Corona Nicaraguan Selection

Corona Nicaraguan Selection cigars are hand-made in one of the most efficient, clean and modern factories in Central America. Gilberto Oliva, who is a fifth generation Cuban master cigar blender, oversees the entire production of our cigars, ensuring quality and consistency that is second to none. The aged long-filler tobaccos are a blend of Cuban-seed tobaccos grown in Nicaragua. The dark Maduro wrapper is grown in . The dark Maduro wrapper is grown in Panama and the mild natural wrappers are Sumatra-seed grown in and the mild natural wrappers are Sumatra-seed grown in Indonesia. The result of this tobacco blend is a flavor that is mild to medium in strength and packed with flavor - very similar to the taste of a Padron.

Blanton's Orginal Single Barrel Bourbon

Found a new friend in the Bourbon Aisle.  Blanton's Orginal Single Barrel Bourbon!  Actually had to order it at my local watering hole.  This is fine sipping bourbon that I enjoy straight up....would hate to water down this great bourbon!  This bourbon is smooth!

Blanton's Original

Type: Bourbon Whiskey
Recipe: Corn - Rye - Malted Barley
Mash Type: Sour
Still Proof: 70% Alcohol by Volume - 140 proof
Entry Proof: 62.5% Alcohol by Volume - 125 proof
Warehouse: H
Barrel Type: White Oak
Maker: Independent Stave
Staves: 6 month air dry
Treatment: #4 Char
Filtration: Chill Filtered
Bottle Proof: 46.5% Alcohol by Volume - 93 proof
Tasting Notes: Reddish Amber Color
Nose: A spicy aroma of Dried Citrus and Orange Peels with a hint of Caramel and Vanilla.
Palate Entry: Full and soft, marked by a mix of Burnt Sugar, Caramel, Orange, and Cloves.
Finish: Muted but well balanced with Vanilla, Honey, and Citrus.
Best Served: Straight, on ice, or used in a premium cocktail.

The Outlaw, KC Business of the Year

by: Jennings Brown, Cigar Aficionado Online

A Kansas City, Missouri, cigar shop that led the movement to change the city smoking ban has received a Community Business of the Year award. 

Outlaw Cigar Co. was honored on December12 at the 18th annual Job Development Awards Luncheon sponsored by the Platte County Economic Development Council. 

Kendall Culbertson, owner of Outlaw Cigar, spent several months fighting the Kansas City smoking ban that went into effect in June 2007. He asked members of the City Council's Public Safety Committee to exempt tobacco stores from the ban, urging them to consider tobacco stores' benefits to the local economy, and to recognize his store's charity work. The smoking ordinance was revised by the city council in September 2008 after the proposal received an endorsement from the public safety panel. 

Culbertson believes that it was the council members' consideration of Outlaw Cigar's contributions that led to its nomination. 

Outlaw Cigars holds monthly events for various charities that often draw around 2,000 guests. The store has partnered with several organizations, including the American Red Cross, Bikers for Babies and the Wounded Warrior Project. Culberstson specifically targets people who serve his community and his country; the store hosts many charitable events for the police and fire departments, and sends cigars and other gifts to U.S. soldiers deployed overseas. 

"I think this is a model that every cigar store should follow," said Culbertson. "Whenever your state is talking about a ban or raising tobacco taxes, if you are invaluable to your community, then they [may] spare you big harm."

Cigar Aficionado #13 Cigar for 2008

This is a cigar that I have enjoyed often, just haven't blogged about it yet. These cigars are wonderful and not surprizing it made the list.  When I saw that it made the top 25 list, I thought I'd let the pros describe it...

Pete Johnson’s Cabaiguan line was first rated in 2006. It did well, but not great, scoring in the upper 80s. The cigars were quite different from Johnson’s acclaimed Tatuaje line, using light-hued Connecticut-seed wrappers instead of the dark Nicaraguan wrappers of the Tatuajes. Then he added a fat cigar called the Guapo, made with a darker wrapper and blended somewhat stronger, and the scores rose. The Guapo is an intriguing smoke from its appearance alone—the ultra fat smoke has a pigtail tip, something typically reserved for slim cigars. Made by Pepin Garcia (originally in Miami, now in Nicaragua), the cigars have meaty, leathery flavors complemented by coffee and chocolate notes. 

MADE BY: Tabacalera Cubana S.A.
FACTORY LOCATION: Nicaragua
WRAPPER: Ecuador
BINDER: Nicaragua
FILLER: Nicaragua
PRICE: $11.00
RING GAUGE: 54
LENGTH: 5 5/8"
RATING: 92

Cigar Aficionado #8 Cigar for 2008

I have tried several Lanceros lately and am impressed with the size and flavor.  You really do get to enjoy the flavor of the wrap more, you just have to smoke it slower and cooler.  

