Arandoza – Gems from a Small Family

There are far too many cigars and cigar makers to keep track of them all.  And, since I write about cigars for you on a regular basis, I know lots of them.  I can’t imagine how you could even try to keep up as an individual.  Still, every month new cigars from new makers come onto the market.  And some of these sticks are good or even great.  How do you find out about them?  If you’re like me, it’s probably through word of mouth.  Friends, in the industry and outside, will make it a point to share something interesting and good.  I do the same thing myself.  I frequently will call or email a friend and tell them about a cigar I’ve just smoked.  A discovery, if you will, that I’m unwilling to wait for blog posting to share.  And others do the same thing.  Actually, if you know of a good cigar that we haven’t reviewed, please email me and let me know.

So, a few weeks ago I was in Miami visiting some friends and stopped by the Guayabera Lady, to look at some shirts.  Berta is a wonderful person, makes great shirts, and knows everyone.  During my visit we took care of shirt business, but also she gave me a few nice sticks to try. One was made by some friends of hers that had just started making cigars.  So thanks to Berta and her friend Robert Arango we have a wonderful new cigar to review.

Arango, who owns Arandoza Cigar writes, “We are a new company, family owned and operated, established in April 2011.  I’ve been an avid cigar smoker all of my adult life.  Everyone at our house smokes cigars, from my two sons to my beautiful daughter all the way up to my wife.  We enjoy sitting outside after a long day, just chatting and smoking…seems to be a great bonding factor in my family.”  Just that thinking alone makes me want to try his cigars.  The cigars speak for themselves.

When you first look at the cigar you’ll notice its nice medium brown color.  The cigar is without blemish and has a nice cap.  I punched mine without a problem and lit up easily.  It produced nice clean smoke.  I thought it was filled tightly and expected a difficult draw but that wasn’t the case at all.

The cigar was well constructed.  I was afraid that the tight pack of the tobacco would hinder the draw but it was open and easy smoking.  The cigar held a great ash which was long, tight and even.

This cigar has a nice flavor profile.  My original notes from the smoke said that the cigar was an even flavored smoke of medium strength that didn’t overpower but did let you know you were smoking a cigar.  When ever I write that I almost always mean that this is a cigar that has an old fashioned flavor.   During the first third it was predominantly cedar and earth tone that I was getting.  As the cigar progressed it dried out a little to leather tones and finally as I was finishing the was a slow build up to spiciness.  Overall, it was impressive.

These cigars are made in Esteli at a factory owned by Erik Espinosa.  At a retail price of between $6 and $7 there is a lot of value.  Four sizes are available and I’m looking forward to trying the torpedo which is my favorite size.  Find these cigars and buy some to smoke right away.  You’ll not only thank me, but you’ll want to share with your friends.