La Aurora | Half Ashed

Half Ashed 171: EP Carrillo Edicion Inaugural

January 29, 2018 By Kip Fisher

Preliminary Review – EP Carrillo Edición Inaugural

Craig – The EPC Edicion Inaugural was a cigar that was heralded as the reintroduction of a legend amongst casual & serious cigar smokers. Ernie Perez-Carillo was coming back after selling off his fabled brand, La Gloria Cubana, to General Cigar. His Non-Compete was up and he was ready to show that he still had the desire and skill to carve his own niche. The EI09 was widely praised for being incredibly complex and approachable. Having been at the IPCPR where it debuted, I can remember seeing billboards leading from the airport to the convention center teasing its release and Ernie’s welcome. Initially some found the cigar to be mild while others found its complexity to stand on its own and trump nicotine strength as the descriptor. What I do know is that I was not an immediate fan but soon became one after a bit of time settling down post convention. I’ve followed this 5-⅜”x52ring cigar over the years and found its journey to be a figurative rollercoaster of all aspects that a cigar can display. At times its been strong, others mild. Spicy, sweet, slow burner and fast. Even now as I sit sipping the cold draw I’m met with a new sensation; the wrapper’s aroma is an oddly enjoyable mixture of ammonia and alcohol. This cigar is 8 years old and it still has some mild ammonia! One thing I can say for certain is that it is made of top quality components and has been stored in its original cellophane, in a sealed heavy duty plastic bag since I bought it a couple of years back. It’s well cared for and seems to be taking care of the smoker as well as the smoker has taken care of it.

Cigar News

Rather than my normal summation of the news, here is a quick bullet list of a few topics we discuss in this episode:

Apple removes Cigar Aficionado’s “Where to Smoke” app from its store

Halfwheel is reporting that Swedish Match has entirely exited the premium cigar business, selling off their remaining shares of Scandinavian Tobacco Group.

Oliva Serie V Maduro is a 6”x60 again. Whatever.

Terence Reilly leaves Quesada….and quickly lands at one of my (Kip’s) favorites

It’s now more difficult (again!) to travel to Cuba as an American citizen….

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig –
- TLJ Tasting (from 3 weeks ago…Two cigars, multiple samples, one summation.
Kip
- Son of a Mother! I was given a cigar recently, with no band. I was only told it was some kind of Avo, and was 2007. That’s it. Turns out it was quite a good cigar. It had a bold, sweet cinnamon flavor that came through on the cold draw and stayed throughout the actual smoking (which doesn’t happen much for me). Loved it. Can’t replicate it. Hate that.
- Outside of that, I’m relegated to La Aurora’s ADN and colmado sticks – but I’m feeling the groove to fire the ol’ pipes back up. I have slowly accumulated a workable stash of aged tobacco by muling parts of my tobacco cellar down over the past couple years. I think it’s time to get back to it in earnest.

News: Viva Republica Announces Fundraising LE Cigar

November 5, 2014 By Kip Fisher

November 5, 2014 – Premium handmade cigar manufacturer Viva Republica and Operation: Cigars for Warriors, a nonprofit dedicated to serving U.S. military members serving in combat zones, are pleased to announce a Veteran’s Day limited-edition release cigar that will be sold to benefit the charity. The new cigar features a prototype Nicaraguan wrapper with which Jason Holly (owner of Viva Republica) has been working. It will be available in a single 5.125″ x 42 vitola, and retail for $6. It is described as medium-plus, and designed to be bold and flavorful. He further related that “In terms of the blend, it’s a bit different style than the regular production portfolio.” All proceeds from the wholesale of the cigar to authorized retailers will be going directly to Operation: Cigars for Warriors. The limited edition run of 2,000 cigars is the first of its kind for Viva Republica and will ship to stores next week on Veteran’s Day (November 10^th, 2014).

Not only will this special run be a first for Viva Republica, it will be a first for Operation: Cigars for Warriors as well. The proceeds from the sales of the cigars are expected to be the largest single cash donation in the nonprofit’s history.

“For Veteran’s Day this year I wanted to do something for an organization that I truly believe in,” said Holly. “The volunteers of Operation: Cigars for Warriors work tirelessly to get cigars to the men and women fighting for our country.”

“The support of Viva Republica could not have come at a better time,” said Storm Boen, Chairmen of the Board for Operation: Cigars for Warriors. “Every month we have more requests from active duty troops than our all-volunteer organization can fill and the donation from the sale of Viva’s cigars will be used to defray our shipping costs when sending cigars to troops overseas.”

Retailers can order the cigars from Miami Cigar & Co., the exclusive American distributor of Viva Republica.

ABOUT VIVA REPUBLICA

Viva Republica is a boutique premium handmade cigar manufacturer with all of its production being provided by La Aurora, S.A. Miami Cigar Co. serves as exclusive United States distributor. www.vivarepublica.com Contact Jason Holly: [email protected]

ABOUT OPERATION: CIGARS FOR WARRIORS
Operation: Cigars for Warriors is a 501(C)(3) charity that focuses on collecting and dispersing premium cigars and accessories to American service men and women serving in combat zones. www.cigarsforwarriors.org

La Aurora Celebrates by Giving Back

October 8, 2014 By Kip Fisher

LA AURORA TO DONATE 11 CENTS FOR EVERY PICTURE RECEIVED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA IN SUPPORT OF THE FIGHT AGAINST DIABETES

One picture, eleven cents: #LA111th. La Aurora turns 111 years old this yeartoday and wants to celebrate with all the smokers in the world, inviting them to toast with Guillermo and Michelle León in celebration of such a special date. That being a reason to celebrate is also a reason to “give back.” The company has announced a target to collect funds for one of the social programs supported by La Aurora. For every picture received by the brand’s social media, 11 cents will be donated to the Patronato de Lucha contra la Diabetes de Santiago de los Caballeros, a local institution that fights against diabetes disease. La Aurora will also use all the pictures received to adorn their tabaquería, in the factory, in an effort to make everyone feel part of La Aurora Family. The campaign “Become part of the family” invites everyone to have their own picture hung in La Aurora’s facilities and we want to fill it all!

