Arturo Fuente | Half Ashed

Half Ashed Episode 134: Unbanded 023

January 21, 2016 By Kip Fisher

Unbanded 023

Tonight, we’re smoking TWO Unbanded cigars….doubly blind!

Unbanded A – 4.5” x 50/52ish (52+); dark wrapper with an oily feel (but no visible sheen); coarse veining – broadleaf? Lumpy telegraphing of its insides; almost minty cold draw

Unbanded B – 5” x 50; dark wrapper with a more noticeable oily sheen than “A”; sweeter foot aroma

Cigar News

Quesada will be continuing their limited Seleccion Espana limited release for a dozen retailers for 2016 – this time, however, it’s in an “A”-ish vitola (8.5” x 48)….sorry, Craig. Each retailer will still receive 100 cigars, but in 10-ct boxes rather than the 50 or 100 count crates from the past.

Davidoff sent out a press release earlier this week, detailing that they will be releasing a couple box pressed vitolas in their Nicaragua line. The sizes will be a 5”x48 robusto and 6”x52 toro, which differ slightly from their non-pressed counterparts in the regular line (5×50 and 5.5×54). They also list a Nicaraguan habano oscuro as the wrapper, rather than the “Nicaraguan rosado” given for the standard issue Nicaragua. No details were given as to pricing, but the new sizes should ship in March.

AJ Fernandez has suffered a fire at their Nicaraguan operations over the Christmas holiday. On Christmas Eve, news spread of the fire – which, according to the local news agency Telenorte, destroyed several tobacco barns and farming equipment. There have been mixed reports of the monetary loss, with some estimates coming in at over $1mm US. Reportedly, the factory proper was not impacted…but a large supply of raw leaf was burned. Telenorte has also reported that an employee has been detained for questioning in the fire.

Fuente’s now-annual “Unnamed Reserve” release has hit retailer shelves. As was the case once before, it has been delivered in two differing vitolas within the same box this year – a 5.5” x 48 robusto and 6” x 50 toro. There are 10 of each size included per box, with retail set at around $325 per box (just over $16 per cigar).

In a move that was unexpected to me, Nate McIntyre posted a notice via Facebook today that he has resigned his position at Cubanacan. Well wishes his way for his future endeavours…

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Club Havana Corona Especial (Laguito 2) – These are really coming around at 1 year old. I love the blend and thought this size might not be the best representation. One smoked last week makes me think they just needed to come out of their mini-funk.

Tat Belle Encre Reserva – I talked about these a few shows back and I’ll say the same again. Not ready.

Kip

Campesino TORO

Nada, beyond Tatuaje Verocu #5 and Fume D’Amour Lagunas

Next Episode

In the next episode (135), we will be smoking the Chogui Dos77. So come by Friday night and hang out with us in the chatroom during the show. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us via the Contact Page or 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), find us on iTunes, or subscribe with any podcast app at our RSS Feed. Video, as always, will be available at the Half Ashed YouTube Channel.

Half Ashed Episode 131: Bolivar Colosales ER Alemania

December 18, 2015 By Kip Fisher

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Bolivar Colosales ER Alemania

The Bolivar Colosales ER Alemania is a moderately large cigar coming in by direct measurement of 52x 6”. We were intending to review the Libertador from France this week but after each of us smoked them and discovered that they were in a bit of a funk, we punted, and changed over to the other RE we have for this mini vertical review. The Colosales is a regional release from 2006 and a highly anticipated cigar at the time. Both the Colosales and the Libertador were large ring Boli’s but the German variant was a slightly deeper, stronger cigar 9 years ago. Bolivar is known for earthy, tobacco centric flavors and this cigar is akin to that, though more citrusy & sweeter than typical.

The Regional Editions began after the success of two specially commissioned cigars in 2004. The reintroduction of the famous Bolivar Gold Medal and a VR called the Jubelium were released in Germany to critical and market success. Habanos capitalized on this success with three REs in 2005 and exponentially more in the years following.

Cigar News

PDR joins Pro Cigar –

Congrats to Liana Fuente, who is getting married tomorrow.

Proposal by HUD to ban smoking throughout all public housing – citing concern for health dangers from secondhand smoke…would help improve the health of ”more than 760,000 children and help public housing agencies save $153 million every year in healthcare, repairs and preventable fires.” (Washington Post)

The C.Gars Ltd Auction, which we spoke about a bit a couple weeks ago, is scheduled and features a FULL 250-count (!) pre-embargo of RyJ Invencibles (5.5”x33). The auction will take place on Nov. 30th.

