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Morning Updates from Boutique Cigars (Swag, Aging Room)

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News and Updates from Boutique Cigars / Swag / Aging Room

Activity has begun to increasingly rise as we head into full throttle IPCPR season.  Boutique Cigars (Aging Room; Swag Cigars) is no exception, with company president Rafael Nodal publishing a number of pictures and comments this morning about their upcoming new cigars.  Below are some quick notes and comments regarding those releases:

aging room maduroAging Room Maduro

The highly anticipated Aging Room Maduro is blended using all Dominican grown habano as filler and binder with a beautiful oily and powerful Nicaraguan maduro wrapper, aged for over 5 years using our unique proprietary curing and aging process that has made the Aging Room one of the highest rated cigar brands.  Body: Medium to Full

In further comments, Mr. Nodal additionally noted that this is Aging Room ‘s “top new release for IPCPR, […]in the works for a long LONG time.  This powerhouse of aroma and flavors has a medium to full body with a blend of Dominican Aging Room Tobacco and a wonderful NICARAGUAN Maduro.  Did I hear AMEN!!!  I am a religious person and I must say, this is an spiritual experience.”

Being a fan of Aging Room ‘s products already in the market, I have to say I am anxiously anticipating this release – Dominican tobacco clothed in a Nicaraguan maduro wrapper sounds quite enticing.

swag sSwag S

Cigar Coop reported in an exclusive story that Boutique Blends will also be adding a maduro line to their Swag marque this year as well.  It also will feature Dominican internal components and a Nicaraguan maduro wrapper.  The picture at right was released this morning via Mr. Nodal, with the added information that it would be available in bigger ring sizes (up to a 70 ring).

Aging Room Miniaging room mini

In what seems to be a budding trend at this year’s show, Aging Room will be the third company I know of to release a miniature cigar (Ortega Cigars and La Tradicion Cubana being the other two).  My interest is piqued to see how this pans out in light of the trend toward larger and larger cigars in recent years.  The philosophy and model being that these cigars will fill the need for those who have the desire for a premium, handmade cigar but limited time.  It will be worth watching to see how this niche develops – will there be enough demand for this type of product, or will many cigar smokers simply opt to wait until they have the time to dedicate to a larger cigar?

Aging Room Wild Packaging room wild pack

As was recently reported around the online cigar community, the Aging Room Wild Pack will be another IPCPR release.  It will be a 10-cigar sampler, consisting of 2 each for 5 different previously unreleased small format cigars.  Mr. Nodal indicated this morning that this will be a market test “for consumers to help us find the next Aging Room Cigars blend.”  There will be a rating card included to report notes back to the company and help determine interest in each of the blends for subsequent release to market.

aging room fortissimoFortissimo

On this week’s Half Ashed, we discussed the upcoming Fortissimo to a limited degree.  Notably, the assertion from Aging Room that this may be the strongest cigar ever to come out of the Dominican Republic.  Its composition will feature 100% ” tobacco from famous veteran grower Jose “Joshi” Blanco. Perfection be an understatement.”

 

Press Release: Padilla Vintage Reserve

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padilla vintage reservePadilla to release the new Padilla Vintage Reserve

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MIAMI, FL – June 18, 2013 – Padilla Cigars will be introducing a new cigar to the successful Padilla line; Padilla Vintage Reserve. As with the other Padilla premium cigars; Padilla Reserva, Padilla Reserva Maduro, Padilla Connecticut, Padilla Miami, and Padilla 8 & 11, the Oliva Cigar Company will be manufacturing as well as distributing the Padilla Vintage Reserve both in the United States and internationally.

Vintage Reserve offers the most select and well aged top-tier tobaccos from the acclaimed Oliva cigar factory in Nicaragua. The rich Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper, Cuban seed Corojo (aged a minimum of 36 months), and Nicaraguan Habano binder deliver a blend for the true cigar connoisseur. The fortunate cigar smokers who have had the opportunity to preview this new cigar, report rich coffee and molasses notes that result in a full bodied yet subtle smoke.

“The Padilla Vintage Reserve is a great addition to the Padilla line” says Ernesto Padilla, President of the Padilla Cigar Co. “The Vintage Reserve will come in three sizes; Robusto, Torpedo, and Churchill and will be a limited run. Hence we have included a unique number on each cigar band and box”.

The Padilla Vintage Reserve Cigars are made and distributed by the Oliva Cigar Company both in the United States and Internationally. The Oliva Family of Cigars has produced their own cigars since 1995. Every process of cigar making (growing and manufacturing in Esteli, Nicaragua; sales and marketing in Miami, FL) is directly supervised by a member of the Oliva family. Oliva takes pride in crafting cigars with uncompromising quality and exceptional value. These cigars are some of the highest rated in the industry.

