Today, Espinosa Cigars announced a new vitola to their Crema line: Rabito. This will be the fourth vitola joining a Robusto (5 1/2 x 52), Toro Grande (6 x 56), and Churchill (7 x 48). The cigar was first teased on the company's Facebook Live, Tuesday, January 8, and is now available to retailers.
As a part of the restoration process for their El Reloj Cigar Factory in Tampa, J.C. Newman had to clear out almost 70 years' worth of items from the building. During this process, they uncovered some hidden gems, one of which was a trap door from the 1930s with a secret staircase that went from the General Managers' office down into the basement. It was used to hide when the Tampa Mafia would come through looking for payroll cash. Another item was J.C.'s (Julius Caesar's) travel trunk that accompanied him on his voyage from Hungary to Cleveland in 1889. One of the most interesting discoveries was a box stash of 10-year-old Brick House cigars tucked away in the basement years ago to age and wait for a special occasion to arise. To celebrate their 125th year, they are going to release them to the public by way of TAA retailers and named Brick House Beginnings.
Next year, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust will have an event only cigar called "Polpetta." The cigar measures 4X48 in parejo shape and is made using the long leaf table trimmings from three of their current blends.
"I kept saying that this was not a bad cigar but also never found anything that was overly special about it. This would make a great cigar for yard work or walking your dog. Good flavors can be found, at times, but not overly complex that it will keep you from whatever you are trying to accomplish. I could see myself smoking it again but wouldn't spend to much time seeking one out. " -Estevan Z. (TheRealBanzi)
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·"Such a fantastic experience in terms of flavor, construction, and smoke texture. I could easily see this becoming a mainstay in my smoking rotation. If you like bold cigars with a good hit of nicotine this is a home run." -Alan (Eulogy)
From start to finish, this was a truly special cigar. The amount of thought, care, and dedication to the craft of cigar creation/production that was evident in this stick gives great credit to RoMa and all the many hands that it took to get it from seed to my ashtray. Throughout, the draw and burn were impeccable; I wish every cigar was made this well. The flavor was always distinct, never harsh, and yet always subtly familiar given it's background. Though it saddens me to have burned such an amazing example of art and craft, and removed it from the world, I'm also thankful to have experienced something so unique and carefully produced. The remaining ones I have will be saved for truly special occasions.
"This was a very interesting cigar for me. The abundance of flavor notes and the powerful black pepper corn were balanced by the mix of leather, cocoa, mineral, salt and lemon. I didn’t expect what I got but was very pleased with the complexity. This is a cigar I would love to smoke again and again." -Diana (ArmyRN)
"Despite my reporting that the flavors were one dimensional, I am not beating up on the cigar. There is nothing wrong with a cigar being one dimensional. Sometimes you just want to smoke and not have to think about it. They are made for relaxation anyway right? I would definitely smoke this cigar again to compare notes." -Mickey T. (irratebass)
"On a grey, gloomy rainy Northern NY day, the kind that makes Eeyore on downers look like Richard Simmons on meth, I decided to take a break from the doldrums of watching my life pass me by, and throw on some Type O Negative, and light up this cigar known only to me as "1001." A nice looking cigar, brownie tannishy in color, typical of Connecticut wrappers, a pleasant smell of barn and tobacco. On the light up and first third, I got hints of lamb chops, BBQ oysters and diet Coke. Ok, maybe not. Cedar and white pepper were the dominant flavors through to the last third, wherein some leathery hints were thrown in. All in all, a good smoke, great construction, no burn issues, and thank goodness it didn't really taste like BBQ oysters. A good mild to medium smoke to be enjoyed with coffee I think, then again i haven't met a cigar yet that didn't go good with coffee. I wouldn't mind one of these for a good morning coffee, ease into the day, one, perhaps, that isn't doomy and gloomy as this day." -Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)
Alec Bradley has announced their Black Market Esteli blend will now come in their limited edition proprietary Diamond vitola. The new shape will be available in June and only 1,500 boxes of 16 cigars will be made in 2020.
