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Half Ashed Episode 149: Ezra Zion Burnt Ends

August 21, 2016 By Kip Fisher

Ezra Zion Burnt Ends

Kip – Named after the favored “burnt ends” of a Texas BBQ brisket, this was Spring 2015 direct-to-consumer release from Ezra Zion. It had a total production of 1000 cigars, and sported a cured corojo wrapper (cured?)…but little else in terms of recipe. 6”x52 toro.

Cigar News

Carlos Fuente Sr. has passed. We offer our condolences and a few memories of Senior.

Follow up on the companies releasing epic quantities of cigars at IPCPR….

Random things I noticed at the show:

I didn’t dig in hard to the legislative seminars, but they seemed generally better-attended than in years past.
Wide range of answers when mfrs. Were asked their thoughts about FDA
Lots of new packaging on old blends
Lots of “pre-2007” blend marketing…
AJ Fernandez’ booth was crazy busy.
Macanudo Mao…
Excited about Davidoff Yamasa, EPM 10 yr (DLR), Bella Artes, Yayabo, EZ All My Exes Maduro, Pistoff Kristoff
The Cigarmy cutter….

Today’s the first of the “FDA D-day” – August 8th, 2016. Now what?

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig – A GREAT couple of weeks for me

ECCJ 20th was the dog of the show. That should tell you something
Reynaldo Canonazo 2014 from Zedman
1998 Montecristo Especials
La Atalier Racine – How polar opposite this experience was… from itself

Kip – nada

Half Ashed Episode 148: Crowned Heads and Diamond Crown 20th

August 21, 2016 By Kip Fisher

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Crowned Heads & Diamond Crown

Kip – Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2016 – I’m having the 5×50 edition of this year’s release. It has a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper over Nicaraguan fillers. Produced by My Father. Based on my first experience, I’d liken it more akin to the 2014 version than 2015…which is great for me.
Craig – Diamond Crown 20th Anniversary – A lovely gift from Kip that seemed like it was calling out to me this evening.

Cigar News

FDA Panic much?!

Recluse….9 new lines, with 14 sizes each?!?!?
Kings Cigars will be releasing some new limited editions…to the tune of 40 new facings in 14 different blends!

1502 has given some detail – but not much – on their latest release, the Blue Sapphire. I’ve been a fan of Enrique’s style since he first hit the shelves with the Ruby & Emerald several years ago. The Blue Sapphire will again be a Nicaraguan puro, but little is yet know about the blend outside of it being described as medium-full to full. It’s strange that so little detail sparks an interest from me, but knowing how much I’ve enjoyed his past efforts I’ll be excited to try this one.

Many listeners may not be familiar with El Artista, but I’ve lived just a couple miles from their factory the past year. The company is celebrating 60 years in business, although they don’t have huge name recognition in the American market. They do a steady business of house blends and a few others you may know like the Puro Ambar. I profiled them a few years back at the 2013 show. They have a long history in growing and buying/selling leaf, as well as making cigars. This year’s new release is the Pulita, which uses negrito wrapper, criollo 98 binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Colombia, and Pennsylvania. The Aniversario will come in two sizes, a 5×50 Robusto and 6×54 Toro.

Celebrating a 10 year anniversary, illusione will have several changes in the works for this year’s show…but probably few will bring a tear to my eye like the fact that the eccj blend is going mainstream! The robusto, churchill, and corona gorda will become regular production items. Secondarily, my other favorite bit of news from Dion is that there will be a 5-⅝” x 46 Fume D’Amour called the Concepcion. Hoowahh!

One last item that has my knickers in a twist is the Yamasa from Davidoff. I’ll be attending a media gathering in their booth and the official launch at the opening of the Davidoff lounge in Vegas. This blend will feature tobacco from a region between Santo Domingo & Bonao in the Dominican Republic, where they have some limited tobacco crops. The region is known as Yamasa, where the cigar draws its name and wrapper. The binder will also be from here (San Vincente), and the filler will have tobacco from Condega and Estelí, Nicaragua and other Dominican tobaccos (piloto and mejorado). There’s been a good deal of science applied in their development of these tobaccos…as well as its treatment during processing. It’s available in Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 52), Pirámides (6 1/8 x 52) and Petit Churchill (4 x 48), and will retail between $13-23 per stick depending on size

What the frack is an “energy cigar?” The Nicaragua Cigar Distributors are banking on the energy drink phenomena with an entry this year. They claim to have infused FDA approved food grade components to provide a “boost” minutes after lighting the cigar. Interesting idea, or regulation-fodder? There will be a premium version as well as an inexpensive mass market short filler edition…

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

España Corona
Crowned Heads Four Kicks Torpedo

Kip

RoMaCraft Aquitaine Anthropology
EZ Tantrum PA
Oliva Serie V Maduro x2
Emilio Carpe Noctem & AF2

What have we been enjoying in the world of cigars lately?

