NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021
into the blue.
p. 44
HOLIDAY Gift Ideas p. 31
15
th
Anniversary
Bash p. 80
The
CHAIRMAN p. 57
editorials NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021
20 PERFECT PAIRINGS MONTECRISTO EPIC VINTAGE 12 / JOHNNIE WALKER BLUE LABEL
22 PERFECT PAIRINGS CASA CUBA / ANGEL’S ENVY PORT BARREL FINISH
24 BRAND BREAKDOWN 24 25 26 28
LIGA PRIVADA H99 UNDERCROWN 10 CAMACHO FACTORY UNLEASHED CRUX EPICURE MADURO
31 HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE It’s time to make some decisions for Holidays 2021, and we’re here to make it easier. Drinkware, drinking games, wall art and more, all aimed at making life good for your friends and loved ones.
37 TRAVEL ORLANDO FOR GROWN-UPS O-Town is supposed to be all about the family, the kids and Expedition Everest. We skip the lines and move on to the generous smoking culture of Florida’s city of lakes.
57 THE CHAIRMAN The man who calls the shots for the Seminole Tribe of Florida loves cigars as much as he loves his privacy. But he does some serious truth-telling in this exclusive sit-down on his home turf.
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TWO FIRSTS F O R PA R TAG A S With over 175 years of enduring quality, it’s not often we come across something we’ve never tried. Partagas Cortado is not only our first cigar hand-crafted in Nicaragua but also our first to feature a Connecticut shade wrapper. It’s innovation guided by nearly two centuries of expertise. Experience Partagas Cortado
SURGEON GENERAL WARNING: Cigars Are Not A Safe Alternative To Cigarettes.
L E A R N M O R E O N PA R TA G A S . C O M
NOV / DEC 2021 | CIGAR SNOB |
©2021 GENERAL CIGAR CO., INC.
7
features NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2021
12 LETTER FROM THE PUBLISHER
14 FEEDBACK
16 WHAT’S BURNIN’
44 SMOKING HOT CIGAR SNOB INTO THE BLUE FEATURING MONTECRISTO EPIC VINTAGE 12
65 RATINGS
80 15TH YEAR CELEBRATION
82 TWITTER SCOREBOARD
84 INSTAGRAM SCOREBOARD
86 EVENTS 86 MONTECRISTO EPIC AT AFICIONADO’S
88 OLD FORESTER EVENT 90 ATLANTA CIGAR WEEK EVENT 92 BLEND DAVIDOFF
GASTRONOMY EVENT
94 INDUSTRIAL CIGAR 5TH HALLOWEEN PARTY
96 SOUTH FLORIDA CRAFT BEER 5K RUN/WALK AT THE TANK BREWING
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NOV / DEC 2021 | CIGAR SNOB |
9
CRUX EPICURE MADURO
ROBUSTO COUNTRY
Nicaragua
WRAPPER
Mexico
BINDER
Nicaragua
FILLER
Nicaragua
PRICE FACTORY
$ 9.75 - $ 13.99 Tabacalera AJ Fernandez
Casey Haugen
Vice President of Crux Cigars Let’s jump into the rebrand conversation because while the cigars were good when you guys first launched, we never loved the branding. It looked chunky and somewhat Gothic and from a design standpoint, we weren’t digging it but now you’ve made a complete overhaul and I have to tell you it is outstanding. Walk us through that process.
AVAILABLE IN 6 SIZES TOP 3 SHOWN
28 | CIGAR SNOB | NOV / DEC 2021
Regardless, the original branding had its place. It was a regional feel for the company and it definitely worked and it was a start for us. But now we have truly a clean marketing design. We have a process that we go through and more importantly a recognizable company that hopefully has a timeless brand that can be marketed internationally. Let’s dive a bit deeper now and talk specifically about the Epicure Maduro. It’s a cigar that did well with our panel garnering a 90 rating in the March/April 2021 issue. Tell us about this blend. The Epicure Maduro has a Mexican San Andres Maduro wrapper from the Turrent family and it’s rolled at the AJ Fernandez factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It’s our first Maduro, which came out in 2018. We were a little late to the Maduro party because everybody was on Maduro for a few years but we wanted to create a Maduro that fit our consumer. A Crux guy who’s looking for that medium, medium plus, full flavor, clean finishing tobacco. It took a while to really get it nailed down working with AJ Fernandez’s factory, but in the end we feel we really got it right. Strength wise it’s not as strong as our Bull and Bear line, but it’s still full and flavorful with a clean finish and it won’t give you palate trauma or an ammonia finish as most full cigars do.
