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The Cigar Industry Centric Podcast
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Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Coming in at #18 is the Southern Draw Rose of Sharon Desert Rose Lonsdale. The Desert Rose was a cigar is an off-shoot of the company's popular Rose of Sharon line. Originally launched in a Belicoso Fino in 2019, that size landed on the 2020 Countdown at #13. 2020 also saw a couple of line extensions to the Desert Rose line, one of which is a 6 x 44 Lonsdale which lands on this year's Countdown.
Rose of Sharon is Southern Draw's premium Connecticut Shade line. Desert Rose utilizes a modified blend from the original Rose of Sharon and features a thicker, heartier Ecuadorian Claro wrapper the company calls “Cloud Grown.” The blend uses a Nicaraguan binder from the Condega region and a combination of Honduran Corojo and Dominican Piloto Cubano. As with all Southern Draw cigars, production comes from A.J. Fernandez's factory in Nicaragua.
The Southern Draw Rose of Sharon Desert Rose Lonsdale consists of notes of cream, berry, cedar, baker’s spice, and black pepper. This is a cigar that has plenty to offer in terms of flavor nuances and flavor transitions. The flavors delivered are medium-bodied. This cigar is not overpowering - delivering mild to medium strength in the first half before progressing to medium in the second third.
This is the fifth year Southern Draw Cigars has landed on the Countdown - all of those years have been consecutive since 2017. Nicaragua continues to be a dominant country of origin for cigars making the 2021 list. Of the 13 cigars we have unveiled moving up the Countdown, this is the ninth one from Nicaragua.
For details of the 2021 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2021 criteria: https://cigar-coop.com/2021/12/announcement-criteria-for-the-2021-cigar-of-the-year-countdown.html
Cigar Coop Report: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-lET
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Tonight we put a wrap on 2021 and we welcome back Bradley Rubin of Alec Bradley Cigar Company. There is a lot going on with Alec Bradley including the return of the Trilogy and success of the Kintsugi. We’ll catch up on those things and all of the other happenings at Alec Bradley.
Finally, we have our One Must Go, and our Great Things are Happening Segments.
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Tonight we put a wrap on 2021 and we welcome back Bradley Rubin of Alec Bradley Cigar Company. There is a lot going on with Alec Bradley including the return of the Trilogy and success of the Kintsugi. We’ll catch up on those things and all of the other happenings at Alec Bradley.
Finally, we have our One Must Go, and our Great Things are Happening Segments.
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
As we put a close on 2021, tonight we look back and reflect on the careers and contributions of many artists who passed away in 2021. (Note this episode was recorded before the passing of cigar journalist Frank Seltzer)
We will also touch base on Bruce Springsteen selling his music catalog, Dave’s Top 50 list, and Disney +’s Get Back.
On this show, Dave smokes the Cain Daytona and Will smokes the Undercrown 10 Lonsdale..
As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlist:
References
- Top 50 of 2021 / #45 – 41: Aussie Music Coming Strong, Musicals and California
- Top 50 of 2021 / #40 – 36: African Music Icons, K- Pop and Our First Look at Taylor Swift
- Top 50 of 2021 / #35 – 31: Pre-Teen Punk, A Country Cover and a Cat
- Top 50 of 2021 / #30 – 26: UK Hip Hop Powerhouses, Royal Rock and A Country Opera
- Developing Palates: Rocky Patel Disciple Bala
- Bruce Springsteen Sells Catalog to Sony Music
- Alicia Keys: Alicia
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
As we put a close on 2021, tonight we look back and reflect on the careers and contributions of many artists who passed away in 2021. (Note this episode was recorded before the passing of cigar journalist Frank Seltzer)
We will also touch base on Bruce Springsteen selling his music catalog, Dave’s Top 50 list, and Disney +’s Get Back.
On this show, Dave smokes the Cain Daytona and Will smokes the Undercrown 10 Lonsdale..
As always you can follow along with our Spotify Playlist:
References
- Top 50 of 2021 / #45 – 41: Aussie Music Coming Strong, Musicals and California
- Top 50 of 2021 / #40 – 36: African Music Icons, K- Pop and Our First Look at Taylor Swift
- Top 50 of 2021 / #35 – 31: Pre-Teen Punk, A Country Cover and a Cat
- Top 50 of 2021 / #30 – 26: UK Hip Hop Powerhouses, Royal Rock and A Country Opera
- Developing Palates: Rocky Patel Disciple Bala
- Bruce Springsteen Sells Catalog to Sony Music
- Alicia Keys: Alicia
Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
Coming in at #19 is the Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Décadas Fundador. In 2018, Joya de Nicaragua celebrated 50 years in the cigar business. To mark the occasion, Joya de Nicaragua introduced a line appropriately called Cinco Décadas (five decades). The line was originally introduced in two sizes (Diadema and El General). Line extensions would follow with each size paying tribute to the people and events that have shaped the country’s history. The first line extension was in 2019, and it’s called Fundador, a 6 x 54 box-pressed Toro. The word fundador is Spanish for “founder” and in this case, it pays homage to the two gentlemen who founded Joya de Nicaragua – Simón Camacho and Juan Francisco Bermejo.
