Half Ashed

Cigar Podcast and Cigar Reviews

Given below is a running archive of all previous episodes of Half Ashed. Feel free to browse around and give them a listen. Each episode can be streamed or downloaded directly from its respective summary post below. Alternatively, if you would like to subscribe to the podcast, you can find us on iTunes. Unedited video from each show is also maintained on our YouTube channel. As always, you are invited to join us every Friday night while we’re recording with live video feed and chat room on our broadcast page.

Home » Half Ashed Archive » Page 19

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!

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!

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.

Half Ashed Ep 017: Lost in the Cosmos w/Michael Stewart

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Michael Stewart home rolledHalf Ashed Ep 017: Michael Stewart

Good evening, everyone. As many of you already know, we recorded Episode 017 of Half Ashed Friday night, on which we had guest Michael Stewart to talk about his most interesting of hobbies – he buys whole leaf tobacco and blends/rolls his own cigars at home. Unfortunately, we experienced a number of technical difficulties both during and since the show. While recording, two of the three participants were booted from the Hangout a number of times with connectivity issues. While bothersome, we did manage to complete the show. However, due to some as-yet unknown YouTube fiasco, the recording is lost somewhere in the internet cosmos. Craig and I will be recording an abbreviated show during the week to announce the winner of our giveaway, as well as a few other pertinent items you will want to know about. We will be back next week with a full show as normal.  In the meantime, I have a couple of reviews lined up which I will take the opportunity to publish. The first is actually for one of Michael’s cigars that I had the opportunity to smoke recently. I have now been able to sample three of his blends, with the following review being the one I’ve enjoyed the most. So, without further ado, this is for Michael Stewart’s “Nicaragua.”  The vital stats on this cigar are as follows:  Dimensions:  Robusto; roughly 5″X50.  Wrapper: Ecuador Yellow Shade.  Binder: Ecuador Sumatran.  Filler: Nicaraguan seco, viso, & ligero.

Michael Stewart home rolledVisual Once-over:

Aside from being a budding torcedor, Michael is also a jazz trumpeter, and has appropriately named his home-rolled sticks “Casa Trompeta.” The band is a nice touch, featuring a trumpet and apropos nomenclature. From all appearances, this cigar appears to be quite well made. The wrapper on this cigar does seem delicate, and telegraphs everything beneath. In all actuality, the ONLY criticism concerning construction I could even dream up is the extremely flat cap – which made it a bit tough to clip without cutting into the body of the cigar. If I’d had the presence of mind, I would have simply reached for a punch and made it a non-issue. Nonetheless, I did manage to get a good cut without removing too much and unraveling the cigar. Overall, I am quite impressed.

The Smoke:

Before fire is applied, I get a faint aroma of tobacco and sweet hay from both the foot and wrapper. The cold draw provides more sweetness, and goldilocks resistance; not too firm, not too free. The early puffs give a noticeable nasal spice. This spice is very “bright,” with a faintly tannic finish. The flavor behind the spice carries the sweetness well, it “feels” only slightly tannic. Throughout the first inch, the burn is impeccable, remaining razor-straight and not requiring any touchup at all.
Michael Stewart home rolledThe midsection of the “Nicaragua” begins to transition into a more cedary profile, with the sweetness taking a backseat and fading significantly. I do notice that you must mind your cadence. Too aggressive a puff rate will turn it more toward a papery flavor palette. I slowed down et voilà! Back to normal.  Of course, this could be said of any cigar in the marketplace.
Going into the final inch or so of the cigar, the strength picks up a notch – but never becomes what I’d call strong. With less than an inch nub remaining, an ever-so-slight bit of tannic bitterness is the only indicator telling me it was ready to finish up. This was only barely perceptible, and never off-putting; It appeared only at the very end of the smoke, and acted as an early warning system that it was nearing its end.  I have to hand it to Michael, this cigar far exceeded my expectations for something blended and rolled by a layperson. So, kudos to him for a job well done. I don’t know if he has any ambition of ever turning his hobby into a money-making endeavor, but I know there are plenty of lesser cigars on the market selling every day. This was quite an enjoyable smoke, and one I’d be willing to buy off the shelf at my local tobacconist.

Wrap:

Once again, stay tuned for the abbreviated show (Episode 017b) this week, and come back for Episode 018 next week. We’ll be featuring the 2006 Partagas Serie du Connoisseur, one of Craig’s favorites. Also in the coming weeks, we’ll be taking a look at some of the fire-cured tobacco that is showing up in an increasing number of cigars as of late. Thanks for checking in, and we’ll see you next week!

