Size: 5 x 50 (Robusto)
Wrapper: Sumatra Ecuador
Binder and Filler: Corojo, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Peruvian
Strength: Medium to Full
Price: Just over $6.00 a single

Behind The Stick:

When I first heard about this company, it was from a cigar of the month package that was sent to me by Cigars Direct, and honestly I had no idea who they were. This was my error, for not only do they produce a great line of cigars which has an amazing fan base, they are also the single oldest cigar factory in the Dominican Republic – being built in 1903 by Don Eduardo Leon Jimenes in Guazumal, near Tamboril which is actually very famous for their cigar rollers. Yeah, I still feel like an idiot.

After I crossed that bridge, I started learning about the factory and Don Eduardo himself. The family was actually dedicated to the harvesting of tobacco in the outskirts of Santiago de los Cabelleros, his father being a tobacco farmer by profession. Once the factory had been well established and things were expanding and prospering, Eduardo’s brother Herminio expressed his thoughts to move the factory from the outskirts of town to right inside the growing city of Santiago, where it exists to this day.

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Size: 5 x 50 (Robusto)
Wrapper: Corojo
Binder and Filler: Nicaraguan Criollo
Strength: Medium
Price: Just over $7.00 a single

Behind The Stick:

For many of the viewers you know that I enjoy the history of the companies and the people who make cigars almost as much as I enjoy their products. The creator of this cigar, Ernesto Padilla, has one of the greatest stories that I have heard, not only from his parents but his personal journey as well. Please take a minute or two and peruse through an older review, the Padilla Golden Bear which has a bit more detail into the history of the Padilla family.

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Size: 5 X 44
Shape: Corona
Wrapper: Stalk-cut Sungrown Connecticut Valley Habano
Binder: Brazilian Mata Fina
Filler: 5 tobaccos from Honduras and Nicaragua
Price: N/A

Behind the Stick:

I was lucky enough to be at the right place at the right time. I had just met Drew Estate President Steve Saka at a cigar event of all places. He was telling me about some of the various brands made by Drew Estate including the Liga Privada series that started as a cigar made for his personal enjoyment. After talking for some time I gifted a cigar to him that I wanted him to try. In return he gave me a few Liga Privada No. 9�s and the infamous Dirty Rat. I probably looked like a kid catching Santa putting presents under the Christmas tree when I saw that Dirty Rat moving my way. There was no mention of a review but since I have done a few here I had big plans for this stick. Mr. Saka explained that because this cigar uses 5 fillers in a small ring gauge it is difficult to produce. He said they might not see production but that could change in the future. Needless to say I feel very honored to have been gifted this cigar. Thank you very much to Steve Saka. If you get the chance to meet him he is a great guy.

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Size: 6 x 52
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder and Filler: Nicaraguan and Dominican
Strength: Medium to Full
Price: Only available in a 10 pack sampler from CRA – $90.00

Behind The Stick:

As many of my frequent readers know, I am a huge fan and supporter of the CRA organization and was lucky enough to purchase the CRA Samplers offered on their site. Today’s review comes to us from this same sampler, but this one is produced by General Cigars – The Punch which was specifically blended for the CRA sampler itself. I have tried to locate exactly what is was that they had changed, but as all good secrets, they have been able to keep a very tight seal on this one. I do know that they only produced 5,000 for this sampler, so it does make me feel pretty lucky that I was one of the few who were able to try these out. Please check out my other post about the CRA Sampler for more history on this blend. I must also report that this is a single smoke impression, I was only able to smoke one for this review.

Construction:

General Cigar has done it again, even though they are a one of the giants within the cigar industry, they still seem to pay special attention to their sticks, proving to all the reason why they are one of the giants. General has never struck me as a company I would turn to for uncompromising quality, but on the same thought, they do make some really good cigars. This one in specific was evenly packed from head to foot with only the slightest bit of give near the foot – bonus. Minimal veins and a light coating of oils (very, very light) caused this stick to shine brightly, enticing me to pick it up. I’m beginning to get into the Punch cigars more and more, and looking at the near flawlessness of this beauty really made me wish they sold these specific sticks on a regular basis.

Flavor:

I don’t know if they made this cigar specifically to my flavor likings, but this cigar is awesome! It started off with a little bit of spice (light and smooth) mixed with wood and just a slightest bit of leather. The overall tobacco flavor powered through giving a nice bitter, mildly salty with a hint of sweet tobacco – starting to drool yet? Once the cigar got around the midway point, the flavors seemed to explode (right after the first ash) into tobacco, wood and coffee, the leather flavor from before still remaining yet very subdued. Once the smoke reached the final third of its life, the leather notes that had been quietly carrying itself in the background pushed the wood flavor out leaving a very nice coffee and leather pairing that caused me to nub this one out just before I burned my finger.

Overall:

The more and more of the ‘CRA specific blends’ that I am smoking in this pack keeps pushing me back a step or two. I am truly impressed at how these companies were able to produce these, even in limited numbers, allowing a small rarity to be bestowed upon the CRA members. This Punch in specific has caused me to fall, again, for the Punch line by General Cigar and promise me, I will be looking for an everyday smoke that would compare to this beauty – yea, its that good. I have contacted the General Cigar Co and they report they do not plan to produce these in any real quantity but perhaps enough of us could ask and maybe we’ll see these in our local shops! If it was a true ability, this would be one of the first cigars I would recommend as a box purchase.

Every Cigar Has A Story, Every Smoke A Memory

With things finally starting to settle down at my end of the world, I looked back and realized it’s been quite a while since I ran a contest, so this is it! I do want to apologize to all the readers, this past few months have been hectic to say the least, but, only another month or so until we move into the house and the wedding is still set for October so all things considered, I really can not complain.

The site as well has really started to take off, more and more people are starting to visit the site so I guess its time to actually start putting my name out there aside from twitter and face book haha. Due to this wonderful problem to have, a few companies have agreed to send me a new wave of cigars to review and this means I need to clear out my humidor to make room – my loss your gain! In this grouping I will be including cigars I have already reviewed and I encourage the winner to smoke some and send in a rebuttal to my reviews, they will be posted and added into the archive!

Padilla Golden Bear, Padilla Habano, CAO Sopranos Boss, 5 Vegas Gold, Liga Privada T-52 and Illusione ~888~

Enough with powdering your ass – How do you win these cigars?!

Easy enough, Just leave a comment on this post about your worst ‘Bad Ash’ Story. I’ll start it off – I got off work a couple of minutes later than I had wanted so I decided to continue the trend and take my time, walking out to the car, turning on the radio and listening to a song and finally lighting up a smoke to ride with me home. I was listening to a talk show, Coast to Coast AM, and my mind began to wander about this and that, next thing I know I am moving my cigar hand closer to take another puff, and the ash falls right into my lap. This ash hitting my lap not only surprised me, but also brought me back to reality from my day dream – also causing me to jerk my hand, the car nearly running onto the shoulder.

See, short, sweet and to the point. Enter yourself and make sure to include your email so I can get your shipping information! Deadline will be Thursday April 8th, cigars to be shipped that following Friday morning. Thanks again!

Every Cigar Has A Story, Every Smoke A Memory