, , ,

Event Recap: Cut & Light/Sip & Smoke @ Refugio Cigar House

0 0 3.8k

David Alicea hosts “Cut & Light”

On Friday, June 22 2012, Fine Tobacco NYC sponsored “Cut and Light & Sip and Smoke” at the lounge where it began – Refugio Cigar House. At the Cut & Light event, a good gathering of about 30 brothers and sisters of the leaf enjoyed premium cigars at Refugio Cigar House paired with scotch. The evening filled with conversation about life, spirits, and cigars.

At the event, FTNYC event coordinator and cigar broker David Alicea gave a brief talk about cigars. Alicea discussed the cigar process, the anatomy of a cigar, and the importance of Spanish cedar in aging cigars. David Bailey, spirits connoisseur and member of New York G&S, spoke in depth about scotch and how to pair it with cigars.

Attendees began the tasting with the Macallan 10 Year Fine Oak and ended with Ledaig 10 Year.

To receive exclusive invitations to all of our events, submit your name and email to our event mailing list and come enjoy exclusive cigars and meet like minded cigar smokers from all over New York City.

You can view photos from the event on our Facebook page.

, ,

Cigar Review: Padron 2000 Maduro

1 0 6.0k
Padron 2000 Maduro

It is a pleasure to review this Padron 2000 Maduro. David Alicea, FTNYC Event Coordinator and cigar broker, likes to say that one of the dreams of most serious cigar smokers is to find the perfect $5 cigar that you can smoke every day and not get bored. With respect, I’d like to say that the Padron 2000 is, for me, that cigar (right now anyway). Below is the review.

Blend specifics
Size: 5×50
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Appearance & Construction
The first thing the regular cigar smoker will notice about the Padron 2000 is the bumpiness of the cigar. After smoking 10-20 of these cigars, it is a fairly consistent quality. Don’t let it fool you though – this cigar is well constructed, has a great burn, and almost always a good draw (sometimes it’s a bit tight). The stick sports the traditional Padron band. The prelight draw releases a bit of spice, natural tobacco, and coffee.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics
The 2000 opens up with the spice and coffee typical of the 2, 3, 6, and 7000 blends, but you’ll find that, though it is still bold, is a bit more laid back than its larger counterparts. As the cigar progresses, I’ve found that it steadily builds, adding notes of roasted nuts, dark chocolate, and leather. A really nice flavor profile.

What I find most impressive about the 2000, however, is its balance. Unlike the 6000 and 7000, it won’t overwhelm your palate and dry your mouth out, though I would still recommend pairing this cigar with a drink (for this review, I paired dark coffee).

Conclusion
For the price, this cigar is very, very hard to beat. It is one of the few cigars that I would consider purchasing a box, or multiple boxes. The 2000 is the perfect blend of strength, spice, flavor, and profile, all while maintaining an excellent smoothness of texture.

This cigar is available at Nat Sherman on 42nd and 5th ave. for around $5. A killer deal – I recommend dropping by and picking a few up soon.

Final grade: A+

, , , ,

Why the Trend Towards Big Ring-Gauge Cigars?

0 0 9.8k
Is this what we’ll be smoking in 5 years?

As many New York Cigar smokers know, recent years have seen a huge shift of popularity towards cigars with big ring gauges. My Uzi Weighs a Ton – enough said. BestCigarPrices.com recently took some time on their blog to ask essentially “what accounts for the trend toward larger ring gauge cigars?” The company released a June 18th press release titled “Best Cigar Prices Explores the ‘Big Ring’ Trend in Cigars.”

