In 2021, two master blenders Rafael Nodal and AJ Fernandez combined their skills to honor the Trinidad cigar brand and the nation of Brazil with the Trinidad Espiritu No. 2. The cigar uses Brazilian and Nicaraguan leaf to capture what they feel is the “spirit” of Brazil. The Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper really stands out with […]
Andrew Farkas of Viaje has been creating exciting blends and themes for cigars for over a decade now. I’ve smoked a lot of these cleverly marketed smokes since Viaje first came on the scene. I enjoy the core lines Andrew has available as well as some of the more limited releases that range from Halloween, […]
This year marks the 10th Anniversary of the Quesada Oktoberfest cigar. The cigar was created a decade ago to be paired with beer and malty beverages in honor of the Oktoberfest held in Munich Germany. I was fortunate to smoke the first release at Oktoberfest in Munich a decade ago and it indeed paired well with […]
Talk about a blind review! There is little out there in terms of information regarding the Caminos El Retiro. They have a Facebook page and a website where you can buy their cigars although do not offer much else. It’s a Dominican puro that is in a robusto format and looks quite weighty. Like I […]
Altadis U.S.A released a limited-edition Nicaraguan cigar beginning this year under the Romeo y Julieta trademark named Eternal in celebration of the 145th year of the Romeo y Julieta brand. Through the collaboration between Plasencia and Rafael Nodal, the Eternal is built to be a masterpiece. This Nicaraguan puro cigar only utilizes tobacco from the […]
ACE Prime Cigars founded by Luciano Meirelles has been making cigar lines at the Tabacalera Pichardo Factory in Nicaragua. I have only smoked a few from this fairly new company and I’ve thus far have been impressed with the tobacco and blend, in particular their tasty lancero Luciano The Dreamer. One of the latest blends […]
Quesada cigars makes not only some choice lines, but their factory creates blends for many other brands as well. I’ve enjoyed much that comes from them in addition to the companies they’ve worked with. The Quesada 1974 honors the year their factory opened in the Dominican Republic. This toro is a new size to the […]
Davidoff released their third installment of the Chef Edition this year. This time Davidoff assembled an elite team of 4 world-renowned chefs who share the same value highlighting the focus on purity of the ingredients, local sourcing, sustainability, and attention to detail and quality. The following chefs created the 2021 Chefs Edition along with Davidoff’s Master Blenders: […]
Noel Rojas has created blends for brands such as Ezra Zion, Stolen Throne, Nomad, and several others. What really intrigued me is Rojas began by blending smaller gauge cigars bucking, the trend of 60 plus size smokes that are the fashion these days. That drew me into trying cigars he was commissioned to make, and […]
If you’ve been following the cigar scene for the last few years, you’ll know that cigar marketing is getting more and more creative, especially among boutique producers. The latest Blackbird Cigars release, an LCA exclusive, is The Vince. Named for Tom Cruises’ character in the Martin Scorsese film The Color Of Money, this cigar stands […]
In the cigar world, collaborations are not uncommon. There are blenders working with other blenders, celebrity projects, even Chef’s having their palates challenged to create a cigar accenting the flavors they create at their restaurants (Davidoff Chef’s Edition comes to mind). Of course, cigars created to pair with spirits seems to be the biggest “no […]
In mid-November, Matthias joined Rob on the Cigar Talk Podcast to talk about Fine Tobacco NYC, how the team has built the cigar community in NYC, and the general history of the organization. They also talked about the trend of micro-batch “meme” cigars, irresponsible cigar marketing, etc. About Cigar Talk Podcast: Lite up a cigar, […]