July 30, 2012 | By Mario Takeyama
Cigar Event at Casa De Montecristo, Cigar Shop/Lounge in Chicago (Countryside), IL on June 7, 2012.
Davidoff Cigar, Dinner event!! Guest: Jeff Stone, Davidoff National Brand Ambassador
This video was shot by Sony NEX-7 & CX580V, Sony 18-55mm Zoom Lens.
URL:
casademontecristo-chicago.com
davidoff.com
cigarexplorer.com
July 24, 2012 | By Dan Reeve
Today's review is for a cigar that had been hinted at for awhile, but
nobody thought was going to be released anytime soon. That was until
Dion Giolito, owner of Illusione Cigars, tweeted that the cigars began
being shipping to retailers on July 13th. The 2012 version of the
Singularé comes packed in a box containing two different cigars. This
one (the maduro) and another of the same size and shape, but with a
natural wrapper.
Quote from Dion about the Singularé 2012 Maduro: This
was one of the blends I put together while in Miami at our “playpen.”
The blend to this cigar is specific to 2 farms in Esteli, and one in
Jalapa. The wrapper is maduro, San Andreas. This cigar is completely
different in blend and taste profile from the Corojo 2011/2012 that sits
next to it in the box.
The original Singularé was a fantastic stick that I don't think received
as much publicity as it deserved. Despite everyone I know who smoked
enjoying it very much, it still didn't seem to gain the following other
small batch releases have had in the past few years. Let's see how this
release stacks up.
Specifics
Vitola: Parejo
Length: 6
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $12.00
Smoking Location: NHC office
Beverage: water
July 21, 2012 | By Dan Reeve
Just like a few days ago, today's review is for a brand new stick coming
from L'Atelier Surrogates. The Tramp Stamp (referring to the pop
culture name for a tattoo on ones' lower back) is an obvious play on
words with Tatuaje (Spanish for tattoo.) Tramp Stamp will be the fourth
release in the Surrogates line and the second to be sold through the new
L'Atelier Imports company. (Check my last review for info on the origin of Surrogates and L'Atelier.) Pete
Johnson (the owner of Tatuaje) has been quoted as saying that it is a
blend based off of his personal "Black Label" blend that, up until a few
years ago, was only available at Tatuaje events Pete attended. I'm a
big fan of most of the Black Label releases, so I was very interested to
see what this take on the blend would be like.
Specifics
Vitola: Corona Gorda-ish
Length: 5 1/4
Ring Gauge: 48
Wrapper: Ecuadoran Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $7.00
Smoking Location: My back deck
Beverage: water
July 20, 2012 | By Dan Reeve
Up for review is the soon to be released (at the IPCPR 2012 tradeshow)
INCH by EP Carrillo. Rumors of this cigar have been around for quite
some time and, just in the past two months, pictures have begun to
surface.
Some info on the INCH from various sources: This cigar is being produced
in both Maduro and Natural wrappers. Connecticut Broadleaf for the
Maduro and Ecuador Sumatra wrapper for
the Natural. They both have the same blend of
Nicaraguan binders and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. Both cigars are
said to be medium to full in strength and
have a suggested price of $8.75-$10.00
It looks like it will take a long time to burn this one down, so let's get to it.
Specifics
Vitola: Super Gordo
Length:6 1/4
Ring Gauge: 64
Wrapper: Connecticut broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican
Price: between $8.75-$10.00
Smoking Location: My back deck
Beverage: water
July 18, 2012 | By Mario Takeyama
The First Annual Stogathon Eventto benefit the New York Tobacconist Association‘s Legislative Initiatives
The First Annual Stogathon Eventto benefit the New York Tobacconist Association‘s Legislative Initiatives in Albany is taking place Tuesday, July 24, 2012 from 6:00 PM – 11:00 PM at Water’s Edge Restaurant (4-01 44th Drive, Long Island City New York)
300 guests will enjoy 10+ Cigars*, Cocktail Hour, Passed Hors d’Oeuvres, Carving & Pasta Stations, Multi-Course Sit Down Dinner, Silent Auction & Raffles, Waterside View of the Manhattan Skyline, Cigar Models, Live Music and Complimentary Valet Parking for only $250.00 Per Person. However, you can purchase your ticket at an Early Bird Price: $225 until June 30. Tables of 10 are also available at $2,000. to purchase your tickets Visit http://nyta.eventbrite.com/ to purchase your tickets!!
