We have now summarized the results of our regular cigar tastings in Berlin in a 400-page book and illustrated them with 196 of our own photos.
This first part covers the period from May 2021 to May 2023. A second part is planned.
The bilingual (German/English) cigar book reports on our smoking experiences, the carefully researched stories and backgrounds of the manufacturers and their brands, as well as the tobaccos used and their origin.
You can take a first look here:
Cigar Stories — Tastings & More
Our Tastings
2024/09/01
Today we ventured into a cigar with ancient roots, the new Villiger La Meridiana.
These historical roots lie in the long-forgotten Cuban factory “La Meridiana” by Pedro Murias. During the Cuban War of Independence, Murias was forced to sell his factory shortly after the end of the war in 1898. Decades later, Heinrich Villiger discovered the history of this old brand on one of his numerous trips to Cuba. He then wanted to create a full-bodied cigar in honor of Pedro Murias.
100 years after the sale of Pedro Murias’ Cuban factory, “El Mundo de Tabaco”, a subsidiary of Villiger in Nicaragua, took over this task and brought the cult brand back to life. In 2015, La Meridiana received a completely new blend. Since the new “Villiger de Nicaragua” factory went into operation in 2021, our La Meridiana has been rolled there.
Of course we will try them and let you know. Stay tuned!
2024/09/03
Now the new Villiger La Meridiana. Well, it’s not entirely new. This cigar brand, which is over a hundred years old, was brought back to life by Heinrich Villiger in 1998 and was re-blended in 2015 in keeping with the spirit of the times. We chose the Robusto.
It has a nice 50 ring gauge and a length of 5″ and is good for a 40-minute smoke.
The H‑2000 wrapper was grown in Nicaragua, just like the Connecticut binder. The filler also comes from Nicaragua, so it’s a Nicaraguan Puro.
It started out quite spicy and peppery, but quickly gave way to nut and wood aromas. From the second third onwards, chocolate and coffee aromas were added.
With this cigar, Heinrich Villiger wanted to keep the name and rich history of Pedro Murias’ old Cuban cigar factory Meridiana alive. We think he did a pretty good job with this full-bodied cigar.
2024/08/16
Last year we already reported on the Casa De Nicaragua bundle cigar from Villiger. At that time we had smoked the torpedo and it convinced us. Now we want to try the largest of this series, the Churchill.
Villiger had already presented it at the InterTabak in Dortmund, Germany in 2014. It was actually a relaunch, because the brand was already around until 2005, although not as a bundle, but in wooden boxes of 10.
Our Churchills have been manufactured in Villiger’s new factory in Esteli, Nicaragua since 2021. Previously they came from the “Joya de Nicaragua” factory. 100 employees also produce the brands La Meridiana, San Doro, La Vencedora, La Libertad, Casa de Nicaragua and Corrida in the new “Villiger de Nicaragua” factory.
20. August 2024
Today it was their turn, our Bundle-Churchills Casa de Nicaragua from Villiger.
Well-crafted sticks. The dimensions of the online shops vary between 50 and 53 for the ring gauge and the length between 6½” and 7″. We measured them: they actually have a 50 ring gauge and a length of 7″.
The dark brown Shade wrapper from Ecuador was grown from seeds from the largest Antillean island, the Indonesian binder wraps the filler made of Nicaraguan tobacco. There are also different details about the design. It is neither a long filler nor a short filler. The short filler is wrapped in larger tobacco leaves like a sandwich. The design is known as a Cuban sandwich. Villiger himself calls it a medium filler.
The draw and burn were flawless. As with the Torpedo from the same series, we could taste leather, wood, a pinch of pepper and a little sweetness.
A very good one-hour smoke with an excellent price-performance ratio.
24/08/14
Two years ago, the Maduro of the “Blackbeard” series from Thomas Sontheimer’s brand “T. Sonthi” saw the light of the day. Our pirates are “Double-Robustos” with a 55 ring gauge and a length of 5⅛”.
The very uniform dark brown Viso wrapper comes from Ecuador and was grown from seeds from the largest Antilles island. The Maduro color was achieved through an 8 month fermentation. The Nicaraguan binder comes from Condega, north of Esteli. The filler comes from the Nicaraguan island of Ometepe, which is famous for its fiery tobaccos, and also from Condega. They are rolled in Nicaragua.
The burn was bolt upright and left an amazingly solid ash and produced a creamy, voluminous smoke. The draw resistance was perfect.
We could taste the typical Maduro flavors of chocolate and espresso without becoming peppery.
The “Barbados” was actually too sweet for us. But this extreme sweetness went surprisingly well with its explosion of flavors.
Two really good pirate pieces by Thomas Sontheimer from Laupheim, Germany.
2024/08/12
There’s always something new! This time a double from the German Thomas Sontheimer from Laupheim, Germany. Four years ago he gave up his job as a production manager to start the “T. Sonthi” brand. It all started with the creation of a Caribbean rum according to his own ideas. Our “Barbados” was distilled from molasses from the island of Barbados and then stored for 10 years in 60 gallons former bourbon barrels made from American white oak. To round off the taste, it is sweetened with sugar. Since it now contains 1 oz of sugar per quart, it is called a rum-based spirit. Of course we will taste it.
Two years later, in 2022, his own cigar was added as a logical consequence. There are two series, we chose the “Blackbeard”, a Maduro. It was named after the infamous pirate who was a privateer in the Caribbean at the beginning of the 18th century.
We are really looking forward to this duo and will of course report back.
2024/08/08
We took a chance and ordered this behemoth. Asylum Cigars’ mantra has always been “all or nothing”. Our Pandemonium takes that to the next level with its monster length of 8½“ and a 70 ring gauge (more than an inch). It was named after the capital of hell. WOW!!!
Asylum Cigars is a company under the umbrella of the C.L.E. Cigar Company. It is co-owned by Tom Lazuka and Christian Eiroa. Tom Lazuka previously worked as a representative for Colibri Accessories and then also for Camacho Cigars before setting out on his own as a cigar producer.
Each cigar comes in a white tissue paper sleeve. One reason for this is that Asylum Cigars co-owner Christian Eiroa has an aversion to cellophane.
We will take plenty of time and tell you about this behemoth from hell.
2024/08/10
First of all: if you are afraid of a long-term relationship then this gigantic cigar is not for you. It took us all of three hours to fully enjoy it.
Our Asylum 13 Pandemonium is really huge with its 70 ring gauge (more than one inch) and a length of 8½”. We weighed it once and it weighed 1.7 oz. A lot of tobacco.It is a Nicaraguan Puro with a coffee bean colored, oily H‑2000 wrapper. So grown from seeds from the largest Antilles island in Nicaragua. The binder is a broadleaf. It is rolled at NACSA (Nicaraguan American Cigars) in Nicaragua.
After lighting, aromas of white pepper appeared, but were immediately replaced by cocoa, espresso and a hint of chocolate.
It was varied and never got boring and is certainly perfect for a long barbecue evening around the campfire.
2024/08/04
Now the Tabacalera “My Father Cigars” by José Pepin Garcia in Nicaragua has also discovered the growing market of so-called budget cigars. These are definitely premium cigars, but at a very reasonable price. This cigar was named after Don Pepin’s hometown of Baez in the province of Villa Clara east of Havana in Cuba. The Tabacos Baez brand was originally produced by his uncle in Cuba. In the 2000s, Don Pepin revived this brand in Nicaragua. Originally designed as a long filler, it has now been redesigned as a so-called Cuban Sandwich, and has thus been transferred to the inexpensive budget segment. In the Cuban Sandwich, the short filler is rolled into one or more large tobacco leaves, like a sandwich. They have been rolled this way since 2018. On the cigar band, this type is marked as “SF” for short filler. Our “My Father Cigars Tabacos Baez Serie SF” Toro 6 x 50 comes in a truly picturesque, beautiful hard cardboard box. We will report back!
2024/08/06
Our expectations were great. when we lit the first Toros of the Baez SF series from the Tabacalera My Father Cigars Tabacos. What would a budget cigar from the famous Tabacalera by José Pepin Garcia from Nicaragua be like?
A Nicaraguan Puro with a 50 ring gauge and a length of 6″. To reduce the price, it is rolled in a Cuban sandwich style. The very high quality tobaccos of the filler are smaller pieces of tobacco made from the remains of long fillers, which are rolled up in a slightly larger leaf like a sandwich and thus allow for a reasonable price.
In terms of taste, our samples were definitely recognizable as being from Don Pepin’s production. Only in terms of craftsmanship, at least the cigars from our box of 20, “could be improved”. The draw resistance was enormous to painful, very unusual for a short filler. In addition, the burning was very wild and crooked, but it could be corrected. A cheap Toro that unfortunately didn’t quite meet our expectations.
2024/07/20
The namesake of our current cigar, Simon Camacho, left Cuba in 1961 and settled in Miami, Florida. Here he founded and produced his own brand for the regional market. Five years after his death in 1990, the Eirora family bought the now flourishing company. Eirora moved production to Honduras in 1995. In 2008, the Swiss group Oettinger/Davidoff bought the Camacho brand and some of Eirora’s lands for a reported $35 million. In 2013, the brand launched with a completely new design and logo, a battle-ready scorpion as a symbol of the brand’s heritage and its modern philosophy of aggressive competition. Together with 4 newly created series, this brand relaunch was called “The Bold Standard”. In 2017, Davidoff opened the newly built Tabacalera Diadema Cigars de Honduras in Danli, also simply known as the Camacho factory. It replaced the old Fabric Agroindustria LAEPE and now has space for 125 two-person roller teams.
Of course we will test our Broadleaf and report back to you!
2024/07/22
Now we have also tested it, our Camacho Broadleaf Toro. It is relatively new on the market and came to dealers in the fall of last year. Our Toro has a 50 ring gauge and is 6″ long. The wrapper is a Broadleaf, not from Connecticut, USA as usual but from Honduras, as is the binder. The blend of the filler comes from the Dominican Republic and Honduras. It is rolled in the Tabacalera Diadema Cigars de Honduras from Davidoff.
A well-made mild cigar with a very nice leathery, oily wrapper. We could sense sweet, leathery and spicy aromas and enjoyed it for almost an hour.
2024/07/09
Now we have lit it, the truly not cheap Diadema Fina from the Villiger Celebration 2024 series, which Heinrich Villiger’s employees created for him for his 94th birthday.
The positive first. A beautifully made vitola in a particularly attractive individual packaging. The cigar feels very firm and evenly rolled. Villiger does not reveal much about the tobaccos used, only that the very even dark wrapper comes from Ecuador, the binder from Mexico and the filler from Nicaragua. With its 58 ring gauge and its length of 6″, it gave us a fairly strong smoke that lasted a good hour.
It does not burn quite evenly, but it was easy to correct. The smoke volume was rather modest and the draw resistance quite strong. We could sense sweet and floral aromas.
A bit disappointing for this price segment, it will not be our birthday cigar.
2024/07/11
Now we have lit it, the truly not cheap Diadema Fina from the Villiger Celebration 2024 series, which Heinrich Villiger’s employees created for him for his 94th birthday.
The positive first. A beautifully made vitola in a particularly attractive individual packaging. The cigar feels very firm and evenly rolled. Villiger does not reveal much about the tobaccos used, only that the very even dark wrapper comes from Ecuador, the binder from Mexico and the filler from Nicaragua. With its 58 ring gauge and its length of 6″, it gave us a fairly strong smoke that lasted a good hour.
It does not burn quite evenly, but it was easy to correct. The smoke volume was rather modest and the draw resistance quite strong. We could sense sweet and floral aromas.
A bit disappointing for this price segment, it will not be our birthday cigar.
2024/07/03
This is what Bavarian heaven should look like! But one after another. The Munich resident Sven Lorenzi @der_lorenzi — also a member of our chapter — founded an illustrious group called “Bavarian Cigar Lovers” with his Bavarian friends, all cigar smokers. They meet in selected lounges around Munich and indulge in their hobby of enjoying good cigars. One of these smokes sparked the idea of creating an own cigar. Sven looked for and found a small Tabacalera in Esteli, Nacaragua that can produce small series according to customer requirements. An importer was soon found who could breathe life into this idea and implement all the formalities such as the German tobacco law, customs and taxes. There was a long discussion and finally the decision was made to make a Nicaraguan Puro in Robusto format. The “Bavarian Cigar Lovers” cigar was born. It is sold exclusively by selected Bavarian cigar dealers and of course by Sven himself. We will test them over the next few days and of course report back to you.
2024/07/05
The band on our cigar today says “You’ll never smoke alone” and I wanted to test that. So I looked for a free table in the garden of my local restaurant in summer temperatures. And with a suitable Bavarian whiskey I lit the Bavarian Cigar Lovers’ new club cigar.
The cold cigar gave off a pleasant, fruity scent of figs. When lit, it immediately produces a rich, creamy smoke. And it didn’t take long before two gentlemen joined me and wanted to know what kind of cigar gave off such delicious smoke. We quickly became a group of cigar smokers talking shop and I got rid of my second test cigar. The slogan on the band is a warning!
This Robusto is a long filler and Nicaraguan Puro with a Maduro wrapper. The tobaccos used were fermented three times, each lasting 6 months. A great and, above all, sociable three quarter hour smoke with spicy, sweet cocoa flavors at a very good price/performance ratio.
2024/06/29
The 17th UEFA (Union of European Football Associations) European Soccer Championship 2024 will be held in Germany this time. In 1988 the championship took place in the divided Germany. This year was the first time in reunified Germany. The final will take place on July 14th in Berlin. The preliminary rounds have been played and Germany is among the best 16 of the 24 teams that competed! Today the first round of last 16: Germany against Denmark in Dortmund from 9 p.m..
It will be exciting and of course we have prepared ourselves with a European champion beer from Bitburger and three cigars, one for each half and one for injury time and the subsequent victory celebration. We chose “The Judge” from “My Fathers”, from the Garcia family Tabacalera. “The Judge” is intended to support us in assessing the game and, if necessary, to appease us.
May the best win. (That was a joke!). We will report on both the game and our cigar. Stay tuned!
2024/07/01
Wow, Germany beat the Danish team 2–0 and made it to the quarter-finals of the 2024 European Soccer Championship! Congratulations to the team and the coach!
We also got ourselves some Grand Robustos from the “The Judge” series from the Garcia family’s Tabacalera in Esteli, Nicaragua. The series is named after a close friend of the family, a judge. It was a perfect fit for our football game, as there were some controversial decisions by the referee (judge).
Our Grand Robustos have a ring gauge of 60 and a length of 5″. So just right for one half time.
The Sumatra wrapper comes from Ecuador, the binder and the filler blend from Nicaragua. The cold cigar exudes a strong aroma of peppery chocolate. It is a very strong cigar with aromas of cocoa, hay, earth and wood. The burn had to be corrected now and then and it tends to tunneling. It was like the football game, a positive surprise with some need for correction!
2024/06/22
The legendary Eladio Diaz was Davidoff’s master blender for 35 years. In 2020, Diaz said goodbye to Davidoff and a year later founded his own Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera together with his wife and sons. In April of this year, after the limited-edition birthday cigar Diaz’ 70 for his 70th birthday, he released his first regular product line.
He enigmatically calls this line “Before and After”. To explain the name, Diaz says “the tobacco blend represents my before, when I was an employee, and my after, when I saw my children keep the legacy of what was a labor of love for me alive.”
The small Tabacalera is located in Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic and is run by his wife Griselda, while his sons Alexander and Hector act as chief financial officer and production manager. His third son Emmanual will not be there, he will remain with E.P. Carillo as Marketing Director and Head of International Sales.
24. Juni 2024
Eladio Diaz und seine erste reguläre Zigarrenserie, die wir heute probieren wollen ist heute virtuell unser Gast. Es ist die „Bevor and After“ aus seiner Familien-Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera in der Dominikanischen Republik. Wir hatten uns von den drei verfügbaren Vitolas für die Legado entschieden. Diese Vitola ähnelt einer Toro mit einem 54er Ringmaß und einer Länge von 5¾“ / etwas über 14,5 cm.
Das Crojo Deckblatt stammt aus Ecuador, das Habano 2000 Umblatt aus der Dominikanischen Republik und die Einlage bestehend aus Boadleaf, Habano 92, Habano 2000 und Piloto Cubano allesamt ebenfalls aus der Dominikanischen Republik.
Die kalte Zigarre verströmt einen angenehmen Duft nach Zeder, dunkler Schokolade, Kaffeebohnen, Muskatnuss und einer schönen Süße.
Angezündet fanden wir eine blumige Süße, Kaffee, Schokolade und weißen Pfeffer. Das Zugverhalten, Abbrand und Rauchentwicklung waren die einer sehr guten Premiumzigarre.
Ab der Hälfte traten die süßlichen Aromen in den Vordergrund. Sie bescherte uns einen einstündigen sehr guten Smoke zu einem ausgezeichneten Preis- Leistungsverhältnis.
2024/06/18
Our Captain Max visited Sepp Mayr’s Tabakinsel (Tobacco Island) on Lake Tegernsee in Bavaria, which we value, and discovered an inexpensive bundle cigar for us.
It is the Dominico series by Villiger from the Black Forest, Germany. The name Dominico suggests a Dominican puro, but it is not. However, the Dominico series is manufactured in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic at ABAM Cigars by Matías Maragoto. Villiger has an almost familial relationship with the Maragotos; the two entrepreneurs have been working together with a handshake since the collaboration began in 1998. Our Max chose the Churchill format. This series probably used to be available in a wooden box of 10. It was reissued in 2010 and came onto the market as an inexpensive bundle.
Of course we will try them and let you know. Stay tuned!
2024/06/20
Today we lit our Churchills from the Villiger Dominico series. It’s a very inexpensive bundle cigar, so it’s not in an expensive wooden box, but just cellophane wrapped as a pack of 10.
It looks flawless with its beautiful, light wrapper, has a 53 ring gauge (we measured it because there are different statements) and is 6½” long.
The Connecticut Shade wrapper comes from Ecuador, the binder from Indonesia and the filler blend is a Piloto from the Dominican Republic and from Nicaragua.
It is rolled in the Tabacalera ABAM in the Dominican Republic.
Now we were very skeptical as to whether such an inexpensive Churchill could actually be a long filler. Therefore we sacrificed a cigar and dismantled it (see second photo). Yes, it is actually a long filler.
It gave us a mild, one-hour smoke that was quite good, but with barely definable, slightly sweet aromas of wood and grass. Unfortunately, two out of our bundle showed tunneling. Price-performance ratio is therefore only OK.
2024/06/14
Today we want to enjoy the rebirth of a legend. But first things first. There are very few brands that are direct descendants of renowned Cuban factories that gave rise to brands such as H. Upmann, Partagas and Romeo y Julieta. After learning for decades under the best Cubans, Rolando Reyes founded “Aliados”. This brand was revived by him in the 1990s, now in Honduras.
In 1921, the Belgian Vandermarliere family, having already acquired the Oliva family’s Tabacalera, bought the brand rights from the Reyes family. In 2022, the relaunch of the old Aliados brand will start on two tracks. For the first time, as contract production not in the company’s own factories. One line, the Aliados Original series, is produced by Julio Eirora in Honduras, the other — ours -, the Aliados Cabinet Selection by Ernesto Perez Carillo in his Tabacalera La Alianza in the Dominican Republic. Both Carillo and Eirora were old acquaintances of Reyes and were supposed to continue the tradition of the Aliados.
We will report back!
2024/06/17
Almost a year ago we already reported on the Cuba Aliados, or as it can only be called “Aliados” outside the USA for legal reasons. At that time we had tried the Churchills from this series. Today, for comparison, the Torpedos from the same series.
It also comes from the Tabacalera La Alianza by Ernesto Perez Carrillo from Santiago de los Caballeros in the Dominican Republic. It has a 54 ring gauge and is 6″ long. The Sumatra wrapper from Ecuador was allowed to age for 5 years, the binder comes from Nicaragua and the filler also from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. It came onto the market in 2022 and is a limited edition of 15,000 boxes, of which only 5,000 are for sale outside the USA.
An excellent, if not exactly cheap cigar that gave us a 70 minute smoke with aromas of roasted oak, hay, dark chocolate pepper and above all a natural sweetness.
2024/06/10
After we tried a “flavored” cigar from León Jimines a few weeks ago, we now want to try a “real” cigar from this brand.
In 1903, 19-year-old Eduardo Antonio León Jimenes founded the La Aurora cigar factory near Tamboril in the Dominican Republic. His father, Antonio Gavino León González, had already acquired tobacco fields nearby. In 1912, the factory was moved to Santiago. Decades of political unrest and the resulting severe business restrictions followed. It was not until 1961 that the opportunity arose to expand and build the new cigar factory in Santiago de los Caballeros. In 1969, a partnership with Philip Morris and the production of cigarettes began. The company continued to expand in the beverage and spirits sector and founded its own bank in 2003. In 2006, the company separated from the cigarette and partly from the beverage market in order to concentrate on the production of premium cigars. Today the company belongs to the Empresa Leon Jimenes Group, one of the largest companies in the Dominican Republic.
2024/06/12
Today we’re going to smoke the León Jimenes Connecticut. Our cigar today is a classic Parejo cigar in Robusto format from the La Aurora factory, the oldest cigar factory in the Dominican Republic.
The Connecticut-Shade wrapper comes from the River Valley in the USA. The binder comes from the Dominican Republic and the filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. It has a 50 ring gauge and is 5″ long.
The very mild smoke, which lasted almost an hour, revealed very fruity aromas. There were also aromas of nuts, cedar wood and some of us thought we could taste cinnamon. The burn was flawless and gave off a very voluminous and creamy smoke.
This light blend is particularly suitable for those who like mild and elegant cigars.
The ashtray made especially for us as a unique piece by the artist Renate Esenwein (her artist name is Kazzy E. ) served as a cigar rest.
2024/06/06
Sales of the new Zino (Davidoff) Nacaragua Short Puritos start worldwide today, June 6, 2024. We got some straight away.
Zino Davidoff was born on March 11, 1906 in Novgorod-Severskyj, in what is now Ukraine. In 1911 the family moved to Geneva, Switzerland. His father Henri opened a tobacco shop there. Zino now traveled to the major tobacco growing areas and of course Cuba, from where he brought the Havanas with him to Geneva. After the end of WW2, Davidoff received a production license for Cuban cigars. After the US embargo against Cuba came into effect in the 1970s, Zino Davidoff set up production in Honduras for cigars using Honduran and American tobacco. The Zino brand was born. After the dispute with Fidel Castro and the end of his Cuban production, he moved production of all of his cigar brands to the Dominican Republic. Today the Davidoff company belongs to Oettinger Imex AG.
Now we will try the smallest vitola in the Nicaragua series.
2024/06/08
Today the brand new Zino Nacaragua Short Puritos from Oettinger-Davidoff. As the Spanish name “Puritos” suggests, it is actually a cigarillo. In terms of its design, with binder and wrapper, it is similar to its big cigar brothers. The tobaccos used are also identical. The only difference is that these Puritos are machine-made short fillers.
The ring gauge is given by various sources as between 25 and 29. We measured it once and came up with a diameter of 13/32″, which corresponds to a 26 ring gauge. The short is approx. 3″ long.
The wrapper is an Ecuador Shade and the binder comes from Nicaragua. The filler is a blend from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Like most cigarillos, they are ready to smoke, which means there is no need to cut them. The almost 10 minute smoke is very reminiscent of the big brothers with salty and peppery aromas and a hint of chocolate and nuts.
A very good cigarillo for a short “cigarette break” 😉.
2024/05/28
On May 7, 1907, the merchant Emil Karl Ferdinand Wolsdorff opened his first cigar shop on Georgsplatz in Hamburg, Germany.
The Hamburg cigar chain Wolsdorff, with over 170 branches throughout Germany today, is celebrating its 117th birthday this year. That was the reason for us to visit one of the Berlin branches right around the corner.
It was celebrated in style with the special exclusive birthday edition of a D8 from the Tabacalera Vegas de Santiago from Costa Rica.
Of course we will try them and let you know. Stay tuned!
2024/05/30
Today a truly international cigar. The Vegas de Santiago D8 (Wolsdorff Limitada 117 years) Perfecto by the Swiss Marc Niehaus from Geneva for the 117th anniversary of the German cigar chain Wolsdorff from Hamburg, manufactured in the Tabacalera Vegas de Santiago in Costa Rica. The “8” stands for luck and prosperity.
This double figurado has a ring gauge of 50 and a length of 5½”. The beautiful, oily, shimmering Maduro wrapper is an H2000 from Ecuador. The binder is a Criollo, also from Ecuador, and the filler is a blend of Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Peru.
We have found a look-alike, the Vegas de Santiago D8 Exclusivo Alemania Aguila. It is identical to our birthday cigar in terms of shape, dimensions and types of tobacco used. The “Wolsdorff” only has an additional narrow band on the foot of the cigar and is 5 cents more expensive (probably the price of the band 😉).
It was a perfect 50-minute smoke with aromas of black pepper, coffee, sweet cedar wood and nuts.
2024/05/09
We think we have discovered something very rare, a Puro from Africa. It’s the Bongani. They are available in three formats. We chose the largest, the 658 Toro.
Kamal Moukheiber’s factory is located in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique. In 2017, he flew a team from the Dominican Republic to train his employees. The result is the first premium cigars from Africa. And hence the name Bongani, which means “be grateful” in Zulu. The elephant in the logo, closely associated with Africa, symbolizes strength, power and royalty. And the spear he holds in his trunk is called “Ngome” in Swahili, meaning “stronghold.”
There is a long tradition of African cigars, but it had been forgotten.
We are very excited and will of course try them in the next few days and report back to you. Stay tuned!
2024/05/12
Today our African Puro, a Toro from the Bongani 658 series from Mozambique. A truly mighty vitola with its 58 ring gauge and a length of 5½”. The even, oily, shiny wrapper comes from Cameroon, the binder from Mozambique and the filler blend from the Manica province, also Mozambique. The aging process takes place in a cedar wood environment from Ghana.
The cold cigar emits a very pleasant fruity tobacco scent. The drawing behavior was good right from the start. The burn was straight, except for one that kept tending to “canoeing”.
We could notice varied aromas of cocoa, coffee and cedar wood. From the second third onwards there are also leathery and peppery aromas. A slightly salty note was also interesting.
It should be smoked slowly and carefully. A really good 70 minute strong smoke. We are excited to see what else will come from Kamal Moukheiber’s factory in Maputo. We also got the iconic Afri Cola, made from the cola nut, also from Africa.
2024/04/24
A year ago we did it once, the actually unspeakable thing, smoked, or rather tasted, a flavored cigar. It was the English of the LarutaN / NaturaL series from Drew Estate.
Today, after our taste buds have calmed down, a second attempt with a much smaller flavored cigar. It is the León Jimenes Flavor Petit Corona Bee. She used to be called “Honey”. The authorities probably found this misleading and banned this name in connection with tobacco.
The León Jimenes series is a brand from what is probably the oldest cigar factory in the Dominican Republic, Tabacalera La Aurora. In 1903, Eduardo León Jimenes, just 18 years old, inherited some arable land and, together with six employees, laid the foundation for the brand that is now known worldwide.
We are curious to see whether this flavored version can convince us more. We will report. Stay tuned!
2024/04/27
Today we tried a flavored cigar for the second time, the Leon Jimenes Flavor Petit Corona Bee from La Aurora. She used to be named “Honey”.
With a 38 ring gauge and a length of 4”, it is really not huge, this Petit Corona.
It’s a Dominican puro and is said to be flavored, whatever that means.
The cold smell is powerful, like an open jar of honey in a perfumery. When the small cigar touches your lips, the entire mouth immediately fills with an enormous sweetness that drowns out everything else. We would describe the aroma as a mix of honey and sweetener with a floral note. It appears that the head end of the Bee was dipped (flavored) in such a mix. During the twenty-minute smoke, other flavors had no chance.
Conclusion: if you like it, the Bee is the best…
2024/04/17
When we visited our trusted dealer today, we were seduced into buying by the beautiful design of one box.
A decorative box in the old-fashioned style of the old big brands of Cuba. The content, 20 box-pressed Robustos “Flor de las Antillas Sun Grown” from the Tabacalera “My Fathers Cigars” by Don Pepin Garcia from Esteli in Nicaragua. His son Jaime, who created the blend and oversees the production, is responsible for this series.
“Flor de las Antillas” means “Flower of the Antilles”. The Antilles refer to the archipelago of Cuba, Jamaica, Puerto Rico and Hispaniaola, the island with today’s two states Haiti and the Dominican Republic.
The name is reminiscent of Don Pepin Garcia’s origins in Cuba.
We are curious to see whether the cigar, rated at 96 points, does what the packaging promises. We will report, stay tuned!
2024/04/21
Do our Robustos Flor de las Antillas Sun Grown from Don Pepin Garcia’s Tabacalera My Fathers Cigars, in Esteli, Nicaragua, taste as good as they look good?
These Nicaraguan puros have a 50 ring gauge, are box pressed and 5” long.
The wrapper is sun grown and as a special feature they have two binders above the long filler.
The cigar is a feast for the eyes. The fine-veined light brown and flawless wrapper is decorated with a very beautiful old-fashioned cigar band in the style of the old Cuban brands. The foot is protected by a red silk ribbon.
The draw resistance and burning behavior were perfect. In addition to the earthy flavors, we also tasted slightly sweet aromas of nuts and coffee without the peppery spiciness that is usual with My Fathers cigars.
Overall, a very balanced, almost hour-long, great smoke with a good price-performance ratio. The smoke certainly delivered what the look promised.
2024/04/14
Only half a month has passed and the monthly budget for cigars has been used up. What to do? There has to be a plan B.
Oscar Valladares from Honduras, one of the most innovative entrepreneurs in the cigar industry, has this Plan B. It is the extremely affordable bundle cigar “Oscar Valladares Plan B Maduro Toro”. In addition to his much more expensive premium cigars, Valladares has released them as a low-cost variant — as Plan B.
The “Plan B” is only available in the Toro vitola, but in three wrapper variants: the mild Connecticut, the strong Corojo and the sweet, aromatic Maduro, which we chose.
They come as a bundle of 10 in simple cellophane packaging, have a simple cigarband and look quite rustic. There are different information about the type of cigar, from long filler to medium filler to short filler. We have disassembled one and will report on it.
They are rolled in Danli, Honduras in their own Tabacalera, which was built in 2012.
Of course we will also light them and report back.
2024/04/15
Now it was their turn, the inexpensive “Plan B” Maduro bundle cigars from Oscar Valladares from Honduras.
These Toros have a 52 ring gauge and are 6″ long. The somewhat rustic Maduro wrapper comes from Nicaragua, the binder and filler come from Honduras. There are different information about the design of the filler, so we sacrificed one and disassembled it into its components (see next photo). It is neither a long filler nor a medium filler, as some online shops write. A shortfiller blend is wrapped in just one slightly larger sheet, not in several larger sheets like a sandwich. So we would call it a “half sandwich” 😉.
The burn was a bit uneven and quite wild, but the draw behavior was perfect. The taste was okay. They gave off light aromas of coffee and chocolate without being peppery. A very mild 45 minute inexpensive smoke.
2024/04/11
We had already reported on the Frankfurt cigar manufacturer Mercedes-Reyes. In her small factory, Georgina Mercedes Reyes handles tobacco from the Dominican Republic, which her family has grown there since 1910. We have now discovered another cigar from Frankfurt at our trusted retailer, the El Grande Consejero from Urtyp Cigars.
The cigar, which was only released in February of this year, was initiated by Frankfurt aficionado Conrad Menzel and probably comes from the dream of having his own cigar made according to his wishes.
The chosen name “Urtyp” means something like prototype or archetype and is intended to indicate that this cigar is the first of a whole series. In the fall of this year, another 4 Vitolas will come onto the market, which will no longer be rolled in Frankfurt but in the Dominican Republic.
Of course we will take a closer look at them and taste them. We will report! Stay tuned.
