House of Emilio | Half Ashed

Half Ashed Episode 136: Partagas Maduro No 1

February 15, 2016 By Kip Fisher

Partagas Maduro Number 1

At 5-⅛”x52 the Partagas Maduro Number 1 Robusto (plus) gets my vote as most controversial cigar of 2015. It’s the second “maduro” regular production cigar ever produced after the Revolution in Cuba, with the Cohiba Maduro 5 being the other. It made its debut in the 3rd quarter but trumped just about everything else Habanos put out last year, in terms of chatter. People balked at the Añejados but shouted to the heavens about the Maduro 1. The word on the street was that this cigar tasted Nicaraguan. In fact, nearly the same arguments were made about this as were made about the Maddie 5s back in 07. This cigar brings typical maduro sweetness to the game but really displays a plethora of other flavors at the forefront of sensation. It’s an enigma to me, but certainly one I enjoy exploring. FWIW, I think I might be the only person I know who enjoys them…

Cigar News

Sam Leccia departs from General….despite originally being described as an “acquisition” by General of the Leccia blends in 2014, Sam apparently still holds his own trademarks and branding. He is leaving both the distribution arrangement and his position within Foundry and striking out on his own again.

Pete Johnson has shown off a picture of this upcoming year’s Tatuaje Monster release – the Kreuger, named after Freddy Kreuger of Nightmare on Elm Street fame. Specifics for blend and exact size haven’t been revealed, but it’s a large, pressed torpedo shape.

House of Emilio has rebranded itself as Boutiques United. The company unveiled its new website and branding, showcasing the four remaining marques they distribute – Ezra Zion, Emilio, Global Premium Cigars (1502), and Nomad. Sales force and distribution arrangements reportedly remain the same.

Our friend Terry Johnson is *finally* getting Counsellor Cigars to market. The line was originally to be a joint effort between TLJ and LTC, but was held up when the two parted ways last Summer. It’s a revival of an old, long out of use trademark that Johnson picked up quite some time ago. It will feature a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Dominican criollo ‘98 binder and a corojo/criollo filler blend. Counsellor is slated to ship next month in five vitolas, boxes of 10, and will retail between $5.50 and $6.50 per cigar. I smoked a couple of these a few months ago, with spectacular results….

Since we touched on La Tradicion Cubana, Luis has announced a price *decrease* on all his products across the board. He’ll be trimming his pricing by about 10% on most all his lines. Good news, indeed!

This year’s CMA awards have been published…

Brand of the Year: Warped Cigars
Cigar of the Year: Matilde Oscura
Member of the Year: Coop

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

J. Fuego Americana

Kip

Joya Red. What happened?!?

Nick Melillo’s El Gueguense.

Next Episode

In the next episode (137), we will be smoking the Tatuaje Black Corona Gorda. 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 129: Unbanded 025

November 1, 2015 By Kip Fisher

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Unbanded 025, from Dan C.

Kip’s preliminary observations: Unbanded #025 is a pretty straightforward 5” x 50ish (5”x52 for Craig) robusto. Construction appears spot-on for both examples; wrapper has a slight sheen and moderate-heavy veining. Somewhat sweet aroma at the foot, akin to a hay stall but with a bit of molasses if I focus enough. Milder aroma on the wrapper. Absolutely perfect cap build and, subsequently, draw. The draw has a very slight earthy nature, but overall is sweet and grainy. Tune in to find out how it went….and thanks, DC!

Cigar News

Robert Caldwell, of Caldwell Cigars, has publicly confirmed a planned maduro version of the Eastern Standard. The line will feature four vitolas (Corona (5 3/4 x 44), Piramide (6 x 49), Rothchilde (4 3/4 x 49) and Toro Gordo (6 x 50), and run somewhere near the price of the existing line, but possibly with a slight increase. The Eastern Standard can be found in the real world between $8-12 depending on size.