SWEET
Robusto 5 x 50
Toro 5 3/4 x 54
The rebrand launched at the PCA show in 2019. The original brand had its moments and it had its followers. The old logo had this kind of this medieval Gothic feel where people said we could have made a lot of money selling shirts. But we didn’t want to be a shirt company. The logo was not very legible and we didn’t have a great scheme or continuity in our packaging. We had packaging with different shapes, different colors, and different quantities. So it just didn’t scream we were a company. It screamed we were a company trying to figure out who we were. Thankfully that happened because as a company you should always be in the process of growing and always trying to get better. And so then in 2018 we started asking ourselves how do we become better? Do we need better people? Do we need better product? Or do we need better marketing? So we totally did an analysis to figure out how can we grow because we had a small little company that was plugging along but we knew we needed to make drastic changes. So we went to market research and hired
an outside company to evaluate us and tell us what we’re doing wrong. And they came up with a lot of great ideas; hire a brand new marketing company, a new design company, they helped walk us through the whole process. We knew after the market research that people enjoyed our cigars after we analyzed the blind taste testing results. The results validated what we already knew – that we had a good product. We know we use great factories. We know we use great tobacco because it comes from some of the best people in Nicaragua. We source it from other countries that have some of the best growers in the world, but the brand was hard to remember. It was hard to find, and hard to stand out. And more importantly, it was hard for people to remember because the logo was not very legible.
Gordo 6 x 60
CHOCOLATE
NUT
EARTH
CREAM
WOOD
COFFEE
SPICE
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OUR HOLIDAY GIFT GUIDE LOOKS BEEFIER THAN USUAL, AND WE ATTRIBUTE THAT TO THE JETSONS-LIKE INFLUENCE OF ADVANCED TECH. WHAT CHIP SHORTAGE? ELECTRIC JET BOARDS, MEGA-POWERED DEVICE CHARGERS AND ROBOTIC SWEEPERS ARE AMONG THE FUTURISTIC OFFERINGS THIS SEASON ALONG WITH HUMIDOR SET-UP MADE EASY, SLEEK GLASSWARE FOR FINE WINE AND, IN A TRIBUTE TO OUR TROGLODYTE PAST, A SIMPLE DRINKING GAME.
GIFT GUIDE
OPUSX SOCIETY ITALIAN LEATHER DUFFLE BAG – BURGUNDY theoxsociety.com
$1,920 Everyone is going to be returning to full-on travel mode in 2022, and this duffle bag is an excellent accoutrement on the way back to Platinum status. This comes with plenty of space for an overnight and more, with sections for computer gear as well as clothing, with room to spare. It weighs in at an easy four lbs and has plaid-lined interior pockets and fine stitching. And the Fuente OpusX Society logo delicately reminds you and anyone else that good taste should be simple.
BOVEDA HUMIDOR STARTER KIT Bovedainc.com
$12 – $24 Here’s a one-stop that you’ll want to get as part of a wood humidor gift this season. The Boveda Humidor Starter Kit will prepare a wood humidor and make it proper for loading it up with prized cigars, starting that gift off right with seasoning and maintenance. Separate kits prepare 50-count and 100-count sized humidors, and they can be combined for larger humidors, so a 300-count humidor can use three 100-sized kits. Low humidity is a climate crisis in your humidor. These kits address that crisis, without any nasty politics.
AIRROBO T10+ Air-robo.com
$499.99 The newly released AIRROBO T10+ has been a godsend for our office. You can’t possibly imagine how many times visiting cigar smokers ash on our floors, which is inevitable in our business. While we’d like to say “Don’t worry, the cleaning lady comes in later today,” the reality is that the cleaning lady only comes once a week. This voice-controlled, battery-operated little jammer shows up anytime we need it, and empties itself for 45 days to boot. The AIRROBO T10+ cleans all surfaces, and can be customized via settings for each particular room.