 

Press Release: CLE Cigars

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CLE / Fabricas Unidas

For Immediate Release – Miami, FL (06/17/2013): Along with the opening of the new Aladino Cigar Factory, Christian Eiroa is also releasing two new cigar lines made entire ly by the Aladino Factory. EIROA and CLE Plus will be available in late June/early July 2013 and bring something new to the Fabricas Unidas family and to the cigar industry as a whole.

“I am making the introduction of this new factory with two new blends that are representative of my passion for bold and full bodied cigars,” say Eiroa. “These two new Honduran puros deliver strength and flavor like nothing I have ever done before; I believe in them enough to name them after my family and me: The EIROA and the CLE Plus.“

EIROA (Salud, Amor y Pesetas)

It was in the summer of 1916 when Generoso Eiroa got first job as a boat captain for the Cuban Land and Leaf Tobacco Company that the Eiroa family began a tradition that would extend into it’s fourth generation. The EIROA cigar brand is homage to this heritage that has been 100 years in the making.

The EIROA cigars come packed in 10 count boxes held together by a leather ribbon. This ribbon is representative of the way Christian’s grandfather, Generoso stored his cigars in a trunk that he kept at the foot of his bed. Each box and cigar has a very old Spanish saying: “Salud, Amor y Pesetas” which is meant to celebrate what the old Gallegos felt was the key to happiness: “Health, Love and Money.” The only missing ingredient in their formula is “y Tiempo Para Disfrutarlos – and Time to Enjoy Them.”

The production will be about 2,000 cigars per day in four sizes, 48 x 4 Prensado, 50 x 5, 54 x 6 and 60 x 6. The cigars will be in ten count boxes, with an MSRP of $8.95 to $10.95 per cigar.

CLE Plus

The CLE line is also getting a new member to its family, the CLE Plus. This is the full body CLE Corojo cigar the market has been asking for. We have increased the blends to deliver a cigar that will make you feel completely satisfied.

The production will be about 1,000 cigars per day in four sizes, 48 x 4, 50 x 5, 54 x 6 and 60 x 6. The cigars will be in ten count boxes, with an MSRP of $6.95 to $9.95 per cigar.

Episode 019: Monte Pascoal

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Monte PascoalMonte Pascoal

Welcome back to Half Ashed, and happy Fathers’ Day to all the Dads out there.  We’re glad you’ve joined us for another round of fun.  This week, we take a look at an old favorite – Monte Pascoal.  Craig with a corona, and I the belicoso.  So, find your favorite cigar and join us for another couple hours of smokin’ silliness…

News Items

Legislation:  In legislative news, those of you in Pennsylvania NEED to take heed: CRA has issued an action alert detailing some potentially devastating proposals from a couple of your state congressmen.

The IPCPR season is beginning to kick into high gear, with product announcements from Ortega Cigars, TL Johnson Cigars, Barry Stein (Miami Cigar), Guayacan, Crowned Heads, Ashton and newcomer Cordoba y Morales.  Look for an increasing amount of news in the next few weeks leading up to and during the tradeshow.

What Have We Been Smoking?

Craig: La Aurora Fernando Leon, Monte Pascoal

Kip: Ezra Zion TANTRUM, Nestor Miranda DANNO, 2012 Toast Across America Fuente Opus X

Miscellany

We also cover some behavioral patterns Craig has noticed when “talking business” with some brick and mortar shop owners, and the politics of the B&M.  Additionally, we finally get caught up on listener emails – discussing questions from Chad Miller, Swede214, and Bruce Stark.  Keep those emails coming!  We love ’em, and always enjoy hearing from you all.  Just drop us a line via any of the means below.

Wrap

Be sure you all come back next week for Episode 020, which will hopefully feature a special guest, depending on whether or not we can work out the scheduling.  We will be smoking an unbanded – #005, from Dan Crouch.  We also will be bringing Dan on at the unveiling to discuss the cigar.

In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected].  Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway.  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.

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!

Press Release: La Sirena Dubloon

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La sirena dubloonNew La Sirena Sizes Discovered

Miami, FL June 7th, 2013 – In a recent expedition to Lake Nicaragua, which archeologists feel was once a large bay alongside the Pacific Ocean, a discovery was made.  The dangerous mission to find treasures of the mermaid was met by sharks and other seemingly out of place aquatic animals.  On the last day, in one of the deepest parts of the lake a cave was located with treasures of the mermaid.

Among these treasures was the Dubloon, a 7.25″X56 Salomon.  The name comes from the Spanish coins that surrounded this new rare size.  The rarest of all Dubloons, was one that featured a distinctive 8 stamped into it.

