Kip Fisher - Co-Founder, Author at Half Ashed

Leesburg Cigars receives exclusive Tatuaje Celebrando

June 4, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Leesburg Cigar and Pipe is in exclusive receipt of the Celebrando 25 Años

About an hour ago, Pete Johnson (Tatuaje Cigars) re-posted an Instagram photo and caption from Leesburg Cigar and Pipe. They are in receipt of a little-known shop exclusive produced for them by My Father Cigars via Tatuaje. According to the post, the blend is known as the Celebrando 25 Años, in celebration of Leesburg Cigar and Pipe’s 25th Anniversary. The Celebrando is a spinoff of the Cabaiguan blend, and is available in a singular Lonsdale vitola. Only a single run has been produced, and the cigars are currently available at a price of $8.75 per single or $175 per box of 20.

“To celebrate the 25 year anniversary of Leesburg Cigar & Pipe we present you the Celebrando 25 Años. Blended by the often imitated cigar man Pete Johnson at the factory responsible for the most sought after blends, including the 2012 No. 1 cigar of the year, My Father Cigars….The thinner shape concentrates the body and flavor while the shade grown wrapper perfectly balances out the blend. We liken it to an iron fist in a velvet glove.”

Reinado Expands with GER Ecuador Edition

June 3, 2014 By Kip Fisher

REINADO® Grand Empire Reserve Continues to Expand with an Aged Ecuadorian Connecticut Wrapped Petit Lancero

REINADO Cigars announced an upcoming expansion in the form of a Connecticut Wrapped Petit Lancero today. In addition to the Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, the GER Ecuador Edition will – as all existing Grand Empire Reserves do – have a Nicaraguan binder and filler mix. The wrapper incorporated into the Ecuador Edition has been aged a full three years.

The dimensions of the new cigar are 6″ X 38, and it will be [Read more…]

Half Ashed Episode 068: Cohiba Maduro Secretos

May 30, 2014 By Kip Fisher

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Our featured cigar for Episode 068 is the Cohiba Maduro Secretos, one of Craig’s selections. Despite being in the “slow season” for cigar news, we did have several items to cover this week, including tidbits from Jose Blanco (Señorial), Miami Cigar (Nestor Miranda Collection), some possiblities with La Sirena/Sotolongo Cigars, a humanitarian award for Carlito Fuente, some cool packaging from Viaje, a question about the whereabouts of Palio, and a couple of significant legislative updates. As always, we talked a bit about what each of us have been smoking this week as well.

This week, we also hit upon a couple of intentional ratholes with some cigar-related things that have been on our respective minds recently. In wrapping things up, we wish chatroom regular Ian good luck in his new endeavor – he’s created a cigar review site over at 406 Cigar (I had to look it up, too. 406 is the singular area code for the entire state of Montana). Congrats and good luck, Ian!

Next week, our Cigar of the Week will be the brand new Re+United from EP Carrillo and Michael Giannini, so be sure to check back in next Friday night at 9:30pm EST at ~~Cigar Federation~~ ****We will temporarily only have chat access on our Show Page on halfashed.com. We have outgrown our previous chat, and it has been overloading the server and causing various and sundry issues with our hosting provider. In fact, they shut down our site this week during the show. I have installed a stopgap chat for the time being, but it will not frame into the Cigar Federation page. We will remedy this as soon as possible.****, where you can catch us recording and participate in the chatroom. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following emails: [email protected] or [email protected]. Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints. We love to get your emails! Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive. You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe. Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive.

P.S. – If you have unbanded suggestions or contributions, you can get those to us by sending an email to [email protected]. This email address goes directly to my wife, so you can simply suggest an unbanded cigar for her to source, or send me an email to [email protected] if you have something you’d like to send in. I will provide an address to send them. Thanks!