Ticket still avaialable!! Buy Now
Cigarexplorer will be there to film entire event!! see you there!
*Cigars Courtesy of:
Alec Bradley, Camacho, Cusano, Davidoff, Drew Estate,
La Aurora, La Flor Dominicana, Nat Sherman, Nestor Miranda,
Pepín García, Perdomo, Quesada, Rocky Patel & Tatuaje
…more brands to be announced!
*Featured image courtesy of Water’s Edge
Download a PDF of the Stogathon Flyer
Download a PDF of the Dinner Menu
July 17, 2012 | By Dan Reeve
Let's talk about a new stick coming soon from the Surrogates brand of
cigars. Surrogates, for those of you who don't know, is a line of cigars
owned by Dan Welsh, owner/operator of New Havana Cigars. There were two releases from this line this past year - the Skull Breaker and the Bone Crusher.
Much buzz was around these cigars in the early days because Dan was not
forthcoming with where these sticks were being made and explained that
it was an experiment he was conducting.
Dan explained the experiment as this: I
was curious, given my business model, how much hype goes into our
smoking and buying decisions. Although I am thoroughly an advocate of
educating ourselves as to what we are smoking, eating or drinking - so
as to develop our palate and make better decisions when choosing future
things - I also think that when we try something new without the hype
of a limited release, or a certain manufacturer or claims of aged
tobacco or 100% ligero, etc., that we come across a more authentic
tasting experience. So, being that it is not limited - this seemed
like a great opportunity to tell everyone 'try it and decide'.
Fast forward a few months to now and we all know the cat is out of the
bag with the experiment, and that Pete Johnson of Tatuaje fame blended
and produced these sticks at the My Father Cigar factory in Esteli. Now
to add one more chapter to the story of the Surrogates brand, the former
two releases and the two newer releases (this one and Tramp Stamp) are
being licensed out to be made for a new company called L’Atelier Imports
for the foreseeable future. L'Atelier is a new company formed by Dan
Welsh, Pete Johnson, K.C. Johnson, and Sean Johnson. I don't tend to
write news stories on this site, so if you want the full scoop on
L'Atelier, check out Cigar Brief's post or Charlie's Halfwheel post.
OK. Now that all of the information is out of the way, let's move on to the review.
Specifics
Vitola: Robusto +ish, with a box press
Length: 5 3/4
Ring Gauge: 56
Wrapper: Ecuadoran Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $8.00
Smoking Location: My back deck
Beverage: water
July 15, 2012 | By Dan Reeve
Today's cigar review is for a line a lot of people were very excited
about coming out of the 2010 IPCPR trade show. Somehow, over the past
two years, I've never taken the time to smoke one or, if I did, I don't
remember it. I went with the smallest size in the line because my
smoking time was short. An interesting note: while the Avo Heritage line
was released in 2010, this size was only released back in February of
2012.
From the AVO Heritage press release: Centuries of tradition,
knowledge and passion are what you will dicover in each AVO Heritage
cigar created by Master Cigar Composer Avo Uvezian, alongside undisputed
Master of Tobacco Hendrik Kelner – assisted by Eladin Diaz and Manuel
Peralia, plus the many talented farmers, blenders, and rollers.
A lot of collaboration went into this cigar, and from most of the things
I have heard, it has paid off. Time to give the Avo Heritage a go for
myself.
