Arandoza – Gems from a Small Family
There are far too many cigars and cigar makers to keep track of them all. And, since I write about cigars for you on a regular basis, I know lots of them. I can’t imagine how you could even try to keep up as an individual. Still, every month new cigars from new makers come onto the market. And some of these sticks are good or even great. How do you find out about them? If...
Undercrown to the Top
Drew Estate has rocked the tobacco world. Years ago, when he started the company Jonathan Drew was thought of in Nicaragua as that crazy American. Now, while the cigar establishment may still think he’s a little crazy, they all acknowledge that the revival he has brought is incredible. Drew Estate makes some great cigars and sometimes they are hard to find. One of the best known...
T.L. Johnson – A Very Nice Box Press
Cigar makers are always looking for some way to stand out on the shelf. There are so many sticks vying for the customers attention, it’s hard to get any traction for a new brand. For T.L. Johnson, to stand out from the crowd, an extreme box press was made. Not only did they make a box press, they shipped it in a box press mold. It makes for an interesting conversation piece and it...
Pedro Martin Fiera
How do you make a good cigar? Well, it takes patience and practice. I guess seventy years is enough of both. Martin Family Cigars is the culmination of over seventy years of experience, Pedro Martin, combines with a youthful passion, Maria Martin. This father and daughter team combines to bring an excellent cigar to market. Father Pedro passed away a couple of years ago, but daughter...
Don Cirilo An Evening Companion
Felipe Gregorio has a varied product line. They have many different brands that smokers of all types enjoy. So, I was eagerly anticipating something new from them. This year at the IPCPR show, they released a line called Don Cirilo. The cigar is named after Don Cirilo, Philip Wynne’s, who owns the brand, wife’s great-grandfather who was a tobacco grower in the Dominican...
Aging Room Havao – Time Well Spent
Aging Room is a special place. It is a place where tobacco comes to rest before being made into cigars It is also a place where the cigars rest so that the flavors will meld into a singular cigar. The problem with many of the cigars today is that they are made in large quantity. That’s not necessarily bad, it just means that it is hard to use small quantities of great tobacco for...
