#25: Quesada Oktoberfest This epic encounter gives us a taste of Germany – via the Dominican Republic. Once again, a legendary family of blenders is responsible for bringing a cigar to us – this time it is the Quesada family. Coming in at #25 is the Quesada Oktoberfest. The idea behind the Oktoberfest was to […]
#26: My Father Limited Edition 2011 This epic encounter brings us to the son of a cigar legend that has become one of the top blenders in the business. Coming in at #26 is the My Father Limited Edition 2011. This is the second limited edition cigar in the “My Father” line. Originally this […]
Nat Sherman Timeless Collection: picture from”The Good Life Diaries” Nat Sherman is a legendary cigar store in New York that has been open for over 80 years. In addition to the store, the Nat Sherman brand has been well-known in the tobacco industry for many years. Michael Herklots, the executive director, retail and brand development […]
This epic encounter takes us to the island of Ometepe – a volcanic island in Lake Nicaragua. This is the place where a missing ingredient was applied to a blend that had been locked away for over a decade. At #27 is the Torano Vault. This refers to the name of a box that Carlos […]
New releases continued to hit retailers’ shelves in November 2011 – including a couple of highly anticipated releases. From a personal standpoint, it probably was one of the better months for smokes I have had in sometime. Let’s take a look at what happened this month. New Releases Alec Bradley Fine and Rare – I […]
La Flor Dominicana Factory Press IV Ever since the initial release of the Factory Press series by Litto Gomez and La Flor Dominicana a few years ago, the cigars in this series have long been sought after by many cigar enthusiasts. According to Gomez, the genesis for the Factory Press series is as follows: For […]
#28 This epic encounter uses the word “candela” – and yes a candela cigar makes my 2011 Top 30 Cigars of the year. Coming in at #28 is the Viaje WLP (White Label Project – St. Patrick’s Day) Candela. Similar to how manufacturers tried to raise the bar making more fuller blends with Ecuadorian Connecticut, […]
#29 for 2011: Humo Jaguar by Miami Cigars It’s time for a the second Epic Encounter of Cigars of 2011 – the 2011 Cigar of the Year countdown continues. Coming in at #29 is the Humo Jaguar by Miami Cigars. While Ecuadorian Connecticut cigars were a theme of 2011, there was another theme that got […]
Over the past year, Gary Griifith’s brand of Emilio Cigars has been capturing the attention of cigar enthusiasts. Now up on the Emilio website are some details of a new line and the first blend of that line – the Draig-K. Griffith has done a masterful job at “building a mystery” in his line. With […]
#30 for 2011: E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut With 2011 being as good a year for cigars as any, selecting which cigars made the Top 30 was probably as tough as any. With that said, picking #30 was probably the hardest selection I had to make. There were a lot of good cigars that did […]
Avo LE10 – 2010 Cigar of the Year It’s that time of the year. Time to countdown the Top 30 cigars for 2011. It seems like every year I say “this is the best year for cigars ever”. However, in each case it has been true – and 2011 truly takes the cake in my […]
Lou Rodriguez Habano-Rosado Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to sample and assess three blends in the Lou Rodriguez core line. When an Indie cigar company is able to place three different blends in a retailer’s humidor, it becomes what I term a “brand builder”. I’ve now had the opportunity to […]