S.T. DUPONT DEFI EXTREME CAMO GREEN colesoflondon.com
$260 The Defi Extreme lighter is what you want when the plane goes down in the Andes and you have no taste for your neighbor, opting instead for a smoke. It sparks at 14 chilly degrees up to a scorching 113 degrees, and at altitudes reaching 11,500 feet, where mere mortal lighters fail. The design is rugged tough-guy and the flame is jet-steady, with a matte-black jacket and a variety of colors and finishes. We like the camo green, which gives off a classy survivalist vibe.
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ORLANDO
Grown-Ups
for
There is more to this town than theme parks and bumper-to-bumper chain restaurants. Leave the kids at home and enter a whole new world of adult activities in Downtown Orlando and the funky little outposts that surround it.
Photo: SeanPavonePhoto / iStock
By Erik Calviño NOV / DEC 2021 | CIGAR SNOB |
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into the blue. featuring
MONTECRISTO
EPIC VINTAGE 12
THE
CHAIRMAN
A Take-Charge Leader Expands A Gaming Empire For The Seminole Tribe of Florida By Steve Miller / Photography by Natalia Aguilera
Location: Davidoff Cigar Lounge - Seminole Hard Rock
NOV / DEC 2021 | CIGAR SNOB |
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48 CIGARS NOTEBOOK: Whiskey Sequential Tasting (whiskysmiths.com)
igar Snob’s 15th anniversary was a celebration of both our accomplishments and the people that helped get us to this point. Patrons started the evening at the Davidoff Hard Rock cigar lounge inside Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida, where they were greeted with a glass of champagne. From there, they were ushered to a waiting shuttle, which took them to the evening’s secret location, the Hard Rock Mansion. On their arrival, they were given a commemorative box loaded with a stunning lineup of 15 smokes: Wild Hunter Natural, AJ Fernandez Bellas Artes, Don Lino Africa, Camacho Corojo, Pappy Van Winkle Private Reserve, Espinosa Laranja Reserve Escuro, Oliva Serie V Melanio, Sin Compromiso, La Mission du L’Atelier, Don Pepín García Original, Montecristo 1935 Anniversary, Arturo Fuente Don Carlos, Plasencia Alma del Campo, Rocky Patel Sixty, and La Aurora Preferidos Ecuador.
Jamilet Calviño, Carlos Rodríguez, Erik Calviño, Eric Douglas and Carlos Escalona
After a tour of the mansion, our guests headed to a fully decked-out terrace to enjoy the official welcome cocktail, the Zafra Warm & Sunny. Brown-Forman provided Jack Daniel’s, Old Forester, Glendronach, and Herradura Tequila. The Glenlivet poured through their outstanding lineup of single malts. Total Wine & More provided a well-chosen selection of wine, champagne, and prosecco while Beat Culture poured a selection of outstanding local craft beer. Cuban dance band TimbaLive rocked the house and in between sets, DJ Carluba kept the party grooving. Midway through the evening, servers brought out a special, one-time release of the Davidoff - Hard Rock cigar. From there it was a luxurious feast; a massive charcuterie board occupied one corner of the terrace, a pasta station took over another corner, and delicious Cuban-style roast pork was front and center. All the while, a steady supply of hors d’oeuvres flowed. Towards the end of the evening, an army of servers handed out a final cigar and whisky pairing, the Montecristo Epic Vintage 12 along with pours of Johnnie Walker Blue Label. It was a fitting ending to an epic bash.
Aaron and Chrisie Leland and Omar Fernández
Anna and Erik Espinosa Jr.
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Ivelisse and Ivan Ocampo
Oscar Valladares, Ibis Lu and Javi Carranza
PHOTO CREDIT: Chris Serralta
TimbaLIVE
Susan Smallwood and Dr. Gaspar González
Nestor Miranda, Luis Requejo, Olivia Leathers, Ciro Rodríguez and Jason Wood
Rafael Nodal, Jamilet and Erik Calviño
Carlos “Carluba” Rodríguez
Termina Valentina, Leonor Abzaradel and Jesy Rose
Monica and Dennis Muñiz
Ovy Diaz, Ozy Sánchez and Pablo Estades
Bernie Rodríguez, Erik Calviño, Albert Sosa and Fidel Valdes Rodríguez
Jessy and Orlando Hoyos
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