These pieces of 8; the La Sirena Dubloon comes packaged in an 8 count box, of which only 500 are available.  They will make their debut at the IPCPR in Las Vegas.  Like the La Sirena “A” they feature a dark, toothy Habano Oscuro wrapper, two Cuban-seed Nicaraguan binders, a Nicaraguan Criollo ’98 and Corojo ’96 over fillers from Nicaragua.

The La Sirena Dubloon will have a $12.00 MSRP.

Miami Cigar & Company sqAbout Miami Cigar & Company

Miami Cigar & Company, founded in 1989, is the exclusive US distributor of La Aurora brands. They are also the worldwide owner/distributor of Tatiana, Don Lino, La Sirena and Nestor Miranda line of cigars. They can found on the web at:

 

Episode 018: 2006 Partagas Serie du Connoisseur

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Half Ashed LogoPartagas Serie du Connoisseur

Welcome, folks!  We’re back, and only slightly agitated with the unexpected loss of Episode 017 last week.  Thanks for joining us.  I’ll be brief with the summary this week and try to hit all the details quickly.  Our Cigar of the Week is one of Craig’s offerings, the 2006 Partagas Serie du Connoisseur.  We had several news items pop up this week, as we begin to enter the season of rapidfire updates in the days leading up to IPCPR.  Here are a few we covered:

News Items

  1. Eddie Ortega has been showing off the artwork for his October release in the Wild Bunch series, featuring DaByrdman (Ashley Byrd, cofounder of the B&B Cigar Club)
  2. Quesada will be adding a 5″X43 corona to the Oktoberfest lineup this year, which excites both of us greatly.  I already love the blend, especially in the Bavarian size…I can’t wait to give it a try in a corona.  Production numbers appear to be only about 500 boxes of 20, and MSRP is about $7.25.
  3. EP Carrillo is going to release a 7″X70 monster into the INCH line.
  4. Erik Espinosa published a press release earlier this week detailing the upcoming La Bomba Warhead.
  5. L’Atelier published a picture of the packaging for the upcoming Extension de la Racine, which will feature a similar blend to their core line but be wrapped in Sungrown Criollo.
  6. Miami Cigar gave a few details about this year’s Casa Miranda – Chapter Two.
  7. On a pipe tobacco note, two legendary blends will soon be in the US market after decades of being unavailable here.

What have we been smoking?

Craig: Wynwood, La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Reserva

Kip: Oliva Serie V Maduro, Padilla Miami 8&11, EPC Short Run 2013, Cuenca 5 Anniversary, Opus – Tauros the Bull

Miscellany

There were a number of discussions in this episode to point out my ever-increasing age and my perception of time since certain cigars were released….

Additionally, we took the opportunity to cover a great number of emails this week.  We needed to catch up after losing last week’s episode to the Great Wide YouTube Universe.  We actually got through 9 of them in the episode, some followups to previous correspondence.  Keep those coming!  We love to hear from you all – just drop us a line through any of the means below.

Wrap

Be sure you all come back next week for Episode 019, which will be a live show at 9pm EST Friday night (June 14).  We will be smoking a Monte Pascoal, a tasty blend coming out of Brazil.

In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected].  Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway.  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.

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!

Press Release: Casa Miranda Chapter Two

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“Casa Miranda Chapter Two”

Casa MirandaMiami, FL June 6th, 2013 – Everybody loves a good sequel, and the Casa Miranda Chapter 2 is set to debut at IPCPR which is being held this year in Las Vegas, NV.

The follow up to the original which was made in Miami at the famed El Titan de Bronze, will be made at My Father Cigars S.A in Esteli, Nicaragua.

According to Jason Wood; VP of Miami Cigar & Company, “Just like any great novel, our story continues to gain momentum with the release of Chapter 2 at this years’ IPCPR. I look forward to our consumer’s feedback on this medium bodied beauty!”

The tobacco used for this new chapter is a dark Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper with filler from Brazil, Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.

It is available in the following sizes:

• Robusto (4.5 x 50) $6.35 MSRP
• Corona Gorda (6 x 46) $7.00 MSRP
• Toro (5.5 x 54) $ 7.60 MSRP
• Gran Toro (6 x 60) $8.00 MSRP

About Miami Cigar & Company
Miami Cigar & Company, founded in 1989, is the exclusive US distributor of La Aurora brands. They are also the worldwide owner/distributor of Tatiana, Don Lino, La Sirena and Nestor Miranda line of cigars. They can found on the web at:

http://www.miamicigarcompany.com/

http://www.facebook.com/miamicigarcompany

Casa Miranda

Press Release: Espinosa Cigars to release Warhead

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espinosa cigars warheadEarlier today, Erik Espinosa (Espinosa Premium Cigars) published this on Facebook:

On this day, in honor of D-Day, we at Espinosa Premium Cigars are proud to announce that we will be introducing a limited edition cigar for our full bodied 601 La Bomba line called “Warhead” at IPCPR this year. This is the first time the 601 La Bomba line is offered with a Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper. The Warhead measures 6 1/2 inches by 54 ring and is semi-box pressed with the familiar fuse-like pig tail that is found on the 601 La Bomba line. “Although the wrapper is different, we are using the same powerful blend as the rest of the line.” said Erik Espinosa.