Episode 016: 2011 EP Carrillo Short Run

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2011 EP Carrillo Short RunEpisode 016: 2011 EP Carrillo Short Run

Hello again, folks, and welcome back to Episode 016 of Half Ashed.  We appreciate you stopping by.  In this episode, we take a look at the 2011 EP Carrillo Short Run.  We’re smoking the Bombone (4 7/8 X 50), with its Ecuadoran Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan/Dominican filler blend.  This is Kip’s favorite of the Short Run series so far, but tune in to get full details about how they’re smoking right now.

Show Summary

Rather than the detailed notes I might normally post, I’ll be brief and only include a short summary this week.  A busy holiday weekend coupled with my little Dude’s birthday have left me with little time to publish before our self-imposed deadline.  So, here goes:  We cover a couple of legislative items, a Camacho rebranding, an AMERICAN puro(!), as well as a few more interesting tidbits of news.  Also, we discussed what else we’ve been smoking, and Kip’s “Mad Scientist” idea for comparing some of the intriguing new cigars that are hitting the market.  Finally, we cover a couple of listener emails and updates.  Catch the full show via any of the means below to get “the rest of the story.”

Wrap Up

Firstly, a huge thank you this Memorial Day weekend to all those who have made such sacrifice to allow me the opportunity to enjoy the life and freedom I have grown so accustomed to.  As we did at show closing, I wanted to recognize the countless acts that have made that possible over the history of this nation.  Next week, we’ll have the Michael Stewart as our guest, and be taking a look at his process for sourcing whole leaf tobacco and rolling his own cigars at home.  So again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back in next week for an exciting Episode 017.  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.

Episode 015: Quesada Oktoberfest and Cigar Coop

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Welcome, everyone, to Half Ashed Episode 015 featuring very special guest William Cooper – who many of you know as Cigar Coop from his information-rich website, one of the premier sources of all the news that’s fit to print in the cigar industry.!

2011 Quesada Oktoberfest Bavarian

Quesada Oktoberfest (Cigar Coop Episode)

This week, we’re also taking a look at the 2011 Quesada Oktoberfest Bavaria.  You’ll have to forgive the stock image from their website; I absentmindedly forgot to snap a pic before greedily smoking up my last example of this fantastic cigar.  It comes in a 5.5″ x 52 double robusto, and features a Dominican Cibao Valley wrapper, Dominican binder, and filler blend composed of Dominican Cuban Seed Criollo, Olor Viso, Ligero.

Industry News

Two legislative items were up for discussion this week, with the new FDA Tobacco head speaking before the Tobacco Merchants Assocation annual meeting, and some common sense moves in North Carolina.  We also covered a few new cigars – from Viaje (thanks to Cigar Coop), La Gloria Cubana’s upcoming Nicaraguan cigars, the impending Kelner release, and something new on the shelf from Fuente.

Miscellany

We covered quite a few cigars from the “What Else Have We Been Smoking” segment, with Craig’s special celebratory cigar for his son’s second birthday – and discussed the benefit of time on cigars that may not strike your fancy right off the truck.

Also, after many years of faithful service, the last bastion of non-beaded humidification in my humidors has died.  I laid to rest my trusty old Oasis XL Plus this week.

Finally, we covered several listener emails, including those we omitted last week.

Wrap

A huge thanks to Cigar Coop for sitting in with us on tonight’s show.  Be sure you all come back next week for Episode 016, when we once again take the opportunity to humble ourselves publicly with an unbanded cigar.  This will be Unbanded 004, courtesty of Jacob Pinkas.

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.  Video, as always, will be available on Cigar Federation homepage or at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive.

P.S. – As always, 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!

 

 

Episode 014: Ezra Zion TANTRUM

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Ezra Zion TANTRUMEzra Zion Tantrum

Welcome back to Half Ashed, everyone.  We managed to avoid being booed off the air for yet another week, so we humbly present Episode 014 for your listening and viewing pleasure.  This week we were honored with special guest Kyle Hoover from Ezra Zion Cigars as we take a look at their new Limited Edition TANTRUM – a very big cigar in a very small package.  As should now be evident from opinions I’ve voiced about my love for Ezra Zion cigars, I’m always excited to see something new from the guys.  Tune in for all the details about the TANTRUM, as well as what our thoughts are as we smoke one with Kyle.

