RoMaCraft | Half Ashed

Half Ashed 175: Unbanded 033

March 27, 2018 By Kip Fisher

Unbanded 033 from DC

Sent in by DC all the way back in 12/2016, tonight’s featured cigar, Unbanded 033, is draped in a dark”ish” wrapper (mid-tone brown with some much darker mottling) and a sweet but cedary aroma from the foot. It is 5” x 50 by my measure, with moderate veining and a wrapper that looks dry but *feels* oily and supple. Let’s see how badly we can be fooled, shall we?

Cigar News

- Habanos Festival
- PROCigar Festival
- CLE sent out an email a couple weeks ago, detailing the fact that they are making a concerted effort to fill backorders on many of their cigars…and that effective this week they will no longer be opening any new accounts until they’re caught up. The backorder situation must be sizable, as they mentioned they hope to be caught up by 3rd quarter 2018.
- Erik Espinosa is once again releasing the Wasabi. It was originally released a couple years ago as a lounge exclusive, although it’s more widely available this time around. There are only 5,000 cigars in this production run and they’ll retail around $8. There aren’t any specifics to be found about the blend, although it’s described as a “spicy candela.” This intrigues me. I’m not at all a fan of candela wrapper in general because it often comes across as “papery” or vegetal in flavor to me. For some reason, though, I’m fascinated by the idea of a spicy version….and exactly what that might mean.
- Fresh on the heels of the sale of my once-beloved Tampa Humidor, Casa de Montecristo continues their very aggressive strategy of acquiring/partnering with retail operations, this time in South Florida. The Mancave, a south FL retailer, will be opening a CdM franchise next month. The new location will be over 2k square feet, and will feature a bar in addition to the cigar lounge. This brings the CdM number of facilities up to nearly 30, with a majority owned by Imperial.
- Lots of news coming out of Tatuaje/L’Atelier. Co-founder Casper Johnson has announced his departure from L’Atelier to take a job in the music industry. Trailing this news was the announcement that L’Atelier will merge with Tatuaje by the end of this month. I’m not especially clear what this may mean to those of us who just enjoy the product. The cigars from both companies, to my knowledge, will continue to be produced by My Father and be distributed much the same.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig –
- Unbanded DC#2 – Addition by subtraction: not spicy, not overly bold or full = Old school dominican soul?
- AVO Synchro – I’m left wanting. I enjoyed this cigar for its individuality back upon release. I did not enjoy this cigar because of its monotony at this time. It’s a shame. I wanted this line to consistantly remind me of the LE releases of the 2000s that really shined well on the legacy of AVO cigars.
- Headley Grange Drumstick – An interesting cigar. It smoked bigger than it was. This cigar is an almost 8” long lancery that took abuse, smoked quickly and NEVER harshly. Enjoyably sweet and homey. If this cigar was 5” long I’d be a regular buyer.

Kip
- Mike brought be down some RoMaCraft Aquitaine back in January. I’ve been hitting those pretty hard the past couple weeks. Too hard, based upon how quickly my stash has dwindled. I just simply can’t seem to keep my hands off them. This line may very well be my favorite Nicaraguan cigar in the marketplace today (Ecuadoran wrapper and Cameroon binder notwithstanding).
- I’m still pawing at my pipes as well. Lately, I’ve been smoking through a tin of GL Pease Sextant. I think I may have mentioned this blend last episode. KY/Latakia/Turkish/VA, with a very slight spritz of rum. The rum is applied sparingly, which leaves it plenty dry to burn well but imparts a nice, caramel note across the otherwise traditional English campfire flavor. I’m not sure I’d smoked this before popping this tin; I wish I had…I’d have bought a bunch of it back in the day to set aside. I enjoy the fact that the latakia is front-loaded. What i mean by this is that it is dominant early on, but subsides by mid-bowl and lets the Virginias bring their sweetness into the foreground. Whether by design or simple palate calibration on my part, the effect is spectacular. I love it.

Episode 173: EP Carrillo 2011 Dark Rituals

February 5, 2018 By Kip Fisher

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EP Carrillo 2011 Dark Rituals

Craig – The EP Carrillo 2011 Dark Rituals Edicion Limitada is a cigar with a special place in my heart. It’s not the best cigar in the world, it’s not my favorite size but it is the only cigar I’ve ever received for building someone a house. In 2009 I started working with a couple in the Chicago suburbs to design their dream house. We worked long and hard to marry their need for space with their desire for a healthy & efficient living space.

