Tag Archives: Smoke Inn

by Craig Vanderslice | March 16, 2025 · 9:23 am

Serenity Now, Montecristo Exclusive, Hooten Young and Julius Caeser Cigars

Thursday night I went to a Flyers Game, their second meeting with the Tampa Lightning. You may recall that I went to Tampa last November to the game there, and they won in a shootout. It was a fantastic experience with the Diamond Crown cigar lounge and all, Kevin and I had a great time! This time I took my youngest son, and I smoked a Serenity Now from Asylum/CLE Cigars. I figured this would be an appropriate driving cigar! I got this at the TPE show, embarrassed to say I don’t remember the reps name who I talked to , but Tom Lazuka was there. This is a cigar that Christian Eiroa came up with, Tom is usually the idea man for the Asylum line. It’s my understanding that we wasn’t very happy with Christian at first. This comes in a box with a San Andrés sibling, the Insanity Later. Serenity Now uses a Connecticut-seed wrapper, which may or may not be grown in Honduras, over tobaccos from Honduras and an undisclosed South American country. There are a lot of references to CLE having a farm in South America, which is a big place. I thought this was a little bitey for a shade cigar, on the tannic side. It was a nice road cigar as it burned well and was inoffensive. Full flavor yet medium strength. I’d try it again, but am more interested in trying the maduro, which I would have called Profanity Later, but that’s just me.

Last week when I visited the Smoke Inn Casa de Montecristo lounge in West Palm Beach, one of the cigars I bought was a Montecristo Nicaragua Great Smoke 2023 Exclusive. This was priced higher than I usually like, but when in Rome (more on Rome, see below) you know! Yesterday was The Great Smoke put on by Abe at Smoke Inn, and it looks to have been a good time. In honor of that, I decided to smoke the Montecristo. This is a Nicaraguan puro, blended by Rafael Nodal and AJ Fernandez and made at the AJF factory. Montecristo (and a lot of Altadis cigars) aren’t generally my cup of tea, although the exceptions are the ones made by AJ Fernandez. This has a dark wrapper, is a 6″ x 52 Toro, and performed spectacularly. It has a distinctive flavor, I wonder if this is what people refer to as “black walnut”? I don’t like walnut, but this was a good tasting cigar. I didn’t regret dropping $20 on this cigar, it was a souvenir, of my trip, and I really enjoyed it. Once again, I can’t overstate how nice an experience my visit to the Smoke Inn shop was, I will have to get back down there and go to some of the other shops.

Another cigar I picked up on my recent travels was the Hooten Young Ma Deuce. I saw Jon Carney at the Cigar Circus event and he, apparently, had been working with the Hooten Young folks, and hooked me up with a couple of their cigars. I probably should have watched “Black Hawk Down” yesterday while I smoked this, but opted for something a little lighter. Norm Hooten, one of the co-founders of the company, is a Veteran of the mission in Somalia which the movie “Black Hawk Down” is about, and there’s also a connection to Jon Carney’s home town in Maine. This is an interesting vitola. It’s 6½” x 60, but it’s shaped like a .50 caliber cartridge. The Ecuadorian Connecticut and San Andres Maduro wrapper combo is arranged to emulate the different metals in the bullet and casing. It has a Nicaraguan binder and filler. They come in boxes that look like ammo cans. Everyone has a different palate, I got a sourdough flavor off the start, which continued through out. Of course, I like this flavor in a cigar, so it was good. I smoked it for the better part of two hours, and the tapered head makes it very much unlike a 60 ring cigar. It was fun to smoke. I’ll watch “Black Hawk Down” one of these days when I’m in the mood.

Finally, I couldn’t let March 15 go by without smoking a Diamond Crown Julius Caeser cigar. Here’s something I wrote last year that I was pretty proud of, although I might be the only one who was impressed with it…

We all know that March 15 marks the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated in 44 BC. We know the exact date because he invented the calendar we use. He instituted that just a year before his death. Anyway, he was a heck of an Emperor, but I guess his friends thought he was a dick, so they stabbed him. I may be oversimplifying things a little. A few millennia later some Hungarian folks named their son after him, and US immigration screwed up the spelling on his paperwork and Julius Caeser Newman started a cigar company that makes some great cigars.

