Tag Archives: Villiger

CigarCraig’s Holiday Giveaway Extravaganza!

It’s been a busy week and I decided instead of smoking some newer cigars and writing about them I’d go through some of the goodies I have strewn about the office and put together a mega-prize and do a giveaway.  I have been reminiscing about the days of the Twelve Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways I did from 2011 to 2015, it was a lot of fun but took up a whole lot of time and resources! So, in homage to those good old days, I try to put together one good giveaway during the holiday season. I’m off to a late start this year, but better late than never, right?  This is going to be an epic haul, including some goodies from Drew Estate, Miami Cigar and Co., Villiger and Dunbarton. I’m not going to list cigars, but rest assured any case or humidor is going to be filled!  It’s hard to tell what other treats might fall into the box!  There’s a couple lighters and cutters, some cigar rests, a mug, a hat, some luggage, a wallet, an ashtray, a notebook, a rocks glass, all sorts of stuff!

 

All of these items are included, plus cigars to fill the cases, and whatever else happens to fall into the box! The cigars will not suck.  Rules are simple, leave a comment on this post to enter. Please leave a new comment and not a reply to another comment.  Comments on social media posts will not be counted. You must be of legal age to enjoy cigars in your jurisdiction, and willing to provide proof. United States address only please, it’s going to cost me a small fortune to ship this anyway, shipping abroad would bury me!  Those are the rules!  One entry per person.  Thank you to the companies who provided the SWAG!  I love it, but I love sharing it with my readers more!  Thanks to those of you who have chosen to waste time reading my nonsense over the last 15 years! 

 

Happy New Year! Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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Villiger, West Tampa and La Flor de Dulzura Cigars, and Some New Accessories

It’s getting into the busy time of year, and I seem to have a bunch of stuff to write about suddenly! Not a complaint, I’m thankful, as s appropriate this time of year.  Don’t forget to sign up for the CigarCraig.com Secret Santa. There’s a small, but very high quality, group signed up, it’s been a lot of fun in the past.  I smoked some new-to-me cigars this week, a couple of which are new to everyone.  First off is the Villiger TAA 2024.  Villager likes to make their TAA cigars in a different factory every year,  2020 was made by E.P. Carillo, ’21 at La Palma, ’22 at La Zona and 2023 at Aganorsa (the only one of the bunch I haven’t smoked).  This one is made in Honduras at the Maya Selva factory.  Maya Selva is a relatively unknown brand in the U.S., but is huge in Europe.  It’s a shame too, because they are really good cigars! I spoke with Maya at the 2016 IPCPR show and again at the 2020 TPE. This cigar is a Honduran Puro, is a solid medium in strength, and surprised me with a prominent white sugar flavor.  I was impressed to the point where I smoked another one yesterday. I will keep an eye out at my local TAA store for these.  Very nice.

 

When I was in Tampa a couple weeks ago I ran into Ricky Rodriguez of West Tampa Tobacco at the Tampa Corona Cigars location where he was doing an event.  I actually didn’t run into him, I had texted him about meeting up while I was there and he said he was doing an event at the store.  He gave me a couple of his new Circle of Life cigars, which I don’t think are in stores yet.  This is a cigar made by Ernesto Carillo at his Casa Carillo factory in the D.R. Ricky and Ernesto have a history, as Rick was on “Team La Gloria” before he took over CAO at General Cigars. The blend on this is undisclosed.  The wrapper is dark and oily, and not so pretty. I gor a strong, cloying licoricey flavor, it was pungent, and I liked it. I would have enjoyed it more if it had burned better, some more humidor time might help.  This was definitely an interesting cigar, unlike anything else in the WTT portfolio, which is good, I’ll smoke more of these when available.