News from Viaje

May 28, 2014 By Kip Fisher

I don’t normally post every item that comes down the pike in terms of new releases, etc. I save that for Half Ashed. But today, I caught a few items from Viaje’s Facebook page that intrigued me. I’m a fan of several of their cigars, and we all know their packaging is “catchy” to say the least. The first item is an addition to the ongoing “Zombie Apocalypse” thread that runs through some other offerings. I suppose those who’ve been bitten by their earlier “Zombie” releases are now offered an antidote :). I thought the packaging was very unique….excited to see how the cigars themselves hold up.

Viaje “Zombie Antidote”

From what I can gather on the band, each prescription bottle contains 24 cigars and, of course, is renewable with further purchase. This addition was mentioned on an episode of Stogie Geeks (as summarized by Cigar Coop) earlier this year, but the packaging was not unveiled until today. I’m not one to really buy in to packaging….I don’t smoke the box, or bottle as it were, but I think this is a fun twist for the line. Based on the comment attached to the image, I understand these have shipped and should be on retailers’ shelves in the very near future.

Secondly, again from Viaje’s social media accounts, news was released that the second release of the Viaje Roman Candle is slated around Independence Day. The behemoth 9″x50 Roman Candle was originally released in 2012. The current release will come packed in 15 count firework-crate boxes, much like the original. While not specified today, the original manufacturer for these was Raices Cubana and I will assume the same for this edition. Personally, this cigar was a bit outside my normal range in terms of size, so I have no experience smoking it. But I’m in to give a go at the Zombie Antidote as soon as I get back down to my local B&M….

Viaje “Roman Candle”

HalfAshed Episode 067: Flor de Gonzalez 90 Miles

May 27, 2014 By Kip Fisher

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Good day, and welcome to Episode 067! This week, we’re smoking one of Kip’s go-to cigars, the Flor de González 90 Miles. Tune in to get the full scoop on how it fared. Cigar news was pretty scant this week, but we managed to cover a few items, including Smoke Inn’s new Microblend Series release, further FDA instructions, 1502 lanceros, the new My Father La Antiguedad, Room101’s “Big Payback,” and La Jugada’s “Nunchuck.” We talked a bit more than normal about our respective weeks in smoke, and wrapped up with a listener email. We also made a couple of mentions about projects we have in the works for this summer’s show lineup…..

Next week, our Cigar of the Week will be the Cohiba Maduro Secretos, so be sure to check back in next THURSDAY night (note the change from normal Friday nights) at 9:30pm EST at ~~Cigar Federation~~ ****We will temporarily only have chat access on our Show Page on halfashed.com. We have outgrown our previous chat, and it has been overloading the server and causing various and sundry issues with our hosting provider. In fact, they shut down our site this week during the show. I have installed a stopgap chat for the time being, but it will not frame into the Cigar Federation page. We will remedy this as soon as possible.****, where you can catch us recording and participate in the chatroom. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following emails: [email protected] or [email protected]. Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints. We love to get your emails! Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive. You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe. Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive.

Big Payback from Room101

May 23, 2014 By Kip Fisher

BIG RINGS. BIG FLAVOR. BIG VALUE.

The Big Payback. My comrades, we find ourselves living in the day and age of what I will refer to as the era of the engorged cigar. A cigar cannot be “too big” these days. This phenomenon reflects what is intrinsically ‘MURRICA, and a true value at the same time. We have calibrated some of the most exquisite Nicaraguan Tobaccos to rest within these oversized vessels comfortably, deliciously and then made easily accessible to the everyday aficionado.

Over the past few years the Room101 Brand has come to be a success in a myriad of dimensions. Now I propose we give back to those that helped get us there in the first place. The cigars in this series are priced well below where they should be. This is Payback of a different sort – my payback to you for the support and dedication over the years.