The Diamond Crown Julius Caeser is made at Tabacalera A. Fuente, has an Ecuador Havana wrapper, Dominican binder and Caribbean and Central American fillers. I smoked the Pyramid vitola, which is 6½” x 52. I might have gotten this when I was in Tampa for the Heritage Festival in ’22. I was kind of hoping to smoke the new Trouble Maker vitola, but I didn’t end up getting my hands on any. This is a great cigar, with a woody profile that’s a nice change of pace for me. I probably don’t smoke this line as often as I should, there are some good memories associated with it, beyond the historical and literary tie-ins.

That’s all I have for today, no travel this weekend! until the next time,

CigarCraig

😃+

Tobacco Queen Super A, Timeless Supreme and a Couple Cigars at Smoke Inn

A few weeks ago I featured some cigars from Cigar Ambassador in the Tobacco Queen line. This is a company that has been a major leaf supplier to the Asian market out of the DR. I was waiting for the right time to tackle the Tobacco Queen Super A, a 9¼” x 48 actual A size cigar, and that time presented itself this week. Set aside a hair over two hours for this one. I was surprised that this started out with a lot of flavor, many times A size cigars start mild, this one had some spice and cinnamon to start. For such a long cigar, it burned perfectly, and had a reasonable consistent flavor all the way through. It was a fun smoke, it kept my interest throughout, and I’d smoke it again. As long as it keeps my interest, I like a long smoke.

I had picked up a Ferio Tego Timeless Supreme 660 recently because I hadn’t yet smoked anything Ferio Tego branded yet. I don’t know how this happened, I just know that I need to fix it. The Timeless Supreme is a box-pressed Nicaraguan puro, made by Placencia. The 6″ x 60 box pressed doesn’t feel too large, and it smoked perfectly. This cigar was chocolaty with a hint of spice tingle, and I really liked it. Why haven’t I smoked this before? It could easily be a go-to cigar for me, it’s fits my preferences just right. I will need to further explore the Timeless series.

Friday morning I decided to make a Saturday visit to the Smoke Inn Casa de Montecristo in West Palm Beach, Florida. I know, you’re saying “CigarCraig, you live in Pennsylvania, how can this be?” Well, my wife got me a Frontier Airlines Go-pass that allows unlimited flights at short notice. All I have to pay is the taxes, which in the last three trips to Florida are about $30 round trip. Of course, there are limitations: blackout dates, limited destinations and times, stuff like that. One must also be willing to endure the discomfort of a budget airline, and I’ll put up with a lot to save a buck. Anyway I booked flights to Palm Beach International Airport and picked the closest Smoke Inn location to the airport, not realizing that the Headquarters store wasn’t too much further away. That’s how I ended up hanging out at Smoke Inn West Palm Beach for the day yesterday.

This is a beautiful shop, with a complete bar, well stocked humidor and helpful staff. Considering it’s been winter here, and was sunny and 80 there, I sat out on the lanai, as the Floridians like to call a patio. The patio had three TVs, and the music at a barely audible level so one doesn’t have to yell to converse, which I like a lot. The regulars engaged in the ball busting that seems to happen in every lounge I visit. I picked up a handful of cigars I hadn’t seen before and lit up a Micallef Black Box Pressed Toro, a Smoke Inn exclusive. This is a 6½” x 54 with a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuadorian Habano binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. I’m interested to see what Micallef does with this blend in the firecracker format, this is a much better value! I regret not bringing some back with me. It’s about $9, with some spice and cocoa, just the way I like it. I know that next weekend is the Great Smoke, and the stores there are going to be super busy. Would it have been better to go then? Perhaps, but the dates were blacked out and I was happy to hang out there with an old friend from the alt.smokers.cigars usenet days, Don Payne. It was great catching up with him. I was home in bed before midnight. This is two weekends in a row I’ve taken day trips to Florida, next weekend I’m staying home!

