Leccia Tobacco | Half Ashed

Half Ashed Episode 145: Tatuaje TAA 2014

June 1, 2016 By Kip Fisher

Tatuaje TAA 2014

The 2014 limited edition Tatuaje TAA exclusive. This particular run was a 6” x 52 vitola, wrapped with Connecticut Broadleaf. The internal components are all Nicaraguan, and it was produced at My Father. About 56,000 of the cigars were produced, and they retailed at the time for about $11US.

Cigar News

A couple of petitions have been posted. Turnout has thus far been lackluster with fewer than 13k of the required 100,000 signatures posted as of this afternoon on the primary one. For all the bluster, I fear the industry is too splintered and complacent to mount an effective grassroots movement. I see a lot of social media jockeying by consumers, a good bit of energy from the small, “boutique” companies, and even some action from bigger companies (very little, for the most part)…but the low number of signatures on the petition and reports of overwhelming ignorance at the real-world consumer level have caused me some degree of trepidation. I fear the years of it being “someone else’s job” to inform everyone are coming home to roost; if the consumer base is largely unexposed to social media – and social media has been the default mode of communication – it’s no surprise that the average Joe cigar smoker in the shop doesn’t even know about the recent FDA changes. Unless the masses can somehow come down off the Facebook soapbox and spread the word in their local shop, this whole fiasco is destined to solidify in its present state. It takes fewer than 60 seconds to fill out this petition. There are an estimated 3,000,000 cigar smokers in the U.S., and fewer than 13,000 have signed in 10 days. Do that math. If people can’t rally now, when?

Nicholas Melillo’s Foundation Cigars has put out a new line – called The Upsetters. Interestingly, it features some Jamaican tobacco in the filler blend. The line will have eight vitolas, The 5”x 54 Django, 4.5” x 40 Small Ax, the 4.5” x 38 x 54 Skipper, 7” x 48 Rock Steady, and 4” x 32 SKA all feature a claro wrapper. The 6” x 60 Original Rude Boy and 6” x 52 ZOLA use a maduro wrapper, and the 4.5” x 38 x 54 Para El Sapo uses a candela wrapper. The factory has not been disclosed, but it will be manufactured in Estelí. Melillo says he wants to bring Jamaican tobacco back into prominence.

Nicaragua has imposed some restrictions on their foresting operations, due to an ongoing severe drought throughout the country. The current ban precludes the cutting and transport of naturally-occurring wood (at the moment, trees planted specifically for the purpose may be harvested). Those cigar box makers not prepared with long inventory may feel the sting of already increasing material prices, and should the drought persist I imagine some changes in packaging (aside from labeling requirements) will occur…

Never one to pass up an opportunity to tinker, Sam Leccia is launching a new line of cigars that will feature flavored pipe tobacco in the blend. The line, called Bumpy Roots, will come in three varieties – Cherry Stout, Dee’s Nut Ale, and Pap’s Blend. All three will have aromatic pipe tobacco included in the interior, and judging by the pictures showing up online, will be strongly influenced by the same. I really liked the addition of the Fire Cured leaf in his Black, but this is probably over the top for my tastes. Even when I smoke a pipe, I don’t smoke heavily flavored aromatics…and *never* a cherry blend…

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

98 Montecristo Especial – A friend asked if I could help out with a special cigar from the birth year of his newly graduated cousin and I was happy to oblige. I cracked the first of my boxes and was met with some white, pillowy mold. Not much but enough to remove the culprit sticks and put them to the top of my “Smoke Now” stash. They’re smoking like cigars in transition; not without flavor, rather swaying between the two profiles these cigars tend to embody. The light was tart & fruity and the first third progressed towards savory cocoa & creamy coffee. Excellent sticks that are always some of my favorites. These are not the best I’ve had but are perfectly constructed, very flavorful and really only suffered from the mold visually. My second box was clean and I passed along 2 sticks for them to enjoy.

Kip

PrimerAño from Chogui…I still like the Dos77 better. Much, much better.
Not much…fought off a headcold this past week.

