Tag Archives: TAA

by | October 20, 2024 · 9:23 am

Kristoff, Joya de Nicaragua, and Illusione Cigars

This week I smoked a bunch of cigars that I picked up at various shops in my area.  I’m fortunate, I guess, to live in an area with an abundance of cigars shops, and one of them (a chain, actually, with about five shops within a ten mile radius of my home) is a TAA member.  Every now and then I stop in one of he shops to find something new and interesting, sometimes I find both, sometimes neither!  I’ve been picking up some of the TAA exclusives lately, as regular readers will have noticed.  I picked up a Kristoff TAA Exclusive from last year, a neat perfecto shaped cigar.  It’s 6 ¼” x 60, tapered at both ends, like cigars in old cartoons.  It has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Dominican fillers. This was a really fun cigar to smoke. I was surprised to read that this was a Connecticut Shade wrapper varietal.  While I had sweet woody notes, it didn’t make me think of shade. I really enjoyed this, it was smooth, rich and quite enjoyable.  I wish more cigars came in this shape!

 

At another shop nearby I was there for a Drew Estate event, so I was looking for something new-to-me in their portfolio, no easy task.  I spied the Joya de Nicaragua Classico Media Siglo and picked one up.  I got the Toro size, naturally, but they offer those in some interesting sizes: a  6″ x 41 and a 5½” x 42.  This cigar is supposed to be an homage to the first cigars JdN produced fifty years ago, which I have no frame of reference for, but I’m sure I have smoked the classico, it’s on the milder side.  This cigar was on the light side of medium, with leathery, woody notes, which aren’t normally my thing.  It was OK, not my cup of tea, necessary. I’m more a fan of the Antaño lines, if I want a milder JdN I usually go for the Numero Uno or Cinco Decadas (with the Joya Silver close behind). 

 

 

Friday I did what I said last year that I wouldn’t do again, and got both a Flu shot and a Covid Vaccine at the same time.  This time, apart from the sore left arm, I had a dull headache all day and that was about it.  I get migraines, and this wasn’t one of those, and Aspirin, Tylenol, etc. don’t do a thing for me.  I did, however, power through and selected an Illusione Cigares Prívé PCA Exclusive, a box pressed 5 ½” x 56 robusto. This I smoked while watching a movie on the porch (the first Captain america movie, I’ve seen bits and pieces of a lot of Marvel movies, I’m trying to watch them all start to finish. I might have the only Captain America travel humidor on the planet, by the way).  This is one of my favorite things to do on the weekend, relax with a cigar and a movie.  I believe this cigar was the 2020 version, based on the shape and the band.  I may stop back in the shop where I got this and take a closer look at the box.  It has an Ecuador (Habano Claro) wrapper, over a Nicaraguan binder with Nicaraguan (Criollo 98 & Corojo 99) fillers. It was a beautiful cigar, nice cafe con leche colored wrapper with a nice box press. This started with a bright citrus tang, and them mellowed a bit. It was very nice once I got past the sharpness of the start, I wouldn’t hesitate to smoke this again. I’m a bit negligent in sampling Illusione cigars, I need to get try some more.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | October 13, 2024 · 10:01 am

Sweet Jane, Murcielago and Alec Bradley Filthy Ghooligan Cigars

As October moves along, we get closer to Halloween (and eventually winter, ugh), so I figured I’d string together a few cigars following that theme.  I’m omitting the obvious, mostly because I haven’t gotten out and found any yet, but there are other options.  It brings up the question: do we really need holiday themed cigars?  No, of course not, but it gives the marketing guys something to do.  Drew Estate recently added the Sweet Jane Dia de los Muerto cigar to the very popular Deadwood line.  It’s a 6″ x 50 box-pressed toro, with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with binder and fillers from Nicaragua (although some sources say “undisclosed”, we are pretty sure there’s some tobaccos more usually associated with pipe tobacco). This has a sweet cap, and is aromatic. There are some baking spices, some cocoa, and it’s a nice change of pace.  The sample I picked up locally, and at $12 I only grabbed one to try, ended up with a tunnel about half way in, but it eventually worked itself out.  This is frustrating with any cigar, but more so as the price goes up.  A $12 cigar should always burn right. I do enjoy the Deadwood line once in a while, and I see the appeal to the occasional smoker.

