New Ash: Augusto Reyes Grand Cru
The Augusto Reyes Grand Cru is another cigar that Ben graciously sent me after attending the 2009 IPCPR Convention. I’ve never had this cigar before so what you will get with this video is my initial impressions of the cigar. The Grand Cru is a Dominican puro and contains a variety of tobacco including Piloto Cubano, Cubano and Criollo ’98. I did a little research and found that this is the most full-flavored cigar that Augusto Reyes makes, so it should be right up my alley. Time to cut and light and see how this stick smokes.
Perdomo Lot 23 Natural Robusto
Today we have a blend from Tabacalera Perdomo. Perdomo’s Lot 23 is a blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos from Esteli. What is unique about this blend is that the filler and binder tobaccos are all harvested form the same farm known as Lot 23. The tobaccos from this farm were harvested and aged for four years before being rolled with a dark Ecuadorian Connecticut-shade wrapper and then aged for another six months in Perdomo’s Miami facility. Perdomo Cigars are kind of an enigma for me. Some I love, some are just ok. Let’s see how this Lot 23 does.
In other news, there is a lot going on here at Nice Tight Ash. Be sure to check out our 100th review which is the CAO Escaparate Costa Rican Maduro and see how you can win a box of Corona Cigar Co. 10th Anniversary Nicaraguans. Also our September contest sponsored by CheapHumidors.com is still ongoing. Be sure to sign up to win a Gurkha Travel Kit.
I noticed after I had rendered and encoded the video that I neglected to change the cigar info page. The vitals for this Perdomo Lot 23 Natural Robusto are as follows:
Vitola: Robusto
Size: 5†x 50
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut-shade
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
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Price: ~$5.25/single or $88.95/box of 20
Padilla 1932 – New blend vs Old blend Flavor Comparison
This week, I’m sampling the Padilla 1932 again, but this time its the new blend. As I explained in my original 1932 review, the old blend was being made by Don Pepin Garcia, but now that Pepin has decided to end his relationship with Padilla, its being developed completely in house now. A few readers mentioned that they would like to know what differences there were between the new and old blends. Gratefully, @bradinbuffalo, on Twitter, was kind enough to send me a sample of the new blend for comparison. Thanks Brad!
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Islands Robusto
The only things I can tell you about this cigar is that it’s called “Islands” it’s a robusto and I purchased them for $4.99. So this review is going to work more like a blind review. Although I’ve smoked a few of these, I don’t know any particulars that might cloud my judgement of the cigar. I’ve made a few attempts at tracking down information on the cigar, but have had no luck. If you know anything about the maker or tobacco used in this cigar please let me know.
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Sunday Fiver- September 13, 2009
A fiver of cigar stories from around the Web.
Cigar Reviews
Jerry at Stogie Review smoked the new (1) Padron Family Reserve 45 Years, and gave it the Great Torpedo Seal of Approval. This stick comes with a hefty price tag, but it sounds like a winner as a celebratory smoke.
Adam over at Fire Up that Cigar smoked a personal favorite of mine, the (2) Illusione cg:4.
Agent 86 at The Cigar Spy debriefed us on the (3) Don Lino Africa. Agent 86 is looking forward to getting more, so maybe you should try a few also.
Commentary
Chief Hava of Smoke Signals always has something interesting to say. His latest article, (4) Points of Differentiation and the Future of the Cigar Industry is a perfect example of his insider take on the current state of Brick and Mortar cigar stores.
Spirits
As the weather continues to get cooler I’ll begin paring Port with my cigars. If you enjoy port as well you may consider taking a look at a review of the (5) Cockburn’s Special Reserve Port. This review can be found at Stogie Life.
Cheap Ash: Padron Londres Maduro
This week I have a wallet friendly smoke for you. The Padron Londres is part of the regular line from Padron. According to the Padron website:
“All tobacco in this line is sun-grown habano that is aged for a minimum of two-and-one-half years. Every cigar in this line is available in natural and maduro wrapper. This line offers exceptional quality and value.â€
Today we are smoking the maduro version. Based on price, the Londres fits into that “exceptional value†claim made by Padron. Now let’s see about the quality portion.
Avo Maduro
Avo Uvezian began as a talented Jazz musician. A chance encounter in the early 1980’s with Hendrick Kelner of Davidoff lead to his career in the cigar industry. His cigars are produced by Davidoff in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The first line Avo released under his name was the Classic line, and in early 21st century he expanded this line to include a Maduro version. The Avo and Davidoff combination are well known for making Limited Edition cigars, so lets see how this Classic Maduro stacks up.
New Ash: Liga Privada T52
In 2007 Drew Estate introduced the Liga Privada No. 9, which is the personal cigar of President Steve Saka. Now two years later an extension of the Liga Privada Line has been introduced. The Liga Privada T52 debuted at the 2009 IPCPR Trade Show and has been described as a stronger and more full-bodied version of the original No. 9.
The T52 is cloaked in a Stalk-Cut Habano wrapper and Brazilian Mata Fina binder. The filler is comprised of a variety of tobacco from 7 different regions.
I generally prefer full-bodied and flavorful cigars and absolutely love the Liga Privada No. 9. So it’s time to cut and light this stick and see how it smokes.
La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial No. 3
A while back Ben did a review of the Ashton product La Aroma de Cuba. Originally Ashton had two lines in the La Aroma de Cuba stable manufactured by two different factories. The original line that Ben reviewed was made in Honduras and the blend I have today, the Edicion Especial, is made in Nicaragua by Don “Pepin†Garcia.
Since Bens review, Ashton has moved the original La Aroma de Cuba line to Pepin’s factory in Nicaragua and changed the blend. Look for that review in the future. As for the Edicion Especial, Ashton’s website had the following to say:
“La Aroma De Cuba Edicion Especial is a wonderful new cigar manufactured in Nicaragua by Jose “Pepin” Garcia. Handcrafted in small batch fashion by a select group of master rollers, this is a cigar for the connoisseur with a seasoned palate. The flavors within this cigar are tremendously complex.
“Beautiful, seamless, pumpkin-colored wrappers embrace an enchanting Cubanesque blend of rich, well-aged Nicaraguan tobaccos. These wrappers are cultivated in Ecuador under direct sunlight from Cuban seeds. The flavors are medium to full-bodied, rich and zesty. Hearty notes of earth and cedar are accompanied by lighter notes of leather and cinnamon.â€
Lets see how this smoke stands up to Ashton’s claims and how it compares to the original line.
Note: I was a friggin mess in the first segment as I say that this stick is 5†x 50 instead of 6†x 50 and one time I call it La Aurora de Cuba instead of La Aroma de Cuba. Oh well what can I say? I’m an idiot.
New Ash: Oliva Cain Habano
The Oliva Cain was introduced last month during IPCPR in New Orleans in both a habano and maduro wrappers. This new blend is another brain child from Sam Leccia of the Nub fame. I met Sam along with Ian Hummel and Josh Rushlo, Oliva sales representatives, at IPCPR in New Orleans and they gave me samples to review. They completely sold out at the show, as the responses from cigar retailers was overwhelming. The cigar is a triple fermented straight ligero cigar with tobaccos from farms in Esteli, Condega, and the Jalapa Valley in Nicaragua. It comes in three sizes:
- Toro – 6″ x 50
- Torpedo – 6″ x 54
- Double Toro – 6″ x 60
Today, I’m sampling the habano in the Toro size, which is my second favorite vitola, corona gorda being my first. I will sample the maduro version a little later this month.
Let’s see how it smokes!
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