News: CAO releases Sinister Sam

June 7, 2014 By Kip Fisher

America remix now available until supplies are exhausted

I’m a bit behind the 8-ball with this story, and I apologize for that. I’ve been tied up with two podcasts this week (Catch either Stogie Geeks Episode 98 or Half Ashed Episode 069 to see that), and have not had a moment to catch up until tonight. CAO has released the Sinister Sam, a twist on the CAO America blend.

The Sinister Sam shares a common bond with the original America line in the wrapper and binder content – Connecticut Shade and broadleaf, respectively. The filler, however, has been pumped up a bit with a “new, ligero-driven blend with a touch of Colombian tobacco. The flavor is similar to CAO America, amped up with fuller-body.” In a release from General earlier this week, the Sinister Sam features is said to feature some intricate construction details. The cigar is wrapped predominantly with Connecticut Shade leaf, but additionally features a “sheath” of broadleaf on its exterior. Although largely hidden by the lengthy band, the sheath extends enough below to reveal a large cut-out star. At the foot is the existing America footband, with another cut-out star below. “The result is a unique smoking experience as the smoker progresses along the cigar from shade to a shade + broadleaf overwrap, and then back to shade with a hint of broadleaf at the end.”

The Sinister Sam is available in a single, 6.5″ X 52 vitola, and has been produced in a limited run of 2,000 boxes of 14 (28,000 total production). Retail price before tax is set at $8.50 per cigar. It is available exclusively at cigar shops nationwide from now until the run is depleted.

Per the General release, “CAO Sinister Sam is an ideal smoke for Fourth of July and summer BBQs, and follows CAO’s Evil Santa and Angry Snowman, two small-batch blends that were extremely well-received by cigar smokers.”

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!

Press Release: GENERAL CIGAR 1907 BY DUNHILL

April 30, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Four New Super Premium Sizes to Make Worldwide Debut

General Cigar announces the world premiere of 1907 by Dunhill®, a medium-bodied, four-cigar collection that will be available at fine cigar shops nationwide, and at premium tobacconists worldwide, beginning in May. 1907 by Dunhill marks the first full-time new Dunhill brand since its Signed Range was introduced in 2001, and commemorates the first box-pressed cigar in the entire Dunhill portfolio, with the range’s new Toro size.

Yves Politi, head of British American Tobacco Ltd.’s Dunhill cigar division said, “In the century since opening its flagship tobacco shop in London, Dunhill has remained synonymous with exquisite cigars in elegant packaging. 1907 celebrates the Dunhill brand’s time-honored tradition of tobacco mastery, while incorporating elements that speak to the modern cigar smoker’s passion points: a fuller taste profile, accessible pricing and classic sizing.”

Handcrafted by artisans in [Read more…]

Half Ashed Episode 047: We’re Back! Cabaiguan Maduro

January 4, 2014 By Kip Fisher

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Welcome back! Craig and I were both recuperating from illness last week, so after making the first 46 in a row we had to miss an episode. But, we’re back this week, smoking the Cabaiguan Maduro as our Cigar of the Week. This is one of Craig’s favorites, but tune in and see how well his palate has recovered after two weeks of healing.

In the news this week ,we covered stories from 1502 Cigars, General Cigar’s new collaboration with Jay-Z, Ezra Zion, and Quesada. We also talked over an article from the UK Telegraph which speculated that cigar smoking as a whole could die off within the next 12 years. We did go ahead and talk over what we’ve been smoking – which amounts to very little with the recent illnesses. What we did discuss some was how we observed the evolution of a palate back to a normal state. Surprisingly, this has taken me far longer than I would have ever dreamed. A full 9 days after I felt healthy, I am still experiencing some difference between expectation and reality in cigars with which I am quite familiar. Additionally, we editorialized over a couple of recent observations I’ve made about the industry in general. Lastly, we made up ground from last week and announced each of our favorite 10 cigars from 2013 – with some caveats. It’s our list, so we get to make the rules :).

