Matthias Clock

About Matthias Clock

Brand evangelist, digital marketer, cigar and spirits expert specializing in consumer tasting and educational events. Matthias made the long trek from his hometown of Portland, Oregon to New York City in 2007, and in nine years has hosted more than 120 events and helped promote and launch dozens of cigar and whiskey brands in the U.S. In 2016, he joined the Cigar Journal Tasting Panel, blind-reviewing pre and new release cigars.

Posts by Matthias Clock:

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China’s Cigar Bar Trend Hits Luxury Hotels

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The Compass Bar. Photo courtesy of The Peninsula Shanghai/VFM Leonardo Inc.

Forbes recently ran an article on the rising popularity of premium cigars in China, and we also posted an article about how more than 1/3 of the world’s cigar smokers are now Chinese.

Long Bar. Photo courtesy of Hilton Worldwide.

So now, even more good news for Chinese cigar smokers. It looks like The Peninsula Shanghai, The St. Regis Beijing, Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, and the Mandarin Oriental are all now sporting quality cigar bars (photos). I’ll leave the rest to the actual article, but now I know where I’ll be spending most of my time if I ever spend significant time in China!

Click here to read the article on Forbes.

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Wine Recommendation: the Lot 49 Reisling

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photo courtesy sipology

Josh over at Sipology just released a review of the Chateau Grant Traverse Lot 49 Riesling that you might consider reading, and perhaps even buying the next time you are out shopping for a white wine. His description sounds pretty enticing, reading:

“On the palate: Full-bodied. Rock candy, bartlett pear, crème brûlée, white mulberry. Finish: Meyer lemon, grilled peach, angelica.”

I’m fairly new to the world of wine, but I have come to the conclusion that I enjoy Rieslings, so this is one I will definitely keep my eye out for. At about $22 per bottle, it doesn’t break the bank either.

Read the full review here.

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Cigar Review: El Tiante Habano Rosado

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El Tiante Habano Rosado

FTNYC received these cigars for review from an exclusive El Tiante event at the Nat Sherman Townhouse a few months ago. We’ve already reviewed the El Tiante Habano Oscuro, which I thought was a really fantastic cigar that showed the fingerprints of Don Pepin. This cigar is the Habano Rosado, which I eagerly looked forward to smoking as I’m a big fan of most cigars featuring an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. For this review I’m sitting on my back patio, though the photos were taken near the garden.

Blend Specifics

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Rosado
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Piramide (6×52)

Appearance & Construction

This cigar features a textured brown wrapper, with a few veins, and solid construction that is springy to the touch (but not spongy). The band is a rich, maroon-like red, with “El Tiante” taking center stage, and “Habano Rosado” below. The scent off of the foot is slightly spicy, with hints of sweetness and woody.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

The Habano Rosado opens with a very distinctive spice that brings dry wood to mind. I suspect this dry texture has a lot to do with the rosado wrapper. This holds stready for about an inch, when (just like FTNYC reviewer Kelvin mentioned to me a few weeks ago) an interesting note of peanut comes in, and the smoke transitions to take on a bit more sweetness. In the second third, the sweetness backs off a bit, and the note that is introduced is one I can’t quite place, though it strikes me as somewhat bitter. Throughout the smoke, the burn remained pretty straight, the draw has been good, and the ash was almost snow white. The final third smokes pretty similarly to the second, with the sweetness fading in and out.

Conclusion

The Habano Rosado, though enjoyable, doesn’t match the Habano Oscuro in complexity or enjoyability. It does, however, have great construction and a distinctive flavor profile.

Final Grade: B

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Press Release: Camacho Signs Partnership With The Legendary Mike Ditka

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PINELLAS PARK, Fla., July 27, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Camacho, the world’s boldest cigar and a core brand in the Oettinger Davidoff Group portfolio, is pleased to announce a new partnership with legendary hall of fame football player and coach, Mike Ditka. Under this new partnership, the “Coach” and Camacho will develop a series of new cigar lines carrying the Ditka name, which will be made at Tabacos Rancho Jamastran in Honduras. Ditka will also serve as a brand ambassador at select nationwide events, beginning with the Davidoff Golden Band Awards, which are to be held during this year’s IPCPR trade show in Orlando, FL. The first installment of the Ditka cigar line is set for launch in late 2012, with more releases set to follow in the early part of 2013.

“Ditka is an absolute legend and I cannot express the excitement felt about this new partnership. Coach truly embodies the bold and outspoken spirit of our brand and it’s great to have him as an ambassador and partner moving forward,” said Dylan Austin, Head of Marketing for Camacho.

“If I am going to put my name on something, it’s gotta be the best. The product and the package are outstanding. I am really looking forward to this relationship,” said Mike Ditka.

About Camacho:Founded in 1961 by Simon Camacho, the brand was acquired by the Eiroa family in 1995. Now part of the Oettinger Davidoff Group, Camacho Cigars is one of the key players in the international cigar market. The flagship Camacho brand, made at Rancho Jamastran in Danli, Honduras, is comprised of 11 premium and super-premium line extensions: (super-premium:Diploma)(super-premium:10th Anniversary Corojo)(super-premium:Liberty Series)(super-premium:Triple Maduro(TM), Select) (premium:Corojo)(premium:Connecticut)(premium:Coyolar)(premium:Havana)(premium:SLR and Room101). Camacho Cigars also has 7 core brands, including Baccarat The Game, one of America’s top selling premium cigars. www.camachocigars.com

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New Nat Sherman Bench Collection Now Available

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Looks like Nat Sherman is continuing its big push forward with more new blends. Take a moment and read this release from Michael Herklots’ blog about their newest Bench release. I picked up a few of these the other day and a review will be forthcoming.
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La Aurora, the Dominican Republic’s oldest cigar factory, has teamed up with Nat Sherman to offer two very special cigars to the Tobacconist’s loyal customers at their Flagship Townhouse Store.
These cigars were manufactured in 2007 in their Dominican factory.  The blends were part of the development of the La Aurora Excepcionales, a cigar made exclusively available to a small group of New York City retailers.
“We had three blends we really liked”, said Michael Herklots, who worked closely with La Aurora’s Manuel Inoa on the project.  “Ultimately we chose a blend for the Excepcionales, but there were two other blends that we really liked and decided to make a very small production of them to use sometime in the future.” On a recent visit to La Aurora, Herklots inquired about the small production of the other two blends.  And, fortunately for Nat Sherman, they were resting in the company’s vast aging room.
La Aurora agreed to make the small amount of cigars avialable for Nat Sherman’s exclusive Bench Collection- a series of small production cigars that use harder-to-get tobaccos in more artisenal style blends.
Both cigars are available in limited quantities boxes of 20 cigars
L-IDD
Format: Lancero
Size: 6.5″ x 40
Wrapper:  Indonesia
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
$140 + Applicable Taxes
B-IDD
Format: Belicoso
6″ x 52
Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
$160 + Applicable Taxes
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