Industry News

Industry news was very light this week, with little to update legislatively.  We did have a couple of folks enlist/renew with CRA with my Ambassador number to take advantage of the ongoing Cigarmy promotion.  So, a big thanks to them, and a hope that they’ll enjoy the bonus cigars from my own stash.

We did cover several news items related to new cigars that were announced this past week, and a few other items around the industry.

What Else Have We Been Smoking?

Craig: Just the usuals: Monte Especial, Fuente Cuban Corona, “cigar Lounge” 30-30. All standards, all great.

Kip: I dug into Liga Privada pretty heavily this week, enjoying a Dirty Rat, Feral Flying Pig, and a couple No. 9’s.  Other highlights were “Blend Number 5” from one of Craig’s local brick and mortar shops, and a lovely Don Pepin Garcia Blue.

Miscellany

We covered a couple of listener emails this week, but had to reserve a few more for next week due to time constraints.  Thanks for sending those – and keep them coming!  We love to get feedback from everyone, and learn from all the questions.  We don’t always have a solution, but we’re sure to have an opinion….and there’s almost always someone listening who knows far more than we do, and can provide an accurate answer.

Wrap

A huge thanks to the guys at Ezra Zion, who provided this week’s CoTW – as well as the great discussion and insight from Kyle as he sat in on the show.  Next week, we’ll have another very special guest in Will Cooper – Cigar Coop – as we feature the 2011 Quesada Oktoberfest.  We’re very much looking forward to Coop’s input and views on the industry as a whole, and talk about his contributions to the cigar world and pick his brain a little about the future he sees for the industry.

Again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back next week for an exciting Episode 015.  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.  Video, as always, will be available on Cigar Federation homepage or at the CigFed Half Ashed Video Archive.

P.S. – As always, 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!

Episode 013: 2005 Padron Aniversario

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Padron Aniversario natural2005 Padron Aniversario

Hello again, and welcome back for Half Ashed Episode 013.  This week’s episode features the 2005 Padron Aniversario 1964 natural corona as our Cigar of the Week.  This cigar, one with which I am not overly familiar in the natural wrapper, turned out to be a phenomenal smoke.  These were graciously furnished by Craig, and I was entirely impressed, to say the least.  Tune in to get our combined thoughts about how this stick has held up during the past 8 years.  I will also be posting an Epilogue review within the next couple of days.  Once posted, this will be linked below.  Following is a brief summary of some show topics.

Industry News

The American Association for Cancer Research has come out in opposition to the current CRA-endorsed legislation and has issued a letter to every member of the House & Senate stating such.  This is not surprising, but some of the numbers given in that letter were (to me, anyway).  We talk a little about some of the information in this letter, and some conclusions from it.

CRA promotion through The Cigarmy – We gave a reminder of this ongoing promotion here on The Cigarmy – check that out and let me know when you join up or renew.

We also covered a number of announcements for new cigars, as well as our thoughts about limited, event-only cigars that have been subsequently released into regular production….and a few other items in cigar news recently.

What Else Have We Been Smoking?

Craig: Padrons!

Kip: Partagas Series D #4, Torano Exodus 50 Years, The Tatuaje culebra from the Old Man & The “C,” a fellow Cigar Federation member’s efforts at rolling his own cigars, and a fantastic 2009 Oliva Serie V Diadema.

Miscellany

We cover several listener emails this week, including some follow ups to recent discussions on one gentleman’s discomfort from his cigars and more coffee recommendations.

Wrap

Next week, we’ll have the Ezra Zion crew as special guests, and be taking a look at their new Limited Edition TANTRUM.  That will be a LIVE show, broadcast at 9pm Eastern on Cigar Federation (complete with live chatroom so you can interact with the guys and ask any questions you may have for them), so be sure to tune in to find out how that goes.  The following week, we will have another special guest – William Cooper (Cigar_Coop) to get his insights into the industry, how it’s going, where it’s going, and generally pick his brain and see what we can learn.

Again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back next week for an exciting Episode 014.  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.  Video, as always, will be available on Cigar Federation.

Episode 012: Unbanded 003 & a Giveaway!

