I visited Ashton cigar booth on the third day and it was busy. It’s a wide size booth with walls on each side. There was no new cigars presented at the show this year but they added a Corona Gorda size to the popular San Cristobal Quintessence. See what Jose Ortega, Representative for Ashton Cigars – East Florida, had to say about the new size.
San Cristobal Quintessence
The Quintessence debuted last year at IPCPR and now it will receive a fifth size, Corona Gorda. The wrapper is Ecuadorian Habano and binder & filler is Nicaraguan. The cigar is made at My Father Cigars S.A. in Esteli, Nicaragua.
La Aroma de Cuba Noblesse
There’s no new size for La Aroma de Cuba Noblesse. It’s still a great cigar made at the My Father Cigars S.A. factory. The wrapper is Ecuadorian habano with Nicaraguan binder and fillers.
Ashton Symmetry
Jose Ortega, talks about the Ashton Symmetry which was introduced in 2015. It comes in five different sizes. It has Dominican and Nicaraguan filler, Dominican binder, and an Ecuadorean Rosado wrapper. The wrapper and fillers are from Arturo Fuente’s farms in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.
On day 3 of IPCPR17, I stopped by Quesada cigars booth to see the new released cigars and the old ones that are some of the best cigars around. Although Quesada cigar does major distribution, they still are a boutique cigar company at heart. All cigars are handmade with rich flavors, incredible smoking experience, and an impressive cigars from mild to full bodied for consumers to enjoy.
Hostos Fernandez Quesada, cigar maker at Quesada Cigars
Hostos talked about all the great things happening in the Quesada camp. He discusses the Quesda Reserva Privada Barberpole, Q d’etat, Manolo 70th cigar, and more.
Quesada Oktoberfest 2017
First thing that is noticeable is the new color band which is white. The Oktoberfest 2015 & 2016 has a blue band. Second is that it will be two different lines will be made for the Oktoberfest 2017. An all Nicaragua tobacco cigar with an accent of red on the band to represent Nicaragua. The second line will be all Dominican tobacco and with an accent of blue on the band to represent the Dominican Republic. The wrapper with be from Cibao Valley and the filler is a Cuban Seed Criollo, Olor Viso & Ligero. It’s scheduled for an October 2017 release.
Quesada Q d’etat (2017)
They are doing the Q d’etat line again which is the Daga, Molotov Howitzer. All cigars are 100% Dominican. This is another popular cigar that many cigar enthusiast are interested to smoke.
Quesada Reserva Privada Barberpole
The Reserva Privada Barberpole is limited to 3,000 cigars in each size. It’s a great addition to the ever-growing Reserva Privada line. The wrapper is Dominican Criollo 98 Oscuro which is from the two wrappers from the two Reserva lines, the Ecuadorian Connecticut and Oscuro line which uses a Criollo 98 wrapper. The tobacco is from 20 years ago with Pennsylvania cigars in the filler. It’s avaiable in Robusto (4 3/4 x 52) and Toro (5 5/8 x 54) size.
General Cigar Co. made a big splash this year with the introduction of the Macanudo Inspirado Black & White. General Cigar Co. sponsored the Opening Night Party for Macanudo Inspirado, held on the first night of the IPCPR 2017 in Las Vegas. It’s a rebranding effort from Macanudo to make the brand look modern and edgy. They also had many surprised through-out the General Cigar booth. Take a look.
The idea has been talked about before, a new take on Macanudo. I haven’t smoked the cigar, and haven’t talked to anyone outside of General that has smoked either, but the company says it will be a much different profile than the core Macanudo lines with White being the lighter version and Black being a strong cigar.
The Macanudo Inspirado White is a thing of beauty. It has a Ecuadoran Connecticut wrapper that was aged for six years. An Indonesian binder balanced with Nicaraguan Condega and Mexican San Andres leaves, each aged for four years. Comes in 3 vitolas: Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 1/2 x 50), and Churchill (7 x 48).
General sponsored the kick-off party on Monday, which featured rolling demonstrations as well as the ability for attendees to smoke each filler component separately, something that I imagine will be coming to a Macanudo event near you.
The Macanudo Black is a balance of power, achieved by art and science. The Connecticut Broadleaf plants were left to ripen on the stalk. The results is a rich maduro wrapper with a kick of sweetness. It uses Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and a proprietary seed grown in Esteli, Nicaragua fermented to produce strength and power. It will come in 3 vitolas: Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 1/2 x 50), and Churchill (7 x 48).
CAO Amazon Anaconda
Although Macanudo Inspirado was all the talk in the General Cigar Co. booth, CAO also has some major buzz going for them. They introduced the Amazon Anaconda, the third installment of the super successful, Amazon Trilogy, which also features the Amazon Basin and Fuma Em Corda.