When it was all said and done, they had the first LEED Certified house in their county, The most efficient in their town and one of the healthiest in the state. I was proud of that house and so were they.

A long while after they had moved in they came to my office with a small parcel and a big smile. I opened it up and was absolutely blown away by the generosity displayed in giving me a box of these Dark Rituals. What we’re smoking tonight are the last three specimens from that gift and a perfect way to remember that very personal achievement.

The cigar is a gigantic vitola, larger than my gauge can even measure. I’m guessing that direct measurements would yield a 56×6-⅜” size. The wrapper is extremely dark but substantially lighter than it was initially. It’s lost some oils and shows some of the color inconsistency of a tobacco leaf that is almost water stained. All coming from the oils that used to be present.

The wrapper leaf is only called “Oscuro Maduro” by the mfg but no country of origin is disclosed. An Ecuadorian Sumatran binder sits over all Nicaraguan filler tobacco. I expect it to be dusty,with cocoa & fruit flavors dominating. I look forward to the journey.

Cigar News

Tonight, for the most part, we skipped recent happenings from the world of cigars…because we have special guest Michael Stewart. You may remember past visits with Mike when we talked about his rolling hobbies, of both cigar and sushi nature. He is down visiting Kip this week, and we thought it’d be cool to catch up on how his trip is going and what they have been able to see and do during the visit.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig –
- LFD Andalusian Bull – After only smoking 2 or 3 cigars this entire winter I have jumped back into the fray with a gigantic cigar. My first And Bull. It’s a little Air Bender, a little Double Ligero and all LFD. Reminding me much of the EZ Tantrum in the first ½” (strength-wise) it settled down into a core of actually pleasing hard flavors. It’s size is intimidating at nearly 7” and almost 60 ring but what I did manage to get through before my brush with death was enjoyable. It’s good to be back…
Kip
- Padilla Fumas…despite what may have been preconceived notions if I’d known about this cigar beforehand, I genuinely enjoyed it. Habano wrapper over mixed filler – which held together very well, burned superbly, and tasted toasty and sweet. I dug it.
- RoMaCraft Aquitaine. My sweet Aquitaine. I’ve gushed and waxed poetic over this cigar in the past, but boy have I missed them. Mike brought some down for me, and I feel like I need to lock them away and give someone else the key. I don’t know how they’ll last very long. Heck, I liked them so much I have to admit Craig was right about the vitolas…I think I may like this Mode 5 even more than the Anthropology. I don’t say that lightly, nor willingly.

Episodes 167: RoMaCraft Aquitaine Anthropology

December 27, 2017 By Kip Fisher

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RoMaCraft Aquitaine Anthropology

Tonight, we’re revisiting a cigar we’ve smoked, enjoyed, and talked about. A lot. The RoMaCraft Aquitaine line, in the Anthropology (corona gorda) vitola. This line features an Ecuadoran Habano Ligero wrapper over Cameroon binder and Nicaraguan filler blend, with tonight’s cigar coming in at 5.75” x 46. Skip joined us way back in Episode 028, and I even reviewed this cigar back in 2014. We have a long history with the line, and I especially admire the commitment to excellence Skip & Mike bring to the industry…let’s see if the Aquitaine still lives up to the storied reputation in my mind….

Cigar News

The big story for tonight is legislative in nature – the fact that yesterday the Make America Secure and Prosperous Appropriations Act of 2018 (H.R. 3354) passed the House of Representatives. What does this mean? A lot. And not much…. Before we all start lighting those celebratory cigars, let’s take a look at what has specifically transpired. It’s true that this is the furthest the cigar industry has gotten a process that has been tried repeatedly over the past several years. H.R. 3354 does include language that exempts premium cigars from the FDA regulations we’ve been talking about for so very long – by restricting the FDA from using any funds to enforce the rule. This is huge in principal – but not a fully completed piece of legislation. The House and Senate now have to iron out any differences and bring a similar Senate bill to pass (and, of course, the President will have to sign said agreed-upon language). None of the existing Rule has changed as of now – and may not. This Act is essentially the guiding document for budgeting/spending in 2018. So, its duration ends in October 2018. To be furthered beyond that date, the process would have to be once again approved before. While I remain hopeful, I know that these types of add-on riders are very difficult to be brought to fruition for both houses to agree…however, if it does make it through the process this time around, it is also very difficult for it to be removed later on. Should both houses come to agreement and the language remain, this would at least postpone enforcement of the deadlines currently set for 2018 (warning label additions, user fees, etc.), and new products could be introduced through the involved timeframe. I’m going forward with the belief and hope that the cigar industry came away with a win, and hope the plan can come together with something workable for the industry. We shall see…..

