Tag Archives: tatuaje

by Craig Vanderslice | 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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Tagged as 2021, Brick House, Ciento por Ciento, cigar, cigars, J.C.Newman, PCA, TAA, tatuaje, Villiger

by Craig Vanderslice | August 25, 2024 · 9:51 am

A Cigar Adventure: a Visit to Up Down Cigars and a PCA Event in Chicago

I did something wild this week, for me at least. I attended the Premium Cigar Association‘s Democratic National Convention event at Up Down Cigars in Chicago, IL. I I made the whole trip within a 24 hour window. Here’s how it went down: I flew from Philly to O’Hare on Tuesday, arriving in Chicago around 1PM local time. I walked about 22 miles from the gate to the train that would take me, eventually, to the Blue Line train into the city. The “L” train stop was about 2 miles from the shop, so instead of trying to take a bus, I figured I had time to hoof it. Said bus passed me several times. Anyway, I got to Up Down Cigars around 3:30 for the 6:00 PCA event. Rats, I’ll have to hang around a cigar shop for a couple hours. The staff at this shop is quite knowledgeable and attentive, it’s not a large shop, cabinet humidors around the perimeter (actually fronts for the walk in behind it where the backstock is stored), with some cabinets here and there with accessories, pipes and humidors. It’s rather cramped, by suburban store standards, but fairly typical for a city shop with a long history (The original owner, Diana Silvius, is a legend in the cigar business. Phil Ledbetter is the current owner, an instantly likable guy). I perused the humidors looking for something to fill the time. I was directed to a store exclusive, the Fausto 10/50.

I’m going to pause here to talk about the cigar, the Fausto 10/50. This was made for the 50th anniversary of the shop back in 2013, which was also Tatuaje Cigar‘s 10th anniversary. This is a 6 3/8″ x 42 lonsdale, with an Ecuador Habano Maduro wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and fillers, made at the My Father Factory in Esteli. This is an exceptional cigar, I smoked two this week, one a the shop and one when I got home. Smaller ring cigars need to be smoked slowly, this is one to be savored, first because over drawing it will make it burn hot and ruin it, second because it has some strength, and in the case of the one I smoked at the shop, I was pacing myself because it had already been a long day and I had a long night ahead of me. It’s a heavy cigar with cocoa and some spice, an absolute bargain at $10.50, although with applicable Chicago taxes it was more like $13.75. I really like the Fausto line, and this was a really good version. I bought 3, smoked two, have one left to savor at a future time!

Back to the trip. Shortly after I arrived at the shop, Boston Jimmie of Stogie Press showed up and we hung out until the event at 6. The PCA hosted events at both political conventions, I was unable to attend the one in Milwaukee for the RNC. The event was held in the patio area behind the store, a maybe 30′ x 50′ tented area. Drew Estate was the cigar sponsor, so I had a Liga Privada No. 9 while there, although there were many choices available. Ben Pearson, the area rep was there. I finally met Josh Habursky who was recently appointed Executive Director after Scott Pearce left to head the Cigar Association of America. Scott was there as well and I had a chance to talk to him a bit. I also got to hang out with my friend Luigi Lucente, the man behind the Cigar Medics Humidimeter, The Baller cigar cutter, and the Guillotina de Saka cigar cutter, among other

Photo Courtesy of Boston Jimmie

clever cigar accessories. I imagine there were somewhere around 100 people there. It was a nice event with various hors d’oeuvres, wine, beer and liquor. After the event Luigi dropped me at the train and I made my way back to O’Hare to await my 6am flight.

They had issued something like 350 free tickets for this event with a waiting list of 200. If everyone had showed up it would have been a disaster. It occurs to me that they should have put a nominal fee on the tickets, which would incentivise people to attend if they really wanted to, and raise some money for the association. I don’t know that any of the Democratic legislators who are key to the cigar industry fight against taxation and regulation were there, I have to think that holding it during the convention hours (and the convention center was 7 miles away, which might take 2 hours in Chicago traffic!) might have deterred their attendance. It was a nice event, I’m glad I put myself through what I did to attend, but I can see how it could have been better. I understand that the Milwaukee event was more elaborate, given the way many in the cigar industry lean politically, I can see where more might have gone into that one. Anyway, good event, great people and a really nice shop. I discovered that walking through a deserted O’Hare was surreal, and I’m too old for pulling all nighters!

