Archive for the ‘excalibur’ Category

Our Holiday Herfers Sampler – A Wonderful Gift Idea!

Wednesday, December 19th, 2018
Released just in time for the upcoming holidays, our Holiday Herfers Sampler is filled to the brim with 15 premium cigars from some of the biggest names

Excalibur Forge- An Exceptional Premium Handmade Cigar!

Wednesday, September 26th, 2018

Consuegra Cigars – The World’s Most Popular Factory Seconds

Thursday, June 28th, 2018

Now in their 25th year of production, Consuegra cigars remain the most popular line of factory seconds ever produced.  “Connies” as they are referred to by their throngs of loyal minions, are factory seconds from the makers of Excalibur, Punch, El Rey del Mundo, Hoyo de Monterrey and our JR Ultimate— Five of the biggest names in premium handmade Honduran cigars!

The Consuegra brand is the Holy Grail for those well-seasoned smokers who appreciate a full, rich-tasting, Cuban-style cigar sold at a deep discount. While these unique handmade cigars are segundos and production overruns, they still pack a delicious medium-full body profile and a superior quality that is rare among cigar seconds.

Like their original Honduran counterparts, Consuegra cigars are made with a blend of fully aged Honduran, Dominican, and Nicaraguan tobaccos, paired with your choice of an EMS Honduran, or a dark, oily, USA Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. At first glance, the wrapper may appear to be rather dry and veiny or have mild blemishes and sun-spots. They may also be slightly off size from one smoke to the next, but even the most discerning of cigar aficionados will find that these flaws only slightly, if at all, affect the cigars burning qualities or taste.

Consuegra cigars are sold in affordable 25-count bundles and come in a staggering array of shapes and sizes to appeal to every style of smoker. Some of our more experienced smokers have been able to figure out which “Connie” is a second to a particular brand, and they continue to order it faithfully. Others just enjoy them in various sizes and wrapper colors as their go-to everyday smokes.

Depending on the size and style that you choose, you can expect a host of flavors that include spice, nuts, chocolate, leather, earth, white pepper, and more.

Even if you are a high-end cigar connoisseur, Consuegra cigars are definitely worth picking up just to have around for those occasions when you know you will be busy doing other things but still want to smoke a great tasting Honduran cigar.

The Syndicate and Rare is Back by Frank Seltzer

Wednesday, March 13th, 2013

 

When you hear Syndicate, you often think of an old Cagney or Edward G. Robinson movie…maybe that is why the newest cigar group is called Sindicato, which is an amalgamation of top cigar retailers, including a former president of the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers.   Sindicato Cigar Group LLC was officially lanched on January 16th, but this past week, the group announced its new president (possibly the worst kept secret in the business).   Jim Colucci was named as the presdent and CEO of the company.

Colucci previously was the executive v.p. of sales and marketing for Altadis USA and was the mover behind such brands as Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real, Warlock, Frank Llaneza 1961 and Siglo among others.  The goal of Sindicato is to create new national brand cigars specifically for the participating retailers. According to Cigar Aficionado, the group was created by Abe Dabaneh who has an internet radio show kiss my ash and owns the Smoke Inn chain in South Florida; Jeff Borysiewicz, founder of Corona Cigar in Orlando; Gary Pesh, president of Old Virginia Tobacco company and former IPCPR president; Rob Roth of Nice Ash Cigars and Dan Jenuwine from Quality Fresh Cigars.

 

Colucci left Altadis in July 2011 and had a non-compete.  At last year’s IPCPR show, Colucci (after his non-compete was up)was hinting about getting back into the business and even gave me a test blend to check out.  The company plans to release their cigars at this year’s IPCPR trade show in Vegas.

Rare is Back

Punch Rare Corojo Perfecto

Punch Rare Corojo is back. Every year, General Cigar releases a batch of the cigars and this year, in addition to the usual 7 sizes, there is a new Perfecto at 7” x 48. The Punch Rare Corojo usually is in shops until around the end of May when they are all sold out.

 

They have been released every year since 2001…before that the lack of wrapper caused the cigar line to disappear for a while.   (Actually the original Punch Rare Corojo was a flop.  It came out when Dan Blumenthal and Frank Llaneza were running Villizon sometime in the 70s.  The original Rare Corojo had a sandy Connecticut wrapper on it…it did not sell because it was too mild for Punch smokers.  Enter a guy named Lew Rothman  (you know JR Cigars).  He knew Frank had all that Connecticut wrapper and tobacco so he bought it, made it a JR private label and named it after a pen….Excalibur by Hoyo de Monterrey.  Today the cigars are nothing like those originals, just thought you might want some history.)

 

This year’s release uses an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper with reddish hue.  The Binder is Connecticut Broadleaf and the fillers are Dominican, Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos.  Retail price for the Punch Rare Corojo is $4.79 to $7.39.  According to Gue Martinez

 

 

Hoyo De Monterrey Excalibur Maduro

Tuesday, September 15th, 2009

I’ve really been digging deep into the bottom of my humidor lately. I didn’t even know I had the cigar up for review tonight. I’ve been holding on to this smoke for at least two years. There is a back story about where this cigar got the name “Excalibur.” But you didn’t come here to read that did you? Instead of researching all of that useless info, I grabbed a glass of water and got to the review.

 

Wrapper: Connecticut broadleaf maduro

Binder: Connecticut broadleaf

Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan, Dominican

Size: 6 3/4 x 47

Price: Around $5.00

 

Pre-light & Construction:

The first thing I noticed about this cigar was the oily wrapper. It looked great with minimal veins and only a few bumps here and there. The wrapper smelled cedary and earthy, while the foot had a slight peppery component. I found the cigar was pretty hard when squeezing the entire length. The pre-light draw was good, with a dark earthy taste. I let the ash go for about an inch, but I think it would have lasted two. The burn required no corrections. Construction was great.

1Excalibur 

Flavor:

The first third greeted me with a simple smooth earthy taste. About an inch in, a definite strong coffee or espresso kicked in. The coffee and earthy notes took turns being the dominant flavor. All the while, I found a very subtle peppery spice when passing the smoke through the nose.

2Excalibur

The second third opened up a little bit. Coffee notes mixed with earthy flavors that remained dominant. Next in line was a slight pepper, and a very subtle sweetness came into the flavor profile. As I got towards the end of this third, the sweetness developed into a mocha flavor.

3Excalibur

The last third was my favorite part of this cigar. The smoke turned to a thick and creamy feel. Strong coffee was the main flavor, and it caused the earthy flavors to go away. The peppery spice changed into a sweet spice that was very much like mocha and cinnamon.

4Excalibur

Conclusion:

This was a good medium to upper medium bodied cigar. A lot of the flavors were what I consider “Standard maduro.” But still, overall I enjoyed the entire cigar. I won’t be running out to find more, but I wouldn’t discourage anyone from at least giving the Excalibur a try.

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