Since our last show, Hurricane Irma made its presence known throughout the Caribbean and Florida. While it was a devastating storm, and one of the largest known in this hemisphere, it did not impact the cigar industry in a catastrophic manner. Most of the Lesser Antilles which were hammered by the storm are non-tobacco producing territory, and the industry impact was dampened on the affected islands by the fact that most do not have tobacco in the fields at the moment. Here in the DR, much of the country’s non-essential operations were closed for a day, but except for the far eastern portion of the nation most of us only experienced a rainy day with limited wind and localized flooding. Cuba took more damage. The extent of the damage to its cigar industry is yet to be seen. Many factories were temporarily closed for flooding and windy conditions. It is not yet known how extensive the damage is, as much of the country’s north coast is still flooded and without power. Florida took a serious (but less so than expected) hit from the storm, but thankfully it was diminished more quickly than forecast as it moved the length of the state. The southwestern portion of the state bore the brunt of the storm, which caused quite a bit of flooding in addition to wind damage. However, returning to cigar industry specific news, most Miami based companies avoided significant damage. Most lost a few days of work and shipping.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig –
- Leon Jimenez from DC – Cedar, smoke, alcohol – There’s a story here…
- Casa Cuba – Very harsh. What gives?

Kip
- Bonus cigar….Fuente Destino al Siglo (2005 edition)
- Camacho Criollo – a cigar I’d overlooked after the company’s revamp a few years back. Frankly, the blue (Ecuador) was offputting to me, and I never looked back. DC sent me one of the Criollo while I was stateside this past summer, and I smoked it last week. I have to admit to enjoying it far more than I expected. It was spicy early on, but softened considerably during its second half. It remained interesting throughout. There aren’t many Camacho products I reach for; this one is on the list now.
- Nica Rustica – the cigar that snatched my interest a few years back because it originally was to have some Nicotiana Rustica in the blend. That particular leaf did not work out for them, and the cigar fell out of the limelight for me personally. DC also sent one of these, and it has revived my interest as well. It was very, very smoky – in flavor and literally. Tons of charred oak flavor and perfect construction were winning characteristics. I have added this to my list of cigars to bring back on my next trip to the US.

Half Ashed Episode 151: Unbanded 028

October 15, 2016 By Kip Fisher

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[generic Unbanded image…not this week’s CotW]

Unbanded 028, from Kevin H.

Tonight, we’re smoking another Unbanded from the generous Kevin Hasselwander – thanks, Kevin! The following are Craig’s notes about it before lighting. Tune in for the grand reveal! A 6-½”x44 heavy in the hand, colorado colored cigar. If I didn’t know better, I’d say that it was a Cuban cigar by the texture & appearance of the (seemingly Habano) wrapper. It’s very firm and has a rustic triple cap. The appearance at the foot looks as if it’s a “book” style of bunching which, partnered with the density & weight, makes me somewhat anxious about how it draws. The unlit draw & aroma please, with the perfect resistance and a slight spicy sweetness in the sensation. We shall see how it progresses!

Cigar News

With all the FDA goings-on, there have been quite a number of concerns about cigar donations that go to American service-folk. A number of manufacturers have made it known that they have ceased their donations for fear of the practice being deemed against the sample restrictions outlined in the new regulations. It remains a gray area, but a couple of legislators have requested specific clarification from the FDA, and are introducing at least one bill that would specifically allow the continuation. It’s certainly NOT against the regs for individuals to donate cigars…but it could be construed as such for retailers and manufacturers. We shall see in the days ahead….

