It’s not a secret that I’m a big fan of the Drew Estate Undercrown lines, especially the Shade version, as I’m a big fan of Connecticut wrappers. The Undercrown Maduro gives you the richness of the Liga Privada line and the Undercrown Shade gives you a creamy Connecticut with some body to it for a […]
Brian’s The Week In Smoke, Issue 119
It’s time once 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), […]
IPCPR 2019: Drew Estate
You know what you can always count on at IPCPR? You can count on Pedro Gomez to bring it with a smile. And bring it he does again in the Drew Estate booth. We talk about the rebirth of the BOTL (Brothers Of The Leaf) cigar as a brick and mortar exclusive and the new […]
IPCPR 2017: Herrera Esteli
On last day of IPCPR we alway make the rounds one last time in hopes of grabbing some time with people we’d missed. One of those people was Willy Herrera, the man behind Herrera Esteli. After some quick banter, Willy gets us back on track by telling us about the new Pappy Van Winkle Tradition, […]
IPCPR 2017: Drew Estate – Undercrown Sun Grown
We talked to a different personality in each section of the Drew Estate booth we visited at IPCPR 2017. Holding court in Undercrown territory was our old friend Pedro Gomez. After some friendly chatter, Pedro brings our attention to the new Undercrown Sun Grown. This extension to the Undercrown brand features an Ecuadorian Sun Grown […]
Drew Estate Undercrown Shade Flying Pig
Released at the 2016 IPCPR, Drew Estate added their famous Flying Pig size to the Undercrown Shade line. This is the sixth Flying Pig release from Drew Estate following the Flying Pigs from Liga Privada No. 9, T52, Kentucky Fired Cured, Feral and Undercrown. The Flying Pig is a very unique small perfecto size with a […]
The Box-Worthies: Brian’s Top 10 Cigars of 2016
2017 is here, and just when you think it you’re safe from 2016, up pops my list of the top 10 cigars of 2016. I hope the sudden shock and inevitable controversy that follows is not too taxing on your health. Remember, breath deeply and evenly when you’re yelling at me over the internet. Stress, […]
IPCPR 2016: Drew Estate
Jonathan Drew can be a hard guy to track down at IPCPR, and a tour of the all the new products in the Drew Estate booth would be difficult to accomplish without numerous interruptions from customers and fans. Everyone’s looking for a few minutes of Jonathan’s time. So we took the pragmatic approach this year, […]
Brian’s The Week In Smoke, Issue 100
Over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking about what I should smoke for the hundredth edition of Brian’s The Week In Smoke. The problem is the more you think about it, the harder it gets. It’s like that with anything though, you overthink it, and a simple task becomes an ominous burden. Knowing the […]
Ben’s Top 10 Cigars of the Year
Every year I try to get my top 10 cigars of the year out before Christmas and every year I never seem to make it. Better late than never I guess. This year, I was thinking how easy it would be to come up with 10 cigars because I was thinking there wasn’t much that came […]