Casa Magna Colorado Pikito
Happy Memorial day everyone. On behalf of all of the ash-holes here at Nice Tight Ash I’d like to extend our deepest thanks to our military service members, past and present; we are forever in your debt.
Today I have a short written review of a cigar that was provided by Cigars Direct. The Casa Magna came with a lot of buzz after being named the “2008 Cigar of the Year” by Cigar Aficionado. As a result many shops had a hard time keeping them on their shelves. In the interest of keeping this short, I’ll get right into the review.
Name: Casa Magna Colorado
Made in: Esteli, Nicaraguan
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: less than $5.00
Comes in: Box of 42
Vitola: Petit Corona (4 3/4″ X 42)
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Nice Tight Ash Goes Rolling
A while back Chris and I took a trip down the road to check out the operation at Roberto Cigar and get a lesson in rolling cigars. We had a great time and learned a great deal about the art of cigar making. I want to thank Bob for taking the time to show us the ropes. Be sure to check out the Roberto Cigars site for all your cigar needs.
I have finally had a chance to whittle down the 2 hours of video we took to a much more manageble length for your viewing pleasure. Hope you enjoy watching our first experience as torcedores.
La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros 652B – Contest
General Cigars has released an interesting new cigar to the La Gloria Cubana line up. This new cigar called the Artesanos de Tabaqueros, features two different wrappers over the same filler. The two wrappers are an Connecticut shade wrapper near the foot and an Ecuadorian Sumatra on the upper part of the cigar. Benji Menendez of Partagas fame, hand selected 18 master rollers from the El Credito cigar factory in the Dominican Republic to makes these cigars. The filler is a blend of tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua. The tobaccos have been aged for 5 years. The cigar currently come in 3 sizes:
- 650 – 6 x 50 Toro
- 652B – 6 x 52 Belicoso
- 750 – 7 x 50 Churchill
This cigar is an intriguing concept, but is it contender or a marketing pretender? Watch the video and find out. Also, there is a contest at the end so make sure you enter!
Alec Bradley MAXX Traditional
The Alec Bradley MAXX was released in 2006 in response to the markets demand for cigars with larger ring gauges. Then retailers and customers began asking for more traditional sizes so Alec Bradley took the same MAXX blend and released the MAXX Traditional. Just as the name suggest, these cigars are available in more traditional sizes and sold in traditional boxes of 25.
Name: MAXX Traditional
Company: Alec Bradley
Made in: Danli, Honduras
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Costa Rican
Filler: Nicaraguan, Mexican, Honduran
Price: $5.15
Comes in: Box of 25
Vitola: Corona (5 1/2″ X 43)
Pre-light
The wrapper on the MAXX traditional has a dark and oily appearance. Despite the appearance the cigar does not have an oily feel, in-fact I think it has a waxy feel. The Nicaraguan Habano wrapper is full of small veins and smells like a barnyard; full of hay, earth and manure. The cigar is nicely constructed with the wrapper seam being barely visible and the bunching feeling firm and even. I snipped the end with my cutter and noted a slightly tight draw. The pre-light flavor was mostly tobacco with a small hint of black pepper.
Fuente Fuente Opus X Perfexion No. 5
I recently received a package from Cigars Direct with a few cigars for me to review. One of which I was pretty eager to fire up. Now I’ve had plenty of Opus X over the years, but I always feel a sense of excitement when I pick up a new batch plus I couldn’t recall having this particular size.
Name: Fuente Fuente Opus X Perfexion No. 5
Company: Aurturo Fuente
Made in: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Rosado, Dominican Republic
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: Price varies depending on retailer
Comes in: Box of 42
Vitola: (4 7/8″ X 40)
Pre-light
The Opus X No. 5 had a medium brown wrapper with a very delicate vein structure. The texture of the wrapper was smooth with little indication of any oils. There wasn’t a tremendous amount of aroma coming off the wrapper but I could pick up a slight woodiness along with a traditional tobacco aroma. With respect to the construction, it couldn’t get much better than this. The cigar felt evenly packed, the wrapper seams are barely visible and the wrapper appeared nearly flawless. Only the slightest discoloration was visible. I gave the head a quick clip and began taking a few pre-light draws. The draw was perfect with just the right amount of resistance. Now I have a hard time describing the pre-light flavor. I picked up on a slight pepper sensation on the tip of my tongue, but the rest of it reminded me of baked goods for some reason. Can’t pinpoint why, but that’s what I was tasting this day.
Avo Limited Edition 2010
Well, I’m back! This week I have the Avo LE 10 for you. I was lucky enough to attend one of Avo’s few events and I picked up a box of these and have been enjoying them ever since.
According to the Avo website…”Avo Uvezian’s new birthday creation is a cigar that no aficionado would want to miss. That’s because the AVO Limited Edition 2010 stands out not just for its sophisticated and extremely elegant exterior, which it owes to the dark, sun-ripened wrapper leaf. It also indulges lovers of AVO brand cigars with subtle aromas of coffee and dark chocolate that develop a fruity note in the aftertaste and bring to mind the exquisite nuances of a strong red wine. Here the filler consisting exclusively of Ligero tobaccos and the resulting full-bodied flavour of the Super Robusto format is balanced by its combination with the Sumatra Mexico binder leaf and the select, dark Ecuador special sun grown wrapper leaf. Limited to 10,000 worldwide, this special edition is packaged in modern, matt black lacquered wooden boxes of 10″
Lets see how this cigar smokes…
Nestor Miranda 1989
Nestor Miranda has release a new cigar called the 1989 aimed at the more value conscious cigar smoker. Coming in at $5, this cigar represents a true value in today’s market. Named after the year Miami Cigar Company was started, Nestor Miranda ask Don Pepin Garcia to create a cigar with certain flavor profiles, yet remain low in cost for the consumer. Made in the My Father cigar factory in Nicaragua, this cigar features an oscuro wrapper with a Nicaraguan binder and filler from Esteli and Jalapa. How does his cigar compare to the other Nestor Miranda lines and is the value there? Watch the video and find out.