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Lanceros, long revered by smokers of Cuban cigars, have lately become a hot size in the United States. Cigarmakers have responded with amazing thin smokes, none finer than the Don Pepin Garcia Lancero, made by Jose “Pepin” Garcia at his tiny El Rey de los Habanos factory in Miami. The fabrica is one of the world’s smallest, with all of a dozen rollers. 

Garcia makes many brands for other companies; Don Pepin is one of his own, and his oldest—he began making it in 2003. The lancero is a new size for the line, introduced in May. The cigar is exquisitely crafted from a core of Nicaraguan tobacco and finished with a leaf from Ecuador. The cigar is ultra sweet from the first puff, tremendously rich and flavorful. Although his favorite size to smoke is a robusto, Garcia excels at the lancero format. 

MADE BY: El Rey de los Habanos Inc.
FACTORY LOCATION: U.S.A.
WRAPPER: Ecuador
BINDER: Nicaragua
FILLER: Nicaragua
PRICE: $9.00
RING GAUGE: 38
LENGTH: 7 1/2"
RATING: 93

Cigar Aficionado #1 Cigar for 2008

Manuel Quesada has been making cigars since 1974. His original cigars were mild bodied, most of them a blend of Dominican filler and binder tobaccos cloaked with light Connecticut-seed wrappers. His latest endeavors are bolder, more vibrant smokes. The Casa Magna is his greatest innovation. He joined forces with Nicaragua’s largest grower of cigar tobacco, Nestor Plasencia, and created this blend in Plasencia’s Segovia Cigar factory. The line of five cigars saw first light in the summer at an industry trade show and the entire brand was initially reviewed in the August 26 Cigar Insider. Standing above the other sizes was the robusto, a stubby cigar with a bold heart of Cuban-seed tobacco, all of it grown in two very different regions of Nicaragua: tobacco from Estelí (the area where most Nicaraguan cigars are produced) tends to be strong, while that grown in Jalapa, to the north, is typically more balanced and elegant. Together they combine to create a full-flavored cigar, full of rich coffee notes and balanced by a cedary sweetness with a hint of raisins. 

Best of all is the price: at only $5.25, this superb smoke is less expensive than all but one cigar on this list (No. 23, which is a nickel cheaper.) The word “Colorado” in the brand name refers to the dark, slightly reddish hue of the wrapper, and is a hint that Quesada will expand this line to more styles. It will be hard to improve upon this.

MADE BY: Segovia Cigars (Nestor Plasencia)
FACTORY LOCATION: Nicaragua
WRAPPER: Nicaragua
BINDER: Nicaragua
FILLER: Nicaragua
PRICE: $5.25
RING GAUGE: 52
LENGTH: 5 1/2"
RATING: 93

Perdomo Lot 23

Churchill 7x50 

One of the best farms Perdomo has is called Lot 23. It sat unused, until Nick Perdomo, Sr. decided it was time to use the fertile land that had sat fallow for so long. In September of 2000 an exceptional Cuban seed crop was grown on Lot 23 and plans were made to release a new cigar using the tobacco grown from this phenomenal harvest. The tobacco was fermented from January of 2001 until January 2002. The leaves from Lot 23 were hand selected by Perdomo, Sr. and Jr. and then aged for over 3 years in bales. After being rolled Perdomo Lot 23 is aged an additional 6 months. 
 
Perdomo Lot 23 became a very special project for Nick Perdomo, Jr. after his father passed in 2004, and the fulfillment of a dream crop was left to him. Lot 23 is the realization of that dream. Perdomo Lot 23 is an amazing cigar, medium to full-bodied the Cuban seed tobacco, used as filler and binder, gives the cigar loads of spice and a deep, earthy flavor with a hint of hazelnut. The silky, dark brown Ecuadorian grown Connecticut wrapper also gives the cigar balance and a creamy finish, making Lot 23 a smooth but full-flavored cigar. Perdomo believes Lot 23 meets his father’s strict expectations of quality and now Perdomo Lot 23 stands as a tribute to a father and son’s vision.

Padron Serie 1926 40th Anniversary

Torpedo 54 x 6 1/2 Nicaraguan Puro $27.50

What a way to start the New Year!  This cigar has been aging in my box for 3 years and thought that kicking off 2009 was a great opportunity to enjoy this.  The age added a little more depth to the flavor and strength over '26s I've enjoyed in the past. It is a full bodied smoke that is not meant for the novice cigar smoker. This smoke is packed full of flavor and strength. It is a complex smoke with flavors ranging from pepper, cocoa and coffee.

As you are aware, these smokes were produced to commemorate the 75th Birthday of Jose O. Padron, founder.  It is a Nicaraguan Puro that contains tobacco from 5 different regions of the country. It is masterfully crafted with a box pressed finish. Absolutely one of the best cigars crafted this decade.  

So here is to a great 2009 and some great cigars! I have a couple more of these aging and would love to have a reason to celebrate with them, I think '09 will give me that opportunity!