What’s in a name? Can you judge a cigar by its maker

October 3, 2012 By Kip Fisher

Cigar Musings

There is a certain cigar company that I had, for whatever reason, written off in my head. I’ll refrain from naming the company, because I didn’t think they were necessarily producing bad cigars…just not fit for my personal preferences and palate. I’d tried some of their offerings over the years and just decided they weren’t for me. So, as a whole I had avoided them for a long, long time. I have to admit to completely overlooking them whenever I visited shops. The thought of purchasing anything from their range never crossed my mind.

Recently, at one of the many cigar shops I find myself in throughout the state of Florida, I happened on to one of that company’s reps who gave me a cigar. I respectfully accepted it thinking it probably wouldn’t be my style…but I’d give it a go anyway. Days later, I thought “What the heck?” and fired it up. Unexpectedly, it was a great smoke…nothing at all like my memory of any of their other blends I had sampled over the years. Not just “OK,” not just “a little better” than expected – a very, very good cigar with some unique flavors and perfect construction. I don’t know if the cigars changed, this particular blend or stick is just different from the others I’ve tried, or my preferences have just drifted that much…or possibly even a combination of all these factors. I do know this has piqued my interest, and I’ll definitely be buying a few more to give them another chance. I’d certainly be more interested in trying some of their more recent blends, and less reluctant to try anything new they release.

With all the myriad cigar offerings out there today, it’s easy to dismiss an entire manufacturer’s offerings, knowing that there are many more fish in the sea. But, it makes me wonder what else I’ve been missing out of sheer callousness brought about by experiences long past. I know I can’t smoke them all…but I’d like to give it the ‘ol college try! What about you? Did you ever have a cigar brand that you thought didn’t appeal to you as a whole? Or, perhaps you’ve avoided certain cigars because of the tobacco’s origin, where it was rolled, or some other criteria? Have you revisited them? How willing are you to set that prejudice aside in the future to try something new from that maker/country/style? Conversely, are there manufacturers/regions/lines from which you automatically expect great things?

Cigar Week – a Quick Jaunt through Florida

May 19, 2012 By Kip Fisher

NOTE: If you want to skip the narrative and go straight to the pictures, you can find them HERE

This past week, my nephew came down to visit for our 4th annual Cigar Week. Each year, I take a week off work when he comes down from Tennessee, and we putter around the state of Florida visiting a number of cigar shops, manufacturers, or any other events that happen to be going on at the time. This year, we managed to work in a visit to Delray Beach, Miami/Little Havana, Ybor City, and a few places around Tampa. On our way down to Miami, we stopped and spent an evening at Charmed Leaf with Frank and Elissa. This was the third time I’ve had the pleasure of visiting The Charmed Leaf, and I’m totally enamored with the whole operation. The focus of The Charmed Leaf is very much on boutique cigars, of which they have a great selection – including many I don’t typically have access to in the Tampa market. The atmosphere of the place is very lighthearted, friendly, and welcoming. We even got schooled in playing dominoes while we were there on this trip, which was great fun. I got so carried away with the cigars and fun that I managed not to get any pictures while we were there – which will be corrected the next time I’m in the area. With permission, I’d love to feature them in an upcoming series of posts I’m planning to spotlight tobacconists’ I’ve encountered and have a great deal of respect and appreciation for. If you’re ever in the Delray Beach area, the trip won’t be complete without a stop there. I highly recommend them. And, if you’re not in the area, you can always check out their website as well…you just can’t get a domino lesson online [EDIT: This shop has since sold to new ownership.].

The following morning, we continued down the coast to Miami and into Doral to visit the My Father factory, lounge, and distribution/offices. I had contacted them ahead of time, and John Gonzalez was kind enough to give us a short tour of the operation. Much of the space at the new site is dedicated to warehouse and distribution efforts, but they have a lounge and a working factory as well. The lounge stocks My Father products, and is quite comfortable and very nicely furnished. There were 8-10 torcedores at work while we were there, busily rolling cigars, and several folks working in packaging/shipping/receiving. Much of their product is now manufactured in Nicaragua, but the Miami factory still produces a few cigar lines, some of which I find quite tasty.

