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Java Red

Written by Craig Vanderslice

The Java Red was released in 2017 by Rocky Patel as the newest addition to their popular coffee infused line. Java is made for Rocky Patel by Drew Estate in Esteli. I’ve actually seen these in the aging rooms and on the factory floor in the Gran Fabrica Drew Estate (Java in general, pre-Java Red) so I know this to be true and I know that they use top quality tobacco. The new Java Red adds a cherry component to the infusion, adding to the chocolate and coffee flavors. These are box pressed and come in six sizes, Corona, Petite Corona, Robusto. Toro, Gordo, and Wafe (a nearly flat shape unique to the brand). I’ve smoked the Robusto and found it to be a very pleasant cigar, the infusion is very smooth and subtle, it’s a welcome change of pace, and great with a strong cup of coffee!

Quai d'Orsay No 54 a Palina El Año 1896 Oscuro 5x52 Robusto

Written by Craig Vanderslice

Quai d'Orsay (Kay-door-say) is a Cuban brand that came about in the 70s when the French tobacco monopoly wanted and exclusive Cuban cigar for the French market. Incidentally, this monopoly eventually merged with the Spanish monopoly to form Altadis, which now owns half of Habanos S.A., along with Altadis USA, and is the largest premium cigar maker in the world. Anyway Quai d'Orsay is a cigar that I have never had the pleasure of smoking, but I know a few things about it. Originally it came in three sizes, and had dwindled to only one, a Churchill. In 2017 they expanded the range to include some larger sizes, including the No. 54 (5 3/10 x 54) that Mark and Brett smoked on the show. It’s ironic that they began the show talking about a bridge, because the brands named after a wharf along the Seine, and a wharf is kinda like a bridge. The wharf is where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is located, along with the state tobacco office. Obviously the cigar is a Cuban puro, and is designed for the French palate, a milder, more refined and subtle smoke.

La Palina El Año 1896 Oscuro 5x52 Robusto

Written by Craig Vanderslice

This week the guys smoked the L’Atelier Lat 56, funny enough, the first time I smoked this cigar was at a shop called Havana Manor in Longmont, Colorado on the eve of the 2014 Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival where they were having an event with My Father, Tatuaje and L’Atelier cigars. The L’Atelier line is interesting as it uses Sancti Spiritus, a hybrid of Criollo and Pelo de Oro, as the wrapper, the first cigar to use this tobacco as a wrapper. This leaf is grown in Ecuador by the Oliva tobacco company (different from the Oliva Cigar Co.) The rest of the blend is Nicaraguan and it was blended by Pete Johnson and made at the My Father factory in Esteli. This cigar is a medium to medium-full and typically have some earthy, leathery flavors with some sweetness from the wrapper. This cigar was number 12 in Cigar Aficionados top 25 cigars of 2013.

La Palina El Año 1896 Oscuro 5x52 Robusto

Written by Craig Vanderslice

The La Palina Brand got its start in the late 1800s with Samuel Paley, who’s son, William Paley, Sr. bought a radio station in Philadelphia to help promote the brand. The radio station eventually became the Columbia Broadcasting System, so William Paley became a little too bust building a media empire to continue the cigar brand. In the early 2000s, William Paley, Jr. Resurrected the brand, starting with a very expensive cigar made at the Greycliff factory in the Bahamas, moving production to a selection of factories. The La Palina line has a broad range of cigars with something for every palate and budget. The El Año 1896 Oscuro comes in robusto, toro and belicoso, and has a tissue sleeve with the traditional image of Bill Paley’s Grandmother Goldie, which is usually on the band. The wrapper is San Andrés and is classified as Oscuro in the name, although it was a shade lighter than what I consider oscuro. It also has Dominican fillers and binder and It has a slight box press, and a very interesting flavor. It had some earthiness and dark espresso, with a little spice and some cocoa. It was a cigar I very much enjoyed when I smoked it last year. The construction was very good and it had an effortless draw. These are made at Abe Flores’ PDR factory in the Dominican Republic and was released at the 2016 IPCPR trade show.

