Tag Archives: Tattoo

by CigarCraig | February 14, 2016 · 8:26 am

Henry Clay Stalk Cut and Tattoo, a Padilla and an Esteban Carraras

I’ve been a bit obsessed with the newest offerings in Altadis’ Henry Clay line this week, and today I’ll write about what I talked about on my appearance on Kiss My Ash Radio yesterday. Â I smoked both the Henry Clay Stalk Cut and the Henry Clay Tattoo this week, the Tattoo being the limited release that Pete Johnson collaborated with Altadis’ Groupo de Maestros on (on which they collaborated? I’ve never been good with prepositions…). Both cigars have very similar blends, in fact, it seems that the only difference is that the Stalk Cut has a wrapper from the 2012 harvest, and the Tattoo was from 2010, and the inclusion of Ometepe in the filler blend of the Tattoo (I can’t say whether that’s and omission in the Â Stalk Cut description or not). Â Here are the blends copied from Altadis’ website:

Stalk Cut: Wrapper: Dark Connecticut Broadleaf Vintage 2012,Â Binder: Dominican Piloto Vintage 2010,Â Filler: Dominican Olor Vintage 2012, DominicanÂ Piloto Vintage 2012, Nicaraguan Criollo Vintage 2013

Tattoo:Â Wrapper: Hand-selected Dark Connecticut Broadleaf Vintage 2010,Â Binder: Dominican Piloto Vintage 2010,Â Filler: Dominican Olor Vintage 2012, Dominican Piloto Vintage 2012, Nicaraguan Criollo Ometepe Vintage 2013

The other differences are that the Tattoo has a pigtail cap and is presented naked, and the Stalk Cut has a closed foot and is dressed in cello. I was hard pressed to find much difference in flavor between the two, although the Tattoo may have been a tad richer. I can tell you this, it’s been my experience with both of these cigars that they smoke much better on the dry side, that Broadleaf wrapper is thick and sucks up moisture like a sponge, which is what the Tattoos I picked up felt like fresh from the retailers humidor. These need a long rest at about 65% RH or lower in my humble opinion. Both had rich coffee and cocoa flavors with a nice sweetness and some spice, a little something for everyone who prefers a heavier cigar. These are a refined version of the original broadleaf Henry Clays I remember from the ’90s, that were inexpensive, packed wet and tied with a ribbon in wheels of 50 so they were pressed in all sorts of crazy shapes. You’ll be disappointed in both of these cigars if you smoke them too wet, at the right RH they are exceptional. One final point about the “Stalk Cut” name, it seems that virtually all Connecticut Broadleaf is stalk cut, so that’s not really a big deal (and I verified this with someone in the know). It’s kind of like calling a cigar “Dirt Grown”, or saying it’s “hydrated by water”.

I had a couple “new to me” cigars again this week, this one having been a trade show sample from Padilla Cigars, the Padilla Reserva Criollo-98. Â I’m typically not a huge fan of the Criollo wrapped cigars, but I have been a fan of cigars made at Raices Cubanas in Honduras. Â This was a 5″ x 54 robusto with the Criollo 98 wrapper (from where? not sure), and Nicaraguan binder and fillers. I really enjoyed the cigar, it burned well, tasted great and was perfect for wrapping up the work week. Fortunately, the smoking porch is about 20Â° warmer than the outside, especially when it’s windy, so I took a short walk and smoked most of the cigar in comfort. Ernesto needs to work on his PadillaCigars.com website though, it’s been under construction since at least the IPCPR show.

Yesterday I skipped the walk completely, just too darned cold and windy to contemplate it, so I sat on the porch with the propane heater going and smoked an Esteban Carraras DiezÂ AÃ±os Robusto. I had picked this up a few months back because I liked the way it looked and hadn’t ever smoked anything from Esteban Carraras before. This is a Nicaraguan puro with a wrapper aged ten years, although the website (if you can read the tiny print on the graphic, another terrible website…why are there so many?) would lead you to believe the entire cigar is aged ten years. It might be, but who knows? To complicate things more, I found reviews on these going back to 2009. Whatever the story, it’s a tasty smoke, medium, nice box press, attractive and not priced to bad if I recall (if it had been too pricey I likely wouldn’t have bought it). Â I’d smoke it again and take a look at other cigars from Eteban Carraras. Â Not bad at all.