1. These are not necessarily new cigars for the year (although some were), but the cigars we simply enjoyed the most throughout.

2. We limited the selection to cigars that were either Cigars of the Week for Half Ashed Episodes, or were discussed enough to have been made mention in the show notes. If we did not talk about it during at least one episode, it was not considered for our lists.

3. I (Kip) purposefully removed the Fuente cigars we smoked (858 Sungrown, Unnamed Reserve (2012), and Casa Cuba) from consideration out of my known affinity (sheer bias) for Fuente products.

4. There were a number of cigars that probably should have made the list, and were discussed in the show as honorable mentions/best values/”we just couldn’t narrow it down” cigars. These were: Miami Cigar/Nestor Miranda Casa Miranda Chapter Two; Drew Estate Nica Rustica; illusione ECCJ; Reinado Grand Empire Reserve; Michael Stewart’s Fire Cured #7

Half Ashed Top Ten Cigar for 2013 (in no particular order)

Craig	Kip
Davidoff Nicaragua	Tatuaje Belle Encre
Fuente Unnamed Reserve (2012)	2005 Padron Aniversario Natural corona
EPC Short Run 2011	TL Johnson Tempio
TL Johnson Tempio	KILO (Barry Stein)
La Tradicion Cubana Corona	Oliva Serie V Maduro
Ezra Zion Tantrum	Leccia Tobacco Black
Bolivar Gold Medal	2005 Ramon Allones Eminencia
Gran Habano #5	RoMaCraft Intemperance BA
RoMaCraft Aquitaine	Ezra Zion Jamais Vu (Inception)
Tatuaje Belle Encre	Cuenca 5 Anniversary

Next week’s Cigar of The Week will be a surprise, as we are nearing the end of our initial trade-off for show cigars. We are open for suggestions – so if you have one drop us a line at one of the email addresses below. Be sure to check back in next Friday night at 9:30pm EST at Cigar Federation (details on locating the show will be on the front page that evening an hour before showtime), 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 email addresses: [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.

Episode 008: Unbanded Number 002

April 1, 2013 By Kip Fisher

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Welcome to Half Ashed Episode 008, everyone! Below is a quick summary of this week’s show, but be sure to download or watch/listen through any of the means in the final paragraph of this post! [NOTE: I apologize for the audio snafu this week. I made some changes that created an echo in Craig’s voice for much of the show. This was not noticeable while recording, but bothersome in the final cut. I filtered the recording through a noise gate, but it is still largely present. Please bear with us while we get these glitches sorted out, and be sure to come back next week when we should be back to normal!]

Half Ashed Cigar of the Week: Unbanded #002

This week’s featured cigar is our second Unbanded (blind) tasting on Half Ashed, and was recommended by Jeff Curtis. The grand unveiling is detailed below. If you would like to make a suggestion for future unbanded cigars, send an email to [email protected]. This address is monitored by my wife, who will have one of my local cohorts source the cigars. If you have cigars you would like to submit, send me an email to: [email protected] and I will provide you with an address to send them.

Industry News this week

Legislative Items
- The Florida Outdoor Smoking Ban bill is still alive. The Florida Senate Regulated Industries Committee, by a unanimous 10-0 vote, advanced SB 258 that will allow Florida local governments to enact their own outdoor smoking restrictions. If you’re in Florida – you NEED to take action here. It only takes about ONE minute, and can be done online while sitting at home with a good cigar. You can submit messages to your representatives at the CRA page set up for that. Simply follow the instructions for the automated process.
- One listener (Dan Crouch) proposed an idea that we have kicked around and will likely feature on a future show. We will have one of our fellow cigar smokers from a less tobacco-friendly locale come on the show and talk about life on the other side of the prohibitions and stringent legislation we are seeing put forth in the US today. We all need to take this quite seriously if you value your freedom to enjoy a fine cigar.
New Cigar Availability
- News from KC Johnson about the upcoming L’Atelier LAT44 Maduro release
- The Crowned Heads Headley Grange has begun shipping in five vitolas.
- According to EPC’s Facebook page, 2013 Short Runs start shipping next week. Only 5,000 boxes made.
- The AVO Dominant 13 we talked about a few weeks ago, and featured here on The Cigarmy is landing….if you plan on picking some of these up, they usually go fairly quickly.
- As reported by Halfwheel and has lit up Twitter, the popular CyB from Joya de Nicaragua will be available in a lancero format to TAA member retailers.
General Cigar has once again won a battle for US Trademarks on Cuban cigar marques vs. Cubatabaco
Butthead’s Tobacco – where we sourced the Serie V Sampler we’ll be basing our first vertical tasting from – posted a picture of the event-only Nestor Miranda Blue Label. Craig and I share our thoughts on event-only, retailer-only, and other special edition limited cigars.

