Cigar Blog

This past Saturday, George Sosa, national sales director for Alec Bradley Cigars, and regional sales rep, Barry Blonder, stopped by the Famous Smoke Shop retail store for an in-store event.  I'm sure they were glad to be inside, too. Pushing 98 degrees with killer humidity, I think it was the hottest day of the summer so far in the Lehigh Valley. Yet, despite the heat, the store had a pretty good turnout.

George offered me an Alec Bradley Family Blend VR1, a 5½" x 50 Robusto, and if my memory serves me correctly, that was the original and only size offered until April of this year when they expanded the line to five sizes. I hadn't smoked one in a while, so it was good to kick back and chat with George and Barry and some of the regulars while enjoying this rich-tasting, medium-bodied cigar.

One of the perks of working in the premium cigar business is you get to sample cigars that are being tested for future release - maybe even one of the next "Top 25 Cigars."

Such was the case a few weeks ago when Rocky Patel and his posse rode into town for the Famous Cigar Expo 2010. After the event closed shop, I had the chance to hangout with Rocky, et. al., who offered me an attractive-looking, square-pressed cigar with a white sample band imprinted with the working title, "L#5 HABANO."

It often takes a holiday weekend for cigar smokers to haul out their best cigars for the occasion. Like many of you, I sifted through my humidors looking for the most apropos cigars to enjoy over the July 4th holiday. As you can see by the photo, it was a natural to include a Camacho Liberty 2009, but "the best laid plans," as they say, don't always turn out the way you expect.

I planned on smoking my selections on Saturday during a barbeque at a friend's house.  But before I get to those, my holiday weekend officially began on Friday in the Famous Smoke Shop retail store with a complimentary Artorius Grand Robusto. The smoke was pretty heady with plenty of pepper and spice. Not my usual cup of tea, but very well made and lots of flavor if you like dark, full-bodied cigars.

This past weekend Famous Smoke Shop held its annual Cigar Expo, so I got to smoke a lot more cigars than usual. Most of them were cigars I've enjoyed before. But on Sunday, the day after the Expo, I sat out on the deck to smoke a first for me - the Carlos Toraño Exodus 1959 50 Years Robusto. The box (see photo) was gifted to me by Charlie Toraño, and there's a story behind it, but I'm not going to tell it here; suffice it to say it has to do with another box of cigars he sent me many years ago, but I'm saving that for a future blog. All I'll say now is, Charlie is one helluva guy.

This past Father's Day weekend was all the reason I needed to take out a cigar I've been planning on smoking for months - a rare bird, too - an Oliva Serie V Torpedo 2008 Especial Maduro. These are made in very limited supply, and I was very fortunate enough to have it gifted to me by a good friend and colleague.

I'm already a fan of the Oliva Serie V cigars in the Habano Sun Grown wrapper, so I was pretty psyched for the Maduro. There was just one little thing about it that made me nervous. Somehow the wrapper got accidentally torn in the middle, so I protected it with a cedar wrapper I had leftover from an Arturo Fuente cigar to prevent it from getting worse.