Tag Archives: Villiger

by | July 19, 2013 · 2:13 pm

IPCPR 2013 – Villiger Cigars with Roy MacLaren

On Monday I had the great pleasure of sitting down with Roy MacLaren, the president of Villiger Cigars North America, their premium cigar division. I’ve had a great relationship with the folks at Villiger and they have really been making some terrific premium cigars over the last few years. I smoked the 125th Anniversary robusto while I was at the show and it was quite a delicious smoke.  I had run over to the Mirage (run may be an exaggeration  between the mass of humanity and the hundred degree temps running wasn’t very possible) to pick up show tickets before my meeting with Roy, so I was ready for my first cigar of the day when I got back.  The robusto was a very nice cigar that I smoked for over an hour and enjoyed the experience.  It had a nice sweetness.  I think I only smoked one cigar a day at the show this year, it gets too hard to juggle cigars and equipment, and I hate walking into a booth with someone elses cigar going.  Anyway, if you haven’t yet, give Villiger’s premium lines a try, they are very good.  The smaller, dry cured cigars they make are top quality too, I love the Exports when I want something small!

 

Here’s the video with Roy.  Unfortunately this was a “re-do”, as I somehow misplaced the original video we shot on Monday.   He was nice enough to make time for me to reshoot the video, and I certainly appreciate it. I was quite upset, ask my wife!

 

 

I may have to go out in the pool and smoke another Villiger cigar.  Temperatures are near 100 her in PA and we have humidity, so it’s like a cross between Vegas and Florida!  Certainly too hot to just sit outside and smoke.

 

Until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | July 3, 2013 · 11:08 pm

A Gurkha, a Couple More Villiger NicaRomas, a Leccia Black and a Guest Cigar Review

Gurkha_GhostIt’s the eve of Independence Day, and I have a four day weekend ahead of me.  Then it’s five long work days before heading to Vegas for the IPCPR show.  I’ll be throwing out videos and photos from the show as wireless access allows.  We are looking forward to bringing unique content from the show.  Gee, I hope there’s something new and interesting there to see!  Anyway, I smoked a few cigars this week. starting with a Gurkha Ghost Asura (6″x52) Sunday evening.  This is a cigar that was released at last years IPCPR show, and has a Brazilian Arapiraca Maduro wrapper.  I picked this cigar up a few weeks ago at Señor Juan’s Cigars in Belmar, NJ.  It being New Jersey, it was not inexpensive!  Anyway, this is a heck of a nice cigar.  It burned very nicely and had a pleasing flavor with some coffee flavors. The website notes cinnamon in the profile, which I didn’t get, but will look for the next time I smoke one.  In truth, I’ve only ever gotten cinnamon once in a cigar, and that was a Havana Bolivar Coronas Gigantes many years ago which was gifted to me by my friend Bruce at a party at my house.  I can still remember smoking it in the house and looking at it in amazement. This was many years ago! Anyway, The Ghost was a nice cigar, and the holographic band is pretty darned cool.

Villiger_NicaRoma_HabanoMonday evening I grabbed the Villiger NicaRoma Habano for my evening walk.  Once again, this is a budget cigar made with 60% long filler and 40% picadura (scraps).   This one, as the name implies, has a Habano wrapper. One would never know this is a mixed filler cigar as it burned well and, with a V-cut, it didn’t leave scraps in the mouth.  It’s a solidly medium cigar that has a nice flavor and is a pleasure to smoke.  I think I liked this as much as the Maduro I smoked last week.

Villiger_NicaRoma_CT

Tuesday I selected the Villiger NicaRoma Connecticut, similar to the above cigar, but with a Honduras grown Connecticut wrapper. Like it’s siblings, this isn’t a pretty cigar, just a solid mild to medium cigar with a decent flavor.  I enjoyed this one quite a bit,  I would rank this third after the Maduro and Habano, but that’s just my personal preference.  These all have Nicaraguan fillers and binders, with the only difference being the wrapper.  Nice, smooth, flavorful cigars that won’t break the bank. Try them if you see them.

Recently I send some of these to a reader who left a comment that prompted me to declare a spontaneous contest.  Agent86 smoked a couple of the cigars, including the Villiger NicaRoma Maduro and was kind enough to send a review.  So Agent86 is now an honorary Craig for the day, here’s his thoughts on the Maduro:

Agent 86 reporting from a top secret assignment.  Recently I had the pleasure of trying a couple of smokes courtesy of our own CigarCraig.  This was a pleasant surprise and the smokes were different enough to draw me out of my semi-retirement to report on them.