Christian Eiroa is celebrating 20 years, kinda. It’s been 20 years since he first began working in the industry, although he did have an almost 4-year hiatus after selling his former company (Caribe Imported Cigars, which included Camacho) in 2008. The “First 20 Years” line will made at his El Aladino factory in Honduras, and come in 4 sizes – a 6”x46, 5”x50 robusto, 6”x54, and 6”x60. It will also be a Honduran puro with all-Jamastran tobacco. Christian’s father Julio reportedly grew the binder & filler from a seed varietal that hasn’t been grown in 50 years and presented the tobacco to Christian for the celebration of his 20 years. MSRP will run $12-14 per stick.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Chogui – Opus Angel Share, anyone?

Partagas Maduro No.1 – Surprisingly good but in no way a formal endorsement. Dark & sweet, thought not overpoweringly so.

Padron Damaso – These really do line up for my take on what a Connie should be.

Diplomatico #4 (1997) – Damn good Montecristo…

J.Fuego Corojo Oscuro – Yum! Great sweet bready flavors & spectacular construction. Thank you!

Kip

Punch Signature Gordo…yes, a 60 ring! And I liked it! I enjoyed the Robusto in this line several months ago when it was introduced. A kind listener sent me one of the Gordo 6×60, and while I don’t typically smoke big ring cigars I gave this one a try. I have to say it did not suck at all. In fact, the 89 score on the robusto would probably have been a point or two higher had I smoked the Gordo. It had the sweet, peppery spice like the robusto – but with more emphasis on the “sweet.” It also had lots of nutty accompaniment throughout its length and occasional flashes of chili-chocolate (also like the robusto). Although it still featured a good bit of strength, I found it more manageable than the robusto even. Loved it, and knowing it can be found for a very reasonable $4.35/stick it’d be hard to beat.

Ashton’s LAdC Mi Amor Reserva…Without smoking them side-by-side, I have difficulty nailing down differences between the Reserva and standard blend in this line. Lots of cocoa, backed up by a healthy but approachable dose of Nicaraguan spice. Very good.

The other Bolivar Colosales ER Alemania….

Miscellaneous

Tonight we have a special topic to kick around for a big part of the show….Fermentation! Craig and I kick around a few thoughts on fermentation, aging, and how the two differ…

Next Episode

In the next episode (132), we will be smoking the Asylum “99 Problems”. So come by Friday night and hang out with us in the chatroom during the show. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us via the Contact Page or 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), find us on iTunes, or subscribe with any podcast app at our RSS Feed. Video, as always, will be available at the Half Ashed YouTube Channel.

Half Ashed Episode 115: Ashton Symmetry with Bob

June 1, 2015 By Kip Fisher

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Ashton Symmetry

When the Ashton Symmetry was released in Fall 2014, it was the first new Ashton line in almost 10 years. It, like most other cigars to carry the Ashton marque, is a Fuente produced product, and features a “cloud-grown” Ecuadoran habano wrapper. Internally, it has some Dominican leaf from Villa Gonzalez and the Fuentes’ Un Buen Vecino farm in Estelí, Nicaragua. It comes in 5 vitolas, including this corona gorda called the Prism, and retails for $11-12.50 depending on size.

Tune in with Kip and special guest Bob McDuffee to chat up what he’s been up to lately and a few rabbit trails just begging to be followed….

Cigar News

I’m a big fan of Fratello – one of the newer lines out there, owned by Omar de Frias. The corona in his first lineup is a phenomenal cigar…and now he is coming out with a maduro. It will have a soft launch with a handful of retailers in the next few weeks, and full availability at IPCPR. The Bianco will come with a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Dominican binder and a filler blend containing Peruvian, Nicaraguan, and Pennsylvania broadleaf. It’s coming out of Esteli, but there’s no mention of the factory. It will be available in 20-ct boxes, in 3 vitolas – 6.25×44, 6×50, and 5×56. A fourth, event exclusive 5×44 will also be produced. The line isn’t a spinoff from their first line, which launched in 2013. It’s an entirely new blend according to Omar. Subsequent picture

After going thus far with a single vitola (although two were planned since IPCPR 2014), Drew Estate is releasing an extension to the Nica Rustica line. It’s a 7.5”x54 belicoso called the “Belly.” It will have a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper over Mexican San Andres binder and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. It’s scheduled to begin shipping nationally in September, but will have a soft launch at an event July 30th in Louisville, KY. Pricing is expected to be around $8/stick.

