Put a Torano Brick into Your Humidor!
Torano Family Cigars has their Brick cigar as a value offering. In 2014 Torano made a few minor changes and markets the Brick in 2 sizes, a 6 X 60 Robusto and a 7 X 56 Churchill. The Brick has a filler blend from Nicaragua and Honduras with a Honduran binder and Ecuadorian Sumatra seed wrapper. The 2014 Brick version is a remake of an older Torano standby stick. I was given a 6 X 60 Brick at the...
New Roberto Duran Premium Offering – Cacique Guama
I have smoked and enjoyed the complete Azan line from Roberto Duran Cigars and at the 2014 IPCPR, Duran launched a premium line in 4 sizes, each with a unique name. I was given the new Cacique Guama to review, a 6 X 60 cigar with Nicaraguan and a proprietary tobacco filler, Nicaraguan binder and wrapped by an Ecuadorian Habano Criollo. The Guama was average in appearance with a moderately firm...
Ocean State Cigars Floats a New Maduro.
Rhode Island is home to Ocean State Cigars, a relative newcomer to the cigar making industry. Paul Joyal, founder and President of the company and active in the cigar industry itself for many years, launched his J Grotto line which, for 2014, included a new “Anniversary Maduro” series. This series uses a maduro fermented Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, Dominican Habano binder and fillers from...
A Threesome from Blue Mountain Cigars
One of the most sought after products from Jamaica is its Blue Mountain Coffee, world famous for its mild flavor and lack of bitterness. Besides making coffee, these beans are also used as the flavor base for Tia Maria coffee liquor. It is logical then that a Jamaican business man, Marvin Wright, uses the well-known Blue Mountain moniker for his cigars although the sticks are made in Esteli,...
The Ghost Envy – a Halloween Trick or Treat?
Gurkha’s Ghost series apparently first materialized in time for Halloween in 2012. For the 2014season, Gurkha is planning a big extension to the Ghost series – a 7 X 70 mysteriously called “Envy”. It has the same blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos, a Dominican Criollo 1998 binder, and finally the same dark Brazilian Arapiraka Maduro wrapper as the rest of the Ghosts. The...
A Kingly Sized Broadleaf
Since its opening at the 2013 IPCPR Kings has been developing its offering of cigars. It now has 5 different series, each named for position of royalty to reflect their goal of providing a “taste of royalty” in each blend. I met with Pete Tyndale, King’s master blender, at the 2014 IPCPR where he discussed the how the different series offer tastes from mild to full bodied cigars. Quite a...
