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Cigar Review: Aganorsa Leaf Supreme Leaf Toro

The 2023 release of Supreme Leaf marks the 6th in the series from Aganorsa Leaf. It also the first time the company is release the limited edition in a round vitola instead of a box pressed format. The 2023 release utilizes the same blend as the inaugural release comprising of all Nicaraguan tobaccos from their farms in Nicaragua. The production is limited to 2,750 boxes and bundles of 10 cigars. According to Terence Reilly, who […]

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Cigar Review: Topper 125th Anniversary Toro

The cigars to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of Topper Cigars didn’t ship until the end of their 126th Anniversary and when we smoked the cigar on a past episode of The Cigar Authority I was instantly enamored. 2023 marks the 127th Anniversary of the company and I recently caught up with Chris Topper who stated that there is only a very limited amount of tobacco for this specific blend and to keep it around for […]

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Cigar Review: Meerapfel Richard Double Robusto

A lot of people unfortunately don’t know the history of the Meerapfel family and their importance to the cigar industry. In 1876 Meir II Meerapfel opened a cigar factory in Untergrombach, Germany. But the contribution the family is most known began in 1969 when Richard Meerapfel traveled Cameroon. It was Richard who created what the family calls the miracle of Cameroon tobacco. He established unique relationships with the local growers, families, and communities while bringing unprecedented opportunity, […]

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Cigar Review: Blackened M81 by Drew Estate Corona

Rodgers & Hammerstein penned A Few of my Favorite Things which was made famous by Julie Andrews. I don’t think they had bourbon, cigars or heavy metal on their radar when they did. However, if I wrote the song they would definitely have topped schnitzels and crisp apple strudels. Blackened by Drew Estate was first conceptualized during the pandemic when James Hetfield of Metallica would smoke cigars with Rob Dietrich the Master Blender of Blackened […]

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Cigar Review: Red Anchor Admiral

Red Anchor was the start of the boutique cigar industry when the line originally released in 1772 in Holland. Albertus Hillen Sigarenfabriek established the Red Anchor Factory and Cigar Brand in Delft, Holland. On February 22, 1772, legal permission was granted from the Aldermen of the Municipality of Delft, for Albertus to sell his cigar brand under the Red Anchor name. 2022 marks the 250th Anniversary line and it returns via United Cigars and is made at […]

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Cigar Review: Alec Bradley Double Broadleaf Toro

Connecticut Broadleaf is one of the most popular wrappers for people who like stronger cigars. However, over the years a shortage of wrapper has created supply issues for some popular cigars. That issue has gotten worse over the years due to weather. Add to the fact that tobacco farms aren’t as prevalent in the Connecticut River Valley as they once were the shortage becomes is obvious.. This had lead tobacco farmers to try and recreate […]

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Cigar Review: StillWell Star Holiday Y2022

It’s a long standing tradition in pipe culture for carvers to craft one off designs and blenders to create special mixtures to mark the holidays. In honor of this practice Steve Saka of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust has teamed up with Cornell & Diehl to follow suit with a delightful aromatic puro with a mild Cavendish Burley and Virginia tobaccos. According to Steve Saka, “This year’s release is a delightful aromatic puro with a carefully balanced […]

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Cigar Review: HVC Black Friday 2022

HVC Black Friday is the cigar industry official start of the holiday season. Move over Mariah Carey, this is something that won’t make you cringe. Since 2015, Reinier Lorenzo has released a cigar that is synonymous with the start of the Christmas Season, Black Friday. Each year the cigar is released with a new wrapper and a new size with this year being a 5.5 x 50 with an Ecuador grown Habano ‘ 92. Additionally […]

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Cigar Review: El Baton by JC Newman Belicoso

El Baton is one of J.C. Newman’s vintage brands made by their founder, J.C. Newman, back in 1914. This nickel cigar was originally hand rolled in a Cleveland, Ohio factory with Cuban tobacco. Although it was popular for many years, the onset of machine-made cigars caused El Baton to disappear from the marketplace in the 1920s. In 2008, J.C.’s grandsons, Eric and Bobby Newman, re-launched the brand as the company’s first Nicaraguan cigar. El Baton cigars […]

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Cigar Review: Freud Agape Robusto

Freud Cigar Co. was born out of a shared passion for premium tobacco and elevated experiences — and an opportunity for some of the world’s leaders in cigar production to collaborate on a new collection for the luxury market: innovative small-batch blends, rooted in the namesake of one of the most prominent cigars smokers and public intellectuals in world history, Dr. Sigmund Freud. Three of the four people involved have ties to Davidoff cigars. Founder […]

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