 

First up is the NicaRoma Maduro from Villiger.  I know Craig recently reviewed these on here, but I want to see if I had any impressions different than his.  This was a Toro with a Mexican San Andreas Maduro wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler.  Craig has more information in his write up about the actual make of this cigar.

 

Villiger_NicaRoma_ToroAfter unwrapping the cigar I took the time to feel and smell it.  The feel of the cigar is really loose, almost too much so for my preference.  The smell was actually very non-descript without anything in particular to set it apart.  After lighting it produced a dark grey and black ash that flaked and crumbled quite frequently.  The cigar also was prone to going out in the first half requiring three relights.

 

One thing that is very unusual to my tastes with this cigar is that it actually seemed more like two cigars.  The first half was a medium flavor, medium strength cigar with a lot of bitterness and kind of a “tarry” flavor to it.  Not altogether good or bad, just kind of uninspiring.  The second half is a different story.  After the halfway point the cigar started to really open up and the flavors expanded.  The bitterness I detected faded down to a tolerable level and there were some really good flavors with just a bit of spice.  The really strange part was that the strength increased too.  By the time I got down to the last couple inches it was actually pretty strong and left me feeling more than a bit light-headed.

 

I’m not positive on what the pricing on these would be around where I live, if they were available, but as a budget cigar it would work for a pleasant change of pace.  If it came out at 7 bucks or higher though I think I would stick with a Gran Habano #3.  This is a competent budget smoke, but not something I think will ever replace any of my regulars.

Thank you to Agent86 for sharing his experience with that, and considering his second review, I chose to smoke a Leccia Black myself tonight. It’s a unique smoke, for sure.  The example I smoked was a bit tighter than I would like, but it still had the smoky, barbecue flavor that the “Darkfire” tobacco that is featured in this cigar. This is a nice smoke, and I have one more that I’ll let rest for a while.  Here’s what AgentCraig86 had to say:

 

The second cigar that I would like to review is the Leccia Tobacco Black, also courtesy of CigarCraig.  This, as was mentioned on here, is part of the new line from Sam Leccia, Black and White.  I have had mixed impressions of Sams cigars in the past when he was working for his previous employers, so I really didn’t know what to expect.

 

The Black Robusto I picked out had a nice firm construction and the “cow pasture” smell I expect from a good stronger flavored cigar with the added boost of a smoky odor that was particularly pleasant.  The cigar lit well, burned evenly and had a nice grey ash that held together 3/4 of the length of the smoke.

 

LecciaBlack_RobustoThe flavors started out pleasant, but not anything really different from any other medium/full flavor cigar.  After the first couple inches though things really changed.  A nice strong smoky flavor similar to that of good barbecue or a pleasant campfire started to make itself known.  This flavor continued all the way to the end of the cigar and remained on the taste buds even after the cigar was done.  The strength of the smoke never went beyond medium for me, but the flavors stayed nice and strong, but never overpowering.  It was so pleasant I was able to smoke this cigar far past where I normally would have.  Also, something was different about the cigars construction since it never became too hot for my fingers or lips.  I guess all the time rolling Nubs gave Sam a few extra tricks for helping someone squeeze out those last few minutes of cigar enjoyment.

 

If this cigar becomes available locally and isn’t too expensive I could easily see it becoming one of my regular smokes.

 

Reporting from parts unknown, Agent 86 is out.

Once again, thanks to Agent86 for sharing his experiences with us.  I’m always happy to include reviews from readers, especially on prizes they won here, even if it was an impromptu contest I made up on the spot.  There are rumors of some pretty good contests coming on the horizon, so stay tuned! Also, if you’re shopping this weekend, take a look at BestCigarPrices.com, they have a special  page with some specials for CigarCraig.com readers.

That’s it for now, please try not to blow anything up this weekend!  Keep it safe and smoke a bunch of great cigars!  I’ll be enjoying a cookout tomorrow with family and will smoke something exceptional after they’ve left (I make a point to wait until the grandchildren leave before sitting down to enjoy a smoke).  My wife and I also celebrate our wedding anniversary on July 4th, so Happy Anniversary to my greatest supporter.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by | June 26, 2013 · 8:36 pm

A Bunch of Cigars: UF-13 Dark, Reinado, Draig, NicaRoma and a La Gloria Cubana

LigaPrivada_Serie Unico_UF13I’ve had a good cigar week so far!  It started Sunday afternoon when I decided to treat myself to one of my rare Liga Privada Serie Unico UF-13 Dark.  I know when I want to have a really outstanding cigar experience I can rely on something Liga Privada or one of it’s cousins from Drew Estate, an Undercrown or a Chateau Real (maduro).  So I hit the back deck with the UF-13 dark and clipped off the fancy fan tailed cap.  An aside, I always feel a little bad lopping off fancy caps.  I love the look, it really ads to the presentation, but it’s such a waste of the roller’s time making something that’s going to get cut off right off the bat.  I know, they are sitting there all day making things that have the sole purpose of being burned away to ashes, but that’s the way my twisted mind works.  Always thinking in terms of practicality.  Anyway, the UF-13 Dark is a fabulous example of the art, and is a tasty cigar.  Loads of lush, full flavors and tons of smoke.  It ranks up there with my favorites in the the line.

 

Reinado Grand Empire Reserve_RobustoAfter a special dinner out with the family at a fairly new Italian restaurant up the road from us  (I had a chicken parmigiana the size of a dinner plate, which I also enjoyed for dinner Monday night) I pulled out another sure thing cigar, a Reinado Grand Empire Reserve in the original robusto size. this cigar was given to my by brand owner Antonio Lam when we met up in New Jersey a few months ago.  Once again, a perfect cigar. the draw and burn were dead on perfect, and it was loaded with flavor.  Like the earlier cigar, it was full and lush and satisfying. I’m glad these are coming out in more sizes, because the toro I smoked a while ago was great, more of a good thing!  As often happens, I was sad when this cigar was done!  If you can get your hands on these do it!

 

Monday evening after some running around, a corona was going to fit into my evening walk rather nicely, so I thought I’d give the Emilio Draig K corona another shot.  I was less than impressed with the first corona I smoked, but I recall really digging a pre-production toro that Gary Griffith had given me last year.  I had hoped some humidor time would help, and this had been in my humidor over 6 months.  I likened this cigar to an over roasted coffee (who’s brand will remain nameless due to their recent smoking policy) with dark, almost burnt flavors.  The jet black Columbian maduro wrapper was reminiscent of the original Habano2000 wrapper that came out in the late 90s that was  often compared to Nomex, which is a flame retardant material often used on electrical wiring. This wrapper didn’t want to burn and required frequent touch ups and relights.  I can safely say that this is just about the only cigar in Gary’s stable of cigars, and brands he distributes, for that matter, that I really have trouble with.  That’s not to say I didn’t burn my fingers nubbing it, I’m the eternal optimist when it comes to cigars, and I almost always find some little thing to enjoy.  Often it the time relaxing with a cigar that makes me forgive a lot.  Oddly, I’ll continue to try these when I have the opportunity.

 

Villiger_NicaRoma_ToroTuesday was “something new” night, and I went with a cigar from the folks at Villiger that I hadn’t tried yet. The NicaRoma line is a Nicaraguan cigar that is 60% long filler and 40% Grade A Picadura, Picadura being a fancy word for scraps or chaveta cuts left over from the rolling tables.  I’m certainly no snob when it comes to cigars, and I like a budget cigar as much as the next guy.  This line comes in Ecuador Connecticut, Habano and Maduro wrappers and is on;y available in a toro size.  Guess which one I had to try first? Of course, the maduro, which is Mexican San Andreas, do I have to say it’s my favorite wrapper?  Anyway, I gave this the V-cut and it drew and burned perfectly.  This is a very nice smoke to my palate, not complicated, but plenty of medium bodied flavor that has those dark coffee and cocoa notes I like so much.  the website lists the MSRP on these at $3.99, certainly well worth it and deserving of a try. It wasn’t until the very end of the smoke that I got any sense that it has short filler.  I look forward to trying the other two wrappers, and thank you to Anne at Villiger for sending these along.  I’ve already shared a few and hope to be able to include a guest review in the near future.

 

LaGloriaCubana_Rabito de CocinaFinally, this evening I decided to smoke a La Gloria Cubana Rabito de Cochina, which comes three cigars to a little plexi-topped coffin box.  These cigar have been around since the 2011 IPCPR show where I was first introduced to them. They are a 6½ x 46 cigar with a curly pig-tailed cap, wrapped in a ribbon.  I picked up the box of three on a visit to Cigars International’s store in Hamburg, PA on my last visit, I think they set me back about $10, putting them on a par, price-wise with the NicaRoma, which is astounding.  The construction is what I’d call a Cuban style, as it’s a loose roll, with a very free draw.  I have mixed emotions about this cigar: on the one hand, I’m glad I still have two left, on the other hand I’m sad that I only have two!  This was a terrific cigar, as long as you smoked it gently like one would a lancero.  It had nice, well balanced flavors and was an excellent representation of the La Gloria brand.  Considering you can get three excellent cigars for, basically, the price of one, these aren’t just a great way to spend an hour or so, but very good value.  I AdoriniHumidor2have been keeping these in the Adorini Cedro Deluxe Humidor from HumidorDiscount.com which has been working very well. I’ve only had it a few weeks, and it was very quick to get set up and ready to go.  So far I would have no problem recommending this humidor.  It’s not a cheap humidor, it’s certainly well made and works quite well!  My thanks to HumidorDiscount.com for letting me try this humidor out.

 

I’ve rambled on long enough here!  Sunday’s post will undoubtedly have something to do with the Cigarnival at Famous Smokeshop’s location in Easton, PA on Saturday.  I’ve never been to an event of this kind, so I’m not sure what to expect, but I hope to see a few friends there!

 

Until then,

CigarCraig

 

 

 

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by | June 12, 2013 · 8:46 pm

Villiger Talanga, a New Cigar Size in Bernie Parent’s Line, and a Humidor Update

Villiger_Talanga_RobustoMonday evening was rainy. I actually thought there was a break in the showers long enough to take the dog for  walk, but it turned out it was only long enough to get a cigar lit and get a little ways down the road before it started pouring again. I suppose if I had walked farther before it started pouring it would have been worse, as it was I ran the dog home and sat in the garage while I enjoyed my last Villiger Talanga Double Robusto.  I have to say, I like the Talanga a lot.  I like the Villiger Colorado more, but the Talanga is a tasty smoke. It’s smooth and full flavored, and just a delicious, well made smoke. I’ve said it before, I’ve always  liked the little Swiss Villiger Export dry cured cigars for a quick smoke, but they have been making some darned good premium cigar offerings.  I’m actually quite interested in trying the NicaRoma series, which is a mixed filler budget offering in Honduras Connecticut, Nicaraguan Habano and San Andreas Maduro wrappers. If it tastes good, I don’t really care if it’s 40% short filler…but the Premium offerings from Villiger are solid.

BSB No1_CrossbarTuesday night brought much nicer weather and a cigar that you heard about here first and I don’t think it’s had any exposure elsewhere in the blogosphere.  The cigar in question is the BSB No.1 by Rocky Patel Crossbar. This is a new size following the initial release which was a little 4½ x54 box pressed cigar with an Ecuador Habano wrapper blended by Nish Patel. The Crossbar is a  5½”x56 robusto (Gran Robusto? Super Robusto? Short Toro?) that’s round, as opposed to the other new size in this line, the box pressed torpedo, the HOF ‘84 (Hall of Fame, and the year Bernie was inducted). I really wrestled with paying $11.00 for this cigar, but it was easier than paying $12 for the HOF 84, and only slightly more difficult that $8.50 for the original BSB No.1. I wanted to smoke this cigar and report on it, so I bit the bullet, and Tony at Old Havana Cigars was doing me a favor putting up a Ticked Off Music Fest  poster BSB No1_Crossbar_cracksfor me so I was going to buy a cigar or two there anyway. When I took the foot band off I noticed a chip in the wrapper, which turned into a bit of a crack after I lit it.   When I got to the main band (which is awesome with Bernie’s crest which pays homage to not only his NHL hall of fame membership, but his back to back Stanley Cups in the 70s) and took it off, I noticed another split in the wrapper.  It drew well, and tasted good, so I let it go, but I wasn’t very happy about a cigar in this price range that’s anything but flawless in construction and appearance. It was a tasty smoke, and I’ll eventually spring for the HOF ‘84 at some point, but it’s hard for me to forgive the wrapper problems on this example. I do miss hanging out with a cigar and Bernie after the Flyers games.

Adorini Humidor Progress

 

AdoriniHumidor2It’s been a few days since I filled it with cigars.  I’m sure most of my readers know that a full humidor works a heck of alot better than an empty one. For starters, you have the space filled with 40 or 50 little humidifiers, so the only real reason you should need to add distilled water to the humidifier element (in this case an acryl polymer, which, from what I can tell, is similar to the polymer beads. Does anyone remember clay or soapstone humidifiers?) is to replace moisture lost through the constant opening of the humidor to admire your cigars. We all do this, don’t try to deny it. So far, since I filled this humidor up, the hygrometer has been reading a bit over 70%, so I’m going to let it breathe a little because I’d rather see it around 65% relative humidity. I closed the vents on the humidifying element, which is a handy feature, we’ll see how it works.  I remain impressed. I love my The Griffins humidor, but I think this one may be functionally superior for about a quarter of the retail price.

 

Not much more to report, until the next time,

 

CigarCraig

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by | January 23, 2013 · 8:04 pm

A Casa Magna, a Partagas 1845 and a Villiger – Now it’s Too Darned Cold for Cigars!