Amazon Anaconda combines the Brazilian Bragança and the Fuma Em Corda tobacco used in the release plus a Brazilian Bahiano wrapper. There is no other cigar in the world like Anaconda, because only CAO has access to this tobacco. It’s offered in a single 6 x 52 size and is limited.
La Gloria Cubana also has a suprise up their sleeve this year. They introduced the La Gloria Cubana Colección Reserva, a collaborating with Ernesto Perez Carrillo. The cigar celebrates the 25th anniversary that La Gloria Cubana being rated on Cigar Aficionado magazine. Ernesto sold La Gloria to General’s former parent company Swedish Match in the late 90’s, continued working with them for a decade, then he launched his own company, E.P. Carrillo in 2009.
This cigar is produced at Carrillo Jr.’s Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. using tobacco from both Carrillo and General. The blend uses rustic Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and binder & filler from Nicaragua. It has three vitolas: Robusto (5 1/2 x 54), Torpedo (6 x 54), and Presidente (7 1/2 x 54).
Shawn Williams, Brand Ambassador of Cohiba Cigars talks about Cohiba’s latest blend. It’s a velvety, medium-bodied cigar with a rich, complex taste with notes of cocoa, caramel, and earth. It has been receiving rave reviews from cigar enthusiast since it launched earlier this year in 2017.
Carlos Torano
Jack Torano talks about Cohiba’s latest blend. They added two new lines to they’re Vault series the Vault E-021 Royal Blue and W-009 Yellow. The blue is a Honduran blend with the yellow is a Nicaraguan Sungrown wrapper. They are great, affordable premium cigars.
This cigar is the follow up to the original La Amistad, one of the A.J. Fernández-produced General products from 2016. Cigar Master AJ Fernandez has created an exciting new blend featuring all Habano seed tobaccos. The cigar is a robust, meaty smoke, rich with notes of earthy and black pepper. It comes in three vitolas: Robusto (5 x 50), Pancho (5 1/2 x 52), and Churchill (6 7/8 x 48)
Partagas 1845 Clásico, Extra Furte and Extra Oscuro
The Partagas 1845 line is completely revamped. The bands are the same, but the boxes and more importantly, the blends, have changed. All three lines will ship in August to both brick and mortar and catalog retailers.
The Partagás 1845 remains one of the most successful new cigar collections in recent history. They have taken the blend and updated them with a more modern look and feel while still paying homage to their roots.
Partagas 1845 Clasico
This is a medium-bodied cigar with creamy notes with hints of toast and nuts. Cigar lovers can expect even deeper, richer flavors with an increase in complexity while an affordable price point. It has an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and Dominican & Nicaraguan filler. Comes in four sizes: Gigante (6 x 60), Churchill (7 x 49), Toro (6 x 52), and Robusto (5 x 50).
Partagas 1845 Extra Fuerte
The newly blended Partagás 1845 Extra Fuerte has a balance between intensity and complexity. This is truly a full-bodied cigar that features aged ligeros from Nicaragua and Honduras. It has Honduran wrapper, Connecticut Habano binder and Dominican & Nicaraguan filler. Comes in four sizes: Gigante (6 x 60), Churchill (7 x 49), Toro (6 x 52), and Robusto (5 x 50).
Partagas 1845 Extra Oscuro
The Partagás 1845 Extra Oscuro is a bold profile with a beautiful rich and oily wrapper. It has savory notes that intensifies as the smoke progresses, to deliver a cigar full of delicious flavors The wrapper is Connecticut Broadleaf, binder is Connecticut Habano and filler from Nicaraguan, Honduran, & Dominican Republic. Comes in three vitolas: Churchill (7 x 49), Toro (6 x 52), and Robusto (5 x 50).
Jose “The Hurrican” Ortega, VP of Sales for My Father Cigars, talks about El Centurion cigar at Mike’s Cigar Bar in Bay Harbor, FL. El Centurion is an addition to medium to full cigar line which already consist of an impressive line-up.
My Father Cigars El Centurion has a Criollo Sungrown wrapper with a Nicaraguan filler and binder. It has spicy notes that My Father cigars are known for, cocoa, spicy, creamy flavors.
Jose talks about the national distribution of La Opulencia cigar. It’s a beautiful cigar with a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Nicaraguan filler and binder. La Opulencia is a medium to full bodied cigar.
If you’ve ever smoked My Father The Judge cigar and tried My Father Le Bijou 1922 and if those two cigars made a child, it would be La Opulencia. La Opulencia will be available in September/October.
Rafael Nodal of Boutique Blends & Aging Room talks about the Aging Room Solera Shade. The Solera is a method of aging the tobacco normally used for wine. Rafael discovered this method in Spain back in 2003-2004. Every year you have a different wine released but with the solera method, you merge, you combine all the different years and have more equal quality.