 

My local TAA shop had the Espinosa Murcielago de Oro TAA 2023 in stock, so I grabbed one of those on my last visit.  I’ve been a fan of the Murcielago line going back to 2011 or so, when it was still Espinosa and Ortega (EO Brands). I miss Eddie Ortega, I need to see what he’s up to.  It’s not meant to be Halloween themed, but I figured the bat  thing would fit in here. The original has a San Andrés wrapper, This one, and the name gives it away a little, has a shade wrapper. I thought it seemed darker than usual, but that’s OK.    It’s presented in a 6″ x 54 oval-pressed toro format, made at A.J. Fernandez’ San Lotano factory.  This was a bold cigar, not as mild as one might think.  I liked it, but it sorta seemed like a strong cigar with a shade wrapper, maybe some Cafe con Leche flavors?  Nice cigar, probably another cigar that’s near $12, I think I’ll stick with the maduro version.  I’ll have to stop back in and see what other TAA cigars they have that I haven’t tried. 

 

Finally, Alec Bradley has added a cigar to their holiday offerings.  They have had success with the Filthy Hooligan, which started out in 2012 as a Candela cigar (I still have one someplace), and morphed into a Candela/Jalapa barber pole with Honduran and Panamanian fillers, a Sumatra binder. Then they added the Shamrock, with Honduran Candela, Habano and Habano Maduro triple wrap. This year they decided to jump on the Halloween bandwagon with the Filthy Ghooligan. These are all in the Alec Bradley Black Market family and are limited releases. First, I think it’s silly.  I get the play on words, but Ghoul is spelled with a U, and while the band is cute, it pushes “Marketing to children” to the line a bit.  I know this isn’t the case, but I’m more of a traditionalist.  That being said, I don’t mind a Barber Pole style cigar.  This one has Ecuadorian Habano and US Broadleaf wrappers, making a nice light vs. dark brown spiral.  It has Indonesian Besuki binder and Nicaraguan Jalapa,Estelí, and Condega fillers alongside Dominican Piloto. It smoked well, has a decent flavor, some leather and dark chocolate with some spice. I did smoke a Shamrock later in the day and I can see the family resemblance.  The Candela makes the shamrock a little brighter in flavor.  I do. find myself wanting to smoke more maduros in the fall, so I suppose this is a good choice.  Overall, not a bad smoke

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | September 15, 2024 · 9:44 am

Brick House TAA, Tatuaje PCA and Villiger TAA Cigars

I stopped by my local Tobacconist Association of America retailer recent;y and picked up a few cigars I hadn’t tried yet. I got a couple TAA Exclusives and a PCA (Premium Cigar Association) exclusive. These are cigars that are only available to members of the respective associations, in the case of the TAA, the members have an annual meeting (usually at a tropical resort ironically outside of the US (technically they are still in “the Americas”).  Selected manufacturers make exclusive cigars, some good, some not so much.  I think I selected a couple of the better ones.  I started with the Brick House Ciento por Ciento, which translates to 100 percent, and I’m not sure what the significance of this name is without doing more research than I feel like doing.  I grabbed this one for three reasons: I typically like Brick House cigars, I hadn’t smoked this one, and it’s almost Bricktoberfest (starts tomorrow, my daughter’s birthday!).  I don’t know how long these had been on the retailers shelf, but when I removed the band it had tan lines!  The front face of the cigar wrapper leaf was faded, which is odd because the humidor at this shop has no sun exposure.  Perhaps they moved them from another store, I don’ t know. It was only one side, kinda like my tan. Anyway, this didn’t seem to have any effect.  This is a 6¼” x 54 Toro made in J.C. Newman’s PENSA factory in Esteli, and is a Nicaraguan Puro. The wrapper is from Jalapa and seems a bit lighter than the standard Brickhouse.  It has a overall woody profile with a hint of citrus here and there.  Good cigar and well priced, as a Brick House should be. 

