Nice Ash!

There were lots of planned events at IPCPR this year but sometimes the best moments happen when it’s not planned. One night I was sitting with Mike Nelson and Bill Campbell (from Leaf and Ale in Knoxville, TN) at Don Leoncio’s cigar bar, the place was packed as it was every other night while we were there. The night before I’d stumbled into Big Easy Daiquiris next door and enjoyed a Hurricane or two (OK, three) and really enjoyed chatting with the bartenders while puffing away on a cigar. I mentioned to Mike and Bill that we should head over there so we began working our way through the crowd. We found a table at the back and sat down and Steve Boyajian and Josh Sarkella (Miami Cigars) joined us, we were the only ones there and the AC was feeling good after being in the sticky New Orleans air. We toasted to good cigars and great friends and chatted amongst ourselves.

We figured we were in a fairly out of the way spot but after about 5 minutes I looked up and Don Pepin Garcia was walking in, followed by Jaime and Janny as well as Guillermo Leon, Jose Ortega and many of their friends. As they found a table we started chatting with Jose Ortega as he worked on his long ash on a La Reloba – he mentioned he was starting to smoke the band but didn’t want to take it off and lose the ash. The ash apparently heard his comment as seconds later it fell to it’s death on the concrete floor. After a few more minutes of chit-chat one of Pepin’s friends came around with a case of Heineken and began passing out drinks to everyone – time for another toast and a photo opp. This is when we met the beautiful Arielle of La Sirena cigars, she saw us taking the picture and said she wanted to be in it with us. Thanks Arielle, I think we may have looked like a police line-up otherwise.

Everyone was having a great time chatting, drinking, eating and taking pictures when we hear someone start singing. I couldn’t tell what song it was as my Español is very limited, but I was definitely in the minority as many other joined in. Turns out the crooner was Pepin himself, and he was joined by Guillermo Leon and everyone else at the table with them. They sang a couple songs and when it came to Guantanamera I was able to sing one or two lines with them. Fortunately my trusty iPhone was with me and I was able to get some video, we had a great time and it was a lot of fun to spend time with these cigar makers ‘off the clock’ and relaxing with friends. I enjoyed all the events at IPCPR but being at a wobbly table in the back room of a daiquiri bar at the right time provided the most memorable.

Miami, FL – Drew Estate officially announced its intent to release into the market the much-heralded “Dirty Rat” during the IPCPR 2010 tradeshow as the first cigar within its new Liga Privada Ünico Serie. Ünico, which translates to “unique”, will be a new line of special cigars that fit in neither the existing No. 9 nor T52 lines.  According to Steve Saka, Drew Estate’s President, “At this point, we have made 200 or more Liga Privada blends.

There are probably 9 or 10 of them so far that are exceptional, however their blends differ from both the No. 9 and the T52 branded cigars. They’re cigars that work as a particular size, such as a lancero or corona, with the blend being unique to that particular vitola. The ‘Dirty Rat’ is a great example of this, so we have decided to introduce this as the first cigar in the Ünico line.”

The “Dirty Rat” is a stout 5 inch by 44 ring gauge corona with a fan-twist finished head utilizing their Stalk Cut and Cured, Connecticut Sungrown Habana capa, which is the same wrapper featured on the Liga Privada T52. That is where the similarity ends, as this is a spicier, even more peppery blend of primarily Nicaraguan tobaccos from almost exclusively the Esteli Valley. Packed in a 12-ct presentation box with a suggested retail price of $12 per cigar. “We realize this is expensive for a small format cigar, however due to the difficult nature and time consuming task of proportioning five different filler tobaccos and hand bunching such a complex recipe into a corona size the cigar’s price is a direct reflection of what they actually cost to handcraft,” adds Saka. “I personally love this cigar, to me it is a direct reflection, taste and body wise, of the greatest Cuban-made coronas I have ever enjoyed, however it is likely too strong for most consumers and it is definitely not for those who are concerned with stretching their buying dollar. This ‘Dirty Rat’ is intended for the connoisseur smoker whose first and foremost concern is enjoying an unparalleled smoking experience.”

The “Dirty Rat” will not be a limited release, as some have speculated. Drew Estate intends to produce them in small batches as long as there is a demand for them in the market. The first boxes are currently being packed and shipped from their Nicaraguan factory and can be expected to arrive on the shelves of Liga Privada Appointed Merchants beginning in September 2010.

The Dirty Rat has been a much anticipated release from Drew Estate and samples have been circulating for some time with a simple white band with the words “Dirty Rat” in black letters.  You can see our review of the pre-release Dirty Rat here.

This was my first trip to IPCPR and I’m thrilled that I was able to attend.  There’s no way to cover everything that went on in a blog post or two but the combination of the convention and all the festivities after the show closed each day is something that won’t be forgotten.  I hear that attendance was down this year, but there still seemed to be a decent turnout.  I’m sure most people that read blogs have already seen the basic information on the show so let’s jump in and get to the meat and potatoes of the show… the cigars!  My list is in no way all-inclusive, but I’m sure others around the net will help me fill in the blanks.

