“Smoked Up” No.95
It has been a little time since my last “Smoked Up” due to internet issues, work draining me and spending time with the family. Satori turns 4 next week and the fact of this just makes me down right old.
None the less, I have had a handful of cigars throughout the past days. I have a review that will go up on Monday of a new boutique cigar. I have also been working on a conglomerate review of some “special” cigars; I’ll just leave it at that. That set of review will be up in a week or two.
LFD Chisel Natural: I wish I had a good punch to truly experience the shape of this cigar. I had one that has been on my keychain for over 5yrs and worked quite well. Well, time took its toll on the punch in my pocket and rendered it useless. O-well. I usually look for the Oscuro Chisel, but found this one in the shadows of my humidor. This cigar had a spicy leather and woody charactoristic as well as hints of a somewhat dark earthiness tone. The draw was as good as could be expected as I had to opt to a straight cut, as I had no punch & the pinching of the chisel cap did no good either. All and all, a good smoke, but still prefer the Oscuro.
Read the rest of this entry »
Sosa Headlines 1st Edition Page 3
The Headlines cigar has quite a mix of history. Started by Fusion Cigars and eventually revitalized in early 2015 with the help of Arby Sosa of Antillian Cigar Corp. 2014 was the 50th anniversary of Antillian Cigar Corp and in late 2014, Fusion Cigar and Antillian Cigar Corp signed a distribution agreement. This entailed a few other cigar lines and accessories and will help broaden their piece of the cigar industry.
Size: 6×50
Vitola: Toro (Page 3)
Wrapper: Dominican grown Pennsylvania Seed
Binder: Dominican Olor
Filler: Dominican Criollo 98 (ligero), Dominican Piloto Cubano (ligero), Dominican Criollo 98 (seco) & Dominican Olor (seco)
Factory: Tabacalera, Real, S.A.
Country: Dominican Republic
MSRP: $8*
Accompanying Beverage: Bustelo coffee & a bit of sugar
Read the rest of this entry »
“UNTAMED” BY LA AURORA, BEST 2014 DOMINICAN CIGAR OF THE YEAR AWARD
“UNTAMED” BY LA AURORA, BEST 2014 DOMINICAN CIGAR OF THE YEAR AWARD
BY THE DOMINICAN CIGAR REVIEW
(Miami, Florida) January 28, 2015 – The Dominican Cigar Review, noted as the most important cigar magazine in the Dominican Republic, has just made public its choice of “Untamed” by La Aurora as Cigar of the Year for 2014. La Aurora “Untamed” was unveiled last July in the IPCPR Show, in Las Vegas.
The Dominican Cigar Review panel of experts concluded that due to Untamed’ s perfect balance between flavor and body, and superior construction, a FIVE STAR rating and the award of Best Dominican Cigar in the year 2014 should be awarded.
Untamed by La Aurora is a new development, that combines the tradition of a century, working with the best tobaccos in Cibao Valley, with the will to stay ahead of the curve to provide the market new and distinct products.
La Aurora’s team has achieved an incredible cigar that has no seco leaves in its blend: three different ligero Dominican leaves and a viso Nicaragua, with a binder harvested in Cibao Valley, Dominican Republic, and a precious Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper from the USA.
Guillermo León, president of La Aurora, has shown his satisfaction for the award: “La Aurora’s team has created a really incredible cigar, going beyond our traditional products. They have successfully created an innovative product that works because of the enormous quality of its tobacco leaves”. Untamed is, for La Aurora, a step towards the future for a company which boasts a centenary in tradition.
Untamed by La Aurora Robusto is 5 x 50, but the complete gama is:
Gran Untamed 7×58
Belicoso 6 1/4 x 52
Gran Toro 6 x 58
Toro 5 3/4 x 54
About La Aurora
Founded in 1903 by the Leon Family, La Aurora is the original cigar factory in the Dominican Republic with a portfolio that includes its namesake brands, La Aurora and Leon Jimenes, as well as, La Aurora Preferidos, Guillermo Leon & Fernando Leon brands.
Follow La Aurora on Social Media: Facebook: La Aurora Cigars, Instagram: @LaAuroraCigars
About Miami Cigar & Co.