Debonaire Sagita Petite Lancero

Written by Craig Vanderslice

Debonaire Ultra Premium Cigars, the guys are finally smoking a cigar with which I have some experience! Phil Zanghi founded Indian Tabak cigars in the 90s, ended up partnering with, and eventually selling the brand to, this LA entertainment lawyer named Rocky Patel, ironically of Indian descent. Phil spent many years in mass market cigars, but always had a passion for premium cigars, and came up with a fermentation process he calls “alchemy”. The Debonaire Ultra Premium Habano Sagita is a petit Lancero measuring 5-1/2” x 38 and was released in 2013. It has a Habano wrapper grown in Nicaragua, a Dominican binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers and is rolled in the Dominican Republic. This line is often described as savory, with a flavor sensation akin to prime rib. Like any small ring gauge cigar, these need to be smoked slowly or one risks overheating and getting much sharper and perhaps less enjoyable flavors.

Warped Cigars La Hacienda

Written by Craig Vanderslice

Once again, Mark and Bret smoked a cigar I haven’t had the pleasure of smoking myself. What do I have to do? Send them cigars from my humidor? Here I thought I had a pretty broad frame of reference. What I can tell you is that Kyle Gillis of Warped Cigars is a young guy with a love for Cuban cigars who makes some great cigars with the folks at Aganorsa Leaf TABSA. The La Hacienda brand is an old Cuban brand which is resurrected in a classic 5-5/8”x46 Corona Gorda and a 5.5”x52 Gran Robusto using all Nicaraguan tobaccos bringing a medium bodied blend suitable for smoking any time of day. Sounds like a cigar I’m going to have to hunt down and try, just what I need! 

Avo 80th

Written by Craig Vanderslice

The Avo 80th was released in 2006 to celebrate Avo Uvezian’s 80th Birthday, so it’s appropriately named! Avo was a talented musician who wrote Strangers in the Night for those who aren’t aware. He had a hell of a run, passing away in 2017 at the age of 91. The cigar is a 6”x 52 Belicoso and the blend is An Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper, with Dominican binder and filler. This was a medium bodied cigar when it was released 12 years ago, I’ll be very interested to hear what the boys think of this one. It’s a cigar I never had the opportunity to smoke, although I smoked one of the newer offerings, the Avo Nicaragua Fogata Tubo last week and it was pretty darned awesome!

La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull

Written by Craig Vanderslice

In The La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull was Cigar Aficionado’s Cigar of the year for 2016. The shape of the cigar is a 6 1/2” x 52/64 Figurado based on some antique molds that La Flor Dominicana owner Lito Gomez found on a trip to Europe. It’s a unique, and massive, shaped cigar. The cigars are made in the Dominican Republic at Tabacalera La Flor S.A. with an Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper, Dominican Binder and Dominican filler. The cigar is produced in limited quantities but is considered regular production. Obviously, receiving such a high honor from a prestigious magazine was good for La Flor Dominicana’s sales, they’ve had trouble meeting demand, but have no intention of rushing cigars to market before they are ready. I smoked one of the Andalusian Bulls shortly after the rating came out early in 2017 and while I found it to be an excellent cigar, I didn’t find it to be spectacular, which I think should be a requisite for such high honor as Cigar of the Year. There are many LFD cigars I prefer over that one, such as the new La Volcada.

Crowned Heads Headley Grange 7.5x38 Drumstick

Written by Craig Vanderslice

In 2013 the Crowned Heads cigar company released the Headley Grange Drumstick, a 7.5” x 38 Lancero manufactured at Ernesto P. Carrillo’s Tabacalera Allianza in the Dominican Republic.  The original Headley Grange release, the Estupendos, was blended to taste like an intro to the Led Zeppelin song “When the Levee Breaks” sounds.  This might sound random, but the line is named after the English estate where Led Zeppelin’s IV album was recorded.  Obviously, the Drumstick in the Lancero vitola is a nod to John Bonham’s drum work, as well as the fact that Ernesto Carrillo is also a drummer. The blend is Nicaraguan with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper. While I’ve never smoked the Drumstick, I have smoked the Estupendo, and thought it taste more like “Rock and Roll” from the same album, but that’s just me. Oddly, the song “Rock and Roll” was written while taking a break from recording a song called “Four Sticks," which is eerily similar to the name of Crowned Heads other line “Four Kicks”!