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New Nat Sherman Bench Collection Now Available

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Looks like Nat Sherman is continuing its big push forward with more new blends. Take a moment and read this release from Michael Herklots’ blog about their newest Bench release. I picked up a few of these the other day and a review will be forthcoming.
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La Aurora, the Dominican Republic’s oldest cigar factory, has teamed up with Nat Sherman to offer two very special cigars to the Tobacconist’s loyal customers at their Flagship Townhouse Store.
These cigars were manufactured in 2007 in their Dominican factory.  The blends were part of the development of the La Aurora Excepcionales, a cigar made exclusively available to a small group of New York City retailers.
“We had three blends we really liked”, said Michael Herklots, who worked closely with La Aurora’s Manuel Inoa on the project.  “Ultimately we chose a blend for the Excepcionales, but there were two other blends that we really liked and decided to make a very small production of them to use sometime in the future.” On a recent visit to La Aurora, Herklots inquired about the small production of the other two blends.  And, fortunately for Nat Sherman, they were resting in the company’s vast aging room.
La Aurora agreed to make the small amount of cigars avialable for Nat Sherman’s exclusive Bench Collection- a series of small production cigars that use harder-to-get tobaccos in more artisenal style blends.
Both cigars are available in limited quantities boxes of 20 cigars
L-IDD
Format: Lancero
Size: 6.5″ x 40
Wrapper:  Indonesia
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
$140 + Applicable Taxes
B-IDD
Format: Belicoso
6″ x 52
Wrapper: Dominican
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
$160 + Applicable Taxes

Press Release: Miami Cigar Announces the Release of Añoranzas Line of Cigars

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What is Añoranza? The newest cigar from Miami Cigar & Company will have many wondering how to pronounce it (Ahn-yor-ahn-za) and what does it mean? The word which is Spanish, means nostalgia; a sense of yearning. Often when we smoke, we reflect on times gone by and look back to a period of our lives we miss and wish we could go back to. This is Añoranza.

The cigars which are made in Nicaragua feature a Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro wrapper, with Nicaraguan grown binder and fillers. They will be available in both 10 count and 20 count boxes in the following sizes.

  • Robusto ($6.50 MSRP)
  • Toro ($7.50 MSRP)
  • Belicoso ($7.80 MSRP)
  • Gran Toro ($8.50 MSRP)

The cigars which come in a soft box pressed format will debut at IPCPR in Orlando in 2012.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyP7kiUjpMg]

Event Recap: Havana Wednesday at Ravel Rooftop

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This last Wednesday, the FTNYC community came together for another great smoke-session. And what a night it was! We were on the penthouse level of the Ravel Rooftop in Queens. We had live salsa music, some of the guys took a beginner salsa lesson, a cigar roller rolling fresh stogies, bar service, and about 25 BOTL/SOTL there to hang out with.

Thanks to everyone who came out to make the event a success, and for BOTL Kelvin Batista for setting it up. What a great venue!

We’ll definitely  be doing more events at Ravel soon, so stay in touch! Join our event mailing list to get notice of our events.

 

 

 

 

 

Cigar Review: Arturo Fuente Sun Grown Chateau Fuente

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Arturo Fuente Chateau Fuente Sungrown

For many smokers, Arturo Fuente cigars are the first examples of fine tobacco that get them hooked on the art and enjoyment of smoking a cigar. For this review, I chose the Chateau Fuente Sun Grown, which I’ve had occasionally in the past and never really nailed down as far as flavor profile goes. For this stick, I paired a glass of water and some Spanish guitar music by Jesse Cook.

Blend Specifics

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic

Appearance & Construction

This cigar features the classic Arturo Fuente label, framed in black, with the AF crest in the center. The cigar is packed in a decorative cedar strip, with another decorative band on the foot. Pretty great presentation for such a value priced cigar. In any case, these cigars haven’t tended (in my experience) to have the greatest construction. On this particular stick there are two very large veins, which I imagine will probably throw off the burn. The cigar is triple capped, and off the foot are faint scents of granola and earth.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

It takes a few minutes for me to really get a good grasp on what is happening here as far as flavor goes, but from what I can tell there is an earthy spice, but not one typically associated with maduro cigars – i.e. not a lot of sweetness alongside of it, more of an almost savory taste. The smoke is medium bodied, and also has a very unique sort of bitter taste that could be interpreted as citrus notes.

In the second third, I’m beginning to sense that the aroma of this cigar is going to be more enjoyable then the taste on my tongue, which seems a bit too earthy for my palate. In the final third, not a lot changes, but the spice does drop a bit.

Conclusion

I smoked two of these cigars for this review, and though I love Fuente cigars, I have to say I’m not really impressed with the sungrown. More Fuente reviews to follow.

Final grade: B-

The Nat Sherman “Timeless Collection” To Expand Offering

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Michael Herklots from Nat Sherman writes on his blog that Timeless Collection (reviewed by me here) is set to expand!

After the incredibly successful launch of the Nat Sherman Timeless Collection, in February of 2012, the line is expanding.  The first Timeless Collection cigars were manufactured in the Dominican Republic by MATASA.  Now, a new blend will join the ranks of the Nat Sherman Timeless Collection made in Nicaragua by Plasencia Cigars S.A..  These Nicaraguan puros will be available in three box-pressed formats, 4″ x 52, 5″ x 56 and 6″ x 60.  The cigars will be packed in black boxes of 21 cigars adorned with Nat Sherman’s signature in Gold.  The new additions will be featured at the 2012 IPCPR convention in Orlando, FL and are scheduled to ship to retailers by September.

