J Alexander III Corojo – Almost a Winner
This is the third year for J Alexander III cigars and the Corojo blend launched at the 2015 IPCPR, called JA3 Corojo, is quite good. J Alexander cigars are made by the well-known Quesada Cigars in the Dominican Republic. A JA3 toro (5 X 52) was provided to me by J Alexander III cigars for review. The JA3 Corojo was an attractive cigar sporting a classic pigtail cap and closed foot (to inject...
Padilla’s La Pilar Really Holds Up
Padilla Cigar Company is a long time boutique and premium cigar producer. At the 2015 IPCPR in New Orleans Padilla launched a series called La Pilar (a “column” or “pillar”) No. 4 in 3 sizes. Padilla gave me 5 X 50 robusto to review. The robusto has a filler blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan tobaccos with a Nicaraguan binder, all wrapped by an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro, although the...
Tarazona’s 305 Is a Little Above Average
Eddie Tarazona has his own boutique cigar business for a quite a while now even though I first came across them at the 2015 IPCPR. Eddie has 3 brands – Classic, 305 and Ecstasy. Tarazona provided me with one of their 305 cigars to review. The 305 robusto was 5 X 50 uses a Costa Rican maduro to wrap around Nicaraguan binder and filler. The 305 was firm enough and had an excellent draw. The smoke...
Gurkha’s Cellar Reserve Especial “Hedonism” is Full of Pleasure.
Hedonism, in simple terms, is the pursuit of pleasure before all else and Gurkha named one of its limited edition, aged cigars just that – Hedonism. The Cellar Reserve Edition Especial uses Dominican tobaccos aged 18 years for the filler, a Dominican Olor for the binder, covered by a Corojo wrapper. Gurkha reports that there was only enough tobacco to make 1,000 boxes so supplies are...
Tarazona XTC Robusto Could Use a Boost
Until early 2014, Tarazona Cigars was associated with Cubanacan Cigars, producers of HR, Mederos and Soneros brands. Tarazona itself has 3 brands, Classic, 305 and XTC (as in ecstasy). I first came across Tarazona at the 2015 IPCPR even though this boutique producer has been around far longer. Tarazona provided me with one of their XTC cigars to review. The XTC robusto was 5 X 50 Nicaraguan puro...
Luchador El Gringo Frog Splash – a Big Hit in the Water
General Cigar’s Leccia introduced an extension of the Luchador line at the 2015 IPCPR called El Gringo. Luchador, loosely translated, is a wrestler and the four vitolas in the El Gringo line are named after wrestling moves. The El Gringo line is designed to be a full-flavored cigar and the center of the label has the shape of a traditional mask worn by Mexican wrestlers. General gave me a...
