Just before the 2023 PCA Trade Show, Crux Cigars released the third installment in its Epicure Series, the Crux Epicure Habano. As the name indicates, the Crux Epicure Habano introduces a Habano-wrapped offering into the Epicure Series. Crux Epicure Habano has been long anticipated among Crux cigar enthusiasts. It was a cigar talked about in […]
Cigar Review: Tatuaje Cohete Reserva (2022)
William Cooper Reviews No Comments 88-90, Review, Tatuaje, Try a Sample
The Tatuaje Cohete Reserva is an offshoot of a cigar that has obtained cult status over the years, the Tatuaje Cohete. The Tatuaje Cohete was a 4 x 50 petite robusto released as an exclusive offering to Tower Pipes and Cigars in Sacramento, California. In 2022, Tatuaje announced it was bringing back the Tatuaje Cohete […]
Cigar Review: HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Poderosos
William Cooper Reviews No Comments 88-90, Buy Multiples, HVC, Review
Back in 2022, HVC Cigars released a San Andres wrapper offering known as the HVC Selección No. 1. While HVC Cigars has been a company in business for over a decade, the No. 1 is significant. This is because, in 2022, HVC Cigars moved into its own factory, Fabrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. Before that, […]
Cigar Review: West Tampa Tobacco Co. Attic Series Attic
William Cooper Reviews No Comments 85-87, Review, Try a Sample, West Tampa Tobacco Co
In 2022, the launch of West Tampa Tobacco Co. caught the attention of many people. The company was started by Rick Rodriguez and Gus Martinez, both formerly of General Cigar Company. Rodriguez had spent the better part of the last decade as the blender and brand ambassador for CAO Cigars. Shortly after a (very) brief […]
Cigar Review: Meerapfel Meir Robusto
William Cooper Reviews No Comments 88-90, Meerapfel, Review, Try a Sample
Today, we take a look at the second cigar in the Meerapfel Master Series, the Meerapfel Meir. The Meerapfel family has over 150 years of experience in various aspects of the tobacco business. The family is best known for being tobacco brokers, particularly for brokering tobacco out of Cameroon, Africa. In addition, the Meerapfels work […]
Cigar Review: Rocky Patel DBS Toro
William Cooper Reviews No Comments 88-90, Review, Rocky Patel, Try a Sample
Over the years, Rocky Patel Premium Cigars has been known for using Broadleaf wrapper – whether Connecticut Broadleaf or Pennsylvania Broadleaf. Over the past couple of years, there have been shortages of Broadleaf tobacco, typically of the Broadleaf grown in Connecticut. As a result, this has led many cigar factories to seek out alternative tobaccos. […]
Cigar Review: Nica Rustica Adobe Toro by Drew Estate
William Cooper Reviews No Comments 88-90, Buy Multiples, Drew Estate, Nica Rustica, Review
In 2022, Drew Estate introduced a second offering under its Nica Rustica brand, the Nica Rustica Adobe. The Nica Rustica brand originally started out as a project by Drew Estate in which they were experimenting with a locally grown strain of tobacco known as rustica. The rustica (or Nicotaina Rustica) is considered one of the […]
Cigar Review: E.P. Carrillo Allegiance Sidekick
William Cooper Reviews No Comments 88-90, Buy Multiples, E.P. Carrillo, EPC, Review
Just before the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, E.P. Carrillo announced the fourth installment to its Perez-Carrillo line, the Allegiance. The Allegiance is a cigar that Ernesto Perez-Carrillo blended, but it is being produced from Oliva’s TABOLISA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It was the second project by E.P. Carrillo being produced outside its […]
Cigar Review: Patina Anniversary (Toro)
William Cooper Reviews No Comments 88-90, Patina, Review, Try a Sample
In 2023, Patina Cigars would celebrate its fifth anniversary. As is common with many companies, a commemorative release was done to mark the occasion. When a commemorative anniversary cigar is done, sometimes the anniversary cigar is incorporated as an ongoing regular production line. In other cases, a limited edition of cigars is done. In the […]
Cigar Review: Esteban Carreras Taken From The Devil’s Hand Toro
William Cooper Reviews 1 Comment 88-90, Buy One, Esteban Carreras, Review
Each year when I go to the Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show, one of the companies I most look forward to visiting is Esteban Carreras. Esteban Carreras typically has one new release a year and launches it at the Trade Show. Esteban Carreras does not announce what its new cigar is before the trade […]