IPCPR 2010 New Cigars

• LFD Air Bender Chisel – It’s the Air Bender, in a chisel.  La Flor Dominicana also has a maduro Salomon coming out and a chisel sampler which will have some cigars only available in the sampler.
• Room 101 LTD “Conjura” – Box-pressed with a Rosado wrapper, more full bodied than the regular Room 101. Limited to 12,500 cigars in each of 4 sizes.  I tried an unbanded show sampler size of this one (smaller than the one in the pic) and really enjoyed it.  It’s very full-flavored and had a lot of sweet tobacco and spices in it.  I don’t care for the regular Room 101 line and was surprised by this one, it’s a great smoke.
• Guillermo Leon by Guillermo Leon – Habano wrapper with both a Cameroon and Corojo binder. Fillers from Peru, DR, Nica and Brazil.  I tried this one at a launch party thrown by Guillermo Leon, all attendees were give a very nice 4 pack sampler.  I can’t give a lot of details on the smoke as I was kind of in sensory overload at the party.  I can say that I enjoyed it and will try
• EP Carrillo Core Line – I don’t have much info on this one just yet.
• Nestor Miranda Art Deco – Made for Nestor Miranda by Pepin. 60% Nicaraguan Corojo and 40% Dominican San Vicente. Dual binders with a Nicaraguan Corojo ’06 wrapper. Had one of these at the show and really enjoyed it.
• Illusione Singulare 2010 – Not a ton of info on this one. It’s an LE, it’s 6 x 50″ and the size is called “The Phantom”.  It is a milder cigar, Dion said it is at about 45 days right now and after 90-days it opens up and at 120 days it phenomenal.   I’ll have to get some more of these – no way I can wait another 2 months to smoke it.
• Viaje 50/50 Red (Mild to Medium) – Follow up to the original 50/50, not as strong.  This was a good smoke but it went totally dead on me at the halfway point (perhaps where the tobaccos changed?) and I had to fight to get it relit, once relit it burnt very well.  I didn’t notice a transition in strength.  I’ll need to smoke more of these before I can give a fair assessment.
• Drew Estate Dirty Rat – It made it!  For a long time there was a lot of underground buzz on this cigar and whether or not it would go into production.  DE had this one on display at the show and the presentation is awesome.  Expected retail on this is about $12.00, high for a corona, but is due to the methods used in making the cigar in this size.  I’ve had the pre-production samples and I will be in for a box of these.
• Torano Family Single Region – First in a series from Torano. Made entirely from tobaccos from one farm or ‘finca’, this years release is from the El Estero in Jalapa region of Nicaragua.
• CAO La Traviata Maduro – Another great value cigar from CAO.  If you like the regular La Traviata… and you like maduro cigars… well, you get the idea.  I tried this one courtesy of Jon Huber on the show floor and it enjoyed it quite a bit.
• Macanudo Cru Royale – Buzz at the show is this is the best stick they’ve ever made, lots of non-Macanudo fans said it was good.  I haven’t had a chance to try this one yet.

I’ll add more reviews of these cigars soon, I’m smoking as fast as I can people!  I met a lot of great people at the show and there were some people that worked almost non-stop to get excellent coverage of the show.  Check out some of the great videos, reviews and write-ups on these blogs:

Stogie Review
Smoke Signals
In With Bacchus
A Cigar Smoker’s Journal
Nice Tight Ash
Smoking Hot Cigar Chick

Also need to send a thank you to my friend Stephen Boyajian.  Steve owns CigarFriendly.us, a directory of cigar friendly locations around the world.  It’s an excellent resource for any cigar smoker that travels.  Find locations or add your favorites to the listings.  In addition to CigarFriendly, Steve and I are working on a few other sites that we hope will be useful to cigar smokers, more info on that to come.

Churchill's Cigar Bar aboard Queen Victoria

Reading forum posts recently I came across  some great information about smoking and cruises.  I know a lot of cigar smokers travel and thought this would be great information to share.  Thanks to Krishna on Cigar Outcast for posting this and to Linda Coffman for permission to repost some of her original article.  You can find the full original article on her site, CruiseDiva.com.

I’ve listed below the policies on smoking on many cruise lines, where cigar-specific information was given that is listed as well.  Linda mentions you should never smoke in an elevator, on stairways or in corridors.  A good rule of thumb is is there’s an ashtray around, you can smoke but if there is food served nearby you generally can’t.

Carnival Cruise Lines
Cigars: Cigar smoking is allowed only in cigar lounges and designated areas on open decks.

Celebrity Cruises
Cigars: Cigars are allowed only in designated sections of the open decks.