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

CigarCraig

😃+

Adventura, Aganorsa, JFR and DTT Cigars

I was looking at some of the gifted cigars I have this week and pulled out a couple that seemed topical. Not for any other reason than Abe is a friend and Smoke Inn is a great retail establishment, take note that their event, The Great Smoke, is coming up on February 24. Hopefully I’ll make it to one of these some year, I’ve heard good things. My secret Santa this year gifted me an Adventura Sociedad Secreta which was a Great Smoke release last year I believe, and actually has ties also to Secreto Cigar Bar in Detroit. This cigar is a cool size, 6″ x 48, a size I like a lot. It’s midway between a toro and a Lonsdale, pretty cool. This cigar is made by Henderson Ventura in the DR, and has a San Andrés wrapper that has been aged four years, Broadleaf binder with five years’ age, and 3-5 year aged fillers of Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. I’ll be honest, when I read the blend I was surprised, because I would not have thought it had that combo of wrapper and binder. It lacked the darkness and earthiness I associate with those tabacos, but did have a nice, sweet woody flavor. It was medium bodied at best, and quite tasty. I typically am not a Adventura fan for the most part, but this was quite nice. Thanks to Craig for allowing me to try this!

I had a couple more cigars I picked up at last week’s Wooden Indian visit, and smoked a Aganorsa Leaf Signature Maduro in the toro size. To be honest, I wasn’t going to get this, until I was informed I had a $5 credit on my account and figured, what the hell, I’ll put that towards another cigar! Perfect cigar logic right? Why take the discount on the cigars I’m buying already when I can get one more for $5 off? It made sense to me at the time. Anyway, this looked like one I’d like, and, for the most part, it was. This 6″ x 52 Toro has an Aganorsa Corojo wrapper, over Aganorsa binder and fillers, all gown in Nicaragua. Apparently there’s some media tiempo in the blend, I would expect that to give it some oomph, but the cigar was so packed at the head that it was a snugger than normal draw. It was good, some nice spice and good tobacco flavor. I can’t seem to remember which Aganorsa cigars I really like and which one’s are just OK, until I try another, this falls into the latter category. I should find a place to write this stuff down! 🙂

Non-cigar related, my wife and I took a little road trip to see Patterson Great Falls in Patterson, New Jersey yesterday, we had no idea there was a waterfalls in New Jersey. It was pretty nice, I hope the guy who found it wasn’t canoeing down the Passaic River! Apparently Alexander Hamilton founded the city around the falls and built an industrial complex after the Revolution. Neat history and cool waterfalls. On the way home we stopped at Ringing Rocks Park in Bucks County, PA, which has a boulder field that some of the rocks ring when hit with a hammer. Strange to see this naturally occurring boulder field, again, I wonder who figured out that they ring? Anyway, I came home to a losing Flyers game and had a cigar.

The cigar I chose was another Great Smoke release, this one from a few years back, the DTT-EX-38, another secret Santa gift, this one from Mitch (TY!). This one was an exclusive for the ’21 Great Smoke, which was the one that was virtual, an 8 hour telethon style event. I think Carlito Fuente stole a Sakasquatch on the broadcast. This was a cigar Saka had been working on for several years using a Costa Rican Morron ligero if I understand correctly. He made some for the Great Smoke, and is either still working on the blend, or has given up, hard to say. This was a fascinating cigar. It was 5″ x 46 with a pigtail, nice size for the time I had before dinner. It was very chocolaty, but a weird, chocolate that coates the palate. Loads of flavor. This had a long finish, I might still taste it 17 hour later and having had another cigar after it. I think the people that were able to get these had a special treat, and I’m fortunate that I had the chance to try one.

Finally, as I was leaving last week’s Aganorsa event, Fabien handed me a JFR Corojo Robusto “to smoke on the ride home”. I didn’t, of course, it wasn’t that long a ride. This is another Aganorsa puro, featuring the Aganorsa Corojo wrapper. It’s a dark wrapper, I had to look at the band to determine if it was the Corojo or the Maduro. I have to smoke more of these JFRs, I think. This was a good smoke, burned well, was fairly strong and had a lot of spice. I liked it. I’m not sure if it was the cigar or not, but I had weird dreams all night, the kind that you wake up, then spend the better part of an hour trying to figure out WTF that was all about, then falling asleep and waking from another weird dream. I ended up getting up around three and watching Shazam on TBS until I fell asleep again (which didn’t take too long). Very strange. I didn’t eat anything spicy or anything like that, strange how the brain works. Won’t prevent me from giving the JFRs more attention.

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

Craig

2 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as Adventura, Aganorsa, Aganorsa Leaf, cigar, cigars, JFR, Smoke Inn, The Great Smoke, wooden indian

by Craig Vanderslice | February 26, 2023 · 10:39 am

Anonymous, New World and Adventura Cigars

This winter is flying by, it’s already the end of February. By this time last year I had been to Vegas for the TPE, and a beach vacation to Puerto Rico. It just doesn’t seem like there’s been time for any of that this year. Thankfully, the weather has cooperated here in PA, but there’s still a few more weeks of winter to go, so anything can happen. Anyway, I dug into the dwindling supply of Secret Santa cigars from Mitch (many thanks again!), and picked out this Anonymous, a perfecto which is one of the Smoke Inn Micro Blends, made by AJ Fernandez. The shape reminds me of the old Drew Estate Chateau Real Gran Cru Perfecto, or the Undercrown Shade Suprema. It’s 6″ x 54, with a Cameroon wrapper, and binder and fillers from AJ’s farms in Nicaragua. This was a delicious cigar. It smoked a little darker in flavor than I expect from a Cameroon, but had that sweet, nuttiness that it should have. I see that the box pressed version is still available at SI, this was the round, but I’m not clear if the format is the same or the box press is just a parejo, anyone know?

I had an ADVentura The Royal Return King’s Gold Robusto in the humidor for a little over a year, and Friday seemed like the right time to smoke it for some reason. Oddly, I remember when and where this came into my possession. I was at the TPE show after hours at the bar in the Sahara, and a friend, who at the time was a broker who handled Adventura, and is now the VP of a cigar company. To be honest, I didn’t know he was a broker at the time, I figured he was just a fellow cigar media guy. Anyway, I’ve smoked the Adventura King’s Gold before, in the toro format. On paper, I should love this cigar. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, San Andrés binder and Dominican, nicaraguan and Pennsylvania fillers. For some reason, I have yet to find a cigar from the Ventura factory that floats my boat. There was nothing wrong with this cigar, it tasted good, burned well, and I liked it well enough, just didn’t really stand out to me. There are certain factories that I don’t seem to gravitate to, this is one (oddly, Aganorsa is another). Weird, right?

Speaking of AJ Fernandez, I had sent some cigars to my friend Phil over at Comedy, Cigars, Music, with the instruction that no reciprocation was necessary. Much like I would have done, he didn’t listen, and sent me a bunch of cigars I hadn’t smoked before. One of them was the AJ Fernandez New World Dorado toro. This was my favorite cigar of the week, and I had some other great cigars this week. I’ve enjoyed a lot of the New World line, but obviously this one is special, as it comes in a ten count box. This was a 6″ x 54 Toro (I see this also comes in a Figurado very similar to the Anonymous! Interested!). It’s a Nicagaruan puro, with the Habano wrapper grown on AJ’s Dorado farm, and Nicaraguan fillers and binder (obviously). This cigar had some spice to start and then had some really nice, tangy fruit and nuts sort of flavors. This was a really tasty smoke!

That’s all for today. I need to take a ride today and pick up a couple of the new Fratello cigars I didn’t get last weekend, a fairly local shop has them. Perhaps after I get some stuff around the house done. I’ve had a series of migraines the last couple of days that have sapped my energy, I suspect they are weather related, but might be Chinese Food related, now that I think of it. Anyway, until the next time,

CigarCraig

Comments Off on Anonymous, New World and Adventura Cigars

Filed under Review

Tagged as A.J. Fernandez, Adventura, Anonymous, cigar, cigars, Dorado, Kings Gold, Smoke Inn

by Craig Vanderslice | April 5, 2022 · 7:34 am

News: Drew Estate Releases Smoke Inn’s 25th Anniversary Cigar

I guess when I first met Abe he was only about 11 years into Smoke Inn, because it was 2008, and we met at a brunch with Steve Saka in Vegas. I don’t usually post news items about shop releases, but this one hits a bunch of things I like.

Last year marked the 25th Anniversary of the first Smoke Inn premium cigar store, and Drew Estate and Smoke Inn’s owner, Abe Dababneh, are celebrating the landmark achievement with the launch of a special commemorative Herrera Estelí cigar honoring Abe’s father and mentor, Raji Dababneh.

The Herrera Estelí Miami Smoke Inn 25th Anniversary Raji (6 x 50, Toro) is a limited-edition cigar that’s lovingly produced at El Titan De Bronze, the Little Havana boutique cigar factory that’s owned by Drew Estate Master Blender Willy Herrera’s family and where Herrera Estelí Miami cigars are made. Constructed using a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, the Herrera Estelí Miami Smoke Inn 25th Anniversary Raji is a spicy medium- to full-bodied cigar with hay and floral notes.

Every Herrera Estelí Miami Smoke Inn 25th Anniversary Raji cigar features a commemorative band around its foot, and the cigars are packaged in 10-count boxes that are adorned with the Smoke Inn logo. Ramping up the celebration and honoring Raji Dababneh even more, Raji’s signature is emblazoned on the bottom of every box.

“When I was growing up in Chicago, I watched my dad work tirelessly at the little grocery store he owned,” says Abe. “He always put in whatever it took to overcome any challenges and keep a roof over our heads and food on our table. He is a true inspiration for me as a businessman, husband and as a father. I learned, and continue to learn, so much from him. Dedicating our 25th anniversary cigar to him is the best way for me to give my heartfelt thanks to him for all that he has done for me.”

Founder and President of Drew Estate, Jonathan Drew adds, “Abe and I have been close friends from very early on, and he has always been a true ‘stand and deliver’ guy who deserves tremendous success. His father, Raji, clearly has been a great mentor and teacher. It’s an honor to pay tribute to Raji, as well as celebrate Smoke Inn’s 25th anniversary with this majestic Herrera Estelí Miami expression.”

The Herrera Estelí Miami Smoke Inn 25th Anniversary Raji will debut at Smoke Inn’s 25th Anniversary party on May 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. atop the Tru By Hilton Pompano Beach hotel. Guests to the epic event will meet Jonathan, Willy, Abe, and the man of honor himself, Raji Dababneh, while enjoying food and spirits and grooving to beats spun by Drew Estate’s very-own D.J. Eli. All guests will receive a party packet containing a commemorative “The Raji” ashtray and 29 assorted cigars, including the Herrera Estelí Miami Smoke Inn 25th Anniversary Raji, as well as experience other surprises as the evening unfolds.

Available beginning on April 6th and limited to only 250 people, tickets for Smoke Inn’s 25th Anniversary party are sure to sell fast. Tickets cost $250 and may be purchased exclusively through the company’s website, smokeinn.com. After the event, Herrera Estelí Miami Smoke Inn 25th Anniversary Raji cigars will be available exclusively at Smoke Inn while supplies last.

ABOUT DREW ESTATE

Founded in New York City in 1996, Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”, Drew Estate has led the “Boutique Cigar” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that attract new and traditional cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces a variety of brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Herrera Estelí Norteño, Isla del Sol, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Larutan by Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Pappy Van Winkle Barrel Fermented Cigars, Tabak Especial, Undercrown, Florida Sun Grown, and Java by Drew Estate.