Fresh off our recent discussions about cigar companies making cigars specifically to be paired with or flavored by beverages (Drew Estate’s PVW, C&C’s Dram, Asylum’s Dragon’s Milk, etc.), Perdomo is throwing their hat in the ring. They will be releasing the Craft Series, intended to be cigars for beer enthusiasts. This line is very much akin to C&C’s Dram series – with the Dram intended to be paired with whiskey, and the Craft Series with beer. It will include a CT-wrapped (Pilsner), Sungrown (Amber) and Maduro (Stout). While I understand the idea behind these pairing series, I guess I’m a bit of a skeptic. Most of my experience has shown good pairings to be more experimentation and happy accident than hard science…and it seems most folks’ ideas about what goes well together are different enough to make it inconsistent at best. In any event, the line will come in 3 vitolas (5.5”x54 robusto, 6.5”x54 epicure, and 6”x60 gordo), and retail for $7-8.50 depending on vitola.

Pinar del Rio is releasing a whole new line, composed of surplus tobaccos from other blends. They’ve emphasized that this is not the typical “Cuban sandwich” cigar, though. It will be all long filler, but be rolled using this leftover tobacco. The line will be an inexpensive bundle stick, retailing for about $2.75 to $3 per cigar, and will use the surplus from large purchases of leaf for other lines. It will, however, consistently have an Ecuadoran Habano wrapper, Dominican binder and Nicaraguan fillers, and feature about 80% leftover leaf. It’s called the “A Crop” and will come in 3 vitolas: 5”x50 robusto, 6”x52 toro, and 6”x58 gordo.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Bob

Had some really bad smoking Maduro’s from a well known Miami Cigar Company

Lighters – it’s hard to find a good lighter that will last, prices are too high for most lighters and yet the cheap ones are just that, cheap.

For the most part I am finding the quality of today’s cigars to be excellent to acceptable

Kip

Asylum’s new Nyctophilia robusto

Tatuaje Verocu Havana VI #5 4”x40

Don Arturo Destino al Siglo Familiar 6.5”x46

Next Episode

In the next episode (116), Craig will return to his duties and we’ll be smoking one of his selections – the San Cristobal Mercaderes 2007. So come by Friday night and hang out with us in the chatroom during the show. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us via the Contact Page or 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), find us on iTunes, or subscribe with any podcast app at our RSS Feed. Video, as always, will be available at the Half Ashed YouTube Channel.

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, [email protected] if you have something you’d like to send in. I will provide an address to send them. Thanks!

Half Ashed Episode 112: Southern Draw Cigars

May 10, 2015 By Kip Fisher

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Southern Draw Cigars – Kudzu Toro

Welcome to episode 112! This week, we have guest Robert Holt of Southern Draw Cigars. Tune in as we chat with Robert about his cigars, the philosophy behind the brand and blending, as well as a few off-topic rabbit trails. We had a fantastic time…all while smoking the Southern Draw Kudzu. Tonight’s stick is the 6″ x 52 toro, featuring Nicaraguan internal components wrapped in a Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro wrapper leaf. The Kudzu is softly pressed, with moderate tooth and beautiful dark chocolate-brown coloration throughout. It also has an element I increasingly enjoy for lighting purposes – a closed foot, which makes lighting a breeze. Besides the toro, it is also available in a 5.5″ x 54 robusto and 6.5″ x 60 Gordo. Tune in to see how it went!

News

Big news today from House of Emilio. Founder Gary Griffith has left the company, per a statement from them on social media this afternoon:

Today’s post is to inform our friends in the cigar industry about the retirement of Gary Griffith from Emilio Cigars, House of Emilio, and Delaware Cigars. Gary was a visionary and a social media marketing pioneer. His time with us was filled with laughter, caring, and many great cigars. Going forward, his legacy will continue through the brands he’s helped, the distribution company he led, and the cigars that he blended. We wish him all the best in his future adventures!

So…what does this mean? Nate McIntyre left a few months back, and I’m not even sure who is left to take the helm. I know they have several sales folks at this point, but I don’t know who is in a position to continue on.

Yesterday, we learned of that 4 Senators (including Craig’s own Dick Durbin) have proposed a NEW tax on tobacco products, including cigars. The proposal would add $0.94 per pack of cigarettes and an “equivalent amount” on other tobacco products. One of the specified goals is to make the taxation similar on all types of tobacco usage. And…predictably….it’s “for the kids.” Speculation is that the tax would add close to $1 to the retail price of premium cigars, depending on wholesale pricing. While it isn’t expected to make it to law, some day it will likely do so should the environment shift….

