Hugo Cassar Corona
finished The Ventura Cigar Company is an extension of Kretek International, a private company noted for its clove cigarettes and chaired by Hugh Cassar. Kretek is also known for Djeep lighters and other products. This cigar, named after Cassar, upon first appearance is not as smooth as you might hope, but this...
Guillermo Leon Signature Indeed
Guillermo Leon is the man behind La Aurora cigars and a fifth generation cigar maker. A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity to sit down with the assistant director of marketing for his company, Miami Cigar and Company. When asked what his favorite was he pointed to this line. Yesterday, I enjoyed this nice cigar as well. The Guillermo Leon Signature line, a part of La Aurora is an...
Benji Menendez – A Man with great history, makes an Historic Cigar
Benji Menendez is a man with a history. His father, grandfather, and uncles were all considered to be legendary figures in the Cuban cigar world. They created H. Upmann and Montecristo to name a few. Menendez, born in Havana, has been in the cigar business all his life. And that experience shows in this cigar made under the Partagas label. With all of this as background you would...
Cheap Bastard, Funny Name, OK Smoke
I know for certain that I would never have bought this cigar. That is until after I smoked it. I was given this cigar, one each in the maduro and sumatra at a recent trade show. And, I’ll admit to being skeptical. I heard the story of how it came about from the cigar makers, some people from southern California who own a retail shop. they told me that several of their...
San Lantano Oval an Interesting Shape and a Nice Cigar
This afternoon/evening I had a cigar smoking guest join me. He had recently seen the new blog and didn’t know that I was a CigarMayven. When he asked if I could give him some help, I invited him to join me for a late afternoon smoke. I foraged in the humidor and came up with something nice for him to smoke and something interesting, the San Lantano Oval Corona for me. When first...
Dunhill Aged Dominican Tabaras
One of the reps at TPE gave me a nice cigar that I would not ordinarily smoke. Not because it’s bad, rather because for me it’s too mild. The Dunhill Aged Dominican Tabaras is actually a very nice cigar. It is a nice light brown color, with not overly large veins. It looks smooth and has a toothy feel. Since it encased in a tube and wrapped in cedar, it has a pleasant cedar...