Miami Cigar & Co. proudly celebrates its 25th Year in the cigar industry. Founded by Nestor and Mariana Miranda, Miami Cigar & Co. has become one of the premier distributors of premium cigars boasting a portfolio which includes Tatiana, Don Lino and the Nestor Miranda brands. Miami Cigar &Co. also serves as the exclusive United States distributor for La Aurora, S.A and all Viva Republica brands.
Punch Rare Corojo Returns with Two New Frontmarks
General Cigar announces that Punch Rare Corojo will make its annual return to retail beginning on February 16, 2015. The seasonal collection will welcome a new frontmark and a limited edition size available exclusively this year.
The 2015 release of Punch Rare Corojo marks the addition of El Diablo, a burly 6.5” x 66 cigar, as a permanent new item in the collection. El Diablo will be packaged in the brand’s traditional wooden cabinet-style box and will sell for an SRP of $8.25 per cigar.
>
In addition, the brand will launch a limited edition cigar called Rare Lapiz. The 6.75” x 56 tapered smoke will come in a sleek, ten-count box. Rare Lapiz will only be available to retailers through a special trade deal and will be sold until May 15, or when the allotment is depleted.
Read the rest of this entry »
“Smoked Up” No.94
Still going off of last year’s cigar plan, I am trying to smoke more newer cigars. This past week was full of new (to me) cigar; I had a total of seven new cigars. Some where hits and a few were a miss. I don’t usually like to buy my cigars online and like support the locals. But with only a hand full of local shops, their selection of some of the newer cigars is limited. I will be placing a few orders for some newer cigars in the upcoming weeks for personal pleasure and for reviews. I have a handful of reviews lined up as well, so I will be getting back into the swing of a new review each week.
Cigar Views
Drew Estate Nica Rustica: This cigar, from the looks of a few Cigar Safari Videos, was just a fun side project of the guys at Drew Estate that was never thought to go full production on. The production of this cigar is in swing, but not too sure of a full swing or just a check swing. They can be found, but at times last year, they were quite scarce in some areas. This cigar is a “meat and potatoes” type of cigar for me. One that’s enjoyed after a good hearty meal with a glass of whiskey or bourbon. My choice was Bulleit Bourbon and paired pretty well. I like the looks of a pig tailed closed foot cigar, but they can be tricky. The closed foot does pose a problem at times when toasting it up. A good torch flame is almost a must. And then you still aren’t guaranteed an even toasting. Over all a great smoke for seven dollars and change that I didn’t smoke enough of in 2014.
Read the rest of this entry »
MIAMI CIGAR & CO. CELEBRATES A MILESTONE 25 YEARS IN BUSINESS BY “PAYING IT FORWARD”
(Miami, Florida) January 20, 2015— On the heels of coming out with their new image, Miami Cigar & Company closed out an amazing 2014. The company celebrated the end of their milestone 25 years in business with an exclusive Holiday Toy Drive. The function served as the company’s last soiree. It also marked a successful year which boasted a rebrand of the Nestor Miranda Collection.
Miami Cigar & Company worked together with Miami based non for profit Neat Stuff for kids to create a Holiday Toy drive to underprivileged children at the exclusive Grove Isle Hotel & Spa. Featuring cigars from the Nestor Miranda Collection, Tatiana Flavored Cigars, La Aurora Untamed, and Propaganda by Viva Republica the event was a hit as guests paired their favorite cigar with cocktails courtesy of Zafra Rum. Over 400 guests attended who included industry professionals as well as local celebrities to include Roxanne Vargas of NBC 6, TV personality Adriana Catano, Marybel Rodriguez of Telemundo 51.
Miami Cigar & Company Vice President, Jason Wood said: “The 25 year anniversary of Miami Cigar & Co. has been an amazing year as we unveiled the new look Nestor Miranda Collection to rave reviews. Without our local community we never would have achieved this milestone. It is only correct that we celebrate this year with a Holiday Toy drive to benefit local non for profit Neat Stuff which provides new clothing for underprivileged, abused, and neglected children in Miami-Dade. We wanted to thank our partners in this event to include Cigar Snob Magazine, Zafra Rum, Grove Isle Hotel & Spa, NBC 6, and Telemundo 51.” What better way to show appreciation then paying it forward and making the holidays special for children less fortunate?
Miami Cigar & Co. ended the year on a high note as the Nestor Miranda Collection Habano was included in the Cigar Snob Magazine top 25 of 2014. The Nestor Miranda Collection garnered strong ratings as the Connecticut and Maduro received a 91 and 92 ratings respectively from Cigar Snob Magazine. The Nestor Miranda Collection also received strong ratings from Cigar & Spirits Magazine: NMC Maduro 94, NMC Habano 93, and the NMC Connecticut 93.