Costa Cruises
Cigars: Cigar smoking is allowed only in designated areas, including cigar lounges and on open decks.

Crystal Cruises
Cigars: Cigars (and pipes) are allowed in the Connoisseur Club and most open decks.

Cunard Line
Cigars: Cigars (and pipes) are permitted in cigar lounges, as well as on designated areas of open decks.

Disney Cruises
Where to Smoke: Cabin balconies and designated starboard-side open deck areas (including near the adults-only pool).

Holland America Line
Where to Smoke: Cabins, private balconies, casinos, and in designated areas of bars, lounges, and open decks.

MSC Cruises
Where to Smoke: In Cigar rooms, casinos, one dedicated lounge, and designated areas on open decks.

Norwegian Cruise Line
Where to Smoke: Cabins, private balconies, casinos, cigar lounges, and designated areas on open decks.

Oceania Cruises
Where to Smoke: Smoking is permitted only in the aft port side of Horizons, and the starboard forward section of the outdoor Pool Deck.

Princess Cruises
Cigars: Cigar smoking is allowed only in cigar lounges and on open decks; pipe smoking is allowed on open decks.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises
Cigars: Cigar smoking is permitted in the Connoisseur Club on Seven Seas Mariner, Navigator, and Voyager, and in designated areas of open decks. Pipe smoking is permitted only in the Connoisseur Club on those ships and is prohibited on other ships.

Royal Caribbean
Cigars: Cigar and pipe smoking is only permitted within the cigar lounge. If no cigar lounge exists on the ship, there will be a designated area for pipe and cigar smoking

Seabourn Cruise Line
Cigars: Cigar and pipe smoking are allowed only in designated areas on open decks after 9pm.

SeaDream Yacht Club
Where to Smoke: Outdoors on Decks 3, 4 and 6.

Silversea Cruises
Cigars: Cigar and pipe smoking is permitted in cigar lounges and designated areas on outside decks.

Windstar Cruises
Cigars: Cigar and pipe smoking are allowed only on designated outside deck areas.

Linda also mentions that cruise lines that have experimented with non-smoking cruises have not done so for long.  The ships that are non-smoking do not match the revenue of the ships that allow smoking.  Good news for cigar lovers, at least for now we can still enjoy a cigar on most cruises.  Bon Voyage!

LINKS
Cigar Outcast Cigar Forum
CruiseDiva.com online cruise travel guide

Garcia y Vega Game Green

Here I have a lovely little 2-pack I picked up at my B&M, errrrrr… the gas station.  Since these were behind the counter it was difficult for me to choose which one to get, I asked the clerk what flavors he had and he said “wine, vanilla, green and peach”. Oh yes, I have to see what flavor “green” is.  I’ll take a pack of those. So with a smile on my face and great anticipation I took my Game Green cigars, 1 gallon of gas, pack of beef jerky and caffeine free Diet Coke and headed out. Sweet…

Once the evening eHerf rolled around I couldn’t wait to try one of these – at first it was a toss up between a DPG Blue and the Game Green but then I said “Wait, what am I thinking? I’ve – got – GAME!” So, I tore the top tab off the pouch, unsnapped the ziploc top (they are recloseable to retain freshness) and slid one of these beauties out.  The first thing you notice is the amazingly green wrapper, they say it is a quick-cured candela but I suspect it may have been aged in left over nuclear waste barrels.

WOW! I repeat… WOW! The aroma of this is hard to describe, even harder to type as it was burning my eyes as well as my nose. Picture this… an MMA fighter wraps his hands in tape then dips them in nutmeg, honey, pancake syrup and pecans then repeatedly punches you in the mouth, nose and eye sockets – that is probably as close as you can get to the sensation of smelling a Game Green cigar.

Toasting the foot of this cigar is really not necessary, as soon as you touch it with the flame it lights up like an oil-soaked rag.  I took a couple puffs on the Game and I really and truly can’t describe the sensation that I got, let’s just say “not good”.

Smoking this was like taking it to the next level of pain.  This cigar is just, just… wrong.  The sugary-sweet, diesel-fuely, pecanness of this cigar is insane.  Why would Garcia OR Vega do this to me, much less Garcia Y Vega??? Those scoundrels.

Let’s review what we’ve got here…
Filler: Cleveland
Binder: Detroit
Wrapper: Chernobyl
Size 4 1/2″ x 32RG
Cutter: No cutter needed, the extremely phallic cigar already has a hole in the head… umm, cap.
Drink: I recommend bleach.

SUMMARY
These cigars should be made illegal and the folks and Garcia y Vega should be beaten to make sure they don’t do this again. There is no reason under the sun that any human should ever smoke one of these – unless you are stranded in the wilderness in Montana and you are attempting to leave a scent trail that bloodhounds can pick up from 100 miles away.

HAPPY APRIL FOOL’S DAY! HAVE FUN!