 

Next up was the Tatuaje PCA 2023, which came out in early 2024, of course.  Tatuaje has probably been the best at making TAA Exclusives, and is a very big supporter of the PCA, which is a much larger organization.  The point of offering this Exclusive is to get  member retailers, and any retailer who isn’t a member is a fool, in my opinion, to physically come to the annual trade show to buy. This PCA exclusive is a  6 3/8″ x 54 Toro, made at the My Father factory in Esteli, and has an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers.  This was a delicious cigar with. sweet exotic spices throughout. I thoroughly enjoyed smoking this, which isn’t unusual considering I enjoy most Tatuaje cigars I smoke.  I may swing back and grab a couple more, although they are on the top end of what I consider well priced, around $15 I think.  Great tasting cigar!

 

I’ve smoked a couple of the Villiger TAA Exclusives, however this one has eluded my notice.  Villiger, like they do with a lot of their brands, uses a variety of factories.  This was their second year making a TAA Exclusive, and they used the Tabacalera Palma factory in the DR.  Their Trill brand was made there, which I don’t think is in their portfolio any longer.  Like the Brick House, this cigar also had tan lines.  I guess they are the opposite of tan lines really, there was some fading on the top face of the wrapper.  This was a 6″ x 54 toro with an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Dominican binder and fillers.  I’m generally a fan of Villiger cigars, there’s some I like better than others, but they make good cigars.  This had a sweet wood profile, not my favorite, but pleasant enough.  The cigar burned well and I think it was unter $10, not too bad.  As I think about it (read: looked back on my own site), I have smoked the 2020 (E.P. Carrillo) and the 2022 (Espinosa), and I think the 2022 was my favorite. I guess I need to see if I can find the ’23 and ’24 versions if they exist!.

 

As I write this, I’m enjoying a cigar on my porch. I hate that it will be too chilly soon to do this.  I found a Leccia Desnudo in the humidor and, while it isn’t my usual choice for a morning cigar, it’s got a few year age and is a nice, mellow maduro cigar, great with coffee. When these came out back in 2016 we hosted a Desnudo Sunday and did a video, which is here.  Everyone remained clothed.  That’s all for today, until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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by | July 23, 2023 · 9:22 am

Romeo y Julieta, La Gloria Cubana and Diesel Cigars

Summer is whizzing by way too fast for my liking.  I’ve been enjoying a lot more cigars, three of which were just yesterday, which I plan to tell you about! I started the day with a Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Twisted Love Story.  This came to me in a sampler of barber pole style cigars I bought from Fox Cigars, I had set this small cigar aside for an appropriate time, and that time came yesterday morning.  It was a toss up between this and a Rojas Breakfast Taco Maduro, but I kinda remember the Sumatra Breakfast Taco being a bit of a powerhouse, and I wasn’t feeling like a strong cigar yesterday morning. I wondered in a previous post how Altadis got away with making a cigar this shape with the name “story” attached to it, because it’s very close to the same size as the Hemingway Short Story, although it’s a few ring gauges slimmer at 4″ x 46 as opposed to 49.  The Romeo has Ecuadorian Connecticut & Habano wrappers, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers.  It’s a very pretty little perfecto.  It started off with some bitterness for me, until it burned past the “nipple”, then it smoothed out and had some nice butter and spice.  It was pretty good, but I liked the toro presentation better.  I think it smoked for nearly an hour, which is pretty good for a little cigar.  

 

I had a couple other cigars lined up that I was going to write about, but then I was out running errands and stopped in my nearest cigar store and picked up a few cigars I hadn’t smoked before.  This store honestly didn’t have much in the way of new stuff, but they are a TAA store, so I picked up the La Gloria Cubana 2023 TAA Exclusive, a 7½” x 54 double corona.  If the size sounds familiar, it’s the same size as the Hoya de Monterrey Excalibur No.1 (and the SakaKahn).  You might be saying ” but CigarCraig, La Glorias are made in the DR, and Excaliburs are made in Honduras, what the heck?”, but it seems that this La Gloria was made in the STG Danli factory back in 2019 and have been aging there.  Weird, huh?  This cigar has a Ecuador Sumatra wrapper with a Honduran Habano binder and Fillers from Honduras and the DR.  The wrapper is very dark, verging on maduro.  While I didn’t find this cigar very La Gloria like (and with all the various iterations of the brand, I don’t know what that means any more), I really like the cigar, and feel compelled to pick a few more up to add to the La Gloria humidor for later consumption.  It had dark dried fruit and espresso tones, bittersweet chocolate, and wasn’t without some strength.  It was amongst the better La Glorias I’ve had in recent years.  