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 10/50, Chicago, cigar, cigars, Fausto, PCA, Premium Cigar Association, tatuaje, Up Down

by Craig Vanderslice | August 18, 2024 · 9:38 am

VegaFina, Tatuaje, Umbagog and Blackened Cigars

I smoked a selection of cigars this week that I recently picked up on several shop visits that were all new to me. A few weeks back I stopped in New Tobacco Village in Whitehall, PA and one of the cigars I picked up was the VegaFina Exclusivo USA Patriot. VegaFina has a very small footprint in the USA, but has a pretty wide range available in Europe. I’ve smoked a few over the years, and, much like a lot of the Altadis portfolio, wasn’t too enamoured with them. I figured I’d give this one a shot. It came out almost a year ago, is a 6″ x 54 toro, has an Ecuadorian wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. It was a nice smoke, rather light bodied with some wood and citrus tang. Not my favorite profile, but it was a perfectly good cigar. I try to smoke cigars that aren’t in my wheelhouse, once in a while I find a gem, but it wouldn’t be a cigar I’d buy a box of.

I stopped into CigarMojo (the King of Prussia, PA location) last week and smoked a really good Dias de Gloria Brazil and picked up a couple other cigars that I had wanted to try. The first one I smoked was the Tatuaje LLE Broadleaf Reserva. I love the Broadleaf Reservas as a rule, and this lonsdale size look really good. This is a relatively new release, and pretty reasonably priced at $11. The cigar is 6¾” x 42, has a rich Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and fillers, made in the My Father Factory. I went into this cigar knowing that I had to relax and take it slow, there’s not many things worse than overheating a really good cigar, and this was a really good cigar. It starts out spice heavy, and then the cocoa/coffee flavors come through. I might have to get some more of these before they are gone as they only made 1500 boxes.

Yesterday was busy, we’ve been re-doing our foyer after putting it off for almost ten years, which involved stripping the painted wallpaper off (which my wife handled) and patching and sanding the bare drywall. It must have been a thing in 1959 to go straight to wallpaper, because the walls hadn’t been painted. Walls I can handle, the ceiling is giving me problems! I don’t care for working over my head. I also cut the front lawn and forgot, for the second week in a row, that there was a yellowjacket nest. Bastards got me three times, maybe I’ll remember next time I mow! After a while I gave up and sat down with a cigar, and I chose an Umbagog Bronzeback which I had picked up at Harrisburg Beer and Cigar last month. Of course, I very much love the Umbagogs, so I’d been looking forward to smoking this one. This Bronzeback is to Umbagog kindof what Triqui Traca is to Mi Querida. It comes in one vitola, 5″ x 48, and has a lower priming Broadleaf wrapper than the regular Umbagog line (which uses the wrapper leaves Saka deems as not pretty enough for Mi Querida). This has some exotic spices along with some earthy sweetness, not quite as chocolatey as the regular line. I loved it, it was the right size, and right flavor for the time. It’s a little more of a premium offering than its predecessors, a little fancier band and packaging, and a little higher price tag, but well worth it.

Finally, another cigar I picked up at Mojo that I have been looking forward to trying was the newish Drew Estate Blackened S84 Shade to Black. I really like the M81 from time to time, so I was interested to see what an Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper over Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Pennsylvania and Nicaraguan fillers would be like. Of course I got the 6″ x 52 toro. The binder and fillers are fermented to a Maduro. I was hoping to really like this, but it wasn’t really my thing. It seemed too strong for the wrapper, which while it added some nuttiness to the blend, was easily overpowered. I understand the idea, and it’s different. but it didn’t really work for me. I’m wired to associate shade wrappers with a more delicate blend, I guess. I’m glad I gave it a shot, and I might try one again, but my preference leans toward the M81 (which is named after the year I graduated high school).

