“Smoked Up” No.1
Its a new year and I am going to try out a few ideas this year. I did a small editorial on Trends of 2012 and will do a few more articles as time passes of things on my mind in the cigar world. Another new (to me) thing I am going to try is a line of “week in review” articles. These “Smoked Up” articles are not in-depth reviews like my weekly ones. But, just a quick few thoughts on some of the cigars I smoke on a day to day basis to give you a vaster array of cigars to read up on. Since 2013 starts on a Tuesday, it will be the start of the “research” on my “Smoked Up” series. I will publish my thoughts of the cigars, from the prior week, during the middle of the following week. I am going to try to do this weekly, but it may be bi-weekly. I haven’t decided yet, just depends upon time restraints and opinions of the readers. So keep an eye out for it and let me know what you think of the cigars and the article.
El Triunfador Lancero Original Release: I found a hand full of these about a year or so ago tucked away at a shop in New Orleans. These were originally released in 2008, so this cigar could possibly be 4 years old. I dug deep in my humidor to find this one for my first cigar of 2013. Overall had a firm draw that was almost too firm for my likings. Notes of  a creamy-like black pepper, some wood flavors, with a few hints of chocolate here and there. Towards the end, the creamy dropped off the pepper and became a little more bolder note. The cigar has mellowed a bit since I first had one a year or so back. Its a good solid medium bodied smoke that burned quite well, just drew a little firm for me.
This New Year, Resolve to Smoke More and Enjoy the Health Benefits of Cigar Smoking
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REINADO® Recognized in Multiple Lists of Best 2012 Cigars
– Jerry Cruz’s Top 10 Cigars – TGT Edition 2012
– William Soled’s Top 10 of 2012 Cigars – Toasted Foot
– The Box-Worthies: Brian Hewitt’s Top 10 Cigars of 2012
“We are delighted that the REINADO Grand Empire Reserve has been enjoyed by so many industry professionals and cigar smokers alike in just six months,” said Antonio Lam, owner of Cubanero Enterprises.
“Our focus has been to develop superior depth, richer undertones, and enhanced overall complexity for the palates of cigar smokers. Based upon the year-end rankings, REINADO has delivered and has been recognized alongside some of the most distinguished cigar brands in the world,” said Lam.
In 2013, REINADO will release the Grand Empire Reserve blend in additional targeted sizes.
To purchase the REINADO Grand Empire Reserve, please visit your local tobacconist. If they do not yet carry the Grand Empire Reserve, a 5-Pack or Box of 20 can be purchased directly from REINADO by visiting http://www.reinadocigars.com/buy.aspx
Contact Information
To contact REINADO or learn more about their cigars, please visit: http://www.reinadocigars.com/
Contact: Antonio Lam
Email: antonio.lam@reinadocigars.com
Telephone: 201.893.1953
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/reinadocigars
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/reinadocigars
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/reinado_cigars
About REINADO
REINADO Cigars creates uniquely fermented, handmade premium boutique cigars that receive exceptional ratings from the cigar industry. REINADO’s commitment to delivering quality products in a consistent manner are of the highest priority as the brand continues to expand its portfolio of premium cigars.
Emilio Cigars Enters Into Agreement With Nomad Cigar Company For Distribution Rights
Trends of 2012 I have seen.
The Year of the the Dragon is now in our past. As I was waiting on 2013 to ring in, I was thinking about the trends that happened during 2012. The trends I mention didn’t necessarily start in 2012, but happened during the year.
Box Pressed Type Cigars: Box pressed cigars have been around for about as long as cigars in general. I saw quite a few companies making more and more box pressed cigars. Ortega Serie D, AJ Fernandez Oval, Iconic Recluse, 262 Paradigm, are just a few of cigar lines that are box pressed or have box press vitola. The one thing I have found with box pressed cigars; at times, they can have an off burn and need a good bit of attention to keep lit properly. The pros of a box press, you can sit in almost anywhere and not worry of it rolling off onto the ground.
Large Ring Gauged Cigars: A few years ago, a 54 ring gauge was your typical “big ring gauge” type of cigar. This year there have been plenty of 60, 64 and even 70 ring gauge cigars produced. From most of the Nub lines, MUWAT, EPC “Inch”, to the Berger & Argenti  74rg “Ultra Thick Fatso”. All are mostly ring gauges of 60+. I myself, don’t care for many cigars over a 54rg. But there is a niche group for everything. If you really like a large ring gauged cigar, check out Bazuka Cigars. They are home of some extremely large ring gauged cigars!! I haven’t found too many large ring gauged cigars that I particularly cared for. Either it didn’t feel good in the mouth or the blend seemed muted due to the size. Though there are a few I did like: MUWAT, Gran Habano Habano #5 to name a few.
Smaller Ring Gauged Cigars: This is quite the opposite of my previous comment, but there have been a good number of smaller ring gauged cigars popping up here and there. The MUWAT Baitfish, CyB Lonsdale, J Fuego Originals, and a handfull of lanceros were my favorites of the year. Some of them pack a flavor bomb punch (Baitfish), while others are just an overall enjoyable smoke (CyB). I think this year, I tried more smaller <50rg cigars over previous years. Mainly I like to get more wrapper flavors presented by the smaller Ring Gauges over the larger ones. The one con of a small rg cigar, you have to learn to smoke them slowly or you may end up with foul flavors from too much heat and may end up with a bad smoking experience.