2024/04/12
Today we are taking a look at two products named “Urtyp” (prototype), i.e. products from the first generation. The “Urtyp” or archetype of the Hamburg beer “Astra”, brewed according to the original recipe from 1909. And the first cigar from Conrad Menzel, also his “Urtyp” from this year, the El Grande Consejero (the great guide). This Dominican Puro has a 54 ring gauge and a length of 6¼”, so it is a Double Toro or Toro Gordo.
The first thing you notice is the beautiful cigar band with the Frankfurt skyline above the even, dark Corojo wrapper. It has two binders, a Crillo 98 and a Cameroon. The filler is a blend of 60% Seco, 20% Viso and 20% Ligero. All tobaccos were allowed to age for 8–15 years and all come from the Leo Reyes plantations. They are rolled in Frankfurt, Germany in the Mercedes-Reyes cigar factory.
This “Urtyp” gave us a good smoke lasting a good 90 minutes with slightly sweet, fruity and nutty aromas and a voluminous, creamy smoke.
2024/04/07
We have already reported a lot about the Arturo Fuente cigar brand. Founded in 1912 in Tampa, Florida by the then 24-year-old Cuban emigrant Arturo Fuente, today, more than 100 years later, more than 30 million cigars are rolled every year under his son Carlito.
These premium cigars are usually in the upper price segment. Now we got our hands on a box of the Arturo Fuente Classic Especiales. The Especiales Series is a wallet-friendly cigar, created with the idea of creating the taste of a super-premium cigar at a phenomenal price.
We chose the Double Corona from the series, which Fuente calls “Emperator”. It is a unpretentious appearance with a quite simply cigar band. The rusty brown Habano wrapper from Ecuador is a bit rough. It’s not a long filler either, but rather a so-called “Cuban sandwich”. We will report on this later. But that’s all relative since it’s a Fuente!
2024/04/08
Now we have our empress, the Arturo Fuente Classic Especiales Emperador, also going up in smoke. This Double Corona has a 52 ring gauge and is 7″ long.
The Filler is made in the so-called Cuban sandwich style. This means that high-quality, long-matured smaller pieces of tobacco (shortfiller) are rolled into a few larger tobacco leaves (medium filler) like a sandwich. All from the Dominican Republic. Only then does the Dominican binder follow. Last but not least is a rusty brown Habano wrapper from Ecuador. These wrappers are grown exclusively for Fuente by the Oliva family. They are rolled in the Tabacalera Fuente in the Dominican Republic. A cigar made from high-quality, long-aged tobaccos, but thanks to the use of part of the filler as a short filler, a cost-effective variant without compromising on quality.
The 90-minute smoke emitted aromas of oak, cedar, leather and some cinnamon, accompanied by a subtle sweetness.
2024/04/05
The postman surprised us today with a large envelope from our member Oliver @kemper_oliver from the Harz Mountains.
Oliver shared a souvenir with us from friends who had visited Cuba: the Cohiba Cigarillos Short.
We would rather describe them as miniature cigars. The little Cubans are real puros, but machine-made and short filler. They are really tiny with a 3 ring gauge and a length of just 3 ¼”.
We were surprised by the full, typical Cuban taste with the typical earthy aromas paired with a nutty sweetness.
A really good 10 minute smoke for a short break, this cigar in cigarillo format.
Thanks Oliver!
2024/03/29
Today, as an exception, we have selected cigars based on the nice cigar band: the VegaFina Nicaragua Esteli 2023 Salomónes.
Vega Fina can be translated as “fertile land”. VegaFina started in 1998 as a Dominican brand of the Spanish importer Tabacalera, initially only for the Spanish domestic market. Today the brand belongs to the Spanish-French tobacco company Altadis. It was created in 1999 through a merger between Tabacalera, the former Spanish tobacco monopoly, and SEITA, the former French tobacco monopoly. The company was taken over by the British tobacco giant Imperial Tobacco — now Imperial Brands — in 2008 and became its subsidiary.
The Esteli 2023 is a Nicaraguan Puro – actually a double Puro. All tobacco comes from Nicaragua and twice because they all come from the same Esteli tobacco region. And last but not least, the painting on the beautiful cigar band also comes from Esteli and is typical of the region.
We also treated ourselves
to the Stone-Buenaveza Lager beer from Denmark.
2024/04/02
Yesterday evening we enjoyed our Nicaragua Esteli 2023 Salomones from VegaFina.
This Nicaraguan Puro with tobaccos exclusively from the Esteli region comes in the perfect form of a double figurado and has a 52 ring gauge and a length of 5¾”. Once the wide band with the decorative painting from the Esteli region has been removed, the flawless hazelnut brown wrapper leaf comes into its own. They are rolled in the Tabacalera de García in Nicaragua.
VegaFina recommends notching the Salomones a little at the foot to optimize the first puffs. It was a 45 minute great smoke with the typical Nicaraguan flavors as well as coffee and raisins with an additional pleasant subtle sweetness.
2024/03/24
Sunday riddle:
A package from our Swiss friends reached us just in time for the upcoming Easter. We are overjoyed because you can’t buy these little boxes in Germany, but you can in Switzerland.
Who has seen these boxes before and what do they have to do with Easter? Who knows or who can guess?
We will of course reveal the secret at Easter and report back to you. Stay tuned!
2024/03/27
We couldn’t wait to open our Easter gift from our Swiss friends. In keeping with Easter, they surprised us with Easter eggs rolled out of tobacco leaves.
Drew Estate has been making them for over 20 years and appropriately calls them the “Egg”. Ours are the Maduro Eggs from the LarutaN series. Before the legal regulations for the tobacco industry were tightened, the series was called NaturaL. Terms such as natural or organic should no longer be associated with tobacco. So Drew Estate simply turned the word “NaturaL” around, i.e. spelled it backwards.
Undoubtedly a unique cigar in the world. A tapered head and foot with a huge, swollen egg-shaped center is wrapped in a dark glossy Maduro wrapper from Nicaragua.
Each is nestled in a nest of tobacco snippets and individually packed in a box. This is also the reason why it is no longer allowed to be sold in Germany. These tobacco snippets would also be subject to tobacco tax, someone could roll a cigar out of them!!!
Of course, we won’t light it until Easter and tell you about it. Stay tuned!
2024/03/31
Happy Easter everyone! Which cigar goes best with Easter? Of course a LarutaN / NaturaL Egg from Drew Estate!
Our Easter eggs have a Maduro wrapper from Nicaragua, a binder also from Nicaragua and a filler blend from 4 continents: Nicaragua, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, USA, Cameroon, Indonesia, Brazil and Italy. In the middle the diameter is approx. 1⅝” with a length of 5⅝”. The Egg is rolled at the La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Nicaragua.
It was quite complicated to smoke. Initially there was little smoke and you had to draw persistently to keep it from going out. But if you drew too hard and too fast, it would get very hot. Once you’ve made it to the middle, things get a little easier. The smoke development remains rather modest. Flavors were sweet but undefinable. Conclusion: a very fancy, paschal 1½ hour smoke.
2024/03/19
The owner of the Balmoral brand, named after the Scottish summer residence of the British royal family, is the company Royal Agio Cigars, founded in 1895 by Jacques Wintermans in Duizel, Netherlands. Today, Balmorals are manufactured in Agio’s own factory in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. The brand has been part of the Scandinavian Tobacco Group since 2021.
Now we discovered “Nicaragua Añejo XO”, released in 2019. The addition “exceptionally old” and the description of the vitola as “Rothschild Masivo” made us curious. When she was born, her name was “Añejo 18 Years”. The tobaccos used have probably still aged for a long time, but the 18 years could probably not be maintained. It is a Double Robusto, of course the more melodious name chosen by Agio as “Rothschild Massivo”.
A really great appearance, both from the dark, oily, shiny wrapper and from its elegant two cigarbands.
We will test them and of course report back. Stay tuned!
2024/03/21
From the impressive photo shoot at the royal castle in Scotland back in Berlin, we have now also lit them, our Rothschild Masivos of the Nicaragua Añejo XO series from Balmoral.
These beautiful Double Robustos — Balmoral calls this vitola Rothschild Massivo — have a 55 ring gauge and are 5″ long.
They are wrapped with sungrown, oily, shiny dark wrapper leaves from Nicaragua, the binder is a Mata Fina from Brazil, the filler blend is made up of Nicaraguan tobaccos from Esteli, Dominican Olor and Brazilian Mata Norte leaves.
The “XO” on the band stands for tobaccos that have aged for an extra-long time. These gems have been rolled since 2019 in the Agio Caribbean Tobacco Company factory in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic under the control of Managing Director Francisco Batista.
We had a good one-hour smoke with aromas of nuts, coffee and some pepper paired with a subtle sweetness.
We also enjoyed a single malt Scotch from Glasgow.
2024(03/17
Today, March 17th, our Irish friends around the world celebrate the day Bishop Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland. And just in time for this event, Alan Rubin, the initiator of the Alec Bradly brand — named after his two sons — releases a limited new edition of his Shamrock from the Filthy Hooligan series every year. The word shamrock refers to Ireland’s unofficial national symbol, a three-leaf clover. During his missionary work, Saint Patrick explained the Trinity of God to the Irish using this shamrock.
Today we want to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with our Irish friends in a befitting manner with a shamrock from Alec Bradly and the Irish national drink, a pint of Guinness beer.
We call out to all of you out there: “Happy St. Patrick’s Day!” and celebrate with us. Of course we will report on our cigar today. Stay tuned!
2024/03/18
With our Irish friends we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day in style yesterday and lit up some Shamrocks we had gotten from Alec Bradly’s Filthy Hooligan series.
This year these were again very limited to 1,500 boxes of 10 each.
They were Toros with a 50 ring gauge and a length of 6”. They are nearly identical to the “Barber Pole” and have, in addition to the two wrapper leaves of the Barber Pole, a Habano 2000 and a Habano Maduro, both from Nicaragua, another green Candela leaf from Honduras. The binder is a Sumatra leaf from Ecuador. The filler blend comes from Panama and Honduras.
The Shamrock was the first project of Alan Rubin, the creator of the Alec Bradley brand. It is rolled at Plasencias in their Tabacos de Oriente factory in Danlí, Honduras.
The hour-long smoke gave us a mild smoke with aromas of sweet fruits, nuts and cedar wood. The Irish Guinness beer went perfectly with these.
2024/03/12
A visual treat, the own brand “Leonel Limited Edition 2021 Signature Toro Maduro” from cigar retailer Paul Bugge Cigars from Schwenningen, Germany.
Paul Bugge founded his cigar business in 1951. In 1998 he sold his cigar business to Norbert Höldke and his son Daniel. Father and son successfully expanded the business into a thriving company with its own online shop and cigar lounges. In 2014 they launched their own brand Leonel (little lion), which quickly established itself as a premium brand in the market.
Today’s cigar was released as a special edition limited to 1,000 boxes, but is now part of the portfolio and has a regular place in the range.
The Leonel Signature Toro Maduro is like the “Leaf” by Oscar Valladares rolled into an extra tobacco leaf as packaging. So first unpack and then light it!!
Of course we will unpack them and report back. Stay tuned!!
2024/03/13
Now we have “unleafed” them, our Toros from the Signature Limited 2021 Maduro series from Leonel, a private brand of the cigar dealer and importer Paul Bugge from Schwenningen, Germany.
First we carefully loosened the two outer cigar rings. We then opened the “pictails” of the additional wrapper leaf that served as packaging and were now able to reveal our Leonel Signature. The cigar doesn’t come naked, but is decorated with two more identical cigar bands.
On the band you can read that it is a Nicaraguan Puro, which is available in two different blends. Firstly our Maduro and then another variant with a Connecticut Shade wrapper.
It is also explained that the additional tobacco leaf completes the aging process perfectly.
This Puro is rolled in Nicaragua by partner manufacturers.
We will light it this evening and are excited to see whether this cigar lives up to its promise on the outside. We will report. Stay tuned!!
2024/03/14
With great expectations, we have finally lit our Nicaraguan Puro from Leonel from the Signature Limited 2021 Maduro series.
It is a Toro with a 52 ring gauge and a length of 6″.
The cold cigar with its dark, oily, very beautiful wrapper leaf gave the sense of a very pleasant, sweet tobacco scent. Immediately after lighting, a creamy, exceptional smoke volume developed. We found her to be very mild for a Nicaraguan. The peppery aromas were mixed with a slight fruity sweetness, which remained in the background. From the second third onwards, leathery and earthy aromas were added. The draw behavior was perfect, but the burn was a bit wild. A nice looking cigar that fell a little short of our expectations. Not a typical Maduro but a definitely good 70 minute smoke.
2024/03/09
A pairing today. What goes best with one of Arturo Fuente’s Flor Fina 8–5‑8 Maduro.
We browsed through our bar and chose the Bavarian rum “Rumult”. Yes, it is actually distilled in Hausham, Germany on Lake Schliersee in Bavaria. Hausham is a small, picturesque former mining town. Coal was mined here until 1966. Since 2017, Tobias Maier has been experimenting with distillation from sugar cane at the traditional Lantenhammer distillery for a long time. The basis for this rum is not just molasses, but virgin sugar cane honey from the Caribbean. This ferments here in old fermentation vats and is then double distilled using the traditional pot-stil process. The distillate then ages for several years in old, specially selected Bourbon, Cocnac, Madeira and Sherry barrels. Our 43% (86 proof) Rumult Signature Cask Selection Rum clearly reveals sweet fruit and wood aromas. This edition is limited to 5,490 bottles.
A worthy and fitting companion to our Fuente!
2024/03/05
At the Berlin cigar dealer, Herzog, we discovered a new bundle cigar called “Antigua”. This cigar comes from La Antigua Guatemala. Dr. Maximilian Herzog got to know this cigar on his last trip through the region and exclusively imported 3,000 cigars.
This made us extremely curious, as there is almost no tobacco industry in Guatemala and around 28,000 tons of tobacco (5.8 million worldwide) are only harvested on a modest (3,100 acres. Smoking is also banned almost everywhere in the country.
Our research led us to Uwe Schiffke and his wife Lyne Bissonnette. Canadian-born Schiffke emigrated to Guatemala and has been running a cigar shop and smoking lounge in La Antigua Guatemala under the name Antigua Cigars since 2004. And – one of his house brands is called “Antigua” red label and is the cigar imported by Herzog. One could now assume that this cigar comes from Guatemala. But that’s definitely not the case, it’s a Nicaraguan puro.
We will continue to report.
2024/03/08
We have now lit a few by Zigarren-Herzog exclusively imported Antigua Maduro Torpedoes from Guatemala. A perfectly crafted cigar with a flawless, almost black Condega wrapper from Nicaragua. The binder and filler blend also come from Nicaragua, where they are also made as a private label cigar for the Guatemalan cigar dealer Uwe Schiffke. It is a long filler with a 52 ring gauge and a length of 6”.
Uwe Schiffke, an immigrant from Canada, runs a cigar lounge and tobacco shop in La Antigua Guatemala, a small, picturesque town with just 35,000 inhabitants in the central highlands of Guatemala, surrounded by the three volcanoes of Agua, Acatenango and Fuego. Our armadillo is also at home here.
Even when they were cold, our Antiguas exuded a pleasant scent of exotic fruits. Burning and drawing behavior were perfect. We could taste the typical Nicaraguan earthy and spicy aromas. A quite inexpensive and worth mentioning cigar. Thank you Dr. Maximilian Herzog, for bringing this cigar to Berlin.
2024/03/01
As we all know, the name Churchill for a particular cigar format is based on the former British Prime Minister Sir Winston’s particular preference for this Vitola. One could now assume that the name Salomones for the special form of our current double figurados goes back to King Salomon. But he has nothing to do with the naming. The word Solomon goes back to the Greek variant “Σαλωμων” of the Hebrew word שְׁלֹמֹה (Shlomo) and means something like perfection. That’s what these cigars are to us: a perfect work of art, of which even an experienced Torcedor can only make a maximum of 60 cigars a day.
This beautiful Vitola was forgotten in the 1930s and was only rediscovered by Partagas in the 1990s. From 2009 onwards, several non-Cuban cigar manufacturers brought this format back onto the market.
We will try two of these special cigars and of course report back to you. Stay tuned!
2024/03/04
It’s almost their turn, the showpieces of our Salomones tasting and at the same time the birthday cigar of our chapter president: the Plasencia Alma Fuerte (strong soul) Generacion V Salomon.
A Nicaraguan Puro with a Jalapa Shade wrapper, a Criollo binder and a filler of Condega, Esteli, Jalapa and Ometepe. It has a 58 ring gauge, is slightly box-pressed and 7” long. It is rolled in the Tabacalera Plasencia in Esteli, Nicaragua.
The still cold cigar releases a scent of mint, peach and leather. Once lit, it takes a while for the burn and draw to level off. Despite recutting, the draw resistance remained strong but still tolerable. The burning was uneven, but always corrected itself. We could taste intense aromas of pepper, sweet chocolate, coffee beans and earth. From the second third onwards, citrus and floral aromas joined in.
A really good smoke lasting more than two hours and worthy for our presidents’ birthday!
2024/03/03
Today we have ventured into this powerful and at the same time magnificent vitola, the Gilbert de Montsalvat 10 Years Anniversary Salomones.
It is really powerful with its 60 ring gauge and an impressive length of 7½”. The wrapper comes from Ecuador, the binder from Nicaragua and the filler blend from the Dominican Republic. This double figurado is rolled in Nicaragua. The characteristic of this subcategory of the figuarados is the leaving from the cylinder, as it tapers to a point at both ends. The advantage of these formats is that the aficionado can decide for himself how much of the cigar head he wants to cut off without damaging the wrapper. That is, how strong he wants to make the draw resistance.
The Swiss Raymondo Bernasconi brought out these Salomones at InterTabak last year. We were able to enjoy this perfectly crafted cigar for a full 90 minutes with intense roasted aromas and sweet nuances of bitter almond and cocoa.
2024/02/27
After the many Nicaraguans, we lit up a Brazilian puro today, the Villiger Do Brasil Maduro Robusto. Translated from Portuguese it is called Villiger from Brazil.
Villiger has been importing Brazilian tobacco since 1888 and already owned a factory in Brazil in 1978, the Charutos Tobajara Limitada. It was named after an Indian tribe in the Amazon region. The newly opened modern factory in the state of Bahia, Feira de Santana replaced the old factory in 2018.
So our Robusto is a 100% Brazilian Puro, rolled in Brazil. It has a 50 ring gauge and is 5″ long. We could clearly taste the mineral aromas typical of Brazilian tobaccos. There was also a nice sweetness typical of Maduro. A good smoke lasting almost 60 minutes, although quite expensive for a Robusto.
2024/02/22
For tonight we have chosen something powerful, the “Mighty Mighty Maduro” from the Brickhouse series by the J.C. Newman Cigar Company.
Julius Newman emigrated to America from what was then Austria-Hungary in 1888. There he gave himself a middle name, as is common in America. He modestly chose “Caesar.” He trained in the cigar industry and founded his own cigar brand, J.C. Newman in 1895. In the 1930s, the descendants of Julius C. brought out the Brickhouse brand. The name is reminiscent of Julius C.’s birthplace in Austria-Hungary, which was the only one in the entire area made of bricks. There he lived on the first floor above a bar.
Today, the founder’s fourth-generation grandchildren, Eric and Bobby Newman, run the factories “El Reloj” in Ybor City / Tampa, Florida and “Pensa” in Esteli, Nicaragua.
The company’s other brands include Perla del Mar, El Baton and Quorum.
We will report!
2024/02/24
We have now let them go up in smoke, the mighty Mighty Mighty Maduros by J.C. Newman’s Brick House series. We enjoyed 1½ hours of a typical Nicaraguan.
It has a massive 60 ring gauge and is a full 6¼” long. The beautiful dark wrapper is a Habano Subido, i.e. from Cuban seeds grown in Nicaragua. The binder and filler also come from Nicaragua. It is rolled in Esteli, Nacaragua, a J.C. Newman factory, America’s oldest family-owned manufacturer.
Not a very mild smoke but not too strong either. The pleasant sweetness was outstanding. We found harmoniously balanced typical Nicaraguan aromas of chocolate, nuts, pepper and always the subtle sweetness.
If you can still get some, a nice smoke.
2024/02/16
Today we are introducing you to a very mysterious cigar that we discovered in Berlin. Mysterious because there is no information about this cigar or its importer. Neither on the Internet nor in publications. Unfortunately, the sales staff in the stores don’t know anything about this cigar and the brand owner doesn’t respond to inquiries. This is unique and made us curious.
We found them in a small tobacco shop that also functions as a lottery acceptance point. The owner Michael Friese has been running several of these small shops in Berlin for twenty years and he has been producing this mysterious series of cigars for two years now under the name “MF”, which are the initials of his name.
Friese sources them from a Tabacalera in the Dominican Republic. They look well crafted and have two attractive bands. One with the brand name MF and a second with the Berlin skyline.
We will continue to research and will of course try them shortly and report back to you.
2024/02/17
Unfortunately, we weren’t able to find out much about the mysterious MF private brand of the Berlin dealer Michael Friese. They are available in four vitolas: Perla (42x4), Robusto (48x5), Churchill (45x6) and Corona (48x6½). Today we tried the Corona with the two silver bands. It has a wrapper from Ecuador and three binders, two from Indonesia, probably Sumatra and one from the Dominican Republic. We were only able to find out after we disassembled one. The filler comes from the Dominican Republic. And yes, it is a long filler that is probably rolled in the Dominican Republic.
Burn and draw resistance were perfect. We could detect peppery, not spicy flavors. As the smoke continued, coffee and a slight sweetness were also noticeable. A good, inexpensive and mild 70 minute smoke.
The Berlin special bottling from Jägermeister, chilled ice cold, went very well with this interesting Berlin Smoke.
2024/02/20
Another small addendum to the private label “MF” cigars from the Berlin tobacco dealer Michael Friese. In addition to those already discussed, there is also a Robusto with a gold cigar band. It is a Nicaraguan Puro and also a long filler, but this time with only one binder.
We had a good 50 minute smoke. The flavors typical of Nicaragua are represented. There were hints of nuts and leather but also a certain sweetness. A good price-performance ratio contributed to the fun of this “Berlin” cigar.
2024/02/05
We have already reported on the lawyer Rocky Patel from Los Angeles and a career changer to the world of cigar manufacturers. And now a brand new series at an incredibly affordable price under €4, the Churchill from the Seed to Smoke Classic series. How is that possible? On the one hand, it is a so-called bundle cigar, i.e. cellophane-wrapped bundles of 10 without an expensive wooden box and on the other hand, we don’t have a long filler here but a cigar that is rolled using the so-called Cuban sandwich process.
In Germany we currently only have the “Classic” version with a Honduran Maduro wrapper. In the USA they offer a second variant with a Connecticut wrapper leaf grown in Honduras. Both versions are rolled in El Paraiso, Honduras.
The series is available in three vitolas: Toro (6x52), Sixty (6x60) and the Churchill (7x48), which we chose for testing.
2024/02/06
A Premium cigar manufacturer is opening up the large market for inexpensive smoking experiences. It’s Rocky Patel with his new “Seed to Smoke Classic” bundle cigar. We got the Churchill from this series.
It has a 48 ring gauge and is 7″ long. The dark, silky wrapper is a Maduro from Honduras, the binder also comes from Honduras and the filler blend from Honduras and Nicaragua.
Well, it’s not a long filler, but it’s not a short filler either. It’s a “Cuban Sandwich.” In this method, the short filler is rolled into one or more large tobacco leaves — like a sandwich; actually a mixed filler. Only then comes the binder and wrapper. See our second photo. It is rolled in the El Paraiso factory in Honduras, where the more expensive siblings are also manufactured.
We could clearly detect aromas of earth, leather and spices. There was also a subtle chocolatey sweetness.
A perfect everyday cigar for a one-hour smoke at an unbeatable price.
2024/02/04
Villiger presented a new, interesting series at the InterTabac trade fair last year, the Nicaroma in three vitolas. Nicaroma should not be confused with the NicaRoma, which Villiger sells in the USA.
The name is a creation of “Nica” and “Aroma”. The Nicaraguans refer to themselves as Nicas.
We chose the largest format, a Toro with a whopping 54 ring gauge and a length of 6″. The name suggests a Nicaraguan puro, but it’s not quite it. The binder comes from Indonesia, the wrapper comes from Nicaragua, just like the filler blend. This consists of jalapa, secco and ligero leaves from the Condega region and viso leaves from Esteli.
The new series is rolled in the new Tabacalera Villiger, which was built on the Joya premises in Esteli.
2024/02/04
Actually, we already reported everything there was to report about this new one from Villiger yesterday. So we lit them.
It is rolled very tightly and evenly. The wrapper is flawless and shows almost no veins. The fruity scent of the cold cigar is promising.
The first few puffs suffer from a somewhat strong draw resistance, but this quickly regulates itself. It starts off very spicy with peppery aromas. From the second third onwards, aromas of wood and leather join in. In the last third it becomes much milder and then convinces with the typical aromas of a Nicaraguan. A well-crafted cigar.
A few more words about the American versions. There are three: the Connecticut, the Habano and the Maduro. They differ from the non-American version in the binder, which comes from Nicaragua. The Maduro has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, the Habano a shade grown from Cuban seeds in Nicaragua and the Connecticut a shade from Honduras.
2024/03/02
Hooray! She seems to be back, the inexpensive Cuban. Even though it was sold out everywhere else, the dealer we trusted was able to get it for us again. It is the “Marquez Flor de Rafael Gonzalez”, as it is called in full. It comes with a slightly modified band.
We have selected the Petit Corona or Mareva, as this vitola is also called, from the series.
We have already reported on the Tabacalera, founded in 1928 by the Spanish nobleman Marquez González.
The tobaccos of our small Corona with a 40 ring gauge and a length of 5 ⅛“ come from the famous growing region of Vuelta Abajo in the southwest of Cuba.
Interestingly, they aren’t referred to as “box pressed” everywhere, but they look like it. They probably came into the box very fresh and were naturally box-pressed.
The cold cigar exudes the typical honey-sweet scent of a Cuban cigar. A good, typically Cuban 45 minute smoke at a reasonable price.
2024/01/24
After the German and Indonesian eagle, a third eagle landed with us and brought us a box of cigarillos. These small Rojo Blancos from Tabacalera Besuki Raya Cigars from Indonesia have a 24 ring gauge and are 4″ long.
Besuki Raya Cigar (BRC) emerged in 2009 from the parent company Mangli Djaya Raya (MDR), which was founded in 1960, and became independent in 2021. Rojo Blanco was the new company’s first own cigar series.
The dark Besuki na-oosgt wrapper is also commonly referred to as Sumatra. The additional name na-oosgt means “late harvest”. The short filler is a blend of fire-dried Indonesian and tobaccos grown from Cuban seeds. A binder is missing.
When cold, they exude the typical scent of Javanos (=Maduros). The smoke production is surprisingly voluminous for these small sticks. They are rolled very tightly and do not give in under pressure. The draw resistance was a bit strong on some sticks but still acceptable, and the burn was perfect.
A really unexpectedly aromatic, sweet and mild 15 minute smoke.
2024/01/13
Today we were summoned by the Berlin customs office. What a surprise! our new friends from the Dominican Republic sent us smoky greetings.
Unfortunately, these cigars are not yet available for purchase in Germany. Tabacalera Caballeros is a new cigar manufacturer founded in 2022 by two cigar enthusiasts. Cristian Quintana learned his skills from scratch. When he was 8 years old, his father took him to the tobacco fields and later he learned the secrets of the cigarmaking in places like Tabacalera Palma and La Aurora. In 2009 he founded his own cigar factory, La Quintana.
When he met and learned to appreciate the Canadian Marco Accardia from Toronto, a cigar importer and tobacco dealer, in 2018, the two decided to set up a joint factory in 2022, the Tabacalera Caballeros on the outskirts of Santiago de los Caballeros, the second largest city in the Dominican Republic.
Now we actually have them in front of us, the 3 series so far from the new factory. Of course we will test them and report back to you!
2024/01/18
Today we want to dedicate ourselves to the second cigar from our friends from the Dominican Republic, the Habano from the Tabacalera Caballeros . The Toro has a 54 ring gauge and a length of 6”.
The dark, slightly oily wrapper leaf was grown from Habano seeds in Ecuador. The Olor binder comes from the Dominican Republic. Caballeros’ master blender, Cristian Quintana, is again keeping the filler blend secret. It is rolled very tightly and hardly gives in under pressure, which speaks for the art of the torcedor with such a tightly rolled cigar as the drawresitance is perfect. We particularly liked the enormous amount of smoke.
The cold cigar gives a spicy, fruity scent. Once lit, it initially burned somewhat irregularly, but corrected itself. We could taste spicy and fruity aromas, accompanied by a certain sweetness.
The overall impression is very close to that of a Nicaraguan one. A great 1½ hour smoke. As soon as it is available in Germany, it will definitely have a place in our humidor.
2024/01/15
Our Dominican Toro (6x54) of the “Connecticut” series” from Caballeros has a very fine golden-brown Connecticut Shade wrapper. These particularly fine and thin wrappers are grown in Ecuador from originally American Connecticut seeds and were first grown in Ecuador in 1970. Here the clouds of Ecuador serve as a natural UV filter.
Unfortunately, the master blender and co-owner of Caballeros Cristian Quintana keeps the filler blend secret. They are probably primarily Dominican tobaccos that are wrapped in a Sumatra binder.
It feels very tightly and evenly rolled and hardly gives in under pressure.
The still cold cigar gives a wonderful fruity scent. The first puff confirmed the perception of fruity aromas. We could spot aromas of nuts and perhaps cinnamon, later citrus and towards the end pepper.
Burn, smoke volume and draw behavior were also perfect. A mild and typical Connecticut for any time of day. We enjoyed it for 1½ hours.
2024/01/08
For decades, Eladio Diaz was the master blender together with Henke Kelner at Davidoff in the Dominican Republic. In 2021, he became self-employed with his wife and sons and founded the Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera.
For many years he had a small special series produced every year for his birthday. These cigars were not for sale and were only distributed among family and close friends.
For the first time, he presented a birthday cigar for retailers at the InterTabak trade fair in Dortmund, Germany. It is the “Limited Edition LXX Anniversary” for his 70th (LXX) birthday in May last year. It is a limited edition of 1,400 boxes of 14 cigars each, which our American friends have to do without; it will not be available in stores in the USA.
This first cigar produced under his own name is something very special. This birthday blend of the filler consists of 7 Dominican tobacco varieties that have been aged to perfection.
Of course we will try them and let you know. Stay tuned!
2024/01/11
Now to the Double Corona of the Limited Edition, which Eladio Diaz created for his 70th birthday. It is also the first official cigar from his own brand after leaving Davidoff as master blender.
A visually perfect cigar with a very elegant band that bears his signature.
This Double Corona is 7″ long and has a 52 ring gauge. A true birthday cigar.
The wrapper comes from Ecuador and the binder comes from Mexico. The filler consists of 7 different Dominican tobaccos. It is rolled in his new Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera in the Dominican Republic.
This cigar is all about the number 7. It was released for his 70th birthday, it is 7 inches long, the filer consists of 7 types of tobacco, the boxes contain 7x2 cigars, the edition consists of 7x200 boxes, his mother first took him to a cigar factory when he was 7 years old.
A great 1½ hour smoke with sweet aromas of roasted nuts and wood.
2024/01/06
We have discovered another “German” cigar for you. As early as 1573, the South Palatinate pastor Anselm Anselmann grew tobacco in his Hatzenbuehl, Germany parish garden. That was the beginning of tobacco cultivation in the Southern Palatinate. By the late 20th century, tobacco cultivation grew to 650 acres and became the largest tobacco growing area in Germany. To this day, tobacco farmers in the Southern Palatinate grow tobacco plants. They came together and came up with the idea of their own local cigar in the 1990s.
Unfortunately, there were no longer any cigar manufacturers in the Palatinate. A company in Herxheim-Hayna collects the tobacco leaves, dries them and processes them into finished cigar tobacco. The marketing initiative of the local tobacco farmers lets the “Pfalz-Zigarre” (Palatinate cigar) they created roll in Steffen Rinn’s Don Stefano cigar factory in Hesse, Germany.
We got a box of these unique “German” cigars and will test them and of course report back to you. Stay tuned!
