Featured Cigars - May 2022

The Age of Aquarius in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s may have been an interesting time for most people but it was a great time for cigar connoisseurs. This era was known to some as the ‘golden years’ for tobacco, in direct reference to some of the fantastic blends that were coming out of the Caribbean. To recreate that essence of those cigars, the heritage brand Trinidad paired up with the legendary AJ Fernandez and the result is Trinidad...

Rocky Patel has a well-earned reputation for uncompromising quality. He has received so many stellar ratings and awards from industry groups and publications, he's in a class by himself. Every cigar he makes undergoes rigorous quality control measures to ensure that only the best cigars from the rolling table make it to a consumer's hand. No wonder his sticks are some of the most sought after in the world! This handmade may hail from Honduras...

Raised in Cuba, Abdel “A.J.” Fernandez has produced many iconic and award-winning cigars for other cigar makers such as Padilla, Gurkha, Rocky Patel, and Graycliff, just to name a few. Every now and then, A.J. decides to issue cigars under his own name, and this is one of them. The Last Call was originally crafted as his own personal final cigar of the night, which A.J. then decided to release to market a few years back, and with great...

Hailing from Nicaragua, the Gilberto Oliva Reserva Noir 652T (torpedo) is the fuller side of the Reserva line. Expertly handmade, this stogie comes dressed in a stunning, dark Honduran Jamastran wrapper that is dripping with oils. Underneath is an Honduran binder and a bevy of Nicaraguan long-fillers that are only of the highest quality. Full in body, expect rich notes of dark chocolate and roasted nuts with hints of sweetness. With a...

Hailing from the Dominican Republic, this everyday smoke comes from Tabacalera El Artista, the same factory that produces smokes from Big Papi, Puro Ambar, and Pulita, to name just a few. Even though there are a lot of Dons out there these days, such as Pepin, Rafael, Smith, and Diego, to name just a few, there isn’t a lot out there about who Don Felix is, or was, but we can assure you we do like his namesake stogie. This mild...

The Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Maduro was created to celebrate the 20 years of the Perdomo Reserve line being on the market. CEO Nick Perdomo reinvented his classic Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Champagne line with this new Maduro, as well as an equally satisfying Sun Grown sibling. Perdomo cigars have been receiving outstanding scores from...

Alonso Menéndez purchased the Particulares factory in July 1935 in Havana, Cuba and also took over the brands that were created there. Shortly after, he introduced the Montecristo brand, named after Alexandre Dumas’ novel The Count of Monte Cristo, which was a popular choice amongst the torcedores (cigar makers). Now, for the American market, the Montecristo brand is created in the Tabacalera de Garcia factory...

Since its creation, the Padilla brand has continued to earn high ratings, receive top honors, and wow enthusiasts at the same time. The brand was created by brothers Ernesto and Carlos Padilla, who are dedicated to perfection and use what they refer to as “lost or forgotten” old-Cuban traditions in order to create an outstanding premium handmade cigar. To them, attention to detail is paramount, so Ernesto and Carlos...

The Oliva family first started growing tobacco in 1886 in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba. In the 1960s the family moved out of Cuba due to the country being overrun by communism and settled in the fertile grounds of Nicaragua. Today they are known for growing some of the finest tobacco crops in the world as well as being the second largest grower of Cuban-seed tobacco in the world. They also have some of the most skilled rollers and...