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.

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Event Recap: Refugio Cigar House Grand Opening

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Refugio Cigar House Grand Opening!

This Saturday, FineTobaccoNYC members joined my good friend Mike Lopez and the rest of Brooklyn in welcoming Refugio Cigar House to the New York City cigar scene. The night was full of cigars, wine, liquor, music, new friends, old friends, and a great raffle. Business partners Mike Lopez, Carlos Velasquez, and Angel Lugo built Refugio to be, you guessed it, a refuge for the New York City cigar lover. The lounge is styled around Cuban revolution of the 50’s, with military green walls, red trim, and black upholstery all around.  There are still a few adjustments to be made in the new lounge, but the space was more than sufficient for the event and everyone had a great time.

Refugio Cigar House on Lorimer St.

The grand-prize raffle item!

The event started at 6pm and ran until roughly midnight. Drinks were on the house, and the owners of Refugio collaborated to bring in food from local shops all over the neighborhood including some great Brooklyn pizza (the best!), fresh fruit, and other snack items.

A picture with the owners!

The special Refugio Cigar House line was debuted at the event, and cigars were complimentary to all guests of the grand opening. I was able to taste three, and really enjoyed the Dominican/Honduran double-wrapped robusto that they had in stock. During the first hour, the guests started arriving, including a few from SocialCigar that happened to see the event invite online. There were also plenty of curious locals of the Williamsburg area that stopped in, grabbed a smoke and sat down to enjoy the festivities.

The party picks up

By 8:00pm, the party was in full effect. There were too many people to count, which was ok because that just meant more people to meet. At around 10:30pm, champagne was passed around and Mike proposed a toast to officially launch the lounge. There were cheers all around. Then, the owners held a massive raffle where first place took home the beautiful humidor pictured below.  Second and third place raffle winners took home a sampler pack of Refugio cigars.  As luck would have it, both FTNYC contributing writer Guy and I won, so we’ll have plenty of cigars to smoke and sample for the next few weeks!

Time for a toast!

I was having so much fun I didn’t get a head count, but you can get an idea for just how big the crowd was – at least 60, probably more at one moment, with well over a hundred overall. I was sad a few fellow FTNYCers that RSVP’d weren’t able to make it, but Mike Lopez brought the family so there were plenty of people to meet.  FineTobaccoNYC will definitely be holding more events at Refugio Cigar House in the future, so if you are interested head over to our events page and sign up for the event mailing list! I would also recommend dropping by the lounge in the near future to meet the owners and kick it back with a cigar.

On behalf of FTNYC and its subscribers, I’d like to thank the owners of Refugio Cigar House for the great event. Refugio Cigar House is located at 635 Lorimer St Brooklyn, NY 11211, right by the Lorimer St. subway stop (L and G trains).  Refugio will also be launching their website soon, which can be bookmarked here.

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Saturday Cigar Survey: How Big is Your Cigar Collection?

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First, a thanks to @KelvinB for his suggestion for this week’s Saturday Cigar Survey! This week’s survey is a simple inquiry about the average online cigar smoker. How many do you have in your personal stock at any point in time?  Most cigar smokers will start with a few cigars on hand, realize they need a humidor and buy a 25-100 cigar humidor. From there, who knows?  I’ve got my eyes on a much larger humidor (300 count), though I won’t be able to afford it as long as I’m in college.

[polldaddy poll=4429912]

The results from last week’s survey regarding whether or not Cuban cigars are overrated. Of course, the statement itself is a bit of a generalization, but people have strong feelings on the subject.  The result of the survey was that 70% (14 votes) of participants found Cuban cigars to be overrated (as compared to their Dominican, Nicaraguan, etc counterparts).  30% (6 votes) claimed Cuban cigars are worth the hype.  You can view and vote in last week’s survey by clicking here.

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Refugio Cigar House Grand Opening Event!

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(Read the event invite here)

The past few years have seen a wave of new lounges opening (Caballeros, Maraya, and Diamante’s to name a few), each lounge adding its own unique touch to the New York cigar scene. Still, options are few when it comes to finding a good place to smoke during the cold winter months, so the addition of a new establishment is always exciting.

That said, I am pleased to announce that New York City cigar enthusiasts are gaining another shop to buy and smoke cigars. The newest addition to the New York City smoking lounge family is Refugio Cigar House, located in Brooklyn just off of the L, or G train at the Lorimer St. stop.  The lounge boasts plenty of space, member humidors, and its own line of cigars (which I have yet to taste). Mike Lopez, a good friend of mine, is the owner of the establishment. In early January, I was able to take a look at the shop before it was renovated.  There wasn’t much set up, but I did notice that the shop is at a great location, and that the high ceilings should make for a really great atmosphere.

Refugio Cigar House will be officially open for business next week. However, this Saturday (the 22nd) at 6:00pm – 11:00pm, Refugio Cigar House and FineTobaccoNYC are throwing a grand opening party.  All FineTobaccoNYC readers are welcome to attend.

There will be great attractions at this event! You can find all of the details by clicking on the link below:

FineTobaccoNYC invite to the Refugio Cigar House grand opening

Cigar Review: Diamond Crown Robusto #3

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Diamond Crown Robusto #3

While I was home for the holidays, a good friend of mine gave me a handful of cigars to taste and review. The Diamond Crown Robusto #3 that you see above is one of them. You may not have heard of Diamond Crown, but it is, in the words of its Public Relations officers, a “super-premium cigar.” I’d describe the production background of this cigar, but the Diamond Crown website does it better than I could with my limited knowledge. The website says that “Diamond Crown cigars are handmade by the Fuente family with an exclusive Connecticut Fermented Wrapper (CFW) selected from the highest grade of silky, smooth, Connecticut Shade leaves. Unlike almost all other wrappers that are fermented once, Diamond Crown’s CFW wrapper is fermented twice to develop a light rosado color and Diamond Crown’s sweet, smooth, rich flavor.”

I smoked this cigar late Sunday night at Velvet Cigar Lounge, located on Manhattan’s Lower East Side on 7th St. between 1st and 2nd Avenue.

Specifics:

  • Wrapper: Connecticut Shade-Grown
  • Binder: Dominican
  • Filler: Dominican

 

Appearance & Construction:

The light brown wrapper is very smooth and slightly oily. Veins are very minimal, and the gold, maroon, and white band is attractive. The draw is perfect, and the cigar is firm but springy to the touch. Not a lot of smell off of the wrapper, and hints of grass and woodiness off of the foot.

Taste & Smoking Characteristics:

The cigar opens with notes of woodiness, some grass, and faint sweetness. About an inch in, a slight savoriness enters the mix. The cigar produces an adequate but not ideal amount of smoke, but I’m guessing that will correct as I work through the cigar. About 25 minutes smoking proves the prediction true.  The ash is light grey and the burn stays razor sharp throughout the smoke. At about two-thirds, the sweetness disappears almost completely, leaving very mild flavors of grass and natural tobacco.  The final third picks up the body of the smoke as well as the sweetness. Watch out for the last inch or so, the heat might pick up quickly.

Conclusion:

At $13 a stick, this cigar isn’t cheap. Still, it is an excellent smoke, and because I don’t usually dwell in the land of mild and smooth cigars, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this smoke to someone looking to purchase a quality cigar. This stick actually reminds me a bit of the Don Diego Playboy, though it is in my opinion more well-balanced.

Final Grade: B+

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