Rafael took this method and used it for tobacco. He took tobacco that’s one year old, three years old, five years old and put it together in a barrel. Then aged it for 12-24 months before rolling it into a cigar. The result is the Aging Room Solera. It has balance, unbelievable taste and medium-bodied.
The La Gloria Cubana Coleccion Reserva blend is a project that Master Blender, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, has been talking about for two years. It’s the 25th year anniversary of La Gloria Cubana rating in Cigar Aficionado magazine. It’s predominant all Nicaraguan tobacco and has Ernesto’s beloved Sumatra wrapper.
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo took over operations of La Gloria Cubana in the 1980’s. He was using tobacco that was available to others which was Dominican, Cameroon, and Connecticut but mostly Dominican. In the 1990’s he was able to get his hands on some Nicaraguan tobacco which he’s always loved. In 1992, Ernesto released the white box, La Gloria Cubana cigar. It was predominantly Dominican and Nicaraguan tobacco with the Sumatra wrapper. At the time, it was unheard of to mix Dominican and Nicaraguan. In 1992, when Cigar Aficionado rated the cigar, the brand exploded and they haven’t looked back since.
Punch cigars has a rich history line of superb lines like the Rare Corojo and in 2015 they released the Punch Signature. Now they have released a new line to their catalog, the Gran Puro Nicaragua. Although the name “puro” would imply that all the tobacco is purely from Nicaragua, this cigar goes against the grain a bit and uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper.
Nevertheless, it’s intriguing to see what Punch has crafted with they’re latest cigar. Crafted in four sizes—4 7/8 by 48 (a short Robusto), 5 1/2 by 54( a Robusto), 6 by 54 (a Toro) and 7 1/2 by 54 (a Churchill).
“Punch Gran Puro has been a true staple in humidors for over a decade and the brand’s recently-received high ratings have cemented its legacy in the handmade cigar category,” said Ed McKenna, director of marketing strategy for General Cigar. “For the extension of the Gran Puro line, our artisans built a blend that balances Nicaraguan tobaccos with a maduro wrapper to deliver a layered, dimensional flavor not traditionally found in Nicaraguan-based cigars. We are confident that Punch Gran Puro Nicaragua will be a fast favorite among tenured smokers.”
Specs:
Made By: General Cigar Co. Country: Honduras Wrapper: Connecticut broadleaf Binder: Nicaragua Filler: Nicaragua Factory: STG Danlí Strength: Medium Ring Gauge: 54 Length: 5 1/2 Smoke Time: 1 hour and 12 minutes.
First Impression:
First thing that stands out is the bright, colorful band. It has a lime green, sky blue accents and a hint of green accent color combination. In the center of the band you see the signature Punch logo but there is a slight difference in color from the core cigar bands. A unique feature is that the Punch shield logo is lime green compared to other Punch band emblem being gold and white. I’d love to know the brand-meaning behind it. Of course, the band has the Mr. Punch logo between the name of the cigar. The band feels like it has a tropical concept that gives off the experience of smoking a Nicaragua cigar in the country.
After that, next thing I notice was the beautiful, rich, semi-gloss Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. It has a smooth texture with some veins present with semi-visible dark spots. The construction is excellent with a few soft spots and has a solid double-cap. When you hold the wrapper close, you’ll notice a faint smell of cocoa and cedar. The foot of the cigar as a more profound scent of cocoa with hints of honey, hay, and pepper. So far it’s looking like this cigar could have potential to be an enjoyable smoke.
First Third:
The first puff of the Punch Gran Puro Nicaragua has a nice burst of sweet, cedar, toasty, leather notes. The sweet notes is a noticeable surprise from other cigars. It has a great construction, excellent burn and plenty of creamy, rich smoke with each puff I take. The draw is effortless with each puff that I take of this medium-bodied smoke. There’s an enjoyable sweet after-taster with each puff so far. It produces a half-inch of firm, white ash. By the end of the first third, notes of cocoa become more dominant while the sweeter notes settle down a bit.
Second Third:
By the start of the second-third, notes of cocoa, toast, pepper and molasses are the dominant taste. The intensity of the profile calms down to a smooth and enjoyable smoke with an excellent burn. Peppery notes starts making it’s way in the profile like a crescendo complimented by notes of espresso and cedar. The retrohale is producing subtle notes of pepper, honey, raisin, and hay.
Last Third:
The Punch Gran Puro Nicaragua has gotten to be more robust smoke with dominant notes of espresso, pepper and black cherries. This is a great cigar to enjoy on a weekend as it burns slowly while being an enjoyable smoke. The cigar is nearing full-bodied smoke with faint white smoke with each puff taken. With each puff, you feel an after-taste of tingling sensation on the center of the tongue. The last retrohale continues with mild pepper, cocoa, and mild notes of honey. As the cigar begins to feel warmer and soft, I take one last puff before I put it down.
