The Oliveros Gran Retorno has been around for quite a while now, but took a bit of a hiatus because master blender and Head of Product Capability, Rafael Nodal, decided to try something a little different with the blend. He turned over production to the Plasencias and, together, they decided to do a three-stage aging […]
Camacho Distillery Edition Connecticut Toro
Camacho released the Barrel Aged series in 2015 with tobacco aged in rum and bourbon barrels. The lines did so well, Camacho decided to do the same experiment with the Corojo, Connecticut, and Ecuadorian lines and age the corojo leaf in charred bourbon barrels. They are using the same blends, but are aging the tobacco […]
Ben’s Week In Smoke – No. 19
It’s been quite awhile since I last published a Week In Smoke so I figured, after our small vacation after IPCPR, now is a great time to start them back up again. Here is a list of some of the cigars I’ve smoked over the past week or so. Some are some old favorites and […]
Red Meat Lovers by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust
Smoke Inn has introduced their 12th microblend release with the Red Meat Lovers cigar blended by Steve Saka of Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust. Named after the famed Red Meat Lover’s Club in South Florida, Steve blended the cigar to be a perfect accompaniment to a huge steak dinner. Steve tried several wrappers and eventually decided […]
Brian’s The Week In Smoke, Issue 118
It’s once time again for another issue of Brian’s The Week In Smoke. In case this is your first Week in Smoke, be advised that it covers many (though not necessarily all) of the cigars I’ve smoked in the past week (or the past month, or however long it has been since the last issue), […]
Cazadores by La Aurora Robusto
La Aurora introduced a new value cigar line called the Cazadores by La Aurora earlier this year. The line is available in 3 sizes all priced under $4.25 per cigar. The Cazadores enters a crowded field with several cigar companies introducing value priced cigars over the past few years. It’s actually a nice turn in […]
H. Upmann Grupo de Maestros Connecticut Toro
Following the success of the H. Upmann by AJ Fernandez, Altadis USA released the H. Upmann Grupo de Maestros Connecticut at IPCPR 2018. Created by the Grupo de Maestros, a group of blenders at Tabacalera de Garcia lead by master blender Rafael Nodal, the H. Upmann Grupo de Maestros Connecticut features a proprietary tobacco called […]
Top 10 Cigars of 2018
Once again, the season of lists is upon us. And in keeping with tradition, we err on the side of caution when it comes to creating our list of the top 10 cigars for the year. The goal is to publish after we’re certain the old year is completely dead, but just before people get […]
Aganorsa Leaf Connecticut Robusto
I’m back, having fully recovered from a case of the seasonal crud, and I’m happy to get back into the swing fo things with a review of the Aganorsa Leaf Connecticut. It’s the third in a series that includes the original blend with a Nicaraguan wrapper, and the follow up San Andres Maduro version. Though […]
Ben’s Week in Smoke – No. 17
It’s been quite awhile since I did a Week in Smoke; a year actually. It’s about time that I did another one. I’m going to try to do these once a week or at least every other week as I know everyone seems to like these posts from Brian and I. For those that haven’t […]