Writing again! I’ve got a hankering to put a story idea down on paper. It’s somewhat autobiographical but more off, it’s a great accompaniment to the cigar.

Half Ashed Episode 147: Ezra Zion and Wildcard

August 21, 2016 By Kip Fisher

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Photo credit: ezrazionstore.com

CotW – Ezra Zion Chocolate Porter, and……

Kip – Ezra Zion Chocolate Porter: This was a limited run released by the guys at Ezra Zion a couple months ago. It features a San Andres wrapper, and had a very limited production of 645 cigars. The release promises deep, roasty flavors coupled with some vanilla, coffee bean and licorice. Also promises not to nuke your palate with strong tobaccos….let’s give it a whirl.
Craig – ….did not write his notes….

Cigar News

There are *tons* of new cigars being announced leading up to IPCPR…but woefully few details to be honest. Sure, some are forthcoming. But it seems more than ever that cigar makers are reserving specifics until the show.

Oliva has been acquired by J. Cortes…

In addition to the already-regular-production Tatuaje Black PC, a few new sizes are now going to be available full time: Petit Robusto (4 x 50), Corona Gorda (5 5/8 x 46), Cazador (6 3/8 x 43) and Gran Toro (6 1/2 x 52). I had the chance to smoke the Petit Robusto this week, and rather enjoyed it. I find these not to be too radically different by vitola. They’ve done a good job of tweaking the blend to retain its character in all the various expressions. I do dig that CG as my personal favorite size, though…

A few more surprises….

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2014 EL
la Atelier C’ote d’or

Kip

Don Carlos Personal Reserve
Undercrown Robusto
I picked up – but have not yet smoked – the Tat TAA LE for 2016, and the Crowned Heads Las Calaveras 2016. I’ll report back ASAP.

Listener Email

John From Chicago shares the response he received from US Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky after he sent her the form letter the CRA has on its website in support of HR662 “Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act”

Email 1 from John

From: U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky <[email protected]>
Subject: RE: Your recent message

Dear Mr. REDACTED:

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for H.R. 662, the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act. I appreciate hearing from you.

H.R. 662 would statutorily exempt cigars from the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (TCA). The TCA granted the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the authority to deem all tobacco products under its authority. While cigars are considered tobacco products, the existing law does not explicitly mention cigars. The Food and Drug Administration has issued a proposed rule deeming tobacco products under its jurisdiction. The FDA proposed two alternatives for the treatment of cigars – one option would make all cigars subject to FDA jurisdiction and the other option would specifically exclude cigars designated as “premium cigars” from FDA jurisdiction. The FDA accepted public comment on these two options and is currently reviewing those comments. I will closely follow this process.

While I appreciate your concerns about the proposed regulations and will work to minimize the impact of the law on small businesses, I support FDA’s authority to regulate cigars as needed to protect and promote public health. I oppose H.R. 662because there are serious health risks associated with cigar smoking, and I believe people should be made aware of them. I am committed to warning people about the health consequences associated with cigars, and I am particularly concerned with preventing teenagers from using tobacco products.

Although we disagree on this issue, I appreciate hearing from you. Please do not hesitate to contact me whenever I may be of assistance.

Sincerely,
Jan Schakowsky
Member of Congress

Email 2 from “Grey Goose”

Subject: Re: Black Dog Coffee

I am a new to CCs … and that has been awesome.

I have (interest in) some Monte #3’s, some PSD4’s, Upmann Mag 46’s, some SLR’s, a few Juan Lopez No 1’s and 2’s that I liked, but thought I’d ask what are your top few CC’s that should be on top of my list?

Have been fly fishing the St Joe and Coeur d’Alene rivers lately, the Westslope Cutthroat biting!

Cheers,

Grey Goose

Half Ashed Episode 146: Punch Exclusivo Asia Pacifico

July 22, 2016 By Kip Fisher

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Punch Exclusive Asia Pacifico

From Craig:

2006 Punch Super Robusto RE Asia Pacifico – 6.1”x50 – As we’ve discussed numerously, the Regional Edition releases have been a successful gimmick from Habanos SA. This vitola, popularized in basic format by the Cohiba Siglo VI in 2002/03, is one of the first large ring releases in the punch line. The line benefits from the added girth by bringing brown sugar & a little citrus to the typically tangy, almost whiskey-like spicy characteristics of the basic punch line. A classic performer and a standout in the already premium RE releases. A classic in the future.

