Norteno is the newest project by Drew Estate and the first with Willy Herrera as the master blender. The cigar is a follow-up to the Herrera Esteli which was the first cigar blended by Willy Herrera for Drew Estate. The cigar comes in 10 count boxes in 6 different sizes all of which are box pressed and none bigger then a 54 ring gauge. The name of the cigar is a term for people from […]
Reaching into my humidor of new releases, I pulled out the EP Carrillo La Historia. The cigar was introduced at the 2014 IPCPR and comes in 3 sizes. The box pressed cigar is offered in El Senador (5 3/8 x 52), Doña Elena (6 1/8 x 50) and E-III (6 7/8 x 54). It is the first box pressed cigar offered by EP Carrillo. Cigar: EP Carrillo La Historia Size: Dona Elena (6 1/8 x 50) Wrapper: San Andreas Binder: Ecuador Sumatra Filler: Dominican, […]
In 2011, Pete Johnson created an exclusive cigar for Two Guys Smoke Shop as a follow-up to the Don Pepin Firecracker. The cigar was highly sought after then, and continues to be sought after today. Periodically, they release the cigar as part of a sampler or at a special event. The next event, is October 12th, when Pete Johnson comes to town (details below). Rumor has it, that this will be the last of the […]
This past weekend, I took part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge creating the trifecta of people from the show taking part. In the past week David Garofalo and Mr. Jonathan took part as well. One of my nominees was the Director of Sales from Gurkha which leads me to today’s review. According to the Press Release, the Gurkha Classic Cigar Havana Blend is available in 4 sizes; Robusto (5.5 x 52), Toro (6 x 54), XO (6 […]
I first met Jorge Armenteros from Tobacconist University before I started blogging, I was the occasional customer in his store, A Little Taste of Cuba when my travels took me to Princeton, New Jersey. In talking to Jorge you realize how passionate he is about tobacco, and how he wants to educate those around him for the betterment of the industry. The R & D allows him to bring the teaching to you. This tasting seminar with […]
A little over a week ago I received a package from Drew Estate, the distributors of Balmoral in the USA. Included in the package were samples of Panther and Mehari cigarillos and a USB drive of images. While there website isn’t exactly good for information if does have a pretty awesome feel of the old PC game, 7th guest. Balmoral was founded in 1895, and led by a renowned Dutch cigar manufacturer, the brand developed into […]
Crowned Heads, a company started by Mike Condor and Jon Huber after CAO Cigars was sold to General has made it a habit to build cigars around musical reference. The Jericho Hill is no different as it leans on Johnny Cash for inspiration. Jericho Hill was inspired by Cash’s rendition of “Cocaine Blues,” found on Cash’s 1968 live album, “At Folsom Prison.” The song is a tale of a man, Willy Lee, who goes down […]
Recently we spoke on the show about the Cigar Journal Awards, and the best value cigar from Honduras was voted as the Flor de Selva for the Villa Zamorano. As luck would have it when I returned to work on Monday morning there was some samples from the company waiting for me in my humidor. According the Maya Selva Cigars website, Since 1995, when Flor de Selva was launched in France, the “Maya Selva Cigars” […]
Based on the press release the Laranja by Espinosa was a cigar I was most curious about. One, it utilizes a Brazilian wrapper, which is amongst my favorite, and the other was the press release stating that the wrapper was orange, for which the cigar is named. Laranja is the Portugese word for orange. Researching the tobacco, I was unable to find a reference to it, and I wonder if this was fabricated to increase the […]
Conspiracy, if there is one person who has embraced them it is Dion Giolito and his company Illusione cigars. However, I feel there might be some type of conspiracy in play here as the company which has embraced small ring gauges has released a cigar with some added girth. The website states, “Critical mass. Heavy in flavor and in size. The illusione *G* Gigantes creates the smoke to fend off thought control allowing an A-1 […]