 

Another cigar I picked up in Tampa was the La Flor de Dulzura Maduro in a toro size. I took a few minutes to walk up and down 7th Street in Ybor and wandered into King Corona, which is one of the more well known shops there.  They had a well appointed humidor, and I picked up one of their house brand cigars. I should have gotten a selection, but I was travelling light, and didn’t have much travel humidor space. If I remember correctly, these are made at Tabacos de Costa Rica, the factory that makes Atabey, Byron, Bandelero, LVH, and I think Vegas de Santiago.  This was a really well made cigar, and had some of the sweet cocoa and subtle spice I expect from a maduro cigar. It was very nice, worth the $12.  If you find yourself in Tampa take a walk through Ybor City and stop in King Corona, I imagine it’s quite the hopping place in the evenings! 

 

I recently corresponded with the folks at Your Elegant Bar about their products. Initially I thought they were just another company selling Prestige Import Group stuff (which is great stuff, I own a cabinet from them, and their retail arm, First Class Humidors was one of my first advertisers), but I was mistaken. They sell a brand called Lubinsky, and sent me a travel humidor, lighter and punch to have a look at. First, there’s the punch they call the Nutzen M1- Cigar Needle And Punch Tool. This handy tool has a 10mm punch which retracts and extends with a twist. It also unscrews to reveal a pair of tines, presumably to skewer your cigar to get the most out of it. I admit to routinely using such a tool, although mine has much shorter tines. These are about 20mm long, which is almost exactly 50 ring gauge, so one must be careful using this on smaller ring cigars.  I find that a 10mm punch is large enough for some smaller ring cigars (under 50), but I prefer my 13mm punch for most cigars.  Actually, I prefer a V or straight cut, but some cigars need to be punched, and it’s a handy thing to have on the key ring.  

 

The lighter they sent was the Margo 3 flame lighter in copper.  This is a nice cylindrical lighter about 4″ long and probably 62 ring gauge.  The jets seem to be slightly pointed inwards to make a pointed flame.  It has a large fuel window in the back, and an 8mm punch in the bottom. The adjustment wheel is fairly easy to move with a fingernail, although I rather use a Swiss Army knife screwdriver. I have had cheap torch lighters for nearly 20 years, and fairly expensive ones that crap out in a year or two, so we’ll see how this holds up. I religiously purge my lighters whenever I refill them, which I believe extends their life.  The one thing I have trouble getting used to on this one is that the ignition button slides up (there’s an arrow!), which is counter to every lighter I’ve ever had. It makes it a little awkward for me.

 

Finally,The Gator-Effect Travel Humidor, also carrying the Lubinsky brand name. This has two spanish cedar trays, with velcro straps to keep your cigars from rolling around. The bottom accommodates longer cigars (there’s a two slot tray that I removed to accomodate a Boveda and a hygrometer for testing), and the top tray will hold up to about a toro.  Total capacity is 18 cigars, eight on the bottom and ten on top. I loaded it up and it’s been holding the right humidity perfectly. I wouldn’t much bother with humidification if I’m travelling, unless I’m going to a very dry location.

This is a fancy looking unit in green alligator, I’ll admit I’m more of a Pelican case kind of guy.  It does work well, although the “hinge” is a little tight, it doesn’t stay open by itself, which is only problematic if you’re going for a cigar in the bottom tray.  Maybe it’ll break in, I’m afraid to force it too much. I have half a dozen travel humidors, and I use them infrequently, although I am going to store some cigars in this one and keep monitoring it. Not sure if it’s something I’d carry with me though.  It works, and if it fits your style, go for it. 