Half Ashed Episode 136: Partagas Maduro No 1

February 15, 2016 By Kip Fisher

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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 084: Bolivar Regentes

October 1, 2014 By Kip Fisher

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Welcome to Episode 084 of Half Ashed, featuring one of Craigs faves as our Cigar of the Week. Of that cigar, Craig says:

My favorite small cigar. These earthy and mildly sweet stick packs a lot of fun into its 34×4-⅞”. Sadly, it has been discontinued for over a decade but the remaining box I have still exhibits some of the characteristics these had when young. At less than 10 years old these were the cigar equivilent of chocolate and mushrooms. That sounds to be an odd combination but it worked so well. So much so, in fact, that once I tried making a savory chocolate cake with sauteed mushrooms within. It didn’t work so well…
Today, these cigars are a shadow of what they once were and only provide an “enjoyable” 30 minutes. No longer the flavor bombs of yesterday, it is my hope that they will continue to evolve and perhaps reveal a subtle complexity of flavors in the future. If no longer bold, than perhaps one day they’ll shine for another reason. The tobacco quality was consistently excellent in over 6 boxes that I’ve personally gone through.

We have news stories from Oliva, Sam Leccia (that’s a biggie!), Hechicera, Casa Fernandez, and Cigar Dojo. We also take care of some housekeeping items, what we’ve been smoking and cover a listener email that we’ve put off for far too long….

Next week, we will be featuring “The Collective” from Cigar Federation as our Cigar of the Week. Be sure to check back in Friday night at 9:30pm EST on 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), find us on iTunes, or subscribe with any podcast app at our RSS Feed. Video, as always, will be available from our 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!

Half Ashed Episode 066: Unbanded 015

May 19, 2014 By Kip Fisher

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Welcome back, everyone. I’ll be brief this week with the summary, but definitely want to publicly thank Jacob Pinkas for another fantastic Unbanded submission – so, thank you Jacob! In the news, we discussed items from Lou Rodriguez, Aging Room/Boutique Brands, My Father, ScrewPop, and Sam Leccia. Our big news of the night was more changes within the Drew Estate organization. As always, we also covered what we’ve been smoking this week as well as listener emails.

Next week, our Cigar of the Week will be the Flor de González 90 Miles Torpedo, 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.

Episode 012: Unbanded 003 & a Giveaway!

April 27, 2013 By Kip Fisher

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

Unbanded 003

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

Industry News

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

What Else Have We Been Smoking?

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

Miscellany

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

Wrap

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

Again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back in next week. In the meantime, if you would like to contact us you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected] Also, don’t forget you can always go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive. You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes.

Episode 010: A Visit from Sam Leccia

April 13, 2013 By Kip Fisher

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Good day, folks and welcome back for another episode of Half Ashed. Craig and I appreciate you stopping by. We were honored to have Sam Leccia, of Leccia Tobacco, as a special guest this week to talk about his upcoming new cigar releases. We talk with Sam about his Black and White lines, which will be released in about a month or so. He was gracious enough to share some information about himself, his blending philosophy, the vision behind the new cigars, and provided a great deal of insight into the Black and White. Thanks to Sam for taking the time to hang out and share with us all.

Tatuaje Mexican Experiment

Our featured cigar this week was the Tatuaje LE Mexican Experiment, which was a limited run of cigars released by Pete Johnson last year. I reviewed the cigar at that time, and it was very interesting to note how it had changed in the past 10 months or so. It was a phenomenal cigar, and one which I would personally love to see in regular production.

In legislative news, we covered the (probably temporary) fail of the Florida outdoor smoking ban, and new tobacco tax proposals at the federal level. We also quickly covered some interesting cigar news concerning new releases and trimming of the old from Davidoff, and a few items in our “What have we been smoking” segment for the week. Finally, we wrapped up with a listener email or two, and some new video reviews posted on Cigar Federation by Michael Stewart for the cigars he won in our previous giveaway. We thank you for stopping by, and I hope you’ll give us a listen or watch the video via the means below. Have a great week!

Upcoming Shows

Next week, we feature the “E” as the Cigar of the Week – an interesting and sure to be enjoyable release from BOTL, LLC. On our next live show (May 10th), we will host the Ezra Zion guys to tell us about their upcoming Limited Edition – the Tantrum. The following week, we’ll have a visit with Will Cooper (Cigar Coop) as well. Again, thanks for tuning in, and be sure to check back in next week. In the meantime, if you would like to contact us you can reach us through the contact page or at the following email addresses: [email protected] or [email protected] Also, don’t forget to go back and listen to previous episodes, which can be found in the Half Ashed Archive. You can download this week’s audio directly below (right-click “Download” and save), or find us on iTunes. Video, as always, will be available on Half Ashed YouTube Channel.