ENJOY THE BIG PAYBACK

Wrapper
Nicaragua

Binder
Nicaragua

Filler
Nicaragua

Mini Review: Belle Encre vs. Belle Encre Reserva

May 22, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Good day, folks. I’ve been smoking a fair number of both the Tatuaje Belle Encre and its Reserva brother lately, and thought I’d jot down some comparisons between the two. The Belle Encre was a line expansion to Pete Johnson’s original Brown Label line (Seleccion de Cazador) this past year, in commemoration of Tatuaje’s 10th Anniversary. The Reserva was not released until 2014, and features the same internal blend as the original, but wrapped in Connecticut leaf. I know the original will continue on as a regular release (sans 10th Anni band), but I do not know the future of the Reserva variation. Unlike my normal (overly?) wordy reviews, these will be fairly brief and concise, with little fluff and backstory. Just the facts, ma’am.

Belle Encre (original)

Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Filler: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 5 3/8″ X 48 perfecto
Cost: ~$9.00 per cigar in the FL market, boxes of 20
(~44k total production)
Number smoked: a bunch (a metric buttload, if you’re a Half Ashed listener)
Source: purchased
Color: Medium brown; evenly colored
Complexion/sheen: Smooth, oily wrapper; supple to the touch
Seams/veins: Minor; typical Habano veining
Soft/hard spots: None; perfect resistance pre-light

The Smoke

From the initial puffs, I get a significant but not overpowering dose of spice through the nose on retrohale, with more of a black pepper bent than red. Right off the bat, I’m reminded of the original “Brown Label” or Seleccion de Cazador line to which the Belle Encre belongs. It is very familiar, yet maybe a bit more polished. I can, will, and do smoke any of the available sizes from this line, but the blend really “shines” in this vitola for me. In the early portions of the Belle Encre, I find loads of sweetness as a framework from which the peppery spice hangs. The sweetness is in the form of molasses, leather, and an occasional bout of cedar. The black pepper tends to fade by the halfway mark of the cigar, except on retrohale, but the sweetness endures. Within the last inch the strength picks up significantly, but never problematically. I’d put the Belle Encre firmly into medium territory, with subtle but quite pleasant flavors.

Belle Encre Reserva

Wrapper: CT Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Dimensions: 5 3/8″ X 48 perfecto
Cost: ~$11.00 per cigar in the FL market, boxes of 20
(~44k total production)
Number smoked: several (~10)
Source: My Half Ashed co-host Craig Schneider; purchased
Color: Evenly dark brown
Complexion/sheen: Smooth, oily wrapper (less so than standard issue)
Seams/veins: More pronounced than standard Belle Encre
Soft/hard spots: None; perfect resistance pre-light

The Smoke

From Jumpstreet, an extremely “bright” spice., coupled with a very earthy bent – which seems to be formed around a more fruity core. The spice is mainly on retrohale, and is somewhat intense to be honest. There’s also a good bit of coffee in these early minutes. Midway through the cigar, the coffee takes on a noticeable sweetness – if you’ve been to Miami and had dash of Cuban coffee, it’s that kind of sweetness. This continues through to the end of the cigar, with the only major change usually occurring during the final inch or so, where the spice really goes up a few notches. A retrohale near the end of the Reserva can be a bit intimidating, but still pleasant in limited doses. The burn has to date been excellent on each of the BE Reservas I’ve had. Overall, a very good cigar.

Summary

Both the Belle Encre and the Belle Encre Reserva continue to be exceptional cigars for my tastes, although I personally have a strong preference for the Habano-wrapped version. It’s no secret that I’m a huge Tatuaje fan, and frequently enjoy the brand. However, there are few – save the Mexican Experiment, which is long gone – that I would be as happy to smoke every day as the Belle Encre. If you’re the type of smoker that prefers the bite that a CT wrapper can provide to a cigar, you might prefer the Reserva – but both blends are definitely worth checking out. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend either, just don’t go buy up all the originals before I’ve appropriately stockpiled a nice stash…

Half Ashed Episode 066: Unbanded 015

May 19, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Welcome back, everyone. I’ll be brief this week with the summary, but definitely want to publicly thank Jacob Pinkas for another fantastic Unbanded submission – so, thank you Jacob! In the news, we discussed items from Lou Rodriguez, Aging Room/Boutique Brands, My Father, ScrewPop, and Sam Leccia. Our big news of the night was more changes within the Drew Estate organization. As always, we also covered what we’ve been smoking this week as well as listener emails.

