Ezra Zion Eminence Churchill Quick Look
Ezra Zion has been in the cigar business for a hand full of years. One of my favorite cigars from them is the Tantrum PA as it made my favorites list in 2014. Over the last year or so, they have released quite a few ultra limited released cigars. When I say ultra limited, I should say uber limited as some of the releases don’t go past 1000 cigars. The Eminence is one of their older releases in which you can get a 5pk of the 7×48 churchill for less than $45* at the Cigar Federation Store or other B&Ms and online retailers. The thing that really caught my eye was a quad cap. A triple cap has started being the norm for many manufacturers and the edition of the quad cap seems interesting or possibly overkill. None the less, the cigar has a nice rich dark brown San Andres wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and well aged fillers. The cigar has a slight box-press to it which somewhat hindered the draw as it was a little tighter than I prefer. The burn was nice, but not perfect. From that were a mix of gray, dirty white and a light brown ashes that lasted around an inch or so.
Punch Signature Robusto
Punch Cigars have been around for more than any one of us has been alive. One of my first cigars that I had when I went from smoking cigars to enjoying cigars was a Punch Champion. The Punch London Club maduro is still one of my go-to smokes that never lets me down when I am looking for a short smoke with good flavor at an inexpensive price. The Signature is one of the latest releases from Punch. Sadly, this cigar was up for review last year when it was new & fresh off the truck. But with my big move into a new house it got put to the backburner (along with many others). Luckily I found this cigar in my “review cigars humidor” and thought I’d give it a go with almost a year of age.
Rocky Patel Velvet Toro
If you have never had a Rocky Patel cigar, you must be fairly new to cigars or living in a cave. Rocky Patel has been making cigars from mild to full body, with everything in between, for quite some time now. I have enjoyed quite a few Rocky Patel cigars over my many years of cigar enjoyment. But there is still quite a few I haven’t tried yet. Recently Holt’s Cigars offered me the chance to try a few of those I haven’t tried yet for a few reviews via their Rocky Patel Luxury Collection Toro Sampler. This sampler has 2 each of the toro size of “Ocean Club”, “Velvet Edition”, “Renaissance”, “Decade” and “Vintage 1990.” I had never tried the Ocean Club nor the Velvet, so I was looking forward to them as the others are good solid smokes. The sampler sells for less than $30 and for 10 cigars, that’s a great price. Where else can you get a toro for $3? Not to mention the sampler comes in a wooden box and not a cellophaned bundle like some samplers do.
Size: 6×52
Vitola: Toro
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country: Nicaragua
Price: $3 (In sampler). $8.55 (Single)
First Looks
The Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper has a few smallish veins, the seams look to be ok; but they look to be a bit “loose” as well. A nice double cap gives you plenty of cutting space and under that is the “typical” Rocky Patel band yet in a Navy Blue (almost purple) color. Below that band is a secondary band denoting “Velvet Edition.”
Read the rest of this entry »
JR Cigars Unchartered Robusto
JR Cigars has been around since as long as I can remember. They are mainly an online retailer, yet they do have a few B&Ms in the Northeastern US. They sell anything tobacco related from pipe tobacco, pipes, cigars, smoking accessories and the ever growing E-cigs & Vapes. Another thing they also have is a selection of their own lines of cigars made from various companies. The Unchartered is one of those cigars and is made by AJ Fernandez in his Nicaraguan factory.
Size: 5×52
Vitola: Robusto
Wrapper: Ligero Habano Ecuador
Binder: San Andrés
Filler: 75% Nicaraguan and 25% Jamastran
Price*: $79.95/box of 20 ($4/ea)
Read the rest of this entry »
Martinez Cigars Flat Iron #6
When I think of New York City, the things that come to my mind are World Trade Center, Statue of Liberty, the Yankees, Times Square and traffic. I never thought there was a cigar company in the mix of all the commotion of New York City. Seeing you can find just about anything in the most populous city in the United States, why not cigars? That’s the case with Martinez Hand Rolled Cigars. Nestled in the heart of midtown, Martinez Cigars has been rolling cigars since 1974. Founded by Don Antonio Martinez and is run by Jesus Martinez currently. Jesus maintains Don’s tradition by honoring his talents, skills and memory in their cigars.
