EP Carrillo New Wave Connecticut Short Run 2012 Reinados
The New Wave Connecticut was released last year and garnered many accolades from us cigar bloggers. It was hard not to find it on many of our Top Cigars of the Year list, including mine. A very flavorful, medium bodied Connecticut, was a huge hit. Now, EP Carrillo released this years Short Run in the New Wave Connecticut. The Short Run 2012 uses the Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper of the New Wave Connecticut with a Connecticut Broadleaf binder along with Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers from the Core Line maduro. I’ve been a really big fan of the cigars that EP Carrillo has put out after the Inaugral Edition 2009, which I didn’t care for at all. This cigar was no different. Starting out with a mild body and later developing into a medium bodied cigar, the cigar had notes of wood, sweet spice, honey, cocoa and the great creaminess of the New Wave Connecticut. The smaller ring gauges had a more concentrated flavor and more fuller body, but the larger Reinados was smoother than the rest. Another great cigar from EP Carrillo.
- Exquisitos: 4 7/8 x 50 – $6.35
- Invictos 5 7/8 x 52 – $7.10
- Reinados: 6 1/4 x 60 – $8.60
Thanks to EP Carrillo for sending me a sampler pack of these cigars for review.
Rocky Patel to release exclusive “Burn” cigar to Rocky Patel cigar lounges
Rocky Patel announced today the release of an exclusive cigar for their cigar lounges called “Burn”. The cigar will make its first appearance at the Cigar Cave in Palm Harbor, FL with releases to all other Rocky Patel cigar lounges shortly thereafter. The cigar features an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper with a proprietary blend of tobaccos from Nicaragua as the binder and filler. It will be released in 3 sizes in 20 count boxes:
Robusto (5×50) – $152.00 retail
Toro (6×52) – $162.00 retail
Titan (8 ½ x 60) – $186.00 retail
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Illusione 68
There is quite a following of the Illusione line of cigars. I tried a few here and there when I first got into cigars. I jumped head first and wasn’t quite ready for this flavor profile of cigar just yet in the larger ring gauges. I was smoking mainly the larger ring gauge Illusione and didn’t care too much for them. I stopped buying them all together for a while and then got a hold of a few HL Maduros (OR). I fell in love with that cigar and thought; “Even though its a maduro, I wonder if I’ll like the smaller ring gauge cigars”. So I tried the smaller ring gauges and found to like the smaller ring gauge a lot better than the larger. Watch the video and see my take of the 68.
Paul Stulac Phantom
The Paul Stulac line of cigars started off with Paul Stulac, a B&M owner from Canada. Paul was on vacation in Miami, FL a few years back and went to the Cuban Crafters factory and started talking with Enrique “Don Kiki” Berger. One thing led to another and eventually they came up with the Paul Stulac cigar line. I have seen a little talk of these on a few forums and when I was at Buckhead Cigar Club in Buckhead (Atlanta) GA this December for the 2011 ATL Tweetup I saw they had them on hand. I figured, why not try one. I smoked the Phantom and liked it alot. The next day, I tried the Angel as well. I liked it too, but the Phantom seemed to be a little more on my wavelength. I had another Phantom the last day there and I brought one home to review.
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Gran Habano GAR Opium STK
Another release from Gran Habano under the STK series this year is the Opium. The Opium is a limited release cigar with only 1000 boxes released. Coming in at $9.00, that’s not bad at all for such a limited release. The Opium exhibits a very unique hybrid wrapper of corojo and habano seed tobacco that produced a very dark brown, oily wrapper. The filler is a mystery, only being list as “mix of unique fillers”. So, how did it all turn out. For me, not to great. The cigar had a very rich, deep earthy flavor with some wood notes, but that wasn’t all. It got very bitter for me after about the first inch and never let up. When Gran Habano has something like the Zulu Zulu STK out there, for cheaper I might add, I would much rather spend my money on that. Watch the video for more in depth analysis.
Sosa Underground Delphic
The Sosa Underground is a new cigar that is part of the new wave of edgy/urban cigar lines that seem to be so popular as of late. Overseen by Arby Sosa, Sosa’s Sales Manager, at the Sosa cigar factory in Little Havana, FL, this cigar has many difference that set it apart from the other brands. The Sosa family reached out to a famous Miami tattoo artist, Jay Barranco, to come up with the Undergrown logo.
This cigar comes in three very different sizes:
Arcane (perfecto) 4 ¾ x 41
Delphic (perfecto) 5 ½ x 41
Dar (robusto)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 5 x 50
Using a Habano wrapper from Nicaragua with a binder and filler also from Nicaragua, the cigar did have a nice spice note. That wasn’t all. The cigar show a nice balance of woodiness, nuttiness (is that a word?) with a nice sweetness through out the cigar. The cigar also had a nice buttery mouth feel with the smoke as well make the cigar a joy to smoke. You really can’t beat this cigar for the price.