From My Father, we headed over to Calle Ocho for a quick run through Little Havana. We passed through/by/in/around a number of shops and factories, but the highlight of the visit was a stop at La Tradicion Cubana. Frank Herrera had recommended we visit LTC, and it proved to be a wonderful experience. We hung out there with Luis Sanchez, the proprietor, for a couple of hours just smoking cigars and chatting. This was the first time I had the chance to spend any time with Luis, and I found him to be a very cordial, welcoming facet of Little Havana. I highly recommend a stop if you’re ever in Miami. It’s definitely worthwhile – both for the conversation and the cigars. I smoked one of his LTC “Palmitas” while there, and it was spectacular. Since the visit, I have enjoyed the Jameson cigars he makes for Brad Mayo as well. I foresee me stocking a few of these makes in my regular rotation for sure. Luis is responsible for his own brand (La Tradicion Cubana & Sabor Cubano), as well as Jameson Cigars (including the Red Label, Black, the Southbound Series, and Santos de Miami), Casa Gomez, and La Caridad del Cobre. We spent most of the afternoon on Calle Ocho, then headed back to points northward.

On Thursday, we had a scheduled tour of the JC Newman factory in Tampa. When we arrived at our appointed time, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that Eric Newman himself was in town and would give us the grand tour. Most of the work going on here is in machine rolled cigars and distribution. The building has been renovated in recent years, and is a spectacular sight. It has been restored to its past glory, and is such a fun way to spend the morning. The equipment is impressive as well…each of the rolling machines is capable of producing up to 5,000 cigars per day, and has several thousand moving parts. But, the highlight of this tour was having Eric give it. The family stories and proud history of the Newman family’s 117 years in the industry were fascinating. Eric gave us the entire history of the Newman family’s involvement in the cigar industry…from it’s beginnings in late 19th century Ohio, through the Tampa years, the partnership with the Fuentes, and into current times with the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation and opening of their new Nicaraguan factory. It’s a wonderful story and if you ever have the chance you should visit – even if not for a tour, they maintain a small museum on the first floor of the tower detailing this history.

We finished out the week with some local stops around Tampa – Ybor City, fishing at the Skyway, and some stops at various brick & mortar cigar shops. We visited Tampa Humidor, The Cigar Castle, and Clearwater Cigar Company. Tampa Humidor is my local “go-to” shop. The majority of my cigar buying is from them. I had been to Cigar Castle a couple of years ago, but not recently as it’s a bit out of my normal driving patterns. They have a very nice lounge, and great selection of cigars. Atul was incredibly friendly and helpful as well. Definitely worth a stop when in Tampa. The other tobacconist that we tried for the first time was Clearwater Cigar Company. They are near the St. Petersburg airport, from whence my nephew was departing. John Fought, one of our previous giveaway winners, recommended this stop because of its proximity to the airport, and it is one of his hangouts as well. So, we met John in person for the first time here. This is a newer shop (less than 2 years), run by Leglio Sotolongo. I’m not commonly in that part of town, so I had never made it over that way. As has become a pattern in the cigar industry, we encountered nothing but a friendly atmosphere here. Leglio is a very upbeat, positive, laidback kind of guy. A perfect fit for the tobacconist trade. He helped us out in picking some cigars we had not tried before based on what we typically like to smoke, and together with John provided an entertaining afternoon while we waited to head over to the airport. Some or all of these locations will likely be featured in the upcoming spotlight series as well. Thus ended this year’s Cigar Week. If you all ever make your way to Florida, I don’t think you can go wrong at any of the sites we hit this week. Also, if you’re in Florida and have a favorite spot let me know. I travel most of this state, and I’m always in the market for meeting new folks in the field…and I spend a lot of time in cigar shop lounges…