We don’t talk a great deal about Las Cumbres lately, Jose Blanco’s parent of the Señorial line. But, he is launching a few new lines/extensions – a Connecticut version of the Señorial, a maduro Freyha, and the Freyha 12. The first will feature an Ecuadoran CT wrapper over Dominican Piloto Cubano binder and Criollo 98/Piloto Cubano fillers. The maduro Freyha, named the Freyha Nocturnal, will feature a CT broadleaf wrapper over San Andres binder and similar fillers to the Señorial CT. Finally, the Freyha 12 celebrates her 12 years in the industry with a singular 7” x 52 churchill that carries an Ecuadoran Habano wrapper over Dominican corojo, criollo 98 and Piloto Cubano filler.

The popular Two Guys’ “Firecracker” has been announced for 2017. It will be coming from Fratello this time around. The 3.5” x 50 vitola will have the same blend as the Fratello core line (Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, Ecuadoran Sumatra binder and Nicaraguan/Peruvian filler. MSRP is reported to be around $6. This year’s edition was made by RomaCraft, in the CroMagnon series.
Check near the end of the show for Craig’s review of the recently released ScrewPop Ashtray!

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig
- 03 Cohiba Siglo VI
- Casa Trompeta Bahia!

Kip
- Fratello corona
- Quesada España corona
- Caminos

Half Ashed Episode 139: Unbanded 026

March 20, 2016 By Kip Fisher

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Unbanded #026, from K. Hasselwander

The unbanded vitals, as we have ’em before the unveiling….

Kip: 6.875” x 36; nicely assembled (from outward appearances); even-toned, dark brown, dry complexion.

Craig: My measurements have it at 6 ⅞” inch x 36 ring gauge. Very dry in appearance and slightly rustic, almost in a saturated and dried out sort of way.

Cigar News

Tampa’s new Davidoff lounge has its grand opening tomorrow…

Continuing with the TAA-limited releases, this year’s Angel’s Anvil has been announced by Crowned Heads. This year, the release will feature a CT broadleaf wrapper over Nicaraguan internal components. It’s a 5.5” x 54 box-pressed (Cañonazo?), made at Tabacalera La Alianza (EPC), and will retail for around $10.50 a stick. Expect these to begin shipping in May – only to TAA retailers who order at the annual meeting.

Next year’s federal budget could include a doubling of the federal cigar tax. A new program has been proposed – Preschool for All – which could be funded by an increase on tobacco taxes. Federal cigarette tax would increase from just over $1 to almost $2; the $.40 tax cap on cigars would increase to about $.94. Pipe tobacco would suffer a far greater fate – halfwheel is reporting an increase there from $2.83 per pound to $44.23! This is not likely to come to fruition, but like everything else it’ll come back around again….

The “La Tache” is coming from L’Atelier, a limited-edition 5.5” x 50 robusto. It is based off last year’s LE Cote D’Or (which we smoked back on episode 127) – which included Nicaraguan binder and filler. The La Tache will have a wrapper Sanctic Spiritus wrapper, but from a lower position on the plant than the original.

Tatuaje has announced the impending release of the “Skinny Monsters,” which will be offered in a sampler containing each of the past 10 Monsters Series blends…but in a 6” x 38 petit lancero. According to an interview on Cigar Chat, it appears that the blends will be available singly in 25 count boxes some time in the future. Expect these to ship between now and the July IPCPR trade show.

Congrats to Skip Martin and Michael Rosales for the opening of their new RoMaCraft headquarters in Austin, TX. The new site will house offices, packing for distribution, and a lounge area. Don’t get too excited for a visit, though. Unless you’re a retail account, I don’t believe it’s open to the public.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Ashton VSG Tres Mystique – I used to love these. The VSGs were my go to “luxury” cigar in the early aughts. Something has changed in them though. They’re good, but they’re not the unique, bold expression they once were. This is a little too run of the mill. It was my first cigar in 4 weeks, other than our last CotW. My palate was fresh, though I have been medicated…

Kip

Suriel – (made at Kelner Boutique Factory; Brazilian wrapper over DR/Nica/Peru…a slightly tweaked version will be hitting American shores soon).

AF SG 858 – Please, sir, I want some more…

Next Episode

Next episode (140), we will be smoking the Arturo Fuente Añejo 888. 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 113: Davidoff Nicaragua

May 20, 2015 By Kip Fisher

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Davidoff Nicaragua Short Corona

I’m joined this week by longtime friend of the show and former Dogwatch Cigar Radio cohost Dale Roush. A huge thanks to Dale for sitting in with me and catching up. We’re smoking the Davidoff Nicaragua Short Corona, a 3.75″ x 46 beauty featuring a 10 year old Habano seed Rosado wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder/fillers. This line debuted in summer of 2013, and retails for about $9.90 depending on local tax situation. Tune in to get our thoughts on the cigar, as well as a chance to see what Dale has been up to and a bit of cigar news!