Nat Sherman Timeless 452   $140/box of 21 cigars MSRP
Nat Sherman Timeless 556   $160/box of 21 cigars MSRP
Nat Sherman Timeless 660   $180/box of 21 cigars MSRP

In Addition…

We’ve also added two new sizes to the Dominican-made Timeless Collection. These new formats will be offered in the same slide-top 20 count boxes as the rest of the Dominican-made Timeless Collection.  The Especiales will be a traditional lancero format at 6″ x 38 with a pigtail cap.  The Divinos is a small perfecto measuring 5″ x 32/50/36.

Nat Sherman Timeless Especiales $124/box of 20 cigars MSRP
Nat Sherman Timeless Divinos $160/box of 20 cigars MSRP

Honduran Cigar Vendors Attempting an Asian Break-In

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We recently posted a story about how China now represents more than one third of the cigar smokers of the world. And it seems like the cigar industry is beginning to react to that news. Focus Taiwan reports that Honduran cigar manufacturers like Rocky Patel and Don Humo Cigar Company are trying to establish ties with importers. They hope to gain access to the large Taiwanese cigar market, but the long-run goal is direct access to the massive Chinese market.

Read the full article here.

Cigar Review: Rocky Patel American Market Selection

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Rocky Patel American Market Selection

The weather has been nice this week so I went to Samuel Paley Park, a private park that allows smoking. I brought my last Rocky Patel American Market Selection to review while I read a book. I have a medium body coffee paired with the cigar.

Blend Specifics

Size: 6×52 Toro
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan & Honduran
Body: Mild
Strength: Medium

Appearance & Construction

The cigar is firm to the touch with one prominent vein. There is scent of coffee, wood, and sweet tobacco on the body of the cigar and foot. Sweet tobacco and spice are on the cold draw that is firm. The cigar has a simple gold and black band with “Rocky Patel” in a gold font.

Flavor & Smoke Characteristics

After I toasted the foot, an aroma of vanilla and coffee entered the air. The first puffs were coffee and sweet tobacco. After about a quarter-inch vanilla and peanut are in the background. The cigar burned evenly with a salt and pepper ash that held half and inch.

As I entered two-thirds, cinnamon and nutmeg add some complexity to the coffee and sweet tobacco flavors. It reminded me of a Turkish coffee. The peanut flavor disappeared as vanilla remained in the back. The burn became uneven but corrected itself.

Wood, toast, and spice (anise) became dominant in the last third. There is sweet chocolate and coffee was on the retrohale and plumes of smoke from the cigar. The smoke was creamy. Again, the cigar began to burn unevenly.

Conclusion

The American Market Selection is a nice mild cigar. It has enough flavors to keep your attention but the AMS is not complex that it requires your full attention. This cigar is a Famous Smoke Shop exclusive. I recommend the AMS to fans of mild cigars to try it.

Grade: B

Weekly Deals at Papa Juan Cigar Room: 7/22-7/29

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Below is a list of this week’s cigar deals and events from the management at Papa Juan Cigar Room.

  • Monday – Saturday: Papa Juan Happy Hour- From 12pm-5pm with the purchase of a cigar you receive waived beverage fees. We also have buy any two cigars and receive a complimentary “Papa Juan House Blend”.
  • Tuesday: “Hispaniola Tuesdays” From 6pm- 12am women who come in receive a complimentary “Papa Juan House Blend”, and we also feature a “Hispaniola Cigar of the Week” in which we pick out a cigar from the Hispaniola portfolio and price it at $10.00. This week’s featured cigar will be “Los Conquistadores”
  • Wednesday: “Papa Juan Ladies Night” From 5pm-12am ladies who come in will receive a complimentary “Papa Juan House Blend” and for the rest of the night receive waived beverage fees.

Papa Juan is located in the Bronx (click for a map).

Jack Daniel’s Sends the Most Polite Cease-and-Desist Letter Ever

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See any similarities?

Sifting through the morning cigar and spirits news with my cup of coffee this morning, I found a real gem of an article. In “Jack Daniel’s Sends the Most Polite Cease-and-Desist Letter Ever,” Christina Warren from Mashable.com reports on just how nice working in the spirits industry can tend to make people.

As the story goes, Patrick Wensink was commissioning the cover for his new book, Broken Piano for President, when he received a letter from Jack Daniels Properties. Take a look at the photo above (especially the border), and it’s easy to see why Jack Daniel’s might take issue.

What is most unique, however, isn’t the fact that a distillery sent an author a cease-and-desist letter, it was how the letter was written. See for yourself:

photo courtesy mashable.com

Read the full article here.

Cigar Wars: HR 1639 Reaches 210 Co-Sponsors

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HR 1639

More good news for cigar smokers looking to protect the premium cigar industry from the pleasure-killing rampage that the FDA has been on for quite some time. TobaccoToday.info posted an article recently explaining that HR 1639 has reached 210 co-sponsors, giving it even more clout in the House of Representatives. That means the resolution needs just eight more supporters to reach a majority in the house. 

Still, there are powerful forces against the bill, including both the anti-tobacco lobby AND the major cigarette companies.

Read the full article here.

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