General Cigar is doing something very interesting with the release of The Benji Menendez Partagas Master Series Majestuoso. A series of events are being held in major cities throughout the United States and they are giving invite codes to several cigar related websites. Unfortunately the nearest event is quite a hike for me. Any ideas on how to convince the wife I need to go to Chicago for a cigar event?

Anyway, each of the codes is good for 50 people per location so if you can make it sign up. You’ll be sent an email 36 hours before the event with details on the location.

Head over to BenjiMenendezSocial.com and enter the code for your city. If you get a chance to attend and get some pictures send them my way. And let us know how the cigar is.

Dallas, TX      Nov. 17, 2009, from 6-8 p.m.    FFD6AF9

Los Angeles, CA Dec. 1, 2009, from 6-8 p.m.     2FA60F6

Las Vegas, NV   Dec. 3, 2009, from 6-8 p.m.     25E5F58

Chicago, IL     Dec. 8, 2009, from  6-8:30 p.m. 15AC33C

New York, NY    Dec. 15, 2009, from 6-8 p.m.    E8F7EC4

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I was kind of skeptical when I first started hearing about this cigar. Probably one of the first cigar promotions that I’ve seen make heavy use of the Internet as they have. My local shop got them in a few weeks ago so I finally had a chance to give it a try.

The Room101 Cigar is made by Camacho Cigars for Matt Booth. The cigar is a blend of Honduran and Dominican tobacco featuring a Semilla 101 Wrapper grown exclusively for this project. I’m smoking the 305 (Robusto) the size I typically reach for in most cigars.

The cigar is considered medium bodied according to the the Room101 web site, and I’d put it somewhere between medium to full. Camacho cigars have a distinct flavor to them and this one has a touch of that, I’m not sure how to describe it but something about them that I can pick out that is different from other cigars. The cigar starts off with some nice sweet dark chocolate, and leather and a peppery spice picks up through out the first half. Through the 2nd half the pepper hung on even feeling it on my lips a bit, while the sweetness died away. The last third reminded me heavily of a cappuccino, heavy coffee flavors, but still creamy.

Verdict: Typically most hyped up cigars seem to be a bust. This cigar for me lived up to the hype. I’ll be picking up a few more when I get a chance. Available at The Party Source (Call to Order 1-866-78CIGAR)

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• Camacho SLR Maduro Rothschild Cigar Review
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• Cigar Review: CAO Mx2 Robusto
• Cigar Review: Alec Bradley MAXX Traditional Toro
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Cigar Specs:

• Company: El Titan de Bronze
• Wrapper: San Andres, Mexico
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Body: Medium-Full
• Sizes: Toro 6X52, Robusto 5X50, Coronita 5.5X44

Willy from El Titan de Bronze sent me these cigars this week and being rather impatient I lit one of them up right away and just finished the second one this evening. I originally smoked the Titan Redemption Sun Grown back in April 2008 and enjoyed the cigar so I was definitely interested in trying these.

As far as construction goes these cigars are well made. The cigars had a good draw and held the ash reasonably well.

The flavor profile starts with some dominant cocoa and a slight sweetness to it along with some pepper that picked up as the cigar progressed. Around the half way point I noticed some hints of creamy coffee and some earth notes. The final third some of the sweetness went away reminding me more of black coffee.

Verdict: Mexican Tobacco has gotten a bad rap in the past, some of it justified. Though right now there are some fantastic cigars out there sporting San Andres wrappers that are definitely worth trying. This one is at the top of my list.

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• El Titan de Bronze Redemption Cigar Review
• Cigar Review: Cabaiguan Guapos 46
• Cigar Review: Dunhill Nicaraguan Signed Range Robusto
• Cigar Review: J. Fuego Delirium Robusto
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Got this in my email yesterday and thought I’d share it. Tinder Box is running a special on a Nub Sampler. Not a bad deal if you like the Nub.

Nub Sampler $49.99 @ TinderBox.com

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Found this video through De La Concha’s Twitter account a couple of days ago. Seems like an interesting product.

Thoughts?

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So far on CigarJack, we’ve held two successful #cigarchat events. The first #cigarchat, in early August, went so well that we went on to hold a second #cigarchat. In the months since, we’ve been thinking about ways to take the next step for #cigarchat.

So we did what any responsible bloggers would do: We got ourselves a sponsor: world famous cigar shop Nat Sherman.