Somehow I managed to be running two contests at the same time. Â Last week I offered a fiver to whoever could match my score in the Bobalu Cigar Company’s “Test Your Cigar Knowledge“. I received one screen shot via Facebook with a perfect score, which is what I got (plus I pointed out that they misspelled “Tercio”, how geeky is that?). So I will throw together a five-pack for Alan Price, although Alan has the advantage of working in a cigar store, being a Cigar Rights Ambassador, and working on his Tobacconist University Â curriculum. It will be a challenge finding something interesting that he hasn’t tried. He’s local to me to , so I’ll run into him somewhere in the near future. Don’t forget to enter the Wednesday contest to win one of two five-packs of the Gotham Heroes Alec Bradley Robustos, I’ll select the winners this Wednesday, February 17, 2016.

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Contest, Esteban Carraras, Henry Clay, Padilla, Stalk Cut, Tattoo

by CigarCraig | December 6, 2015 · 10:24 am

EP Carillo, MBombay, Henry Clay, and Señorial Cigars

After today’s post, the next time you’ll hear from me will be Friday’s kickoff of the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways! I don’t want to hype it too much, because the last couple years have set the bar pretty high, but I don’t think there will be too much disappointment. As usual, I stress out about things, getting photos and presents and having posts written and ready to go, but as my wife always reminds me, usually the only way people know there were problems is if I tell them, otherwise it looks like everything goes off without a hitch. There are always things that make me crazy, but it’s too much fun to give up on. The upside for me is I get a bit of break from having to pay attention to the cigars I smoke over the two-week period, and I try, whenever possible to smoke what’s being given away. Anyway, I know you all are looking forward to the chance to get some great cigar goodies for the holidays, and I’m looking forward to sharing them with you.

I managed to smoke a few interesting cigars this week, and one of them was an EP Carillo Robolo, which is an exclusive size for Best Cigar Prices, who shared some samples with me. The Robolo size is 4½” x 60, and I have to admit, I really enjoy the size. It’s a happy medium ass far as I’m concerned. It’s a little longer than the Nub sizes from Oliva, it’s not the time commitment of a 6″ x 60, and most of the examples I’ve smoked in this series have smoked very well. Best Cigar Prices has just about every major brand you can think of made just for them in this size, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Alec Bradley, Boutique Blends, the works. Anyway, I found the EPC Robolo to be quite delicious, it had some woody notes, and sweet creamy coffee. I liked it a lot. I’ve been pretty much un-Wowed by the EPC offerings, which is odd considering I am/was such a big La Gloria Cubana fan, but this one does it for me. Don’t forget you can use the code CRAIG1099 at BestCigarPrices.com for a discount and cheap shipping!

I also received some MBombay KeSara Vintage Reserve Nikka samples last week, and after a rest in the humidor I decided to give one a spin this week. This cigar is a very col size, 6½” x 46, with a pigtail cap. The tobacco in this Vintage Reserve line is aged three years longer than that in the regular KeSara line, and the Ecuador Connecticut wrapper is aged in hybrid Spanish Cedar and Sandlewood boxes for up to none months. I can’t pick out Sandlewood in the flavor, but I will say that the cigar is quite tasty and burns perfectly. I love the size, it’s a very elegant and refined cigar, and of the highest quality. I’ve enjoyed many cigars from this company, I think their regular old Connecticut Churchill is one of the best in the category of Connecticut wrapped cigars. It may be an obscure brand right now, but they make some great smokes. By the way, these come from the same factory in Costa Rica that makes the Selected Tobacco cigars (Atabey, Byron, Bandolero) and Vegas de Santiago. Very high quality cigars come out of that facility.

