It’s not everyday you get to smoke a cigar that’s nearly as old as you are. (OK, so I’m not quite that young, but hey, it’s not that far off!) So when we were offered the chance to review a cigar that was born in 1982, I jumped at the offer. The catch was that these cigars were ones I’d never heard of before.
The story behind these cigars is pretty interesting. They were created in 1982 by Caribbean Tobacco Co. and spent 16 years aging in “a bonded warehouse in Switzerland,” where they were abandoned by their owner. (They know they were from 1982 because of the newspaper that was used as padding in the crates.) Then sometime around 1998 they were auctioned off by the warehouse to a cigar shop in the Florida. And then sometime in the last 10 years, the remaining stock of these cigar was sold to a fan. But wait, the trail doesn’t stop there, this kind fellow provided me with the cigars for this review, and is now selling them from his website, VintageCerdan.com.
It’s almost a sad tale of the Cerdans nobody wanted, shuffling from warehouse to warehouse waiting to be smoked. Well, I set a few free for this review, let’s see if they were the cigars I wanted.
Cigar Stats:
Size: 7 1/2 x 42*
Wrapper: Connecticut
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Smoking Time: 1 3/4 hours
Beverage: Water
Price: $40 a box
*Listed as 6 3/4 x 46
The Pre-Smoke
The first thing that struck me about the cigars was the amount of plume on the wrapper, especially on and near the had of the cigar. At least I really hoped it was plume while I sat there inspecting it. After some careful evaluation, I determined it was.
The band rests a bit higher on these cigars than is common, though due to the looseness of the bands, it’s possible they slipped during their prolonged storage. And I gotta say, that powder blue band deer emblem screams 1980’s to me. Or smurfs. But I guess that’s pretty much the same thing.
The wrapper itself looked a little on the dry side, a little veiny, but free of any significant imperfections. (One cigar did have a minor wrapper nick, but I almost feel petty mentioning it.) The cigars were nicely firm, and had only the faintest smell of compost on the wrapper.
The Burn
All three cigars I smoked for this review burned beautifully. The ash formed a solid, light gray column as the cigar burned, and generally ashed at a respectable length. The draw was also excellent, and each puff provided a good volume of smoke. In all, the burn doesn’t get much better than this.
It did seem like the cigar burned quickly, but clock told a different story.
The Flavor
Though I have smoked some vintage cigars before, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from this cigar. Well, I’ve had a puff or two off some vintage smokes, that is. One thing I expected was for this cigar to be pretty mild and probably a little sweet, given the plume. It turns out my expectations were pretty accurate for once.
The cigars flavor started out very sweet. The initial puff was had a creamy, slightly dusty, sweet nutty flavor that was very enjoyable. The initial nutty flavor was dominated by sweet, syrupy vanilla for a while, but returned by the end of the first third. The second was similar to the first third, though the nuttiness was present throughout. Nutty, sweet vanilla and then nutty again.
The final third was a little more interesting. It started off with the sweet, creamy nutty flavor, but instead of following the sweet vanilla arc, it took a detour into pronounced cinnamon, a bit of mushroom before getting back to pronounced nuttiness. In this final third, the body moved up into the medium range.
One of the biggest difference between three smokes was that the first was more dusty than creamy. Each smoke was a little less dusty and more creamy, which makes me think that I should have let these sit in the humidor a week or two longer than I did before light them up.
The Price
By my calculations, these are going for $1.60 a stick. I love it. And I hope it catches on: 26 year old cigars for less that two bucks a stick!
The Verdict
There just isn’t anything about these cigars to find fault with. The flavor was great, the burn was perfect, they’re vintage, and they’re really inexpensive. I think these things are definitely worth giving a shot, but keep in mind, whatever they may have been like when they were new, they are pretty mild at this point. I will definitely be smoking more of these in the future.
Liked It: Yes
Buy It Again: I really am tempted.
Recommend It: Yes, but only if you enjoy mild cigars
Tower of Burn
Here for your viewing pleasure is my trademark Tower of Burn.
Should’ve got some pics of that plume to compare to Ed’s review of the Reyes Family Cienfuego. 🙂
These smokes are tempting, but I am sure that there is a good possibility that you might get some stinkers. I would rather buy some new smokes that I know are in fine condition.
The review was great. Love the smurf reference, you don’t hear about them too much these days, let alone in a cigar review.
La La La-la-la La La La-la-la La!
same here, love the review..and I was totally extatic to buy me a box..
The website looks quite crappy, but the prices are really great..
I am gonna skip this one..if they want to seduce me, they can also send me a taster, and if I like it, I am happy to buy me a box..
I am from 1982 you know 😉
Thanks for the review Brian. I want to order a box but I am hesitant dealing with vendors I know little about. Can you vouch for this guy? Should I feel safe sending my money away to this guy?
Thanks again
Thomas
Asking the same question as tb.
Great review as always.
I headed over to the site and I noticed that the guy selling these cigars posted what looks like a challenge. Find another site that sells these cigars and he’ll throw in another box for free. All you have to do is email the link to the address given on te site. Well, I did some searching and I found this. I have no interest in buying these cigars but perhaps one of you guys may.
http://www.caminoviejo.com/store/category/cerdan-cigars.htm
Just for record because the domain expires Nov 18 of this year.
Registrant:
Craig Brown
575 Scrubjay Lane
Jupiter, Florida 33458
United States
Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: VINTAGECERDAN.COM
Created on: 18-Nov-07
Expires on: 18-Nov-08
Last Updated on: 18-Nov-07
Administrative Contact:
Brown, Craig stinggray@comcast.net
575 Scrubjay Lane
Jupiter, Florida 33458
United States
5618480220
Technical Contact:
Brown, Craig stinggray@comcast.net
575 Scrubjay Lane
Jupiter, Florida 33458
United States
5618480220
Thanks Tony,
Actually, if you look at the first picture closely you can see some of the plume at near the head of some of the cigars. The one in the middle probably has the most (and happened to be the one that was the tastiest).
marijn somers, tbritt327 & stinkie-
Prior to him approaching us to try out the Cerdan, I hadn’t met Craig. All I can say is that it all seems to be on the up and up. The cigars do exist, and he did send me a box when I expressed interest in trying them. The box arrived pretty promptly and in perfect condition.
Of course, I’m not going to advise you to do something you feel uncomfortable doing. But I think what we have here is a guy with a lot of old smokes who doesn’t have a professional web design and development team. Since you pay through Google Check Out, your purchase should be absolutely safe.
And there is always the chance you could get some bum smokes, but there is that risk with any box you buy. Based on our interaction with Craig, I think if that happens, he won’t have a problem with making it right.
Brian, I have an email in to him asking a questing on sizes. I will buy a box a and report back once he returns my email. Thanks for the review!
Nice!
I haven’t had the one you bombed me with yet, I’ve been scared lol
but its hard for me to light up a cigar that is only 3 years younger than me….Its had a hard life, and deserves to live a little longer.
no to mention, at that price, I don’t want to be tempted to buy yet another box.
Thanks stinkie, I think you’ll find everything goes smoothly. If it doesn’t, be sure to let us know!
Enjoy Rich! I hope you’ll write up your thoughts in the forum- I’m curious to see what you think of them. I suspect they might be a little mild for some folks, but they have great flavor!
Hay guys, I’m the one selling the Cerdans. Thanks for the interest in the cigars. And yes everything is on the up and up. I saw a great opportunity and took it. What can I say I like them. If you have any questions you can email me or if you like you can call me 561-889-2201. The number posted above is my office, you’ll have better luck on my cell.
About the link above you sent me those are not the vintage ones.
Hope to hear from you.
Craig
Hay Brian I have the same Tommt Bahama ash tray as yuo do. 🙂
Also Thanks for the review
Craig
I just ordered a box we will see how it goes…
Thanks for the smokes Craig, and thanks for making yourself available to our readers!
Yep, that’s the yellow Tommy Bahama ashtray from a couple of years ago. I always use it because my wife bought it for me. One thing I’ve figured out is that you always reward the behavior you want, especially when it comes to family buying you cigars and smoking accessories.
Once in a blue moon when my wife buys me a cigar, I smoke it immediately and tell her what a great choice it was, even if it wasn’t! LOL Fortunately, she’s picked some great cigars and accessories so far, so I haven’t had to fib. But I digress.
Good call Matt, let us know if you have any trouble.
Mat those will be going out tomorrow. I’m actually smoking one right now. It’s a Don Juan 7.75 x 52. The first 2/3 has taken about 2 hours. I started selling them but when it got down to 3 boxes I had to move them to my personal stash.
Thanks again Brian. I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the orders and inquiries so far. I sent out 13 boxes Friday and so far 7 are going out tomorrow.
Craig, Thanks for the prompt delivery. After seeing the review I immediately ordered a bow of the Chamberlain and just received the package. The cigars appear to be in excellent condition save on with a very minor wrapper tear on the foot. the amount of plume on these sticks is astounding. To anyone skeptical about the age of these sticks. The origin of tobacco guarantee from the manufacturer packaged in the box with the cigars that is very brittle and dark yellow with age will appease any doubters. Gonna let these acclimate in the humi for a couple of weeks but I cannot wait to try these.
Brian thanks for posting. That’s been one of the hardest things about selling these cigars online is for people to understand that there real vintage cigars. Like your self once you opened the box and saw the history inside that’s when you just get it. It’s hard to show in pictures or put in words, you just have see it in person. Did your box come with the sample cartons? Some do and some don’t. I’ll have to put some pictures of them on my site this weekend. Once you try them if you don’t mind filling out an opinion poll on my site. I just put it up this weekend. That’s just so people can hear about them others from and not just me.
Have a good day
Mine were here waiting on me when I got home. Did not notice any plume from my quick inspection of the top row. I did notice two cigars that had small splits in them (might have happened during shipping, getting cold here). Not really worried about them unless I find more once I do a closer inspection. Looking forward to trying one tomorrow.
I ordered a box last week and just received it yesterday.
It was definitely obvious that these are the real deal. Lot’s of plume on both rows. My box also had the sample cartons inside.
After removing the plastic overwrap and cutting the seals, it was a little difficult to open the box. Turns out the nail was rusted! I did manage to open the box without damaging any cigars.
Andrew- I had the same thing with the nail. I was trying to get it opened while thinking “what the hell is going on”. I have no doubt that these have been around for a number of years.
I just recived my cigars a few min ago! I had the same issue with the nail seeing how I have not checked back here since I have last posted. After I got the box open they all appear to be in excellent condition. After I checked out both rows my hands had a super thick covering of plum. Now I am torn, I really want to light one up right now and I know I will end up doing so even though I feel I should let these sit in my humidor for a while… any way I just wanted to post back and tell you that they arrived in very good condition 🙂
I glad to see that the boxes are arriving in good condition. I there is any problems shoot me an email and I’ll so I can so I can make it right.
The first time I opened one these about 9-10 years ago I had the same thing happen with the rusty nail as you guys did. The best way I have found to open the box is to use a large flat head screwdriver. After cutting the seals/labels I start in the middle with the screwdriver prying as much as I can without going in too far, so I don’t damage the cigars. Then I move to the side of the box and pry the rest of the way open. If you don’t start in the middle you’ll have good chance of breaking the top of the box.
Enjoy your cigars
Cut. Take Two.
I’m glad to see that the boxes are arriving in good condition. If there is any problems shoot me an email so I can make it right.
Cut. That’s a wrap.
Yep, my box included some very vintage looking cartons. I took some pictures of them, but none of shots looked good enough to include with the review. (Besides, I wasn’t really reviewing the supplemental packaging. LOL)
I forgot about how hard it was to pry open the box. I kept worrying that I’d either split the box, or it would fly open and launch my cigars all over the floor. Take you time with it, and all will be well, that’s my advice. These stogies have been waiting for some love for nearly 30 years, they can wait a few more minutes for you to open the box! LOL
Matt, I felt the same way- anxious to smoke one right away. I have been able to hold off, but only because of a terrible cold!
are they available at any retail shops ??