Next week, our Cigar of the Week will be the Flor de González 90 Miles Torpedo, so be sure to check back in next Friday night at 9:30pm EST at ~~Cigar Federation~~ ****We will temporarily only have chat access on our Show Page on halfashed.com. We have outgrown our previous chat, and it has been overloading the server and causing various and sundry issues with our hosting provider. In fact, they shut down our site this week during the show. I have installed a stopgap chat for the time being, but it will not frame into the Cigar Federation page. We will remedy this as soon as possible.****, where you can catch us recording and participate in the chatroom. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following emails: [email protected] or [email protected]. Please feel free to drop us a line if you have any questions you’d like answered, comments to make…or even compliments and complaints. We love to get your emails! Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive. You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes to subscribe. Video, as always, will be available at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive.

Cigar Review: La Sirena Triton

May 16, 2014 By Kip Fisher

La Sirena Triton background

I recently had a chance to try the La Sirena Triton after a trip back to visit family in Tennessee. The cigar is a shop exclusive for SILO Cigars in Knoxville (specifically Farragut), TN produced by My Father Cigars for La Sirena/Miami Cigar in 2013. I had the maduro version, which carries a CT Broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan Criollo ’98/Nicaraguan Corojo ’06 binder, and filler blend of Nicaraguan Habano and Corojo. It is a 7 1/2″ X 38 lancero produced in a single run of 50 boxes of 20 (1,000 cigars) with an SRP of $10 per cigar. Chris Whaley of SILO was kind enough to provide one of the two samples smoked for this review.

Pre Light

The Triton (maduro) is evenly and quite darkly colored, with a rustic Connecticut wrapper. The wrapper has an oily sheen when held in the light, but a rough feel due to the tooth on the leaf itself. Additionally, it has significant veining, as would be expected from this leaf. I detected neither soft nor dense areas within the pack, and from all appearances both examples were well made.

The Smoke

The prelight draw offered free but acceptable resistance, and a mild, sweet barnyard/loft hay flavor. The aroma before light was similar. The initial puffs bring forth medium spice, and a very toasty and bready set of flavors. There is an occasional, fleeting glimpse of cedar flitting about during these first few minutes as well. Within ten minutes or so, the cedar has taken a more prominent position in the profile – with a solid peppery presence on the retrohale. Nearing the end of the first inch, these flavors have solidified and begun to settle.

As I approach and enter the midsection of the cigar, as I have the chance to give the Triton a more diligent examination, I’ve noticed the burn has been slightly wandering on this second example. It never truly got out of line, but was enough to keep my attention throughout the entire first half of the cigar. The ash has also been more apt to fall before reaching any great length. This differed from the first Triton I smoked, which was quite well behaved throughout. The flavors continue within the earlier noted bready, yeasty palette. There are some occasional sweet notes that make an appearance, but overall the range is narrow – which is not intended to sound negative. These flavors are very pleasant, and I have enjoyed each of the Triton examples I’ve had. Too many people make an assertion that complexity is based entirely on how many times he or she perceives a bold “change in flavor.” Personally, I measure complexity by the minor nuances that only make themselves known to those willing to give the cigar the attention it deserves. There are myriad nuanced flavors to be found in the Triton, but they are not obvious. It is worthwhile to set aside time to actually pay close attention to the cigar. If you’re busy working, driving, or chatting with the crew at your local shop you might not perceive everything it has to offer. Within the Triton – particularly as it nears the mid- and final sections – I found remarkable diversity in the form of citrus, cedar, and a broad nuttiness. The citrus in particular was deceptive. Most often, it appeared in occasional spurts of sweetness. However, in the final segment of the cigar it came through with a marked lemon tendency.