2024/01/07
The German “Pfalz-Zigarre” (Palatinate-Cigar) made primarily from Palatinate tobaccos. These short filler Coronas with a 38 ring gauge and a length of 5⅛” are mainly made by machine in Steffen Rinn’s Tabacalera Don Stefano in Hesse.
There is not much information about the construction and composition of this cigar. We have studied various sources and also disassembled one (see our second photo) and concluded from this: the filler consists of a blend of ⅔ Geudertheimer, Virginia and Burley tobaccos from Alsace and the Southern Palatinate and ⅓ imported tobaccos from Brazil, Cuba and Mexico. The binder and the very thin and smooth wrapper are said to be a Geudertheimer tobacco from the southern Palatinate.
The fruity, spicy cold smell is reminiscent of pipe tobacco. The draw resistance is strong but still acceptable, the burn is dead straight. The aromas we could taste were hay and wood mixed with a sweet spiciness.
A rare 40 minute smoke that is reminiscent of the former German cigarette brand “Roth-Händle”, also made from Geudertheim tobacco.
2023/12/30
Today some more nostalgia and German history. The branch in Doebeln of the VEB (state-owned company) Leisinger Zigarrenfabriken manufactured our Jagdkammer Gold cigars according to the imprint in 1978 in the former GDR (East Germany). Just three years later, the factory was shut down in 1981 after 130 years.
Our box-pressed oldies have a 38 ring gauge and are 4¼” long. These small short fillers have a binder and a flawless wrapper, probably from Brazil. And yes, you could still smoke them! Burning and drawing behavior were perfect. However, we could no longer sense any aromas. A short, mild smoke.
Our captain appropriately served a glass of Rotkäppchen (Little Red Riding Hood) sparkling wine, the cult brand from the former GDR.
2023/12/22
In the 1980s, jazz musician Avo Uvezian began creating his own cigars together with Davidoff. In the 1990s he sold his brand to Davidoff. After Uvezian died in 2017 at the age of 91 and his master blender Hendrik Kelner has now also sold to Davidoff, Davidoff makes all AVO cigars themselves.
The first days of winter are already behind us and so the limited edition of the AVO Seasons Winter 2023 was released on November 2nd in an edition of 4,000 boxes of 10 cigars, pretty much in time with the first snow.
We were able to get hold of a few and are excited about this winter edition. We really enjoyed the spring, summer and autumn editions.
We will report. Stay tuned!
2023/12/28
Today, between the years, is exactly the right time for our beautiful “Diademas” from the Limited Editions Seasons Winter 2023 from AVO.
AVO calls this format Diadema, but it is actually a double figurado with its almost torpedo-like ends tapering to both sides. It has a 50 ring gauge and a length of 6⅝”.
During his lifetime, Avo Uvezian released a limited edition almost every year. Most of the time there were round birthdays that gave a reason to celebrate. Now after his death in 2017, AVO / Davidoff is releasing limited editions again, like this fourth of the four-season edition, the winter edition.
The wrapper is a Connecticut Shade from Ecuador, the binder comes from the Dominican Republic. The filler consists of special tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, one of which was allowed to mature for 14 years. They are rolled in Davidoff’s Tabakalera Tabadom.
A truly wintery cigar with aromas of spices from the Christmas bakery. A 70 minute enjoyable smoke!
2023/12/19
The cigar chain Wolsdorff from Hamburg, Germany has just released a new series of its own brand “Wolsdorff Reserva”. We discovered them at a dealer in Berlin last week and bought a few to report to you.
It is again a very affordable bundle cigar that comes without elaborate boxes and expensive golden bands. This time the series probably comes from Nicaragua, although Wolsdorff states the Dominican Republic as the country of origin on his website. However, the bundle has a seal that says “Handmade in Nicaragua” 😉.
After we really liked the Dominican version, we are excited about this new release, the Reserva Nicaragua. We bought two bundles of the Churchill size to try out extensively and will of course report back. Stay tuned!
2023/12/20
Now it was her turn last night, the brand new Nicaraguan from the Wolsdorff Reserva line. Our Churchill is a long filler, has a 48 ring gauge and is 7″ long.
The dark, uniform H 2000 wrapper leaf from Ecuador is only crossed by a few thin leaf veins that run parallel to the cigar, which will ensure an even burn. The binder is an H 2000 and comes from the Condega area in Nicaragua. Davidoff also uses tobacco from this area. The filler blend consists of tobaccos from Esteli and the Jalapa Valley, Nicaragua. According to the affixed state seal, it is rolled by hand in Nicaragua.
When cold, it exudes an appetizing, sweet scent. The burn was straight and the draw behavior was optimal. We found her to be very strong. A typical, spicy Nicaraguan. The partly slightly peppery and partly sweet aromas were difficult to differentiate. All in all, a decent, good smoke lasting more than an hour at an unbeatable price.
“Kleine-Herren-Virginia, gezöpfelt” (plaited little gentlemen) from Wolf & Ruhland
2023/12/10
Today we’re talking about snakes, culebras in Spanish. We know cigars by this name, which are interweaved into a braid. We also call them “crooked dogs”. This was the brand name of the Austrian Austria Tabak Company — actually an apt name. The production is purely manual work, in which three cigars are usually braided together while they are still wet.
There are various myths about the origins of these cigars. The Cuban version is that the workers in the cigar factories received a quota of free cigars for their own use. In order to prevent these cigars from being resold, they were interlaced and in this way they were considered to devalue them. However, they soon became so popular that they became their own product category.
The famous versions from Partagas, La Flor Dominicana and Davidoff are sold out in Germany and no longer available. Only two German companies still make Culebras, Villiger in the Black Forest and Wolf & Ruhland in the Bavarian Forest.
We will continue to report. Stay tuned!
“Kleine-Herren-Virginia, gezöpfelt” (plaited little gentlemen) from Wolf & Ruhland
2023/12/11
Since there isn’t a lot of information about our Culebra tasting cigars, we took them apart to see how they are constructed.
The Villiger Culebras without a mouthpiece from the Black Forest have a beautiful Rio Grande wrapper from Brazil, no binder and a filler blend made from American Virginia and tobaccos from Brazil, Central Africa and Java.
The “plaited little gentlemen” from Wolf & Ruhland from the Bavarian Forest have a beautiful Sumatra wrapper, a binder made from HTL (homogenized tobacco leaf) according to the manufacturer’s information, and a filler blend made from Virginia and other tobaccos.
Both types of our Culebras are well crafted and we will now let them go up in smoke and of course report back. Stay tuned!
“Kleine-Herren-Virginia, gezöpfelt” (plaited little gentlemen) from Wolf & Ruhland
2024/01/23
We already reported on the last two Culebras rolled in Germany. Now we set them on fire too.
The culebras without a mouthpiece from Villiger in the Black Forest are 5¼ long and have a 21 ring gauge. The wrapper leaf is a Rio Grande from Brazil and directly wrapped the filler made from Brazilian, Indonesian and American tobaccos without a binder.
It offers a 20-minute aromatic smoke that is quite pleasant for a short break in between.
The Culebras from Wolf & Ruhland from the Bavarian Forest, on the other hand, have a mouthpiece made of a short straw. They are longer at 6¼” and have a 25 ring gauge. The cigar manufacturer doesn’t reveal much about its cigars. The wrapper is a Sumatra and the filler is said to be a blend of light Virginia tobaccos. The binder should consist of HPL. We have the impression that it is more of a pulp. Our 30 minute smoke also revealed this. We primarily tasted something like burnt paper and had the impression of a large cigarette with an extra tobacco wrapper.
2023/12/03
In 1998 the VegaFina brand was born. This year, for its 25th anniversary, this beauty came onto the market as a limited special format. VegaFina calls this vitola “Cum Laude”, i.e. “with praise”. This format has not yet been rolled by VegaFina. With a 52 ring gauge and a length of 6½” we would call it a Toro.
This VegaFina VF 1998 25 Aniversario Cum Laude is a special edition of the 1998 series. It is the same blend, but with the rarer Piloto Corona tobacco leaves. These cannot be harvested every year. Only in years with a particularly positive combination of sun and rain over the course of the year. These leaves are found on the upper part of the tobacco plant in the form of two small leaves. These contain a much higher concentration of natural oils and are characterized by a pronounced strength and intense aromas.
She was blended by the maestros of Tabacalera de Garcia, a group of the best blenders.
2023/12/04
Now we have let it go up in smoke, the anniversary cigar “Cum Laude” from the 1988 25th Aniversario series. VegaFina calls this format “Cum Laude”. It is a Toro with a 52 ring gauge and a length of 6½”.
It is rolled very tightly, but has a perfect draw behavior, which speaks for the high manufacturing quality. We also liked the “pigtail” on the head. The filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Colombia and Nicaragua, which have aged for at least 3 years, are wrapped in a binder from Indonesia. The very beautiful, dark, oily wrapper comes from Ecuador. It is rolled in the Dominican Tabacalera de Garcia.
It develops a thick, creamy smoke and impresses with a very solid light gray ash. We could very well taste aromas of wood, coffee, some pepper and salt as well as roasted notes and raisins.
It was a very special kind of intensive experience lasting almost one and a half hours. We have to say, a masterpiece in our eyes that is worth every cent of its price.
2023/11/29
The Short Robusto from the Carlos André Airborne series has just been released. A German brand from the Dominican Republic.
The series is named after the son “Carlos” of the current company owner in the 7th generation, Axel-Georg André, and is therefore probably the most personal cigar brand from André.
The company’s over 200-year history began in Osnabrück in 1817 when it was founded by a tobacco worker from Hanover, Johann Friedrich Christian André. In 1851 the branch was opened in Buende, today’s company headquarters. In the 1950s, the company became one of the leading cigar manufacturers in Germany with its Handelsgold brand, a machine-rolled short filler. At the end of the 1990s, the product range was expanded to include hand-rolled cigars through collaboration with the Nicaraguan cigar manufacturer “La Aurora”.
In 2011, their own factory was opened in the Dominican Republic. Here the company produces all of its long-filler brands, including our Carlos André series as well as Buena Vista and Montosa.
2023/12/02
Brand new, an additional vitola from the Carlos André Airborne series and Sepp’s Tobacco Island at Lake Tegernsee have reserved the new Short Robusto for us.
It has a fat 54 ring gauge, but is only 4″ long. The somewhat rustic, chocolate-colored, oily, shiny wrapper is an H2000 from Mexico that was allowed to age for five years. The filler blend comes from tobaccos from Brazil, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic and is wrapped in a binder also from Nicaragua. Like all of the company’s long fillers, it is rolled by hand in the Arnold André Dominikana factory in Santiago de los Caballeros.
This small stick provides a fourty-minute spicy smoke with aromas of pepper, leather, coffee and a sweet spice.
A well-made cigar for second breakfast. However, everyone has to decide for themselves whether the enormous price for such a short pleasure is right for them.
2023/11/25
We came across a cheap and yet very good Nicaraguan cigar at our friend Sepp Mayr in his “Tabakinsel” (tobacco-island) on Lake Tegernsee, Germany.
It is the “Casa de Nicaragua” from Villiger. Until around 2005, these cigars were available in wooden boxes of 10. In 2014 it was presented at the Inter Tabak in Dortmund, Germany as a new, affordable bundle cigar. Since October 2021 they have been manufactured in the new “Villiger de Nicaragua” factory in Esteli. Previously they came from the “Joya de Nicaragua” factory. According to Villiger, Joya’s production team and its expertise were and are crucial to the commissioning of the new factory and its workflows.
We chose the torpedo from this series and purchased two bundles to test. We will test them extensively and report back to you. Stay tuned!
2023/11/27
Some retailers refer to our “Casa de Nicaragua” bundle cigars as long fillers, the manufacturer Villiger himself speaks of medium fillers. We wanted to know exactly and sacrificed a cigar and dismantled it into its components. Neither, no long filler and no medium filler either. Here we have a mixed filler in the “Cuban Sandwich” version.
Every Cuban Sandwich cigar begins with a blend of small snippets of filler. This mixture is then hand rolled into long leafs, just like a sandwich. The filler is partly both a short filler and a long filler, i.e. a mixed filler. Then come the binder and the wrapper.
Many bundle cigars are made using this principle to reduce costs. In our case these are high-quality tobaccos and this method probably doesn’t really have a negative impact on the taste. We also find series from other premium manufacturers such as Alec Bradly, Drew Estate and Artur Fuente that are rolled using this method.
Our Casa de Nicaragua is a good, perfectly made and extremely affordable cigar.
2023/11/26
We have now smoked the first torpedoes from our “Casa de Nicaragua” bundle from Villiger.
The visual impression promises a perfectly made cigar. The torpedo has a 52 ring gauge and is 6½” long.
The dark brown wrapper from Ecuador is flawless. The filler made from Nicaraguan tobacco is wrapped in a binder from Indonesia.
Some sources speak of a long filler, Villiger himself describes its cigar as a medium filler. We will get to the bottom of the matter and disassemble one and of course report on it.
Our cigars had a perfect draw (tip: cut generously for optimal draw behavior), but burned somewhat unevenly. But that was easy to correct. The aromas we could sense were leather and sweet wood, as well as a pinch of pepper, not too hot, just right.
We found it to be quite strong in terms of nicotine content. All in all, a typical Nicaraguan for the experienced aficionado. A good one-hour smoke at an unbeatable price.
2023/11/14
Almost 20 years ago, Rocky Patel first released a cigar called “The Edge” in 2004. The concept was to establish a good but affordable cigar. It came in a rough wooden box that contained 100 cigars without cigar bands. And they only retailed for $5 each. The Edge was an immediate commercial success, creating new sizes, new blends and even new packaging.
So it’s high time for us to taste some of these cigars.
Last year “The Edge 20th Anniversary” was released to mark the anniversary. The wrapper of this anniversary edition is the same as that of the original version from 2004, a 10-year-aged Sumatra wrapper from Ecuador.
It is not easy to explain what the 20 years of this anniversary refer to. This probably means the period since the first attempts with the original version. The “10th Anniversary” edition also came onto the market in 2015 and not 2014.
We will report. Stay tuned!
2023/11/16
Now it was their turn, the Robustos of “The Edge”, which Rocky Patel released for their 20th anniversary last year.
They have a 50 ring gauge and a length of 5½”. The filler from Honduras and Nicaragua is covered by a Habano binder from Honduras. And as befits an anniversary edition, finished with a special, 10-year-aged Sumatra wrapper from Ecuador. By the way, it is the same wrapper as the very first version from 2004. We particularly liked this very dark, greasy and oily wrapper.
This series is rolled in Patel’s El Paraiso factory in Danli, Honduras.
We enjoyed these perfectly made sticks for a good hour and could taste aromas of leather, wood and a lot of sweetness. Then distinctive spicy aromas were added. For anyone who likes a strong cigar, this is the right one for you.
2023/11/10
It’s always worth browsing through small cigar retailers. We found this old version of a El Baton Belicoso at one of them. It differs from the current new version in its wrapper.
“El Baton” is one of the old brands formerly made from Cuban tobaccos and now revived by J.C. Newman, the founder of the manufacturer of the same name. Julius Caeser Newman immigrated to the USA in 1890 and began his training as a cigar roller in Cleveland at the age of 14. At the age of 19, he founded the JCN Cigar Company in 1895.
The “El Baton” was rolled in Cleveland, Ohio, USA from 1914 until the 1920s. It wasn’t until 2008 that it was revived by J.C.’s grandchildren, Eric and Bobby Newman. Now they are being produced by the Nicaraguan J.C. Newman PENSA manufactured. Pensa stands for “Puros de Esteli, Nicaragua Sosiedad Anonima”. The brands Brick House and Quorum also come from this factory, which is one of the largest in Nicaragua.
2023/11/11
It’s nice that you can still find it every now and then, the old version of the Belicoso from El Baton. It was off the market for a good 10 years. It has a 56 ring gauge and is 5″ long and can be easily separated from the new version by the cigarband. Our old version has lettering in English cursive, the new version shows the lettering in block capitals. The cover sheets are also different. While our old version is a Nicaraguan puro, the new version has a wrapper from Ecuador. Both come from J.C. Newman’s Tabacalera PENSA in Esteli, Nicaragua.
The strong, thicker Nicaraguan wrapper gives this cigar the intense, full aroma typical of Nicaragua. The cigar had a perfect draw. When you look at the lit end of the ash, you can see several smoke channels, which confirms our suspicion that it was elaborately rolled using the Entubado method.
We enjoyed this perfectly made, aromatic cigar for a good hour.
from Tabaccohouse Brinkman
2023/11/07
The name “Zuarin” is the Slavic name of the city “Schwerin”, the capital of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany. The Slavs settled here in the 8th century.
And Steffen Brinkmann founded his Tabaccohouse Brinkman in Schwerin in 1998. His father was already involved with cigars as manager of the VEB Cigarette and Tobacco factory Unitas in the former GDR.
Steffen Brinkmann now uses the old name Zuarin as a brand name for his own cigars and spirits.
Together with the German-born Kurt Joachim Brandt, who emigrated to Costa Rica in 2000, he created the Don Zuarin cigar series in 2022. Brandt started the small Tabacalera “Inversiones Tabacom” in Costa Rica at the end of the 1990s and moved his factory to Esteli in Nicaragua in 2009. The new factory was named “Isthmus Cigar Company” in 2010.
To mark the company’s 25th anniversary, Brinkmann released our “Don Zuarin 25TH Anniversary Edicion Limitada”. This cigar is available with two different wrappers, the Maximo White (Claro) and the Maximo Black (Maduro). We will report.
from Tabaccohouse Brinkman
2023/11/09
How different were our two sticks, the “Don Zuarin” from the limited series for the 25th anniversary of Steffen Brinkmann’s Tobaccohouse in Schwerin, Germany. Both have two crossed Condega binders from Nicaragua and both have the same Nicaraguan filler blend of Jalapa, Esteli and Condega. The filler is rolled using the complex entubado process. With this rolling technique, several separate smoke channels are formed from the filler tobacco leaves.
The only difference between the two cigars are the wrapper leaves. The lighter one has an H 2000 Colorado wrapper, the darker one has an AZ Mejorado, both from Ecuador.
With a 56 ring gauge and a length of 5½” we would classify it as a “Double Robusto”.
Both cigars start mildly, burn perfectly and draw resistance was very well. It was very difficult to taste a noticeable difference. In both we could taste chocolate aromas as well as coffee and a pleasant light spice. The Maduro was perhaps a little more peppery and smokier.
We were able to enjoy both cigars for a little over an hour.
2023/11/02
Today something really gigantic: The Sled Edición Especial 2019 from Horacio. In 2008, two French cigar friends from Costa Rica, Christophe Leroy, who served as president of the founding company PRODAP, and Fabien Gil, came together and founded the Horatio brand or “Don Horacio del Monte”.
Production was soon moved to Nicaragua and the new third party in the group, Sylvain Toaldo, is now organizing sales from Geneva, Switzerland, where the three also run a tobacco shop. Leroy and Gil take care of production at the Tabacalera Hernandez Cantillo in Estelli, Nicaragua.
The brand has been established in Germany since 2018. We only discovered them last week at our trusted dealer. Of course we will report on our smoke of this big thing. Stay tuned!
2023/11/06
So now the fat Sled Edición Especial 2019 from Horacio. The H2000 nut brown wrapper from Ecuador is twisted into a pigtail at the base. We decided to light the cigar with the pigtails. The fire reception worked so perfectly. Our Sled has a diameter of a over an inch, i.e. a 66 ring gauge with a length of 5¼”, so a Double Robusto.
Pierre Sled, a famous French sports journalist, gave the cigar his name. This was created in his honor by the French brand owners.
The binder comes from Nicaragua and the filler is a blend from Costa Rica and Nicaragua. It is rolled in the Tabacalera Hernandez Cantillo (THECA) in Nicaragua. Contrary to our expectations, it is a light cigar with sweet and sometimes fruity wood aromas. We think it’s an unusual but excellent morning cigar.
2023/10/29
Preparations for Halloween are in full swing. In keeping with the occasion, we got a box of the Skinny Monsters Mummy from Tatuaje. The Monster series came onto the market in 2009 and the Mummy was added in 2012 as the fifth variation of this series. Our Skinny Mummy was born in 2016 as the successor to the larger formats Mini Mum, The Mummy and Mummy. Our box is one of only 400 worldwide, each containing 25 cigars in the Petit Lancero format.
We’re excited about this spooky monster blend created by Pete Johnson. We will report to you. Stay tuned!
2023/10/31
Happy Halloween everyone! And what goes better with tonight than a Halloween Skinny Monsters Mummy from Tatuaje.
Pete Johnson, musician, bassist and now owner of the Tatuaje brand, also created this series together with Don Pepín García. The somewhat colorless, gray-white band is intended to be reminiscent of old, dusty bandages from mummies.
It is a Petite Lanceros with a length of 6″ and a 38 ring gauge. It is rolled in Garcia’s “My Father Cigars” factory in Estelí Nicaragua. It’s a Nicaraguan puro with an oily, chocolate-colored sungrown Criollo wrapper.
It started off slightly peppery in the first third with aromas of cedar wood and cinnamon. Joerg reminded her a bit of a Monte. In the second third, a classic sweetness and spicy notes were added, which remained in the last third.
The burn was dead straight with a perfect draw. All in all a delicious 75 minute smoke.
2023/10/18
Today we report on Eduardo Antonio Fernández Pujals from Nicaragua, a Cuban exile who doesn’t come from the tobacco industry. Fernández became rich through the Spanish restaurant chain “Telepizza” and in 1998 he bought 3,000 acres of land in Nicaragua on the recommendation of Nestor Plasencia. There he grew the traditional Criollo and Corojo varieties and later varieties from original Cuban seeds. 80% of his harvests are sold to other manufacturers. In 2002, the company’s own factory “TABSA” was opened, but it was only five years later that it began rolling its own cigars.
His son Max became manager of the factory and renamed it “Aganorsa”, an abbreviation for “Agricola Ganadera Norteña S.A.”. Over 7 million cigars are produced annually by 90 Torcedores, half of which are for their own series.
After a brief partnership with José Garcia in Miami, Fernández opened his own factory in Miami.
We will light our “Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection” and report back to you. Stay tuned!
2023/10/20
Yesterday we lit it, our Toro from Aganorsa Leaf from the Signature Selection series. A Nicaraguan puro. For this series only tobacco from their own farm were used. For this cigar, plants were grown from original Cuban seeds. They should be the same tabacos that are used in the Cohiba Behike. It came onto the market in 2018.
The wrapper is a Corojo Rosado. The binder is a Corojo and the filler is a blend of Corojo and Criollo. The tobaccos have aged for 7 years. Our Toro has a 52 ring gauge and is 6″ long.
They are rolled in Eduardo Antonio Fernández Pujals’ Tabacaleria Aganorsa in Esteli.
The cigar is quite strong with nice aromas of smoked wood, spices and earth. The aromas are accompanied by a subtle sweetness.
If you can get your hands on one of these cigars, which are limited to 500 boxes per vitola, definitely try it.
2023/10/17
Today another cigar from the “My Fathers” factory in Nicaragua. The name of the factory is a son’s homage to his famous father, the Cuban exile Don Pepin Garcia.
So now the “La Antiguedad”, which came onto the market in 2014, which translated from Spanish means antiquity. The Garcia family once again honors their Cuban roots and has brought this old Cuban brand back to life.
Our box-pressed Robustos have a 52 ring gauge and a length of 5¼”. The dark brown, oily-shiny H 2000 (Habano) Rosado Oscuro wrapper comes from Ecuador. The tobaccos in the filler, which have aged for 3½ years, come from the Nicaraguan regions of San Rafael, Las Quebradas and San Jose and are wrapped by two binders, also from Nicaragua (a Corojo and a Criollo).
The hour-long smoke gave us very nice aromas of dark chocolate, mocha and some leather. A very nicely aromatic and well balanced cigar.
2023/10/04
A small addendum to our Indonesian-German meeting after the InterTabac trade fair. The cigar manufacturer Besuki Raya Cigar from Jember on Java, Indonesia has presented its latest, brand new variant of its El Goucho brand and let us try it. It is a Toro from the Premium series with a binder from the Dominican Republic. Its predecessor was box-pressed and had a binder from Brazil.
Our friend Jimmy, the Cigarman, from Indonesia brought us some of these new vitolas with a 52 ring gauge and a length of almost 6″ in a beautiful leather can. Like its predecessor, the wrapper comes from Ecuador and the filler now also contains tobaccos from Nicaragua in addition to the previous Dominican ones.
We really liked this new blend with its chocolaty aromas and hints of cinnamon and roasted nuts. The draw was perfect, the burn was a bit wild, but in no way affected the good, hour-long smoke.
2023/09/22
On the occasion of our Indonesian/German meeting in Berlin, Jimmy, the Cigar Man @cigar.man and Vice President of the AHCC Indonesia, told us about the InterTabac in Dortmund. Among other things, he brought us some cigars from the manufacturer “Besuki Raya Cigar” from Jember, East Java in Indonesia, straight from the trade fair to test.
The El Gaucho brand saw the light of day in 2022. The name El Gaucho is said to represent the rich heritage and tradition of the cowboys (Gaucho in Spanish).
Our El Gaucho Fantastico is box-pressed with a 54 ring gauge and a length of almost 6″. This premium cigar comes in a luxurious leather box and each cigar is housed in a beautiful metal tube. The flawless wrapper comes from Ecuador and the binder comes from Brazil. The filler is a harmonious blend from the Dominican Republic and Indonesia.
We enjoyed this beautifully crafted cigar for a whole hour and were able to taste floral aromas and coffee and butter.
Tobaksgud, Ataturk, Loufote Connecticut, DWDM and G652.D
2023/0924
Jimmy, the Cigar Man is also the owner of the Long Haul Backbone cigar brand. He also brought us his current collection from the InterTabac in Dortmund, which we were of course allowed to try.
“Tobaksgud” a Robusto 50 x 5 from last year. A Vorstenland wrapper, and the filler made from Indonesian fire-dried tobacco is wrapped in a Besuki Na-Oost binder.
Then the “Ataturk” Robusto 50 x 5, which was specially developed for the Turkish market, also from 2021. A very nice Javano wrapper and again a Besuki Na-Oost binder. The filler blend made from Indonesian tobaccos was created specifically for the Turkish market.
The “Loufote Connecticut”, a Robusto 50 x 5. The wrapper is an Indonesian Connecticut Shade. Binder and filler from Java.
Two very nice formats from “DWDM” as Lonsdale 44 x 6 and Edmundo 58 x 5. Also an Indonesian Puro made from the same tobaccos as the successful “Tobaksud”.
And last but not least, the “G652.D”, which we already reported on.
2023/09/21
Today the first report of our Indonesian cigar tasting with our friend Jimmy, “The Cigar Man”.
Jimmy came straight from the InterTabac in Dortmund, the world’s largest trade fair for tobacco products, and not only had interesting and new things to report, but also brought us lots of cigars from his Indonesian homeland.
But one after anonther. Let’s start today with Jimmy’s own brand, Long Haul Backbone. And here is the brand new Robusto from the “G652.D” series. The name is a reminiscence of his second passion, the fiber optic industry, and refers to a particularly high-quality cable.
The new Robusto is an Indonesian Puro with a 50 ring gauge and a length of 5″. The beautiful dark wrapper is a Javano Maduro, the binder is a Besuki Na-Oost and the filler is also a blend of Indonesian tobaccos. This Puro convinced us of the high quality of Indonesian tobaccos. It gave us a strong 45 minute aromatic smoke. A stick for the more experienced aficionado.
2023/09/16
Today something luxurious and rare: The Toro Deluxe in the Tubos from the Vintage 1999 Connecticut series by Rocky Patel.
Our Toro is a rare find and comes from the very first batch with wrappers from 1999!! This cigar, immaculately made in Honduras, still has a 7‑year-aged Connecticut Shade wrapper from the River Valley, USA. The newer batches are aged for 10 years. The binder comes from Nicaragua and the filler blend comes from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
The dimensions are given incorrectly by most retailers. This Tubos variant actually has a length of 6″ and a ring gauge of 50/64″.
For his Vintage Series, Rocky Patel uses the oldest shade-grown tobacco leaves from the River Valley. The long 7–10 year aging has made the cigar mild.
We had a mild, balanced smoke for almost an hour and could find aromas of tropical fruits, cinnamon and chocolate.
2023/09/15
Wow – a green cigar, today’s Toro from Rocky Patel from The Edge Candela series! Candela means candle in Spanish and is Rocky Patel’s name for this green beauty. The usual name for the color of this Honduran wrapper is “Double Claro”. The green color is the result of very rapid drying, so that the chlorophyll is retained in the leaves. This short maturation period is compensated for by the 5‑year maturation of the binder and filler. The origin of the binder and the filler are unfortunately a secret.
Green cigars were very popular in the United States until the 1970s, but then fell out of fashion. It wasn’t until 2012 that La Flor Dominicana and Rocky Patel brought Double Claro cigars back onto the market.
Our Toro 6 x 52 is limited to 1,000 cases worldwide. We enjoyed it for a good hour and could taste aromas of tea and grass as well as a spicy sweetness. A good and interesting smoke.
2023/09/08
After several attempts with tobacco from Bavaria, Marcel Polzmacher decided on South American tobacco. Now the production takes place in a small factory in Costa Rica. The insert blend of our La Bavaria Salomones comes from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Peru. The binder from Nicaragua and the wrapper from Ecuador. The cigars are aged for at least 3 years. The format with a ring gauge of 54/64“and a length of a little over 7” looks really impressive and is perfectly crafted. Our Salomones were delivered in a mason jar. We will report on this smoke.
Our rum, Rumult Signature Cask Selection, is distilled from sugar cane juice by the Lattenhammer distillery in Bavaria at Lake Schliersee and matured there for several years in high-quality barrels. With its 86° proof it is a strong yet silky rum with aromas of dried fruits, raisins and vanilla.
2023/08/25
We — Tim, Max and Joerg — wish you all a wonderful weekend. We’re already enjoying Friday with one of our last Fuente Gran Reserva together with a 7 year old Eminente Reserva. We were attracted by the beautiful bottle because of the crocodile pattern. But it also goes perfectly with the cigar.
2023/08/16
And again today we celebrate our weekly Humpday. This time a Partagas Presidente from our treasure chest. In addition, a Toucan Rhum Blanc from French Guiana, i.e. from near the equator in eastern South America. The taste of mango and papaya also goes perfectly with the cigar.
2023/08/08
Since the Flor de Copán Special Edition 2020 that we had already tried didn’t really convince us, we dared to try another one from this brand today, a Robusto Linea Puros. As the name suggests, a Honduran puro. All tobaccos come from the same region, the mountain region on the border with Guatemala and El Salvador.
Our Robusto has a 52 ring gauge and a length 5″. It is rolled in the Tabacalera Flor de Copan in the city of Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras.
This cigar is completely different than anything we have smoked from Flor de Copán before. Burning, draft behavior and smoke development were perfect. A flavorful cigar with aromas of espresso, bitter chocolate and a fine, delicate sweetness. A great 50 minute smoke. This cigar truly deserved the 2008 “Best Brand Honduras” award.
In addition, our Chilean friend brought us a Pisco Mistral Nobel. This “Noble Grappa” is distilled from grapes and stored for 10 years in oak barrels. A revelation!
2023/08/07
A legend is back: the “Cuba Aliados”, or as they may only be called “Aliados” outside of the USA for legal reasons.
It was founded by Rolando Reyes Sr., born in Cuba in 1924, who left his homeland in 1972. Reyes died in 2012. In 2021 the Belgian family company VCF (Vandermarliere Family of Cigars) acquired the brand and launched 2 series of the old brand. On the one hand the old blend and a new interpretation by Ernesto Perez Carrlillo, the Aliados Cabinet Edition.
Our Churchill of this new series has a ring gauge of 50/64” and a length of 7”. The wrapper, grown from Sumatra seeds and aged for 5 years, comes from Ecuador, the binder from Nicaragua and the filler is a blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos. It is rolled in the Tabacalera La Alianza by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo.
During our 90 minute smoke we could differentiate aromas of roasted oak, hay, chocolate, pepper and a natural sweetness.
