Not to be confused with its Cuban counterpart, Fonseca Cigars is also a Dominican company which produces smokes in the mild to medium bodied range. With the Fonseca Vintage, Manuel Quesada blended a cigar to produce a richer, medium bodied smoke utilizing an Ecuadorian wrapper and Dominican fillers. Manuel has produced some fine cigars of […]
There’s a certain kind of excitement that comes from opening a package full of Cuban cigars, especially from legendary brands like Montecristo, H Upmann, or Ramon Allones, the brand behind the cigar up for review today. There isn’t a cigar smoker alive in the USA who isn’t aware of the reputation Cuban cigars have as […]
Oscar Valladares has crafted some fine cigars under his own brands along with his premium LEAF by Oscar line. I have been fortunate enough to smoke several of his blends and have always found them unique and enjoyable. The Island Jim by Oscar #2 Torpedo is a blend created for a tobacco retailer Jim Robinson. There is […]
Up for review today is Yellow Rose from Crowned Heads. Following on the heels of Hawaii-exclusive and Tennessee-exclusive releases,the Yellow Rose was blended and released specifically for the Texas market. The name “Yellow Rose” fittingly refers to an old Texan folk song called “The Yellow Rose of Texas” that dates back to the early 1800’s. It’s […]
Up for review today is the newest from Montecristo (Altadis)—the Montecristo Nicaragua Series. The cigar was originally released in 2018, and we had the luck of hosting the New York launch of that event at The Carnegie Club (more about that event here). If “Nicaragua Series” sounds familiar, there’s a reason for it. Many traditionally DR-focused […]
Up for review today is a discontinued line from Matt Booth and Room101 called “The Big Payback.” I actually wasn’t aware of the cigar in its hayday, but my friend (and FTNYC event regular) Kevin generously gave me one of his last singles to review. Thanks Kevin! Though currently unavailable, The Big Payback Connecticut was […]
What do you think of when you think about “Trinidad Cigars”? A Cuban cigar brand? The island? Until recently, the brand brought up almost nothing in my mind, save a few bad experiences with some Dominican versions in my early years of smoking. So when Eddy Guerra, Sr. Brand Manager at Altadis told me that […]
2018 was a fantastic year for new releases in the cigar industry. We saw some excellent portfolio additions at major companies like General Cigar and Altadis, as well as some very good boutique releases (see our Top 10 of 2018 here). But, it’s a new year, and that means there is an internet’s worth of […]