Companies Diversifying: A hand full of companies have gone from outside their typical box of operations. Tatuaje released the L’atelier line at the 2012 IPCPR show. A more medium bodied cigar that is a few steps lower than there more fuller lines that they have been known to produce. Joya de Nicaragua released the CyB line which was a very tasty treat that made a lot of people’s 2012 favorite cigar lists. Many of the JdN lines are more medium-full bodied smokes. Yet, they do have the lesser full lines of Celebracion and Cabinetta lines, they didn’t see to have much of a fanfare when released as the CyB did. Emilio Cigars has added the Suave which is a milder cigar compared to their AF lines and Grimalkin cigars. Gary has also added numerous lines to his company’s distribution portfolio. 1502, Ezra Zion, Guayacan are just a few of the names added to their portfolio of lines distributed. Emilio cigar company is growing rapidly in cigars produced and distributed. General Cigars came out with their Foundry and Trunk Show “boutique” lines to their lines of cigars. Its interesting to see a large cigar company, such as General,  produce a hand full of limited run or “boutique” cigars.
So more and more companies are adding new cigar lines different from their “norm”. As well as adding smaller cigar companies to their distribution portfolios to gain more market share. A lot of companies are biting at the bit to cover the whole spectrum of cigars. Larger companies adding small batch lines and many companies adding milder or fuller cigars to cover the market better. I think this is a great idea to fact that it shows how diverse a company can be. In turn, producing more great cigars for us to enjoy. A con would be a company adding new lines and not keeping up with the quality or quantity of their original lines, thus the original lines suffering.
New Boutique Companies Emerging: Either I haven’t noticed as many in the past, or there have been a good number of newer smaller cigar companies coming about recently. From Romacraft, Curivari, Iconic, Ezra Zion, 1502 etc… A lot of new companies coming out are producing mighty fine cigars. Yet, some are not so good, but to each their own; everyone has their own likes and dislikes. I may like one line and the next person may not. So variety is the spice of life and cigars! So boutique companies definitely have their spot in cigar society. I am happy to see them come about and producing some nice cigars. The con of a new company is that quality and quantity. Some companies can’t afford an A+ factory to roll their cigars or afford the top quality of tobacco to produce a good cigar. So that’s the case as to why some new boutique cigars aren’t so good, but they do have potential to produce a great cigar given the chance to.
Social Media and Cigars: Through Twitter, Facebook, forums, review sites, etc.. more and more cigar smokers are showing their faces. I have met many great people in person via originally “meeting” on social media. Through social media, many people are able to introduced to new cigars or cigars they would have never thought to try. I have been turned on to a plethora of great cigars that I probably never would have tried if it wasn’t from a suggestion off someone on a form of social media. Many companies have a face in social media, though many aren’t much active, the ones who are do a great job at socializing with cigar people as well in between the other companies. On social media, its not all cigar talk among the cigar smokers. We share funny jokes, food, alcohol, news and trial & tribulations of life in general. So I think some form of social media is a definite must if you are interested in cigars. Think about it…. you are reading this, a form of social media!
These are just a few things that I had been thinking about here and there and thought I would share. What are some trends you saw in 2012 and what do you hope to be some of the trends for 2013?
Shawn’s 2012 Cigars of the Year
Every year I, like others, like to make a list of my favorite cigars of the year. Well, the year is winding down fairly fast, so its time for me to do my list for 2012. I have smoked a good number of cigars this year. Many of them are the new releases and some are not. There are some cigars I didn’t get to try or couldn’t get ahold of. So if you think one should have made my list and its not on there, its a good chance I didn’t get to try it; or I possibly didn’t like it as much as you did.
Everybody has their likes and dislikes, some like spice, some like pepper. Saying that, my list will be different from all the other 2012 lists. Not one list is the “master list” of the best cigars of the year, but these are my favorites that I had in 2012. I have never gave cigars a numerical rating and, I won’t put my list in any order, except for my cigar of the year.
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Shawn’s 2012 Cigar of the Year Contest
It is that time of the year where everyone is working on and letting know what their 2012 Cigars of the year list is. I have got my list on the drawing board, but have already came up with my 2012 Cigar of the year. I have to do a few final decisions on which ones make and do not make the final cut of the overall list.
Here is a hint to my 2012 Cigar of the year: Its going to be a shocker to many of you.
Contest Prize: A 5pk of my 2012 Cigar of the year.
Contest Rules: I will publish my final list on Saturday 12-22-12 sometime after lunch. All you have to do to win is guess my 2012 Cigar of the Year. Simple as that!
- Put your guess as a comment on this post.
- One guess per person.
- First one to guess it wins.
- Contest ends on 12-22-12 at 12:00 noon CST.
- You don’t have to guess the size, just the maker and line.
- Open to anyone over 18 in the CONUS.
GOOD LUCK!!
Herederos De Robaina Toro
Little is known about the Herederos De Robaina line of cigars. They are though made by Amercian Caribbean Tobacco in Esteli, Nicaragua. They were recently added to the growing portfolio of cigars that Emilio Cigars distributes. They will be available in four sizes (robusto, toro, torpedo & churchill) in 10 and 20 count boxes. They should be on the shelves soon, if not already, with prices that start at about $5.75 and go up from there.
The Details:
Size: 6×50
Vitola: Toro
Wrapper: unknown
Binder: unknown
Filler: unknown
Note: The blend make up is not disclosed by Herederos De Robaina or Gary Griffith (who supplied me the samples to try for review). I have mixed feelings of not disclosing the blend, but its their blend and can understand why they wouldn’t want to publish it.
First Looks: Nice medium to dark brown wrapper with a few small veins that has a fairly firm feel to it. No hard or soft spots the length of the cigar. A very simplistic band covers the top portion of the cigar. Its not very eye catching, but we don’t smoke the bands, we smoke the cigar!
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