2023/07/05
Our member Tobia gave us a hot tip. Cuban-born Hemmy Garcia from Berlin-Fronau, Germany and founder of Hemmy’s Finest Cigars has launched a new line of inexpensive bundle cigars in addition to the premium cigars we value. We managed to try out a bundle of the Churchills from the pre-series. This bundles of 10 are available in three formats, Robusto, Toro and Churchill. All three formats are hand-rolled at ABAM, Dominican Republic and have the same construction. A Connecticut wrapper from Ecuador, the binder from Indonesia and the filler blend from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Peru. The filler is made using the so-called Cuban Sandwich Method. Short fillers are sandwiched between the high-quality long filler leaves.
Our Churchill has a 48 ring gauge and a length of 7″.
It burned straight up with a comfortable draw resistance. A good one hour mild but still tasty smoke. A perfectly crafted good everyday cigar and also for the beginner at a very reasonable price.
2023/07/23
Today something from the Old Testament: “The Tabernacle” by Nicolas Melillo, the founder and owner of the Foundation Cigar Co. from the Connecticut River Valley, USA.
Born in 1979, Melillo began his cigar career at the age of 18 as a salesman in a tobacco shop and later managed the production of La Gran Fabrica at Drew Estate in Nicaragua before starting his own business in 2015.
With the series “The Tabernacle” he goes into the biblical story in the Old Testament about King Solomon and the legendary Ark of the Covenant. On the band is a portrait of Haile Selassie (1892–1975), the 225th Emperor of Ethiopia, descendant of King Solomon and worshiped as a deity by the Rastafarians in Jamaica. The tabernacle was considered by the faithful to be the place where the Ark of the Covenant was kept during the construction of the Temple of Solomon. Today, “Tabernacle” refers to the place where Christians keep the communion wafers.
And for Melillo, who was born in New Haven, Connecticut, which is surrounded by tobacco fields, these same tobacco plants are also something sacred and untouchable.
2023/07/27
We already liked the short torpedo “The Tabernacle Broadleaf” from Foundation Cigars by Nicolas Melillo, so we have now got hold of the largest of the vitolas available in Germany, the Toro.
During Melillo’s time at Drew Estate, he held the honorary title of “Chief of the Broadleaf”. To avoid being compared to his work at Drew Estate when he started his own business in 2015, he didn’t initially use Broadleaf. It was not until 2016 that he presented two series with these tobacco leaves at the IPCPR Convention in Las Vegas. The Charter Oak Broadleaf and our Tabernacle.
This Toro has a ring gauge of 52/64″ with a length of 6″. The somewhat coarse, almost black Broadleaf wrapper comes from Connecticut, USA. The San Andrés binder again from Mexico and the filler from Yamastran, Honduras and from Jalapa and Esteli, Nicaragua. It is rolled again at AJ Fernandez’s Tabacalera in Nicaragua.
A good hour-long smoke with aromas of mocha, red pepper and the typical Maduro sweetness.
2023/07/24
“The Tabernacle” Torpedo by Niclas Melillos Foundation Cigar Company in Connecticut.
A very nice appearance of this short torpedo with its almost black immaculate Broadleaf Connecticut wrapper from the USA and the magnificent cigarband with the image of Emperor Hailie Selassi.
The San Andrés binder comes from Mexico and the filler from Honduras and from the fields of AJ Fernandez’s Tabacalera, in Nicaragua where it is also rolled. Melillo knew these fields of the La Soledat farm very well, having lived in the immediate vicinity for a period in 2003.
Our short torpedo is 4½” long and has a ring gauge of 52/64″.
In the first third we tasted dates, leather and black pepper. This spicy note is balanced with lots of natural sweetness. From the second third, the earthy aromas increased.
Burn and drawing behavior were perfect. The use of a Mexican San Andrés binder with the Nicaraguan filler under a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper probably made for this interesting smoke.
2023/07/07
The Parisian cigar producer Maria-Pia (Maya) Selva, who was born in France and grew up in Honduras, has the brands Flor de Selva (since 1994), Cumpay (since 1999) and our current cigar, the Villa Zamorano (since 2002) in the portfolio. She has her cigars made in Nestor Placencia’s factory in Danli, Honduras.
Maya Selva originally developed Villa Zamorano for her husband. Whenever he walked his dog, he smoked one of her expensive Flor de Selva cigars. This upset her quite a bit, because can you walking your dog and really enjoy a very good cigar? She made him a simpler cigar from a good tobacco for his walks. Villa Zamorano was born, named after her Farm of the same name.
We have now purchased the further development as a sampler, the Villa Zamorano Reserva in the original but very practical reclosable can.
2023/07/14
A really cool sampler. The resealable can is ideal as a car humidor and fits in the drink tray of your car.
First we have the interesting format no. 15, as Maya Selva calls it. So a Figurado with a 54 ring gauge and a length of 5½”. A Honduras Puro, like all Reservas of this sampler. It has a beautiful oily smooth Jamastrán wrapper and is rolled very tightly. A lush smoke developed immediately after lighting. The burn was dead straight and the draw resistance was perfect despite the firm rolling. A spicy smoke with aromas of oak, coffee and above all a nice subtle sweetness. This ash was extremely solid and only fell in the last third. Then a nice symmetrical cinder cone appeared.
A very good 50 minute tasty smoke at a very good price-performance ratio. She created this cigar for her husband’s dog walks. We have to say that it works excellently even without a walk.
2023/07/09
This Sunday we smoked the biggest from Maya Selva’s Zamorano Reserva Sampler, the Sobrano Robusto Grande. It has a 60 ring gauge and is 6″ in length. An impressive vitola.
Like all cigars in this series, it is a Honduras Puro. The oily, smooth wrapper is a Habano from Maya’s own farm “Santa Eulalia”, located in the Jamastrán Valley in southern Honduras.
We found the draw resistance to be a bit very light and it burned very irregularly in the first third. But that regulated itself in the last two thirds autonomously.
We could taste aromas of oak and coffee as well as a subtle sweetness during our 70 minute smoke.
A really good, strong basic cigar, just a typical Honduran at a really good price.
2023/07/01
In 1976, Jorge Bueso Arias, known as Don Jorge in his native Honduras, founded the Flor de Copán cigar Factory.
By then, Don Jorge, who came from a tobacco dynasty, had already had a career as a banker and was Minister for Economy and Finance from 1957 to 1963.
In honor of the company founder, Jorge Bueso Arias, who was born in Santa Rosa de Copán in 1919, the Flor de Copán Special Edition 2020 by Jorge Bueso was released in 2020 on the occasion of his hundredth birthday.
We chose a red wine with the seductive name “Cigar Box”. Its Argentinian winemakers gave it this name because its scent reminded them of an open humidor.
2923/07/06
Wow — a cigar for the hundredth birthday of the company founder Don Jorge Bueso Arias. We chose the Toro from the special edition of the birthday boy. It has a ring gauge of 50 and is 6″ long. The oily, shiny H 2000 wrapper comes from Nicaragua, the Corojo binder from Honduras, as does the strong Criollo filler. It was rolled in their own Tabacalera Flor de Copan in Honduras.
Our Toro started extremely harsh. But this acidity gave way after a few puffs. We found primarily woody flavors and maybe a hint of coffee. The burn and draw resistance were perfect, the ash extremely solid. This beauty could not really convince us in terms of taste.
The not very expensive wine from Argentina, which was rated among the top 25, went perfectly with the cigar. A beautiful very dark, round, soft red. However, we could not understand the eponymous scent of roasted and tobacco notes. The winegrowers probably all smoked cigars during the tasting or the tasting took place in the walk-in humidor.
2023/06/29
The 1926 jazz pianist Avo Uvezian was born to a composer and a singer in Beirut, Lebanon. He became a pianist at the court of the Persian Shah and was also involved in the creation of the world hit “Strangers in the Night” for Frank Sinatra. In the 1980s he came to Puerto Rico and opened a piano bar there.
He soon discovered his love for cigars and wanted to make them for himself. He met Davidoff’s master blender, Hendrik Kelner, and they started a small production. Avo Uvezian called his first cigars “Bolero”, but since this brand was already protected in the USA, he later gave them his own first name. These first cigars were a huge sales success, so Davidoff soon decided to buy the “AVO” brand. Avo Uvezian died in Orlando, Florida in 2017 at the age of 92.
We were able to get hold of one of only 40,000 (4,000 boxes of 10) produced Diademas of the new Seasons Spring 2023 series worldwide.
2023/06/30
The Seasons 2023 series will be published in four editions, precisely for the four seasons. It all started with the “Spring”. The different blends are mixed from different tobaccos, which should represent the taste of the seasons.
Now the spring cigar, the Avo Uvezian Seasons Spring 2023 Diadema. Only 4,000 boxes of 10 were made. We were able to get hold of a few individual ones. The Corojo wrapper comes from Ecuador, the Seco binder from the Dominican Republic and the filler blend from Dominican San Vicente seco, hybrid 192 and Piloto Cubano, among others. One of these tobaccos is said to have aged for 14 years. They are rolled in Davidoff’s Tabacalera Tabadom in the Dominican Republic. This Diadema has a ring gauge of 50/64” and is 6⅝” long.
We could taste nutty and fruity aromas as well as wood and coffee. A relatively strong and impressive one-hour smoke with perfect draw and burn and proper smoke development.
2023/06/20
Today, for a small breakfast, a Davidoff Yamasa in the ideal “breakfast format” of a Petit Churchill.
The Yamasà area around the small town of the same name, north of Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, is the eponym for this series by Davidoff, issued in 2016. This swampy area is actually totally unsuitable for growing tobacco. Davidoff realized that they needed to raise the pH of the soil in Yamasá and did it manually, plant by plant, by adding nitrate and calcium. They then selected the top three out of 30 seeds and decided to use only 50 acres out of a total of 250 acres for cultivation. This development took 20 years and the strategy was due to the idea and intuition of master blender Henke Kelner.
These shade-grown tobacco plants are said to provide an matchless aroma. We’ll report after our little breakfast. Stay tuned!
2023/06/23
Now to our breakfast cigar, the Davidoff Yamasá Petit Churchill. The little one is just over 4″ long and has a 48 ring gauge.
The beautiful wrapper is a shade-grown Yamasá Maduro from the Dominican Republic. The San Vincente binder also comes from Yamasá. The filler is a blend of Mejorado leaves from Esteli, Nicaragua and Piloto leaves from Contega, Dominican Republic. They are rolled in the Davidoff Tabadom factory in the Dominican Republic.
Even before lighting it fascinates with a fruity and chocolaty cold smell. It is very spicy for a Davidoff and we could taste aromas of earth, wood and leather. Towards the end also chocolaty flavors. The very high price is probably due to the expensive farming process. All in all a good 40 minute morning smoke.
2023/06/19
We found a little historical treasure on Ebay. A wooden cigar press from the Karl Feisst Cigar Factory in Oberschopfheim on the edge of the Black Forest, Germany, which was set up in 1848. When the factory stopped hand rolled cigar making in favor of machine manufacturing, these cigar boards were no longer needed.
Another cigar manufacturer, the Blauband Zigarren und Stumpenfabriken Frank company “ GmbH & Co.” from nearby Watterdigen, bought some of the old presses. They used these as decorative packaging for their own cigars and marketed them as “true antique”. Our treasure is filled with 20 machine-rolled “Flor Fina” short fillers. They have a ring gauge of 35 and a length of 6¼”.
Who can give us more information about these two cigar manufacturers?
Since the cigars are totally dried out, we will gradually make them smokeable again for a few weeks in the humidor. We will then of course report.
2023/08/06
After a few weeks of acclimatization in the humidor, we dared to try the 50-year-old sticks. They are the Flor Fina of the “Blauband — Zigarren- und Stumpenfabriken Frank & Wittenauer“ from Watterdingen, Germany. The factory was founded in 1948 after the war and closed again in 1976. Based on the tax stamp, we estimate that our cigars were made in the late 1960s.
These machine rolled cigars have a 35 ring gauge and 6¼” in length. Unfortunately, we were not able to research the origin of the tobaccos, it is only clear that they must come from a Spanish-speaking country. So we dismantled one. It is a short filler with a binder made of HTL (homogenized tabak leaf) and a fine-looking, thin wrapper.
We lit one and tasted it. Draft behavior, burning and smoke development were still flawless. Apart from a very peppery hot spiciness there was nothing to taste. We put them away after a few puffs.
A historically interesting excursion into German cigar history.
the Gran Toro Undercrown Maduro by Drew Estate
the VegaFina Nicaragua Robusto Tubo
the Diadema from the limited Seasons Summer 2023 series by AVO
2023/06/13
Of course, a visit to “Sepp’s Tobacco Island” is a must when vacationing Lake Tegernsee in Bavaria, Germany. Sepp recommended us three of his favorites for holiday evenings:
1) the Gran Toro Undercrown Maduro by Drew Estate from Nicaragua
2) the VegaFina Nicaragua Robusto Tubo
3) and as a special treat, the brand new Diadema from the limited Seasons Summer 2023 series by AVO from the Davidoff Tabacaleria Tabadom in the Dominican Republic
As always, we relied on Sepp’s advice, which has never disappointed us. We will smoke it with pleasure in the next few evenings at the lake and of course report to you.
2023/06/18
Today the third recommendation from Sepp at Lake Tegernsee in Bavaria.
Jazz pianist Avo Uvezian came to Puerto Rico in the 1980s and opened a piano bar there. He soon discovered his love for cigars and wanted to make them for himself. He met Davidoff’s master blender, Hendrik Kelner, and they started a small production. These first cigars were a huge sales success, so Davidoff soon decided to buy the “AVO” brand.
So today the Avo Season Summer Limited Edition 2023 Diadema from the Avo Uvezian factory in the Cibao Valley of the Dominican Republic.
There are only 4,000 boxes of this limited series worldwide, 500 of them for the German market and one of them ended up at Sepps tabaco shop at Lake Tegernsee in Bavaria.
It has a 50 ring gauge and a length of 6 5/8″. The dark brown Corojo wrapper comes from Ecuador, the San Andrés binder from Mexico and the filler blend comes from the Dominican Republic.
We were able to enjoy them for a whole 1 ¼ hours with their fruity-sweet aromas. A great recommendation, thanks Sepp!
2923/06/14
Now for Sepp’s recommendation #1, the Gran Toro Undercrown Maduro from Drew Estate in Nicaragua.
A very beautiful Vitola with a ring gauge of 52/64” and a length of 6″. The dark, very even Maduro “Otapan Negro Ultimo Corte” wrapper from Mexico is outstanding. The T52 Connecticut binder comes from the USA and is a so-called “Stalk Cut and Cured”, i.e. the whole plant is cut off and the leaves are only separated from the stem later, which results in a particularly aromatic tobacco. The filler is a blend of Brazilian Meta Fina and Nicaraguan tobaccos.
It is rolled in the “La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate” in Nicaragua. An anecdote goes that the cigar rollers were asked to smoke a little less Liga Privada cigars. From then on they developed this cigar for themselves, which is composed of the best and most unique tobaccos.
With a subtle sweetness and strong aromas of chocolate, she gave us a truly great, strong smoke that lasted more than an hour. Thank you Sepp for this recommendation.
2023/05/17
Now to Sepp’s recommendation #2, a VegaFina (translated: fertile sole) Nicaragua Robusto Tubo. A brand imported by the Swiss tobacco company Villiger from the Black Forest, Germany. Villiger presented the Nicaragua series 2014 at the Intertabak in Dortmund, Germany. The Robusto Tubo is brand new on the market. Of course, Sepp already has them in stock 😉.
Our Robustos are Nicaraguan Puros, made in the Tabacalera de Garcia in La Romana on the east coast of the Dominican Republic.
It is a smaller Robusto with a 50 ring gauge and 5″ in length. This puro is a blend of leaves from the top (ligero), top middle (viso) and bottom middle (seco) of the tobacco plant. All tobaccos come from Jalapa and Esteli and are aged for at least 4 years.
It gave us a 45 minute smoke that was quite strong for a VegaFina. The smoke volume was great and we could clearly identify aromas of coffee, pepper, nuts and earth from this harmonious blend. A decent cigar.
2023/06/09
For tonight we have chosen a cigar from the Tabacaleria PDR from Tamboril Santiago in the Dominican Republic.
The founder of PDR, Abraham (Abe) Flores began his cigar career as an employee of a cigar dealer and then became a partner of Tabacaleria Don Leoncio. During this partnership he launched his first own brand, the “Pinar Del Rio”, named after the famous Cuban tobacco growing region. The letters “PDR” were originally the initials of this valley and brand name.
In 2011, Abe Flores then opened his own factory, which he also named “PDR”, but this time as an abbreviation of “Puros Dominican Republic”. He chose this designation to honor the country in which he lives and works. In addition to their own brands, a large number of boutique cigars (private label) are made for many other brands, such as the “Gurkha Ghost”.
We chose some Rubostos from the A. Flores 1975 series. The year 1975 is the year of birth of Abe Flores.
2023/06/11
Last night we lit our Robustos A. Flores 1975 Gran Reserva Edición Limitada Maduro from Abe Flores’ Tabacaleria PDR.
Although the Tabacaleria’s name (Puros Dominican Republic) suggests they are Dominican Puros, only the Olor binder is Dominican, the wrapper is a sun grown San Andrés from Mexico, and the filler is a blend of Corojo, Dominican Republic, and Habano ‚Nicaragua.
They are rolled at PDR in the Dominican Republic using the entubado method. The tobacco leaves are first rolled into individual tubes called “entubado”. These are then rolled up into the actual cigar shape, which is said to ensure a more even burn and a better draw.
Our Robustos have a 52 ring gauge and a length of 5″. We could guess peppery aromas of wood and leather. A 60 minute, quite decent smoke with a lot of smoke development. However, all Robustos tended to slight but correctable uneven burns.
2023/06/05
For today we will smoke a Leonel Rare, a so-called boutique cigar from the cigar dealer and importer Paul Bugge Cigars from Villingen-Schwenningen in the Black Forest, Germany. Company founder Paul Bugge opened his first tobacco shop in 1951 in Schwenningen. In 1998 he handed over his steadily growing company to Norbert Höldke, a passionate cigar smoker and entrepreneur.
In 2010 Norbert Höltke had the first prototypes of his own series made in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic according to his wishes and those of his son Daniel. In 2014 the time had come, the first cigars from the new Leonel brand from Nicaragua were presented.
Unfortunately, the company does not reveal which manufacturers their cigars come from. That’s a pity, because the knowledgeable aficionado would of course like to know where his cigars come from. But that’s probably intentional so you can’t make comparisons with cigars from the same Tabacaleria.
Today we will let some Robustos of this series go up in smoke and report to you. Stay tuned!
xxx
2023/06/07
Today we have taken on the Robustos of Leonel Rare, a brand of the cigar dealer and importer Paul Bugge. These Robustos have a ring gauge of 52/64″ and a length of 5″.
The first thing that catches the eye is the beautiful, old-fashioned gold cigar band. This comes into its own particularly beautifully on the dark, flawless wrapper from Nicaragua. The binder also comes from Nicaragua. Several Nicaraguan Ligero and Seco tobacco leaves were used as filler. The Ligero leaves, i.e. the uppermost part of the tobacco plant, are responsible for the generation of a lot of smoke and for the sharpness of a cigar. The Seco leaves come from the middle part of the plant and primarily determine the aroma.
A spicy, aromatic cigar that is beautiful to look at. Unfortunately, our suspicion of the extremely tightly rolled cigars was confirmed, that the draw resistance was so strong that we didn’t smoke any to the end. Too bad, but maybe we just caught a few outliers.
2023/05/29
Today something Swiss from Costa Rica. In 1998, the German Rudy Niehaus established the Tabacaleria Vegas de Santiago together with the Guzmán family in the Priscal region of Costa Rica. The senior Olman León Guzmán still supervises the plantations and the fermentation, his son Andrés runs the factory. They were joined by former H. Upmanns Production Manager Don Luis Santana Llamas from Cuba. He created the cigar presented by us today, the D8 Imperial Blend aged double Ligero. The Geneva, Switzerland-born son of Rudy Niehaus, Marc, joined his father’s factory as a partner in 2010 and today manages international sales and marketing from Switzerland. The D8 was awarded “Best Brand Costa Rica” at Intertabac 2017.
Of course we will try them and report back to you. Stay tuned!
2023/05/30
How was she our first cigar from Costa Rica, the Vegas De Santiago Short Salomones by the Swiss Marc Niehaus. A beautiful vitola, perfectly crafted, this Short Belicosa with a ring gauge of 58/64″ and a length of 6″. The wrapper and binder come from Ecuador, the filler blend from Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Peru. All tobaccos are grown from Caribbean seeds. They are rolled in the Tabacaleria Vegas Santiago in Costa Rica.
Due to the special shape, the draw resistance is initially very high, but after a few puffs it is optimal. A full, creamy smoke developed immediately, accompanied by a subtle honey sweetness, which remained until the end.
Furthermore, we could taste sweet aromas of coffee, chocolate and cedar wood.
A good 70 minute smoking pleasure with a very good price-performance ratio. It won’t be our last cigar from Costa Rica!
P.S.: for our foreign friends. The inscription on the ashtray reads: “resting place for burning cigars”.
2023/05/26
A few days ago we tried the Robustos from Hemmy Garcia’s own brand in Berlin and thought they were good. So we got another vitola, the Hemmy’s Piramides, of these two cigars.
They have a ring gauge of 52/64″ and a length of 6″. So a little more voluminous than the Robustos. The only difference between the two is the wrapper. The slightly lighter one has a Jalapa wrapper from Nicaragua, the Maduro has a San Andres from Mexico. The binders of both come from Peru. The filler is a blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos. They were rolled at ABAM Cigars in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Of course we will also smoke them and report to you. This time we treat ourselves to the 84 proof “Gentlemen’s Reserve” rum personally blended by Hemmy. We are very excited about this duo or trio.
2023/05/27
We found the Hemmy’s Piramides even more aromatic than the Robustos that we had already tasted. A perfectly crafted cigar with a beautiful, even wrapper. A full-bodied but still mild cigar with an amazing price-performance ratio.
In addition, the rum from Hemmy was a revelation. Very soft with notes of orange and chocolate. According to the label, it’s not a “rum” but a rum spirit, since the added sugar (invert sugar) is higher than the 20 g (0.7 oz) per liter (1.07 US liq. qt.) for rum permitted in the EU since 2021. But that doesn’t detract from “Hemmy’s Gentlemen’s Reserve”. A perfect drink with a cigar. We enjoyed both. A perfect pairing. The Brinkmann company has blended and bottled this “rum” from Caribbean rums that are up to 10 years old, based on a personal recipe by Hemmy Garcia.
For our American friends: the inscription on the ashtray reads: “Wife don’t annoy your husband”.
2023/06/02
Today is our second “Berliner Kindl” (Berlin Child) of the Piramides from Cuban-born Hemmy Garcia from Fronau who lives in Berlin by choice. The Hemmy’s Maduro.
Another flawless wrapper, this time a little darker and a San André from Mexico from the 2008 harvest. The binder from Peru and a filler blend from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. It has a ring gauge of 52/64” and is 6″ in length. This vitola is also rolled again in the Tabacalera ABAM Cigars by Matias Maragoto in the Dominican Republic. The wrappers of this Maduro are aged in old rum casks for two years. These give the cigar its unmistakable sweet floral aroma, which is complemented by fine woody roasted aromas. The cigar exudes an extremely pleasant, spicy scent. The burn was dead straight with an optimal draw resistance.
A great one-hour smoke, again at a very good price-performance ratio.
With the Berlin summer temperatures, a Berliner Kindl Radler (a beer mix drink made from beer and lemonade) went perfectly with the cigar.
2023/05/17
The Swiss Raymondo Bernasconi and his wife Sue run a successful cigar business in Basel, Switzerland, the “House of Smoke”. In April he launched an interesting new cigar for the company’s 15th anniversary, the “Signature” of his own brand “Gilbert de Montsalvat”. The brand name is a fantasy figure created by author Thomas Brunnschweiler, a friend of Bernasconi. This fictional character’s full name is Gilbert Bénédict Augustin de Montsalvat.
We were able to get hold of some Gordos from this series. This new cigar was created by Davidoff’s former master blender, Eladio Díaz, and he produces it in his own brand new Tabacalera Diaz Cabrera in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. It is purely a family business. Griselda, Diaz’s wife, is the managing director, while his sons Alexander and Hector act as financial managers. The other of his three sons, Emmanuel, is absent and will remain with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo in his role as Marketing and International Sales Director.
2023/05/18
How was it with the fat (Spanish = gordo) Mr. Gilbert de Montsalvat? A really impressive format, this Gordo from the Signature series by Raymondo Bernasconi. With a ring gauge of 60/64″ and a length of 6″, it is a Double Toro. It is precisely this size that appeals to us, because thicker cigars generally burn more slowly and also result in a larger smoke volume, and the variety of aromas and intensity of taste usually increase over the course of the smoke.
Our Mr. de Montsalvat is a blend by Eladio Diaz and consists of 6 Dominican tobaccos, a real Dominican Puro.
A very lush, creamy smoke developed immediately after lighting and we could taste sweetish aromas right from the start. Roasted aromas of coffee and almonds were added later. Burning and draw behavior were both impeccable. The only downside: the band is made of very thick paper and is difficult to remove. The smoke itself was an 80 minute treat.
2023/05/15
The spoils of a visit to Hemmy Garcia, a native Cuban who grew up in Berlin. But one after anonther. Hemmy completed a commercial apprenticeship with the cigar manufacturer and Cuba importer (5th Avenue) Villiger on the edge of the Black Forest. Then, after a few years as an employee at various large tobacco dealers (Casas del Habanos) in Hamburg and Berlin, Hemmy opened his own small cigar shop and cigar lounge in Berlin-Fronau, Germany. From his time at Villiger he can remember the cigar factory Abam Cigars in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where Villiger also has some of his premium brands produced. This is how a German-Caribbean co-production came about and the own brand “Hemmy’s” was born.
We couldn’t decide right away for one of the 3 series produced. So we have bought samplers in Robusto format, each with the three series. Visually, all three make an excellent impression, which requires perfect workmanship. Of course we will try them one by one and report to you.
2023/05/09
Now the second Robusto from our Hemmy Garcias Robusto sampler, the Maduro. Hemmy, born in Cuba but now a true Berliner. What goes better with his cigar than a “Berliner Kindl” beer.
This beautiful dark Maduro differs from the Robusto tested yesterday only by its San Andres wrapper from Mexico, which was stored in rum barrels for two years. The dimensions with 5 x 50 are identical.
With a ring gauge of 50, we actually didn’t expect a big difference, since the ratio of the tobacco content of the wrapper leaf to the filler is rather small and shouldn’t matter.
But one after another. Immediately after lighting, a creamy, lush smoke developed again, which makes the smoke a pleasure. We found them far less spicy and not a bit peppery. But from the beginning there are nice sweet, chocolaty yes opulent roasted aromas.
The wrapper does it! Aromatically a huge gain. A not only beautiful, but also aromatic cigar for an enjoyable smoke that lasts almost an hour.
2023/05/08
Today the first Robusto from our sampler with cigars from Hemmy Garcia. Since Hemmy resides in Berlin, we chose the Berlin special bottling of a Jägermeister as a drink.
Our Robustos have a ring gauge of 50/64″ and a length of 5″. The uniform, fine-veined and rich brown wrapper is a Jalapa from Nicaragua. The binder comes from Peru and the filler is a blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan Ligero and Double Ligero leaves. The tobaccos used come from 2019 and therefore still have good potential for aging. They were rolled at ABAM Cigars in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
A rich, creamy smoke developed immediately after lighting up and lasted until the end. It starts relatively mild and spicy but not to spicy in the first third. It only got stronger from the second third and we were able to differentiate aromas. A very pleasant light sweetness was added. The draw was light but not too light, the burn was ideal.
A good 50 minutes smoke that we really recommend!
2023/05/11
Here is the last Robusto of our Hemmy’s Sampler, the Edicion Limitada from 2021. We call it the “Mystery Cigar” because Hemmy Garcia does not disclose the tobaccos used.
What we do know: The ring gauge is 50/64″ and the length is 5″. It is rolled at ABAM Cigars in the Dominican Republic and was limited to a few 100 boxes, hence “Limitada”. The German “Zigarren Magazin” voted it cigar of the year 2021.
Now we found out that ABAM uses most of time Ecuador Connecticut, Ecuador Natural, Mexico Maduro Negro, San Andres and Perú Habano for the wrappers. Underneath it must be the beautiful, even wrapper of our Robusto. The cap is artfully twisted into a pig tail. ABAM uses most of time Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos for the filler. Now all we have to do is figure out the combination. Who can taste something and help us?
She again developed a luscious creamy smoke. A surprising number of aromas, all with a sweet note. Great cigar that gets a regular place in our humidor.
2023/04/28
Today we want to devote ourselves to a cigar that is one of the best non-Cuban cigars, the Ashton VSG (Virgin Sun Grown) Spellbound.
The American Robert Levin founded the Ashton brand in 1985 in Philadelphia, USA. The Ashton VSG series was introduced in 1999. With this cigar, he managed to enter the world of the best premium cigars with his family business and this cigar.
It is a masterpiece of several cigar dynasties. Carlito Fuente developed this cigar in two years of work. The Oliva family supplies the wrappers grown in Ecuador. The binder and filler come from 4–5 year aged Dominican tobaccos from the Fuente family farms. They are rolled in the Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia..
According to Cigar Aficionado, this stick is one of the top 25 cigars in the world. We will enjoy it and of course report back to you. Stay tuned!
2023/05/02
What is it like now, the cigar with the reputation of being one of the best non-Cuban ones. Robert Levin, the owner of the Ashton brand, calls the enormous vitola of our VSG (Virgin Sun Grown) “Spellbound”. So plenty of advance praise.
This vitola is boxpressed, has a ring gauge of 54 and a length of 7½”, i.e. a double corona. The silky shimmering dark sun grown wrapper comes from the fields of the Oliva family in Ecuador. As with all Robert Levin cigars, the binder and the filler blend come from the fields of the Fuente family in the Dominican Republic, where it was also rolled and then aged for 1 half a year.
After a 1½ hour very strong smoke we can only confirm, a fantastic cigar!
A rich, full-bodied smoke and sweet chocolaty flavors, while a perfect draw and a razor-sharp burn round off this smoke beautifully.
2023/04/23
The German Georg Baron von Ullmann, former member of the supervisory board and partner in the Sal. Oppenheim bank, acquired a cigar factory in the Dominican Republic in the early 2000s together with his Spanish friend and business partner Francisco Diaz Suarez, who likes to abbreviate his name as Frandisuarez. Initially, no distribution was planned, excellent cigars to the taste of the two friends were only to be produced for a small, select circle. After the result was very well received, production was expanded and these cigars have now been available for us for more than 15 years.
We have secured some of the elegant Lanceros of the “Baron Ullmann & Frandisuarez”, as they are officially named.
According to Ullmann’s advertising statement, they should be the best of the best. We will try them and of course report back to you. Stay tuned!
2023/04/25
Baron Ullmann’s advertising statement “The best of the best” about his cigars naturally appealed to us. So we got some Lanceros from Baron Ullmann & Frandisuarez.
These very elegant Lanceros have a ring gauge of 38/64″ and a length of 6¾” and look well made. The even wrapper comes from Cameroon, the binder from Nicaragua and the filler blend also from Nicaragua and from Dominican tobaccos.
The draw and burn behavior were perfect, as you would expect in this price segment. Immediately after lighting up, a luscious creamy smoke develops along with a very peppery aroma. Unfortunately, we couldn’t guess any other aromas during the 40 minute smoke.
The advertising statement is unfortunately pure advertising and far removed from reality. It was well made but not a special cigar.
2023/04/18
It was launched in 2016 and unfortunately only today in our humidor, the “La Promesa”, a Toro from the My Father brand from Don Pepin Garcia’s Tabacalera in Esteli, Nicaragua.