 

Another cigar I picked up was another TAA cigar from the Forged portfolio, the Diesel Disciple 2021 TAA Lancero.  Considering it wasn’t long ago that Diesel was a catalog brand, it’s interesting that the top of the top (in their eyes, i imagine) retailers are getting a Diesel exclusive. In keeping with the Diesel line, this was pretty fairly priced at $8.99, and is a 7″ x 38 panatela, no pigtail cap.  The cigar has a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador Sumatra binder and Nicaraguan Habano fillers and is made at Tabacalera AJ Fernandez. I’ll state my opinion like I do every time I smoke a Lancero, this wrapper/filler ratio thing is a myth, the reason Lanceros have a sharper, stronger flavor is because the burn hotter due to the smaller ring gauge.  Smoke a Lancero slowly, sip the smoke, it’s a very elegant presentation.  If it’s drawn upon at the same pressure as one would draw on a rubusto or toro it’s going to burn hot and the flavor is going to seem sharper.  I’ve learned this by sitting at the feet of masters.  Anyway, I smoked this while watching one of my favorite shows (the Grand Tour on Amazon Prime) on the porch and it was delicious.  Dark, strong espresso with some sweet earthiness.  The burn and draw was perfect and it was quite enjoyable.  I don’t know how many of these are still out in the wild, I know there are still at least nine of them at the store near me, but if you come across them, and you like Diesels and Lanceros, give one a try.

 

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

 

CigarCraig

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by | June 2, 2023 · 4:50 pm

News: TAA Exclusive Eiroa Dark 11/18 Now Shipping

I haven’t had the opportunity to smoke a ton of CLE cigars, funny because I’ve known Christian for 20+ years.  I smoked a ton of Camacho cigars way back when, and I feel like Christian’s brother’s cigars are closer to what Camacho was than CLE.  This one interests me, I’ll check my local TAA shop next time.  

C.L.E. Cigar Company announces that the TAA exclusive Eiroa Dark 11/18 is now shipping! The Eiroa Dark originally made its debut in 2019. What separates the TAA Exclusive is that it will come in the Eiroa family’s signature 11/18 size. Only five hundred boxes were created.

The unique 11/18 vitola became well known when the Eiroa family-owned Camacho. The 11/18 size continues to be an especially important vitola to Christian Eiroa (President of C.L.E. Cigar Company) because it provides a unique smoking experience while holding sentimental value. The 11/18 name is in dedication to the Matriarch of the Eiroa family.

Christian Eiroa said:” It is a little-known fact that the 11/18 is in dedication to my mother as it represents her birth date (November 18). The Eiroa Dark is one of my favorite blends to come out of the C.L.E. cigar factory, due it being made with only Honduran Corojo tobacco. My hope is that the public enjoys this blend in this long overdue 11/18 size.”

11/18 Vitola: 48 x 52 x 48 x 6

Box count: Twenty count boxes. Limited to only five hundred boxes.

MSRP: $16.70

About C.L.E Cigar Company

C.L.E. Cigar Company, established by Christian Eiroa in 2012 is steeped in tradition, going back to the early 1960’s in Honduras. The Eiroa family is known for farming, blending, and manufacturing premium handmade cigars using innovative and forward-thinking methods. Christian Eiroa continues to honor his family legacy by creating unique award-winning blends using a mix of traditional and ever evolving technological methods. C.L.E. Cigar Company serves as the umbrella company for C.L.E. Cigars, Eiroa Cigars, and Asylum Cigars.

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