Benji Menendez – A Man with great history, makes an Historic Cigar
Benji Menendez is a man with a history. His father, grandfather, and uncles were all considered to be legendary figures in the Cuban cigar world. They created H. Upmann and Montecristo to name a few. Menendez, born in Havana, has been in the cigar business all his life. And that experience shows in this cigar made under the Partagas label. With all of this as background you would...
Gurkha Wicked Indie Historic Name-Good Cigar
The Gurkha Wicked Indie is a new release from Gurkha. It is the first release under the newly formed East India Trading Company, a brand whose history dates back to the British Crown and the year 1600. It was recently reformed to present these cigars to the public. The heritage of East India Trading Company is very much in keeping with the brand of Gurkha Cigars. This new line, Wicked...
Cheap Bastard, Funny Name, OK Smoke
I know for certain that I would never have bought this cigar. That is until after I smoked it. I was given this cigar, one each in the maduro and sumatra at a recent trade show. And, I’ll admit to being skeptical. I heard the story of how it came about from the cigar makers, some people from southern California who own a retail shop. they told me that several of their...
San Lantano Oval an Interesting Shape and a Nice Cigar
This afternoon/evening I had a cigar smoking guest join me. He had recently seen the new blog and didn’t know that I was a CigarMayven. When he asked if I could give him some help, I invited him to join me for a late afternoon smoke. I foraged in the humidor and came up with something nice for him to smoke and something interesting, the San Lantano Oval Corona for me. When first...
Jaime Garcia Reserva Especial
I like dark cigars. So it was with some anticipation that I took this stick from the humidor. It is made by Jaime Garcia, son of the master Don Pepin Garcia. The cigar is made In Don Pepin’s factory with Jaime in charge of this line. When I unwrapped the cigar I found a nice oily Connecticut Maduro wrapper smooth and velvety to the touch. It looked like a great stick. The cigar...
Cain Nub Habano
This is a go to cigar. Whenever I am looking for a small but powerful end to the evening this is what I reach for. When you first take the cigar out of its cellophane, it has a fragrant almost floral aroma which belies the power it packs. The wrapper is a medium shade of brown, smooth and silky. Nub is available in 4 blends each with slightly different flavor profiles. The Habano,...
