As I reflect back on the decade 2010 – 2019, if there is one cigar line that continues to have me scratch my head its the E.P. Carrillo Cardinal line. This was a line introduced in 2012 and it was intended to offer a bolder and stronger cigar into the E.P. Carrillo portfolio. The Cardinal […]
Agile Cigar Review: Atabey Ritos by Selected Tobacco
Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we […]
Cigar Review: 300 Hands Connecticut Petit Edmundo by Southern Draw Cigars
One of the busiest companies at the 2019 IPCPR Trade Show was Southern Draw Cigars. For the most part, Southern Draw focused on brand extensions (additional blends for existing brands, and line extensions (new vitolas for existing blends). One of the new brand extensions came to Southern Draw’s 300 Hands brand in the form of […]
Cigar Review: Trinidad Espiritu Series No. 1 Toro by Altadis U.S.A.
When it comes to the Trinidad brand in the Altadis U.S.A. portfolio, it’s been one that hasn’t quite had the impact of other Cuban brands that Altadis U.S.A. sells in the U.S. such as Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and H. Upmann. Over the years, there have been several releases. Most recently in the past ten […]
Cigar Review: 7-20-4 Factory 57 Robusto
In 2014, Kurt Kendall introduced the 7-20-4 Factory 57 line into his portfolio. Factory 57 joined the original 7-20-4, 7-20-4 1874 Series, and 7-20-4 Hustler lines. An ongoing theme with Kendall’s brands has been nostaglia. 7-20-4 is a brand founded in 1874 by R.G. Sullivan that was named for the Manchester, New Hampshire address of […]
Cigar Review: BOTL Corona Gorda (2019) by Drew Estate
In 2019, Drew Estate brought back one of its more popular limited releases, the BOTL. The name BOTL stands for “Brothers of the Leaf” and is a forum for the cigar community. The story of the BOTL cigar goes back to 2010. The story has it that a man by the name of Tim Podwika […]
Agile Cigar Review: Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Décadas Diadema
Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we […]
Agile Cigar Review: Brick House Mighty Mighty Maduro by J.C. Newman
Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we […]
Cigar Review: Esteban Carreras Unforgiven Toro Grande
When it comes to Esteban Carreras Cigars, there are two things I have come to expect from the company when it comes to the IPCPR Trade Show. First is that the company will unveil a new product at the Trade Show and second, the company will keep the release under wraps until the Trade Show […]
Cigar Review: Montecristo Línea 1935 Maltés
In 2015, the Montecristo brand celebrated its 80th anniversary. This was commemorated with two releases – one from Altadis U.S.A. with the Montecristo 80th Anniversary No. 2 and another by Habanos S.A. with Montecristo 80 Aniversario. Two years later, Habanos S.A. would launch a regular production line that continues to pay homage to when the brand was […]