Omar de Frias has announced via social media and press release that Fratello will be releasing a limited edition sampler, the Boxer Series. The sampler will include the Boxer, a 6 1/4 x 52 belicoso, the Boxeador (6 x 54), Boxero (5 1/2 x 50), Boxista (5 x 48) and Boxerito (4 3/4 x 46). The blend will be the same as the original line (Nica Habano over Ec. Sumatra and Nica/Peru filler), but will be box pressed. Three thousand of the samplers will be produced, and should retail around $45…and the packaging itself is noteworthy. The box looks like a small cigar mold. I personally thought it was pretty creative and nicely done. I like it….

The game is afoot, legislatively. Since our last episode, we have learned that a.) the FDA has submitted its proposed plan to regulate premium cigars (and other tobacco products) to the Office of Management & Budget (OMB), and b.) eleven Democratic senators have urged the OMB to complete the review as quickly as possible. The OMB measures the feasibility of these types of proposals, and is expected to recommend action on it after review. As an executive agency, congressional approval or vote is not necessary for the FDA to implement new regulation – just OMB approval. What is NOT known are the exact contents of the FDA’s plan. A couple of options were thrown around in their earlier “Deeming document,” but as of yet the finalized, formalized plan has not been revealed outside government circles. As always, the aforementioned urging senators are pushing this expediency that rarely exists elsewhere in US government to prevent tobacco use by our youth. Possibilities are myriad; this is what we’ve been talking, writing letters, emailing, and calling politicians about for the past 3 years+. If you’ve not done any of those things shame. On. You. Senate bill 441, which would call for an exemption for premium cigars, has the support of 18 senators at the moment….

Following similar releases for the Davidoff and AVO segments, Oettinger Davidoff is preparing to release a Griffin’s Nicaragua. It will feature a Nicaraguan habano wrapper over Dominican piloto cubano binder and five filler tobaccos from Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua.

Epicurean Sues H.O.E.: In a move that further exemplifies the turmoil that the House of Emilio distribution giant has been experiencing in 2015, one of its original brand owners is suing the group over alleged lost/withheld income. The sum is a modest one, over 150k, but certainly represents a sizeable amount of cigars when considering the reported purchase price of 27% below wholesale that Halfwheel is reporting. That, if all attributed to purchased cigars, computes to a bit under 50k cigars. Yikes.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Padron Damaso: Don’t listen to the negative press on this cigar. It tastes like a Padron. It tastes like a connecticut leaf. It’s good and it’s worth trying.

Kip

Chogui!

a Fonseca from 1995…

Next Episode

In the next episode (130), we will be smoking the EP Carrillo Short Run 2015. 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 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 107: Unbanded 021

March 25, 2015 By Kip Fisher

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Unbanded #021, from DC

Welcome to Half Ashed Episode 107, featuring our 21st Unbanded, which happens to have been supplied by friend of the show Dan Crouch. We can’t say much about it here in the notes without spoiling the show, except that it was a 6″ x 50(ish) torpedo. You’ll have to tune in to get the full scoop and see us once again humble our palates…

News

Recent guest of the show Bodega Premium Blends will be taking over their own distribution effective April 1st. They had announced some limited changes a while back, but will now be parting ways with House of Emilio with regard to their distribution. From all outward appearances, it’s an amicable split; BPB just wants to have more fine-tuned control over the process and the ability to focus on select markets where their products presumably do well.

A few weeks ago, we reported the Crowned Heads would be shipping a JDH Reserve “Single Action” – a 6×38 petit lancero based off the JDH line. It has begun arriving on retailers’ shelves. As mentioned, it has the JDH blend – Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper over Ec. Sumatran binder and Nicaraguan fillers. Only 2,000 boxes of 10 have been produced.

Long time listeners will remember last year when we talked about Operation: Chokepoint – a governmental program that classified some industries as “high risk” and led banking institutions to unfairly target them with the loss and/or heavy restrictions on their bank accounts. Several tobacco retailers were impacted, as were many other organizations (namely, firearms, gambling and some lenders). This past week, spurred on by the firearm industry, Arizona representative David Schweikert introduced a bill that would defund the program and prevent any future attempts at the same type of program. Several co-sponsors have already signed on to the bill, but it would have a pretty long way to go to make it to law.

Rocky Patel is releasing a special 10th anniversary Edge. It will be a singular vitola, a 6×52 barber pole. It’s to be called the “A-10” and will retail for $7.50 per stick. No specifics on the wrappers in use.

