Written by: Charlie
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Apparently it’s Corona week at TheCigarFeed, whatever… no complaints from me. Let me start off this review by saying, I think putting your name on a cigar is a dangerous idea and such were my thoughts when there were ramblings about this prior to the IPCPR show. It’s a risk. If the cigar fails, your name is… well, ruined. Quite frankly, it’s just a risk that I wouldn’t take. Those were my first reactions to the Guillermo León and then I attended a launch party… and things changed.
This was my first Cuban but I did my best to temper my excitement and pretend like I was smoking an unknown cigar. The pre-light nose was barnyard-ish and the foot smelled a little sweet. I tried a new-to-me lighting technique whereby the toast and light are done before the cigar is clipped. This put off a wonderfully sweet smell of sweetness (honey?) and tobacco. The smell was so great that my smoking buddy walked around the side of the house into the back yard and instantly stopped and said “that smells amazing!” The construction was fine. It wasn’t soft but wasn’t terribly firm. No real blemishes to speak of either.
Written by: Charlie
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Reflecting on all of what was the pre-show excitement for IPCPR 2010 (which some part of me is convinced consumers don’t really care about), three cigars really came to mind: E.P. Carillo’s much anticipated “core” line, whatever Pete Johnson was willing to show us in terms of the Face and Drew Estate and the saga of the Dirty Rat. Unlike the JD4, which I feel confident in saying most smokers still aren’t aware of, the Dirty Rat has been floating around for a while. Steve Saka and Jonathan have been handing them out events and tastings, like Texas Cigar Fest, to retailers and pictures of the ugly-ass band were out for a while. Still, starting in June or so, every week a new snippet would come from some interview with Jonathan or Steve as to whether the world would see the Dirty Rat. It seemed like it was going to happen, but even yours truly was on the doubt train. Anyways, JD delivered and here’s my thoughts.
Written by: Charlie
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Anyways, back to regularly scheduled program, that means expect three reviews a week. News after el jump.
Written by: Charlie
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I alluded to it in my post on the Gran Habano booth from IPCPR, but changes were coming to Gran Habano. In the wee hours this morning the company officially announced that September would likely be the last month that the 3 SLS and Cabinet Selection would be shipping to retailers. For those that don’t remember, the 3 SLS was formally the 3 Siglos, but was forced to be renamed due to legal issues. Short and sweet press release after the jump.
Written by: Charlie
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Listing the large debates of the cigar community: Cuban vs. non-Cuban, cello vs. no cello and then…? For me, it’s the “boutique” debate. (Okay, perhaps it’s a jump) I’ve partook in the discussion of “what is a boutique” a couple of times. I’m not really sure what the difference is at the end of the day because it really just comes down to how each individual does business. (That and like every other thing in the cigar world, it’s completely subjective.) Names like K.A. Kendall, 13th Floor and El Primer Mundo come to my mind next to the b-word. Then there’s Andre Farkas’ Viaje. It’s one of those that’s just sort of beyond “boutique.” Nine out of ten of the Nicaraguan cigars produced by Farkas are limited editions. Labels like Summerfest, Holiday Blend and Skull & Bones are just a few of the special editions produced by the company. The Fifty | Fifty is one of three blends that make up Viaje’s core line, the other two being the Oro and Platino. My review to follow.
Written by: Charlie
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The band changed, but the cigar is here. The much touted Liga Privada Dirty Rat was officially announced by Drew Estate. It’s not part of the No. 9 or T52 blends, but rather part of the Ünico Serie, which will be Drew Estate’s Skunkworks. Press release after the jump.
Written by: Charlie
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Sorry for the delay, things are going to be hectic for the next week or so… Anyways, in a week that cannot be better than described than “IPCPR recovery week” there was actually a bit of news. The news after the jump.
Written by: Charlie
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Without a doubt, Toraño Family Cigars has been one of the most covered events in the news port of TheCigarFeed. That largely has to do with the timing of their break-off from CAO. Coinciding with the announcement, Toraño also told the world about three new cigars. One of them was the Master by Carlos Toraño, a cigar created by Toraño and master roller Felipe Sosa. I had a chance to talk to Mr. Sosa at IPCPR (as well some other wonderful people from Toraño) about this specific cigar and the other happenings at the company. Anyways the first edition of my thoughts of the onslaught of new releases from show, the Master by Carlos Toraño.
Written by: Charlie
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I had the chance to sit down with Mike Argenti of the Berger & Argenti company and we talked about the new releases. There were a couple including the Entubar QUAD MADURO. I’ll likely review these shortly. Anyways, if you haven’t checked out my review of the Entubar Robusto, here it is. Pictures and Press Release after the jump.