That’s all for now. I’m going to try to go on a little cigar adventure this week, I won’t say anything until it gets worked out. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Blackened, Broadleaf Reserva, Bronzeback, cigar, cigars, Exclusivo USA, LLE, Patriot, S84, Shade to Black, tatuaje, Umbagog, VegaFina

by Craig Vanderslice | June 23, 2024 · 9:47 am

La Union, Cro Magnon, EP Carrillo and JFR Lunatic Cigars

My week started with a really nice Father’s Day with all my kids and grandkids visiting. My youngest stopped at CigarMojo and asked for a recommendation, and, once again, they sold him a very expensive cigar. I’m never super happy about him spending his hard earned cash, and part of me feels like the guys at the shop take advantage, but he does make a good point: it’s not something I would buy for myself. He picked up the new(ish) My Father La Union Black para Tatuaje .This is certainly a cigar that piqued my interest, but there was never any way I was shelling out for it. I’m a cheap bastard, my sphincter tightens when I look at a cigar over $15. This is a 100% improvement over 12 or so years ago. So, it being Father’s Day, and having this wonderful gift, I had to smoke it. The cigar is 7¼” x 50 with a 109 head, the head is slightly tapered and rounded. It has an Ecuador Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers, including Pelo de Oro. I’ve walked through the Pelo de Oro fields, although it’s been 13 years, so probably not the same stuff. This was blended by the Garcias for Pete Johnson’s palate, I almost expected it to be heavier. It wasn’t. It had a very delicate, nuanced flavor, started with an interesting mintiness, some woodyness and some spice. It almost reminded me of a Havana, but loads better. This was a brilliant cigar, I greatly appreciate the opportunity to try it. Later I smoked the now 25 year old Esperanza para los Niños, which has held up well!

I’d been itching to try the new Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapped variant of the RoMaCraft CroMagnon which came out recently, so I had added a couple of the 4½ x 60 Mandibles on to a recent order. I haven’t seen these locally, although I haven’t been out shopping much lately. This version uses a Pennsylvania broadleaf wrapper, Sumatra hybrid binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The original CroMagnon didn’t have any Dominican leaf in the blend. I was hoping to try the Cranium (toro) size, but this was what was available. I thought this was spicier than the original, and it wasn’t for the faint of heart. I thought I got some grilled steak, but that might have been a neighbor cooking. I’ll be on the look out for other sizes, but this one hit the spot, although I’ll always have a soft spot for the original.

E.P. Carrillo is launching a line called the Essence series, the Sumatra and Maduro should be on shelves, with more wrapper variations on the horizon. I smoked the Maduro Friday evening on a drive north. My wife offered to drive the first leg so I could enjoy my cigar. I actually don’t like to smoke while driving my car because it’s a manual and it just isn’t relaxing. Fortunately, we were in her car. Ain’t she the greatest? The E.P. Carirllo Maduro has a San Andrés wrapper, Honduran binder and Nicaraguan fillers. While it’s made in the D.R., note that there is no Dominican leaf. I couldn’t help but remember my first La Gloria Cubana Maduro back in the ’90s. This cigar had some spice with espresso and cocoa, it was right up my alley. Burn and draw were perfect (which is nice in the car) and it smoked for about an hour and a half. I’m excited to try the Sumatra, and add some more of the Maduro to my humidor.

Finally, when we got home last night fairly late, I sat down with the newest Firecracker offering from United Cigars. This year it is the JFR Lunatic Firecracker, Made by Aganorsa Leaf. I’m hit of miss on the Aganorsa cigars, but the JFR Lunatic is a good one, although I haven’t smoked any of the obscenely large sizes (there’s only a few 60 ring and under). This has what they are calling a shade grown Corojo maduro wrapper, and I assume Aganorsa Nicaraguan fillers and binder. It’s 3½” x 50 with the signature “fuse”, which I get rid of right away. Smoking time was the better part of an hour, which is good for a little guy. It had that cane sugar sweetness that I like, and was quite tasty, one of the better Firecracker treatments in my mind. Not that any are bad, this one distinguished itself. Super-tasty and it looks like it might still be available. Grab some to try if you see them!