Specifics
Vitola: Short Corona
Length: 3 5/8
Ring Gauge: 43
Wrapper: Ecuadorian sun-grown
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Price: $6.00
Smoking Location: My back deck
Beverage: water
Manufacture's Website: http://www.avo.com
July 11, 2012 | By Dan Reeve
Tonight's review is for a stick that comes with a little story. My
partner at Cigar Explorer Mario attended a charity event in New York a
few weeks back which was hosted by Carlito Fuente. I'm sure Mario took
video of the event, but he has been very busy and is back logged with
videos at this time. Anyway, during the after party at the Grand Havana
Room, Carlito handed Mario a couple of these cigars and said, "Nobody
has this one." What does that mean? I don't know. What I do know is
Mario saved one for me, so I'm thankful to him for that. From doing some
Google research (I will readily admit that I'm an amateur regarding
Fuente products), this cigar looked like the Arturo Fuente Don Gran
AniverXario Natural.
Some early history on Arturo Fuente Don Gran AniverXario Natural from a Old Prometheus press-release via Halfwheel: Carlito
Fuente has created a new cigar, Don Arturo Gran AniverXario, in tribute
to his grandfather, Arturo Fuente. These cigars are made with the
legendary wrapper leaves from Chateau de la Fuente, the birthplace of a
dream. Carlito Fuente made Don Arturo Gran AniverXario cigars in 2001 to
celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Arturo Fuente Cigar Company, which
was founded by his grandfather in 1912. He planned to release Don Arturo
Gran AniverXario cigars every year, starting in 2002, to celebrate the
100th Anniversary. However, these cigars were never released. Don Arturo
Gran AniverXario cigars have been aging in the Fuente aging room since
2001. These 7-year-old cigars will finally be presented in the Limited
Edition Fuente Story Humidors produced by Prometheus.
So, with all that said, I don't even know if this cigar is the
previously-released Arturo Fuente Don Gran AniverXario. Could it be one
of the delayed 100th year Anniversary cigars that are not coming until
2013? Speculating is something fun, but in the long run, really doesn't
mean anything. For the purpose of this review I'm simply going to call
it Gran AniverXario.
Specifics
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: ?
Binder: ?
Filler: ?
Price: ?
Smoking Location: My back deck
Beverage: water
July 9, 2012 | By Mario Takeyama
"Cigar Shop turned to Cigar Restaurant at night! in the middle of Manhatten
Interview with Jorge Padron, President of Padron Cigars and Ron Melendi, General Manager of De la Concha, New York City on April 18, 2012. This video was shot by Sony HDR-CX580V & Nikon D7000, Nikon 50mm F1.2 AIS Lens.
URL:
Padron.com
delaconcha.com
davidoffusa.com
cigarrights.org
July 4, 2012 | By Dan Reeve
Happy forth of July everyone. I'm sorry content has been a little slow
coming out of the site recently but my life has been very busy with
summer travel. Excuses excuses I know. Anyway, the cigar up for review
today is a fitting one given it's Independence day, the Alec Bradley
American Sun Grown Blend. (That's a mouthful). I was given this stick
from the infamous @AB_therockstar Barry Blonder while hanging out at Governor's Smoke Shop last week. That was my first time talking to Barry for more than five seconds and what a down to earth great guy he is.
Anyway, I little about the cigar taken from the Alec Bradley Website: On the heels of last year’s “American Classic Blend” release, Alec
Bradley Cigars has announced the release of “American Sungrown Blend,” a
fuller-bodied, all-Nicaraguan leaf blend. Priced affordably, the
“American Sungrown Blend” offers an extension to the American Classic
selection with a little more spice. The cigars will retail between $4.20
to $5.75, and scheduled to arrive at retail cigar stores by [July 4th.
2012].
The price point on these cigars is a great relief to the wallet, and I'm
sure that played into the popularity of the American Classic Blend. For
me that blend was a little underwhelming, but the description of the
Sun Grown sounds right to my liking. On to the review.
Specifics
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun-Grown Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $4.75
Smoking Location: My back deck
Beverage: water (it's hot as hell out)
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