Pictures from 2012 Cigar Week

A short CFC 2012 trip summary

March 9, 2012 By Kip Fisher

We are back! As most of you know, portions of The Cigarmy traveled to the Dominican Republic this past week via Miami, to attend CFC 2012, the Fuente & Newman families’ annual celebration of the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation. We hit the road to Miami from our little slice of Central Florida last Wednesday to spend the afternoon before departing. We visited a couple of tobacconists while there. First, we went to Cuban Crafters for a few new (to us) sticks, grabbed a quick lunch and found a nearby tobacconist (Speakeasy Cigar Lounge) where we hung out for an afternoon smoke before catching our plane. Most have heard of the former, as they maintain a small factory onsite, and do a brisk online and catalog business. The latter, however, we stumbled upon while looking for a place to hang out for the afternoon. I’d link to their site, but it appears to be dysfunctional at the moment. Cuban Crafters has a large selection of boutique and national brands, as well as their own product. Additionally, they have Cuban coffee, sandwiches…and even a barber shop onsite. Tons of domino playing as well. We were only there for a little while, but it would be a great place to spend the day if you find yourself with some free time in Miami. Speakeasy has a smaller selection, but offers some high quality cigars and the owner was exceptionally friendly and helpful. We did manage to catch the correct plane for the short jaunt down to Santiago, after being redirected into a grand tour of a few MIA terminals . The Fuente & Newman families arranged for pickup at the airport, and delivered us safely to Hodelpa Gran Almirante, where we just made the poolside reception for the event, complete with a few cigars to occupy our time.

Thursday morning came early, as we headed south to Bonao to visit the Foundation and Chateau de la Fuente. I have mentioned CFCF before, and I just can’t emphasize enough how great an organization this truly is. The work being done there is amazing. Bonao is an area that historically has had very little in terms of material wealth. For many residents, “very little” would be better stated as “nothing.” The Fuentes and Newmans began the foundation in 2001 to help the people of Bonao – providing clean water, bridges over the creeks that must be crossed to reach the area, a school, food, medical and dental care for the children, and much more. The two families also underwrite the overhead and administrative costs for the foundation…which means 100% of donated funds are actually put to use for the children and their families. As you’ll see in the pictures to follow, the results are astounding. I am a donor, and would wildly encourage anyone to become one. I tend to be skeptical toward some charities after checking out how they handle donations and funds…since seeing how CFCF operates over the past few years, I have no qualms whatsoever. We visited El Grito de Carlito and the School grounds (where we saw the children dance and sing, complete with Carnivale costumes). We were also honored to witness the Foundation’s first black belt awarded to a student. Kudos to Tony Kattengell, who has spent countless hours teaching martial arts discipline and focus to bring up leaders for the future of Bonao. Afterward, we headed to the original farm for a traditional Dominican lunch of goat, pork, plantains, yucca, etc. And…more cigars! We roamed the grounds, busily snapping pictures along the way. It truly is a beautiful place. The evening consisted of a return to the hotel, a good dinner, and more poolside camaraderie.

On Friday, we were in the afternoon group to tour the factory so we didn’t need to depart the hotel until 11:00am. We had lunch at Il Pasticcio – they provide great family style Italian fare in Santiago if you ever find yourself there. This was followed by a tour of Fuente Factory #1, which I’ve come to refer to as the Happiest Place on Earth. Forget what you’ve heard about Disney World. This is it. This was my second visit to the factory, and it still amazes me just to watch the process and learn what goes into the cigars we all enjoy, and see the sheer number of hands through which tobacco passes to make a cigar. I can’t go into detail about every step, or this would turn into a monograph rather than a blog post. You can check out the pictures – and have a peek at last year’s as well. They’re that good :). At the end of the tour…wait for it…even more cigars! After an amazing afternoon of shared cigar knowledge, we headed back to the hotel for a short rest and headed to Camp David Ranch for the final celebratory banquet of the trip. The view of Santiago at night from Camp David Ranch is spectacular, and sitting on the veranda enjoying a cigar while absorbing that view with a nice vantage for the Southern Cross is a very calming experience to say the least. The night was filled with cigars, fellowship, dancing, and more cigars – including some very limited treasures I’ll have to admire in the humidor for a while before I can smoke them.

There are a number of group trips available for cigar folk to visit cigar country(ies) throughout the year, but none to celebrate a better cause than CFC. Again, I greatly encourage you to give to the Foundation if you have a little extra this year. You can rest assured it will be stewarded well. We had the chance to meet a number of great folks on the trip as well – including Brian Berman of the Cigar Rights of America. If you don’t belong to CRA, you should if you value your ability to enjoy a cigar. This is a another organization I’m passionate about. I have seen other groups akin to CRA that never seemed to make a difference. CRA continually produces a measurable impact on preserving our freedoms, and needs all the help they can muster. We also met some great guys from Boveda/Humidipak – Sean Knutsen, Charlie Rutherford, and Tim Swail. I’ve known about and used their products for a long time, and it was nice to put faces with the company, and they’re good guys to boot. We also had the opportunity to hang out with Kevin Paige (who recently took over A Cigarsmoker’s Journal blog), as well as a number of other folks I am better for having met. Maybe it was the nature of the celebration, and the fact that everyone there was in one way or another associated with the Foundation, but the ratio of knuckleheads to good guys seemed very favorable on this trip. It certainly made for a good time.

