes in that line. Based on this example, I probably should give them a try. About half way through I hit a stretch of a very entertaining sweet spice, exotic tasting, I’m not sure what it reminded me of specifically, but it caught my attention and made me happy. This may be an odd size and perhaps a little big around for some, but in the case of the EP Carillo offering, it seems to work.

Last night I finally made it to The Suburban Tavern & Restaurant outside of Reading PA. This is a rather unique arrangement, there is a bar and restaurant on the first floor, and, with a separate entrance, the cigar shop and lounge upstairs. I enlisted Mike C., one of the winners in the 12SDoCG last month who lives in the area to ride shotgun. Thanks to another local reader and friend, Corey Z. for the twitter heads up that they were having a Las Cumbres Tabaco Event, I would be remiss if I didn’t take advantage of a chance to visit with José and Emma again. I had smoked a Freyja Valhalla (5½” x 50) earlier in the week, not knowing about this event, but I lit up another one last night. As I mentioned in my last post, it’s unusual when I smoke the same cigar twice in a week, when I do it either says there was a problem with the first one and I wanted to give it a fair shot, or that I really like the cigar. In the case of the Freyja, it’s the latter, what a great cigar. It’s a little sneaky in that the strength isn’t apparent from the start, if you aren’t careful with your pace, the second half can send you reaching for some sugar to settle your stomach. I avoided this last night by pre-gaming with leftover Beef and Broccoli and Pork Fried Rice. The Freyja is a flavorful smoke, I like the underlying earthiness of the Mexican binder, and the sweet spiciness. Emma killed it with her initial release, very tasty.

The Lounge at the Suburban Tavern’s Cigar Lounge is a comfortable and inviting place. It’s above the bar and restaurant, and you can get take-out from downstairs if you want. The front part had a walk-in humidor, the checkout counter, and some leather couches and a TV. Then there are another two rooms with leather chairs and couches, a table or two, and no shortage of ashtrays. The third room from the front is a bar area. Gary, the owner, tells me that he’s just begun selling memberships with after-hours entry, and lockers, and sales have been brisk. I poked my head in the humidor and it appeared well stocked and appropriately maintained. It was a 45 minute drive for me, but worth the trip as Gary was a gracious host and the clientele was friendly. If you find your self in the Reading, PA area, this is a safe haven!

The second cigar I lit up last night was the Señorial lancero. This Lancero is 7″ x 38, with the same Ecuador Habano wrapper, Esteli binder and Dominican fillers as the other sizes in the line. Even after smoking what I consider to be the stronger Freyja, the lancero was loaded with flavor. The burn and draw were excellent, and the rich, sometimes sweet flavors were pleasant. Somehow smoking cigars with the people who blended them enhances the experience greatly, especially when it’s people who are as passionate about the tobacco as José and Emma are. I added another Lancero to my collection, I should really take a look at what’s in that tray, I keep adding to it, I’ll buy two, smoke one and drop one in the tray. I probably have 20 or so lanceros of various brands. One of the things I enjoy most about that size is that they force one to slow down and really savor the experience.

That’s enough for today, gotta get working on something for the next post! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Filed under Review, Stores

Tagged as cigar, cigar store, cigars, Emma Viktorsson, Frejya, Jose Blanco, Senorial, Suburban

by CigarCraig | January 10, 2016 · 10:53 am

Señorial, Perdomo, Illusione at Goose’s and CAO Flathead Cigars

It’s almost half way through January already, we’ve had no snow, it’s going to be 60 today (but raining) and, once again, I did not win the Powerball! What are the odds I didn’t win the $900,000,000 jackpot? I think something like 292 million to one. it’s kind of a long shot, and the next couple days are going to be ridiculous at the places that sell lottery tickets as it’s over a billion dollars now since nobody won. I’m fortunate that I don’t have to rely on winning the lottery to smoke nice cigars right now and lat week was another good cigar week. I started off with a Señorial Maduro in the Lognsdale Refinado size. This is a 6½” x 44 lonsdale size cigar, and I’ve found a discrepancy. The sticker on the cigar is spelled “Longsdale“, everywhere else it’s listed as “Lonsdale” (except for the Las Cumbres Tabaco website, which does not feature the six month or more old Maduro line at all…C’mon José! You’re supposed to be hip to this whole internet jive!). Call it whatever you want, it’s a great cigar. I picked up a few of these at an event with José at the Wooden Indian a couple of months ago and I’m happy I did. Loads of flavor from the San Andrés wrapper, perfect construction and a wonderful smoking experience. Great cigar from a great guy. I see a Freyja in my future, it’s been a while since I smoked one of those.

