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The Cigar Industry Centric Podcast
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Friday Dec 23, 2022
Friday Dec 23, 2022
Coming in at #16 is the Bandolero Firecracker by Selected Tobacco. The Firecracker Series started out in 2007 as the brainchild of Two Guys Smoke Shop owner Dave Garofalo. It’s a series where he would work with leading manufacturers to produce a small 3 1/2 inch cigar with a long-fuse resembling a Firecracker. In recent years, the Firecracker Series has moved over to United Cigars and now is available for a national limited release to authorized retailers. In 2022, the Bandolero Firecracker was introduced. Bandolero is a brand under Nelson Alfonso's Selected Tobacco. While United Cigars has been distributed Selected Tobacco for almost a decade, this still marks the first Firecracker installment done with Selected Tobacco.
The blend for the Bandolero Firecracker is derived from the Clandestino line (Serie C) that uses filler leaves from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and undisclosed tobaccos. The Bandolero Firecracker features an Ecuadorian binder and a dark Ecuadorian wrapper that is typically used on the Aventureros line (Serie A). The Firecracker itself measures 3 1/2 x 50. Production comes from Tabacos de Costa Rica located in Costa Rica.
The Bandolero Firecracker delivers notes of natural tobacco, earth, cedar, hay, and black pepper. This will be a cigar that delivers a medium-strength, medium-bodied smoking experience. The flavors aren't necessarily the most flashy or exotic flavors, but they complement each other extremely well. One important note, if sometimes a Firecracker is too short in terms of smoking duration, the Bandolero Firecracker is a slow burn that can provide about an hour for the smoking experience.
For Selected Tobacco, this marks the first year and first time the company has secured a spot on a Cigar Coop Countdown. It's also the first time on the 2022 Countdown that Costa Rica has placed a cigar. This is the fifth country overall to land on the Countdown. if you are keeping score at home, we've reached the halfway point and have unveiled 15 cigars thus far from 14 different companies and 14 different factories.
Full Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-omg
Friday Dec 23, 2022
Friday Dec 23, 2022
On Episode 253, we bring back a Christmas tradition and welcome back Tim Wong.
Whether its his own brand or brokering some of the industry’s hottest brands, Tim is a wealth of knowledge and tonight we catch up with him. We will also have our Alec Bradley Live True, Cattle Baron, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Deliberation Segments, and bring out our Presidents Segment to the Thursday Show.
Friday Dec 23, 2022
Friday Dec 23, 2022
On Episode 253, we bring back a Christmas tradition and welcome back Tim Wong.
Whether its his own brand or brokering some of the industry’s hottest brands, Tim is a wealth of knowledge and tonight we catch up with him. We will also have our Alec Bradley Live True, Cattle Baron, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Deliberation Segments, and bring out our Presidents Segment to the Thursday Show.
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Coming in at #17 is the Ferio Tego Generoso. Ferio Tego is the company launched by Nat Sherman International alumni Michael Herklots and Brendon Scott. When Ferio Tego began, it acquired and relaunched many of the brands from Nat Sherman International. The company also launched two annual limited-edition cigars under its own name. One cigar was the Ferio Tego Elegancia, which placed at number 25 on this year’s countdown. The other was the Ferio Tego Generoso, which we unveil today at number 17.
The Generoso is produced at the Plasencia Factory in Nicaragua, a long-time manufacturing partner of the brands from Nat Sherman. The blend consists of a shade-grown wrapper from Honduras over a blend of all-Nicaraguan tobaccos. The Generoso comes in one size – a 6 x 50 Toro.
The Generoso is a completely different cigar than its sibling, the Elegancia. It’s got some boldness to it as it delivered a medium to full cigar in terms of strength and body. It delivers a mix of earth, bing cherry, cedar, mineral, and pepper. While the notes themselves might seem unique, the way they complement each other is quite unique and results in an enjoyable series.
As we mentioned with the Elegancia, 2022 is the first year Ferio Tego has landed on the Countdown. We have unveiled 14 cigars thus far, and Ferio Tego is also the first company to land two cigars on the 2022 Countdown. For those keeping score, we have unveiled 14 cigars thus far, and ten of them have come from Nicaragua. In addition, we have had 13 different companies and 13 different factories place cigars on the Countdown.
Full Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-ol7
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Thursday Dec 22, 2022
Coming in at #17 is the Ferio Tego Generoso. Ferio Tego is the company launched by Nat Sherman International alumni Michael Herklots and Brendon Scott. When Ferio Tego began, it acquired and relaunched many of the brands from Nat Sherman International. The company also launched two annual limited-edition cigars under its own name. One cigar was the Ferio Tego Elegancia, which placed at number 25 on this year’s countdown. The other was the Ferio Tego Generoso, which we unveil today at number 17.
The Generoso is produced at the Plasencia Factory in Nicaragua, a long-time manufacturing partner of the brands from Nat Sherman. The blend consists of a shade-grown wrapper from Honduras over a blend of all-Nicaraguan tobaccos. The Generoso comes in one size – a 6 x 50 Toro.
The Generoso is a completely different cigar than its sibling, the Elegancia. It’s got some boldness to it as it delivered a medium to full cigar in terms of strength and body. It delivers a mix of earth, bing cherry, cedar, mineral, and pepper. While the notes themselves might seem unique, the way they complement each other is quite unique and results in an enjoyable series.