Cigar News

Since the last episode, I’m sure we all celebrated “World No-Tobacco Day.” I know I did, with a couple cigars of which I chose to rid the planet in a series of very small fires. The United Nations took advantage of the occasion to advocate for plain packaging laws around the world. For those not familiar, these are the laws we talked about long ago in Australia – which essentially eliminate characteristic packaging on tobacco products. Boxes of cigars must be presented in basic, drab colors with little or nothing besides text identifying them as such (except in some cases, graphic depictions of tumors, etc.). The established standard “entails restricting or prohibiting the use of logos, colours, brand images or any promotional information other than brand and product names displayed in a standard colour and font.” U.N. thinking asserts that this lowers the demand for the product, and supports the goal of elimination from the marketplace. An official in a un.org article claims the laws have reduced the number of smokers in Australia by 100,000 in 34 months. How these folks continue to tout the huge drops in numbers of smokers while concurrently claiming rates of smoking commencement are at all time highs is beyond me. The aforementioned article concludes with a quote from the WHO Director General: ““On this World No Tobacco Day, we are telling the world to get ready for even more comprehensive tobacco control.” Brace yourselves, fellow cigar smokers….especially those in Canada and the U.S. You’re next in line for new legislation, including plain packaging proposal.

Those of you who enjoy a good flavored cigars have dodged a nearer bullet. As outlined by the CSP Daily News, a site dedicated to convenient stores and their sales, the original proposal of the new FDA regulation would have almost immediately killed off many or most flavored cigars – with a 90 day limit on the approval/substantial equivalence process. If you enjoy these cigars, be ye forewarned: they’re in the forefront of regulatory sights. Even though the original language was stricken, there was a phrase included that declared a longer goal to “eliminate characterizing flavors in all cigars including cigarillos and little cigars.”

Yesterday, Enrique Sanchez of 1502/Global Premium Cigars filed what I believe is the first lawsuit spawned from the recent FDA regulations within the premium cigar industry. There are a number of subtleties, but two overarching allegations in the suit:
- GPC claims the FDA is infringing upon First Amendment rights with the labeling requirements. The claim is that a.) the government has not provided any evidence that these labels are protective of public health and b.) the warning labels impede First Amendment rights by hindering the manufacturer’s ability “to communicate with the public through packaging, advertising, and intellectual property.”
- Secondly, the suit claims violation of Fifth Amendment rights. A clause in the amendment forbids the government from seizing property without just compensation. The claim is that the space to be occupied by labeling requirements on boxes and advertising materials has been unjustly seized without compensation. Additionally in this section, a claim is made that the February 15, 2007 grandfather date is arbitrary.
- It is also claimed that the provided pathway to approval is flawed and unlawful – in essence that no cigar maker would pursue the approval process for post-Feb 2007 products if they can’t show substantial equivalence due to the cost. Substantial equivalence procedure, according to FDA estimates, would run in tens of thousands of dollars…while the alternative to introducing a product will likely be hundreds of thousands.

As I mentioned, there are quite a few other intricacies with the suit. I will try to post a link to the info on our forum this week. During an FDA webinar last week, some guidance on the intent for the samples ban was provided. For now, at least informally, promos with purchase are safe. The simple giving of a sample is what will be prohibited. Making purchase to gain additional cigars would seemingly be allowed. No more samples from reps to shop customers, etc. though.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Partagas Serie du Connoisseur #1 – Much of this box has been a letdown. This cigar was not. Full, rich, spicy, everything a partagas should be. It’s always interesting to me when nearly every cigar from a box is average, then at #23 or 24 you finally get a gem. Did it just need 10 years of box time? Was it the only one with high quality tobacco in it? The world may never know…
Punch Lunch Club – These are an old Dogwatch favorite. While noticeably youthful, the flavors are there. This just goes to show that the big boys do have some mighty tasty tobacco…

Pretty run of the mill past couple weeks for me. Actually not much stuck out aside from a Ramon Allones (robusto?) and its uncharacteristic flavors…peat. Peat-fired malted barley. Weird…

Half Ashed Episode 145: Tatuaje TAA 2014

June 1, 2016 By Kip Fisher

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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.