Saturday morning, we climbed back on a plane to Miami, alongside many CFCers, the Newmans, and much of the Fuente family – Carlos Sr., and the lovely Fuente ladies – Cynthia, Liana (Carlito’s daughter), and Christina (Cynthia’s daughter). I prayed for a safe flight, not just for those onboard, but for the sake of future cigar smokers as well :). Once we landed at MIA, The Cigarmy headed directly from the airport to the Charmed Leaf Grand Opening and Tweetup. There, we met up with local cigar smokers and a number of owners and reps from quite a few manufacturers. Present were Bob and Liz McDuffee from Dogwatch Cigar Radio (tune in on Friday nights at 9:00pm EST), Frank Herrera (La Caridad Del Cobre), Eddie Ortega (Ortega Cigars), Luis Sanchez (La Tradicion Cubana), Barry Stein (formerly of A Cigarsmoker’s Journal, now with Miami Cigar), Ron Andrews (Los Nietos), Andrei Iordachescu (Toro y Leon), and Reynold Benitez (Benitez Cigars). There were many more present that I was not able to chat with, including Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate, as we still had a five hour drive back to Tampa ahead of us. It was quite an event, and I believe the Charmed Leaf has a long and fruitful future ahead as a premier boutique tobacconist. Give Elissa a visit on her site, or a call if you’re looking for some fantastic boutique smokes that may not be available locally at your B&M.

This was a banner week for The Cigarmy, getting to know so many new faces, both those within the industry and many who just enjoy a good cigar. It was an amazing trip, and while the pace was whirlwind the fun was nonstop. We loved every minute of it, and look forward to building friendships with those new faces, and meeting more in the process. We especially want to thank the Fuente and Newman families and all their employees who were (again) incredibly hospitable and gracious. They went far above the call of duty to make sure everyone had a fabulous time, and we absolutely did. I can’t think of any better folks in the industry.

I have now rambled quite enough…how about some pictures? You can find those by clicking on the link below. I’ll apologize in advance – for the most part, they aren’t captioned. If you want to know more about any particular picture, just let me know and I’ll answer as best I can. Also, the pictures hosted here on the site will be lower resolution than we took. If you’d like a full size file, just comment or email me and I’ll get that to you as well. As always, thanks for reading, and we’ll be back on schedule next week with some new reviews!

VISIT THIS PAGE to see pictures from past CFC Events

Whaddya gonna do?

January 3, 2012 By Kip Fisher

♪ Here I sit

broken hearted ♫

♫ moved to Florida

and it’s still too dang cold to smoke a cigar tonight. ♪

Being born, raised, and spending my first 26 years in the mountains of East Tennessee, I once had ways of coping with cold weather. However, I’ve spent the past twelve years in Florida and I find myself very put-out by the cold this week. Tonight is forecast to be the coldest in a very long time in these parts, and it’s just too friggin’ cold to be out – even for a cigar. Normally, our winters are fairly mild and even on the coldest nights my garage provides a suitable respite. But…19°F? That should never happen. Not here. I feel like Al Gore owes me a personal apology. I would prefer to run out to a nice, toasty cigar shop for a smoke – I am near Tampa after all, with any number of great shops within an hour or so. Problem is, most of them are on the far end of that 60 minute range, which makes for a late night preceding an early morning during the week. Workable, I suppose, but not optimal. The only shops that are in the immediate area close early. So, it looks as if I’ll just sit here, indoors, and vent to you fine folks tonight. But next time, I must be prepared. Fire pit off the patio? Heater in the garage? Put on every shred of clothing I own until I look like the kid from A Christmas Story? There’s little chance of ever actually smoking indoors while maintaining any marital harmony whatsoever. My wife is favorable to cigars, and will even partake herself on rare occasions – but smoke residue in the house ain’t happening. It’s probably not feasible to move even further south, either. I assume some of you, especially in the northern climes, are finding yourself cigarless tonight also…what do you do? Do you just (horror of horrors) abstain? Do you have a segregated area to smoke in? Igloo? Tepee? What’s your plan for the rest of the winter?