Tag Archives: Tabak Especial

Snow, a La Vieja Habana and CigarSafari – Tuesday, January 11, 2011

It’s snowing here in South-East PA and I wanted to smoke something to celebrate the fact that I booked my son Corey and myself on a Drew Estate Cigar Safari in March.  Considering the snowy weather, I was hesitant to dip into my meager supply of Liga Privadas, I didn’t want to squander a Dirty Rat or a Flying Pig.  I couldn’t see smoking a No. 9 or a T52 in the cold and wet.  Chateau Real Maduros hold up nicely in the slop, but I’ve been smoking a bunch of them recently and I didn’t want to bore you more than normal.  I came across a La Vieja Habana Cuban Corojo Rothschild Luxo that I received at the booth at the IPCPR show last July.  I’ve always enjoyed the La Viejas for what they are, which is a mixed filler, budget cigar, certainly a good value cigar at somewhere around $50 a box.  Anyway, the cigar was quite enjoyable and burned well.  It was spicy enough to stand up to the brisk evening.

As I mentioned, my 21 year old son Corey and I will be heading to Esteli, Nicaragua in March to experience the Drew Estate factory, the Joya de Nicaragua factory and all that goes with it.  I’ve been eager to book this trip for some time, and can’t wait.  I’m not a huge Acid fan, but I’ve smoked a couple and haven’t died, and Corey has smoked a few and really enjoyed them, but we both have loved everything Liga Privada we’ve smoked, and I have a soft spot for Chateau Reals.  I even like a coffee infused Tabak Especial once in a while, and the Natural line is a very interesting change of pace.  I hope this trip will provide some interesting subject matter for this space as well!  I’m sure I won’t be able to shut up about this for a while!  I think I’ll spend the next 2 months packing..

That’s all I have for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Drew Estate Cigar Week: Tabak Especial and Joya de Nicaragua Antaño – Sunday May 30, 2010

Thursday evening my son and I went up the road to Light’n Up Cigars for a Drew Estate event.  We were greeted by Ed, the new area rep for DE, who helped my son pick out a selection of cigars.  I picked up a few of the Tabak Especial Coladas in both the Negra and Dolce (Maduro and Shade) wrappers and lit up the Maduro Robusto which was the cigar that I got free with the purchase.  Quite a while ago I had gotten several tins of Mayorga Coffee infused cigars with a purchase of the regular Mayorga cigars.   I enjoyed these as a change of pace for quite a while and the Tabak Especial reminds me of those.  It’s a really well made cigar and you can tell the tobacco is the highest quality.  They are sweet without being too sweet.  I don’t particularly care for flavored cigars, but these are a nice change of pace, not something I’d buy a box of perhaps, but nice to smoke now and then.  If you want to receive an e-mail letting you know when and where to find a Drew Estate event in your area, there is a form on their page for you to subscribe.

A word about the shop, Light’n Up Cigars in Glenmoore, PA.  This is one of a chain of five stores in the Philadelphia area.  The store consisted of an outer shop with accessories and pipes and whatnot and a lounge with a couch, some chairs, and a TV.  There is also a large walk-in humidor with a decent selection of cigars.  The staff that night consisted of the owner and another gentleman, both of whom seemed quite knowledgeable.  I’ve been less than impressed with these stores in the past, but this experience makes me inclined to give them a second chance.  The last couple times I’ve visited I was looking for some budget priced cigars and their selection in that area was very limited.

Last night I had a Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Robusto Grande which was just delicious.  It was lush and full flavored and really satisfying.  This is one of the cigars in the sampler that is one of the prizes in the current contest (leave a comment on my last post to enter), well, not one of the exact cigars, the winner will receive a complete five cigar sampler.  This particular example came from the herf in Reno I attended last November.  These cigar burn like I expect a premium cigar to burn, nice and even with a solid ash.  The draw was a little tighter than I would like, but not so much that it distracted from the flavor.  It’s a Nicaraguan puro with a beautiful oily wrapper which I would stock in my humidor in a heartbeat.

It’s Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial  start of summer, and a time to say thanks for all of the fine people who gave their lives so what we can enjoy the freedoms that we enjoy today.

I’m going to head outside with a Chateau Real Maduro Gran Cru Perfecto on this beautiful evening.  Enjoy the holiday and be careful out there!

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

Go Flyers!

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