Yes, folks. Nat Sherman will be our first ever #cigarchat sponsor, and the nice folks there will be giving away some cigars and store swag to #cigarchat participants. The swag will include:

- Nat Sherman t-shirt
- Nat Sherman hat
- Nat Sherman cutter

In addition, Nat Sherman will be giving away some cigars:

- Nat Sherman Host Selection five-pack
- Nat Sherman Metropolitan Selection five-pack
- tin of Nat Sherman cigarillos

The chat will be held on November 4 from 7-9pm CST.

To be eligible, you’ll have to participate in the #cigarchat. Post tips, advice and other words of wisdom for other participants and you may selected to win some Nat Sherman cigars or merchandise!

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Over the last several years, cigar brands have started to get more involved in the digital space. Some start and are regularly involved in social networks. Many companies have hopped on the Twitter bandwagon.

For the most part, it’s been a desperate game of catch-up in the digital space for what have always been very traditional companies.

My buddy, Mike Maddaloni, and I were smoking a couple of Drew Estate Chateau Real cigars last night (here’s the Chateau Real maduro review) when I finally thought about the web URL that Drew Estate prints on the inside of its cigar bands. I had seen the Web site printed on the bands before, but had never given it much thought until now.

Drew Estate is the only company I know of that prints its Web site on its cigar bands.

Let’s think about this for a moment. When you smoke a cigar, there’s a good chance you’re:

- with someone else, having a conversation
- removing and examining your band after you smoke your cigar down

Drew Estate isn’t an especially forward thinking company; it’s smart in its thinking about the present. It’s creating opportunities for word of mouth. Artwork aside, the Drew Estate cigar band — more than any other cigar from any other brand — is a natural conversation starter, and the Drew Estate company Web site is the perfect place to continue the brand conversation.

Of course, not to mention most people actually keep their cigar bands. (Thanks for pointing this out, Patrick.)

More brands should think about their bands as one of the best opportunities to create word of mouth.

What other examples of smart, unexpected branding have you seen in the cigar business lately?

- Daniel B. Honigman

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I reviewed the Cubao No. 1 and Jeff reviewed the Cubao No. 4. We were both really impressed with this smoke. Well this year they added the Cubao Maduro to the line.

The difference between the Cubao and the Cubao maduro is the wrapper. The maduro has a Ecuadorian Broadleaf Maduro instead of a Ecuadorian Sumatra Oscuro wrapper. The filler and the binder remain the same.

As far as construction goes the cigar is very well made. Consistently firm and I got a good burn throughout the smoke. Flavorwise the cigar packed a punch, different than the Cubao’s though. This cigar had some sweet notes, but not as sweet as the Cubao. The maduro has an intense spice with some earth and leather undertones also picked up some bitter cocoa notes.

Verdict: I enjoyed this cigar and recommend it to anyone who likes a full flavored spicy cigar. It holds its own against a couple of the other maduros I’ve been smoking like the Cain Maduro. Available at The Party Source (Call to Order 1-866-78CIGAR)

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• Cigar Review: Chateau Real Maduro
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I haven’t had a chance to try all the sizes of this cigar yet as I typically tend to pick this one up while on my lunch break so I typically choose the 46 X 5.5 Corona.

The cigar features a Brazilian Corojo Wrapper, a Nicaraguan Corojo Binder and Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo for the filler. Brian at Stogie Review has a ton of detail on it.

Since SCHIP kicked we are all looking to watch our budget a bit, I’m happy to find a good cigar for under $5. The 777 Corojo’s all fall between $4 to $5 making it a much easier cigar to pick up off the shelf at least where I buy. Insane state taxes might inflate that for some of you.

I was a bit disappointed with the first two I tried finding the draw just a bit too tight, but the next few I let sit at a lower Relative Humidity for a week or two and it made a huge difference. Most tobacconists tend to keep their humidor at a higher RH because of people walking in and out of it and I find I prefer to keep my own at 65%. Letting these cigars sit for a week at 65% definitely helped or forget them on the kitchen counter for a day before smoking them like I did with the first one I took notes on for this review. :)

The 777 Corojo is a straight forward medium to medium-full smoke. It doesn’t have any huge changes in flavor throughout the smoke. The base comes off as earth, wood and a bit leathery. As Brian mentioned there is some definite citrus and peppery notes in the cigar that progress as it burns.

Verdict: While a bit concerned at first because of the tight draw, after dryboxing a few I’m now convinced. Though I’m a huge fan of J. Fuego’s cigars already. It has some distinct corojo flavors, but won’t over power you or your wallet. I can easily recommend a box buy on these. Available at The Party Source (Call to Order 1-866-78CIGAR).

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• Cigar Review: Perdomo Habano Corojo Torpedo
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