The name of the cigar “La Promesa” means “The Promise”. What is meant is the promise that the company patriarch José “Pepín” García made to his family before he left his native Cuba for Nicaragua in 2001. He promised to honor the quality standards and traditional heritage of his old homeland even without access to Cuban tobacco in his new homeland.
Pepin’s son, Jaime, once created a birthday cigar for his father completely independently. The father was so enthusiastic about his son’s results that he included his blends in the program and named his Nicaraguan Tabacaleria “My Father Cigars”.
We are looking forward to this cigar because it is not supposed to have the strong, peppery aroma typical of Don Pepin, but more aromatic.
We will report, stay tuned!
2023/04/19
Has José “Pepín” García kept his promise to his Cuban family with “My Father La Promesa” to maintain the quality standards and traditional heritage of his old Cuban homeland even without access to Cuban tobacco?
Our Toro has a ring gauge of 52/64″ and a length of 6″. A ‘Rosato Oscuro’ wrapper grown from Cuban seeds in Ecuador was used. The binder and filler come from his own fields in Nicaragua. It was rolled in his Tabacalera “My Father Cigars S.A.” in Estelí, Nicaragua.
The cold smell is actually very similar to that of cigars from Cuba: sweetish like honey. Immediately after lighting, an enormous creamy volume of smoke develops. In the first 2 thirds we could actually only guess very subliminal peppery aromas, which only became stronger in the last third, but a nice, unobtrusive sweetness of chocolate and espresso. The burning behavior was perfect.
We have to say: Promise kept!
2023/04/14
Heinrich Villiger is known to the aficionado in Europe as managing director and partner in the world’s first joint venture with the Cuban Habanos S.A.. This joint venture, founded in 1989, imports and sells Habanos, the legally protected cigars from Cuba, exclusively for Germany, Austria and Poland under the name 5th Avenue. The company’s headquarters are in Waldshut-Tiengen in the Black Forest, Germany.
Jean Villiger founded today’s empire in 1888 in Pfeffikon, Switzerland. Last year, Villiger opened his first factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. At the opening, the “VILLIGER de Nicaragua Edición Limitada 2022” was launched. There are only 9,000 pieces of this Toro worldwide. We were able to secure a few.
The noble, high-gloss lacquered boxes of 10 bear a picture of the landscape of Nicaragua, the land of 1,000 volcanoes, on the lid and also on the band.
Of course we will smoke some and report about it. Stay tuned!
2023/04/17
Now the cigar that saw the light of day at the opening of Villiger’s new factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. A Toro Villiger de Nicaragua Edición Limitada 2022. The factory is run with the support of Joya de Nicaragua.
Technically well made, the burning and drawing behavior was perfect. A very balanced format with a ring gauge of 54/64″ and a length of 6″. A Colorado from Ecuador was used as the wrapper. The binder comes from Mexico and the filler from Nicaragua. The American market version is a different format, a Torpedo 6 x 52 with a slightly different filler blend from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania, USA. These torpedoes are limited to 500 boxes and will ship in early 2023.
We could identify aromas of coffee, pepper and dark chocolate. We liked it very much and she gave us a perfect smoke of one hour.
2023/04/12
The “Natural” series by Drew Estate is not allowed to be called that in some European countries. The German legal regulations also do not allow terms such as organic or even natural to be associated with tobacco products. Jonathan Drew and his marketing team therefore changed the name to LarutaN = Natural read backwards. For a long time, Drew Estate cigars were difficult to obtain in Germany. Fortunately, this has now changed.
We have secured the largest of this series, which goes by the name “English”. The cigars in this series are “infused”, as the manufacturer says. We would probably say flavored, but that doesn’t sound so good. Exactly how this is done at Drew Estate remains their secret. Maybe honey bees?
We’re extremely excited to see these beauties go up in smoke. We will report. Stay tuned!
2023/04/23
With great excitement we lit our caramel-sweetly scented Toros of the brand LarutaN from Drew Estate. Drew Estate calls this format “English”.
They have a ring gauge of 52/64″ and a length of 6″ and give a smoke time of a good hour. It is the largest format in this series and only this and one other are long fillers. The tobaccos used are partly secret and there are actually different opinions about it. We assume that the wrapper is a San Andres Negro from Mexico and the filler is a blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos. They are rolled by Drew Estate in Esteli, Nicaragua.
If you put them on your lips you taste something like artificial sweetener, brutally sweet. This taste remains and overshadows everything else and, at least for us, has thwarted the enjoyment.
Drew Estate claims they are not flavored but “infused”. We claim they’ve been dipped in a sweetener solution. If you like it, please do!
2023/03/26
When the “godfather” of boutique cigars and master blender, Ernesto Pérez Carillo, combines his knowledge with the great Nicaraguan brand Oliva, only good things can come of it. In the summer of 2022, a creation by the two companies came onto the market in the USA and now also here in Germany. We were able to get hold of a few of the only 75,000 cigars worldwide.
It’s the Allegiance Sidekick, a Robusto. The name refers to those who can be trusted. The Allegiance was created as an ode to Ernesto’s roots and the resulting friendships and close bonds that have developed throughout his career. Blended by Ernesto with Oliva’s world famous tobaccos, it was not made by Ernesto’s Tabacalera La Alianza in the Dominican Republic, but by the Oliva Cigar Co. in Nicaragua.
The green of the box is inspired by the color of the tobacco fields, the yellow of the band by the color of the special Nicaraguan soil.
We will try them and report.
2023/03/27So how was it, the interesting result of two cigar giants. The Allegiance Sidekick Robusto was created by the masterblender Ernesto Perez Carillo from the Dominican Republic and manufactured by Gilberto Olivas Tabacalera in Nicaragua.
The boxpressed Robusto with a ring gauge of 50/64″ and a length of 5″ has a perfect wrapper grown from Sumatra seeds in Ecuador. The binder and filler come from Oliva’s long-aged Nicaraguan stocks.
We had a perfectly made cigar in front of us. Burningzug behavior, smoke development and draw behavior were perfect. We could detect spicy aromas of nuts, honey and coffee. A 45 minute medium-strength smoke to try. The only but bitter point of criticism is that the inner end of the green textile band on the foot is attached directly to the wrapper with a strip of scotch tape, which damages the wrapper when removed. Actually a NO GO.
2023/03/24
On our journey through the Indonesian cigar world, we came across a strange statement from a cigar brand: “BIN Cigar presents premium cigar products with Cuban flavor as its distinctive character”. That made us curious.
The Tabacaleria “Pt. Boss Image Nusantra” or BIN for short is located on Java in Jember, Indonesia.
Since last year, BIN has been producing, among other things, cigars from tobacco plants grown from Cuban Havana seeds. These Havana tobaccos have been grown in Jember for 20 years. According to BIN, the cigars produced by BIN from this tobacco should resemble the real Cubans. It’s getting more and more interesting!
Our new friend Jimmy @cigar.man, one of the Vice Presidents of AHCC Indonesia, got us some of these marvelous sticks. They are Robustos from the Boslucks Maduro series.
Have you ever smoked Indonesian cigars? If so, what are your experiences? Of course we will try our Boslucks and report to you. Stay tuned!
2023/03/25
It was with great anticipation that we lit the Robusto from the Boslucks Maduro series by BIN.
This long filler from Jember, Indonesia by Tabacaleria Pt. Boss Image Nusantara has a decent ring gauge of 52/64″ and a corresponding length of almost 5″. The finely veined and dark silky Havana wrapper, grown from Cuban seeds, is flawless. The binder should also be a Havana. The 5‑year-matured filler is Havana Legero and Seco leaves, the tastiest upper leaves of the plants. The cigar is handcrafted to perfection. Although it is rolled very tightly, the draw was good, as was the burn with a lush, creamy smoke.
We detected very spicy and peppery, sometimes a bit spicier earthy flavors. A strong cigar, not necessarily suitable for the beginner. If we hadn’t known the origin, we would have guessed Nicaragua. A cross between Cuba and Nicaragua, one could say sympathetically. A good 40 minute smoke that we can definitely recommend.
Thank you Jimmy @cigar.man for this journey through the Indonesian cigar world.
2023/03/21
After our first positive experience with Indonesian cigars, we decided to have a second Indonesian evening. Our new friend from the Indonesian Chapter of the AHCC, Jimmy @cigar.man brought us some Petit Robustos of his own brand. Loufote, an Indonesian puro, launched last year.
Indonesia is one of the oldest producers of high-quality cigar tobacco in the world, with a history of tobacco cultivation dating back to the late 18th century. With such a strong heritage, it is strange that Indonesian tobacco still lacks respect in the premium cigar world. Industry insiders regard the tobacco as second rate. Their attitude stems largely from ignorance of the quality of high-end Indonesian cigar tobacco. The country produces thousands of wrapper, binder and filler bales of excellent quality in Java and Sumatra. Jimmy’s cigars come from East Java, where 55% of all tobacco fields in Indonesia are located.
We are excited and will report. Stay tuned!
2023/03/22
What was it like now, Jimmy’s @cigar.man lower-priced little Indonesian variant, the Petit Robusto from the Loufote series?
The small Robusto, a long filler, has a ring gauge of 50/64″ and a length of 4½”. The smooth, dark wrapper is from the tobacco-growing region of Vorstenlanden (princely state) on the island of Java. These are specially selected leaves, since these are usually only processed in short fillers. It is a cross between Besuki and Connecticut and is also used today for premium cigars. Often inferior Bezuki tobacco is declared as TBN, which tastes slightly metallic. Not so with our Loufote. The blend for the insert also comes exclusively from Indonesia. So a Puro.
Immediately after lighting, a lush, creamy smoke develops. Only a hint of pepper and earth could be detected in aromas. Finally, after half an hour, the mild Loufote became much stronger. The ash was extremely solid and fell very late.
A good, balanced smoke for in between and that at a price of around € 3.00 (in Indonesia).
G655.C[/caption]
2023/03/17
This week we had a visitor from Indonesia. Ash Hole Cigar Club member Jimmy @cigarman brought us some cigars from his hometown to Berlin.
Originally from the fiber optic industry, Jimmy opened his first cigar shop in Jakarta in 2018. Just one year later he established his first own cigar brand “Tobaksgud”. The “Loufote” followed in 2022, which we will also try in the coming days. 2021 saw the launch of our current test cigar, the G655.C Long Haul Backbone Torpedo. The technical-sounding brand name is a reminiscence of his second passion, fiber optic technology, and describes a special, high-quality fiber optic cable there.
The cigar company now has 5 branches and continues to grow due to the success of its cigars. The cigars of his own brands are made in the Tabaceleria MDR on Java, Indonesia.
Tomorrow we’ll smoke some G556.C torpedoes and of course we’ll keep you posted. Stay tuned.
2023/03/19
Selamat pagi!
Today we tell you about our Indonesian evening here in Berlin yesterday. For the first time we were able to taste an Indonesian cigar. Jimmy @cigar.man brought us some of his “G655.C Long Haul Backbones” from his home country.
These perfectly crafted Torpedoes have a ring gauge of 54/64″ and a length of 6″. The fine-veined dark wrapper comes from the Dominican Republic, the binder from Java, Indonesia and the filler is a blend of tobacco leaves from Nicaragua, Indonesia and some grown from Cuban seeds. They are rolled in the Tabacaleria Pt. Mangli Djaya Raya (MDR) in Jember on East Java.
What is immediately noticeable is the pleasantly sweet cold smell of honey, as with the Cubans. The draw and burn behavior were flawless. We could initially detect peppery aromas and from the second third aromas of wood, leather and spices. In the last third, sweet aromas were added.
All in all, a 70-minute, medium-strong smoke that makes you want more “Indonesians”.
Thank you Jimmy!
Selamat tingal!
2023/03/12
In 2021, the family company Oliva, originally from Cuba and based in Nicaragua since 1994, launched a special vitola of the V series for its 135th anniversary: the Edición Aniversario Real (the royal anniversary edition). Oliva calls this unique shape “Perfecto”. A Perfecto actually has two tapered ends. But ours here only has a tapered foot. So it’s actually a figurado. This wonderful vitola could also be called a chisel. Definitely an eye-catcher that also seduced us to buy it. This form is intended to provide a particularly rich variety of aromas. The wrapper is very dominant at the beginning because its percentage is particularly high due to the shape. This anniversary cigar is also very limited and therefore rare. Some retailers limit sales to just one box (12 cigars) per customer.
Who has smoked it and can tell us something about it? We will definitely try them too and of course report back to you.
2023/03/13
With great anticipation, yesterday our two rare 35 Series V Edición Aniversario Real from Oliva lit up. This anniversary vitola received a lot of advance praise and so our expectations were high.
A beauty with a length of almost 5½” and a ring gauge of 54/64″ is very tight masterfully rolled. The wrapper, grown from Ecuadorian Sumatra seeds, comes from Nicaragua, as does the binder and filler. So a real Nicaraguan Puro from the Tabacaleria Oliva.
Immediately after lighting we experienced a wild burning behavior, which calmed down and corrected itself from the second third. Contrary to expectations, the drawing behavior was very good despite the firm rolling. At the beginning we could sense sweetish aromas, which were replaced by earthy, even peaty and woody aromas. The smoke volume was rather modest.
An hour long smooth smoke that didn’t quite live up to our expectations. But still a good, but not exceptional, cigar.
2023/03/09
According to legend, soldiers of the Nepalese army in India, known as Gurkha or Gorkha, rolled their own cigars from local tobaccos as early as 1887. The Gurkha cigars were born.
Indian-born Kaizad Hansotia, a watch retailer from Miami, USA discovered the Gurkha brand in a small hut on the beach while vacationing in the Indian state of Goa in 1989. After three bottles of rum, the small cigar manufacturer and Hansotia came to an agreement. Hansotia bought all the inventory and the Gurkha brand for only $149 dollars and went on to found the Gurkha Cigar Company in Miami, USA and launched cigars under that name in the USA in 1995.
Gurkha does not produce their cigars themself but have them made in various tabacalerias.
After a controversial racist Facebook post on the Black Lives Matter movement, Hansotia resigned as chairman of the company and handed over management to Jim Colucci in 2020.
Now we’re going to try our first Gurkha, a Toro Maduro from the Heritage Series from Nicaragua. We will report!
2023/03/10
Last night we reverently approached the heritage of the Nepalese Gurkha warriors and lit our Toro from the Gurkha series Heritage Maduro. This series has been rolled in the Nicaraguan Tabacaleria of American Caribbean Tobacco S.A. since 2015 in Esteli.
It’s a really big Toro measuring 54 x 6½. The filler made from Brazilian and Nicaraguan tobaccos is wrapped in a Brazilian Arapiraca Maduro binder. The wrapper is a San Andrés Maduro from Mexico. Here we have the rare construction where the wrapper and binder are both Maduro leaves. Gurkha calls this construction Double Maduro. The national sales director Juan Lopez is responsible for the blending.
We liked the lush development of smoke from the first puff to the end. We could clearly recognize the typical Maduro aromas of dark bittersweet chocolate and guess further aromas of coffee and cedar wood.
2023/03/07
A Fuente is always right! Today we treated ourselves with a Hemingway Classic. This perfecto format is always attractive. We are very grateful to Carlito Fuente for reviving these formats. Unfortunately, Hemingways are rather hard to come by in Germany.
With a length of 7″ and a ring gauge of 45/64″, it gave us an enjoyable smoke for more than an hour. We could distinguish aromas of chocolate and coffee very well.
The filler is a blend of four different Dominican tobaccos, which are wrapped in a Dominican binder and a wrapper from Cameroon.
A not cheap cigar for the discerning connoisseur!
Robusto by Don Diego[/caption]
2023/03/06
In the summer of last year we had already tried our first Don Diego, the Classic Torpedo, and reported to you. The dealer we trust told us at the time that you can’t go wrong with the Don Diego. Yesterday evening we had smoked the Robusto of this series.
Since the online retailers specify different dimensions, we measured it. It is actually 5″ long and has a ring gauge of 49/64″. The construction is identical to the torpedo. The Connecticut Shade wrapper again from the River Valley, USA, the binder again from the Dominican Republic and the filler blend also again from Brazil and the Dominican Republic. It is also rolled again by the Dominican Tabacalera de Garcia.
We chose a Southern Comfort on ice for the nutty-sweet aromas of the cigar. A well-made cigar, which is not particularly impressive, but is a good cigar for the beginner and also for the occasional smoker. We still had 45 minutes of fun with it.
2023/03/04
Yesterday we were able to get hold of something special and rare in the newly opened 3rd branch of Zigarren Herzog in Berlin. Some Toros of the Vintage Series from 1997 by Macanudo. These have only been available in Germany since 2020 and, because they are very limited, are extremely rare to find.
Macanudo is a brand of the General Cigar Company from Richmond, Virginia, USA, one of the really big cigar companies. The non-Cuban brands Punch, La Gloria Cubana and Partagas also come from General Cigar. Today the company belongs to the Scandinavian Tobacco Group.
Now to our Macanudo Vintage 1997. The special wrapper gave the cigar its name, it comes from the 1997 harvest. The noble cigar ring made of solid metal is particularly striking. Macanudo cigars were originally made in Jamaica and today come entirely from the Tabacalera General Cigar Dominicana.
We are excited about this beauty and will of course report back to you. Stay tuned!
2023/03/05
Now we have lit our Macanudo Vintage 1997 Maduro Toro, “crowned” with a noble chrome ring instead of a cigarband.
This queen of the Maduro cigars has a real Toro format with a length of 6″ and a ring gauge of 54/64″. The beautiful, oily Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper hails from the USA and was harvested in the River Valley in 1997. So today it is already 26 years old. The hearty, long-matured binder comes from Honduras and the filler is a blend of Brazilian, Dominican and Nicaraguan spicy tobaccos. The spicy aromas are more than balanced by a slight sweetness. The burn was perfect as was the draw resistance. A good one-hour pleasure at a still acceptable price. If you find one at your local dealer, be sure to try one and let us know how you liked it!
2023/02/14
This year’s Chinese New Year began on January 22 and is under the sign of the rabbit. Some cigar brands celebrate the zodiac signs of the respective year with a special edition. We got ourselves a Torpedo of the limited edition Year of the Rabbit 2023 from Vega Fina.
“Vega Finas” refers to places where there are optimal conditions for tobacco cultivation, i.e. optimal soil, sun and moisture. One of these places is the city of La Romana in the Dominican Republic. Here is also the famous Tabacaleria of the Garcia family, who produce the Vega Fina. Responsible for this brand is the master blender José Seijas, who returned from retirement to “his” factory in 2012 to help this brand succeed and gave it its name.
Of course we will try these special rabbits and tell you about them.
新年快樂
2023/02/19
Today we finally got around to trying our Year of the Rabbit 2023. This new Chinese New Year special edition from Vega Fina comes as a torpedo this year and is heavily limited worldwide. Even from online retailers, you can order a maximum of one box of 16 cigars in Germany.
Our torpedo has a length of 6″ with a ring gauge of 50/64″. The beautiful, even wrapper comes from Ecuador, the binder from the Dominican Republic. The blend of the filler blend is balanced so that it starts out mild and gets progressively stronger. This is due to the special placement of the tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. It is rolled in the Tabacalera de García in La Romana, Dominican Republic.
During our almost hour-long smoke, we could sense aromas of leather and oak, but also fruity and nutty ones. An enjoyable Sunday smoke that is highly recommended.
Who has also smoked them. Your opinion is always interesting.
2023/02/05
For today’s Italian evening we were able to find two of these limited giants (9 X 58) from Italy. Three years ago, the tobacco factory from Florence in Tuscany, founded by Grand Duke Ferdinand III in 1818, started the “4 Elements” series. The first three annual cigars were “La Terra” (the earth), “Il Fuoco” (the fire) and “L’Acqua” (the water). Last year the fourth and last of the 4 elements was added: “L’Laria” (the air).
In the very first year of production, the tobacco leaves from Kentucky, USA were stored outdoors under the sun. A sudden thunderstorm soaked the bales completely. However, out of fear of the Grand Duke, the director at the time did not dispose of the apparently spoiled tobacco, but dried it over fire in order to then produce inexpensive cigars. However, the cigars made from this tobacco were a huge success and the Toscanos were invented. Here too the 4 elements: sown in the earth, soaked by water, dried over fire and aged in the air.
We will tell you. Stay tuned!
2023/02/11
We wanted to tell you about our Italian evening and the very eccentric TOSCANO IL MORO 2022 L’ARIA.
Yes, it’s a gigantic long filler from Italy. This individual beauty from Tuscany has a length of just over 9″ and a ring gauge of 58/64″. The wrapper comes from the USA, the binder from Italy and the filler from dark Kentucky tobaccos grown in Italy and fire-cured over oak and hickory wood. The cigar owes its smoky and peat-like aromas to this type of drying.
This special limited vintage cigar is hand-rolled in Lucca, Italy and only 120 pieces were delivered to Germany, individually packed in a valuable box.
It is said that Francis Ford Coppola persuaded Marlon Brando to star in the 1972 movie “The Godfather” with a Toscano cigar paired with fine Italian wines and cheese.
This figurado is a desirable collector’s item. However, we couldn’t resist the temptation to smoke it. A real treat of a special kind!
2023/02/02
Something historically German today: Handelsgold, a brand that sounds like the economic miracle of the German post-war period. The brand of Ludwig Erhard (German Economics Minister from 1949 to 1963).
The Handelsgold a brand of Arnold André from Buende, Germany has existed since 1946 and to date more than 15 billion cigars and cigarillos of this brand have been sold.
We now wanted to take a closer look at this product from the German post-war period and have a pack of Handelsgold Gold Label Classic No. 1 bought.
The filler tobaccos of this short filler come from Indonesia and are mechanically wrapped in a so-called HTL tobacco (Homogenized Tobacco Leaf). These are powdered leaves and stalks of the tobacco plant. Water, binding agents and oxidizing substances are added to this tobacco powder, then it is rolled flat and dried. HTL tobacco must contain 75% tobacco, usually 90–95%. The production is similar to that of paper, only tobacco instead of wood. So it’s actually tobacco paper.
We will test and report you, stay tuned!
2023/02/03
The 1 Dollar cigar “Handelsgold Gold Label Classic No. 1” by Arnold André from Buende, Germany has the dimensions of a Petit Corona with a length of 4¾” and a ring gauge of 43/64″. If you remove the foil covering, you will see a small cigar that has been pre-cut with a notch and is ready to smoke. The beautiful, smooth Sumatra wrapper and the very pleasant, fruity cold smell are striking.
As expected from a short filler, the draw was light and smooth. After lighting, a lush, creamy smoke developed immediately, which probably comes from the HTL tobacco (Homogenized Tobacco Leaf), which is used for the binder. Unfortunately, we couldn’t guess any fruit aromas that the cold smell promised. She gave us a smooth and flavorful 20 minute smoke.
Of course, you can’t compare this machine-made shortfiller with hand-made longfillers, but it’s a cigar that’s definitely suitable for everyday use and surprising for the small price.
2023/02/07
Addendum to our tasting of the 1 Dollar cigar “Gold Label No. 1” from Handelsgold. Since we received a few questions about the HTL binder, we disassembled one of our cigars for you.
The wrapper is a genuine Sumatra leaf. Very thin and delicate. Then the binder. It is not a grown tobacco leaf, but powdered tobacco that is made into a type of tobacco paper. Here in Germany, such a tobacco is called “Bandtabak”, the professional name is HTL tobacco. An abbreviation for Homogenized Tobacco Leaves. The filler tobaccos of this short filler come from Indonesia. We were also able to localize the intense and fruity scent of the cigar here. This tobacco reminded us very much of a good pipe tobacco.
What do you think of cigars of this type? Do you have any experience? Or even recommendations? We’d love to hear your thoughts on this!
2023/02/01
This afternoon we smoked our Lancero from Davidoff’s Limited Editions Exclusive Germany from 2018.
It is rolled in Davidoff’s Tabacalera “Tabadom” in the Dominican Republic. The filler, a blend of Dominican tobaccos (Piloto Secco, San Vicente Visus and Criollo Ligero) is wrapped in a hybrid Olor/Piloto Sungrown binder from Yamasa and a 702 Habano wrapper from Ecuador.
This elegant Lancero is 7½” in length with a ring gauge of 40/64″. The burn was flawless with creamy, lush smoke and aromas of dark chocolate, pepper and coffee beans could be guessed.
We had a good hour of fun with this very nice cigar, which was only somewhat diminished by the high price. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether the high price of this well-made cigar is justified.
2023/01/25
For tonight we’re going to light up one of our favorite formats again, a Churchill. Our choice fell on the almost black beauty La Volcada by La Flor Dominicana.
Litto Gomez Dietz was a jeweler born in Spain and raised in Uruguay. In 1996, after his store was robbed and the bandits stole $400,000 worth of jewels, he founded his company LFD, initially known as Los Libertatores, in Tamboril, east of Santiago in the Dominican Republic. He still runs it today with his wife Ines. Since 1997 the filler tobaccos have been grown on their own farm in the Dominican Republic and since 2002 also Shade Grown Wrappers.
In Germany, his cigars are distributed by the Schuster family from Buende.
Today’s La Locanda cigar is a homage to the tango from its home country of Uruguay and describes a step sequence of the tango. Hence the two stylized tango dancers on the banderole.
We will report. Stay tuned!
2023/01/26
The La Vocada got its name after a step sequence of the tango dance. Two stylized dancers can also be seen on the band.
The La Vocada by La Flor Dominicana, a limited Churchill has a ring gauge of 48/64″ and is 7″ long.
It comes from the Tabacalera La Flor in the Dominican Republic and is exceptionally tightly rolled. The easy and good drawing behavior was therefore very surprising. The Mexican maduro wrapper from the San Andrés growing area looks very rustic and stained. Very nice, the wrapper turned into a pigtail at the head. A rustic beauty.
The Corojo binder comes from Ecuador and the filler from the Dominican Republic.
With plenty of creamy smoke, we could taste aromas of wood, chocolate, espresso and towards the end some pepper during our 1½ hour smoke.
The Cigar Journal awarded the La Volcada the “Best Dominican Cigar” 2018 award as part of the Cigar Trophy.
2023/01/22
Today we got hold of something very special. A cigar from Alec Bradley, of which there are only 530 boxes and only here in Germany!
It is the Figuaredo Ediction Alemania 2022 of the Magic Toast series.
Alan Rubin, owner of the company named after his sons Alec and Bradley, gave the series its name and he describes the naming as follows.
“It was night time and I was out with a flashlight on a new tobacco plantation in Honduras with my master blender, Ralph Montero. What we saw took our breath away. These tobacco plants were incredible and I knew immediately a special project had to be created for this crop. We opened a bottle of very special whiskey and toasted each other. The Magic Toast was born that evening.”
They are rolled in the Tabacalera Raices Cubanas in Danli, Honduras.
We liked the rarity of this cigar, its history and the beautiful shape of a Figuaredo and we will enjoy it tonight and of course tell you about it. Stay tuned!
2023/01/23
An Alec Bradley exclusively for the German market! So what have Alan Rubin and his master blender, Ralph Montero, made of what they call the stunning tobacco plants of the field they discovered one night (we reported on it yesterday)?
First off, it’s beautiful, exceptionally shaped and expertly wrapped in a dark, oily Honduran wrapper.
This limited vitola of the Ediction Alemania 2022 from the Magic Toast series has a ring gauge of 54/64″ and a length of 6¾”. In contrast to the other vitolas in the series, our Figurado has two binders, one from Nicaragua and one from Honduras. The filler is also a blend from these two countries and — from those plants of the legendary field in Honduras.
The draw resistance is a bit strong at first, probably due to the shape, but normalizes after a few puffs. The earthy and peppery and sometimes sweet flavors alternate, being stronger in the middle and becoming mild in the last third. No taste explosion but still an interesting and good cigar.
2023/01/15
Last night we had our poker round again. This time there were a few rounds of Escalero, i.e. dice poker. To do this, we each lit up a box-pressed Toro from Villiger’s La Meridiana Edición Limitada.
The La Meridiana brand has Cuban roots that date back to the 19th century. Today it belongs to the Nicaraguan company El Mundo del Tabaco, founded in 1997 and taken over 10 years later by the Villiger Group.
Jean Villiger founded the cigar empire in 1888 in Pfeffikon, Switzerland. His wife Louise took over the company in 1902 after his death. In 1907 she invented the Villiger Kiel with the famous goose quill as a mouthpiece. The company has also had a German subsidiary in Waldshut-Tiengen since 1910.
In 1989, Heinrich Villiger founded the first German-Cuban joint venture. He became managing director and partner of the exclusive importer 5th Avenue Products Trading GmbH for Cuban cigars to Germany, Austria and Poland.
We will report. Stay tuned!
2023/01/17
As previously reported, we were actually able to get hold of a few Toros from Villiger’s very limited (Edición Limitada) La Meridiana series for our poker evening.
They are Nicaraguan boxpressed Puros with a ring gauge of 54/64″ and 6″ in length. The dark brown, velvety H 2000 wrapper had 4 years to mature and probably gives the cigar its strong caramel aromas. The Connecticut binder from Nicaragua enhances these flavors even further.
Our Toros were rolled in the Fabrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua in Estelí.
Initially she started out mild to medium strong but already full-bodied. Halfway through, the strength and intensity of the aromas increased. We were able to distinguish between aromas of earth, cream, caramelized fruit sweetness and pepper.
All in all a taste bomb with excellent drawing and burning properties. It was definitely a great 80 minute smoke.
By the way, our poker champion this time was clearly our Vice President Tim.
2022/01/09
Tonight we will lit up some more Balmorals from the Dutch Royal Agio Cigars. Since this series is named after the Scottish castle of the British royal family, what fits better than a rum with the name “Moor”. This actually white rum comes from the Caribbean and gets its amber color in the Bavarian Kolbermoor, Germany during storage in old bog oak barriques.
Our cigars today are the Balmoral Anejo XO Connecticut Gran Toro. The first cigars in this series came onto the market in 2012. Ours with a Connecticut wrapper has been on the market since 2019.
We will also tell you about this experience. Stay tuned!
2022/01/11Last night we tried them, our Gran Toros from the Balmoral series “Anejo XO Connecticut”.
They are rolled in the boutique cigar factory of Royal Agio Cigars in San Pedro de Macorís, in the Dominican Republic. They are 6″ in length with a ring gauge of 52/64″.
The really attractive light brown Connecticut Shade wrapper comes from the River Valley, USA. The Sumatra binder from Ecuador was harvested in 1999. The filler is a balanced blend of Olor tobaccos from the Dominican Republic, Pensylvania 41 tobacco from the USA and the Marta-Norte Brazilian tobacco with its unmistakably sweet, chocolaty notes, which is widely used at Balmoral.
The unlit cigar exudes a strong, sweet scent of honey.
We could taste aromas of coffee, cocoa, some white pepper and caramel. Burn-up, draw behavior and smoke development were perfect.
The particularly smooth Caribbean-Bavarian “Moor” rum was a perfect complement to the cigar aromas.
2022/12/28
A Christmas present today: some Drew Estate Liga Privada No. 9 Toro Oscuro from the La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate owned by Jonathan Drew and Marvin Samel in Nicaragua.
Liga Privada means “private blend”. Since this cigar was not originally intended for sale, but for the personal humidors of the chefs and a few selected personalities, it is the perfect name. Dozens of intricate blends were created, but No. 9 was among the best for both flavor and character.
The used tobaccos of the No. 9 come from seven different tobacco farms and are only available in limited quantities. This cigar can only be found in a few tobacco shops. The wrapper, an oily and very dark Connecticut Broadleaf from the USA, ferments for over 18 months. After rolling, the cigars mature for another year.
We will taste No. 9 along with another Christmas gift, a Bumbu XO rum from Panama. The Bumbu XO was aged in oak barrels for 18 years and should be a worthy pairing partner. We will report. Stay tuned!
2022/12/29
Santa Claus listened to Sepp’s recommendation from the Tobacco Island at Lake Tegernsee, Bavaria, Germany and brought us some Toro Oscura from the Liga Privada series from Drew Estate.
They have a beautiful Connecticut Broadleef Maduro wrapper from the USA, a Mata Fina binder from Brazil and a filler blend from Honduras and Nicaragua. They have a ring gauge of 52/64″ and a length of 6″.