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Giveaway May 2013Episode 012 of Half Ashed is in the can, and we welcome you back to join us for this week’s show.  We are offering up another opportunity to humble ourselves in the public eye this week, with Unbanded 003, generously provided by Dan Crouch.  Smoking blindly is something that is becoming somewhat of a habit for me.  Be sure you give us a listen by any of the means below for several news items and updates, what we’ve been smoking, what we thought of the unbanded selection this week, a couple listener emails, and a slight rant from me.  Also, don’t forget to listen in and check out the details on our current giveaway.  Thanks for stopping by!  Here is a quick show summary:

Unbanded 003

Unbanded 003The Cigar of the Week for Episode 012 is an Unbanded submission from Dan Crouch.  Dan took a novel approach with this submission; something that is a little different than our normal format.  He submitted two differing vitolas from the same line of cigars, rather than two examples of the same cigar.  Craig and I both had similar notions about the origin of the cigars, as well as a clear preference for one vitola over the other.  Definitely an interesting experiment, and we thank Dan for the originality and generosity of supplying the cigars.  Check out the show to see what we thought of it, and get the reveal.

Industry News

    1. Legislative items – NYC Democratic mayoral candidate Christine Quinn (also speaker of NY City Council) is proposing that the age restriction on tobacco be raised from 18 to 21 years – NYC Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley states “People who become full-fledged adults without smoking are very unlikely to pick up the habit afterwards.  So if we can prevent our youth from starting smoking until they are 21 we may just be able to protect an entire generation from a lifetime of being addicted to the world’s most dangerous drug.”  So, 19-21 year olds are still youth?  Reminds me of the “study” a few years ago that classified “youth” as anyone under 26, and “smokers” as anyone who’d ever smoked a single cigarette….ORIGINAL STORY
    2. Sam Leccia’s White began shipping this week.  From appearances, the White allocation was all spoken for very quickly….
    3. Casa Fuente tweeted that their online store was open on Monday – much to the delight of Fuente fans everywhere.  Disappointment quickly followed, when they went to the site to find out that no cigars were sold there….just Casa Fuente branded clothing and accessories.  
    4. The Casa Magna Domus Magnus II is finally being shipped – months after it was initially announced.  I’m not a fan of some Casa Magna cigars – but I love me some Domus Magnus.  I believe the blend remains mostly the same, with the exception that the wrapper (sungrown Jalapa) is of a different vintage than the earlier offerings.
    5. Ezra Ziontweeted a picture of their upcoming Limited Edition TANTRUM being boxed up at the factory.  So, it appears they’re on schedule for the release (launched at Michael’s Tobacco of Keller – in Keller, TX on Friday April 26th).  They crew from Ezra Zion will be joining us LIVE on May 10th.
    6. Macanudo will be the new main sponsor for “Big Break” on the Golf Channel.  I’m not a golfer, but apparently this is the channel’s longest running original series – and a big hit for them. Macanudo will feature prominently, with several episode being filmed at the Macanudo lounge Mexico, as well as the brand being incorporated into some of the challenges.

What Else Have We Been Smoking?

    1.  Kip – This week, I’ve been through a number of cigars, including two special Fuente sticks, a “Lauro’s” from Craig, some Casa Fernandez Arsenio and more.  Tune in to the show to get the scoop on how those went…

Miscellany

    1. Giveaway!  It’s time we have another giveaway, and we have some cool stuff going out this time around.  Courtesy of Cuenca Cigars, we have an Ashton ashtray and some killer premium cigars – as well as a Cigarmy coffee mug and a couple more cigars from me.  The cigars are: 2X Cuenca 5 Anniversary, 2X Ortega Serie D Maduro #12’s, 1 Oliva Serie V Maduro, 1X La Aroma de Cuba Marquis Tubo, 1X L’Atelier Surrogates Tramp Stamp, 1X Torano Salutem, 1X Aging Room M356, and 1X JC Newman Perla del Mar.  Listen to the show for all the details, but every email received between now and May 30th with a comment, question, concern, or compliment/complaint about the show will be entered in the giveaway – although, admittedly, complaints will have considerably less chances of winning :).  On our May 31st show, we will randomly select a winner from those entries.  So, get those keyboards humming and send us an email to [email protected] or [email protected]!
    2. After last week’s discussion of my attempts and misadventures in making Cuban coffee, I received quite a few emails on making better brews for cigar accompaniment.  I’m looking forward to giving some of these a try.
    3. We also talk a little about another email we got from Enzo Temko concerning a bit of discomfort after smoking some cigars.
    4. Finally, I go over the edge this week with a minor rant about the profusion of recent emails and distribution lists I’m on – or rather, some that I was on.