Over the last two days the temperatures have dropped significantly here, into the teens and single digits.  This, of course, means it’s time for smaller cigars, or worse, no cigars at all!  Now here’s the dilemma: the smaller the cigar, the harder it is to hold while wearing gloves!  So I got to thinking, maybe I’m going at this wrong.  Maybe I should smoke some larger cigars that are easier to manage with gloves?  Well, that sounds good on paper, but then you get into a great cigar and you don’t want to put it down!  Then you have to be outside longer and freeze more (or burn through more bottled LP gas in a barely adequate heater).  So I’m torn between the small cigar I can’t smoke all of because my fingers will freeze, or potentially  wasting a larger cigar and/or freezing my ass off in addition to my fingers!  Then there are some smaller cigars that I don’t want to waste in the cold!  Cigars that I know will have some complexity that’s lost in the cold air. You’d think a Nub would be a good choice, but they too can be unwieldy with gloves on. And what if you like mittens?  You’re screwed trying to smoke a cigar wearing mittens. Seriously, I can handle about 30 degrees without any wind or precipitation pretty comfortably, but once the mercury drops lower than that, or it’s windy,  it’s too damned cold and I really can’t enjoy the experience as much.    That’s my rant to today, now on to some tasty smokes!!

 

CasaMagna_DomusMagnus_PrimusPrevious paragraph aside, Sunday was a almost balmy January day with temps near 50.  After the Flyers lost once again, I took Puccio (that’s the dog, we call her Pooch) for a nice walk with a cigar that the fine folks at StogieBoys.com sent me to smoke, a Casa Magna Domus Magnus Primus.  This cigar is a beauty.  It’s 6½” x 55 with a nice box press.  The cap is finished with a neat little pigtail which is a nice presentation that I, for some reason, always like, but you have to cut the thing off to smoke the cigar so it doesn’t add too much to the smoking experience.  Beautiful cigar with a lovely sun grown wrapper adorned with a very classy band as well as a foot band.  So we’ve established that it’s a good looking stick, and I’m happy to say that it’s a great tasting stick as well.  It burned perfectly to a tiny nub and had a very rich and meaty flavor that was mouth coating and quite satisfying.  I quickly forgot how upset I was with the Flyers and got lost in the cigar, it’s that kind of smoke.  It was like a great steak, it was that satisfying.  I’ve only smoked a couple of the Casa Magnas and this, by far, is the best one I’ve had, and is a cigar I can’t wait to smoke again! Thanks to Sheryl and the folks at StogieBoys.com!

 

Partagas1845_PCTwenty-four hours later and it’s gone from pretty comfortable for January to pretty darned cold!!  I decided it was the perfect time to smoke a nice, little Partagas 1845 Corona Extra.  This is a great size regardless of the weather.  It’s 4½ x 46, which is a good inch shorter than what I think of when I think Corona Extra, but I like the size anyway. I received a four cigar sampler quite a while ago from General Cigar Co. and really enjoyed the middle two sizes, saving the smallest and largest cigars for the right time (the largest is a 7¼” x 54 Double Corona that just seems enormous).  While the draw was a little snug on this little cigar, it had a very enjoyable flavor like it’s larger siblings and burned well.  I smoked it to a finger freezing nub (see above), it was good.  This is another cigar that has that dense, meaty delicious smoke that hits the spot for me.  Very nice, I am surprised this one didn’t have more of a push at the IPCPR show, I can’t actually remember it being prominently featured in their booth (I’ll go back through the pictures, I’m probably wrong…).

 

VilligerExport_SampleLast night was the coldest yet, and the dog was pestering me for a walk, so I grabbed a Villiger Export Maduro for a short walk.  This is a machine made “dry cured” little square pressed cigar that has long been a favorite.  I guess it gets cold in Switzerland, so it makes sense to smoke one of these in the cold!  Another advantage is that these don’t need to be kept in a humidor, so they don’t fall victim to some of the nastiness that can occur when moisture meets cold air!  These are like little chocolate bars, it’s hard not to just eat them when you peel off the paper wrapping, but don’t, these taste better when smoked.  I actually hadn’t had the maduro before now, the natural has been an old standby for years.  I liked the maduro just fine, and will smoke them interchangeably with the naturals because I don’t get a whole lot of difference.  Nice smoke, didn’t last the ¾ mile walk, which is good because I couldn’t wait to get inside to watch the Flyers lose once again.  These are great little quick smokes you can leave in your glovebox or desk drawer.  Highly recommended.

 

So that’s what I have for now.  I hope the darned weather warms up a little before long!  I know, I shouldn’t complain, there’s a lot of places colder, wetter, snowier, rainier than it is here, but I complain, what can I say.

 

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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