Summary

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the Triton. The flavors were consistent and pleasant, the construction spot-on, and strength moderate (medim-full if you’re keeping score). If you are a lancero fan it would be beneficial to call the guys at SILO and pick up a few before they’re all gone. If you are willing to invest the time and attention to it, you will be greatly rewarded. Being a fan of smaller ring cigars, I would not hesitate to have these onhand regularly – that is, if they were regular production, and available nearer than the 700 mile trip to Tennessee. Highly recommended.

PROS
Good construction; burn
Bold, enjoyable flavor without a nicotine overload
CONS
Limited availability
Price isn’t out of line, but on the upper end of this particular stick’s value.

Press Release: Drew Estate Names Willy Herrera “Master Blender”

May 15, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Miami, FL, May 15, 2014: Drew Estate announced today that Willy Herrera will become the “Master Blender” of Drew Estate, effective immediately. Herrera was originally recruited by Drew Estate to create a signature brand illustrating his Cuban heritage and “Cubanesque” blending style. After working with him over the past three years in Nicaragua, Drew Estate determined he was suited to lead their blending team. This represents a major change for Drew Estate, marking the first occasion here someone of Cuban descent has held a top-level position at the company.

Herrera’s new responsibilities will place him at the front and center of Drew Estate’s blending team, which will allow him to channel his passion and energy into creating new blends and maintaining Drew Estate’s current signature blends.

Herrera’s talents were honed over the eight years of “on-the-job training”, running the El Titan de Bronze factory in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, Florida. His responsibilities at El Titan de Bronze included tobacco purchasing, production, blending and quality control.

Jonathan Drew, company co-founder, had this to say about Herrera:

“Authenticity is the key factor that originally attracted the DE shareholders to Willy. I personally know the challenges and skill set necessary to lead a premium cigar factory at all stages of development, fifteen employees to fifteen hundred. Willy has the main ingredients, passion, humility and confidence to achieve great results. It is important for me to clarify that Willy is not in charge of running La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate. His position is a newly created, specific role – built around his greatest talent, Master Blender. We intend to challenge Willy in expanding his blending universe, from Liga Privada to Kentucky Fire Cured. This will not be easy for him. Willy will report directly to me, and I am not an easy person to work for. I am very demanding and require absolute excellence when it comes to creativity.”

Willy Herrera stated that, “my passion and love for Nicaragua has grown immensely over the past three years. I lived in Nicaragua while we blended our Herrera Esteli line and, during that time, really got to know the people at the factory. I grew to love the country, especially Estelí. This is an incredible opportunity, and it’s a dream come true for me to become “Master Blender” of a global company as well respected as Drew Estate. There are many people who have believed in me along this journey, especially my family.”

Due to Drew Estate’s decision to appoint Herrera as “Master Blender”, they have also decided to bring the new “NORTENO by Willy Herrera” line into production at Drew Estate, as opposed to Joya de Nicaragua, where it was originally to be produced. Additionally, this will allow Joya de Nicaragua to focus on production of the MUWAT Kentucky Fire Cured line, which is currently backordered, along with the new Joya de Nicaragua products to be released at IPCPR.

The “NORTENO by Willy Herrera” line will debut at the 2014 IPCPR tradeshow in Las Vegas, Nevada, and a formal press release will follow with more information about that project.

About Drew Estate:
Founded in New York City in 1996. Drew Estate has become one of the fastest growing tobacco companies in the world. Under their mantra “The Rebirth of Cigars”TM, Drew Estate has led The “Boutique Craft” movement by innovating new elements to the tobacco industry with their unique tobaccos and blending styles that have attracted new and old cigar enthusiasts. In their Gran Fabrica Drew Estate, the Nicaraguan headquarters, Drew Estate produces successful brands such as ACID, Herrera Estelí, Java by Drew Estate, Kentucky Fired Cured, Liga Privada, MUWAT, Natural, Nica Rustica, Tabak Especial and UnderCrown.