“La Aurora is a family and we want to invite all our friends from all around the world to join our family on this very special day in which we accomplish 111 years of history,” said Guillermo León, president of La Aurora. “We want to share the joy of this celebration with all our employees, our International distributors, the tobacco shops and with all smokers and friends, with a double challenge. We aim to fill the factory walls with the pictures of so many friends and make a generous contribution to the research of such a cruel disease as diabetes.”

The hash tags that will be used to collect the pictures, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram are #LA111th.

La Aurora’s commitment is to keep everyone informed about their progress and the evolution of the factory walls. Become part of the family…

About La Aurora Cigars

La Aurora is the original cigar factory in Dominican Republic. Its master craftsman roll the best quality premium cigars since 1903, 111 years ago today. Located in Santiago de los Caballeros, the premium cigar capital of the world, La Aurora is a family owned company headed by Guillermo León, a fourth generation tobacco artisan, and is a symbol for all the Dominican people.

About the Patronato de Lucha contra la Diabetes

Between 8% and 10% of the global population is affected by diabetes, a disease that has turned into a world health problem, as it is not about social or economic level to develop it. Till now, there has been no programs to prevent and educate people about the fight against this disease in Dominican Republic nor to help people affected by it. Known as the “Epidemic of the century”, this disease has no cure and its treatment costs are very high. The Patronato de Lucha Contra la Diabetes de Santiago is a NGO created to help and service people affected by diabetes with poor economic resources in Cibao Region.

About Miami Cigar & Co.
Miami Cigar & Co. proudly celebrates its 25th Year in the cigar industry. Founded by Nestor and Mariana Miranda, Miami Cigar & Co. has become one of the premier distributors of premium cigars boasting a portfolio which includes Tatiana, Don Lino and the Nestor Miranda brands. Miami Cigar &Co. also serves as the exclusive United States distributor for La Aurora, S.A and all Viva Republica brands.

Follow Miami Cigar & Company on Social Media:

Facebook: Miami Cigar & Company,

Instagram: MiamiCigar, Hashtag: #OneLife

Half Ashed Episode 073: Trinidad Ingenios

July 8, 2014 By Kip Fisher

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Welcome back for another round of Half Ashed shenanigans, folks. This week, we featured the Trinidad Ingenios as our Cigar of the Week – one of Craig’s submissions. He described it thusly:

The commercially available Trinidad brand became available to the market in 1997 with the Fundadores and the Edicion Limitada trend began in 2000. For the first time in 2007 the two came together in this lonsdale. At 6-½”x42 it is a beautiful size to match the beautiful appearance of this unique stick. Trinidad, a decidedly sweet tasting brand, and the E.L. wrapper leaf, an almost agonizingly dark tasting priming of wrapper tobacco were combined into this stick in September of 2007. I’ve included this cigar because of what it SHOULD have been compared to what it actually is.

So join us for that, as well as news items from RoMa Craft, Crowned Heads, JC Newman, Ashton, and La Aurora. We additionally covered a couple of legislative items, and what we’ve been smoking.

Next week, our Cigar of the Week will be the Tatuaje Tattoo Caballeros, so be sure to check back in next Friday night at 9:30pm EST at halfashed.com 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!

Cigar News: La Aurora "Untamed"

July 2, 2014 By Kip Fisher

Untamed by La Aurora to be showcased at IPCPR 2014

La Aurora issues warning, the Lion has gone rogue!

I received news yesterday of yet another IPCPR 2014 introduction, this time from La Aurora Cigars. They will be releasing their latest offering, La Aurora Untamed, at the tradeshow in a couple of weeks. Master blender Manuel Inoa and team are eager to [Read more…]

Miami Cigar celebrates La Aurora 110 th Anniversary

October 2, 2013 By Kip Fisher

La Aurora 110 th Anniversary Giveaway

We’re nearing the La Aurora 110 th Anniversary, and the company is celebrating in a big way in giving away an all inclusive trip to visit the La Aurora factory. To enter the giveaway, simply smoke a La Aurora 107 next Monday, (10/7), snap a picture of the cigar and/or yourself smoking it, and share your image on social media with the hashtag #LaAurora107. This gets you in the running to win the trip.

The original 107 line was launched about three years ago, and recently saw an extension with a maduro wrapped version – which I reviewed here on The Cigarmy several weeks ago.

For more details, you can contact Miami Cigar & Company via the following means:

Web: www.MiamiCigarCompany.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/miamicigarcompany
Twitter: @MCCBarry

Episode 019: Monte Pascoal

June 15, 2013 By Kip Fisher

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Monte Pascoal

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

News Items

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

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

What Have We Been Smoking?

Craig: La Aurora Fernando Leon, Monte Pascoal

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

Miscellany

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

Wrap

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

In the meantime, if you would like to contact us, you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected] Don’t forget to get those emails in this month to be entered in our current giveaway. Also, remember you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive. You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes.