In 2014, Crowned Heads released the first Las Calaveras which was made at My Father Cigars in Esteli, Nicaragua. In 2015 that limited edition cigar sees a regular release and new branding in La Imperiosa. La Imperiosa as a brand dates back to the early 1900’s where it was made in Cuba. The translation of the name is “the imperative” or that which is absolutely necessary or required. The cigar comes in 24 count packages and […]
First off let me say that I consider myself a Cigar Geek. I embrace the term and even though some people think of it as a bad thing, I believe it to be a fair description. Cigar Geeks like myself seek cigars like the one in todays review, because of the size, a Lancero and the unique nature. However, many stores no longer carry the smaller ring gauge cigars because they do not sell. I believe it […]
Earlier today, David Garofalo penned an article about boutique cigars. If anyone is looking to start a cigar company and wants a model to look at, Fratello is a company that is the perfect case study. Omar de Frias built Fratello with the mix of a really good initial release and the hustle that hasn’t been seen since Pete Rose. All while maintaining his regular job with NASA. The Fratello Bianco is the second release […]
Yesterday we reviewed one of two highly anticipated Connecticut shade wrappers to be released at the IPCPR. Today we take a look at the Drew Estate Undercrown Shade. According to the press release, ““Undercrown Shade” marks the first release blended by Drew Estate Master Blender Willy Herrera not to fall under the Herrera Estelí brand family. Herrera’s continued involvement in blending and brand development within Drew Estate is evident with this new blend, as Herrera […]
There were a few new releases at the trade show that were highly anticipated and at least two of them were Connecticut Shade wrappers which given the direction of new releases lately seems pretty rare. Today we look at one of those releases, Padron Damaso. According to the Padron website where Jose O. Padron writes, “THIS CIGAR was named for my grandfather Dámaso, who was the first Padrón to arrive in Cuba sometime in the […]
Since my co-workers returned from the trade show the number one question asked of me is; “Have you smoked the new Nick Melillo cigar?” Until today the answer was no, but after about 50 people asking for my opinion I decided to light it up today and smoke this pre-release from the man known as Nick~R~Agua on social media. The brand El Güegüense (Gwe-gwe-nse) translates into The Wise Man. According to a statement on the Foundation […]
First introduced in 2010, the My Father Limited Edition is enjoying its 5th year. However, since they did not release a limited edition in 2014, it is only the 4th cigar in the series. In its inaugural release the cigars were rolled by father and son Don Pepin Garcia and Jose Garcia; the latter which is credited as the master blender and is denoted on the secondary band of the cigar. The limited edition comes […]
On our previous episode of The Cigar Authority before the IPCPR we lit up Recluse Amadeus Connecticut and I enjoyed the cigar so much, I couldn’t believe this one got by me and hadn’t been reviewed on the website. It is the perfect cigar on why the question we ask when we enter a cigar shop needs to change from “what’s new to what’s good?”. If you listen to the show, you know that Recluse is […]
Two cigars made it back to me from the show with some special care given to them. The first was an M80 prototype for 2016 that I won’t be reviewing. If you follow me on social media, you can see the cigar. The other is today’s review. Henry Clay is a brand of cigars that was named for the American politician Henry Clay who served three terms as the Speaker of the House of Representatives […]
Nelson Alfonso is an artist from Cuba who is responsible for the Behike design, but he is also a cigar manufacturer with brands made in Costa Rica. Some of his cigars have rated amongst the highest of anything we smoked. The Atabey and Byron are his signature cigars, but often over looked is the more affordable Bandolero. Available as the Pack II (lighter wrapper, medium body) and the Pack III (medium-full, darker wrapper) the sticks have […]