The SAGA Continues With Blend No. 7
Corporation Cigar Export (CCE) is operated by the Reyes family where the current fifth and sixth generations maintain their tradition of making high quality cigars. CCE makes one of my favorite cigars, the Gigante of the Don Julio Punta Espada series. CCE launched a new series called Saga at the 2014 IPCPR and I previously reviewed (and liked) the new Saga Golden Age. The remaining 2014 Saga...
High Interest In The New “Banker” from Upmann
Back in the mid 1800’s a pair of German bankers named Upmann were operating in Cuba and they invested in cigar making as a side business which subsequently grew in both size and fame. Eventually Upmann was purchased by Altadis where Upmann became a major brand, along with Montechristo, Romeo y Julieta and Pleiades. Now, in 2014, Altadis fittingly used The Banker to name one of its latest...
An “Aged” Cigar from Blue Mountain
Marvin Wright’s Blue Mountain Cigars has several brands and he has continuously introduced new blends since he began in 1995. At the 2014 IPCPR Marvin provided me with a Black Anejo to test. This cigar is made in Esteli, Nicaragua with Nicaraguan filler and binder, wrapped in a Habano criollo tobacco. The Black Anejo is a 7 X 54 toro grande whose long black band is unusual but it does protect...
Valentia Espada San Andres
Cigar making traditionally passed within families from generation to generation, often until the business is acquired by a large corporation. Less traditional entry comes from retailers or cigar lovers plunging into cigar making by having an established manufacturer produce a blend for the new operator to market. Valentia has an unusual pedigree – it was created by a weapons accessories...
Pancho Villa Cigar is Truly a Shot in the Dark
The annual IPCPR gathering gives very good exposure to new brands and product introductions. At the 2014 IPCPR in Las Vegas, USA Sales inc. had a booth and introduced several new cigars, one of which is a 6.5 X 52 torpedo called Pancho Villa. This cigar has Dominican filler and binder wrapped by Ecuadorian Connecticut tobacco. I was given the Pancho Villa to review. The Pancho was firm, average...
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...
