IPCPR Cigars Are Arriving by Frank Seltzer
Tuesday, August 27th, 2013Ok we told you a lot about the new cigars that are out this year..trouble has been you could not get them until now.
Here is a brief respite from the usual goings on to let you know that as we approach September the cigar makers are filling orders and we got em in stock. Last week, I told you about the tasty Nica Puro from Alec Bradley being available but this week there are more.
CAO Flathead
This was one of the stand outs at the IPCPR show. Rick Rodriguez decided to do a throwback to the era of pin ups and muscle cars and came up with the CAO Flathead as an homage to that muscular engine which ruled the high powered cars in the 50s. The result is a cigar with a lot of power behind it. All of the cigars are square pressed, which means sharper corners than the usual box press. The strongest of the bunch is the V642 Piston, which is a a 6.5” x 42 lancero. The flavor develops right away and the strength is there throughout. The V554 Camshaft is a 5.5”x 54 robusto which begins a bit softer than the Piston but still develops the power as you smoke it. The
V660 Carb is a big boy measuring 6” x 60 but remains dwarfed by its brother the V770 Big Block measuring 7” x 70. The last two have more flavor than strength. Said Ricky if you put that kind of strength like in the lancero in a cigar that big, your head would explode.
Star Crossed
This is a cigar you probably haven’t heard much about…the reason is that it is new and made just for us. Star Crossed refers to the star crossed lovers of Romeo and Juliet. You already know about the Romeo from Romeo y Julieta which made number three on the Cigar Aficionado top cigars of last year…well this is another modern take on the old reliable Romeo Y Julieta. It comes in boxes of 10 and uses an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers to provide a kind of spicy yet sweet flavor. They have shipped and are available now, oh and if you buy a box you get the chance to win a trip for two to Verona, Italy. Not bad huh?
Montecristo Connoisseur
This past year, Altadis has put out regional cigars for New York, Texas, Las Vegas and Chicago. The trouble was with these specials you pretty much had to be in the above cities to get one. No more. Because people wanted to try them, I do like the Texas version but I could be prejudiced, Altadis decided to put together a Connoisseur Edition Collection which features 2 of each of the regional cigars for a total of 8. You get 2 New York’s which measure 6”x60, 2 Texas editions again at 6” x 60, 2 Las Vegas which are 6” x 54 and two Chicagos which are 6” x 50. Each has the traditional Montecristo flavor but perhaps amped up a bit. The New York uses an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and Dominican fillers. The Texas uses the same wrapper but changes the binder to Dominican, with Dominican fillers. The Las Vegas has a nice San Andres Criollo wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and Dominican fillers and the Chicago uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over the Nicaraguan binder and Dominican fillers.
Cedar Room
These are more cigars from Altadis which have not really been talked about. They are the Cedar Room. These are really aged cigars, but from some short runs. They were made mainly for the European market and then set aside in the cedar aging rooms in the huge Tabalacera de Garcia factory. They were kinda forgotten about but now have been found. For the most part these cigars were only used for special events at the factory, but now you can taste the finely aged smokes at a great price. They are different tobaccos, I honestly don’t know all the combinations but for the price (between $2.60 and $3.20 each) how can you go wrong?
El Centurion
This was a cigar I told you about back in February that it was getting re-born. The original El Centurion was a limited edition and pricey cigar. The newest incarnation from Jaime Garcia and the My Father factory in Nicaragua is in my mind a better tasting cigar at a much better price. And the best thing is that they have shipped! Jaime used a Maduro Nicaraguan Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and for the filler he uses Nicaraguan Criollo 98 and Corojo 99. They come in four sizes—Robusto at 5.75” x 50, Toro at 6.25” x 52, Belicoso at 5.5” x 54 and a Toro Grande at 6.5” x 58. They run just over $6 to $7 and change.