As we mentioned with the Elegancia, 2022 is the first year Ferio Tego has landed on the Countdown. We have unveiled 14 cigars thus far, and Ferio Tego is also the first company to land two cigars on the 2022 Countdown. For those keeping score, we have unveiled 14 cigars thus far, and ten of them have come from Nicaragua. In addition, we have had 13 different companies and 13 different factories place cigars on the Countdown.
Full Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-ol7
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
Coming in at #18 is Fonseca by My Father Cigars Robusto. At the end of 2019, one of the more surprising stories that hit the news was the acquisition of the Fonseca brand by My Father Cigars from the Quesada family. The Fonseca brand was established in Cuba by Don Francisco Fonseca in 1892. The Dominican version of the Fonseca brand has been made by the Quesada family since 1974. While under the Quesada stewardship, the brand maintained an important part of the Quesada portfolio. In 2020, the Garcia family would release its own interpretation of the Fonseca Brand with the Fonseca by My Father - which would become a regular production offering in the My Father portfolio.
The Fonseca by My Father is produced at the My Father Cigars factory located in Estelí, Nicaragua. The blend features 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos grown by the Garcia family. The blend is highlighted by a shade-grown Nicaraguan Corojo '99 wrapper. The Robusto size measures 5 1/4 x 52.
The Fonseca by My Father Cigars delivered a mix of natural tobacco, earth, hay, pepper, and baker’s spice. This cigar was medium for both strength and body. It's a cigar that I found a little less aggressive than many My Father offerings and a little more aggressive than most of the Quesada-made Fonseca offerings.
For My Father Cigars, this marks the sixth year it has landed a cigar on the Cigar Coop Countdown. If you are keeping score at home, Nicaragua has now landed nine of the 13 cigars unveiled thus far on the 2022 Countdown. It's also the 12th different company and 11th different factory to land on this year's countdown.
Full Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-ol3
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
Coming in at #18 is Fonseca by My Father Cigars Robusto. At the end of 2019, one of the more surprising stories that hit the news was the acquisition of the Fonseca brand by My Father Cigars from the Quesada family. The Fonseca brand was established in Cuba by Don Francisco Fonseca in 1892. The Dominican version of the Fonseca brand has been made by the Quesada family since 1974. While under the Quesada stewardship, the brand maintained an important part of the Quesada portfolio. In 2020, the Garcia family would release its own interpretation of the Fonseca Brand with the Fonseca by My Father - which would become a regular production offering in the My Father portfolio.
The Fonseca by My Father is produced at the My Father Cigars factory located in Estelí, Nicaragua. The blend features 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos grown by the Garcia family. The blend is highlighted by a shade-grown Nicaraguan Corojo '99 wrapper. The Robusto size measures 5 1/4 x 52.
The Fonseca by My Father Cigars delivered a mix of natural tobacco, earth, hay, pepper, and baker’s spice. This cigar was medium for both strength and body. It's a cigar that I found a little less aggressive than many My Father offerings and a little more aggressive than most of the Quesada-made Fonseca offerings.
For My Father Cigars, this marks the sixth year it has landed a cigar on the Cigar Coop Countdown. If you are keeping score at home, Nicaragua has now landed nine of the 13 cigars unveiled thus far on the 2022 Countdown. It's also the 12th different company and 11th different factory to land on this year's countdown.
Full Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-ol3
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
CA has published its Top 25 list and it was embroiled in a lot of controversy. Was this justified or not?
Tonight, we will have the Cigar Coop Coalition in the house and will also be joined by Hector Alfonso of Espinosa Cigars and John McTavish of Developing Palates for commentary and analysis of the list.
Finally, we have our Presidents, and our Great Things are Happening Segments.
References
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
Wednesday Dec 21, 2022
CA has published its Top 25 list and it was embroiled in a lot of controversy. Was this justified or not?
Tonight, we will have the Cigar Coop Coalition in the house and will also be joined by Hector Alfonso of Espinosa Cigars and John McTavish of Developing Palates for commentary and analysis of the list.
Finally, we have our Presidents, and our Great Things are Happening Segments.
References
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
Tuesday Dec 20, 2022
Coming in at #19 is Rocky Patel Disciple Toro. Rocky Patel Premium Cigars has been on a roll in regard to its use of the Mexican San Andres wrapper. In 2021, we named the Rocky Patel Winter Collection as the Cigar Coop #1 Cigar of the Year which made use of that wrapper. Another high-profile release using that wrapper was the Rocky Patel Sixty. The Sixty made its debut at the 2021 PCA Trade Show; but at that trade show, there was a second Mexican San Andres release launched. That flew under the radar because of Sixty and that cigar is the Rocky Patel Disciple.
In addition to the Mexican San Andres wrapper, the Rocky Patel Disciple uses Nicaraguan tobaccos for the binder and filler. The Nicaraguan tobaccos are from Rocky Patel’s farms in Condega and Estelí. Production also comes from Rocky Patel’s TAVICUSA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. The Toro size is a classic 6 x 52.
The Rocky Patel Disciple Toro is not a cigar that is going to overwhelm you with boldness. It started out mild to medium in strength and body before going to medium in the second half. That does not mean it's short on flavor. This cigar is going to deliver notes of cocoa, cedar, earth, fruit, and pepper - and they balance each other very nicely.
For Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, this marks the seventh year it has landed a cigar on the Cigar Coop Countdown, and its the third consecutive year it has landed on the Countdown (incidentally with one San Andres Mexican wrapper each of those three years). If you are keeping score at home, Nicaragua has now landed eight of the 12 cigars unveiled thus far on the 2022 Countdown.
Full Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-ok9