Episode 028: Skip Martin of RoMaCraft Tobac

August 18, 2013 By Kip Fisher

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Welcome to Half Ashed Episode 028, everyone. This week, we had an surprise visit with Skip Martin, of RoMaCraft Tobac – makers of such fine cigar lines as the Cro Magnon, Intemperance, and Aquitaine. Both Craig and I are huge fans of the RoMaCraft lineup, as well as Skip and his business partner Michael Rosales. I personally smoke enough of the Intemperance and Aquitaine that I could probably support the investment of shelf space from a local Tampa area retailer (that’s a big hint for all you Tampa area brick & mortar shops). This week’s show is a wealth of good information from Skip about the heart and soul behind RoMaCraft: the tobacco, the cigars, and the people. Moreso than with just about any other company today, I am impressed with the dedication and forethought invested by the RoMaCraft team into the assurance that they are releasing a quality product into the marketplace that carries a great deal of value to the consumer. I hope you all will give the show a listen; you are sure to pick up a heavy dose of what RoMaCraft is all about…and no small amount of fun to boot. Skip is a wealth of information, wisdom, and wit. This is one of the most entertaining 2+ hours Craig and I have had in a show to date.

We cover a few bits of industry information as well – some important legislative moves that are going on around the country and with our Canadian neighbors to the North. Our cigar of the week is the Oliva Masterblends I from 2003, which we discuss a few times throughout the show. It turns out, this cigar has not lost its potency over the past decade (just ask Craig).

Next week, we’ll be joined by Jeff & Nada Jumper of Nadi Cigars, so be sure to check back in then to learn what they have to offer. If you aren’t familiar with Nadi, you should be. If that’s the case, be sure you listen to get the scoop on them. 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!

Episode 027: Unbanded Cigar Number 007

August 10, 2013 By Kip Fisher

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Welcome back to Episode 027 of Half Ashed. This week, we’re smoking our cigars shaken; not stirred. We take a look at Unbanded 007, submitted by Dan Crouch (Thanks, DC!). In another of DC’s experiments with this segment, he submitted two vitolas from the same line – a corona and a robusto. We found marked differences between the two. Tune in to the show to get the grand reveal, and our thoughts on both cigars.

A big thanks is due and given to those folks who submitted recommendations and submissions for the Unbanded segment this week (as us how if you’d like to do the same). In this week’s cigar news, we talk a bit about this year’s annual release of the Alec Bradley Fine & Rare, Erez Cigars’ “Unsmokeable” cigar, Avo Uvezian’s car accident, the newest vitola released in the Cuenca 5 Anniversary series (hoowahh!), an upcoming release from Steve Ysidron’s Epicurean Cigars, and the announcement of CFC2014. Kip in particular is excited to be planning another trip to the beautiful Dominican Republic for this latest even. We also covered what we’ve been smoking, a couple of random thoughts from Kip – which will likely get him into some trouble, and went over the deep end of tobacco chemistry in our listener emails.

Episode 026: The ChiGringo

August 7, 2013 By Kip Fisher

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This week on Half Ashed, we take a look at the INfamous (that means more than famous, you know….) ChiGringo, blended by my illustrious cohost Craig Schneider himself. Here’s what Craig has to say about the ChiGringo:

In February of 2008 I traveled to Danli Honduras for what was meant to be only a leisurely getaway. After one week, a lot of rum and dozens of cigars I left with a customized blend from the GR Tobacos Unidas factory on order. These cigars are the final product shipped to me in May of that year. The wrapper is a Nicaraguan Rosado Habano leaf grown in Jalapa and filler is Nicaraguan grown Jalapa corojo tobacco with other tobaccos from Columbia & Panama. The exact blend is gone but these seem to stand out in my mind.

After smoking the ChiGringo, I have to say that Craig has been far too critical of his efforts in the past. I actually enjoyed it, in fact….even with the sudden jolt of the most sneaky, insidious, profuse nicotine dose I’ve experienced in a while. I never saw it coming…one moment I was smoking along just minding my own business; the next, I was waking up from a nico-nap. It just….”happened.” No cold sweats, no dizziness; just the sudden realization that I’d been had. Nonetheless, I had a pleasant experience with both examples this week. Tune in to the show to get our collective remarks about the blend specifically.

We also cover a few news items, what we’ve been smoking, and almost got to the listener emails. We were cut about 10 minutes short by a pretty intense lightning storm at my house. We’ll cover those emails on this week’s episode – which, by the way, will be an official “LIVE” show this Friday night at 9pm EST. Tune in to that as normal via Cigar Federation, or the means below. If you make it to the live show, you can participate in the live chat with us and rest of the regular folks Friday night.