I’m still basking in the afterglow of my recent trip to Nicaragua, so Sunday I grabbed an Undercrown Corona Viva for my afternoon smoke. I think I picked this up on a visit to Cigars International’s store in Hamburg, PA. It wasn’t a very nice spring weekend, but the rains stopped long enough for me to enjoy the heck out of this cigar. I think this is my favorite size in the Undercrown line, although I have trouble finding fault with any of the sizes I’ve smoked. Saying that these are the poor man’s Liga Privada would be incorrect, as I still think they are a little pricey. But they are worth the splurge. I actually have (as do all of us blogger/media types who were on the trips, a Corona Viva along with four “grado puros” of the Ligero, Viso and Seco which I will smoke all at once some day and attempt to report upon my findings. I’ve done this before and it’s a sure way to burn out the palate. Maybe it will be a good subject for a rare video. Great smokes, the Undercrown, and they will always bring back fond memories.
Monday I selected my last La Palina Maduro in the toro size. It’s hard for me not to like a cigar wrapped in San Andreas maduro leaf. These are nice smokes, heavy on the coffee and dark flavors I relish in a cigar. It was a humid evening, and this one wasn’t burning as nicely as I’d like. I actually let it go out after the dog took us on a bit of a romp through the neighborhood. She got loose and took a route toward home that we were unable to follow due to the briars and underbrush. We walked home hoping she’d be there and when she wasn’t I took a walk down the yard and toward the woods and eventually spotted here wandering through a neighbors yard. I came back with her (leash still attached) and sat down and finished my smoke. Having to frequently re-light and touch up was well worth it for the flavors. This was a sample graciously provided by La Palina, but I will purchase these to have on hand as they are a darned satisfying smoke. Perhaps in the future I’ll keep these in a slightly drier humidor.
Tuesday evening I was in a lancero mood. This mood strikes me every now and again and I have a handful to choose from. I decided another refugee from Cigar Safari would hit the spot, and selected a CyB Lancero from Joya de Nicaragua. This is a cigar that’s probably not on store shelves yet, but when it is, get some. The CyBs (nee Cuenca y Blanco) I’ve had have underwhelmed me a bit, but to be fair, I’ve only had the toro size from the IPCPR show. I need to pick up some of the other sizes. A couple of important (to me) factors of this cigar which stood out were the aesthetics. This is a beautiful cigar, and it burned dead even, and when I tipped the ash it left a perfectly flat coal. This tells me that incredible care was taken to make sure all of the components were arranged in that thin ring gauge so that all of the different tobaccos burned at exactly the same rate. I also really enjoyed the flavor of this lancero. It was smooth and perfectly balanced. I smoked one on the trip, but it was after several cigars and the nuances were largely lost on me (they usually are anyway, who am I kidding?) I smoked this down to about a half inch, it was so good. A V-cut was perfect, the cigar was perfect, and I would have been happy if it had been about a foot longer! It adds to my enjoyment when I’m personally acquainted with the people who blended this, and I had the good fortune to have spent time with both Dr. Cuenca and José Blanco on my trip. True gentlemen who know what they are doing. Many thanks to José for making sure I had one of these lanceros to smoke on a fresh palate and truly enjoy!
The consolation prize from last week’s contest will be going out tomorrow to Lloyd, but I still haven’t heard from smoke770. I’ll have to go and e-mail him now since he’s slacking on me. I sure hate having to track down guys to give them goodies!
As I write this evening,outside on the deck in lovely spring weather, I’m enjoying a Tortuga 215 Edicion Limitada from Victor Vitale’s Legacy Brands Cigar Company. This is a cigar that is growing on me quite a bit, I’m afraid. It’s a solid cigar that is loaded with flavor. These are made in the Domincan Republic, with a Nicaraguan wrapper and binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. This one got an X-cut, that is crossed V-cuts because the single V wasn’t doing it for me and I didn’t have a straight cutter on me. Do I have to carry two cutters now? Nice smoke, but I still like the incredibly elusive Tortuga 1950 Natural Aged Maduro better. Keep an eye on Legacy Brands.
That’s enough rambling for one evening, I’m going to try to get to a cigar event Friday, then pick out some good cigars for the holiday weekend. Be careful out there and enjoy your smokes!
Until the next time,
CigarCraig
Looks like some very uniquecigars !
Happy Memorial Day buddy!
Thanks bro! You too.