 

That’s way more than enough for today. Happy Thanksgiving to the American readers!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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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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Crook of the Crown, Romeo y Julieta, Villiger Limited Release and Silencio Cigars

I had last weeks cold kicked by Monday, but it seems to have come back a bit.  I haven’t had a cold this bad since I quit smoking cigarettes (and had sinus surgery) back in 2007. Anyway, I didn’t have any trouble tasting this week, not that I have the greatest palate anyway, but I know what I like.  I think Lee Marsh of Stolen Throne Cigars is still mad at me because I didn’t really like the Yorktown Fleet (although I admit it’s growing on me, I’m due to pick up another one and try it), but I hope I redeem myself a little here. I picked up a few of the new Stolen Throne Crook of the Crown 5th Anniversary cigars this week, and had to smoke one right away.  I’ve been a fan of the Crook since the first one I tried, so I was excited to try it in what they are calling a Corona, but I’m not sure on what planet a 6″ x 46 is a corona.  Gran Corona, perhaps, but a corona is 5½” x 42.  It’s too long to be a Corona Gorda.  Whatever it is, I like it.  It has a Pigtail cap, a partially closed foot, with a San Andrés wrapper, Indonesian binder, and Nicaraguan fillers, made at the Rojas factory.  This one has the same Cocoa and spice as its namesake, with a little more focus given the smaller ring.  Burn and draw were perfect, this was an amazingly good smoke.  

 

Thursday I lit up the Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real Nicaragua Midnight Twist Toro that was handed to me at the Smokeonos event by Charlie Watson of Altadis USA. I don’t have a great track record with Altadis Cigars, many of them just don’t appeal to me.  The exception is those that are made by AJ Fernandez, almost universally.  The Reserva Real Nicaragua line is made by AJ Fernandez, and I like it. I quite enjoyed the regular Reserva Real Nicaragua and really liked this one.  It’s a 6″ x 54 (also comes in the “Love Story” 4½” x 46 perfecto size), with a barber pole wrapper consisting of Nicaraguan Habano & Maduro leaf.  It has the same binder and filler as the Reserva Real Nicaragua, which, you guessed, is Nicaraguan.  I almost liked this more than the Crook of the Crown…almost.  This is a rich and decadent cigar, I got some creamy cocoa and spice.  It was really good and I want more.  To be fair, if it just had a maduro wrapper, and wasn’t presented as a barber pole, I’d probably like it, but obviously they can’t call it Midnight Twist if it doesn’t have the contrasting wrappers.  I believe I enjoyed the Twisted Love Story too.

 

Also at the Smokeonos I spoke with René Castańeda of Villiger Cigars, who handed me this Villiger Limited Release No. 39 Torpedo.  I can’t find any information about this cigar, and my message to René went unanswered.  I will update this post when I get a reply.  My assumption is that it’s made at the Villiger de Nicaragua factory, which I also assume is a subfactory within the Joya de Nicaragua factory.  I also assume that this is a Nicaraguan puro.  I can only find info about a No. 29, and a No 41, no No. 39.  I was really hoping to hear back from René.  One thing I’m not going to assume is that I really liked this cigar, and the fact that I may never find another one is disheartening. I took limited notes as I was enjoying the cigar too much (OK, I always take limited notes).  I liked the Chocolate and spice I got, it was really nice.  The torpedo shape was well made and it had a good burn and draw.  I was quite happy with this cigar, it was a nice way to wrap up the work week.

 

One of my favorite Saturday afternoon activities is sitting in my screen porch and watching TV with a cigar, after all the chores are done.  Yesterday it was “Clarkson’s Farm” season 3, the first three episodes. Jeremy Clarkson is a hoot.  Anyway, I chose one more cigar that I was handed at the Smokeonos, a Silencio toro.  This is a cigar that Sean Williams, Cohiba brand ambassador, uses as his calling card.  Silencio is also the name General Cigars/STG uses on the Cohiba line in Europe, as they can’t use Cohiba there.  The cigar has a Nicaraguan wrapper, a Cameroon binder, and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.  I found the smoke to be rather drying, which is odd for me.  It seemed leathery with some interesting spices. I felt like this would sit well with a European palate for some reason.  I always like seeing Sean Williams, he’s just about the nicest guy you’ll want to meet, and he’s cooler than the other side of the pillow.  If you see him at an event, maybe he’ll give you one of these.  I enjoyed it, but I like the Cohiba Riviera more!