Nicholas Melillo – aka Nick R. Agua – has been hinting around for weeks or even months concerning possible future involvement in the cigar industry post-Drew Estate. He finally made it a bit clearer this week, with a post stating that “I don’t think there is any better way for people to understand my experience in Nicaragua than through a cigar and a brand, which i hope to debut this summer/fall. As I did with Drew Estate I am putting heart and soul into these new projects, because that’s the only way I know how to do it.”

In a story we didn’t get to last week, Davidoff will be mixing it up again – they will be introducing a Brazilian themed line. It will be rolled in the Dominican Republic, and feature tobacco from the DR, Ecuador and Brazil. Availability is limited to three vitolas – a 3.25” x 50 short robusto, 4.5” x 54 robusto, and 5.5” x 58 gran toro. Pricing has not been released, but the smallest is expected to come in around the $10 mark. The line should debut at this year’s IPCPR tradeshow.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

isla del sol – What can I say about a sugar tipped cigar from my boss? The gift was a nice gesture while we were working together on site but the reality is not my style. A better quality wrapper would have been appreciated. As would no artificial additives to the wrappers head. The cigar had an enjoyable natural tasting sweetness that I did find palatable but I just can’t get over the sticky coating. My lips ripped the wrapper a quarter of the way in and I progressively had to pick pieces off of my lips. If I wasn’t frustrated continuously I would have enjoyed the experience a bit. It reminds me of something my dad would smoke. I’m sure I’d find myself smiling one day after he’s gone if I happened to light one of these up. Too bad it would be the type of laughter accompanying those frustrating moments in life that are so mundane they’re humorous. I guess there’s something redeeming in everything if you look deep enough.

Kip

Tatuaje “Hassell” from 2013 SNS pack. Incredibly sweet aroma off the foot; The initial puffs were wildly entertaining – dark and chocolatey; lots of early sweetness with dark, cherry flavors. From midpoint on, I got a peculiar and unique flavor – hoarhound candy, or even root beer. One of the best cigars I’ve had this year….wish there were more.

Ortega “Cubao” – A couple years ago, when Eddie re-introduced these, I really enjoyed them. They had lots of bright, approachable spice and just enough of a kick to stay interesting. They seem to have maintained all their strength but lost some flavor. It seemed a bit out of balance; definitely tilted toward strength on the ol’ scale.

Some Fuente prototype from CFC2012. I love Fuente. I truly do…but I was left a bit disappointed by this one. It began with delicious, sweet toasty goodness. But around the midpoint, it became increasingly hard to get smoke from it – and the flavor went a bit more vegetal than I’d typically prefer. At first I wished I knew what it was and how to get more…but by the end I didn’t really care.

Next Episode

Next episode (113) we will be featuring the Davidoff Nicaragua short corona, with special guest Dale Roush. So come by Half Ashed Friday night at 9:30pm EST and hang out with us in the chatroom during the show. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us via the Contact Page or 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), find us on iTunes, or subscribe with any podcast app at our RSS Feed. Video, as always, will be available at the Half Ashed YouTube Channel.

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 [email protected] if you have something you’d like to send in. I will provide an address to send them. Thanks!

Half Ashed Episode 100: 2005 Opus X Double Corona

January 28, 2015 By Kip Fisher

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2005 Opus X Double Corona

Ten years ago, the Fuente Fuente Opus X Double Corona received high honors from Cigar Aficionado in receiving the 2005 “#1 Cigar of the Year” award. The 7 5/8” x 49 Dominican puro is just one vitola in what is one of the most widely-known and sought after regular production Dominican cigars. Tonight’s examples are the last of my stockpile from that year, and I wish I’d had the wherewithal to put more away at the time. It really was a good year. When young, these were full of café con leche and sharp leather, but as the years have gone by they’ve softened quite a bit and gotten more oatmeal-like in character, a profile I love in the Opus after a few years’ time. Strangely enough, this larger vitola comes across with far less strength than I normally attribute to the line, especially in comparison to some of its smaller brethren….which is probably why I like this bigger size despite my general tendencies toward smaller cigars.

