As I’m starting to sort out the videos I took at the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival last weekend, I figured I’d start off with Matt Booth of Room 101 Cigars and just get it over with. One never know’s what to expect with Matt, always entertaining and after all is said and done, he’s a class guy.  His table was right next to the Halfwheel table, hence the comment a few moments into the video. Last night I…

Last weekend we flew out to Denver, Colorado to go to the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival.  Friday evening we drove up to a cigar store called Havana Manor where they were having a My Father Cigars and Tatuaje event. It still amazes me that I can walk into a cigar store 2000 miles from home and know a bunch of people. It was a who’s who of the cigar industry there and we had the pleasure of catching up with friends, and if I tried to list names I’d miss someone.  I picked up…

Steve Parker, owner of Lone Star State Cigar Co. located in Allen and Plano, Texas, announces the release of the SP3.



The SP3 is blended by Ezra Zion Cigar Company exclusively for Lone Star and will only be available through their retail locations.



“We hit up the Ezra Zion boys to do something special for our shops. I told them the profile we wanted and what our customers were purchasing most from their blends, and they hit it out of the park for us.” said…

The Cohiba Nicaragua was one of the many new cigars launched by General Cigar at IPCPR 2014.  The interest in Nicaraguan tobacco has grown dramatically over the last few years and General has fully embraced the trend.

Cohiba…

The Viaje Leaded is the 15^th release under the Exclusivo line. The Leaded is different than the rest of the Exclusivo line because it uses special tobacco called Medio Tempio. Medio Tempio is the highest priming leaf, which means it is usually cut from the stalk last, and comes from the top of the tobacco plant.

Go time.…

MIAMI, FL -- August 26, 2014 -- Maya Selva Cigars is pleased to announce that effective September 1st, 2014, Gabriel Alvarez will be joining our team as Director of Sales in the United States.

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Toronto -‐ August 25, 2014 – Bodega Premium Blends @BodegaCigars is excited to announce their continued support for MMA fighter Mitch Gagnon @MitchGagnonUFC. With an impressive 11-­‐2 record and two UFCTM Fight Bonuses in his last four fights, Mitch is considered, by many, as the top bantamweight in Canada. With a wrestling and grappling background, Mitch’s standup talents have impressed fans as of late. His aggressive style makes for exciting fights that rarely make it passed the first two…

The D’Crossier was a new brand to me at the IPCPR 2014. A brand under Pure Aroma Cigars, they are based out of Miami and manufactured in Costa Rica under Isaias Santana Diaz.

The L’Forte is planned for a September release which will be annually limited to 2,000 boxes. Available in four vitolas; Robusto…

Miami, FL – Drew Estate Tobacco Co. announced today the release of the first “Tienda Exclusiva by Willy Herrera”, a concept cigar by Willy Herrera. Made at La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in extremely small batches, the Tienda Exclusiva line is specially crafted for one retailer per release, with only a few releases scheduled per year. The inaugural “Tienda Exclusiva by Willy Herrera” blend was produced for the owner of Barrister Cigars in Union, New Jersey, David Mallow, following the 2013 New…

Before I begin my review, let me start with a “Tantrum” of sorts.  This past February I discovered the original release of the Tantrum (presando pequeno).  I recall it like it was yesterday.  I was at Cigar-ette City, the Peoples Plaza (Newark, DE) location of Gary Griffiths many walk-in…

Disclaimer: what follows is my attempt to review a cigar. In reality, however, this is nothing more than my entry into the contest for some la barba purple!

Surrogates Cigars is a brand created and sold under the umbrella of L'Atelier Imports. The aim of the brand, according to the New Havana Cigars (owned by Dan Welsh) website, is to create "limited edition quality at everyday price." New Havana Cigars provides the pertinent background info:…

The Espinosa 601 La Bomba Warhead II, which premiered at IPCPR 2014, is the second annual Warhead release. The Warhead II is a similar blend to the Warhead I, but it had a minor change in one of the leaves due to availability.

The biggest difference to the blend is the vitola. The Warhead I was a 6.5 x 54 Toro while the Warhead II is a 5 x 56 Grande Robusto. Jerad reviewed the Warhead I last…

When we left off I was in Chicago and I mentioned I was going to visit Casa de Montecristo in Countryside, IL. I set the GPS in the car, which, for some reason, didn’t take the street number for me. I decided to wing it, and set off anyway. I got about ten miles down I-294 and the GPS had lost it. The lady in the dashboard kept telling me to take the next left, then recalculated, take the next left….I was on a highway with no left turns! She didn’t know what she was doing! I pulled off the…

Ventura Project 805 Toro



Wrapper: Corojo Shade

Binder: Dominican Olor

Filler: Dominican Blend + Andullo - reportedly this is one of the first cigars to use Andullo tobacco, but I'm not sure about that.…

Crowned Heads recently announced its first regional release for the State of Tennessee called the "Tennessee Waltz". The Tennessee Waltz is the third cigar released this year from Crowned Heads & My Father. This cigar will only be available to retailers in Tennessee, which is Jon Huber's home state.

The Tennessee Waltz is expected to hit the shelves in September. The initial production will be 5,000 cigars and will be packed in 20 count boxes. The cigar is expected to retail…

Since I can't pass up a weasel opportunity for those La Barba Purple, and I had this stick on deck, and for SOME reason no one has reviewed it yet, look at what you get!

I picked up this Tarazona Revolution 305 Torpedo through last year's Cigar Federation pass. As always with a pass full of sticks you've never tried, grabbing this was a total leap of faith, especially because at the time I had no idea what I liked or wanted. Lucky me.

Cigar: Tarazona…

             One of my booth reviews for IPCPR, was the Atabey booth, and an interview I did with Nelson Alfonso.  You can find that writeup HERE, and the Bandolero is mentioned as one of Alfonso’s releases.  I find it worth noting before I get into the review, that Nelson employs cedar aging rooms that use several different breeds of cedar, to provide the ultimate…

Illusione Cuchillos Cubanos

Corona Minor 4 1/2 x 46

Nicaraguan Tobacco

This is a great smoke I recently picked up.  They come in a pack of 5.  The cigar started with a heavy pepper flavor and never let up.  It was a full bodied smoke for me.

This cigar is a great after dinner smoke if you don't have a lot of time.  I am looking forward to smoking the rest of them. …

Originally planned for a 2013 release, the Guayacan Maduro was delayed due to inconsistencies in the tobacco.  The cigar is being released this year (2014) with a few tweaks that helped fix the problems.   

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