A couple of evenings this week were pretty darned cold, not that I should be surprised, it is, January anyway, but I wanted something shorter, with lots of flavor (cold and subtlety don’t mix!) so I reached for a Perdomo Champagne Noir Robusto. I didn’t care for the regular Champagne AT ALL. I would be hard pressed to try another one based upon the experience I had with the first, but the Noir is another story. It’s a Nicaraguan puro, it’s got the cocoa/coffee flavors I like and is a very nice cigar. I will eventually revisit the Connecticut wrapped 10th Anniversary Champagne, but I have an aversion to spending my cigar time with something I didn’t like the first time. If I don’t know I don’t like a cigar it’s one thing. Anyway, the Noir may be my second favorite Perdomo next to the 20th Maduro, but there are a lot of enjoyable cigars in the line. I actually wouldn’t mind taking the Perdomo factory tour one of these days.

Yesterday I wanted to get some of those Powerball tickets everyone is talking about, and I know that the seller of the winning ticket gets a nice little bonus for selling the winner, so I headed over to Goose’s in Limerick, PA and bought my lottery tickets and a handful of cigars, and settled into the lounge with an Illusione HL to watch the Flyers game. I haven’t smoked a great many Illusione cigars, and I need to change this. I’ve met Dion a bunch of times, I think he knows who I am, yet, my experience with his line is sorely lacking. The HL is the 7½” x 40 lancero in the “Original Documents” series which has to be about 10 years old, right? I didn’t really do my due diligence on this one, so I’m going to guess that this was the Habano wrapped version as it certainly wasn’t candela (on my wish list) and it didn’t strike me as San Andrés Maduro. As I was watching the hockey game in Goose’s lounge, a couple of flavors stood out to me, leather with some sweetness. I enjoyed the heck out of this perfectly constructed lancero, it was perfect for two periods of hockey, at which time I ran home to catch the end of the game.

For my Saturday evening walk I selected Cigar Aficionado’s number 3 pick on their top 25 list, the CAO Flathead 660 Carb. I’ve heard some sentiments expressed to the negative about this choice for CA, but I, who have been a fan of the line from the start, think it was a solid selection. I was out of these, so I picked some up at Goose’s (I was actually surprised they were in stock). Obviously, the 660 Carb is 6″ x 60, but it’s severely box pressed, so it really doesn’t feel like a 60 ring cigar. I punched this one, as is nearly mandatory with the flat cap, and got a great burn and draw. I find punching is the easiest way with these (and the RoMaCraft Neanderthal), but I’m going to try some other methods in the future just to see how they work. I guess I just like the neatness of the punch in this case. A large bore punch is best, my Screwpop 2.0 punch is 9mm (the 1.0 was 7m, not that you asked). I love the Broadleaf wrapper on these, and I love the fact that the different sizes present a different smoking experience. The 660 is smooth, but loaded with the great espresso, dark chocolate and tobacco flavors I love. This marque is on my shortlist of box buys right now I just don’t know which size I like best!

I would like to ask that anyone who was a winner in the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways who did NOT receive your winnings please let me know. No need to publicly heap praise upon me, although the sponsors wouldn’t mind, just want to make sure everyone is happy. That’s it for now, off to enclose the back porch for the winter to make it more comfortable for cold weather cigar smoking!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as CAO, cigar, cigars, Flathead, illusione, maduro, Perdomo, Senorial

by CigarCraig | December 6, 2015 · 10:24 am

EP Carillo, MBombay, Henry Clay, and Señorial Cigars

After today’s post, the next time you’ll hear from me will be Friday’s kickoff of the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways! I don’t want to hype it too much, because the last couple years have set the bar pretty high, but I don’t think there will be too much disappointment. As usual, I stress out about things, getting photos and presents and having posts written and ready to go, but as my wife always reminds me, usually the only way people know there were problems is if I tell them, otherwise it looks like everything goes off without a hitch. There are always things that make me crazy, but it’s too much fun to give up on. The upside for me is I get a bit of break from having to pay attention to the cigars I smoke over the two-week period, and I try, whenever possible to smoke what’s being given away. Anyway, I know you all are looking forward to the chance to get some great cigar goodies for the holidays, and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you.