Wrap

Next week, our featured cigar will be the 2005 Padron Aniversario Natural.  Be sure to tune in to find out how that goes.  On May 10th, we will have our next LIVE show, broadcast on Cigar Federation.  We’ll be talking with special guests from Ezra Zion about their Limited  Edition release  – the TANTRUM.  The following week, we will have another special guest – William Cooper (Cigar_Coop) to get his insights into the industry, how it’s going, where it’s going, and generally pick his brain and see what we can learn.

Again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back in next week.  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].  Also, don’t forget 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.

Episode 011: The BOTL LLC Esencia “E”

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BOTL, LLCWelcome to Episode 011 of Half Ashed!  This week, we’re taking a look at the new Esencia “E” from BOTL LLC.  For those who aren’t familiar, BOTL LLC are the same folks who brought you the regular Esencia line of cigars and Palio cutters/lighter.  The “E” is their new offering featuring an Ecuadoran Habano seed wrapper, an undisclosed binder, and a Nicaraguan-Dominican filler blend.  Listen or watch to see what we think of it, as well as a few more vital details about it!

Legislative News:

In the news this week, we had a couple of legislative updates.  One from CRA, with the announcement of a new companion bill to HR792 – the Senate bill S772, which was launched with 6 Senators supporting it this week (4 Democrats/2 Republicans).  The only other legislative update was out of California, where the Housing and Community Development Committee rejected a proposed ban on indoor smoking in all multi-family dwellings statewide.  Existing law allows for landlords to prohibit smoking in their own properties at will, and for the time being that will remain the case.  Common sense prevailed, at least for the moment.

Other news items:

    • We provided a little more of the backstory on Operation: Smokescreen…and the end of many a cigar smoker’s hopes for a cigar-themed movie.
    • Some rumblings, chatter, and hearsay about the possibility that CI now holds pipesandcigars.com.  This may be old news, but was a revelation to me – and something I was unaware of happening.
    • A discussion of a recent story and subsequent editorial from the Stogie Guys about the fact that Phillip Morris (and parent company Altria) have come out against the protection of the premium cigar industry from FDA regulation.
    • Cigar Federation!  Our beloved CigFed is getting a facelift!  CigarChat has been added to the lineup of quality programming available at the Cigar Federation, which brings onboard the two fine gentlemen who do that show (Robby Rasmussen & Logan Lawler).  Logan, being a social media and webmaster kinda guy, has taken on the task of redesigning the site to make it more userfriendly and effective in its mission of providing quality cigar industry content and community for those who enjoy the hobby.  He has already made some sweeping changes, and is doing a phenomenal job revamping the site and making it better.  Kudos to Logan!  We’re looking forward to seeing it evolve.  Everyone needs to check that out and sign yourself up with a profile if you haven’t already…
    • Gordon Mott published a Cigar Aficionado blog entry this week calling out a certain cigar company for misusing past CA ratings of one of their products to market a very different product today.

What else have we been smoking?

    • Craig – The J. Fuego Edicion de Familia, the Ezra Zion Inception (now Jamais Vu), and a couple more surprises…
    • Kip – Litto Gomez Small Batch 4 (listen as Kip admits to being a total nicotine wus with this cigar),  the Leon Jimenes Series 300 (a wonderful surprise in a bargain cigar), as well as the first six releases of Eddie Ortega’s Wild Bunch, published first on The Cigarmy.

What else have we been enjoying with our cigars?

Kip – Cuban coffee, although my results are “mixed” to be generous.  The quality in terms of flavor and enjoyment are quite limited from my trials so far, but the heart palpitations are fun at times….

Upcoming Shows:

Next week’s Cigar of the Week is an unbanded, provided by Dan Crouch.  Dan took a novel approach with this submission, in that he submitted 2 different vitolas from the same line.  Tune in next week to find out how that goes.  On May 10th, we will have our next LIVE show, broadcast on Cigar Federation.  We’ll be talking with special guests from Ezra Zion about their upcoming Limited  Edition release of the Tantrum.  The following week, we will have another special guest – William Cooper (Cigar_Coop) to get his insights into the industry, how it’s going, where it’s going, and generally pick his brain and see what we can learn.

Again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back in next week.  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].  Also, don’t forget to 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.  Video, as always, will be available on our YouTube Channel.