News

In a topic we talked briefly about last week as an outlying possibility for a developing trend, Camacho has announced their contribution to the world of barrel-aged cigars. The Camacho American Barrel Aged will feature bourbon barrel-aged corojo as a core component. It will also come with a 5-year old American broadleaf wrapper. In fact, it almost exclusively utilizes American grown tobacco, including the broadleaf wrapper, binder and filler – including a maduro filler tobacco from Pennsylvania. A single leaf of six year old bourbon barrel aged Corojo was added to the recipe. They are promoting a national event tour to launch the line, beginning in Orlando June 8th and ending up at Tampa Humidor December 19th. It will be shipping June 15th and retail for $10-12 per cigar. I posted a story about it on the website with full tour schedule.

United Cigar, who we’ve spoken of several times in the past 2 months, is partnering with Selected Tobacco to extend the Byron line by two vitolas. Both cigars are the largest Byron vitolas to date, and as a result each blend is tweaked a bit with a higher priming to maintain the strength and flavor required to match the larger ring gauge format. The packaging has also been revamped and will include individual humitubes with the cigars. MSRP has been set at a whopping $33 a stick. Here are the details on the cigars. See full story posted earlier.

The Serie Siglo XIX, was blended by Nelson Alfonso with a goal of best representing Cuban Cigars of the 19th Century is now available in a 6 x 56, known as the Grand Poemas.

The Serie Siglo XX – also blended by Nelson Alfonso – aims at representing Cuban Cigars of the 20th Century, and is also available in a 6 x 56 format known as Habanero.

A few weeks ago we reported on an upcoming event-only offering from Crowned Heads…just as an update, the name has changed from “Snake Oil” to “Blood Medicine.” Turns out, Kendall Culbertson of Outlaw Cigar Co. owns the trademark for Snake Oil. So, to maintain the peace, the Crowned Heads folks opted to just change the name. Other details remain the same: it’s a 5.5” x 48 “super corona”; Ecuador Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. It will not be available for stand-alone purchase, and will come through event special purchases.

The still-recovering Skip Martin is closing in on shipping the much-anticipated release of RoMa Craft’s Neanderthal this upcoming week. The line carries a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Connecticut broadleaf binder and fillers that include tobacco from Condega, Estelí, Jalapa and Pueblo Nuevo from Nicaragua; Dominican olor ligero and Pennsylvania “Green River Sucker One” double ligero. The line will be distributed initially in a single 5” x 52/58 vitola, but will also include extensions soon. A shop exclusive/event 4.25” x 52 vitola will also be available soon for Riverside Cigar Shop in Indiana and Serious Cigars in TX. These two sizes will retail for $12 and $9 respectively.

While cruising the social media nether regions today, I noticed an article halfwheel posted up that they’d found in the Cañon City Daily Record from Dale’s home state of Colorado. It appears some folks in Cañon City CO are shooting for a ban on outdoor smoking in the Central Business District of the city. The claim is that smokers spilling out of buildings (due to an indoor ban) are giving the area an inconvenient image. Councilman James Characky, Jr. said. “I want to create an image of healthy, vibrant people, not an image of cigarette smoking, beer drinkers.” The mayor has proposed limiting the ban to Main Street alone, rather than the entire district.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Dale

Man O” War Armada War Horse
Black Market Vandal Toro
Camacho Triple Maduro Robusto

Kip

A peculiar Tramp Stamp – Wrapper: Habano Ecuador, Binder: Nicaraguan, Filler: Nicaraguan

Next Episode

Next episode (114) we will be featuring the Unbanded #024 from zedman. 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 [email protected] if you have something you’d like to send in. I will provide an address to send them. Thanks!

