Tag Archives: Take A Cigar For A Walk

by CigarCraig | January 1, 2012 · 10:02 am

Happy New Cigar Year! A Macanudo, an Emilio and a Gurkha

Welcome to 2012 on CigarCraig.com! I can’t imagine that this year can be better than last year for me cigar-wise, but I’ll do my best to at least come close. 2011 saw trips to Nicaragua and The Dominican Republic, as well as a trip to the IPCPR show in Las Vegas. I made a lot of new friends in the industry, including a bunch of fellow blogger types. We culminated the year with a huge series of contests that broke all kinds of records here. Thank you all for a great 2011! Looking forward to seeing what the new year brings.

While I’ve had the week off this past week I’ve had a few occasions for a cigar, but I’ll just mention the notable ones. Most of them were good, most of them I’d smoked before and don’t want to be repetitive. I kinda wanted to take the week off from what passes as reviews around here after the rigors of posting 14 days in a row! Here’s a couple cigars that were notable, at least to me. First I had a Macanudo 1968 Robusto on Christmas Day, with my brother-in-law, who is finding that he enjoys good cigars. I set him up with a little travel humidor for Christmas and he seems to be getting a lot of use out of it. The 1968 was from a box that I brought back form my General Cigar visit. I’ve smoked a bunch of these over the past few years and I’m still surprised by how strong they are. The Macanudo name on the band always fools me. It was a notable cigar as much for the company and occasion as anything else, but I do enjoy the 1968 line quite a bit.

Friday I paid a visit to my local shop, JM Cigars in Exton. I met an old friend, Bruce, there for a smoke and to catch up. I had hope a few more friends would stop by, but was more than happy to while away the afternoon with Bruce and a Emilio AF2 BMF. I picked up a couple of these 6″ x 58 monsters because I hadn’t had the AF2 in this size, and I really liked the AF1 in the same vitola. These were very reasonably priced and I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar for 1½ to almost 2 hours. Loads of flavor and well made. I was really glad to see these in JM’s and wouldn’t have even thought to look if my wife hadn’t spied an empty box by the door on our last visit.

Saturday I took an uncustomary early walk so I selected a Gurkha Cellar Reserve Churchill, which came last month in a truly unexpected package from the manufacturer. This cigar boasts 15 year aged tobaccos and is a stunning cigar. I wonder why a 7″ x 54 feels so much more massive than a 6″ x 58 or 60? Does length play that much of a roll in our perception? Maybe….anyway, this was a nice enough cigar for a pre-lunch smoke, looking forward to seeing how some humidor time treats these, even though they have 15 years age on some of the leaf. I’m also not a huge Criollo wrapper fan, but this one was pretty good.. Not overpowering, enough flavor to maintain interest, and a perfect burn. Many thanks to Oliver at Beach CIgar Group for thinking of me.

I had another Berger and Argenti Mooch Loll Maduro this week which was really tasty too! I love this line. Also, Santa brought me a new video camera and an IPod Touch which have already been used for some of the pictures on this page, and will simplify things for me here and there.

That about wraps it up for today. Enjoy the holiday, watch the Winter Classic tomorrow and I hope 2012 can be even better thank 2011 was!

CigarCraig

4 Comments

Filed under Review, Stores

Tagged as af2, Berger & Argenti, cigar, cigars, Emilio, general cigars, Gurkha, IPCPR, JM Cigars, macanudo, Mooch, Take A Cigar For A Walk

by CigarCraig | December 11, 2011 · 8:44 am

12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways Countdown! A Monte Pascoal, a My Uzi and a Cain

It’s been a busy week, I’ve been gearing up for the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways and the weather was mild and rainy for the fist part of the week, and cold at the end. This didn’t stop me from getting in a few interesting cigars though!

Mid way through the week I took a walk with a Monte Pascoal Minuto. This Brazilian puro is a tasty little firecracker of a smoke. The cigar is 4 3/8″ x 42, with Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper and binder and Mata Fina and Mata Norte fillers. The word on the street is that the smaller sizes are stronger than the larger sizes, based on the higher wrapper to filler ratio, but I find this difficult to comprehend given that the blend is so heavily weighted toward the same tobacco variety. Perhaps I’ll ask Wes at Tabacos Mata Fina USA about this the next time I see him.

Last night it was cold. I needed to get some cash, and the nearest ATM is probably a mile and a half away, so I grabbed the 7″x 60 My Uzi Weighs A Ton pre-release sample Jonathan Drew sent me quite a few months ago. This cigar is a joint venture between Joya de Nicaragua and Drew Estate/Subculture Studio, and was released at this years IPCPR show. Certainly this monstrous cigar would last me the entire walk, and then some. There’s nothing more frustrating that finishing the cigar before the walk. Anyway, this cigar had a nice flavor, and as has been said many times by others, it’s not a killer strong cigar as the name may imply. It’s just a really nice, balanced, medium bodied cigar that was an excellent companion for the 3 mile walk!

