Featured Cigars - May 2020

Looking at the 1875, you will notice its excellent construction and the toothy and light oily sheen from the Indonesian TBN wrapper (TBN is an abbreviation for “tembakau bawah naungan,” which translates to “tobacco under sheet,” or shade-grown tobacco). The Romeo y Julieta 1875 blend features Dominican Olor binders and Dominican fillers. The pre-light draw is excellent with mild tension and a subtle cedar aroma and taste. Its smooth, mellow...

The Padilla La Terraza Connecticut was named after a bar in the famous fishing village of Cojimar, Cuba. After a long day’s work, locals and fisherman would gather at the famous La Terraza bar to drink, relax, and smoke some cigars. This restaurant was visited by Ernest Hemingway and is considered to be a tourist attraction as well as a favorite by the locals. Master blender Ernesto Padilla has created quite a stir with this blend that...

For those who don't know Henry “Kiki” Berger, let us say a few words. He is the force behind the blending of Cupido and 5 Vegas cigars (among others). Kiki is a legend in Esteli, Nicaragua and is one of those unique personalities that always seems to be liked by everyone. Born in Cuba, he moved to the U.S. as a child and got involved in politics in Miami. Well-connected is he? Well, the president of Nicaragua convinced Kiki to open a factory...

Be prepared for the wrath that is coming! As the second-largest grower of tobacco in Nicaragua, the Oliva family's generations of experience in the industry has served them well. They grow some of the finest crops in the world and are known for using the most skilled rollers and blenders in the country to create legendary cigars. Studio Tobac is one of many side projects created by Oliva, and their Wrath is sure to please. This beauty comes...

Oliveros’s president, Rafael Nodal, specializes in limited short-batch cigars made from very good and very rare tobaccos that are available in quantities too low for most brands’ production quotas. In 2012, Nodal created a spinoff company called Boutique Blends Cigars which features his Aging Room and Oliveros cigar lines as well as his other line, Swag Cigars. The Oliveros Gran Retorno Connecticut (which translates to Grand Return) is perfect...

For the company’s 110th anniversary, Stanford wanted to create a more hearty and robust cigar to complement its wildly successful counterpart. In order to achieve such a task, Stanford enlisted the help of not one but two very successful and very well-known cigar families, the Olivas and the Fuentes. Together the three families created the Diamond Crown Maximus which, like its counterpart, has received numerous 90+ ratings. The Maximus starts...

Meaning “shuttle” in Italian, Navetta comes in four sizes, all named after NASA space shuttles. The smoke you have in your shipment today is called Discovery, but there are also Endeavor, Enterprise, and Atlantis. Hailing from the Joya de Nicaragua factory, the Navetta starts with Nicaraguan fillers which are bound by a Dominican binder, then it’s topped with a delectable Ecuadorian Oscuro wrapper. Light ‘er up and get notes of roasted coffee...

CAO went back to the basin, the Amazon basin to be exact. The CAO Amazon Basin series is of the most popular new cigars to come out of CAO in years, so it was only a matter of time before a follow up hit the scene. With that said, we would like to introduce the fourth installment of the series, the CAO Orellana. The name Orellana is the name given to the Amazon by explorer Francisco de Orellana. (Why not name it after yourself, right?) Starting...

Today, Don Santiago's grandson and great-grandson continue his family heritage with this handcrafted robusto of unmistakable Toraño quality. The Toraño Reserva Decadencia hails from Honduras and employs a light brown Connecticut Shade wrapper, a Honduran binder, and a bevy of well-aged long-leaf tobaccos from Honduras, the Dominican Republic, and Nicaragua. What makes this cigar unique is that the tobaccos are aged in French Oak Barrels used...