Draft behavior and burn were impeccable. We could taste strong aromas of coffee, leather, chocolate and some pepper. We were able to enjoy the unusually lush smoke for 70 minutes. A wonderful experience.
Rolled in Nicaragua, these cigars are on a par with those from Cuba. Thanks Sepp, a great recommendation.
2022/12/22
After the mighty Paradiso / San Cristobal, another cigar from Robert Levin’s Ashton company is on the program today. It’s the Ashton VSG (Virgin Sun Grown). This time it doesn’t come from Nicaragua but from Arturo Fuente’s factory in the Dominican Republic. The designation VSG stands for the origin of the dark wrapper from the upper leaves of the tobacco plant, which have been exposed to the sun for a particularly long time and which not only makes the leaves greasy, but also gives the cigar a special power. These special wrappers are grown from Sumatra seeds by the Oliva family in Ecuador. These wrappers were used for the VSG for the first time at Ashton. The VSG came onto the market in 1999 and was one of the fuller-bodied, stronger non-Cuban cigars at the time.
We got hold of some Toros (Eclipse Tube) of this particular cigar and will test them. Of course we will report about it again. Stay tuned!
2022/12/23
Our expectations were high when we opened the beautiful black tube of the Ashton VSG (Virgin Sun Grown) Eclipse Tube and a visually impeccable looking Toro appeared. It has a ring gauge of 52/64″ and a length of 6″. A very balanced format with an oily dark wrapper from Ecuador, just a sun grown, i.e. from the upper parts of the tobacco plant that has been exposed to the sun for a long time. The binder and the filler are from the Dominican Republic.
Before lighting, you could guess aromas of roasted espresso. When lit, these roasted aromas intensified. The draw behavior remained perfect over the entire length. A very powerful cigar for the more experienced aficionado with an overflowing aroma. However, the hour-long smoking pleasure was marred by a very uneven burn. All four of our cigars tended to burn crookedly, which could not be corrected. A real shortcoming of this otherwise very interesting cigar.
2022/12/20
The duo Boris Wintermann, CEO of Royal Agio Cigars from Holland and Ernesto Perez-Carillo Jr. head of Tabacaleria La Alianza in the Dominican Republic created a cigar in close cooperation in 1918. A Balmoral from the Signaturas Dueto series. The name reminds us that it was created, so to speak, as a duet. The beautiful sleeve also bears the signatures of this successful duet. Boris Wintermann would like to continue the Dueto series with other greats from the international tobacco scene in order to further establish his company in the field of premium cigars. The second collaboration was the one with Litto Gomez and his Tabacaleria La Flor Dominicana. It remains to be seen whether these exciting collaborations will continue as Royal Agio Cigars was acquired by industry giant Scandinavian Tobacco Group in 2019.
Now we want to try the Gran Toro from the Balmoral Signaturas Dueto series and got ourselves a few cigars. We will test them and report to you. Stay tuned!
2022/12/21
Now we have lit them, the result of the duet of Boris Wintermans and Ernesto ” Perez-Carillo, our Gran Toro of the Balmoral series Signaturas Dueto.
It was rolled in the Tabacalera La Alianza in the Dominican Republic. The Jalapa wrapper comes from Nicaragua and the binder from Esteli, also Nicaragua. The filler is a blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos and, as often used by Winterman’s Royal Agio Cigars, Brazilian leaves. These leaves are the Mata Norte variant. So a Dominican cigar without tobacco from the Dominican Republic.
It has a decent ring gauge of 52/64″ with a length of 6″. Like many Nicaraguans, she starts very peppery. A little later, leathery and woody aromas are added, i.e. definitely Nicaraguan notes. We found the heavy smoke development to be positive.
Overall a decent cigar, although we expected more because of the price and the blend by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo.
We also had a German whiskey from Lake Schliersee in Bavaria.
2022/12/18
Which smoke goes well with today’s fourth Sunday in Advent? We chose the mighty Paradiso Revelation Leviathan.
The Paradiso brand is called “San Cristobal” in the USA, just like the highest volcano in Nicaragua northwest of the capital Managua. The reason for this name change are probably the Cuban trademark rights of the Cuban cigar brand “San Cristobal de la Habana”, which the USA does not respect.
The Paradiso / San Cristobal brands are owned by Ashton Distributors from Philadelphia, USA, founded in 1985 by Robert Levin.
In 2007 Paradiso / San Cristobal marked the company’s departure to Nicaragua. Until then, Ashton’s cigars were mainly made in the Dominican Republic by the Fuente family. Robert Levin approached the Garcia family in Esteli to make his first Nicaraguan cigars, the Paradiso / San Cristobal.
We will try them tonight calmly and of course let you know. Stay tuned!
2022/12/19
Yesterday evening we smoked our Paradisos (they are called San Cristobal in the USA). The cigars with the enormous dimensions of 6½ X 64 entertained us for over two hours. Yes, a ring gauge of 64, which corresponds to a diameter of one inch and a length of 6½”!
The filler and the binder come from Nicaragua and are wrapped in a velvety Sumatra wrapper from Ecuador. All leaves have undergone triple fermentation. The master cigar makers, Pepin Garcia and his son Jaime, have created a very good cigar for a long lasting smoke at an pleasantly low price.
We could taste intense aromas of leather and cedar mixed with the peppery spice notes typical of this tabacaleria.
A nice cigar for the more experienced aficiado looking for something stronger. We liked it, just like the beautiful, colorful cigarband.
2022/12/20
Today’s bundle cigar Mustique is a brand of the company Kohlhase and Kopp from Rellingen, Germany. It is manufactured as a private label by what is probably the world’s largest factory for hand-rolled cigars in the Dominican Republic, the Tabacaleria de Garcia in La Romana. Here the 2,100 workers roll the non-Cuban versions of H. Upmann, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta and Trinidad as well as Santa Damiana and Vega Fina, a total of more than 40 million cigars per year.
Our Churchill is a format of the Blue series, a short filler and Dominican puro. Some dealers mistakenly give it as a long filler. So we sacrificed a cigar and cut it up. See second photo.
It has a ring gauge of 50/64″ with a length of 7″. The beautiful gold-colored Connecticut Shade wrapper, as well as the broadleaf binder and the filler all come from the Dominican Republic.
This mild puro gave us a decent smoke for almost an hour with typical, if only light, Dominican aromas of cedar, cocoa and dried fruits.
2022/12/13
Something completely different, a reverse pairing. What goes well with our mega monster drink? Yes, of course a mega monster cigar!
So we sacrificed the last Big Johnny from Oscar Valladares’ series “The Leaf” from our humidor. The massive ring size of 66/64” and the length of 8” seems to us suitable for the also huge (nearly 20 oz) mango energy drink.
This matching combination gave us a real pleasure for 2½ hours. The sweetness of the drink went well with the coffee and wood aromas of the cigar.
2022/12/11
What did Carlito bring us to pre-Christmas Berlin? Here at the Brandenburg Gate, a Figurado format goes particularly well with the festively decorated Christmas tree. In our case, a Belicosa from the Reserva Don Carlos series by Arturo Fuente.
It has a decent ring gauge of 52/64″ with a length of 5 3/8″. The special right away, it has a dark brown wrapper from Cameroon with its unique sweet aromas. Very few brands use these high quality wrappers as they are very expensive and their fermentation is difficult to control.
The binder and the insert come from the Dominican Republic and have matured for ten years. They bring the distinctive coffee aromas with them.
The Belicosa gave us a 45-minute rich smoke paired with a pleasant fresh scent of eucalyptus. A Christmas cigar!
2022/12/10
Yesterday evening we took a look at the private label cigars from the Tabacaleria Palma. We had identified two trademarks that were identical in the making. 3 formats of the Wolsdorff Reserva series from the tobacco chain store Wolsdorff and the identical-looking ones from the Dominican Bundle series from the John Aylesbury Group.
All cigars were long fillers (see next photo) from the same tobacco varieties.
The short vitolas started very peppery, which weakened significantly after the first third. Some of us found John Aylesbury’s ones pepperier, but that’s a very subjective judgement. We could taste similar wood and leather aromas in all test cigars. All burned perfectly with a light draw resistance and decent smoke development. The Churchills were much milder and more harmonious. This is probably also due to the more balanced ratio of wrapper to filler.
The very slight differences can probably be traced back to age and storage. But our conclusion is clear. They’re identical series and they’re actually quite good.
2022/12/09
Brand new arrived at the German dealers, the La Aroma del Caribe Pasión. We immediately got some Robustos to taste.
In other countries they are also called “La Aroma de Cuba”. This Nicaragua Puro is made by the Nicaraguan factory “My Fathers Cigars” by José “Pepin” and Jaime Garcia. The very beautiful, silky, shiny Shade Grown wrapper is from the fields of the Namanji region. The binder and the filler come from the plantations of Esteli and Jalapa on the border with Honduras and go through a triple fermentation and are responsible for the sweet wood and nut aromas.
Our Robustos have a ring gauge of 50/64″ and a length of almost 5½”. They gave us real pleasure for almost an hour with an almost perfect burn and draw behavior.
2022/12/07
We all know PRIVATE LABEL or WHITE LABEL products from the food and consumer goods sectors. These are products from brand manufacturers who relabel or anonymize their products for retail chains and thus open up another sales channel without competing with their own products. The retail chains, in turn, save on product development costs and can offer these as commercial goods at lower prices.
This distribution channel also exists for cigars. We found an example. The Tabacaleria Palma from Tamboril in the Dominican Republic is one of the major suppliers of private label cigars. Here we have two retail chains that offer a product that is identical in every respect under their own name. The “Reservas” from the Hamburg tobacco chain owner Wolsdorff and the “Dominican Bundles” from the John Aylesbury Group are identical in terms of dimensions, tobacco composition and style and all come from the Tabacaleria Palma.
We will taste these cigars at the same time and report to you. They should actually taste the same.
2022/12/03
After we have already tried the Churchill from the Wolsdorff Reserva series and found it to be good, we also dare to try the other formats of this series.
All these vitolas are also manufactured by the Dominican Tabacaleria Palma for the Hamburg tobacco chain owner Wolsdorff as private label cigars.
Since Wolsdorff does not specify any ring gauges or lengths of the cigars, we measured (in the picture from the middle outwards, length x ring gauge):
Churchill 6” x 48/64”
Corona 5” x 43/64”
Robusto 4” x 48/64”
Fat Shorty 4” x 60/64”
Half Gordo 3” x 60/64”
Half Corona 3” x 45/64”
All formats of these hand-rolled longfillers, like the Churchill we’ve tried before, have a Connecticut wrapper from Ecuador, a Dominican Olor binder, and a Dominican filler made of Olor and Piloto leaves.
All formats look perfectly made and we will try them one by one. In any case, these bundle cigars are worth a try, if only because of the low price and the first-class visual impression. We will report, stay tuned!
2022/11/27
In search of a long filler from the production of the former German Democratic Republic (East Germany), we disassembled and examined a second cigar from our treasure trove today.
This time we were almost certain that our Flor Fina from the former VEB (publicly owned company) cigar factories in Dingelstaedt would lead us to our goal. Manufactured in the Eichsfeld district in Thuringia between Erfurt and Kassel in the 1970s.
The sophisticated Figurado shape alone, similar to a Belicosa with a ring gauge of 45/64″ and a length of almost 6″ gave us hope. Unfortunately, the filler turned out to be a short filler again. The filler was surrounded by two binders. We suspect it was machine made up to the first binder and the second binder and very thin wrapper were hand rolled.
We would like to know more about these cigars. We are very grateful for information.
Have a happy first advent everyone!
2022/11/23
In May of this year we had already tried the Churchill from this bundle series from Cusano. Now we dare to try the Robusto. With this inexpensive bundle series, Davidoff provides affordable, mild cigars. Like all Davidoff brands (Griffin’s, Cusano and AVO), these Bundle Cigars by Cusano are also hand-rolled in the Dominican Republic in a Tabadom subsidiary.
Our Robusto is a Dominican Puro with a ring gauge of 50/64″ and a length of 5″. This short filler is hand-rolled from the torn, not-quite-perfect tobacco leaves that aren’t good enough for Davidoff’s premium brands. The blending and manufacturing is overseen by Davidoff Blender Henrik Kelner.
An inexpensive but well-made mild cigar for the beginner as well as a nice everyday cigar. The flavors come damn close to those of the great Davidoffs. You should store them in the humidor for a few weeks and above all smoke them slowly. Then you have a 45-minute aromatic smoke with nice smoke development and a straight burn.
2022/11/08
We were able to snag half a case out of just 2,500 of Alec Bradley’s Churchills Fine & Rare. It is the 2021 edition, the twelfth since the birth of this series.
Fine & Rare is a concept developed by master blender Alan Rubin. Every year he experiments with different tobaccos from different harvest years to create this cigar from exactly 10 tobaccos from Honduras and Nicaragua. The exact composition of the tobacco is a top secret.
This mysterious cigar is rolled at the Tabacalera Fabrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas in Honduras. The beautiful massive wooden box contains only 11 cigars. ten Churchills and one Belicoso.
The banderole reads like the package insert for medicines. It provides information about the year of origin, the day of delivery, the number of weekly productions and the signatures of the rollers, quality control guys and the managers.
We will taste them and tell you.
2022/11/10
It was with great expectations that we smoked this mysterious cigar with its beautiful and rare banderole, the Churchill Fine & Rare BC-(13)4EV by Alec Bradley.
It has the typical ring gauge of 50/64″ and a length of 7″. The dark, silky, shiny wrapper is a Criollo from Honduras, it has two binders from Honduras and Nicaragua and a filler made from 7 different tobaccos, also from Honduras and Nicaragua. This Churchill makes a very good, flawless visual impression and is rolled very tightly.
After lighting, we felt the draw resistance was too severe for our taste. The smoke development was only moderate, but the burn was very straightforward and perfect.
We could taste aromas of wood, pepper, cinnamon and sweet cocoa.
Unfortunately, the enormous draw resistance greatly reduced the enjoyment of smoking. The high price of this cigar is probably due more to the appearance and the luxurious box. We expected more.
2022/10/28
Today a Mexican experiment. We got ourselves a box of Toros ME II. ME stands for Mexican Experiment and is a product idea of the American Pete Johnson, owner of the Tatuaje company. Ex-heavy metal star Pete Johnson started this special cigar brand in 2003 and has had his cigars manufactured by Don José (Pepin) Garcia in his “My Father Cigars” factory in Nicaragua ever since.
The Mexican experiment started in 2012 when Pete Johnson wanted to use a Mexican San Andrés wrapper for the first time. This experiment started with a production of only 15,000 cigars per format. After this very successful experiment, the ME II is now regular production and carries on the name.
So actually an American-Nicaraguan experiment with a wrapper from Mexico. We will experiment a little and report to you. Stay tuned.
2022/10/29
So what was the result of our Mexican experiment? We had smoked the Toro of a ME II (Mexican Experiment No. 2) from Tatuaje. This box pressed cigar is rolled in Nicaragua in Don José Garcia’s Tabacaleria.
Don José Garcia’s son, Jaime, wanted to surprise his father with a birthday cigar that he composed himself. There were three different blends. The father was so enthusiastic about his son’s results that he included his blends in the program and named his Nicaraguan Tabacaleria “My Father Cigars”.
Now for the cigar. Our ME II has a ring gauge of 50/64″ is boxpressed and has a length of 5¾”. The binder and filler are from Nicaragua and the velvety yet rugged wrapper is the famous San Andrés from Mexico. Surprisingly, we didn’t find the peppery notes typical of Tatuajes at all. Instead, aromas of dark chocolate and nuts.
A nice 70 minute smoke, a good starter into the world of Tatuaje and we think: “The experiment was a success”.
2022/10/25
We have unearthed a historical treasure. A bundle of five different cigars from the former German Democratic Republic. The cigars all have a boxing date from the 1970s. The original boxes are all still closed, with tax stamp and in new condition.
They come from 3 different factories: VEB Tabak Nordhausen Factory Dingelstaedt, VEB Tabak Nordhausen Factory Treffurt and VEB Leisniger Cigar Factories.
We will research the brands Sublimes, Tabacos Superior (Tadellos), Brasil Record, Jagdkammer Gold and Flor Fina. Since there is very little to no information on the founders and owners of these pre-war factories, we are asking you all for information if you know a thing or two.
We will now acclimate the cigars in the humidor for a few weeks and then of course try them and report back.
If a member wants to join the tasting. please DM.
2022/11/21
Today a cigar from the former German Democratic Republic.
It is the Jagdkammer Gold from the VEB Leisniger cigar factories. This small boxpressed cigar has a ring gauge of 38/64″ and a length of 4¼”. The boxing date reveals the birthday 44 years ago!
We disassembled them. A matte, fine-veined wrapper followed by a dark binder. The filler of this short filler is also very dark. A probably partly machine-made cigar. There was still a sweet cold smell. The burn was flawless with lush smoke development. I couldn’t taste the aromas, our member Rijol, who also tried one, said it was typically Brazilian: strong and spicy. This would also coincide with our research. Until the early 1960s, only local tobacco was processed. Then the GDR regime allowed and financed the import from Central and South America. The largest supplier at the time was Brazil.
Our Jagdkammer Gold was an interesting excursion into the past.
2022/10/21
In response to our question today to the dealer we trust for a strong, good Robusto, he recommended this sampler by AJ Fernandez to us. We already reported on Abdel Josef Fernández’s family business in Nicaragua in September last year and, among other things, tested the Bellas Artes series and reported on it. So now the Maduro Robusto Freshpack Sampler with 5 cigars. A sampler with dark wrappers and slightly different dimensions from the two factories in Nicaragua.
Our VP Tim served us a Paradise Cinzano on ice.
We will report about this beautiful, interesting and yet inexpensive sampler. Stay tuned!
2022/10/26
We have already reported on AJ Fernandez and his company. Today we opened our Maduro Robusto Freshpack Sampler. Now we also know why it is called Freshpack. A moisture-giving fleece is incorporated into the zipper bag that ensures the perfect relative humidity.
Today we try the first of the five Robustos: the New World Puro Especial by A.J. Fernandez. This very tightly rolled vitola with a very nice band has a ring gauge of 52/64″ and a length of 5½”. The blend of this puro with wrapper, binder and filler from Nicaragua was created by AJ and his father, Ismael, and contains only tobacco from his own fields.
Draw resistance is surprisingly good and optimal despite the firm rolling. Likewise the burn. We could perceive earthy notes and aromas of pepper, almonds and wood.
A good smoke and the best we’ve smoked from AJ Fernandez so far.
2022/10/27
After yesterday’s great smoke, today we lit the second Robusto of our Freshpack Sampler by AJ Fernandez: the Broadleaf from the Enclave series.
A Nicaragua Puro with a ring gauge of 52/64″ and a length of 5″. The special thing about this cigar is the beautiful oily shiny wrapper. With this cigar, AJ has used one of the best Maduro wrappers for its own brand for the first time. It’s the Connecticut Broadleaf. Tobacco leaves that are grown in direct sunlight are harvested together with the stem and hung up to dry. As a result, the tobacco develops a strong profile with dominant sweet-spicy and earthy notes.
The filler consists of a refreshing blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos such as Jalapa and Esteli.
This vitola is again rolled very tightly, but the cold draw is still perfect. It starts out medium-bodied with lush smoke development and becomes stronger and sweeter from the 2nd third. The Enclave is far less peppery than the rest of the AJ range.
2022/10/12
Tonight we have a Dutch member as a guest and have therefore chosen a Dominican from Holland and the forefather of gin, a Dutch Genever from Bokma, a Lucas Bols Company, for our smoke.
The owner of the Balmoral brand, named after the Scottish summer residence of the British royal family, is Royal Agio Cigars, founded in 1895 by Jacques Wintermans in Duizel, Netherlands. Today, the Balmorals are made in Agio’s own factory in San Pedro de Macorís, Dominican Republic. The brand has been part of the Scandinavian Tobacco Group since 2021.
The series of our Balmoral line “Anejo” came onto the market in 2015 and, with the Balmoral Añejo XO, is the successor to the legendary and successful Balmoral series Añejo 18.
Our drink is a mild young Genever (jonge Jenever). It is made in Holland from corn, wheat and rye and distilled over juniper.
We will of course report back on this tasting. Stay tuned!
2022/10/16
We were able to get hold of a box (#316) of the 1,500 case limited Anejo XO Oscuro Lancero FT (FlagTail) from 2019 by Balmoral. The first thing that caught our eye was the innovative band. It has a small, non-glued tip, with which the band can be easily removed.
The Lancero format was the favorite format of Groucho Marx, Fidel Castro and Zino Davidoff and still is of Gerhard Schroeder and … our Chapter President. The Anejo XO –- the XO stands for extra old – has a ring gauge of 40/64″ and a length of 7″. The dark San Andrés Negro wrapper comes from Mexico, the Olor binder from the Dominican Republic encloses the filler from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Brazil.
She started extremely spicy and peppery. Unfortunately, all cigars tended to burn crookedly in the first third, which, however, regulated itself from the second third. We could taste sweet aromas of chocolate and coffee. A very balanced cigar that should be smoked very slowly.
2022/10/11
What did Carlito bring us? It is an Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva Pyramid from the Chateau series, rolled in the Tabacelera A. Fuente y Cia. near Santiago, Dominican Republic. More than 30 million cigars are rolled here every year under the strict supervision of Carlito Fuente, the grandson of the company founder Arturo.
A beautiful cigar in a very attractive format, slightly shorter than a typical torpedo. For our tasting we got a Bavarian rum “Rumult” from the Lake Schliersee from our bar.
Of course we will tell you about this special smoke. Stay tuned!
2022/10/12
Last night we smoked this beautiful cigar, our A. Fuente Gran Reserva from the Chateau series. After we carefully removed the fine cedar wood sleeve, the immaculate fine-veined golden-brown Connecticut Shade wrapper from the USA came to light. This pyramid format has a ring gauge of 52/64″ and a length of 6″. The Filler made of aged Dominican tobaccos is wrapped in a binder of the same kind. The draw and burn also betrayed a masterly workmanship. This cigar is a typical mild Dominican but spicier than the ones we’ve smoked before. This was one of our best non-Cuban cigars until the last puff after just over an hour.
2022/10/09
We have made a small inexpensive discovery for you. A new own brand from the tobacconist Wolsdorff. Emil Karl Ferdinand Wolsdorff opened his first tobacco shop in Hamburg, Germany in 1907 and is now represented in almost every major city in Germany.
Their own brand “Wolsdorff Reserva” is a private label of Tabacalera Palma from Tamboril, Dominican Republic. In the middle of the 19th century, the Spaniard José Manuel Blanco Lozada came to the Dominican Republic to set up a fruit and tobacco trade. His son José Arnaldo Blanco II founded Tabacalera Palma in 1925 and began growing tobacco and making cigars.
Our Churchil is a long filler and Dominican Puro with a ring gauge of 48/64″ and a length of 7″. We thoroughly enjoyed this mild stick for a good 70 minutes. With good draw behavior and a very even burn, we could taste the typical woody and sweet aromas of a Dominican. A good cigar with an almost unbeatable price/performance ratio.
2022/11/07
We had already reported on this particularly inexpensive private label cigar from Wolsdorff. At the time of our tasting little was known about this Churchill. Now Wolsdorff has revealed some details.
This Churchill from Wolsdorff’s Reserva line is a handmade long filler from the Tabacaleria Palma in the Dominican Republic.
The Connecticut Brown wrapper from Ecuador probably has a share in the nutty aromas. The binder is an Olor also from the Dominican Republic. Likewise, the insert is a blend of Olor and Piloto Dominicano. This blend ensures a very straight burn.
Secret revealed!
2022/09/30
It’s Oktoberfest in Munich, Germany! Or as the Bavarians say, the “Wiesn” (short for Theresienwiese, as the fairground is called). It has been celebrated annually on the Theresienwiese in Munich since 1810. For the first time on the occasion of the wedding of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria and Princess Therese on October 12, 1810, a horse race took place on this very “pasture”. Little by little, carousels and beer tents were added. Now more than 6 million visitors come to Oktoberfest annually, leaving more than a billion dollars in the city.
Today we celebrate with a typical Oktoberfest beer (1 quart extra strong beer) and of course with a well-aged Oktoberfest cigar from Quesada. This Dominican puro from the Kaiser Ludwig edition from 2016 shows the colors of the German flag in the wrong order on the band. This was allegedly made aware of legal reasons.
We will definitely tell you about this special cigar. Stay tuned!
2022/10/01
We report on our Oktoberfest evening yesterday and on the Quesada cigar of the same name from the 2016 edition limited to 500 boxes. In 2011, Quesada introduced this new line, designed to pair particularly well with the strong Oktoberfest beer.
At the end of the 18th century, the Gonzales brothers moved from Spain to Cuba. Soon after, the two brothers separated, formed separate companies, and became the largest tobacco exporters of Cuban tobacco. Antero’s daughter married Augustin Quesada, who gave his name to today’s cigar brand.
The Cuban Revolution of 1960 forced the family into exile in the Dominican Republic. There she founded the company MATASA in 1974.
Like all vitolas in this series, our cigar has a German name: “Das Boot” (The Boat). It is a boxpressed Torpedo, a Dominican puro with a ring gauge of 52/64″ and 6″ in length.
A 40-minute smoke that actually goes particularly well with beer. Draw and burn were perfect. We recognized aromas of oak, leather and black pepper.
2022/09/27
Tonight we will have a fight between David (La Bavaria) and Goliath (Big Johnny).
Goliath: Triple Toro, Honduran, ring gauge 66/64″, length 8“
David: Lancero, Costa Rican, ring gauge 48/54″, length 7.5″
We will report on this exciting fight. Stay tuned!
2022/09/30
We wanted to tell you about the exciting fight between
David, the Costa Rican, a Lancero from La Bavaria with a ring gauge of 48/64” and a length of 7 1/2”
versus
Goliath the Honduran, a Triple Toro (Big Johnny) by Oscar Valladares with a ring gauge of 66/64” and a similar length of 8”.
The elegant and slim Lancero clearly won the short haul with 75 minutes. A good afternoon smoke. Since the portly fat Big Johnny did difficult. He needs calmness and just a lot of time.
Therefore, on the long haul, the clear winner with a good 170 minutes was Big Johnny. So you should really take your time and leisure for the Big Johnny.
Both opponents brought a lot of joy with a large and varied variety of flavors and it was actually a draw.
2022/09/20
Last night we took on a real highlight from our humidor: the Maduro Toro from the Bellas Artes series by A.J. Fernandez.
The family business of Abdel Josef Fernández or as most call him A.J. based in Miami, USA, grows its own tobacco in Nicaragua and also owns two factories there, one of which is in Esteli. A.J. was born in Cuba and started anew in Nicaragua after immigrating because he prefers the mountains for growing tobacco: “Nutrients flow downhill.”
First, the tobacco ferments with the stems on pilónes (Spanish for stakes) for a year. Then the tobacco is pressed for another two years. Only now are the leaves stripped and subjected to a three-month fermentation before spending a further nine months in bales. “Because of the way we age our tobaccos, there’s no ammonia in the taste,” explains A.J..
Of course we will try them and report to you. Stay tuned!
2022/09/24
Today we smoked the Toro Maduro from the Bellas Artes series by A.J. Fernandez. The name is intended to commemorate the National Museum of Bellas Artes in Cuba. The ring gauge is 54/64″ with a length of 6″.
This box pressed format has a filler from Nicaragua, where it was rolled, a San Andrés binder from Mexico wrapped in a beautiful dark Matafina wrapper from Brazil.
With the Brazilian wrapper used, the entire tobacco plant including the stalk is harvested and hung up to dry, this is referred to as the so-called stalk cut. This method gives the wrapper incredible richness and subtle sweetness.
We could then also guess aromas of coffee, sweet orange and dark chocolate. This quite powerful cigar gave us 50 minutes of pure pleasure with lush smoke development. The drawing behavior was perfect. However, it burns unevenly, which did not diminish the enjoyment. A cigar that deserves a regular place in the humidor.
2022/09/17
We already reported on the Patoro brand, founded in 2001 by the Swiss Patrick J. Martin, on the occasion of our tasting at the Salomones VA.
The name Patoro is composed of the first letters of the first name Patrick and the Spanish word for gold “Oro”.
Today’s Patoro of the relatively new “P” series is called Methusalem and is a typical Robusto in terms of dimensions. The “P” series cigars are named after the champagne bottle sizes.
We noticed a small peculiarity. The US version differs from our European version in the wrapper and therefore also in taste. The US variant has a Brazilian wrapper while our European version has a Cameroonian wrapper. Binder and filler are again the same and come from the Dominican Republic.
The one-hour good smoke brought us spicy herbal aromas, which became sweeter and more complex from halfway through.
2022/09/15
Now who is this Monsieur Gilbert de Montsalvat? His biography can be read on the Royal Cigar Company website. But he doesn’t even exist! It is an invention of the marketing department of “The Royal Cigar Company GmbH” from Switzerland.
The brand was conceived by US-born Swiss Raymondo Bernasconi together with the writer Thomas Brunnschweiler. Cigars from this brand are hard to come by as only small batches are ever rolled. Bernasconi lives in Basel, Switzerland, where he imports cigars and also runs the cigar shop “House of Smoke”. Today he is the third largest importer of premium cigars in Switzerland and sells 30 well-known brands.
He rolls his own brand, the Gilbert de Montsalvat, in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. We found a box of 10 at the dealer we trust and will test it in the next few days and of course report back to you!
2022/09/16
We have already reported on Raymondo Bernasconi’s company and his Gilbert de Montsalvat brand. Now we have also tasted the first Magnums from this series.
The Gilbert de Montsalvat Magnum is more of a Double Toro with a decent ring gauge of 56/64″ and a length of 6″. The good piece is rolled in Nicaragua, from where the binder and part of the filler comes, which is supplemented by tobaccos from Panama. The flawless, relatively light wrapper is a Connecticut Shade from Ecuador. All tobaccos are stored for several years.
For a Nicaraguan it is a very mild cigar, but it has all the typical tobacco flavors of such a cigar. We found the nutty, caramel-like and floral aromas particularly pleasant.
A 70 minute inexpensive Nicaraguan smoke as you would imagine it.
2022/09/11
Tonight we will celebrate a Texan night in Berlin. We also ordered special cigars. They are called “Texas” but come from Peru. And for our drinks, the 6‑fold distilled vodka from Austin, Texas. Of course, Texas Hold’em Poker is played.
So much can be revealed in advance. We will report. Stay tuned!
2022/09/12
Last night we smoked them, our Texas Ecuador from the Tabacalera del Oriente.
The manufactory was founded in Peru in 1997. Tobacco plants grown from Cuban seeds are grown here in the Amazon jungle.
Our Texas Ecuador is hand rolled in Tarapoto, Peru in the Amazon Basin. It has a 52/64” ring gauge with a length of just over 5½”. The filler and binder from Peru are wrapped in a flawless wrapper from Ecuador. The cold smell is reminiscent of honey.
The 50 minute smoke was quite an experience. The burn and the draw behavior were perfect, the smoke was creamy and lush. We were able to discover mostly sweet aromas such as caramel paired with nut aromas.
2022/09/10
Tonight’s Bavarian evening is all about the Bavarian heraldic animal, the lion.
Of course with a Lancero from La Bavaria, the “Bavarian” cigar from South America. And a new Bavarian beer from the CREW Republic Brewery in Unterschleissheim near Munich, a Local Hero Modern Hell Beer.
Our Lancero with a ring gauge of 38/64″ and a length of 7.5″ was rolled in Costa Rica. The wrapper comes from Ecuador, the binder from Nicaragua and the filler is a blend from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Peru.
A very well-crafted cigar, which gave us a good hour-long smoke, hinted at earthy aromas. The even burn rewarded us with a creamy and lush smoke.
The new straw-yellow, Pilsen-style Bavarian beer went perfectly with this late summer evening and the elegant cigar.
2022/08/27
The “Short Run” by Ernesto Perez Carrillo is not a typical cigar brand. Instead of fixed blends, they are produced as limited editions of smaller tobacco batches (short runs). In this case there was only enough tobacco for a little over a thousand cases.