Guest and News

We have special guest Colin Ganley in this episode, so rather than cover our typical news format we chatted with him about recent news in his world – which will likely be of interest to those of us who enjoy a good cigar and/or coffee to go with it. Formerly with Cigar Journal, Colin heads up cigartourism.com these days, as well as Twin Engine Coffee (a small batch Nicaraguan coffee whose philosophy is “that it can be enjoyed purely—free of defects, and showcase the differences in character brought by terroir, care for beans, and roasting. We work to develop roasts for each coffee that we produce to accentuate these characteristics“). We talked a good bit about Twin Engine, as I’m keenly interested in their product…as well as that which they are now producing for RoMaCraft Tobac, which is intended to be paired with the Intemperance line. However, the big news of the night is that Colin will be leading his first American group to Cuba under the new guidelines and his recently granted permit for doing so. The initial details can be found at the Cigar Tourism “Cuba” page – but full details, which will be available at experiencecubanculture.com are not yet available (although we did cover many of them during the show).

Wrap Up

Next week we will be featuring Unbanded #020 as our Cigar of the Week. Be sure to tune in Friday night at 9:30pm EST and hang out with us in the chatroom during the show. If you would like to contact us in the meantime, you can reach us via the “Contact Us!” tab at the side of this 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), find us on iTunes, or subscribe with any podcast app at our RSS Feed. Video, as always, will be available at the Half Ashed YouTube Channel.

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!

Humidor Diving

January 23, 2015 By Kip Fisher

My wife is not a cigar smoker. She has had a few over the years, but one cigar every year or two doesn’t really qualify her as such. That being said, she does know what she likes – which is basically one of three different marques. She enjoys the Avo XO, Ashton Classic panatela or Fuente Between the Lines. Ever the encouraging husband, I typically keep one or two of each of those cigars around (except the Between the Lines.we have a number of those tucked away).

I was in an adventuresome (read:fickle) mood this morning, and went digging into the depths of the humidor looking for something that struck my fancy. I came across the Avo’s I’d put away for her..two little XO Intermezzos (5.5″x50). I figured “Hey.these things have been in here for years. It doesn’t appear she has designs on smoking them any time soon. I might as well fire one up.” So, I just moments ago sat down set it alight.

Time has been kind.

I was never a huge Avo fan. Don’t get me wrong, I have enjoyed a number of the company’s offerings over the years; it’s just that there have never been any I felt compelled to stockpile deeply for the long haul. Just minutes into this little guy, I’m feeling a tinge of regret over that decision. I don’t know if it’s a fluke, or if this line is prone to mature in the same way, but this cigar has developed a rich, clean – almost minty – flavor that is absolutely charming. It’s chocked full of savory, mouthwatering Sweet-Tart deliciousness. Even the cold draw before lighting was delightful. It’s been several years since I’ve smoked an XO, but I certainly don’t remember being so captivated by the blend at the time. Definitely not to this degree. I have one more with the same time under its belt in my humidor. If it’s as good as this one, I see a good chance of putting some away for a rainy day.

I’ve asked recently about your favorites that might not be so well known to the rest of us.but what are some that may have national recognition, yet have fallen out of the public eye because they’re not the “latest, greatest blend”? Maybe there’s a cigar deep in your humidor just begging for you to take it out and enjoy the heck out of it “just because.” Something, perhaps, that you’ve even covered over with other cigars or forgotten about. Dig in there and find them..and let me know if you find any gems!

Half Ashed Episode 083: Unbanded #018

September 22, 2014 By Kip Fisher

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Unbanded 018

I apologize for such a late (2 weeks) post of this episode…..which means, by the way, that you’ll be getting TWO episodes in rapid succession this week. I’ve been pretty tied up with preparing for my upcoming move. Here is a brief wrap-up of Episode 083, featuring Unbanded #018, generously furnished by zedman.

News

The 2015 CFC dates have been announced by Fuente…

Don Pepin has revived the El Rey do Los Habanos line to release as a shop specific cigar for The Pipe and Pint in Greensboro, NC. Five sizes in 23-count boxes; estimated to retail between $8-11 per stick.

Nomad will be offering a lancero in their CT Fuerte line….presented as Fred Rewey’s personal cigar. He says these were previously just rolled for him, and that he wants to share them with the rest of us…..EC Hab//EC CT//DR & Nica.

The Nebraska AG has requested the court to reconsider their decision to declare the existing exemption for cigar bars as unconstitutional. These requests are rarely accepted, but will at least delay the formalization of the decision for several weeks. If accepted, the case would take several more months to get through the process of review. As a sidenote, I read there are only 11 cigar bars in the entire state of NE!!! STORY HERE

What we’ve been smoking

Craig

H.Upmann Sir Winston

Pueblo Dominicano

Bolivar Belicoso Finos

Kip

El Suelo from DC

per Dale’s recommendation: JdN Fuerte B

Other

A demonstration of Craig’s wrapper dissection.

