Leaf by Oscar is a creation by one of the most colorful men in the Cigar Business, Island Jim. During a factory trip with some regulars from his shop in Pittsburgh; Leaf & Bean he got to meet Oscar at Rocky Patel. Oscar who now owns his own factory in Danli, Hondurus made some test blends for Jim and he asked Oscar to wrap the cigar in a tobacco leaf. Confused at first as the […]
When I first took the ride up to Two Guys Smoke Shop in New Hampshire, upon meeting David Garofalo he gave me an Atabey to smoke. The cigar was easily one of the greatest cigars I smoked, and I couldn’t wait to smoke it again. Today, we smoke it again. The cigar is made by Nelson Alfonso who is best known for his work on Cuban cigar brands, including the Behike. According to the Atabey website, […]
News came out over the weekend, that Grace Sotolongo got engaged, so we want to offer her congratulations and we figured what better time to review her cigar. If we don’t like it she’s still on that engagement high. For those of you who don’t know Grace Sotolongo she is the person behind Hechicera. Grace got her start at My Father Cigars, before moving over to Fabrica Unidas which is home to CLE, Asylum, Pura Soul and […]
On Facebook, I saw Dan Reeves of Cigar Press Magazine on Facebook call the La Riqueza Lancero one of the best cigars he smoked at the show, so naturally I had to get my hands on one. Being a cigar geek, I like the small ring gauge cigars, however the marketplace doesn’t agree with me and sales back that up. Over the years, the size has steadily declined with only the hardcore fans remaining. This […]
Since 2005, Illusione cigars created by Dion Giolito set out to re-think the modern standard of cigar culture in the market today. Dion’s approach was “do the opposite from everyone else in the industry.” One subtle way was by putting the size descriptive front and center on the band, normally where the brand name would go. This is the case with the illusione 68. With the crew expected back from Las Vegas this morning, I […]
In honor of David Garofalo winning an Industry Service Award from Davidoff, we decided to take a look into the cigar that carries his name, Garofalo. Owner of Two Guys Smoke Shop which has three locations in New Hampshire, he is also the lead host of the weekly radio show of which I am a part of, The Cigar Authority. I could tell you about the cigar, but I will attach a video at the […]
Robert Wright, the man behind Pura Soul is someone I have known since I lived in Brooklyn, NY. When I was partners in The Humidor, he was our local rep. He would eventually wind up with Christian Eiroa where he would partner up with him on the release of this smoke. One of my favorite memories of Robert Wright was at Country Club Cigars watching him play the saxophone at an event. I was surprised […]
On Thursday night I ran into Kurt Kendall at a local event sponsored by a local radio station, The Mill. The event was a cross promotion between his shop, Jack Daniels, and KC’s Rib Shack. On a side note, the pulled pork I had from the shack located in Manchester, NH was off the chain. It was the night before he would leave for IPCPR out of Boston, and as luck would have it he […]
Earlier this week, we had Jon Carney from La Flor Dominicana in the studio for a taping of The Cigar Authority which is set to air later today. During the course of the show we spoke about the various new releases coming from this great company at the 2014 IPCPR trade show. During the show we smoked the 1994 which is a celebration of their 20th Anniversary and today we look at the sequel to […]
When you mention Joya de Nicaragua to people they instantly think strong cigars. The Dark Antano is famous, or infamous depending on your view of strength. A lot of people overlook some of their cigars including the Cabinetta which is mild to medium in body out of the fear that was instilled in them from the aforementioned strength of the Antano. This weekend at IPCPR the company which is distributed by Drew Estate is set […]