The release actually just links to a post on the company blog, but I thought it was a pretty fascinating explanation. From the release came three basic reasons for the shift towards large ring gauges:

  1. “Complex flavor: Cigars with a larger ring gauge tend to have a more complex and fuller flavor. This is due to the fact that there is more room to blend together different types of tobacco.
  2. Cooler burn: Thicker cigars burn slower than thinner cigars causing the burn to feel cooler in the mouth. This is because there is more filler exposed to the air. For this reason, a cigar smoker with a heavy draw would benefit from smoking a cigar with a wider ring gauge.
  3. Weight and feel: Some smokers prefer the heavier weight and feel of the larger cigars. Also, smoking a big fat cigar has often been interpreted as a symbol of power or status.”

Do you agree with their assessment? I found it a bit interesting that they didn’t point towards what seems to me at least to be the most obvious reason: fashion.  Cigars are often thought of as hyper-masculine products, and what is more masculine – a large ring gauge cigar or a lancero?  I find a bit more truth in that line of thinking than the reasoning above, but I could be wrong.

One thing I won’t budge on, however, is the closer of the post:

“One thing is for certain, you do get more bang for your buck with these behemoth cigars.”

I guess it really depends on how you define “bang”, but in my book, the amount or length of smoke really isn’t what it’s about. It is about flavor, and as David Alicea could explain to you, smaller ring gauge cigars actually offer a tremendous amount of flavor. And in the long run, I think they’ll be rediscovered, and that the big ring trend will prove to be fleeting.

,

Cigar Wars: Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend

1 0 2.6k
Credit: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call

Who would have guessed it would have taken the FDA becoming the enemy of enjoying anything to get Republicans and Democrats to agree on a course of political action?

An article by Janie Lorber, writing for Roll Call news, does a pretty good job explaining the dynamics and politics of the legislation. It seems that though Democrats and Republicans can’t seem to agree on anything these days, they can agree on one thing: keeping the FDA from destroying the art and enjoyment of cigars.

Lorber notes that almost 200 lawmakers have currently backed a House bill that that would force the government to make a distinction between cigarettes and fine tobacco products like premium cigars.

My favorite part of the article?

“George Cecala, a spokesman for Rep. Bill Posey (R-Fla.), who introduced the bill last year, [said] ‘You have a number of people at the FDA who are bent at chipping away at people’s abilities to enjoy things.'”

Tell me something I don’t already know!

Click here to read the full article.

Follow Janie Lorber @SJLorber

Cigar Wars: An Industry “Up in Smoke”

0 0 3.6k

Finally, cigar smokers are getting a bit more exposure in the press – probably has a bit to do with the massive push my Cigar Rights of America and friends to educate smokers and non-smokers alike on the FDA overreaching in its regulations.

George Koebel from Havana Connections (“Virginia’s Humidor”) gave an interview for Virginia’s WTVR news. Follow this link to watch the interview. Commentary on the interview from http://wtvr.com below.

RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR)- Proposed Food and Drug Administration regulations targeting cigar products could devastate not only the premium cigar industry, but the countries that grow, blend, roll and export the much sought-after products aficionados say.
For instance, you wouldn’t be able to go into a tobacco shop and stroll through the humidor, handling and sniffing cigars from around the world.
“They would come in and potentially look in a catalog and go, hey I want that one,” said George “Shorty” Koebel, owner of Havana Connections in Short Pump.
The regulations could also eliminate single cigar sales, a staple of the business across the country.
“I don’t like it, bottom line,” said Nick Hazly, a cigar aficionado who also works in the business. “I just takes away from your choice, man.”
The list of proposed regulations is long and well-known to many cigar lovers. Bob Markie, sharing an afternoon stogie with the crew at Havana Connections, had the regs on his phone and read some of them out loud.
“Ban on walk-in humidors, self-serve cigar displays,” Markie said. “Mail order cigar sales, limit cigar marketing and advertising . . . flavored cigars . . . limit special-release, small-batch cigars, limits on nicotine levels in cigars near zero. Well, that’s going to be fun.”

I’m glad to see more press surrounding what could be the end of the enjoyment of cigars – we’ll just have to see what difference it makes as the FDA deliberates.

«‹ 230 231 232 233›»