What else have we been smoking?

Craig

La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Reserva – This is a spectacular cigar. Flavors are a bit nuttier & sweeter than the typical Mi Amor. I am a proud Mi Amor lover and this cigar is a terrific addition to the line. I want a box.
Craig also discusses a rather unique cigar he’s smoked this week, rolled by a listener, Michael Stewart, who sources whole leaf tobacco and has been experimenting and rolling his own cigars…Michael will be on an upcoming show to talk more about his unique hobby.

Kip

Herrera Esteli from Willy Herrera (NOT to be confused with Frank Herrera’s Biography). I picked up a couple of these at Corona this past week while waiting for my parents to arrive at the airport. Crazy good construction; uniform color; perfect draw; pleasant, oak and spice flavors w/some nuttiness; lots of nasal spice, but somehow I liked it in this cigar. Wrapper: Ec Habano, Binder: Honduran, Filler: Nicaraguan. Around $8/stick.
The full range of Tarazona/Cubanacan Cigars in robusto/rothschild, which I documented in a Cigar Spotlight earlier this week.
LAT52 from L’Atelier – Ecuadoran wrapper (Sancti spiritus = a hybrid of Criollo and Pelo de Oro); Nicaraguan filler/binder; very unique, sweet cold draw; leather, nuts, slight sweet cedar; citrus on rare occasions throughout. Dig it! Retail from $7-8
TLJohnson Tempio – after trading some messages with Terry this week, I went and dug out one of his Tempios, which I reviewed back in December. Just as good as I remember… Dominican filler/binder; Pennsylvania wrapper; extreme box press; toasty, with healthy, regular doses of cedar intermingled with a sweet, charred oak. in that review, I likened it to imagining sticking your head into a spent whisky barrel, and still would. Very good sticks in the $8 range, although not widely available yet.

Miscellany

My Palio died on me this week. I still think they are fantastic cutters, but I had some trouble with mine. Although, come to think of it, I do use it far more than the average bear….
Curiosity and idle thought got the best of me and I posted up a poll about peoples’ buying habits on The Cigarmy this past week. I’m very curious….
We took some time to discuss one listener email this week:
1. Steve Dorau asks about some trends he sees in cigars he purchases through online deals versus those same cigars in brick and mortar establishments.

Unbanded Unveiling

Check out all the details interspersed throughout the show to find out exactly what we thought about this week’s unbanded. We both enjoyed the cigar, and I even lucked out and was correct about it seeming “Pepin-esque” to me…however, we were both caught offguard by which stick it specifically was – in fact, we talked about this cigar early in the show, not knowing it was exactly what we were smoking in a different vitola. This week’s Unbanded was the Cabaiguan Guapos Maduro 46, from Tatuaje. Thanks to Jeff for the recommendation. It was a very good one!

Next week

Next week we feature the 2002 El Rey del Mundo Tainos as the Cigar of the Week – one of Craig’s favorites. The following week, April 12th, we will have special guest Michael Stewart on the show to talk about how he sources whole leaf tobacco and rolls his own cigars.

Again, thanks for tuning in everyone. Be sure to come back next week, when we’ll be taking a look at the ERdM, and hopefully will have all of our audio issues sorted out. 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.