One listener email from Eric Bernabe.

Ashton Symmetry Announced

July 2, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Ashton Symmetry to be released Fall 2014

Earlier today, the Ashton Symmetry was announced through social media outlets as the latest addition to the company’s existing lineup. The Symmetry will be the first new cigar line to carry the Ashton brand name in nearly ten years. The cigar will be produced by Arturo Fuente (Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia) in the Dominican Republic, as are many existing Ashton marques including the Classic, Aged Maduro, Cabinet, Heritage Puro Sol, VSG, and ESG. Symmetry was blended by Carlito Fuente, and will feature “Habano wrappers grown in the cloud-covered fields of Ecuador.” Internally, the blend will feature Dominican tobaccos from Chateau de la Fuente and Villa González, as well as “some rare leaves from the Fuente family’s Un Buen Vecino farm, located in Estelí, Nicaragua.” The line has been under development for four years, and “offers a wonderful creamy richness garnished with notes of spice, oak and toasted nuts.” The line is described as medium to full bodied, and will be offered in five vitolas. Shipping is set to begin this Fall, following the IPCPR tradeshow.

The Ashton Symmetry was featured in Episode 115 of Half Ashed

Ashton Website Ashton Facebook
Ashton Twitter

Half Ashed Episode 064: Fuente Surprise

May 4, 2014 By Kip Fisher

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This week on Half Ashed, we’re smoking a very special Fuente cigar, given out at CFC2014. Tune in to get the full details about it, but here’s a spoiler: we loved it. We had quite a bit of news to cover, including items from FDA, General Cigars’ Dunhill, 1502 Cigars, Herrera Esteli, Drew Estate, Luis Sanchez, and a bit more trouble for former Swisher executive Alex Goldman. We also discussed what else we’ve been smoking this week and several listener emails. Keep ’em coming!

In an unfortunate turn, our latest attempt at revamping our chatroom experienced a setback at showtime, and we had to punt with the chatroom. We will be back online with the chat this Friday night. We’ve contracted with a provider to offload the server load to cloudservers, so we shouldn’t have any further difficulties. Just follow the instructions on the front page of halfashed.com. Thanks for checking in, and we look forward to you joining us Friday night!

Next week, our Cigar of the Week will be a very special cigar from Craig’s provided featured cigars, 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!

Half Ashed Episode 063: Unbanded 014

April 26, 2014 By Kip Fisher

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Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 063 of Half Ashed, featuring Unbanded #014 as our Cigar of The Week. This particular cigar was supplied by long time friend of the show Maria Elena González. Here is just a sampling of a few items covered in Episode 063:

News

Barry Stein commented on his future plans in returning to cigar media, and hinted at some future potential for the Kilo (hoowahh!).

Oliva has begun shipping the extensions to their Melanio Maduro line.

Kevin Paige of acigarsmoker.com is reporting that La Sirena is moving production from My Father & La Aurora to Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory.

The focus of our news conversation tonight was the FDA’s “Deeming document” concerning their intentions toward regulating premium cigars. At the heart of the matter is: 1. whether or not premium cigars will fall under the same classification as other tobacco products, and 2. the definition of a “premium” cigar. Tune in to get the full scoop. To summarize, for those who have any desire to continue smoking cigars, I’d strongly advise you to pay attention here. This is the “other shoe” we’ve been waiting to drop for several years. The time is now. You can find an excellent summation of the document at halfwheel, and submit your comment to the powers that be HERE for the next 75 days (through July 9th, 2014.

Other

In “What We’ve Been Smoking” this week, Craig gushed about what he considers one popular manufacturer’s Magnum Opus (and no, it’s not a Fuente). We covered a few more pedestrian smokes as well

There were a couple of embarrassing stories about myself thrown in for good measure this week….

We wrapped up with a fantastic listener email from Louis Alvarez. He made some excellent points we were happy to discuss on the show. Following that, we gave the final wrap on this week’s Unbanded….and I have to admit I was floored when I saw what it actually was. Thanks again to Maria Elena González for supplying it.

Next Episode

Next week, our Cigar of the Week will be a very special Fuente stick given out at CFC2014. We know little about it, except it’s roughly the same vitola as a Hemingway Classic, and carries their “prototype” X band and a secondary “Destino al Siglo” band. 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!