 

That’s all for now.  Please take notice to the Daily Deal graphic on the left sidebar courtesy of Panacea Cigars.  It changes daily, and there’s always something good offered.  They are great cigars, I might have one today!  Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

 

 

 

 

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Villiger 1888, Diesel Whiskey Row and Jaime Garcia Cigars

I’m going to preface this post with the following disclaimer:  ignore any tasting notes I might write this week.  I had probably the worst cold I’ve had in years this week, so I took a few days off smoking (not in a row!).  I did a fair amount of nose spray (I have a very low tolerance for not being able to breath through my nose), some cough drops, and some Nyquil to get through it.  I’m feeling much better, thanks.  Since I quit smoking cigarettes and had sinus surgery in 2007 I haven’t had nearly the severe colds that I used to get, and I haven’t had bronchitis since, which is a very good thing.  This cold was way worse than when I had Covid two years ago. When I finally had a cigar Friday, it tasted interesting. I started back with a Villiger 1888 Nicaragua in Churchill size. I wrote about this line almost a year ago (here), Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Pennsylvanian fillers, made at the Villiger de Nicaragua (Joya de Nicaragua) factory.  I forgot to ask René about the factory situation when I saw him last week. This is a proper Churchill at 7″ x 47, which I love. Anyway, the flavor was popping with a rich, mouth-coating cocoa with a hint of licorice.  I loved the flavor, although I didn’t remember this cigar having those qualities.  I loved it.

 

Saturday I had accomplished a lot by about 2:30, so I figured it was time for a cigar.  I had gone to home depot, picked up a bundle of oak hardwood flooring, started installing the hardwood (we had about a 50 square foot section that we tore up because it was badly stained), and mowed the backyard. I picked a Diesel Whisky Row Founders Collection Mizanura that was gifted to me by a dude I see at cigar events all over.  I even ran into Steve when I was in Tampa a year or so ago.  From the Diesel website: “This full-bodied blend boasts a dark Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper and spicy filler tobacco from Nicaragua, but the real star lies at its core. We aged the Connecticut Broadleaf binder in Rabbit Hole’s rare Japanese Mizunara oak barrels—the same ones used to age their Founder’s Collection Bourbon. The result? A smooth, robust cigar with great complexity.” Tis is presented in a 6″ x 52 Toro. I’m a big fan of the Sherry Cask version of the Whiskey Row, not so much the original blend. This was another cigar that had very pronounced flavor, however, it was very much like the last.  This is a cigar I’m going to have to find another and try again when I’m back to full health. Now, the flavor I’m getting from these cigars is really great, it’s a flavor I enjoy, but if all cigars taste the same that’s no fun, is it?  I really enjoyed this cigar, thanks Steve!

 

Finally, I had picked up a Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial Toro locally, and, again, I’ll grab another one one of these days to see what it really tastes like!  I hope it tastes as good as this one.  I usually think that having a cold adversely affects taste, this time it really seemed to enhance it. This was a delicious cigar.  It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, an Ecuador binder and fillers from the Garcia farms in Nicaragua.  This toro is 6″ x 54.  Like I said, this was a great smoke, hard to believe I haven’t smoked this before. I can’t help but compare the flavors to the previous two, although there’s little reason the three should taste similar, except that my taste buds are compromised.  I’m going to smoke a Connecticut shade cigar today and see what happens. If it tastes the same I’m going to smoke some cigars that I don’t usually care for! Usually cigars don’t taste this good on the downside of a cold!  Whatever the cause, I’m not mad about it, the cigars tasted great.  Weird stuff.  While I can’t say that you’ll taste what I tasted in these three cigars, I thought they were all excellent, so don’t be afraid to try them if you haven’t already!  

 

Many thanks to our fallen soldiers and their families as we celebrate Memorial Day in our own ways.  I’m hoping to finish up this floor over the next two days, and get the front lawn cut.  I’ll smoke  a few cigars too. Until the next time, 

 

CigarCraig

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