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo: “Just before the pandemic, I received two bales of Honduran tobacco from Jamastran, from the Plasencia family. We started experimenting with it. The last time I used Honduran tobacco was when I made the ‘Artesanos de Miami’. We used this tobacco as a binder back then. I’ve never used it since.”
For this tasting we have chosen the special bottling of a single malt from the Whiskey Manufactory in Berlin.
2022/09/04
We have already reported on Ernesto Perez Carrillo’s “Short Runs”. Today, just in time for late summer, we tested it again together with a Spanish beer from Barcelona.
Our Toros Short Run Retro 2021 Extended Play by E.P. Carrillo have a ring gauge of 52/64″ with a length of j6”. In a wrapper from Ecuador they were rolled in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican filler is wrapped in a binder from Nicaragua.
This vitola gave us a wonderful one-hour smoke with a very even burn and great smoke development. There was a certain chocolaty sweetness and aromas of leather and nuts.
2022/08/17
The cigar manufacturer Mercedes Reyes from Frankfurt, Germany had made us curious. We had already talked about the ones rolled in the Dominican Republic, now we wanted to try the ones rolled in Frankfurt, Germany as well.
We ordered a few Coronas of the same name 😉. Ours were rolled by the Cuban Taylan in Frankfurt on August 5th. Like all freshly rolled cigars, you should smoke them immediately or let them mature for half a year. So we smoked some today. Our Coronas have a ring gauge of 42/64″ and a length of 6″. Another Dominican Puro with a Maduro wrapper. Wrapper and filler of tobacco plants grown from Cuban seeds.
Nice even wrapper and very evenly rolled. The somewhat uneven burn corrected itself each time. We could taste earthy and sweet nutty aromas. We will mature some and try again in 1 year.
2022/08/15
Today again cigars that are lovingly rolled in Germany by Cubans in Frankfurt.
The Reyes family has been producing cigars in the Dominican Republic since 1910. An offshoot of this family is now continuing the tradition of cigar rolling in Frankfurt, Germany. The tobaccos of the cigars rolled in Frankfurt are grown on the family farm of José Leonardo Reyes V. in the Dominican Republic. The Frankfurt manufactory is managed by the owner Georgina Mercedes Reyes. The untreated tobaccos of the Frankfurt cigars come from organic cultivation and have matured for 4 years.
And the best for last: there is also a smoking lounge with a cocktail bar on Kaiserstr. 60 upstairs. Maybe a good location for a club meeting.
We have some Robustos Blend No. 1 and will try them out on Sunday afternoon and report back to you. Our Vice President Tim mixed an original swimming pool to match the colour.
2022/08/15
Now we couldn’t wait any longer and have smoked them, the Robusto Blend No. 1 by Mercedes Ryes in Frankfurt, Germany.
It is a Dominican puro with a ring gauge of 50/64″ and a length of 5″. It has a very nice even wrapper. This cigar was not rolled in Frankfurt but in the Dominican Republic. The sweet scent of the still-cold cigar mixed with the scent of dried hay goes perfectly with this summery Monday morning.
The burn was straight and the draw was perfect over the entire length. A mild but very aromatic 40 minute smoke with very decent smoke development. It was certainly not our last and we will definitely try the Churchill of this series.
2022/08/07
n August 2019, Rocky Patel launched the LB1. The name LB1 and the beautiful copper-colored band with Indian decorations made us curious.
The cigar was named after the factory code it was given during pre-production.
Our Robusto has a ring gauge of 50/64” and is 5.5” long. The filler, a blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos, is wrapped in a binder from Nicaragua. The dark and oily looking Habano wrapper comes from Ecuador. The LB1 is rolled at the Cigar Factory El Paraiso in Danli, Honduras.
Once lit, the taste reminded us of Marshmallows. Pepper and paprika flavors were added later. Then in the last third we could guess beautiful espresso and wood aromas.
A very good and aromatic one-hour smoke.
2022/08/05
oday a recommendation from our trusted retailer: “You can’t go wrong with this one”.
A Don Diego Classic Torpedo. Don Diego was the first brand established in the Canary Islands after the Cuban embargo. The exiled Cuban families Menéndez and García, founders of Montecristo, developed it and then moved to the Dominican Republic in the early 1960s, where it is now produced by Tabacalera de Grande. This company belongs to the Franco-Spanish tobacco group Altadis, and produces, among other cigars, Santa Damiana, VegaFina and the American-Dominican variants of Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Cohiba, Partagás and Trinidad.
Our torpedo has a ring gauge of 59/64″ with a length of 6″. The beautiful, almond-colored Shade wrapper comes from Connecticut, USA, the binder from the Dominican Republic and the filler is a blend of Brazilian and Dominican tobaccos.
A mild but very aromatic 70 minute smoke. We could identify aromas of honey, nuts and pepper. Our dealer was right!!!
2022/08/01
A Nicaraguan Sunday afternoon.
Nicaragua has only had its own national drink since 2006 – the Macuá! Named after the native, tropical and most importantly lucky bird Pajaro Macuá. The cocktail was invented by Dr. Edmundo Miranda, a pediatrician from Granada. How to mix it: 2 parts white rum, 2 parts guava juice, 1 part lemon juice and some cane sugar. All shaken well and served over ice.
And what goes better with that than a Davidoff from Nicaragua. Our Robusto has a 50/64” ring gauge and a length of 5″. A Nicaragua Puro with a flawless H 2000 Rosado wrapper, a Jalapa binder and a Ligero filler. A perfectly made cigar, albeit too mild for a Nicaraguan cigar to our liking. Perfect burn and draw resistance, as expected from Davidoff.
A perfect combination, you should try it!
2022/07/30
The name 8–5‑8 and the silky, shiny, almost black wrapper of this Arturo Fuente Flor Fina Maduro made us curious.
Carlos Fuente Jr.’s grandfather — Arturo Fuente — lived to be 85 years old. Arturo was instrumental in the development of this cigar and so the cigar was named in his honor after the age at his death. And in such a way that it can be read from both sides: 858.
Already in 2011 the 8–5‑8 was counted among the “Best Bargain” cigars by the Cigar Aficionado. And that still applies today.
Our Corona Grande has a ring gauge of 48/64″ and a length of 6″. The African wrapper comes from Cameroon, the binder and the filler from the Dominican Republic.
A mild and aromatic 1 hour smoke with aromas of tea leaves, honey, cedar and pepper. A well-constructed cigar with an optimal draw and straight burn, rated 89.
2022/07/12
Today we would like to introduce you to the third inexpensive Cuban cigar. After the two short fillers, we have a completely handmade medium filler from Rafael Gonzales.
In 1928, Spanish nobleman Marquez Rafael Gonzales founded the “Flor de Marquez” brand exclusively for the British market. In the 1930s, the brand was acquired by the Rey del Mundo Company. It was only after the Second World War that the brand was renamed Rafael Gonzales. Zino Davidoff already recommended this brand in one of his books for the private humidor, which should not be missing under any circumstances. At the beginning of the 1960s, the brand disappeared from the market and was not produced again until 1965, reaching an export share of 3% in the 2000s.
The cigars from the Vuelta Abajo by Rafael Gonzales are ideal for an inexpensive entry into the world of Cuban premium cigars.
Unfortunately, we were only able to find three cigars. We will try them in the next few days and of course report back to you.
2022/07/14
We already introduced the pre-revolutionary Cuban brand Rafael Gonzalez. Now we have also tried the small Panetelas Extra.
A delicate format with a ring gauge of just 37/64″ and a length of 5″. It is a completely hand-made so-called medium filler. A medium filler is qualitatively classified between short filler and long filler. The short filler consists of very small tobacco residues, while the medium filler consists of the torn, imperfect leaves from the production of long fillers. Long filler and medium filler hardly differ qualitatively.
In the first half the cigar struggled with an uneven burn, which however corrected itself. One of our cigars had a very strong draw resistance, the other two were heavy but acceptable. The smoke development was moderate in the first half, but then satisfactory.
There were earthy and nutty flavors to taste. A 20 minute smoke that whets the appetite for Rafael Gonzalez’ larger formats.
8. Juli 2022
Today a cigar from one of the largest cigar manufacturers in the world. Plasencia is primarily a manufacturer for more than 30 major brands with an annual production of over 50 million cigars. It was produced for Rocky Patel and Alec Bradley, but Casa de Torres also came from there.
The checkered and dramatic history began in 1865 when Eduardo Plasencia emigrated from the Canary Islands to Cuba and began growing tobacco.
In 1963 his farm was confiscated by the Castro regime. The family fled first to Mexico and then to Nicaragua in 1965. When the Nicaraguan revolution swept the country, the fields of the Plasencias were also burned down and the family had to flee again in 1978. This time to Honduras. So far only tobacco has been grown. In 1986 the family started cigar production.
In 1990 the family returned to Nicaragua but kept the farms in Honduras.
In 2017, their own cigar brand “Plasencia” was launched.
We will try them and report!
2022/07/11
This Monday morning we smoked our La Vega Robustos 149 Cosecha from Plasencia. We have already reported on the dramatic history of Plasencia.
Our Robusto is an annual cigar and is rolled from the tobaccos of the 149th harvest (149 Cosecha) of the family. The 149th harvest comes from 2014 and matured 7 years before it was rolled in 2021.
This Honduras Puro is a blend made exclusively from the tobaccos of their own Honduran plantations and has a ring gauge of 52/64″ with a length of 5″. We particularly liked the dark, silky, flawless wrapper.
It was a very spicy, medium-strong 45-minute smoke that burned optimally with a good draw. We could taste both earthy and roasted aromas paired with a nice sweetness.
A well-made cigar that we really enjoyed. We will certainly also try the Toro (Azacualpa) from this series when we have the opportunity.
2022/06/22
Cheap Cuban cigars, do they exist? Yes, albeit with scarcity value!
Of course there is a difference with the big expensive brands. We have found three for you and will present them to you in the next few days and then of course also test them.
Today the cheapest makes the beginning. It is the Cristales from Guantanamera from the ICT factory (Company Internacional Cubana de Tabaco) in Havana, which went into operation in 2001. The Guantanamera was amazingly launched by Habanos SA for the first time in 2002 at the Inter-Tabac trade fair in Dortmund, Germany. In 2005, the Guantanamera was removed from the Habanos SA program and has since been manufactured and distributed by ICT directly under the Habanos S.A. license.
This cigar should not be confused with the cigar of the same name from Miami, USA. The US version is a hand-rolled longfiller premium cigar that was launched in 1997.
We will report whether this very inexpensive Cuban cigar is worth trying. Stay tuned!
2022/06/26
Today we tackled our first machine-made (Mecanizado) Havana. It comes in a transparent plastic tube. It’s the Guantanamera Cristales. We introduced you to the manufacturer of this cigar, the Internacional Cubana de Tabacos (ICT), a few days ago.
It is actually a Cuban Puro, albeit a short filler, with tobaccos from the Vuelta Arriba area, central Cuba. It has a ring gauge of 41/64″ and a length of almost 6″.
So how was it, the cheapest Cuban cigar available on the market? The cold smell is surprisingly sweet, like honey, so typical of Cuba. The draw was light and the burn was very straight with very good smoke development. We found earthy and woody aromas, becoming more intense and floral towards the end.
A mild, typically Cuban, 50-minute smoke at an unbeatable price. Neat but of course not comparable to the Longfillers of the big brands.
2022/06/23
Today the second inexpensive Havana cigar that we chose for our test: the Cazadores by Jose L. Piedra.
The Piedra family arrived from Spain in the 1880s and settled in the city of Santa Clara in Cuba, in the Remedios region in the tobacco-growing area of the Vuelta Arriba, where tobacco has been grown since the 16th century. In the second generation, José Lamadrid Pietra developed the brand that bears his name today. All formats are short filler and are made entirely by hand. Our cigar is named after the special format Cazadores that can also be found at Romeo y Julieta.
J. L. Piedra cigars were extremely popular in the United States until the American trade embargo against Cuba in 1962. In 1990 the brand was completely discontinued due to the embargo. In 1996 it was reintroduced and in 1999 it was also launched on the German market.
If you have smoked a Piedra before, how did you like it? Let us know. We will also try them in the next few days and report to you!
2022/07/03
A few days ago we already reported about the manufacturer of our Cazadores — Jose L. Piedra. Now we have tried them too.
This inexpensive Cuban Puro with a 43/64” ring gauge and 6″ in length gave us a 3/4 hour smoke.
The filler with the binder are machine-made in this short filler. The wrapper then rolled by hand.
The draw was quite challenging for some of our cigars, but still acceptable. The burn was absolutely straight and even. For a short filler, the dark ash was very solid and took a third to fall.
The peaty and sweet flavors become more and more intense towards the end.
A smoke that is suitable for everyday use, quite powerful and also extremely inexpensive.
2022/06/14
A dealer we trust recommended something special to us. Here it is: the Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente King T Tubo.
Also known as Chateau de la Fuente, the famous family farm of the Fuentes is located in the heart of the Dominican Republic. This outstanding cigar series now bears its name: Chateau Fuente.
Handcrafted in the Dominican Republic, these cigars come in 3 varieties: Natural, Maduro and Sun Grown. Our “King” in the format of a Churchill has a golden natural wrapper.
We also liked her straight away because of her magnificently designed tubo. Just an eye-catcher. We are curious to see if it justifies the presentation and the price. We will burn them up and report to you. Stay tuned!
2022/06/18
Now we have devoted our full attention to this rather expensive example of a premium cigar: the Arturo Fuente King T Tubo, the largest cigar from the Chateau series of the same name. Until the “King T” Fuente had not released any cigars in a tube apart from the limited God of Fire series.
The King T, a Churchill format with a ring gauge of 49/64″ and a length of 7″ is manufactured at Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The flawless, shiny Connecticut Shade wrapper comes from the USA and encases the Dominican tobacco leaves of the binder and the filler.
It is rolled tight and still has a very good drawing behavior. We could guess aromas of oak and cedar, a certain honey sweetness and pepper.
The elaborate tube, not the cigar itself, is probably responsible for the high price. Nevertheless, an aromatic, mild smoke for almost 1 ½ hours from a really flawlessly made cigar.
Our Vechhhia Romagna Brandy from Italy went perfectly with this.
2022/06/13
With an annual production of over 50 million pieces, the Tabacalera de Garciá in La Romana in the Dominican Republic is probably the largest cigar factory in the world. Among other brands, the non-Cuban versions of Romeo y Julieta and Montecristo are rolled in it.
When José Seijas left the company in 2012 after 40 as managing director, he founded his own company, the La Matilde Cigar Company, in 2013. The name goes back to the 19th century cigar factory “La Matilde” in Santiago. The factory closed when founder Simeon Mencia died in 1910. José Seijas acquired the rights to this then important brand.
In 2014 the Matilde Serena came onto the market. Serena means calm and peaceful, making it a mild medium-bodied cigar. The Serena has a wrapper from Ecuador. The great success of this series and to ensure access to these wrappers, led the company to move production to Ecuador.
We will test them and report!
2022/06/16
A few days ago we already reported on the origin of the Matilde Serena series. Now we have also smoked the “Matilde Serena Toro Bravo”.
The quite impressive piece has a ring gauge of 54/64″ and a length of 6 ½”. Very few veins are visible in the silky Connecticut wrapper from Ecuador. The binder and the filler come from the Dominican Republic.
The cigar gives very little when squeezed. The aroma of the wrapper is a combination of sweetness, pepper and espresso and promises a good smoke.
The draw was too light for my taste, but that is of course a purely subjective perception. The burn was straight as a candle with a lush development of smoke. The first third was very mild and we could only detect a hint of flavors. From the second third it became significantly stronger and more aromatic with notes of green pepper, hay and a certain sweetness reminiscent of bananas.
A good 90 minute smoke at a very good price-performance ratio.
2022/06/06
Something nostalgic today. We were able to find a box (boxing date 1980) of Exquisit Sublimes from the Dingelstädt cigar factory in the former GDR.
In 1910 the Berlin cigar factory Neumann set up a branch in the Dingelstädter Mühle. In the 1930s, 2,500 people were already employed there, making it the largest company in the German tobacco industry. In 1938 the company was “aryanized” by the National Socialists and taken over by the Martin Brinkmann company for 1.2 million Marks, in order to be immediately passed on to the Gildemann cigar factories.
After the Second World War, the factory was now in the Soviet-occupied part of Germany and was expropriated and became a state enterprise. Initially, domestic tobaccos were processed until the import restrictions were lifted at the end of the 1950s. In 1961 the manual work was abandoned and the cigars were now mostly machine-made. We will test it.
2022/06/09
After a few days in the humidor, we dared to try the Exquisit Sublimes from the VEB Cigar Factory Dingelstädt from the former GDR.
We were able to date it to 1980 as the box had a boxing date. From 1961, cigars were no longer rolled by hand, but made by machine. Our Sublimes is therefore a machine-rolled short filler, as you can clearly see from our cut example.
It has a ring gauge of 26/64″ and a length of just over 5″ and is box pressed.
Tobacco has been imported from the GDR again since the early 1960s. Our research showed that it is in all likelihood Brazilian tobacco. But that’s just a guess. Maybe one of our followers knows more.
The cigar is rolled tightly, draw, burn and smoke development were good. We couldn’t guess any more aromas. It was definitely an almost half-hour history-charged smoke.
2022/05/30
Our member Sven @der_lorenzi visited us and brought us a very rare cigar of the year 2013 limited edition from John Aylesbury.
We didn’t know the cigar and wanted to know who this John Aylesbury is.
We researched and came across a group of currently 48 owner-managed tobacco retailers that have given themselves this name. This group was founded in 1974 by then 5 owners of well-known tobacconists from Germany. Among other things, this association exclusively carries a range of pipe tobaccos and cigars from the John Aylesbury brand. But who was this John?
The first tobacco that this group brought to the market came from the renowned family company Johann Wilhelm von Eicken, i.e. from John. This company had a production facility in Aylesbury, England.
Voila, John from Aylesbury !
As soon as we have completed our smoke we will report on this cigar. Stay tuned!
2022/06/01
This afternoon we destroyed it smoking, the John Aylesbury 2013 limited edition. Each year the group chooses a cigar maker to make a special cigar to celebrate the group’s anniversary. A small batch of this cigar turned up at Pfeifen Huber @pfeifenhuber in Munich. So the cigar is 9 years old.
We measured it and came up with a ring gauge of 54/64″ and a length of 6″. It is a Dominican puro with a filler blend of Corojo, Criollo and Negrito, a Negrito binder. The wrapper was grown from Cuban seeds according to a secret source.
The cold smell exudes a pleasant sweetness. The draw was extremely light and it tended to burn crookedly, but this corrected itself each time. For a Domimican Puro, a very strong, peppery smoke that our member Sven @der_lorenzi brought us. Thanks!
2022/05/28
Here is a truly stately cigar, the “Big Johnny” by Oscar Valladares with a ring gauge of 66/64″ and a length of 8″.
It was only the second line from Oscar and contains the same blend as “The Leaf Maduro”. This blend was originally created for a good Pittsburgh client. The customer’s name was Johnny and he gave his name to this truly gigantic vitola. Here, too, Oscar Valladares has come up with something new and special. The cigar band is made from paper made from the fibers of tobacco leaves.
Valladares refers to his eccentric as “Triple Toro”. That should definitely correspond to the amount of tobacco used. So not for the faint of heart. As soon as we have enough time, we will destroy this giant and of course we will tell you about it!
2022/05/29
Last night we took our time and lit this giant: Oscar Valladares’ “Big Johnny”.
This huge vitola with a ring gauge of 66/64″ — that’s actually more than 1″ — and a length of 8″ saw the light of day in 2015. It is wrapped in a Jalapa wrapper from Nicaragua. The filler and the binder come from Honduras. So the same blend as the Leaf Madura by Oscar, just everything more and bigger!
We had almost three hours of fun on this smooth, flavorful giant stick. The aromas were varied, from roasted aromas to coffee and nuts. The smoke was huge, the burn and the draw behavior were flawless.
We also had an ice-cold Raki from Turkey. The Raki is distilled twice. The first distilling of grapes and raisins, then aniseed are added and the whole thing is distilled again. Ours then came into oak barrels for another 5 years.
2022/05/20
Something specially packaged today: the Honduras Puro “The Leaf Connecticut” from Valladares.
Oscar Valadares worked in the tourism industry. One day he was supposed to pick up some “gringos” from the airport. One of those “gringos” was Rocky Patel. That was the beginning of a friendship. After realizing what a cigar connoisseur Oscar was, Rocky Patel then persuaded him to work for him. After nine years, Oscar founded a trading company for cigars in 2012 together with his brother Hector. When he met Bayron Duarte, who had worked Oliva and others, the now three companions decided to set up their own manufactory.
They initially wrapped their cigars in another wrapper. This serves as protection during transport and is intended to promote the maturing process at the same time.
With his remarkable ideas, Oscar Valladares has quickly become one of the most innovative entrepreneurs in the industry.
Of course we will taste the Leaf and report about it.
2022/05/24
It was with great excitement that we defoliated it today from its tobacco leaf, which serves as packaging instead of a cellophane wrapper: Oscar Valladares’ “The Leaf Connecticut”.
It is a Honduras Puro with a very nice, silky, shiny Connecticut Shade wrapper. This Toro has a ring gauge of 52/64” and is 6” long.
It feels tight and evenly rolled. It burned very evenly with optimal draw behavior and gave us an enjoyable one-hour smoking experience.
We could taste citrus aromas and a nice sweetness in the first third. Leather and wood aromas then dominated in the second third. The enormous creamy smoke development during the entire smoke is to be emphasized.
If you see this cigar, which is rather rare in Germany, grab it! Worth it!!
2022/05/12
Today something Swiss from the Dominican Republic: a Patoro VA Salomones.
In 2001, the Swiss Patrick J. Martin, the former product manager of the Davidoff Group, established the Patoro cigar brand. The brand name Patoro is made up of the first three letters of the founder’s first name and the Italian word for gold — Oro.
From the very beginning, Martin had his cigars made in the Reyes Cigars factory in the Dominican Republic. The Reyes family began growing tobacco 160 years ago. Cigars were not produced until 1992. In 2012, the then 23-year-old Nirka Reyes took over the management of the company in the 6th generation and switched the entire production from the mass production of inexpensive cigars to premium cigars. In Navarrete, Leo Reyes, Nirka’s uncle, grows the rarest tobacco in the country: the wrapper.
We will taste this special cigar and report to you.
2022/05/16
Yesterday evening it was her turn, an absolute Sunday cigar, the Salomones VA by Patoro. The “VA” stands for “Very Aged”.
It’s arguably the best Patoro has to offer. A Dominican Puro from 9–12 years matured and specially selected tobaccos from Leo Reyes’ plantation. Leo’s father brought the seeds from Cuba when he left the island.
This Salomones looks gorgeous, has a ring gauge of 60/64″ and is 7″ in length. So we lit them with care. A full, creamy smoke developed immediately and lasted until the last puff. The burn and draw were absolutely perfect and stayed consistent.
We have to say, one of the best — and unfortunately also one of the most expensive — cigars that we have smoked so far with fine, complex aromas of dark chocolate, nuts and nougat. An almost 1 ½ hour mild treat..
2022/05/14
Today, on the recommendation of our regular lounge, a Series V Melanio Robusto Maduro — Gran Reserva Limitada by Oliva.
Oliva was founded in Cuba in 1866. Gilberto Oliva left Cuba in 1966 and finally found a new home for his company in Nicaragua in 1994. With the opening of the new factory in 2003, the Series V was launched and was named the best cigar of the year in 2014. In 2016 Oliva was bought by the Belgian J. Cortès and in 2021 became part of Frederik Vandermarliere’s cigar dynasty.
Our boxpressed Maduro has a very fine, silky wrapper from Mexico, while the binder and insert of the 5″ long Robusto with a ring gauge of 52/64″ come from Nicaragua.
A very good hour long smoke where we could identify earthy and peppery flavors with hints of nuts, coffee and cocoa.
2022/04/28
Today we want to try two Cusano cigars. The brand was founded in 1990 by two Americans with Italian roots. Davidoff bought the brand in 2009 to add cheaper cigars to its portfolio.
Here we have chosen the Dominican variants.
A dark Maduro Toro with a ring gauge of 50/64″ and 6″ in length. It has a San Andrés wrapper from Mexico, a Connecticut binder from Ecuador and an insert from the Dominican Republic.
The light Robusto has the same ring gauge and is slightly shorter at 5″. The wrapper and binder this time both from Ecuador and the insert again from the Dominican Republic.
We are very excited about these affordable “Davidoffs”. We will report.
2022/04/29
Two days ago we introduced you to the two Cusanos. Now we’ve let the two go up in smoke. Both formats are technically perfect and clearly show the relationship to the Davidoff family. The silky wrappers are flawless. The draw and burn are also perfect, as with the much more expensive relatives. The milder Robusto was aromatically very balanced without being peppery. We could still taste light sweet aromas. An excellent cigar for this price.
The Toro, which is almost the same price, is very mild for a Maduro but more aromatic and peppery than the Robusto.
Both good cigars for a decent one-hour smoke at an almost unbeatable price-performance ratio.
2022/04/29
Two days ago we introduced you to the two Cusanos. Now we’ve let the two go up in smoke. Both formats are technically perfect and clearly show the relationship to the Davidoff family. The silky wrappers are flawless. The draw and burn are also perfect, as with the much more expensive relatives. The milder Robusto was aromatically very balanced without being peppery. We could still taste light sweet aromas. An excellent cigar for this price.
The Toro, which is almost the same price, is very mild for a Maduro but more aromatic and peppery than the Robusto.
Both good cigars for a decent one-hour smoke at an almost unbeatable price-performance ratio.
2022/04/05
The dealer we trust here in Berlin showed us something very special in terms of shape and presentation. A Viva la Vida Diadema by A.J. Fernandez.
Brothers Billy and Gus Fakih ran several small tobacconists and cigar lounges in New York. In 2015, the two sold their lounge business to industry giant JR Cigars. In 2019, the two busy brothers founded their own cigar distribution company, Artesano Del Tobacco. The first line they had made for their distribution was the Viva la Vida. These elegant Nicaragua Puros in the beautiful paper cover are actually not A.J. Fernandez cigars, but are made on behalf of the two brothers for their distribution.
We will soon try our treasure chest and of course report about it. We are very curious.
2022/04/06
Yesterday evening we finally tried it, the Viva la Vida Diadema by A.J. Fernandez from Nicaragua.
After we have removed the beautiful and elaborately printed paper tube that completely encloses each individual cigar, the perfectly crafted Diadema shows itself with its beautiful dark brown, oily wrapper.
So here we have a Nicaragua Puro with an Oscuro wrapper, a Corojo binder and a Criollo filler. It has a ring gauge of 52/64″ and a length of 6 ½”.
After lighting, a lush, creamy and sweetish smoke developed immediately. It started out slightly peppery but not unpleasant. From the second third we could taste beautiful intense espresso aromas. The burn and very good draw were even over the entire length.
This unfortunately not exactly cheap cigar was worth every penny. We enjoyed a good 60 minutes with this beautiful stick.
2022/04/23
Today on Sunday for the second breakfast a Rocky Patel Number 6 Robusto. After a good twenty years, Rocky Patel, a lawyer from Los Angeles and a career changer, has developed his cigars into a very respected brand. However, it is difficult to keep track of over 200 series with different names. We chose number 6. The number of the blend from the creation phase became the name of the series simply for the sake of it.
This typical Robusto with an insert from Honduras and Nicaragua and a binder and wrapper also from Honduras has a ring gauge of 50/64″ and a length of 5 ½”. We found them medium strong and quite spicy. Chocolate and cocoa flavors were particularly prominent. As befits a premium cigar in this price range, the draw and burn were very good. We enjoyed it for a good hour.
We wish you all a restful Sunday.
2022/04/14
One of our members was in Cuba and brought us some Cohibas:
“A real bargain at $6.00 direct from our tour guide.”
Well, these “Cohibas” are real fakes: no hologram on the Taino head, neither holograms on the upper and lower gold rim, only 8 rows of white squares instead of the 9 rows, all white squares in the original are complete and not cut, like our squares above the word “COHIBA”. However, a very good forgery, since the word “COHIBA” is embossed.
The cigar also looks good and is rolled very tightly. Our “Cohibas” have a ring gauge of 55/64” and a length of 6″. The cap on the head is twisted into a tail like the Lanceros. We could not find a corresponding genuine Cohiba with these characteristics.
We will be brave and of course we will also smoke this sample. We are very excited and will report to you.
2022/04/17
Three days ago we already told you about the origin of this “Cohiba”. Also about the counterfeiting features of the cigar band. Now we’ve let them go up in smoke. The cold smell was fragile but fruity-sweet, just like tobacco from Cuba. The draw was flawless and remained so even after lighting up.
Unfortunately, an uneven burn developed immediately, which also could not be corrected. The smoke development was good. We couldn’t taste any aromas. It wasn’t strong but uncomfortably peppery and very hot. We discarded them after 1/3. We cut the rest (see photo): it was a long filler after all. Not a treat, and definitely not worth the $6. It’s a pity really, we had promised ourselves more.
Now we wish all Ashholes and our worldwide followers a blessed Easter with some good smokes.
2022/04/09
Neither of the two: it’s a pipecigar!
The family company Schuster from Buende, Germany, founded in 1909, has had its own label “Casa de Torres” manufactured in Estelí, in northern Nicaragua, since 1998.
We thought the “Pipa” from this line was fun and really wanted to try it, especially after a member asked if we had smoked the Pipa before.
The Pipa is probably the most unusual cigar in the Casa de Torres range. They are Nicaragua Puros with Ecuador wrappers that are grown in Nicaragua. The binder and filler are rolled from Piloto Cubano, a Havana seed that has long been cultivated in Nicaragua. Rolling this very special cigar requires great skill and experience.
An ice-cold Jägermeister will probably go best with this pipe cigar.
We will try them in the next few days and report to you.
2022/04/12
Yesterday evening it was the turn of the “pipe-cigar” adventure: the Casa de Torres Pipa. After lighting up, a great creamy smoke developed immediately, which lasted until the last puff. After the head of the pipe was smoked away, the secret revealed itself. Where the transition from the head to the linear part was to be made, a V was punched out so that the head could be bend. This crease was then fixed by the wrapper. This can be seen very nicely in our photo of the right cigar. After the head fell off, the cigar continued to burn at an angle, analogous to the V‑cut, only to correct itself as if by magic in a short time. The draw remained optimal over the entire length. We found the first third mild and could recognize aromas of pepper and grass. The last third became much spicier and enormously strong.
A good 40 minute smoke that was fun.
2022/04/07
Can German Engineers design cigars? The two Hamburg engineers Jan-Klaas Mahler and Oliver Nickels mean “yes”. “As German engineers, two things are essential for us when it comes to a cigar: processing quality and sensory experience”. The cigars of the current RVGN collection that they “engineered” are handmade in the Dominican Republic in a traditional way. They founded their company in 2015 and initially called it “Rauchvergnuegen” (smoking pleasure). In 2020 they renamed themselves “German Engineered Cigars”. The plan: “manufacture cigars like we Germans construct the best technology in the world”. Probably a marketing gimmick intended to exploit the worldwide reputation of German engineering for their multinational expansion plans. The abbreviation of “RauchVerGnuegeN” RVGN will remain as a brand.
We want to try the Toro from the series with our Berlin members. We will report. Stay tuned!
2022/04/10
Now it was her turn, the RVGN Toro #62 from German Engineered Cigars. The 62 stands for the volume of the cigar in cubic centimeters. We did the math: length 15.24 x area 4.15 = 63 Maybe we need to subtract some more for the rounded head
The rustic wrapper features strong leaf veins. The cigar feels very tightly rolled. The cold smell is reminiscent of hay and has a certain sweetness. When lit, it immediately develops a nice rich creamy smoke. One of our cigars tended to burn crookedly in the first third, but this corrected itself halfway through. We were able to discover pepper and fruity aromas. The draw was optimal and the burn of our other three was perfect. A light, well-made cigar that builds in strength over the last third. A decent one hour smoke.