I had a cousin of mine comment that I should get a hand tattoo since I post pictures on Facebook and Instagram with a cigar in my hand, so the only tattoos I am likely to get on my hand are going to be in my hand in the form of a cigar, in this case, the Henry Clay Tattoo. Not that I’m anti-tattoo, it’s just not my thing, I’m a live and let live kinda guy. I bought a couple of these cigars a few months ago at The Humidour in Maryland, and the one I smoked there was great, it just burned a little wet, not much, but a little. After a few months in the humidor, this cigar was perfect. Unlike the original Henry Clay cigars that Pete Johnson modeled this after in his collaboration with Altadis, it’s aesthetically beautiful. The Henry Clays I remember from the 90s came tied in a wheel of 50, and were packed wet, so they came in all kinds of gnarly shapes. The Broadleaf wrapper on this was dark and oily and had a nice sweetness, while it still had a heavy, savory meatiness that is quite satisfying. These were a limited edition that sold out at the trade show, so I’m not entirely sure how many of these you’ll find in the wild, but it’s a great smoke, try one if you find them.

Yesterday we stopped in at The Wooden Indian in Havertown, PA where Jose Blanco and his wife, Emma Viktorsson were having a Las Cumbres Tabaco event. Little did I know, there was also a four store cigar crawl going on where four stores in the area had a van load of customers travelling to one another’s stores. While we were there the bus from Sir Stogies in Gilbertsville, PA showed up with about 15 guys. I ran into Walt White from Stogie Review who is a regular up at that shop, who I hadn’t seen in a long time. We got the heck out of there before the buses from Cigar Mojo and Top Shelf Cigars got there. I kinda would have liked to have known about this event in advance, it seems like a fun day, although we already had plans later on. Maybe the next time. Anyway, I bought some Señorial maduros in the lonsdale size (and I have a mental block with the name, I always spell it Señoreal, which is incorrect. It’s right there on the band, I don’t know what my deal is with that) and some Freyja “Sessrúmnir” Corona Largas, and lit up the Señorial maduro. What a great medium bodied smoke with loads of flavor, although what would you expect from Jose Blanco? Dave always puts on great events at The Wooden Indian, and Jose and Emma are great folks. We left there and went to a great Beatles symposium in New Jersey (“Ticket to Rider” review here) to cap off a great Saturday.

That’s all I feel like writing about now! I need to do some more prep work for the contests and get to spending a relaxing Sunday at home! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, Cigar Crawl, cigars, EP Carillo, Freyja, Henry Clay, MBombay, Senorial, Tattoo, wooden indian

by CigarCraig | September 20, 2015 · 10:34 am

The Humidour and Davidus, Henry Clay, Tatuaje, Senoral and Lord Baltimore Cigars

We took one last little trip of the summer this past week, down to the Baltimore Maryland area so my wife could sell some books at the North Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, which is a “Con” like many others, complete with quite a collection of odd people, on both sides of the tables (my wife being an obvious exception to this, there were some “normal” people there). There were some celebrities there, Lee Majors and Lindsey Wagner from the 70s TV “bionic” franchise, as well as some slightly less famous people. I saw some unique things, a guy walking around with an autographed toaster, for instance, and a few different Dr. Who’s. These things aren’t generally my cup of tea, but I suppose some people would argue that going to cigar events isn’t particularly normal either. I do like getting away with my wife for a few days though. I managed to visit a couple cigar shops while I was in the area though, and smoked some great cigars.