Press Release: CAO Concert – review to come

August 9, 2012 By Kip Fisher

The news of CAO’s September release of the Concert has already hit in various locales around the web, but I wanted to publish the original release from General Cigar in anticipation of the upcoming review I will post this weekend. I was fortunate enough to be furnished some samples of the Concert at IPCPR. I have already smoked one, and will have at least one more before writing up the review this weekend. While I have not always been the biggest fan of General, I have to admit I am very impressed with their recent offerings and their renewed innovation in blend creation and packaging. I have no beef with them…I have just tended to focus on other producers in recent times. Notably, they have garnered my attention with the latest cigars under the Partagas marque, and a couple of others. I find their recent blending more appealing to my personal palate than I have given them credit for for several years. So, here’s the original from General:

CAO CONCERT

From the brand that was launched in Nashville and marches to the beat of its own drum comes CAO Concert, a new collection that celebrates CAO’s ties to music and harnesses the legendary energy of Music City.

“CAO Concert was inspired by the brand’s roots in Nashville,” commented Ed McKenna, CAO’s senior brand manager. “When listening to music at a concert, or even in your own backyard, it’s a great time to sit back, enjoy a great cigar, and enjoy the people you’re with. That’s what Concert is about.”

The four-cigar collection is firmly planted in the full-medium-bodied range, with great harmony of flavor among the tobaccos. CAO’s Rick Rodriguez created the blend which features a special combination of four different Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers, not previously used in any other General Cigar offering. Wrapped with a lustrous Ecuadoran Habano Rosado and bound with CT Broadleaf, CAO Concert begins with a kick of pepper, mellows with hints of subtle sweetness and comes to a full-flavored finish.

The quartet of new frontmarks will debut at IPCPR and will be available at retail beginning in mid-September. A rarity in the premium cigar category, each Concert cigar will have the same length of 5.5”. Rick Rodriguez explained, “With Concert, I wanted to bring out a new cigar that has really consistent flavor and body across all of the frontmarks. I believe this particular length works perfectly to maximize the flavor of both larger and smaller ring gauges.”

CAO Concert features these frontmarks: Amp (5 ½” x 46, SRP per cigar is $5.75) Solo (5 ½” x 50, SRP per cigar is $6.25); Roadie (5 ½” x 54, SRP per cigar is $6.75) and Stage (5 ½” x 60, SRP per cigar is $7.50).

True to CAO’s tradition of exciting and unexpected packaging, CAO Concert is presented in an innovative box inspired by a classic Marshall amp, with band art that showcases a guitar pick and Fender-style guitars.

Following its special sneak preview at the CMA Music Festival last month, CAO Concert will be sampled at cigar-friendly live music venues and music-themed events across the country. A schedule of events will be announced in the coming weeks and will be posted on the CAO website at www.caocigars.com.

Ed McKenna promised, “We are going to make an announcement about a very exciting CAO promotion in the coming weeks, so CAO fans should also be on the lookout for that.”

About CAO Cigars

CAO cigars are produced by General Cigar Co. Inc., a division of Scandinavian Tobacco Group, which manufactures and markets handcrafted cigars for the premium market. Committed to delivering cigars of the finest quality, General Cigar’s skilled artisans produce Macanudo®, Cohiba®, La Gloria Cubana, Punch®, CAO, Partagas®, Hoyo de Monterrey®, Excalibur® and several other leading premium brands in the company’s Dominican, Honduran and Nicaraguan factories. In addition, the company cultivates proprietary tobacco which is used exclusively in its blends. General Cigar also operates Club Macanudo®, a cigar bar in New York City. Based in Richmond, VA, General Cigar sells through tobacconists nationwide and also exports select products to 62 countries. For more information, please visit www.cigarworld.com.

® CAO, Macanudo, Cohiba, Partagas, Hoyo de Monterrey, Excalibur, La Gloria Cubana and Club Macanudo are registered trademarks of General Cigar Co. Inc.