Cheap Ash: Cuban Crafters Cabinet Selection
At the time I’m writing this review Wall Street has seen their 3rd straight day of gains. Â That might be good news for the future, but my 401k is still struggling. Â So, I bring you the Cuban Crafters Cabinet Selection, a budget friendly cigar produced by Tabacalera Esteli and Henry “Don Kiki” Berger.
Bad Dog Toro
Bad Dog Cigars are relatively new to the industry.  Created by Nicholas Scarcella and Andreas, long time business partners, these cigars feature a unique Rhodesian wrapper that comes from the Zimbabwe.  Thank you to Duque Cigars for providing the cigars for this review.
Sunday Fiver – March 8, 2009
A fiver of cigar stories from around the Web.
Reviews
Barry from A Cigar Smoker’s Journal had been saving a special smoke for his birthday, and it was a big one: (1) the Opus X PerfecXion A. He reviewed the massive 2 hour and 20 minute smoke, and it’s definitely an interesting read.
Photo courtesy of A Cigar Smoker’s Journal.
Jerry from the Stogie Review posted another great video this week on the (2) Camacho Cajones, which is the house cigar of Chief Hava.
Feature Articles
Speaking of Chief Hava, he wrote a great piece this week on the (3) different cutting techniques, and how he rates each of them, over on his blog, Smoke Signals.
Puffing Cigars has a write up on the happenings at the (4) 11th Habanos Festival.
Cigar Command did a nice (5) Q&A with David Blanco of Los Blancos Cigars.
Guest Review: G.A.R. by George Rico
Our first guest review comes courtesy of dk_fxn.
The G.A.R comes to us from George Rico. Known as a blender for the Gran Habano and 3 Siglos lines of cigars, the G.A.R is his personal line of cigars. I noticed this cigar in a few of my local shops. The simple look of the cigar with the band placed neatly at the foot drew me to want to give it a try. Alas, I never picked one up for myself, but a fellow BOTL, Al from Key West, threw a couple of these my way.
February Contest Winner
Our February contest has come to an end. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. And, once again, thank you to our sponsor Duque Cigars for donating a film can of Bad Dog Cigars and the poster to go along with it. Get 5% off your order with the discount code NTA2009. Without further delay, our winner is:
Jason T
Congratulations! We will contact you soon to get your shipping information and poster choice and forward it along to Duque Cigars
Paul Garmirian Gourmet Series
Passion is what has created success stories in the cigar industry, and in my opinion it’s the greatest asset any cigar manufacturer can possess. Â In the case of Paul Garmirian, owner and creator of PG Cigars, his passion started early in the 1980’s when he began a nine year research and writing process that culminated with the first publication of his book The Gourmet Guide To Cigars. Â His passion did not allow him to stop at publishing a book, Paul Gamirian teamed up with Hendrick Kelner to produce his own line of cigars that also made their debut in 1990. Â Since then Paul Gamirian has expanded the line, which ranges form mild to full-bodied, and experienced the success that comes with providing an excellent product.
March 2009 Contest
As our February contest winds down (hurry, it ends this Wednesday), we’re kicking off our March contest. And we’ve got a unique prize too!
The Prize
We’ve gotten tons of great comments on the Nice Tight Ash logo, and a lot of people have asked for the opportunity to get a Nice Tight Ash shirt. Well, that opportunity is here. We opened up a store for Nice Tight Ash gear. And for our March contest we’re offering up a shirt (we have a ladies’ version too) and a five pack from our humidors. Second prize is a five pack of cigars.
The Contest
So, what do you have to do to win the contest? Just comment on Nice Tight Ash posts for the month of March and earn points. The person with the most points at 11:59pm on March 31st is the winner.
Here’s the ways to score:
- Comment on a post – 1 point
- First comment on a post – 2 points
- Comment on all posts during a week – 1 points
- Comment on all posts during the month – 5 points
- If you manage to be the first comment on every post in March – 10 points
The comments do need to be pertinent to the post, and not just anything to get your points up. Other than that, let those comments fly and good luck!
Sunday Fiver – March 1, 2009
A fiver of cigar stories from around the Web.
Reviews
Walt from the Stogie Review takes a look at the new (1) Oliva Connecticut Reserve. Made to provide a mild alternative to Oliva’s stronger offerings, it looks like a must try.
Photo courtesy of Walt White and Stogie Review.
(2) G.A.R. by George A. Rico is a cigar I’ve contemplated picking up several times, but Agent 10’s review over at The Cigar Spy has convinced me to give it a shot.
Ricky at Cigar Command reviewed the (3) Los Blancos Sumatra Robusto, and called it the best of the Los Blancos line.
Feature Articles
A Cigar Smoker’s Journal has a recap of Barrister Cigars’ (4) trip to Rocky Patel in Honduras. It’s a great write-up, and you can view some more photos at Shutterfly.
The Stogie Guys have a great article on how (5) cigar manufacturers should embrace the same transparency as the wine industry by revealing vintages, improving labeling, and embracing labeling.
Cheap Ash: Leoninos by La Aurora
For the second installment of our Cheap Ash series I smoked the Leoninos, by La Aurora.  This cigar sports a Dominican grown Corojo wrapper that has been aged for 3 years.  According to La Aurora this is the only cigar that uses a Dominican Corojo wrapper.
Xikar Travel Humidor
Name:Â Xikar 30-50 Count Travel Humidor
Made by:Â Xikar
MSRP:Â $77.99
Whether you’re traveling for business or pleasure or just herfing with your buddies, no trip is complete without a stash of your favorite cigars along for the ride. Â Problem is properly caring for those cigars in the process.