Size: 5×50
Vitola: #6 (Robusto)
Wrapper: Natural Ecuadorian
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Sun Srown Nicaraguan Broadleaf
Country: USA
Price*: $9 ($45/5pk)
Read the rest of this entry »
Boyd Motor Company Releases the Denver Billet Cigar Ashtray
Ryan Boyd, founder and CEO of Boyd Motor Company, has long been a fan of fine-machined pieces of art; now he creates them. The idea for the Denver cigar ashtray started several years ago in his shop in Colorado when Ryan looked for, and couldn’t find, a “Made in the USA” ashtray that was fabricated from his favorite material, 6061 billet aluminum. He had a nice heavy glass cigar ashtray that had 4 stations for individual cigars but he was looking for one that would match his sensibilities and the aesthetics of his shop – in other words, one wrought from billet aluminum. A master machinist with an artistic flair, Boyd knew he could make an ashtray that was tasteful, affordable and better than anything else on the market. The result was the iconic Denver cigar ashtray.
“As a machinist, I always look not just at the end result but how to get there. When you look at the Denver ashtray, you will see that the utmost attention was paid to the tool paths and shaping to make this a unique single cigar ashtray that will enhance most work or home environments.” said owner Ryan Boyd. “I produced a previous limited edition ashtray that sold out immediately just through word of mouth. With such a positive response, I decided to produce the Denver to meet the obvious demand. The well known high-end retail website Touch of Modern has made that easy for me.”
Read the rest of this entry »
CAMACHO EXPANDING AMERICAN BARREL-AGED LINEUP
Camacho, the worlds leading brand of bold cigars, is proud to announce the first expansion to its blockbuster release, American Barrel-Aged. Featuring Connecticut & Pennsylvania Broadleaf tobaccos, along with Original Corojo aged in Bourbon barrels, Camacho American Barrel-Aged took the cigar industry by storm after its launch last June, quickly becoming one of the top releases in 2015.
Wrapped in five-year-old American broadleaf, each stick delivers richness and complexity characterized by oaky flavors and sweet bourbon aromas. American Barrel-Aged is truly the embodiment of uncompromising craftsmanship. Born from the inexhaustible spirit that has inspired Camacho from day one.
Read the rest of this entry »
Davidoff launches the new Cusano Dominican Maduro
Oettinger Davidoff launches the new Cusano Dominican Maduro cigar range for 2016 – the smart choice for cigar lovers around the globe (Basel, March 21, 2016) Oettinger Davidoff has unveiled its new line of long filler cigars, Cusano Dominican Maduro, blended with fine Dominican filler tobaccos and a Mexican Maduro wrapper.
“With the release of this new Cusano Dominican Maduro range, we aim to delight aficionados looking for a fine maduro cigar at great value,” said Charles Awad, Senior Vice President of Global Marketing & Innovation at Oettinger Davidoff AG.
Read the rest of this entry »
VIVA REPUBLICA ANNOUNCES “STEALTHY” CIGAR SERIES: CLOAK & DAGGER
Miami, Florida– Viva Republica, the premium handmade cigar manufacturer announces a new series named Cloak & Dagger. This new effort will allow the company to quickly release an array of limited edition blends. The Cloak & Dagger program is unique, as the blend contents will not be released to the public. The first blend under the Cloak & Dagger series is the: Ojos Verdes cigar.
The first release, Ojos Verdes or “Green Eyes”, is a 6″ x 47 Corona Gorda, featuring a Dominican Candela wrapper. No other information on the blend will be released, and future blend information on cigars brands under the Cloak & Dagger series will be withheld. Production is limited to 250 bundles of 20 cigars with an MSRP of $8.50.
Read the rest of this entry »
Black Label Trading Co. to release Morphine in May
Black Label Trading Company is pleased to announce the third release of MORPHINE: Hand crafted in Esteli at Fabrica Oveja Black Label Trading Co. first released MORPHINE in June, 2014.
Followed by the second release in June 2015. MORPHINE is produced by BLTC’s factory, Fabrica Oveja Negra in Esteli. “Morphine has quickly become a favorite of our customers. I think we can now say its our signature blend. The 2016 Morphine will not disappoint with it’s big bold flavors and unique character. The blend is the same but we have changed the vitolas to highlight different characteristics of the cigar.
Read the rest of this entry »
