Ed and I are back for our monthly visit to The Stogie Review. The La Flor Dominicana Coronado is a nice full bodied cigar that has been known to take down a few seasoned smokers. Although it is full bodied and strong, the focus remains on flavor first, then strength. See how it went in this 20 minute video.
So I’m walking through the streets of Little Italy, in downtown New York, enjoying the hell out of the dark, rich, El Rey Del Mundo that I just purchased at a local favorite shop. The temperature is 30 degrees and the Manhattan air is cold and crisp, but the coffee in my other hand keeps me warm as I stroll down age-old Mulberry Street. A passer by says, “Bro, that cigar smells amazing.” I thanked the man, taking his compliment as a personal one.
I stopped to read a menu board outside one of the many restaurants as the manager declared, “That cigar, she smells a so sweet.” Wow, I know Italians are passionate, but to give my stogie a gender was a wonderful gesture. It felt good. “I” felt good. I felt accepted and alive as notes of java and woody tobacco laced my palate. This is New York City, a place where compliments and warm wishes aren’t handed out on a silver platter. While New Yorkers are genuinely good people, you kind of have to “earn” their approval and it seemed my smoky Honduran treasure helped me to do just that.
I walked a bit further then stopped and stared in the bakery window as the pastry chef filled the cannolis with great patience and expertise. I took a long draw on the El Rey, leaned my head back and released a fragrant waft of swirling blue smoke into the heavens. I felt like I was in a movie. It was a happy feeling – a relaxed feeling – almost one of nirvana. And then there came that horrifying sound of a phonograph needle being dragged across a vinyl record album…
Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiipppppppppppp!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!…
“That’s disgusting,” blurted the old crow as she stood behind me on the sidewalk.
I slowly turned my head in pure Di Nero fashion. “Are you talkin’ to me?
She was a haggered old bat of woman – a gnarly old face and hunched over like she carried pianos on her back for a living. “That cigar stinks and I don’t need to smell it.”
Sometimes you fight back, but sometimes you are too stunned to strike. I was frozen like a lawn jockey, cigar in one hand and coffee in the other. All I could do was cock my head to the side and squint my eyes like I had just seen the face of Marley’s ghost in the door-knocker.
“Don’t give me that bullshit look,” she blurted in her raspy Mr. Potter voice. “The whole goddamned country is dyin’ of cansa and you gotta act like the shroud of death.”
I wish I could see the look on my own face – that classic “WTF is your major malfunction” look. Now I’ve had plenty of people give me shit about my cigars in the past, but here I am in the open air, in the middle of a street of a humongous world renowned metropolis – surrounded by enough bus, car, and furnace fumes to grow a tumor the size of the Biggest Loser – and this creature has me playing Brad Pitt in Meet Joe Black.
But really guys, what do you do? Do you make a scene? Do you yell back… argue… defend yourself?” Put yourself in that position and think about it. Am I going to yell at a very old woman as nearby smoke Nazis chime in and use me for a Polish piñata? Am I going to lose my cool and make it look like “I’m” the bad guy in this situation? My brain was misfiring as a proper response was not coming forth.
“You people should be castrated and put on your own island!” she snapped as saliva sprayed from her flapping gums.
YOU PEOPLE? Did she just call me “YOU PEOPLE?” I’ve never been called you people before and it was a bizarre feeling. The entire situation was as surreal as it gets as several people gathered to see why this rancid old crab was ranting.
You know, normally I’d give the shpeal about being outside in the open air, or it’s a big city, or there’s nowhere left to smoke any more, yada, yada, yada. But I didn’t. For some reason I just let this wretched shrew have her moment in the sun. For three whole minutes, she was the champion of justice and her verbal flogging was just and most righteous.
Then… it happened…
“Just stand there with yer cansa-stick… ya big pussy,” she said in all of her old lady bravado.
She called me a pussy. First I’m “You People” and them I’m a “pussy.” All I was doing was minding my own business, walking though lovely Little Italy, enjoying my time alone with a good cigar. But now… I was no longer stunned. I was goddamned mad. I dropped my coffee and as the java splashed the pavement, my hand curled up into a fist. This rancid sow actually then yelled out, “Whatta ya gonna do, hit an old woman?”
With my right hand, I slowly brought my cigar to my lips and drew in the largest puff of smoke I could possible muster, then cocked my head while raising my eyebrows. For a solid ten seconds, I stared dead into the eyes of the bullying bitch, as she awaited my response – and so I gave it to her. I leaned into her face, nose to nose, and let forth the thickest puff of billowing Honduran smoke this world has ever known.
