This week I was fortunate enough to get my hands on some of this year's release of the Viaje Satori. I say fortunate because, as everyone knows when it comes to Viaje limited release products, there is a very small amount to go around and the demand is high. (I picked up a sampler of all of the new LEs from New Havana Cigars so you will more than likely see a few Viaje reviews coming in the next couple of weeks.) I spoke with Andre at this year's IPCPR tradeshow and the story behind the Satori is it's a release that can only be ordered at the show and is his way of "doing a favor" to the shops who were in attendance.


Andre took a lot of heat last year with this cigar because of how dark the wrapper was. Last year he stated it was a "super special Oscuro" wrapper that had all of us scratching our heads. This year there are less secrets and he is being upfront about the leaf.

Quote from Andre Farkas: We switched the wrapper this year. We are using San Andreas Maduro. I love the change and I think its even better than last year's version.

So even though it comes in the same name as last year's edition, it is a different cigar. The stick looked nice, so let's see how it smoked.

Specifics
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $10.35
Smoking Location: New Havana Cigars
Beverage: Water

Another cigar that was released at this year's IPCPR and flew kind of under the radar is the Torano Loyal. Torano has been making a lot of moves in the industry recently and seems to be really making a push to be more in the center spotlight of the cigar world.

A quote from the Torano Loyal press release: "Carlos Torano Sr. has always maintained that anyone who enjoys a cigar deserves to smoke a great Torano blend at an affordable price. For decades, Carlos and his son, Charlie, have remained loyal to this philosophy of providing outstanding value to cigar lovers. Loyal provides value, quality, consistency, and most importantly, an abundance of flavor."

We were fortunate enough to interview Charlie Torano and my good friend Miguel Schoedel (regional sales rep for Torano) in Las Vegas, where they gave us even more of the low down on the Loyal, as well as other things going on with the Torano Family Cigars Company. You can view that video here.

I smoked one Loyal while at the show. I thought it was pretty mild, but had a lot of flavor. I'm looking forward to smoking this one on a fresh palate. On to the review.


Specifics
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5
Ring Gauge: 56
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican
Price: $4.95 - $5.50 according to the press release
Smoking Location: House of Cigar
Beverage: Diet Coke

Today's cigar up for review is one I had zero knowledge about until that last hours I was in Las Vegas at the IPCPR tradeshow. Our team from Cigar Explorer stopped by the round bar in the Venetian hotel for one last drink before heading to the airport for our redeye flight home and we ran into Brian Chinnock (owner of Chinnock Cellars) and Berta (better known as The Guayabera Lady). Brian handed me a sample of his cigar and asked me to tell him what I thought of it.

Some reseach on the cigar taken from Chinnock Cellars webpage: Chinnock Cellars Cigars are producted by Master Blender - Willy Herrera. All of their cigars are hand crafted in the USA by “Level 9” rollers all of whom have worked for world-renowned factories such as Romeo y Julieta®, Corona®, and Partagas®. Each one of my cigars are made in the traditional Cuban style of tubing the filler (entubado) and then finished off with a beautiful triple cap. Due to the high standards placed upon their rollers, my cigars are made in small quantities to ensure quality and consistency that only a boutique manufacturer can produce.

Willy Herrera has been in cigar news recently with his move to Drew Estate, but well before that, he has been a highly respected person in the cigar industry. This stick has had a few weeks to get back into condition, so on with the review.

Specifics
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican & Nicaragua
Price: $?
Smoking Location: My back deck
Beverage: water

Hell to the yes. I finally got to sit down and smoke the new Illusione MK Ultra and today I get to talk about it.  Before I went to the IPCPR tradeshow this year, I told everyone that the number one cigar I wanted to get a sample of was the MK Ultra. Jonathan Drew even made it a point to grab me an Ultra at the Fumar Smoke shop grand opening in Reno, NV the night before the show began. Thank you, Jonathan, for thinking of me. I ran into Dion Giolito (owner of Illusione cigars) on the first night of IPCPR at the Brothers of the Leaf party where he slipped me an Ultra in a much bigger size. I asked him what he thought of the cigar and he had this to say:

Quote Dion Giolito: This sticks are just awesome. They are full of flavor that I love and have an extra boost of power that will make a lot of people very happy.

For more information on the MK Ultra, and all of Dion's new offers from Illusione, please check out the video interview we did with him that last months IPCPR here.

Time for the "teaching machine" to take to fire. (teaching machine is the nickname of this cigar)

Due to the size of this cigar, this review is only in two parts instead of the traditional thirds.

Specifics
Vitola: Corona
Length: 5 1/8
Ring Gauge: 42
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo.
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price:  $7.80 in full boxes of 25
Smoking Location: New Havana Cigars
Beverage: nothing

Last week the crew from Cigar Explorer headed to the annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association trade show (IPCPR) in Las Vegas.
This is part III for all the interview we did. More interesting individual videos are on the way! Please stay tune!

This video was shot by Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 Super Wide Lens, Tokina 35mm F2.8 Macro Lens.

URL:

room101cigars.com
smokeinn.com
tatuajecigars.com
totano.com
viajecigars.com

To Photo Album

Last week the crew from Cigar Explorer headed to the annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association trade show (IPCPR) in Las Vegas.
This is part II for all the interview we did. More videos are on the way! Please stay tune!

This video was shot by Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 Super Wide Lens, Tokina 35mm F2.8 Macro Lens.

URL:

kristoffcigars.com
miamicigarandcompany.com
laaurora.com.do
myfathercigars.com
elreydeloshabanos.com

To Photo Album

Last week the crew from Cigar Explorer headed to the annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association trade show (IPCPR) in Las Vegas.
This is part I for all the interview we did. More videos are on the way! Please stay tune!

This video was shot by Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 Super Wide Lens, Tokina 35mm F2.8 Macro Lens.

URL:

cigarfamily.com
arturosandoval.com
caocigars.com
acidcigars.com
drewestate.com
cigarworld.coom
ghcigars.com
illusionecigars.com

  To Photo Album

This is my first review back from the trade show so I'm going with a cigar that I've been looking forward to ever since Pete told me about it at Smoke Inn's Great smoke last February. The Tatuaje La Casita Criolla is a 100% broadleaf cigar made at the My Father factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. The stick comes in three sizes -- none of which top the 48 ring gauge, which is a nice departure from the trend of the big-sized cigars most companies are putting out these days. (Side note: I've actually started to turn to the dark side and like some of these beastly sized smokes, but I digress.) I had a lot of time to hang out with Pete Johnson (owner of  Tatuaje) and ask him about this blend.

Quote Pete Johnson: I wanted to do something different and something that pays homage to the broadleaf cigars made in the U.S. many years ago. These stick is a lot different than anything else we have put out and I really hope it is as widely accepted as some of my more core lines are.

I want to thank Pete again for all his time he spent with me and my partners at Cigar Explorer during the crazy four days of the Vegas trade show. He is a great guy in the industry and is truly honest and face value.

Enough of that.. let's get down to what really matters.

Due to the size of this cigar, this review is only in two parts instead of the traditional thirds. 
Specifics
Vitola: Corona
Length: 5 1/8
Ring Gauge: 42
Wrapper: Broadleaf
Binder: Broadleaf
Filler: Broadleaf
Price:  $5.40 in full boxes of 25
Smoking Location: New Havana Cigars
Beverage: nothing

Last week the crew from Cigar Explorer headed to the annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association trade show in Las Vegas. In years past we had to attened the show with a manufactures pass, bit this year the IPCPR decided to let internet media into the show under a press badge. I'd like to thank the people at IPCPR for this. It was a great move and I think it worked out well for everyone.

A brief overview of our time at the show. I think I slept about twelve hours total in the five days we were in Las Vegas. Our days pretty much went like this. Get up and grab some breakfast before heading to the show. Get to the show floor by 8am for our first meeting. Stay until the show ends at 5pm, but don't really leave the floor until closer to 6:30. Get cleaned up and head out to one of the dinners the many manufacturers were hosting. Around 11pm head to an after party, again hosted by one of the cigar companies. Around 2am leave the after party and end up at the hotel bar. 4am, hit the bed. The next day, rinse and repeat.

It was a really good time, and I smoked a lot of really good cigars. Please enjoy some of the photos we took at the event at the link below.

  To Photo Album

A few weeks back the Cigar Explorer crew made it's way to the suburbs of Chicago for the My Uzi Weighs a Ton national release party at Burning leaf. In this video Jonathan Drew describes the details and blend notes that went into making this cigar a reality. As a bonus, Jonathan as discusses the details of new cigars coming out in the Liga Privada line (LP40, Ratzilla, Liga A, and yes the Feral Pig!) and goes into great detail about the brand new line from Drew Estate, the Undercrown.

Long interview about My Uzi Weights A Ton with Jonathan Drew at Burning Leaf Cigars in Chicago, IL on June 20, 2011.

<Bonus Clip>

This video was shot by Nikon D7000, Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 Super Wide Lens, Tokina 35mm F2.8 Macro Lens.

URL:
drewestate.com
burningleafcigarsonline.com
botl.org

  To Photo Album

Hope you enjoy!

Mario Takeyama
Dan Reeve