General Cigar Kicks off Super Bowl Weekend in Indy
General Cigar will be the toast of Indianapolis this weekend, with sampling events that are on par with the Big Game itself. In fact, two of the three events that General Cigar is participating in have been named to BleacherReport.com’s highly-publicized ranking of the “10 Best Parties of Super Bowl Week.â€
According to Alan Willner, General Cigar’s vice president of marketing said, “General Cigar has long been known for associating our brands with high profile events that elevate the cigar smoking occasion. This year, we’ll once again be at the best parties leading up to the ‘Big Game’ to bring the ultimate cigar smoking experience to A-list athletes, celebrities and football enthusiasts.â€
Last night’s Jaws Cigar Party was hosted by none other than Ron Jaworski at Nicky Blaine’s cigar bar in downtown Indy. This fundraiser benefitted Ron’s pet charities — Jaws Youth Playbook Foundation and Gleaners Food Bank’s BackSack program.
An array of General Cigar favorites, including La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especiale, CAO OSA Sol and Macanudo Cru Royale, as well as Macanudo Vintage 1997 Maduro were available for Ron’s guests which included his ESPN boothmates. We’ll provide more details on the event, including photos, next week.
Tonight (Friday, Feb. 3) is the SPP Sports Poker Tournament to be held at the Indianapolis Zoo. General Cigar will be on hand to sample Punch, Grand Puro and Grand Cru cigars to event hosts Devin Hester, LeSean McCoy. Other noteworthy names expected to attend are Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement) and Quinton Aaron (The Blind Side) and a slew of NFL greats. Stay tuned for more info.
Saturday night is the big Rolling Stone party at the Crane Bay event center. To celebrate Bacardi’s 150th anniversary, General Cigar has teamed up with the premier rum brand and will serve La Gloria Cubana and CAO La Traviata to a roster of A-list guests. Jeff Gordon, Joe Jonas, Marc Anthony, Nikki Reed and Andy Roddick are all expected to attend.
Outside of Indy, General Cigar is once again participating in Franco Harris’ annual Immaculate Reception. This year’s event will be held in Sin City and will benefit Soldier’s Angels. Franco’s beloved Punch Grand Cru cigars will be on hand for guests to smoke and savor.
** Event recaps and photos will be available following the Big Game.
CAO Debuts New La Traviata Frontmark
CAO La Traviata will introduce the popular “Luminoso†frontmark in a new Maduro version, making its retail debut later this week.
Following in the footsteps of the highly successful Ecuadoran-wrapped CAO La Traviata Luminoso, the new Maduro version features a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper to lend a touch of sweetness to the critically-acclaimed blend.
At 4.5†x 50, the new Rothschild will be available for an SRP of $5.10 per cigar, or $153 for a 30-count box.
“CAO La Traviata ‘Luminoso’ is one of our top sellers, so it was only natural that we gave CAO fans a new take on one of their favorite cigars,†said Ed McKenna, CAO’s senior brand manager. “Rick Rodriguez and I are looking forward to receiving some great feedback about CAO La Traviata Maduro Luminoso on our website, caocigars.com.â€
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Macanudo, America’s best-selling premium cigar brand, is adding two new large-ring frontmarks to its lineup
 Making their retail debut this week are Macanudo Café Gigante and Macanudo Maduro Gigante.
Created in response to consumer demand for large-ring offerings, both the Macanudo Café and Macanudo Maduro Gigante cigars measure 6†x 60. Each will be packed in a 20-count box and sold for an SRP per cigar of $7.99, or $159.80, SRP per box.
“Macanudo fans have told us they get more bang for the buck out of large ring cigars, so we came out with the Gigante frontmark to round out the Café and Maduro lines. With so many cigar smokers reaching for large-rings these days, the new Gigantes are sure to become top-sellers,†said Bill Chilian, director of marketing for Macanudo.
Reinado Habanito
Several months ago, I reviewed the Reinado torpedo and loved it. At the time, it only came in three sizes, but after the popularity of the lines grew, more and more people called for a smaller size. Not everyone had time for one of the large vitolas, due to either weather or time constraints. Antonio Lam listened to his consumers and made two more sizes: a larger 6 x 60 Emperador and the smaller, petit corona at 4 x 38 called the Habanito. Knowing my affinity for smaller ring gauge cigars, Antonio send me some samples to try out. I’m glad he did. The flavors of this cigar are concentrated greater with the smaller ring gauge and the burn was outstanding. This is a perfect office smoke or for when the weather doesn’t permit something larger (ie, snow with you yankees!). Watch the video for the full review.