The Humidour in Cockeysville, MD was within walking distance for me, and I had a great parking place at the hotel I didn’t want to give up. A mile and three quarters on a beautiful day isn’t too bad. The store is in an older house sitting on a hill, and has a retail area with all the usual stuff, humidors, pipes and pipe tobacco, as well as a large walk in humidor which is generously stocked. There are also a couple rooms which comprise the public lounge, and several rooms both upstairs and downstairs that make up the private club space. There are several fireplaces, and I can’t say if they ever get used or not as I didn’t ask, and it has a very homey feel. there are a couple outdoor patio areas too. I picked up a couple of the new Henry Clay Tattoo cigars as well as the new Tatuaje TAA 2015 cigars and settled into a leather chair and proceeded to watch golf. I have fond memories of the Henry Clay cigars that Pete Johnson had in mind when he blended this cigar. They were tied in bundles within the box, and it was apparent that they were bundled wet, because they came in all kinds of crazy shapes. These weren’t box pressed like the Henry Clay Tattoo, some were trapezoidal, triangular, not necessarily straight, they were a rugged man’s cigar, very rustic and laden with testosterone. I heard reports that they burned underwater. The Tattoo does a good job of capturing the spirit of the HC of old, although it’s far prettier, more symmetrical, and better behaved. Of course, it’s triple the cost of the old HC Brevas I remember too. It had that great sweet broadleaf flavor, loads of dark roast coffee flavor and, unlike it’s predecessors, burned really well.

I lit up the Tatuaje TAA 2015 next, and I love the Tatuaje cigars, but I don’t have a great deal of experience with them. I bought a couple because I never see any TAA stores in my area, and I figured what the heck, I probably wouldn’t have a chance to smoke these again. I enjoyed the heck out of the cigar, it is another Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper, with a closed foot so oine really gets a blast of the wrapper flavor on the light. I find myself skipping the toasting part of the lighting ritual with the closed foot cigars so I don’t miss that wrapper blast. Anyway, much like the previous cigar, the TAA is loaded with dark cocoa and espresso flavor and the 5 5/8″ x 54 box press size is quite comfortable and satisfying. I really should smoke more Tatuaje cigars, but there’s so many limited editions and special stuff that I won’t chase after them, and they are usually priced outside my comfort zone. The “Tats” I’ve smoked have always been to my liking, and I’m glad I picked up two so I can revisit this in a few months. My visit to The Humidour was a good one, and I’m glad it was so close, it’s quite a nice place.

My Saturday stop was at a Davidus shop in Ellicott City, MD. This was chosen as a half way point to meet up with a long time reader and friend, Mark and his friend David. There’s few things more enjoyable than meeting face to face with someone you’ve interacted with digitally over the last five years or so, and doing it in a nice lounge over some fine cigars is the best way to spend an afternoon. I got there early and perused the large humidor, which separates the front of the shop from the lounge area with Sam, the gentleman working there. I picked up a couple of new releases, the Enclave from AJ Fernandez which I have smoked and enjoyed, and the Señorial from Las Cumbres tobacco, which I have a sample in my humidor, but I saw it there and wanted to smoke it, so I got a few more. I also picked up a couple of the Lord Baltimore and Sea Knight, which are brands owned by the Castro brothers who own the 11 store Davidus chain. I promptly lit up the Señoreal Maduro and promptly enjoyed the heck out of it with a cup of black coffee. I found it to be a great, refined and sophisticated maduro cigar with loads of flavor, and who would expect anything else from Jose Blanco.

I followed the Señoreal with a Lord Baltimore The Ark, a 6 ¾” x 38 short lancero which probably would have been better going first. It’s a Connecticut Shade wrapped cigar made by Altadis, I was told. Lord Baltimore is a very old brand that the Castro Brothers recently resurrected. It took a few minutes for my palate to adjust to the milder cigar, but I really enjoyed the smooth rich flavor and perfect burn that this cigar had. The presentation was quite nice too, with a paper sleeve from the band to the foot, and a second band under the first, so when you slid the outer paper off, it was still banded (so I don’ forget what I am smoking!). I picked up one of these in the corona size too, I’m sure it will be a tasty an experience as the lancero was. It was another great afternoon, meeting old friends for the first time, and relaxing in a comfortable lounge with a nice selection and an attentive staff. Thanks to Mark and David for spending the afternoon with me! We covered a hundred topics from cigars to family to careers. It wrapped up a pretty nice couple of days.