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

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Aganorsa, Aganorsa Leaf, cigar, cigars, CroMagnon, E.P. Carrillo, Essence, Firecracker, JFR, La Union, Lunatic, My Father Cigars, RoMaCraft, tatuaje, United Cigars

by Craig Vanderslice | May 5, 2024 · 9:06 am

An Ozgerner Family Cigar, a Tatuaje and a Pair of CAOs

I picked up some new-to-me cigars this week at a couple different shops. I started out with the Ozgener Family Cigars Aramas in the A60 size. Funny enough, when I bought this, along with a West Tampa Red, I was sure I was getting toros, but when I got home I noticed I picked out the 6″ x 60 sizes in both. Not a big deal, I like a 60 ring. For those who don’t know, Tim Ozgener, owner of the brand, sold his family’s last brand, CAO, to Scandinavian Tobacco ten or twelve years back. The Aramas has been around for about a year, so I’m a little slow on the uptake on this one. The name Aramas is a combination of the names of Mount Ararat, a dormant volcano located near the borders of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkey. In Armenian, the name of the volcano is Masis. These are made at what was then Tabacalera La Alianza S.A., now Casa Carillo, in the D.R.. The blend is a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Connecticut broadleaf. I found this to be a fairly strong cigar with a peppery start. It settled a little, with dark espresso and bitter chocolate notes. It was right up my alley, although I don’t buy a lot of $15 cigars. It was a special treat and was relaxing after a tiring Thursday.

I stopped in another shop on my way home Friday and picked up a few more new cigars, and smoked the Tatuaje PCA Exclusive 2023, which I believe, despite the date on the box, recently hit stores. I’m fortunate to have two very different shops within a two mile radius of home. This is a 6 3/8″ x 54 with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, a Nicaraguan double binder, and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s made at My Father Cigars S.A. in Esteli. I think this was another $15 cigar, and another cigar I would smoke more often if not for the price. This started out with a bright cane sugar sweetness that I really enjoyed. It built some spice as it went on, and was a really exceptional smoke. I was enamoured with it start to finish. No regrets.

I also picked up a couple of the new CAO FASA, the Sol and the Noche, both in the Gigante size. It was a Gordo week for me this week. I started with the Sol while watching some Star Wars movies on the porch. I usually start with the maduro, but it seemed more appropriate to smoke the Sol in the afternoon and the Noche in the evening. First off, the Gigantes in this line are around $8 (I’m in no cigar tax PA remember, your mileage may vary), quite reasonable these days. The Sol has an Olancho San Augustine wrapper. The first cigar General put out under the CAO banner, with Rick Rodriguez doing the blend, was the OSA Sol, not commercially successful, but was a tasty smoke in some sizes. They use this OSA wrapper on a lot of cigars now, they must grow tons of it in Honduras. The binder on the FASA Sol is Cameroon, with fillers from the D.R. (Piloto Cubano, and Nicaragua (Jalapa, Condega and Esteli). This stares with some pepper, then some sweetness started less than in inch in. This was a really good cigar to me, I’m going to have to go back and try some of the other sizes. The spice and sweetness combined with some nutiness, it was a really nice afternoon smoke, rivalling the Tatuaje at nearly half the price.

Naturally I had high hopes for the CAO FASA Noche, also in the 6″ x 60 Gigante size. I actually did purposely buy these two in this size, I like a theme, and the CAO and Ozgener connection wasn’t enough (and I bought and smoked the West Tampa Red, which has another CAO connection). The FASA Noche has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Cameroon binder and the same filler combo as the Sol, Dominican (Piloto Cubano, and Nicaragua (Jalapa, Condega and Esteli). Once again, I had high hopes. It started with what I would optimistically call espresso, but was more along the lines of the coffee that’s been sitting in the pot on the burner for about 4 hours. I expected different from the combination of Broadleaf and Cameroon. It didn’t draw as well as the Sol, so I might have to revisit it, in the Toro size, probably, because this is a blend I should love, and I loved the Sol version. These cigars are a great illustration of how much the wrapper has to do with the flavor, as the wrapper is the only difference. I was unable to find where the name FASA comes from or what it’s significance is. I want to say this was the first post Rick Rodriguez CAO cigar too, but I might be wrong about that.