Yesterday I felt inspired to smoke a Cain Daytona Corona after a big Olive Garden meal with my wife. I really needed a couple laps around the block to burn off the pasta! I love the Cain line, but most of them are just too strong for me. Not the Daytona! It’s another medium bodied cigar that’s packed with delicious flavors. What led me to this cigar was a meeting earlier in the day with my areas Oliva rep, Mike Staiber, who provided a terrific prize for the upcoming contest. Always nice to see Mike, and I wish we’d have had the time to sit and smoke one together.

Speaking of the contest, it starts TOMORROW! Keep any eye here bright and early each morning for the next two weeks for a fantastic parade of prizes! Leave a comment to win and check back every day for the winner and the next prize! This is a contest that is unprecedented in the history of CigarCraig.com! Many thanks to the following companies who have made this contest possible:

La Gloria Cubana

Villiger Stokkebye

Brothers of the Leaf, LLC

Tabacos Mata Fina USA

Oja Cigars

and more to come!

My deepest gratitude for everyone for helping to make this a terrific 12 days of contests!

That’s it for now, more tomorrow!

CigarCraig

13 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as 12 days, c-gars ltd, cain, cigar, Cigar Journal, cigars, Contest, drew estate, esencia, general, general cigar, IPCPR, joya de nicaragua, La Gloria Cubana, Miami Cigar and Co, Monte Pascoal, Oja, oliva, palio, Pipes and Cigars, Stokkebye, tabacos mata fina usa, Take A Cigar For A Walk, Villiger

by CigarCraig | December 4, 2011 · 10:00 am

A Saturday Afternoon of La Gloria Cubanas

I received an e-mail from Famous Smoke Shop last week about the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especiale tour stop and decided this would be the perfect opportunity to finally visit their new location in Easton, PA. I don’t quite know why I haven’y yet visited the place, it’s a little over an hour and a half from home, although it ended up taking two hours or so to get there. The retail shop and Leaf Restaurant and Cigar Bar appears to be in the front of their huge warehouse and distribution center. It’s a little off the beaten path, as I’m driving through a new, under construction residential area and industrial park, I was really starting to doubt my GPS (which has failed me before). But there it was, in the middle of nowhere, this huge building, with a beautiful restaurant and retail store. The humidor is enormous, with an equally enormous selection of boxes, five-packs and singles. The staff was very friendly and attentive, and I picked up a fiver of La Gloria Serie R Maduros. In the lobby, Michael Giannini was set up with posters that he was autographing, Retro Especiale Club samples, and bundles of Atesano de Tabaqueros, which were free with various levels of purchase. My simple five-pack purchase got me three of the Artesanos de Tabaqueros, of which I chose two of the new Sumatra/Broad-leaf versions.

While I was hanging out talking with Michael, Gary and Seanna (Gary is the General Cigar Event Manager and Seanna is the General Cigar account manager for national accounts), I enjoyed another Retro Especiale Club, which I’ve been smoking quite a few of in the last couple months. If you haven’t tried these yet, find them and try them. Great cigars. After that I just had to try the Artesanos de Tabaqueros with the Sumatra and broad-leaf wrappers. I love broad-leaf, and once the burn line reached that broad-leaf it exploded with flavor. Not that it didn’t start off great, with the Sumatra wrapper portion being very nice, but the broad-leaf is so rich and full flavored that I was sad when it was finished. I’d love to try broad-leaf and Connecticut shade, hint hint. These cigars are only available on the Retro Tour.

It’s always a treat to hang out with Michael, he’s a real mensch, and I’m pleased to know him and call him “Bro”. I’m glad that I had the opportunity to visit Famous finally. We are fortunate to have quite a few very large retailers in Pennsylvania, due to the lack of a cigar tax.

For my evening “Take a Cigar for a Walk” cigar, I figured I’d keep the La Gloria theme going with a Serie R No. 5 Maduro that I picked up at the shop. I haven’t had one of these in years, and it was actually milder than I recall. The Tabaqueros was much stronger, and I suppose I expected the R to be stronger. Regardless, it was a very nice cigar, although the cold evening was, perhaps, not conducive to fully enjoying this cigar. It burned perfectly. I remember drooling over the stacks of these I saw at the factory.

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

CigarCraig

3 Comments

Filed under Events, Review, Stores, Take a Cigar For a Walk

Tagged as Artesanos de Tabaqueros, Broad-leaf, cigar, cigar store, cigars, connecticut, Easton, Famous, general, general cigars, La Gloria Cubana, maduro, Michael Giannini, retro especiale, Serie R, Sumatra, Take A Cigar For A Walk

by CigarCraig | November 23, 2011 · 7:13 pm

Happy Thanksgiving, a Fuente Hemingway and a Special Offer!