I managed to smoke a few interesting cigars this week, and one of them was an EP Carillo Robolo, which is an exclusive size for Best Cigar Prices, who shared some samples with me. The Robolo size is 4½” x 60, and I have to admit, I really enjoy the size. It’s a happy medium ass far as I’m concerned. It’s a little longer than the Nub sizes from Oliva, it’s not the time commitment of a 6″ x 60, and most of the examples I’ve smoked in this series have smoked very well. Best Cigar Prices has just about every major brand you can think of made just for them in this size, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Alec Bradley, Boutique Blends, the works. Anyway, I found the EPC Robolo to be quite delicious, it had some woody notes, and sweet creamy coffee. I liked it a lot. I’ve been pretty much un-Wowed by the EPC offerings, which is odd considering I am/was such a big La Gloria Cubana fan, but this one does it for me. Don’t forget you can use the code CRAIG1099 at BestCigarPrices.com for a discount and cheap shipping!

I also received some MBombay KeSara Vintage Reserve Nikka samples last week, and after a rest in the humidor I decided to give one a spin this week. This cigar is a very col size, 6½” x 46, with a pigtail cap. The tobacco in this Vintage Reserve line is aged three years longer than that in the regular KeSara line, and the Ecuador Connecticut wrapper is aged in hybrid Spanish Cedar and Sandlewood boxes for up to none months. I can’t pick out Sandlewood in the flavor, but I will say that the cigar is quite tasty and burns perfectly. I love the size, it’s a very elegant and refined cigar, and of the highest quality. I’ve enjoyed many cigars from this company, I think their regular old Connecticut Churchill is one of the best in the category of Connecticut wrapped cigars. It may be an obscure brand right now, but they make some great smokes. By the way, these come from the same factory in Costa Rica that makes the Selected Tobacco cigars (Atabey, Byron, Bandolero) and Vegas de Santiago. Very high quality cigars come out of that facility.

I had a cousin of mine comment that I should get a hand tattoo since I post pictures on Facebook and Instagram with a cigar in my hand, so the only tattoos I am likely to get on my hand are going to be in my hand in the form of a cigar, in this case, the Henry Clay Tattoo. Not that I’m anti-tattoo, it’s just not my thing, I’m a live and let live kinda guy. I bought a couple of these cigars a few months ago at The Humidour in Maryland, and the one I smoked there was great, it just burned a little wet, not much, but a little. After a few months in the humidor, this cigar was perfect. Unlike the original Henry Clay cigars that Pete Johnson modeled this after in his collaboration with Altadis, it’s aesthetically beautiful. The Henry Clays I remember from the 90s came tied in a wheel of 50, and were packed wet, so they came in all kinds of gnarly shapes. The Broadleaf wrapper on this was dark and oily and had a nice sweetness, while it still had a heavy, savory meatiness that is quite satisfying. These were a limited edition that sold out at the trade show, so I’m not entirely sure how many of these you’ll find in the wild, but it’s a great smoke, try one if you find them.

Yesterday we stopped in at The Wooden Indian in Havertown, PA where Jose Blanco and his wife, Emma Viktorsson were having a Las Cumbres Tabaco event. Little did I know, there was also a four store cigar crawl going on where four stores in the area had a van load of customers travelling to one another’s stores. While we were there the bus from Sir Stogies in Gilbertsville, PA showed up with about 15 guys. I ran into Walt White from Stogie Review who is a regular up at that shop, who I hadn’t seen in a long time. We got the heck out of there before the buses from Cigar Mojo and Top Shelf Cigars got there. I kinda would have liked to have known about this event in advance, it seems like a fun day, although we already had plans later on. Maybe the next time. Anyway, I bought some Señorial maduros in the lonsdale size (and I have a mental block with the name, I always spell it Señoreal, which is incorrect. It’s right there on the band, I don’t know what my deal is with that) and some Freyja “Sessrúmnir” Corona Largas, and lit up the Señorial maduro. What a great medium bodied smoke with loads of flavor, although what would you expect from Jose Blanco? Dave always puts on great events at The Wooden Indian, and Jose and Emma are great folks. We left there and went to a great Beatles symposium in New Jersey (“Ticket to Rider” review here) to cap off a great Saturday.

That’s all I feel like writing about now! I need to do some more prep work for the contests and get to spending a relaxing Sunday at home! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, Cigar Crawl, cigars, EP Carillo, Freyja, Henry Clay, MBombay, Senorial, Tattoo, wooden indian