Sam is back! Sam Leccia again re-enters the cigar arena

April 1, 2013 By Kip Fisher

[EDIT: Sam will be on this week’s Half Ashed! I confirmed earlier this week that he will be joining us Friday night (4/12/13) at 9pm EST. Be sure to join the chatroom if you have questions you’d like to ask him! For full details and how to watch/listen, see the SHOW SUMMARY] Those of you who follow Half Ashed will know that Craig and I have watched with a great deal of interest over the past few weeks, waiting to see each new development in the rumblings of Sam Leccia coming back into the world of cigars. Most know Sam as the former frontman for the Nub and Cain lines of Studio Tobac/Oliva, and will remember the dispute with Oliva over his original plan of entering marketplace with his own cigars back in 2011. In recent weeks, the news came out that he and Oliva had reached an amicable agreement, and that he would be back with new cigars in the very near future.

We first talked about the story back in February on Episode 002 of Half Ashed, and have touched back on the topic a couple of times since. More information has begun to seep into public this afternoon, and I thought it worthy of a quick post to pass along what I have gathered thusfar. Cigar Aficionado published a short article about the impending return with some details about the blends and timing. Apparently, Sam has arranged for Torano to distribute his new cigars, which will be launching in May. The initial offering will be of two lines – the Black and the White. The White will be produced in Nicaragua by an as-yet unnamed manufacturer, while the Black will be rolled in the Dominican Republic. The thing that intrigues me most about the news today is the announcement that the Black will feature a half leaf of fire-cured tobacco. This curing method is not unheard of in cigars, but I’m most familiar with it in pipe tobaccos. I am very interested in how this is going to contribute to a cigar blend. Both Craig and I love to try new cigars, especially when they showcase something unique or not so run-of-the-mill. I’ll be waiting for the Black with bated breath.

The new lines will have nothing in common with the Debut (the line originally planned for release in 2011), and Sam has said he started from scratch for Black and White. The new cigars will be available in the following sizes: 4″X46, 5″X52, 6″X50, and 6″X60, and priced from $7-9 per stick. Leccia plans on attending IPCPR this summer, but in the meantime you can find more information at the Leccia Tobacco Facebook page, or follow him on Twitter at: @SamLeccia. You can also view a 30-second Leccia Tobacco video spot posted by Torano earlier today.

More news this morning (4/2/2013), from Sam’s Facebook page:

I will be launching Leccia Tobacco late this month. My first offering will be Leccia Tobacco Black and White.

The White is made in Nicaragua. It is an African Sun Grown wrapper with a habano binder. the filler has Nicaraguan and Dominican legero with seco from my home state of Pennsylvania. Has a lightly sweet dark roasted cashew flavor. it is full bodied in flavor and the strength is on the smooth side of strong.

The Black is made in the Dominican Republic and has a habano wrapper. The binder is Nicaraguan Rosado with Ligero from Esteli, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. The filler uses Brazilian Monte Fina and a half leaf of “Dark Fire”. Dark Fire is wood fire cured giving the tobacco a smoked whisky flavor and aroma. Very complex notes of spices and charred oak.

Product will ship in May.

Episode 002: Montecristo Especial No. 1

February 17, 2013 By Kip Fisher

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Craig and Kip are back this week for Episode 2 of Half Ashed. This week, we take a look at some vintage 1998 Montecristo Especial No. 1 (Laguito#1) as the Cigar of the Week. News updates from La Palina, Sam Leccia, IPCPR, and an interesting bit of potential legislation in Tennessee. Plus, a tour of the recently renovated Arturo Fuente Tampa operations and a discussion of some neat “happy accidents” in what we’ve been smoking this week. Be sure to also check out this month’s giveaway, as well as the ongoing Cigarmy promotion for new and renewing members of the Cigar Rights of America. So, give us a listen and check out our thoughts on the Montecristo Especial and all these other topics!

Next week, the Cigar of the Week segment will feature the Cuenca 5 Anniversary, which I reviewed here in depth. So, be sure you tune in for that, as well. We will continue with the recorded shows weekly, and our next live show will be coming March 8th with full audience participation during the broadcast. You can find the video of this week’s episode over on our YouTube channel, or through the embed below. Audio is available for download both below and free of charge through the iTunes store, or simply point your mobile device apps to: http://halfashed.com/feed/podcast . As always, if you have any questions, comments, compliments…or even insults…you can get in touch with us by email at: [email protected] or [email protected]

Thanks for tuning in!