It was a pretty good week. A bit ago I sent some cigars to a friend, who, despite my protests, reciprocated with a package. People need to understand that I send out cigars without expectations! I do appreciate it though, especially when there are a bunch of cigars I hadn’t tried. The Casdagli Daughters of the Wind Pony Express was one of those cigars. I want to say I’ve smoked one Casdagli cigar in the past, it seems to me it was a figurado of some sort, but I can’t remember what it was. Was this company called something before it was Casdagli? Bespoke seems to be stuck in my mind. Anyway, This was a corona gorda of sorts, 6″ x 48, with a box press. I love the size. It’s made from tobaccos from Peru, Dominican Republic and Ecuador along with the tobaccos from the factory’s own plantation in the mountains of Costa Rica. It’s rolled in Costa Rica, which is interesting. This was a very different cigar than I gravitate to, it had a strong floral flavor. It was very good, thanks to Phil ( https://www.comedycigarsmusic.com/) for sending this!
Friday evening I went to Pairings Cigar Bar in Media, PA to hang out with Ricky Rodriguez of West Tampa Tobacco Co. Pairings is a great place with a nice selection. If you like to drink 
while you smoke at a bar, like the old days, this is the place to go. There aren’t as many such places in this area as you would think, I can think of two others in the Philly area. I’m not a bar guy, so maybe there are more I don’t know about. Most of our shops have lounges and don’t discourage BYOB. Anyway, Ricky was there doing a West Tampa event, of course. I had the opportunity to try the new West Tampa Red, and I can’t wait to get my hands on more, it was really good. I could draw some comparisons to the Attic, they share the San Andrés wrapper. This was a 6″ x 60, which I chose because I had a really good experience with a Black in that size a few weeks ago. I feel like the flavor was a little brighter than the Black or the Attic, both cigar I really like. I’m working on
I stole this pic from Craig Gilpin! TY
something with Ricky in the future, so stay tuned. There were a bunch of local cigar people there, reps, brokers, guys from other shops, and even Micky Pegg from All Saints Cigars (there’s a CAO connection!). I also had the chance to spend some quality time with my friend Craig (the Breadman), I like having fiends named Craig, because I have such a lousy memory for names, it makes it a little easier! It was a good night, although after smoking the Red AND the Black in the 6″ x 60 size, I had a hell of a time falling asleep.
The selection of cigars from Mitch, my Secret Santa, is dwindling. I selected a Powstanie SBC20, another corona gorda (this time it’s really a CG, 5½”x 46, close enough). This is a subtle barber pole, with Habano and Brazilian Mata Fina, made at Fábrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A.. I have a great affinity for cigars made at this factory. I was just thinking how it’s been ten years since I’ve been to Esteli, and what a hoot it would be to go and visit factories like Nica Sueño, Garmendia, etc. I think the town has changed a lot since I was there last. This was a pretty stout cigar, not a surprise. It’s got some pepper, cocoa and coffee, probably best smoked on a full stomach. I very much enjoyed this, I wonder how it compared to the ’16 and ’18 versions. If you’ve smoked them all, leave a comment!
I had picked up a couple of the Punch Spring Rolls a few weeks ago, it’s a shorter cigar than I like, but I wanted to try it. I’ve enjoyed most of the Punch cigars in this series, which, inexplicably, revolves around Chinese food. They are budget cigars, and usually have some interesting feature, on this one the wrapper is about a half inch short. It’s only 4½” x 50, like a Punch Rothschild, so that’s a pretty good percentage of the cigar that is wrapperless, when you think about it. I expected a flavor change when the burn line hit the wrapper, which is Ecuadorian Sumatra over an American broadleaf binder, with fillers from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico and broadleaf from the U.S.. I never picked up on the change, oddly enough, it just remained a fairly uneventful cigar. It was dry and woody, I was expecting a lot more flavor. It wasn’t bad, I’ve seen people say it was excellent, I just thought it was OK. I guess it was a good think it was only 4½” long. I’ll give the other one a try next year. Maybe it’s because I don’t like Spring (or Egg) Rolls?
That’s all for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
