Cigar Blog

Last week the Famous Smoke Shop retail cigar store was visited by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and his son, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo III (a/k/a "Ernie Jr."). As expected, there was a big crowd as they promoted their E.P. Carrillo and E.P. Carrillo Short Run cigars, mingled with the customers, and autographed boxes of their cigars. One fellow even brought in a rare 2006 La Gloria Cubana humidor for Ernesto to sign with most of the giant-sized Maduro figurados still in it. From what I could tell, Ernesto was pretty thrilled to see it, too, as well as a couple of other rare boxes the gentleman brought with him. He even had some stories to tell about the wood used, etc. But I digress...

After the requisite shaking of hands all-around, Ernie Jr. handed me a new cigar that they've been "trying out" with customers on their visits - the E.P. Carrillo Edición Limitada 2010, which was rolled to a 6 x 54. These cigars will be released sometime next year, and if I heard Ernie correctly amid the din, I think he said there will be other sizes, too.

Back in the Spring of this year I purchased a box of cigars made by one of the more prestigious manufacturers. The cigars in question were a box of Toros rolled in Maduro wrappers. Before I get into what happened, first a little back story:

I placed the cigars in my best humidor, an Adorini, which I reserve for my "special" smokes. This humidor is so well made I never had to season it. Plus, it's so well sealed I've kept the adjustable slots on the humidifier closed to prevent the cigars from becoming over humidified. Now back to the main story:

I think I'm on somewhat of a Perdomo cigars kick these days. I've found myself smoking the Grand Cru, Perdomo² Maduro, and 10th Anniversary Criollos more than usual lately, and this weekend I plucked a Perdomo Patriarch out of the humidor. After lighting it up, I wondered if it was my last one, too. Oh well, I had to smoke it at some point, so here goes.

This Patriarch model was a Robusto capped in a blonde Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper. The skin was flawless and the cigar was well packed all around. The pre-light taste was earthy, somewhat herbal and the tobacco was sweet on the tongue.

The Liga Privada T52 I smoked this past weekend, was one of  those cigars that I had staring at me every time I opened my humidor, but I was waiting for the right opportunity to light-up. On the heels of a week that consisted mostly of monsoon-like rain, the weekend offered cool and sunny Fall skies. Now's the time for that LPT52.

Until then, I had only smoked the Liga Privada No.9, which ain't too shabby, to say the least. I was looking forward to the T52 Toro (6" x 52) because I was curious to smoke this cigar that boasts a "stalk-cut" U.S. Connecticut sun-grown Habano-seed oscuro wrapper leaf. Before I get into the review, here's an excerpt from an interview with Drew Estate prez Steve Saka in which he explains the stalk cutting process:

Having been a cigar smoker for more years than I'd care to admit, here's something I've noticed; some cigars have held up pretty well over the years, while I've lost my taste for others. The question is, is it me or the cigar?

Every so often I get an email from a cigar smoker who wants to know if the factory changed the blend because the cigars they've been smoking for x number of years suddenly don't taste the same anymore. In most cases, the blend hasn't changed at all, plus the manufacturer and/or the retailer will usually announce a major blend change, as Perdomo did with their Cuban Bullet Ver. 2.0 cigars, for example. So again, is it the smoker or the cigar?