Warhead is limited to 2,000 boxes of 10 and the packaging is inspired by several themes in the World War II era. When unraveled, the foot band on the cigar is revealed to be in the form of a bomb. This “bomb” features nose art or aircraft graffiti, which was common in this era. Most prominent is the shark-face which is a reference to the Flying Tigers, the 1st American Volunteer Group, who would paint the shark-faces on their military aircrafts.

The 601 La Bomba line was first introduced in 2011 and is considered to be one of the strongest cigars in the market

espinosa cigars warhead

Episode 017b: Lost Show Redux

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Half Ashed logoHello again, everyone.  As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, we have a lost show in the internet cosmos.  Yes, Half Ashed Episode 017, despite showing successful recording and registering analytics for viewership Friday night, has seemingly disappeared into the vast wilds of the YouTube datasphere.  That show actually contained 2 hours of good content, despite the technical difficulties we experienced.  We will be bringing Friday’s guest Michael Stewart back to talk again as soon as we are able to, and explore his hobby of buying whole leaf tobacco and rolling his own cigars.  In the meantime, Craig and I put together a shorter episode that just touched on a few of the important issues – our giveaway winner, a new giveaway, the unbanded we smoked Friday from Jacob Pinkas, and a couple of highlights from Michael.  We DID NOT cover the majority of the information from Friday – this will be brought back in the future show.  Rest assured we will also cover some of the pertinent news items, as well as quite a few listener emails on this upcoming week’s show (Episode 018….look for it Sunday night).

You might also want to check out a couple of posts that Michael has made over on Cigar Federation about rolling your own long filler cigars.  The first is a list of sources and necessary equipment for getting started.  This is a basic list of things that you can assemble as a starting point – and get you started as inexpensively as possible.  He also gives a few recommendations about which tobaccos you might want to try first.

Secondly, he also posted links to a few YouTube videos detailing the process of rolling.

Cigar Review: 2005 Padron 1964 Aniversario Natural Corona

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As you may already know, Craig and I like to include a brief review of each episode’s Half Ashed Cigar of the Week – he does the review for my selections and vice versa. Back in Episode 013, we featured the 2005 Padron Aniversario Natural and I neglected to post the review. So, accept my apologies with the belated ramblings below….

2005 Padron 1964 Aniversario Natural Corona

Preliminary Exam:

Padron 1964 AniversarioIn typical Padron fashion, the construction and appearance for this cigar are absolutely flawless. Faultless cap; no voids nor overly dense areas; just about as perfectly built a cigar as one can find. The wrapper provides only a faint aroma of cedar, which may be from its years in the humidor. The foot aroma is somewhat bolder, with a bent toward sweet hay. The cold draw is delicious. I perceive it as cedary, and almost minty, even. It carries an evenly colored, medium-brown wrapper – which has settled into every nook and cranny of the bunch and binder beneath. The press is sharp but not awkwardly so.

The Smoke:

Padron 1964 AniversarioAt first light, I get a bit of a dusty beginning on the initial puffs – in feel alone. The flavor borders on a floral, or clove-like sweetness but is almost obscured by the dry texture. Once the dust has settled, this Padron really begins to shine, providing creamy allspice, perhaps even touching on cinnamon-sugar. This sweet spice is quite prevalent, with basically none of the cocoa I’m used to in its maduro counterparts. There was a noticeable tinge of sweetened coffee, though, which was very pleasant. The dustiness dropped off by the end of the first inch, leaving behind the creamy sweet spice throughout the midsection of the cigar. Although I shouldn’t be, I’m struck again by the lack of chocolate and cocoa flavors I find in the maduros. By the final portion, a slight bit of the earlier dusty character has returned – but never in full force. The finish is long and leathery; leaving me wanting more. Not more from a cigar; more of this cigar. As an added bonus, this Padron had a very significant physiological “relaxing” effect on me. A fantastic smoke!

Wrap:

Padron 1964 AniversarioI don’t keep many of any Padron Aniversario around long-term. I tend to buy one here and there for an “occasion” – or even no particular occasion sometimes. This experience has shown me the folly of that philosophy. Both of the examples smoked for this week have just simply been phenomenally enjoyable cigars, and both have made me want to put some away for a while. If I can keep my hands off them in the meantime, that is…..