Conclusion: Nothing is too difficult for the engineer. These Hamburg ones can also do cigars!
2022/04/02
And then we discovered another completely German cigar. This cigar comes from Baden-Wuerttemberg and is very similar to the “Herr Lehmann No. 5” cigar we presented earlier. Both in shape, style and tobaccos used.
It is the “Heimatzigarre” (“home cigar”) from the small town of Massenbachhausen, the place where the large and flourishing cigar factory Hochherr existed from before 1900 until the Second World War.
Two years ago, Jan Scheeder, whose grandparents were tobacco farmers, and his friend Moritz Schwarz launched the new regional cigar, the “Heimatzigarre” (home-cigar). Their grandparents were able to teach them the traditional way of handling tobacco leaves. The secrets of cigar rolling were revealed to them by an 80-year-old couple from the region who were still rolling cigars.
Of course we will try this exotic one soon and tell you about it. Stay tuned!
2022/04/03
Today after breakfast we tried the German “Heimatzigarre” No. 8 from southern Germany. The filler and the binder made of regional, “Baden Geudertheimer” tobacco covered in a Sumatra wrapper. This short filler with a length of 4 ¾” and a ring gauge of 47/64″ comes in a glass tube with a natural cork closure. Our cigars felt very dry upon arrival. This could be due to the hygroscopic natural cork, which draws moisture from the cigar. So ours came into the humidor to acclimatize.
The draw resistance was optimal throughout, as was the burn, as to be expected from a short filler. The cigar starts out very mild, only to get a little stronger in the last third. In terms of aromas, we could only taste some pepper in the last third. She rewarded us with a voluminous, creamy smoke.
A mild, properly crafted morning cigar for a good 30 minutes smoke.
However, this exotic cigar also has an exotic price of more than € 13.
2022/03/17
Through the social media, we became aware of the cigar club “Nordlicht Zigarren” (Northern Lights). This club was founded by Sascha Prieser in 2011. In 2018, Prieser then created his own club cigar, made for him in Nicaragua, based on the ideas of his Facebook community. It was a Toro with a ring gauge of 52/64” and 6” in length.
Sascha Prieser, who ran a fitness studio until then, his father Holger Prieser and Denis Stute founded their joint company after the success of this first cigar and expanded the portfolio with other formats: Short Torpedo, Robusto, Gordo, and Perfecto.
We absolutely wanted to find out more about these “northern lights” and ordered the sampler with 2 x 4 vitolas each. The price of this sampler is slightly higher than the sum of the individual cigars. This is probably due to the complex box.
We will report shortly whether the content can keep up with the beautiful box.
2022/03/18
Today it was their turn, the two Magnum from our “Nordlicht” (Northern Lights) sampler. The Magnum is a Nicaragua Puro with a ring gauge of 54/64″ and a length of 6″. It feels very tightly rolled. That’s probably because the rollers use two crossed binders, as we’ve heard. The cold draw was flawless and the fruity aroma was reminiscent of figs. The Magnum took the fire very well and burned absolutely perfectly and straight with good creamy smoke development. The ash was very solid and stayed for a long time. We could very well distinguish the aromas of wood, cocoa, espresso and a slight sweetness. A mild cigar that gets stronger towards the end.
All in all, a perfectly crafted cigar that we liked and that was fun for 80 minutes.
2022/03/23
Yesterday evening we tried the second vitola from our Nordlicht sampler, the two Short Torpedo Maduros.
This small torpedo is again a Nicaragua Puro with a Colorado wrapper, a ring gauge of 50/64″ and a length of 4 ½”.
The cigar took the fire well and evenly. The burn was amazingly straight again, especially with very good smoke development and the white ash was firm and lasted a long time. A well-constructed and perfectly rolled cigar.
I had to cut again once in the first third because the draw was a little too hard. I must have cut off too little. After that, the draw was smooth and perfect.
We could find the typical Maduro roasted flavors like bitter chocolate and espresso beans. In the last third, the otherwise mild cigar became pepperier and stronger.
A good 40 minute smoke that we can also recommend to newcomers to the world of maduros. We had fun again.
2022/03/27
In some video, Sascha Prieser, the maker behind the “Nordlicht” brand, once chatted about the flavors of his cigars. Among other things, he said he tasted the aromas of coffee and aniseed. It reminded him of the taste that comes from chewing the coffee beans on a sambuca.
Since we wanted to try another cigar from our sampler, we tried this combination out in person.
It was the “thick” turn, the Gordo with a full ring gauge of 60/64″ and a length of 5½”, so good for 1½ hours of enjoyment. Another Nicaragua Puro with a very nice, even Colorado wrapper. The draw and burn were also impeccable on this vitola.
We tasted fruity flavors, as well as pepper wood, coffee and yes it could be aniseed. But maybe it was also the scent of our drink, which incidentally went perfectly with it. Many thanks to Sascha Prieser for this tip.
2022/03/22
Last night we continued exploring spectacular formats: a Flying Pig from the Liga Privada No. 9 manufactured by Drew Estate of the two New York company founders Jonathan Drew and Marvin Samel. The two ran a small kiosk in the World Trade Center. They began fulfilling their dream of running their own cigar factory in Estel, Nicaragua in 1998 and moved to Miami in 2004.
Our Flying Pig has a ring gauge of 60/64″ and a length of 4″. The filler comes from Honduras and Nicaragua, the Mata Fina binder from Brazil and the Connecticut wrapper from the USA, which is twisted into a ring tail at the top.
The draw, the straight burn and smoke development were impeccable, as can be expected in this price range. We found aromas of leather, cedar, dark chocolate and hints of pepper.
We had 75 minutes of fun with this ringlet pig.
2022/03/08
We don’t want to withhold a very exotic gift from one of our members from you:
The Fuma em Corda by CAO, a Toro with a ring gauge of 58/64” and a length of 6”.
The Portuguese words “Fuma em Corda” describe the special preparation for fermentation and mean “tobacco on a rope”. It is a method used by the indigenous people of the Brazilian rainforest. The tobacco leaves are twisted into thick strands and then wrapped around sticks to ferment.
Instead of a banderole, this particular cigar has a crossed string of tobacco symbolizing this type of fermentation that is meant to be smoked.
The insert comes from the Brazilian rainforest and completes the blend from Honduras and Nicaragua. The binder comes from Cameroon and the Colorado wrapper from Nicaragua.
This cigar owes its unique taste to the special fermentation process. We will definitely try this exotic one and report to you.
2022/03/15
We already reported last week about the “Fuma em Corda” from CAO and its exotic style with its Braganca tobacco leaves from the Brazilian rainforest. Now we’ve let them go up in smoke, too.
This mild to strong cigar gave us a good hour of exotic pleasure. The somewhat irregular burn could always be easily corrected. The draw resistance was consistently good. We could guess aromas of leather, pepper and earth. This was accompanied by quite sweet notes of caramel and chocolate.
A really exotic looking and rare cigar that we got the chance to taste here. We think it’s definitely worth grabbing one if you can find it. A good smoke to remember.
2022/03/05
Here we present recommendations from our members. If you have an insider tip or want to recommend a special cigar, write to us.
Today a cigar recommended because of its special format:
The Asylum Cigars 13 6ixty 9ine by 4our. As the name suggests, this stub has an enormous ring gauge of 69/64” that is more than an inch with a length of only 4”.
The initiators of Asylum Cigars are Kevin Baxter and Tom Lazuka. Tom previously worked as a representative for Colibri Accessories and then Camacho Cigars before starting his own cigar business.
This one is a puro made from Nicaraguan tobaccos that Christian Eirora has it roll in his Tabacalera El Aladino. The cold smell of figs suggested fruity aromas. However, the cheroot surprised with sweet chocolatey aromas.
A great tip this cigar and an absolute eye-catcher.
2022/03/07
Today there is an Italian brandy with the Asylum 13.
The Buton family has been running a distillery in France since the beginning of the 18th century. The high quality of their brandy made the family purveyors to the court of Napoleon I. After the fall of Napoleon, the family fled to Emilia Romagna in Italy. In 1820 Jean Buton opened his new distillery in Bologna, Italy. This is where the “Cognac Buton”, now made from Italian grapes, began its triumphal march around the world. In 1939 the family had to rename their cognac. From now on it was no longer called Cognac but “Vecchia Romagna Buton Brandy”. In 1943, during the Second World War, the distillery was destroyed down to the cellar with its valuable barrels. The intact casks with the old brandy allowed a quick new start after the war.
We thought this brandy was excellent with the Asylum 13.
2022/03/04
The Black Forest Torpedo: The “Herr Lehmann No. 5”
We discovered a short filler made in Germany from German tobaccos, except for the wrapper.
In 1924, Oskar Lehman founded a cigar factory in the Black Forest. In 2014, for reasons of age, the descendants handed over their life’s work to Gregor Grüb and Dr. Klaus Harisch.
The tobacco “Badischer Geudertheimer” is air-dried and used for the filler and the binder. These tobacco plants have a high tolerance to extreme weather conditions and on the other hand are easy to care for, easy to process and achieve a high harvest yield.
A Sumatra leaf from Indonesia serves as the wrapper. The cigar rollers were trained by the Lehmanns.
The No. 5 is just 4 ¾” in length and has a ring gauge (according to our measurement) of 46/64”.
We will taste this exotic product at the next opportunity. Stay tuned!
2022/03/06
Yesterday evening it was her turn: the completely German cigar “Mr. Lehmann No. 5″ from the Black Forest.
The locally grown tobacco species “Geudertheimer” serves as filler and binder for this hand-rolled short filler.
The matte Sumatra wrapper wraps Mr. Lehmann tightly. A cap is missing, here the cover sheet is simply folded over a few times. But that doesn’t detract from the cigar. The cigar takes the fire well and — as to be expected with a short filler — the draw resistance is consistently good. Surprisingly, it begins very mildly and only becomes stronger and spicier in the last third. We were able to discover nice peppery notes, which didn’t become unpleasant towards the end, after a good half hour.
A decent cigar for in between. It gets a place in our club humidor to offer our foreign visitors something extraordinarily rare.
2022/02/26
A cigar from Dresden, Germany. Yes, it has actually existed since 2013. We chose a cigar from the series that was first rolled in Dresden. It is the flagship of this series. The strongest and also the most expensive. Yes, the price is enormous and the same price as the top products from Cohiba, Fuente or Davidoff. So she has to compete with these premium cigars.
The trained Torcedor Lazaro Javier Herrera Cabrera, who came from Cuba, rolled them in the small Dresden cigar factory. Our one is the Cabrera Amistad 407. A Toro with a length of 6 ½” and a 54/64” ring gauge. The filler and binder come from Nicaragua and the wrapper, a Colorado Maduro, from Ecuador.
The cold smell of fruit aromas and honey reminds us a little of a Monte. We will test them at the next opportunity and of course report here. Stay tuned!
2022/03/02
Yesterday evening it was her turn, the German cigar made in Cuban style, rolled in Dresden from South American tobaccos.
The flawless wrapper from Ecuador, the good cold draw and the fruity scent of honey promised a good smoke.
This unusually created cigar took the fire easily and developed an extraordinarily full and creamy smoke from the first puff. This enormous smoke lasted until the last puff. The draw was consistently good over the entire length. The burn was extraordinarily even. This all spoke for a cigar made with excellent craftsmanship. The flavors were peppery but not spicy. A cigar that I enjoyed smoking to the non-bitter end.
If it weren’t for the high price, it would have a permanent place in my humidor. Everyone has to decide for themselves whether the price is justified. For me personally, this price category is a step too high. What a pity!
2022/02/15
Today we’re going to try something curious and special: the Toscano Antico, which Clint Eastwood already appreciated and which he always had in the corner of his mouth in his Dollar trilogy.
Made from tobacco leaves grown in Italy from Kentucky seeds and grown up in the Tuscan sun, these are machine-made after 12 months of aging. This cigar owes its high nicotine content and thus its tremendous strength to the fire drying before fermentation.
Following tradition, we have divided the 13 cm long cigar in the middle. This is how you can enjoy the Toscano for two for a good 20 minutes. Smoking a whole one at once would definitely blow your mind! It takes three men to smoke a Toscano Antico — one smokes, two hold him, according to legend.
The taste reminds a little of smoked ham. The rustic looking cigar doesn’t compare to anything we’ve smoked before.
The Toscano is not stored in a humidor!
2022/02/27
Today we’re meeting with some members for a Clint Eastwood night. We’re going to watch all three movies of the Dollars trilogy. In addition, of course, the cigar that Clint Eastwood made famous in these films and that always hangs in the corner of his mouth: the Toscano. For tonight we have chosen the Antico.
The Toscano owes its existence to an accident in 1815. During a violent summer storm in Tuscany, Italy, a load of Kentucky pipe tobacco was soaked through. When the storm was over and the summer heat was back, the tobacco fermented. After it was dried again, the cigars made from it soon enjoyed great popularity — the Toscano was invented.
Have a nice Sunday everyone!
2022/02/19
We have discovered another cigar for our newbies: the Casa de Torres Churchill. Casa de Torres is a brand of the cigar manufacturer Schuster from the city of Buende, Germany. The company, founded by the baker Hermann Schuster in 1897, developed this cigar series in the 1990s together with a producer from Nicaragua, where the cigars are still made exclusively for Schuster in a small tabacalera.
This 7” long Churchill has a ring gauge of 50/64”. The filler as well as the binder come from Nicaragua, the immaculate wrapper from Ecuador. We smoked this cigar for 60–75 minutes with wonderfully creamy smoke development. A very mild cigar with aromas of wood and coffee. A recommended cigar for the beginner as well as for the price-conscious occasional smoker.
2022/02/17
A new and thoroughly German cigar: the Vaholago Petit Corona. Only 3 years ago the cigars of the two company founders Vincent Maurer and Rainer Wedelich saw the light of day. The Caribbean tobacco varieties are grown in the very south of Germany on the lake Bodensee island of Reichenau and rolled by hand by Cuban torcedores into real long fillers.
Our Petit Corona has a ring gauge of 42/64” and a length of nearly 5”. The wrapper shimmers slightly oily and the cold cigar smells pleasantly of hay.
With a smoke duration of a good 30 minutes, we had the impression of a Dominican cigar. She was very mild and we tasted aromas of chocolate. All in all a well-made cigar that will certainly not be our last.
2022/02/11
he Chinese New Year under the sign of the tiger is celebrated every twelve years. This year it’s that time again. And since our President was also born in the year of the tiger, what could be more fitting than to give him a cigar for his birthday that was created for this special year.
So we got the VegaFina Year of the Tiger 2022, a Toro Extra.
A really impressive format with a ring gauge of 52/64” and a length of 6 5/8”, it should be good for a birthday smoke of a good two hours. Under the very beautiful band you can see a flawless wrapper, the origin of which, like that of the binder, is unfortunately kept secret. The filler is a blend and comes from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico and Ecuador.
Of course we tried it first: in contrast to most other VegaFinas, this is a very strong and spicy tasty, a presidential cigar.
2022/02/10
Something “aged” today: the Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 Deluxe Toro Tube.
It is the second aged cigar from the “Vintage” series by Rocky Patel from 2002. The name “1992” is based on the wrapper, which had aged 10 years in 2002 and was from 1992. She was probably launched in Germany in 2014. She convinced us with her strong, sweet taste and a combination of espresso and cedar wood aromas. In particular, the 10-year-old Sumatra wrapper from Ecuador and the 7‑year-old binder from Nicaragua give the cigar a distinctive aroma. The filler comes from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
As a drink with the cigar, we decided on a pisco, the Chilean national drink. Pisco is a distillate made from Muscat grapes. In the case of our El Gobernador, Moscatel Rosada and Moscatel de Alejandra were used. These grape varieties grow in northern Chile, in the Valle del Limari. We enjoyed it as a “sour”.
2022/02/09
Addendum to our (subjective) opinion on cigars for beginners. Today we tasted a very inexpensive Havana for you. The Quinteros weren’t originally “Havanas” at all, as they had been made in Cienfuegos, a city on the south coast of Cuba, since the 1920s. Company founder Augustin Quintero only moved his factory to the capital, Havana, in 1940.
The Favoritos are hand-rolled medium fillers, i.e. the wrapper and binder consist of whole tobacco leaves, only the filler consists of smaller pieces of tobacco. The format is a smaller (petit) Robusto with a ring gauge of 50/64” and a length of 4 1/2”. Draw and burn were good throughout the smoke duration of 30–45 minutes. In order to taste the woody and nutty aromas, this cigar should be smoked very slowly.
A cigar for beginners: small in price, big in flavor and not too strong.
2022/02/08
Rum or not rum, that is the question. This is not a question Hamlet asks himself, but rum manufacturers have been asking themselves since last year if they want to sell their rum in the European Union.
Since 2021, a rum can only be called rum if its sugar content does not exceed 0.7 oz per 33.81 us fl oz (previously 3.4 oz). Many of the well-known variants of brands such as Botugal (Diplomatico), Plantation, Zacapa and Don Papa are around 1.0 – 1.4 oz. These rums are no longer allowed to call themselves rum. Now the manufacturers have two options: they lower the sugar content and thus change the taste, or they change the name.
That’s why we don’t find the word “rum” on our bottle of our Don Papa Baroko from the Philippines. It’s just called a “spirit drink”.
We find a mild sweet “rum” that goes well with the cigar. Especially after a good meal. Rum is rum, whatever you have to call it!
2022/02/06
The newbies among our members ask from time to time which cigars are particularly suitable for beginners. First and foremost, this is of course a matter of taste and there are many answers.
We would recommend Arnold André’s Montosa. A smooth and light cigar from the Dominican Republic with an Ecuadorian wrapper, a Mexican binder and a Dominican filler.
And the Churchill now lets the beginner feel the right feeling of the sublime and he can definitely distinguish the different sections during the long smoking time of up to 80 minutes. The first half is characterized by the harmonious aromas of wood, while the second half is dominated by nutty aromas. A well-made cigar at a very reasonable price.
If the nicotine is too intoxicating, there is a tried and tested “antidote”: sugar, most palatable in the form of a Coke – with or without rum.
2022/01/31
The right cigar for all football fans is now also available in Germany for the Superbowl on February 13, 2022. Each dealer was supposedly only allowed to order 5 boxes. Of course we had to strike immediately.
In 2013, Ray Lewis and Rocky Patel met at a company event and planned to create a cigar together. This is how the Ray Lewis Legends 52 Toro limited edition by Rocky Patel was born.
Ray Lewis, perhaps the greatest middle linebacker of all time, two-time Superbowl champion with the Baltimore Ravens and MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the XXXV. Super Bowls assisted Rocky Patel in blending this cigar. Since Ray was a real edge on the field, a box-pressed came out.
Of course we will tell you about our tasting.
2022/02/02
We promised to tell you about our Rocky Patel Toro Ray Lewis Legends 52 smoke.
The beautiful chocolaty wrapper comes from Ecuador. Then there are two binders: one from Brazil and one from Mexico. The filler comes from Nicaragua and Honduras. A true South American blend. The “Cigar Snob” gave this cigar a total of 90 points. We were excited.
This box pressed cigar had an excellent draw that was maintained over its entire length. The burn was also perfect. We enjoyed this cigar for over an hour, Tim even a full 80 minutes. It is a wonderfully aromatic and mild cigar. Flavors ranged from cedar to chocolate and a variety of spices. Super Bowl can come. We have found a real surprise to enjoy the night of February 13th to the fullest.
2022/01/07
After several attempts with tobacco from Bavaria, Marcel Polzmacher decided on South American tobacco. Now the production takes place in a small factory in Costa Rica. The insert blend of our La Bavaria Salomones comes from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Peru. The binder from Nicaragua and the wrapper from Ecuador. The cigars are aged for at least 3 years. The format with a ring gauge of 54/64“and a length of a little over 7” looks really impressive and is perfectly crafted. Our Salomones were delivered in a mason jar. We will report on this smoke.
Our rum, Rumult Signature Cask Selection, is distilled from sugar cane juice by the Lattenhammer distillery in Bavaria at Lake Schliersee and matured there for several years in high-quality barrels. With its 86° proof it is a strong yet silky rum with aromas of dried fruits, raisins and vanilla.
2022/01/09
We promised to tell you about the La Bavaria Salomones, which we tried on Friday. We lit the cigar, which tapered to a point at the foot, with a bit of skepticism. But she accepted the fire perfectly and surprisingly immediately developed a great creamy smoke. The draw resistance was optimal from start to finish. We have already reported on the origin of the tobacco used. We found the cigar to be medium strong and could find earthy aromas and coffee notes from halfway through. The ashes held up surprisingly well — until the photo session 🙁
Unfortunately, one of the cigars tended to develop uneven burn, but this could be corrected well. A well-made cigar that is easy to smoke and fun.
Unfortunately the bottle of the Bavarian Rum was much too small with 12 fl oz. An extremely tasty rum that went well with the cigar.
2022/01/23
Last evening in Bavaria. Only Bavarian to say goodbye. A Salomones from “La Bavaria” and a “Bitter Truth Pink Gin” from Pullach near Munich. The tradition of mixing gin and bitters was first introduced by members of the Royal Navy to cure seasickness, and pink gin began as a seafarers’ breakfast, drunk to fortify a man against the treacherous ocean. This gin is a delicious blend of traditionally made gin and a blend of bitters.
A Mediterranean bouquet for the nose. Aromas of juniper, fresh lemons and spices. Amazingly smooth on the palate.
The company founders Stephan Berg and Alexander Hauck received the bronze medal at the “San Francisco World Spirits” for this gin in 2013.
2022/01/28
Last day at Lake Tegernsee and our supply of cigars is smoked. So we went looking. In Rottach-Egern, directly on the lake, we found “Sepp’s Tabakinsel”, a slightly larger kiosk with newspapers, cigarettes, snacks and cigars.
Completely unexpectedly, we discovered a well-stocked walk-in humidor. Sepp, the owner, was able to give us extremely expert advice. He told us about the recent visit from the cigar salesman and a new cigar in his range. We took a few with us. It was a Leon Jimenes Series 300 Cameroon Robusto.
The dark brown, slightly oily, fine-veined wrapper is immediately noticeable. Very good cold draw with a slightly wooden note. The burn was also flawless. The strong aromas increased significantly in the last third. All in all an flawless cigar.
If you are at Lake Tegernsee, a visit to “Sepp’s Tabakinsel” is definitely worth it.
2022/01/19
Second day in Bavaria. Today we’re going to try a really big format. The L‑Granú from the Ligero series by La Flor Dominicana. A real “fat boy” with a ring gauge of no less than 64/64”, i.e. a whopping 1” and a length of 6″. We have read that you should take your time with this model and, above all, eat well beforehand. Now we are in Bavaria and the Bavarians consider their beer as a basic food item and not alcohol. So we ordered a “Maß” (1 qt.). That should be a good base!
This cigar, with a wrapper from Ecuador, a binder and a filler from the Dominican Republic, had a perfect draw, as one would expect from the ring gauge. It dominated earth and wood aromas. A special treat for over two hours. However, we each needed one more “Maß”.
2022/02/20
Today again the L‑Granú from the Ligero series by La Flor Dominicana.
Accompanied by a cask strength Captain Morgan Jamaica Rum with 156° proof. This rum, specially bottled for Germany, is a real rarity as production was discontinued in 2005. Nevertheless, we were able to find a 1 qt bottle from a private cellar. A magnificent dark rum from the good old days. If you have the opportunity to get your hands on a bottle of this overproof rum: grab it immediately!
This very full flavoured and very Jamaican rum with its strong aromas went perfectly with the L‑Granú.
2022/01/12
In 2016 Tonio Neugebauer from Lower Saxony founded Tonio’s Tabaco and developed his first cigar brand: Skelton.
A beautiful cigar with a flawless wrapper from Ecuador and a very aromatic insert blend from the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Nicaragua.
We found an unusual drink that was perfect both in appearance and, surprisingly, in taste: a Tequila Blanco from Espolòn in Mexico. The label shows the two skeletons Guadalupe and Rosarita. They pay homage to the graphic artist José Guadalupe Posada and the Mexican holiday of the dead. This tequila is handcrafted in the highlands from the blue weber agave. It has a delicate scent of sweet agave and sweet fruit notes. In 2011, Espolòn Tequila Blanco won the double gold medal of the World Spirits Awards.
Both together were a taste explosion and a special kind of experience.
2022/01/17
After the Skelton Robusto and that good Smoke last week, we plan to test the next larger Vitola, the Toro today. And again, our captain suggested a drink that is certainly unusual for cigar smokers, a “Jägermeister Cut”. You need a glass from the freezer and 1 oz of Jägermeister — in our case the special bottling “Berlin” — and 1 oz of bourbon.
Our Toro, with a ring gauge of 52/64″ and 6″ in length, was also perfectly made. The wrapper again from Ecuador, the binder again from Indonesia, the filler comes from the Dominican Republic and from Nicaragua — compared to the Robusto, Honduras is missing.
A very balanced, mild cigar with a full, creamy smoke. We could detect aromas of cocoa and coffee. The burn and draw were consistent good, as a premium cigar should be.
Oh yes — the drink was perfect — you should try it.
2022/03/09
A few weeks ago, after we thoroughly tried out a box of Robustos from the Skelton family and found them to be good, we received a beautiful white, high-gloss box of the Toro today. Only 4% more expensive, but 11% more cigar. The blend is almost identical to the Robusto, only the leaves from Honduras are missing in the insert.
The silky, shimmering, dark and oily wrapper, again from Ecuador, is very finely structured. Draw resistance and burn again, as expected, good with a very full, creamy smoke. This Toro tasted a little more intense than the Robusto, especially the coffee aromas. Towards the end — after 70 minutes — chocolate flavors were added.
A good choice in terms of looks, taste and price.
2022/01/14
Today an American cigar that is not available in America. From the Liga Privada Unico series the “Bauhaus” by Drew Estate — a Short Robusto. This cigar was created exclusively for the European market. Drew Estate boss Jonathan Drew is a fan of the famous architect, designer and cigar smoker Walter Gropius, founder of the German Bauhaus in Weimar, Germany, a college of art, design, architecture and crafts established in 1919. With this cigar, Drew pays homage to the philosophy of Gropius and the Bauhaus movement of the 20th century.
Rolled in Nicaragua, this Short Robusto has a Connecticut wrapper from the USA, a binder from Brazil and the filler leaves are specially positioned and come from Honduras and Nicaragua.
She immediately develops a lot of smoke and we could detect aromas of wood, caramel and spices. A great, albeit very expensive, smoking experience.
2022/01/08
I will try today what Santa brought.
From my friends a beautiful box of Winston Churchill Robustos by Davidoff from the “The Late Hour” series. The making of the cigar is just like the dark wrapper from Ecuador a feast for the eyes. The 52/64” ring gauge is the correct one for my age and is my favorite format. I think it’s the best cigar in this series.
And a bottle of eight-year-old Jamaica rum from the Hampden distillery from my daughter. The special thing about this strong (92° proof) single rum is that no sugar is added, neither for coloring nor for sweetening. An elegant fruity rum with no frills
2022/01/06
In Germany today we are celebrating the Three Kings’ Day. So what could be more expected than to celebrate this event royally. Our VP Tim donated us 3 kings in the form of a Robusto Maduro each from Philipp Kugler’s CigarKings from Munich.
According to the manufacturer, this beautiful cigar with a 50/64” ring gauge and a length of 5” is made using the Entubado process. This is an old Cuban rolling style, here the Nicaraguan insert sheets are placed individually in small rolls next to each other and formed into a bundle. The individually rolled filler leaves ensure unhindered passage of smoke in the cigar. The smoke has to pass through all the leaves and thus transports more aroma and taste. Philipp Kugler keeps the location of his factory in Nicaragua a secret. The wrapper comes from Ecuador and the origin of the binder is not revealed.
2022/01/11
These two kings were absolutely on par. The two Robusto kings — the Maduro and the Sun Grown — were absolutely equal opponents. Both kings come from the same noble family from Nicaragua. The armor of the kings is partly secret. It was therefore an exciting duel between equal opponents and it was a pleasure. There was no winner, but neither was there a loser. It won’t be the last round!
2022/12(06
Everything arrived for our next tasting. Many thanks to our dealer Tabaccohouse Brinkmann for the fast and perfectly packaged delivery. This time we want to try a five-year-old long filler from Costa Rica, the Don Vito from Il Padrino. We will report.
2021/12/12
We had promised to report on our Il Padrino tasting.
First of all, of course, the beautiful black lacquered box catches the eye. If you open the box, the 15 even Don Vitos come to light. The Don Vito is a Robusto Gran Gordo with a 58 ring gauge and a length of 5”. The cigars appear to be perfectly crafted. The Colorado wrapper is fine-veined, velvety soft and perfectly rolled. The cold draw is perfect and tastes rather neutral. The first puffs already reveal the full aroma of the well-made blend of the insert from Costa Rica, Peru and the Dominican Republic. The burn was surprisingly even to the leathery end. Overall, we 3 Ashholes really liked this cigar. It won’t be the last box.
The 2 different rums, the Il Padrino and the Nordlicht Reserve, convinced with their very similar strong spice aromas and went well with the cigar.
2022/01/15
Already 4 weeks ago we tasted the Robusto Don Vito from Il Padrino. We already really liked this Gran Gordo stick! So we ordered the next vitola in the series. Brinkman Finest still had a few in stock and again delivered promptly. A box of Il Padrino Omerta arrived, a Toro with the same ring gauge of 58/64” as the Robusto but just 1 inch longer. The wrapper, binder and filler were also the same and even from the same 2017 harvest.
So we were excited for that extra inch. The outer finish was flawless again, as was the draw behavior and the burn. We found them more aromatic and a bit milder. This shows that the format is decisive for the intensity and the interaction of the aromas. We smoked it at different speeds and enjoyed between 65 and 80 minutes. We really enjoyed it and we’re looking forward to the rest of the box.
2021/12/10
Another highlight of our Christmas party at Zigarren Herzog in the Berlin harbor on the Spree with my friends from the Berlin Fumadores were the new La Libertad Robustos. The company Villiger Sons from Waldshut-Tiengen, Germany has given this traditional cigar brand a new look and has relocated production to its new plant in Nicaragua. The wrapper and the filler come from Nicaragua, the binder from the Dominican Republic. I have to say, this cigar is a real alternative to Cuban cigars.
The Puerto Rican rum Don Q Double Cask, named after “Don Quixote”, went well with it. Double Cask, as one rum was first distilled in 2009 and another in 2012 and then matured separately in American white oak barrels. In 2017 the rums were married and transferred to sherry barrels. The rum had matured a second time in these barrels by 2019. A great result!
2021/10/05
Today a reverse pairing. What goes well with a Martini extra dry. And what is an extra dry martini. I had an American friend explain it to me. A martini cocktail consists of gin (2 oz) and dry vermouth (0.34 oz). A dry martini consists only of gin and the bottle of vermouth is just next to it. With an Extra Dry Martini, the bottle of vermouth is not even in the same room! The drink is stirred with a lot of ice and not shaken, only James Bond lets it shake, but then it becomes cloudy.
I treated myself to a VegaFina Year of the Ox 2021 (Gran Titan) with my drink. For me it fit perfectly with a ring gauge of 56 (7/8″). Their Dominican and Nicaraguan tobacco leaves have a very intense aroma and distinctive taste and go very well with a hard drink.
2021/10/03
Our trusted dealer delivered. My first Rocky Patel, I have to admit. In this case a Toro. The inscription “CIGAR SMOKING WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP” on the box.
After some research, we found out what this label is all about. The Mareva Cigar Club in the Croatian Split organizes an annual world championship in slow smoking. This competition has been supported by Rocky Patel Cigars since 2020; accordingly, this Nicaraguan cigar is now being fought with!
A pleasant to smoke cigar that harmonized very well with the 8 year old Calvados. The only point of criticism is the loop at the end of the cigar. It is a real fiddle to remove these.
2021/09/15
Today we want to test the grappa fraction from Joergs little house bar with a few Members. Which one goes best with the Havana H.Upmann Connossieur No.2 ? We have to say the simple Nardini was best for our taste. Sometimes the simple is just good.