La Flor Dominicana Cameroon Cabinets
This review comes to you courtesy of a request from Mike at Stogie Review. He was curious to hear my thoughts on this cigar, so I thought I’d fulfill his wish. But to be perfectly honest, I’ve always enjoyed the LFD Cameroon Cabinets, so I figured this review would be a simple one. But to add a little spice to the review I decided to sample the Cameroon Cabinet Lonsdale, which I had never tried before.
Name: Cameroon Cabinets
Company: La Flor Dominicana
Made in: Tabacalera La Flor S.A. (Dominican Republic)
Wrapper: Ligero Cameroon
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic and Nicaragua
Price: $8.50 per stick
Comes in: Boxes of 50
Vitola: Lonsdale (6 1/2″ X 44)
This long and slender stick is a dark leathery brown color. The wrapper has an oily appearance, however, I don’t feel many oils on he wrapper. Instead, the wrapper has a slightly rough texture that is mildly reminiscent of a fine grit sand paper. The cigar feels uniform throughout and the seams are difficult to detect. The pre light aroma is light but I could detect hints of wood and cocoa. I sniped the end and took a few pre-light draws. The draw was a bit tight, and I was unable to pick up on any flavors.
Room 101 “305”
Today I’ve decided to review a cigar that I actually named as one of my most disappointing cigars of 2009. This cigar had a lot of buzz leading up the the 2009 IPCPR show, and actually got some good reviews following the show. However, when I first sampled the cigar I was less than impressed. But since then I’ve smoked some more and now I feel like I can share my real opinions
Name: Room 101
Company: Room 101
Wrapper: Semilla 101 (Honduras)
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Dominican Republic & Honduras
Price: $7.60
Comes in: Box of 25
Vitola: “305” Robusto(5 x 50)
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PUNCH CELEBRATES THE TWO REASONS MAN INVENTED FIRE
National BBQ Promotion Debuts at Tobacconists Nationwide
Richmond, VA—Two of the biggest names in smoke, Punch® cigars and Char-Broil® are teaming up to encourage consumers to break out the cigars and fire up the grill to kick off the much-anticipated barbecue season with the Punch “King of the Deck†promotion.
Consumers of legal smoking age are encouraged to visit their local cigar shop to purchase a Punch-branded steel smoker box while supplies last. Inside the smoker box, cigar enthusiasts will find one each of the following cigars: Punch Magnum, Punch Gran Puro Rancho, Punch Rare Corojo Magnum, plus the new Punch Upper Cut Robusto which is included free. In addition, the smoker box contains a coupon that can be redeemed online at www.charbroil.com for $100 off the purchase of a new Char-Broil grill valued at $399 and above. For the suggested retail price of just $19.99, this special offer also boasts the added benefit of the smoker box itself which, along with wood chips, can be used to add a rich, smoky flavor to the cigar lover’s favorite grilled foods.
According to Debo Mukherjee, vice president of marketing for General Cigar, parent company of Punch cigars, “For cigar enthusiasts who have a passion for grilling, we are pleased to bring these two great pleasures together under such well-respected brands as Punch and Char-Broil. To get people thinking about barbecue season, we’re taking this promotion one step further by engaging in a comprehensive social media campaign to spark online conversations about grilling tips, recipes and cigar pairings.â€
A dedicated Twitter account (@PunchCigars) and a Facebook page (Punch Cigar) have been established to educate smokers as to which Punch cigars pair best with their favorite grilled fare. A mobile extension of the promotion’s website (www.punchgrilling.com) has also been developed to allow consumers to enter their favorite Punch cigar brand and preferred grilled meat to receive personalized pairings. In addition, a series of brief videos featuring grilling tips and Punch cigar pairings from Barry “CB†Martin, Char-Broil’s lead blogger and grilling expert, will be released throughout the promotion on www.punchgrilling.com and will also be available for download.
In addition to in-store events which will be held at tobacconists nationwide, Punch cigars will be sampled at noteworthy barbecue events throughout the year. Visit www.punchgrilling.com for more information.
About Punch Cigars
Since their U.S. introduction in 1969, Punch Honduran cigars have been a favorite among premium cigar connoisseurs. In addition to the original line of Punch cigars, the brand features these bold-flavored collections: Punch Deluxe®, Punch Grand Cru®, Punch Rare Corojo®, Punch Gran Puro® and Upper Cut by Punch®.
About General Cigar
General Cigar Co. Inc., a subsidiary of Swedish Match, manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Passionate about delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar produces Macanudo®, Partagas®, Cohiba®, Punch, Excalibur®, Hoyo de Monterrey®, La Gloria Cubana® and several other industry-leading brands, which are sold through tobacconists nationwide. In addition, the company grows its own proprietary Connecticut Shade wrapper tobacco, as well as natural and candela wrapper in the Dominican Republic. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com
® Punch, Macanudo, La Gloria Cubana, Partagas, Cohiba, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur and Club Macanudo are registered trademarks of General Cigar Co. Inc.
® Char-Broil is a registered trademark of Char-Broil LLC.