MLB Imperia Pita
When you hear the name Mike Bellody, most likely you say “Who?” One would think Mike is a newcomer to the cigar industry, but that is far from true. Mike originally got his hands in the cigar business with the Tiante cigar company. Mike Bellody and Dan Tiant where the brains behind the Tiante cigar company which is currently not producing cigars.
The first line from MLB Cigar Adventures is the Imperia. It is produced by the famed Quesada factory (formally MATASA) in the Dominican Republic. The cigar is a mix of Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos with the wrapper being a high priming Dominican leaf; giving it a bit more body and flavor than most Dominican tobaccos used in cigars.
Cigar Stats
Size: 5 1/2×43
Vitola: Corona
Wrapper: Dominican HVA (high priming)
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan
Cost*: $7.90
First Looks
The main thing that stands out with this cigar is its baby blue band offset by the dark reddish brown wrapper leaf. This cigar reminds me of one of those “It’s a Boy” cigars. But we don’t smoke the bands.
Read the rest of this entry »
CMA Cigar Industry Award Winners
The Cigar Media Association has announced their 2014 Cigar Industry Awards and they are as follows:
Cigar of the Year: Illusione Fume D’Amour
Brand of the Year: Crowned Heads
CMA Member of the Year: Cigar Dojo
Cigar of the Year
When the votes came in, there were cigars here and there that were receiving the Cigar of the Year vote by members of the association, but the one cigar that was consistently ranking well, if not first, by the members of the Cigar Media Association was Fume D’Amour. It gives me great pleasure to announce that the 2014 Cigar Media Association Award for Cigar of the Year goes to Illusione Cigars for Fume D’Amour. Released at the 2014 IPCPR, Fume D’Amour is the newest regular production release from Illusione Cigars, and is a cigar that is ground breaking on many levels. It is translated as “to love smoke,” and is offered in a variety of more traditional vitolas. Crafted of entirely Nicaraguan tobacco, none of which from the ligero primings, the cigar delivers a wonderful amount of body while having a tremendous complexity level. No matter the vitola being smoked, Fume D ‘Amour delivers everything that a great cigar should while remaining balanced and refined. We can all agree that Dion has tremendous blending skills, and his work with Casa Fernandez and AGANORSA tobacco have created magnificent blends in the past, but this is possibly one of the best he has created, and is a regular production cigar at that. Congratulations to Dion Giolito and Illusione Cigars for a terrific cigar and a successful 2014 year. As always, we look forward to future projects!
Read the rest of this entry »
Ezra Zion Tantrum PA
In 2013, Ezra Zion released the Tantrum with very high accolades from a broad spectrum of people. I really enjoyed the Tantrum and I gave it high rankings in 2013. The only drawback to the Tantrum was it was too short for me as it left me wanting more! Following the original Tantrum comes the Tantrum PA. The Tantrum PA is similar to the original Tantrum, yet composed of completely different tobaccos. The PA stands for “Passive Aggressive”. Available in only one size and limited to only 700 boxes of 28.
Cigar Stats
Size: 6.5×44
Wrapper: Cuban Seed Corojo ’99
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Factory: TABSA
Country: Nicaraguan
MSRP: $9.95/ea $278.60/box
Read the rest of this entry »
Headlines Cigar, a Dominican Puro, is Re-Launched for 2015 from Sosa
Photo via thecigarsmokingman.com
Miami, Florida – January 9, 2015 – Headlines Cigar has been re-blended and re-branded for a new launch in 2015. Arby Sosa from Antillian Cigar Corporation, as the exclusive distributor for Headlines Cigar, collaborated with Dee from Fusion Cigar and the Master Blender, Don Amadiz, in creating these two amazing Dominican Puro blends.
|
Headlines Cigar is being made out of the Tabacalera Real factory in Tamboril, Dominican Republic. Headlines First Edition is made with a Pennsylvania seed wrapper grown in the Dominican Republic and a Dominican Olor binder. Dominican Criollo 98 and Dominican Piloto Cubano are used for the ligero and Dominican Criollo 98 and Dominican Olor are used for the seco. The strength of Headlines First Edition is full-bodied and will MSRP between $7.50-8.50. |