Half Ashed Episode 109: 2011 EP Carrillo Dark Rituals

April 5, 2015 By Kip Fisher

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2011 EP Carrillo Dark Rituals

Welcome everyone to Episode 109, featuring the original release (2011) EP Carrillo Dark Rituals. I will be posting a written review of this cigar as well, so check back for that in our review archive. This limited edition run is one of Craig’s CotW selections, and he describes it thusly:

The Ernesto Perez Carillo Edicion Limitada 2011 Dark Rituals is a black beauty that makes even Ram Jam proud. A large cigar for either Kip or me, it checks in at 6-½” x 56 by direct measurement. The wrapper is labeled as an Oscuro Maduro with no country of origin, while the binder is an ecuadorian grown Sumatran leaf. The filler is only labeled as “Nicaraguan”. The box has been in my humidor for over three years and all samples seem to have at one point been absolutely saturated with oils. The wrapper on tonight’s sample even has a few spots where it looks water damaged after the natural changes the leaf has gone through. It is nearly striking how saturated it looks to have been. The two of these cigars I’ve smoked in the past both seemed incredibly full bodied (perhaps due to an overwhelming smoke production) but without major complexity. Deep and sweet flavors accompanied by some tartness were basic descriptions of how the flavor presented itself. We’ll look forward to seeing how tonight’s samples compare.

News

We began the show with a then-breaking story on an announcement from Michael Huff that effective immediately he was leaving Dante Cigars. Per his announcement, “It’s with a heavy heart that I inform you that as of 8:30pm today EST I am no longer partnered with Mohammad Fakhro and M Tobacos INC. Any questions about Dante Cigars, accounts, orders, and special appearances please call Mr. Fakhro at [….]. Thank you all for the great ride with Dante, but no worries I’ll be back to the industry soon with crazier creations” This was an unexpected turn of events, especially in light of the fact that we had recently on bringing Michael onto the show to talk about Dante’s upcoming Purple Mofo cigar. No news as of yet on the future of that cigar.

Fred Rewey of Nomad has been trickling out details about his new Nomad Esteli Lot 8613 for a few weeks now. It is finally nearing released and should be shipping this Monday. He hasn’t given blend specifics, although it is another production out of AJ Fernandez’ operation. It will come in five vitolas (Robusto (5 x 50, $8.50), Coronita (5 1/2 x 46, $8.50), Toro (6 x 50, $8.75), Grand Toro (6 x 58, $8.95) and Churchill (7 x 48, $8.95), and in boxes of 21.

I know we have a number of Canadian listeners, so I thought I’d pass along that Alec Bradley is putting out a Canadian exclusive size in the Black Market line – called the Chunk. Presumably it carries the same blend as the rest of the line (Nicaragua over Sumatran around Honduran/Panamanian) but in a stubby little 4.25” x 60 vitola.

Another week, another limited cigar from Crowned Heads. THIS TWEET related a few details about a new event-only cigar from the company called Snake Oil. It will be a 5.5” x 48 “Super Corona.” Halfwheel has reported a few more details – namely that it’s another My Father-produced stick and that it will carry an Ecuadoran Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. Initial run is 6,000 cigars, but the line will be ongoing (but event-only).

Per a press release sent out this past week, Asylum is adding the 8”x80 & Super 11/18 (8” x 60/70/60) to the existing Asylum 13, 13 Corojo and Ogre lines. The former two lines will carry the sizes at $8 per 11/18 and $10 for the 8×80…while the Ogre line will be $1 more each respectively. They are now availalbe in trays, and boxes will be forthcoming in May.

Cigar Hustler (in Deltona, FL – between Orlando & Daytona) has an upcoming line to be manufactured by the Nica Sueño factory (of RoMa Craft fame). The Powstanie (Po-stahn-Ya) will be available at their shop, and will also be brought to market at a limited number of other retailers around the nation. Several pictures have made their way out this week, mostly via Instagram for the shop and Skip Martin. The line will feature two blends, one for each of the co-owner brothers (Mike & Greg Sczcepankiewicz). The two worked with RoMa Craft to develop some samples and had their customer base smoke them and help in selecting the final blend (a la Cuenca 5). Mike’s blend – the Powstanie Habano – will be out in May, and features Ecuadoran Habano wrapper over Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan/Dominican fillers. Greg’s, the Maduro, will be shipping in August, and will carry broadleaf maduro wrapper over Indonesian binder and Nicaraguan fillers. Initially, a 5.25” x 54 belicoso and 6×52 toro will be the only vitolas, with possibility for more in time. Pricing is expected to be between $9-11 per stick in boxes of 21.