In plain English, the broad lost her marbles. She stumbled, then fell backwards, ala Fred Sanford, into the brick wall of the bakery, clutching at her chest while calling out to her god. She yelled out obscenities that even only I use on rare occasions, coughing and hacking up a lung as if she had encountered Death, himself.
That very moment was a triumph for cigar smokers everywhere. And, as I looked around, a small crowd of people clapped and laughed as the Chinese dude selling scarves and gloves actually said, “Good for you, Mr… Dat bitch focking crazy!”
Yeah, she was focking crazy, all right. But for a small moment in time, I was a just little bit crazier.
Smoke ‘em if ya gottem.
Tommy Z.
JR Cigar Blog With the Zman
I can’t recall where I purchased this ultra-cheap cigar, and I have virtually no information about it. The only thing I can tell you is that I was probably intrigued by the ultra cheap price when I picked up a couple of these cigars. At around a buck a stick, I wasn’t expecting much. I grabbed my usual cup of water and wrote my thoughts…
Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: ???
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Robusto 5.5 X 52
Price: Aprox. $20.00 for a bundle of 20
Pre-smoke & Construction:
When squeezing the length of the cigar, it was overall spongy with a few hard spots. The wrapper looked good, with a little roughness and small to medium veins. Sniffing the wrapper reminded me of soil. The pre-light draw was very loose, and tasted like wood and sweet natural tobacco.
The ash was a little flaky, and held for about an inch. The burn required no corrections.
Flavor:
The first third started with subtle sweet spice. Beneath that, earthy notes. The amount of smoke was plentiful and had a smooth feel.
The second third, although not great, wasn’t bad. The sweet spice lost some of its bite and was replaced with smooth, almost creamy earthiness. I think I detected hints of nutty notes as well. The smoke feel was thick and creamy as well.
The last third… Copy and paste my comments of the second third, and paste it here. The only change was that the body crept into the upper mild to lower medium range.
Conclusion:
This was pretty much what I expected. A cheap mild to medium bodied value cigar. If it were any more expensive I would give it a bad review due to being one dimensional. But for the price, I have to say it was decent. You get what you pay for basically. With coffee I could see this doing the job as an easy morning smoke.
To finish up the new years weekend, I dug out today’s review. I believe this is available in a natural or maduro wrapper. Ed had the maduro version, so that is what I bought a couple months ago. Just like the other high end Padron cigars, this one is definitely priced out of my daily smoke rotation. With the high price comes high expectations. Let’s see how this Padron rates.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder & Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 52
Price: $26.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark maduro wrapper almost looked like dark chocolate. It had a few wrinkles and small veins here and there, but overall looked great. The wrapper and foot had a very slight sweet odor. When squeezing the cigar from head to foot, it was very firm and consistent. Despite this, the draw was perfect and had a slight sweet earthy taste.
The burn required a couple corrections in the first and second third. The ash held for about an inch.
Flavor:
The first third greeted me with a smooth sweetness. Despite the smoothness, I could feel that Nicaraguan bite just as well. An espresso/coffee type of flavor joined in with a sweet spice. Under it all were very slight earthy notes. As I dug further into this third, the sweetness revealed itself as a cocoa flavor. The smoke feel became a little thicker and took on a slightly creamy feel. Very nice…
The second third maintained a very similar flavor profile to the first third. A cocoa flavor mixed with espresso or coffee were in the front. A smooth peppery spice was detected when passing the smoke though the nose. The earthy undertones almost went away. Every now and then I picked up on them though.
The last third changed up a little bit. Espresso dominated the flavor profile, with the cocoa following behind. The body and strength increased and packed a small punch. The Nicaraguan spice was in full effect, but it was very smooth.
Conclusion:
First the good: This was a very good full bodied cigar. Overall the flavors were very refined and enjoyable. The bad: The initial burn corrections were a little annoying, and not characteristic of Padron. My other complaint is the price. At $26.00 a stick, I simply don’t think it’s worth it.
In the end, this was a really good refined cigar. Price aside, I think this is worth trying.
It’s always sad when an era comes to an end. Whether it’s sports, business, or music, when greatness sings its swan song, it’s hard to even imagine life being the same. And so goes the story for the famed Villazon factory in Cofradia, Honduras. On December 11, 2009, the operation closed its doors as a cigar manufacturing facility, moving its revered brands six hours away to Danli.
Villazon, owned by General Cigars, was home to such legendary brand names as Punch, Hoyo de Monterrey, El Rey Del Mundo, and a host of JR premium lines. But like the rest of the world, the economy and imposed taxes have claimed their latest victims, and hundreds of dedicated people in that region of the Central American country are out of work, and God only knows how they’ll be able to survive.