Summary:
This is not your typical Punch cigar smoke. The Gran Puro does have core qualities of Punch cigars; great construction, sharp burn, flavorful yet profile wise, it carves its own path of more prominent notes of cocoa, fruit, honey and pepper. It’s a great blend considering Punch cigars are made in Honduras and Dominican Republic. No re-lights required throughout the smoking experience. The Connecticut broadleaf, complimented with the Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos provided a nice combination of sweet notes with smooth, robust flavors.
This is a great after-dinner smoke to enjoy with whisky. If you enjoy Punch cigars, you might want to try this one and if you enjoy cigars that are less-peppery, give this one a shot.
Camacho has always been known for being bold. Taking powerful tobaccos and turning them in to superbly bold yet flavorful cigars. Camacho took a turn this year to cigar enthusiast surprise, by releasing the Camacho BXP Series (Box Pressed). The Camacho BXP Series is an offshoot extension of their core lines, Connecticut, Corojo and Ecuador. Each line currently has three traditional sizes, Robusto (5×50), Toro (6×50) and Gordo (6×60).
Made By: Camacho Country: Honduras Wrapper: Ecuadoran Connecticut-seed Binder: Corojo Filler: Aleman Ligero, Pennsylvania Broadleaf, Generoso Factory: Diadema Cigars de Honduras, S.A., Oettinger Davidoff’s Camacho factory in Danlí, Honduras. Strength: Mild Ring Gauge: 50 Length: 5 Time: 4:00pm-5:40pm
First Impression:
First thing that stands out is its smooth, box-pressed shape. The construction of the box press is excellent and gives me the first impression that it’s a well-constructed cigar. Finished in a semi-oily Connecticut wrapper, it looks smooth and delicious like a cappuccino. Rounded at the top and sealed with a triple cap, as you go down the cigar you notice some thin, visible veins through-out the wrapper but nothing that will impact the smoke.
A relaxing aroma of dry cherry, vanilla, nuts, and some hey permeate from the foot of the cigar. The stogie has an excellent firm, feel yet soft. It’s supple to the touch and feels like it will have a nice draw with no knots inside. A cold draw proves this to be true as it was effortless and provided a taste similar to the aromas I could smell from the tobacco.
Updating its existing blends, Camacho added Pennsylvania broadleaf tobacco to the fillers of each blend. “It’s really more so for the intense taste experience that the broadleaf gives you,” said Dylan Austin, vice president of marketing for Camacho cigars. “It is a strong tobacco, in many cases much more intense than our Authentic Corojo (varies on the priming), which is the cornerstone to almost all of our blends.”
First Third:
My first draw of the Connecticut BXP has a wonderful burst of rich, creamy flavors, hints of hay, and cedar compliments the smooth creaminess and rich earthy tones. Each puff provides and effortless draw of flavorful and complex smoke. As I continue smoking the cigar, I note the burn is balanced and the construction is superb so far.
The first retrohale provides a creamy, nutty nuances with hints of cedar and white pepper. During the end of the first third, I pick up surprising hints of raisin, bringing a sweetness to the flavor profile. After each puff, there’s a satisfying taste of cedar and vanilla that would pair great with a red wine or cognac.
Second Third:
Smoking the second third, notes of white pepper continue to develop adding a sensation and enhancing the nuances of cream, cedar and dry citrus. I had a nice solid ash developing going into second third until it accidentally fell on my jeans (creating a mess of course!). The burn continues to be excellent while each puff feels effortless in this medium-body smoke.
Last Third:
Coming into the last third the draw has been impressive. Notes of earth, hay, vanilla, and pepper have slightly increased in intensity. My final retrohale had a nice burst of white pepper with hints of cedar to round off the smoke. There are still notes of citrus but are quickly dominated by notes of robust pepper. In the final inches of the smoke, the cigar becomes sponge-like and it starts to heat-up turning the smoke to bitter notes although it was still some-what enjoyable.
Summary: The burn and construction are great. The Ecuadorian Connecticut-seed tobacco was prevalent through-out the smoking experience while being complimented with an array of notes. The Pennsylvania broadleaf added to the experience of the smoke it never was dominant and became quite complimentary after the first-third.
This is a great cigars for beginners or even more experienced smokers. Overall, it was a fantastic cigar those who smoke it will love the smooth and flavorful complexity of this cigar. The price-point is good for a cigar of this caliber under $10. The smoke time was an hour and 40 minutes. My only complaint is that I didn’t have red wine or cognac to compliment the smoke but I will when I try the Corojo or Ecuador BXP. To purchase the Camacho Connecticut BXP, click here.
CAO Explore the Lineup Promo from 4/17-4/23. Buy a box of CAO Cigars and get 10 CAO Cigars for 99¢. 10 Cigars include 2 CAO Brazilia, 2 Colombia, 2 Gold, and 4 Steele-horse.