First off, let me wish my US readers a very Happy Thanksgiving. Â I’m quite thankful for my family, as well as all of the cool opportunities that have been presented to me this year. Â Thanks to all of my readers.Â Who would have thought that scribbling down my random cigar thoughts would entertain people! Â (OK, my wife thought so, I’m thankful to her for giving me the site!)

Anyway, Wednesday evening is my traditional “Take A Cigar For A Walk” night, and since it’s practically a Friday, I chose a nice cigar to start the long weekend. Â I came across a lonely Arturo Fuente Hemingway Signature that came to me by way of my good friend and UK Fuente distributor, Mitchell Orchant. Â This is a long time favorite that I haven’t had in years. Â I smoked a bunch of these in the ’90s, and have a lot of great memories associated with this cigar. Â I love the flavor from the Cameroon wrapper, and the 6″ x 46 perfecto shape is just about perfect. Â It was a great cigar, although it burned faster than I would like as it was over too soon.

Special Offer!

I received an e-mail today from Travis at PipesandCigars.com with the following offer for you, my loyal readers. Â I took a look at the site and was pleasantly surprised. Â The selection and pricing is top-notch and they even have singles. I like the feature they have that lets you build your own sampler. Check them out.

PipesandCigars.com is releasing a 2012 Cigar Calendar. This calendar features two of the greatest things in the world â€“ beautiful women and fine cigars. Each month features an eye-popping female along with an eye-popping deal on the featured brands. A calendar sure to add some spice to your office or smoking lounge, and also sure to give you the best values on your favorite smokes. To get your free copy, subscribe to our special offers mailing list by simply sending an e-mail to mailinglist@pipesandcigars.com with your mailing address. Weâ€™ll start off your subscription with this free calendar along with a free cigar. Calendars & cigars will ship the week of December 5th. Enjoy!

So check out PipesandCigars.com and e-mail them to sign up for their e-mail list and get a calendar and a cigar, how can you go wrong? Â If you find yourself in the Albany, NY area look them up and tell them I said hello!

Enjoy the holiday!

CigarCraig

6 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review, Stores

Tagged as calendar, cigar, cigar store, cigars, Contest, fuente, Hemingway, holiday, Pipes and Cigars, pipesandcigars.com, signature, Take A Cigar For A Walk, Thanksgiving

by CigarCraig | November 20, 2011 · 2:58 pm

A Monte Pascoal, an ORTSAC 1962, a CAO OSA Sol and a Video

My Wednesday “Take a Cigar for a Walk” cigar was a Monte Pascoal Belicoso courtesy of Wes Gensel at Monte Pascoal. I recently included one of these in a prize pack and figured it might be a good idea to sample one myself before I give them all away! This is a 5½ x 52 belicoso that really burned well. It’s a Brazilian puro that has a very nice, well balanced flavor. I often think of Brazilian wrappers being maduro, which this one is not, but I’d love to try this cigar with an Arapiraca wrapper. One does not often find a Brazilian puro, but this is one to seek out and try.

Friday I took the heater out on the back deck and fired up an ORTSAC 1962 Bulletproof Robusto. I got this from the IPCPR show, where an old friend happened to be working in the booth. Mike introduced me to Victor Vitale who gave me the tour. I included a video of Victor talking about this cigar before (here). I think the name ORTSAC is dumb, I don’t mind saying it. However, it’s a well made and reasonably tasty cigar, although it wasn’t overly distinctive to me. One of the interesting things about this cigar is that it comes packaged in a ballistic nylon/kevlar “box”, which really does nothing to enhance the flavor of the cigar, but it is kind of neat and stands out on the shelf. Again, dumb name, pretty OK cigar.

Saturday’s “Take a Cigar for a Walk” cigar was an CAO OSA Sol Lot 54. This is a hefty 6 x 54 cigar that I’ve enjoyed before. I really enjoyed this one. In the past, I’ve thought that the Lot 50 was better, and that may be true, but this particular example was much better than the previous one I smoked. These have a “bright”, kind of refreshing flavor to them that I enjoy. Good for a mile or so and the necessary “cool down” in the front porch afterward.

Since I don’t have too much to say this time around, so I thought I’d include a video from the IPCPR show. I met Don Juan of Dignity Cigars at a General Cigar event which was held at a swanky night club. I had just wandered in and was at the bar to get a Coke and he introduced himself. We made arrangements to meet the following day on the show floor. He gave me one of his organically grown and eco-friendly Costa Rican puros at the time and I recall enjoying it, although it’s really hard to pay a lot of attention to samples smoked at the show. Needless to say, I didn’t take notes, but I will pick one up to re-sample the next time I come across one. Here’s a little video from the show, standard volume disclaimers and apologies apply! Thank you to Don Juan for taking the time to talk to me, he’s a super nice guy!