As many of you know, in April of 2008, I spent several days at this facility, with Lew Rothman, as we were guests of then General CEO, Daniel Nunez. In less than half a week I developed an appreciation for cigars and the people who make them, like I had never known. The time, sweat, and dedication involved is fascinating, and we here in America could take an invaluable lesson from the people of this culture and their unrelenting work ethic.
The factory floor operations was run by a man named Manuel Zavala, who has thankfully been moved to Danli. I interviewed Manuel through an interpreter (a very cool and different experience) and was truly blown away by his love for tobacco, his company and his employees – of whom I’m sure he is heart broken over. The guy cared like not many bosses I have ever seen in my lifetime. The cigar making biz is a team operation, relying on many different parts to act as a whole. Manuel spent sixteen-hour days on the premises, overseeing all phases of the operation, while personally dealing one-on-one with those he felt needed the attention. The man had tears in his eyes, several times during our interview – tears of an unrelenting pride that was infectious to anyone in his presence. And let me correct myself, Manuel actually spent 24/7 on the premises, as he, his wife and children lived in a home on the compound, provided by General. Don’t see that in the U.S. of A.
After touring the plant and meeting just about everyone who worked there, my heart goes out to these wonderful people. They are all cigar people and I’m not sure how they’ll be able to recover. That area of Honduras is a headquarters for Chiquita Banana, as well as fish farming. More than half of the world’s tilapia consumption originates there, and at least that helps their fragile economy. One good thing is that the grounds in Cofradia will remain a tobacco processing and warehousing facility, which will be able to retain some of the employees, and, can be used again as a manufacturing plant if needed. One can only hope, but with the state of the industry, with its egregious taxes and Smoke Nazi shakedowns, it’s hard to imagine that a comeback will ever take place.
It is the end of an era. Villazon of Cofradia made some of the world’s legendary cigars for many decades, and within an instant, it becomes a memory of what once was – a time when a man’s right to chose a premium smoke was accepted and not looked upon as an act of immoral disgust.
So I ask you to light your next cigar in the memory of the people of Cofradia. Day in and out they gave their hearts and souls so you and I could enjoy one of the greatest passion that man has ever known. The attached photos of the plant and Manuel were all taken by yours truly. This last one is of me, Lew, and Daniel at Pat’s Steakhouse, in San Pedro Sula, Honduras. (The bulletproof wearing, AK 47 carrying bodyguards were cropped from the photo.)
Long live Villazon.
Tommy Z.
JR Cigars Blog with the Zman
I’ve been wanting to try this cigar for awhile. If you don’t already know… I consider myself a big fan of most Pepin blends. When I ran across the My Father line at The Tampa Humidor, I had to grab some for review. The quick story is Jose “Don Pepin” Garcia and his son Jaime created this blend. This father/son duo are machines, pumping out many blends like the Cuban Classic, Series JJ, and many more. As always, I paired this cigar with water and jotted down my thoughts…
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder & Filler: Nicaragua
Size: 5.2 X 52
Price: Around $10.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The wrapper looked great, with virtually no flaws whatsoever. Sniffing the wrapper and foot reminded my of an earthy, slightly spicy odor. The pre-light draw was good, and had a sweet earthy taste. The cigar was evenly packed with tobacco, not too soft or too hard. To sum it up, this smoke looked great.
The burn required no corrections, and the ash held firm for about an inch.
Flavor:
The first few puffs were what I’ve come to expect from a Pepin cigar. Pepper. Good, smooth, has a bite kind of pepper. It didn’t take long for this cigar to hit it’s stride. Although the spicy pepper didn’t go away, it did mellow out and allow other flavors to come though. For instance… At times a nice chocolate/mocha would shine though. At other times a crisp toasty type of nuttiness would appear. There were woody undertones at times too.
The second third kept that nice smooth peppery spice. Sweet mocha notes stood in the forefront of the flavor profile. Like the first third, the smoke was crisp with nuttiness and an addition of occasional coffee. A lot of draws had strong woody flavors, and others did not. Towards the end of the second third, the different flavors took turns at dominating the flavor profile.
The pepper really mellowed out in the last third. It was just smooth and sweeter, with a familiar zing you often get from Nicaraguan tobacco. Woody flavors often took the lead. At other times, nutty coffee-ish notes dominated. A slight sweet tingle was felt on the tongue and lips.
Conclusion:
This was a damn good full bodied cigar. I liked the way the flavor profile quickly built up to a complex, full bodied experience. My only complaint is the price of $10.00 for a Robusto size. Price aside, I have to say WOW what a great cigar.
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