What Else We’ve Been Smoking

Craig

Punch Super Robusto E.R. Asia Pacifico 2008 – Wonderful soft “Punch” flavors with a terrific burn. Smoking time for this Canonazo was quick, at about 90 minutes, but the flavors were all there. This cigar seems to be at its peak (only 7 years old!). If I had to guess, it seemed almost hollow; as if there wasn’t anything behind what was being tasted. Remember me talking about cigars that allude to so much more flavor that isn’t being released yet? Well, this cigar was just the opposite. I swear it was nearly like a victory lap from a retiring legend.

TL Johnson Legend Reserve 63 – A beautiful robusto-ish sized cigar with the trademarked Luis Sanchez extreme box press. This cigar is not one to be trifled with. It is strong and flavorful, full and lasting. I find it to be at the edge of my (albeit wimpy) wheelhouse, forcing me to expand my horizons. I can dig it.

Kip

JDH SIngle Action and the Ashton VSG Tres Mystique – tune in for my thoughts here!

Next Episode

Next episode (110) we will be featuring Unbanded 022, furnished by Stephen D. 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 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!

Half Ashed Episode 095: Unbanded 019

December 17, 2014 By Kip Fisher

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Cigar of the Week: Unbanded 019

Good day, folks! Welcome to Episode 095 of Half Ashed, featuring Unbanded #019, suggested by listener Dan Crouch. Without giving away too much information, both Craig and I were completely fooled by this cigar. More so than any past Unbanded. It was a great smoke, and the reveal surprised us both profoundly. With a solid track record in the past, I suppose it was past due for us to fall flat on our faces with one…

News

In the news, we covered several items, including:

The HR Habano has launched – we talked of this a couple months ago; it is the collaboration between Alejandro Robaina’s grandson Hirochi and Omar Aleman of Cubanacan. The line comes in 4 vitolas, and features a Ec. Habano wrapper over Jalapa binder and Nicaraguan fillers. It’s available at Cubanacan Platinum accounts (somewhere around 30 stores), and retails for $19-22 per stick….pretty steep, but the feedback has been very good that I’ve seen so far. Still…

Halfwheel has a story out of San Francisco that should stand our hairs up. The city passed legislation this week that effectively eliminates the ability to open a tobacconist. There are currently 1,000 permitted tobacco sellers, but the new law limits permits to 45 for each of the city’s 11 districts (total 495). While they won’t go back and cancel any existing permits, whenever a business closes it’s permit is gone if there are 45 others in that district. The act goes on to specify that NO new permits will be issued for tobacco shops (tobacco shop = “any retailer whose principle business is selling tobacco products, tobacco paraphernalia, or both” and where 70% of gross sales receipts are derived from the sale of tobacco products or 50% of completed sales transactions includes a tobacco product or paraphernalia. “ STORY HERE

Skip Martin posted up a pic of a blending sample for an upcoming cigar celebrating Esteban’s 25 years in tobacco….Esteban is his right hand man in the Nicaraguan operation, managing much of the day-to-day operations.

AVO is freshening up a bit. They will be rebranding the whole lineup in early 2015. New packaging, new boxes, and the elimination of the Signature & Maduro lines (buy ‘em up if you like ‘em). Finally, we’ll see price drops of $.10 to $2.40 per stick. I personally have wondered what’s going on with the lineup, after seeing countless “blow-out deals” on this year’s LE, and just this week my local has the AVO Greatest Hits sampler (all the LE’s but one) on clearance for $126.95 (orig price = $194.95). I don’t think I’ve seen any taken from the stack they initially received….

The Ezra Zion guys are busily working on 2015 as well. They put up a pic of a prototype simply labeled “Unicos #2 // Mexico” this week. I imagine it’s another San Andres wrapped cigar, but I’m still anxious to give it a whirl….PICTURE

Finally, we talked a bit about this year’s “Top ??” lists from various sources….some interesting things going on there.

What Have We Been Smoking?

Our extra-curricular smoking this week was fairly subdued, with only a couple entries from Craig (Padron Aniversario 1964 Principe and the Herrera Esteli Norteño) and one from me (La Tradicion Cubana Reserva Familiar). We also gave a bit of attention to ongoing changes with the website and forum.

Listener Email

We covered one email this week, from Officer Paul…tune in to get the details on that.

Wrap Up

In the next episode we will be featuring the illusione Fume D’Amour, so 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 new and much improved 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 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!

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!