While there will NOT be an Avo “birthday cigar” this year, there WILL be a Limited Edition. Fresh on the heels of the company’s rebranding (and reduction in offered lines), parent company Davidoff has teased some details of a new limited series called the Avo Improvisation Series. It will draw its inspiration from previous Avo lines, and the 2015 LE will be Classic Covers. The installment will be based off the original Avo blend and will use Nicaraguan, Mexican and Ecuadoran tobaccos. It will only be available in a 6×50 toro and will retail for $16

What We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Bolivar PC – For the first time I tasted Ginger in this cigar. It was terrific. It worked right into the suggestive flavors Kip has planted in me, with all of his “sweet and sour” talk. It really worked beautifully with the rich, deep earthy sweet core to this cigar.

Por Larranaga Panetelas – A sweet cigar but not cloyingly so. Brown sugar & cherry pie tastes are here. The tartness of cherry with the sweetness from the sugar made for a terrific “dessert”

Kip

Destino al Siglo – a CFC holdover. Lots of sweet, charred oaken flavor. Baking spice; typical but bold Fuente sungrown-flavor. Very good.

Crowned Heads Angel’s Anvil – last year’s TAA exclusive from CH. Ecuador over Nica/Nica. 7.125 x 49; rolled by EPC; limited to 1,000 boxes of 20. I. Love. This. Cigar. A bunch. Bright, sweetened spice with some strength – although that could be due to the cumulative effect of its size and my desire to smoke every last leaf away.

Asylum Dragon’s Milk I enjoyed this one….mostly. It began pretty nicely, with “creamy” (yeah, I said it) flavors; I remarked that the infusing knocked the edge off. Still some spice on the retrohale, but overall . The flavor from its early life in Dragon’s Milk barrel was sedate and light-handedly applied. I dug it a lot…until the final 1/3rd. It grew a bit bitter and a bit overly tannic.

Listener Email

From Christopher L.

Good evening. First off I love the show I download the podcasts and listen while driving my truck. I’ve smoked a pipe for awhile but always the same local blend never trying anything new. Which is funny because I’m always smoking new cigars. Not sure how that works. Lately I’ve tried frog Morton on the bayou and across the pond. I loved them both and was wondering if you would have any recommendations based off that. My local shop hires idiot kids so no help there. I’ve also upgraded to a nording pipe which is also a big improvement. Hope your have a great day and forgive my spelling and grammar I’m a Montana redneck.

Kip’s (abbreviated) reply – These two blends have a very similar foundation (Latakia, Turkish, VA), with On the Bayou also including some perique. The thing that stands out to me in the blend is the Turkish. It gives it that indefinable – almost cola-like quality. If that’s what you’re drawn to, you might try C&D’s Adagio – it has a good bit of Turkish as well, with a bit of nutty burley in the mix. Other notable C&D blends are: Orion’s Arrow and Virginia Gentleman. There are innumerable Balkan blends out there with Turkish components; that’s where I’d keep looking for the time being. However, you might try some of the other blends that have some Syrian latakia also. There aren’t too awful many of them around these days, but I’d recommend MacBaren’s HH Vintage Syrian. It’s quite different from the FM blends, but you might really enjoy that one. Just let it dry a bit first, as MacB blends can sometimes bite.

Wrap Up

Next episode we will be featuring Herrera Esteli Norteño Coronita. 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] [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 [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 098: Bodega Premium Blends

January 13, 2015 By Kip Fisher

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Bodega Premium Blends Digestivo

Welcome back! This week, on Episode 098 of Half Ashed, we have special guest Ron Plante of Bodega Premium Blends on hand to tell us all about our featured Cigar of the Week: the Bodega Digestivo. The Digestivo is one of two cigars in their Reunión line, and carries a San Andres maduro wrapper over proprietary binder and a Nicaraguan filler blend from Jalapa & Esteli. From the Bodega Premium Blends website:

Spanish for digestif, Digestivo usually refers to: “a cocktail or other alcoholic beverage that is specifically served after a meal. The purpose of a digestif is to aid in the digestion following a meal. Spirits such as port, brandy, cognac and whisky are examples of traditional digestifs. And as Bodega Premium Blends would have it, not only does its Digestivo pair extraordinarily well with those drinks, there’s nothing finer in the humidor to finish off a meal. When enjoyed around a gathering this cigar comes to life. A Maduro in the true sense of the word, Digestivo has undergone a longer and more intense fermentation process. This marked evolution brings out the natural sugars of leaf giving the Digestivo its trademark “sweeter” flavor. Bolder than its companion, Digestivo is designed to bring the whole experience to a satisfying conclusion.

Hour Two

Join us as we chat with Ron and smoke the Digestivo. He was able to hang out for the entire first hour of the show (much thanks, Ron!), and we followed up with a regular format afterward. In the news, we cover stories from Nebraska (again), La Flor Dominicana, Fratello, and RoMaCraft. We wrapped up with some review of what we’ve been smoking this week.

Wrap Up

Next week, we’ll be featuring the Partagas Serie D 4 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!

News: Emilio releases Mia Dora

October 29, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Mia Dora to ship after a long wait

In a story with origins going back almost two whole years, Emilio Cigars owner Gary Griffith announced today that another addition to the House of Emilio is on the way. I wrote a bit about this on The Cigarmy in March of 2013, and I believe we also covered it in minor detail on an earlier episode of Half Ashed. Mia Dora is a line in tribute to the light of Gary’s life Dora, and her Italian heritage.

The Mia Dora is being produced by AJ Fernandez in Esteli, Nicaragua and features a Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The line will be available in three vitolas, including robusto (in 21 count boxes), toro (also 21 count boxes), and coronita (boxes of 40 available). The boxes themselves are embossed with gold coloration, with bands and packaging dedicated to the town of Aascoli Piceno (Italy). This town is the ancestral birthplace of Griffith’s beloved Dora. Gary published a blog post detailing the full back story in March of 2013 as well. Not much more in terms of final packaging detail is known as of yet, but the original band imagery is included below.

Cigar News: Draig Cayuquero Lancero

June 24, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Draig Cayuquero Lancero to ship tomorrow

June 24, 2014 – Earlier today, Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars announced that the limited edition Emilio Cigars Draig Cayuquero lanceros will begin shipping on June 25, in honor of his 60th birthday.

The Cayuquero line is produced for Emilio by Noel Rojas’ Guayacan Cigars in Nicaragua, and features a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, and Nicaraguan filler comprised of leaf from both Jalapa and Esteli. The original lineup was limited to four vitolas (Robusto (5×50), Toro (6×50), Torpedo (6×50), and Corona (5.5×42)), and only 1600 boxes, and the new lancero will be limited to 100 boxes of 10 (total production 1,000 cigars). According to Griffith this will be the only time the Cayuquero is produced in the lancero size.

The Draig series of cigars honors Griffith’s Welsh heritage, and each Draig blend is entirely different.

The previous Draig release, the Draig “K” was featured in a Cigar Spotlight here on The Cigarmy back in October, 2012.

[Editor’s Note: I have had the pleasure of enjoying a couple of the initial Draig Cayuquero toros, and very much look forward to trying to get my hands on a few of these. Of course, I’m an absolute sucker for lanceros these days, and a big fan of Guayacan in general….]

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 057: Oliva Serie V Maduro 2012

March 19, 2014 By Kip Fisher

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Welcome to Part 3 of our Oliva Serie V Maduro vertical tasting. Tonight, we’re smoking the 2012 edition of this fine series. Here’s a brief synopsis of the show…. In the news, we covered items from Quesada, Epicurean Cigars, Tarazona Cigars, GAR, Tatuaje, and an interesting legislative flop in Utah found in the Salt Lake Tribune. As usual, we talked about what we’ve been smoking this week and a few random rabbit trails. Join us for all the cigar talk and silliness we can muster!

Next week, we will be smoking something TBA…..we still haven’t traded cigars for this segment’s upcoming shows. We will be wrapping up this vertical tasting as soon as I get the 2013’s up to Craig :). As always, we’re constantly looking for suggestions about potential Cigars of the Week, and Unbanded cigars. 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.

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 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.

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!