Joya de Nicaragua has not tipped its hat in terms of what tobaccos are used in the Cinco Décadas. As for the Fundador, it is the first and currently only box-pressed offering in the line. The various sizes of Cinco Décadas are released in smaller batches on a semi-regular annual basis.
The Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Décadas Fundador delivers notes of natural tobacco, earth, mixed pepper, wood, and what I would describe as a signature cherry-cream note. The flavors delivered are medium-bodied countered by medium strength.
Joya de Nicaragua has become the first company to place two cigars on the 2021 Countdown (the other being the Joya de Nicaragua Numero Uno Le Premier at #24) Historically, this marks the fifth year Crowned Heads has secured a spot on the Countdown. This is also the third vitola from Cinco Decádas to land on a Countdown (El General was #11 in 2018 and the Diadema was #28 in 2020) Nicaragua continues to be a dominant country of origin for cigars making the 2021 list. Of the twelve cigars we have unveiled moving up the Countdown, this is the eighth one from Nicaragua.
For details of the 2021 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2021 criteria:
Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
Tuesday Dec 21, 2021
Coming in at #19 is the Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Décadas Fundador. In 2018, Joya de Nicaragua celebrated 50 years in the cigar business. To mark the occasion, Joya de Nicaragua introduced a line appropriately called Cinco Décadas (five decades). The line was originally introduced in two sizes (Diadema and El General). Line extensions would follow with each size paying tribute to the people and events that have shaped the country’s history. The first line extension was in 2019, and it’s called Fundador, a 6 x 54 box-pressed Toro. The word fundador is Spanish for “founder” and in this case, it pays homage to the two gentlemen who founded Joya de Nicaragua – Simón Camacho and Juan Francisco Bermejo.
Joya de Nicaragua has not tipped its hat in terms of what tobaccos are used in the Cinco Décadas. As for the Fundador, it is the first and currently only box-pressed offering in the line. The various sizes of Cinco Décadas are released in smaller batches on a semi-regular annual basis.
The Joya de Nicaragua Cinco Décadas Fundador delivers notes of natural tobacco, earth, mixed pepper, wood, and what I would describe as a signature cherry-cream note. The flavors delivered are medium-bodied countered by medium strength.
Joya de Nicaragua has become the first company to place two cigars on the 2021 Countdown (the other being the Joya de Nicaragua Numero Uno Le Premier at #24) Historically, this marks the fifth year Crowned Heads has secured a spot on the Countdown. This is also the third vitola from Cinco Decádas to land on a Countdown (El General was #11 in 2018 and the Diadema was #28 in 2020) Nicaragua continues to be a dominant country of origin for cigars making the 2021 list. Of the twelve cigars we have unveiled moving up the Countdown, this is the eighth one from Nicaragua.
For details of the 2021 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2021 criteria:
Monday Dec 20, 2021
Monday Dec 20, 2021
Coming in at #20 is the Crowned Heads La Coalición Siglo. For many years Crowned Heads had worked exclusively with Tabacalera La Alianza (Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr’s factory) and My Father Cigars SA (The Garcia Family). About three years ago, Crowned Heads added a couple of other manufacturing partners to work with – including Tabacalera Pichardo (ACE Prime) and La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate. La Coalición was the first national regular production cigar that Crowned Heads would make at Drew Estate (this was preceded by the Ohio-state exclusive Buckeye Land).
Crowned Heads has at one time or another produced a Connecticut Broadleaf cigar at each of these factories, and that is the wrapper that La Coalición uses. In addition to the Broadleaf wrapper, La Coalición features a Sumatra binder and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. The Siglo is a classic 6 x 52 Toro-sized vitola.
The Crowned Heads La Coalición Siglo is going to deliver everything that one would expect from a Connecticut Broadleaf cigar. This includes notes of coffee, cocoa, earth, cedar, mixed pepper, and cream. The flavors delivered are medium-bodied countered by medium strength.
This makes the third year Crowned Heads has secured a spot on the Countdown. Nicaragua continues to be a dominant country of origin for cigars making the 2021 list. Of the 11 cigars we have unveiled moving up the Countdown, this is the seventh one from Nicaragua.
For details of the 2021 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2021 criteria:
Monday Dec 20, 2021
Monday Dec 20, 2021
Coming in at #20 is the Crowned Heads La Coalición Siglo. For many years Crowned Heads had worked exclusively with Tabacalera La Alianza (Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr’s factory) and My Father Cigars SA (The Garcia Family). About three years ago, Crowned Heads added a couple of other manufacturing partners to work with – including Tabacalera Pichardo (ACE Prime) and La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate. La Coalición was the first national regular production cigar that Crowned Heads would make at Drew Estate (this was preceded by the Ohio-state exclusive Buckeye Land).
Crowned Heads has at one time or another produced a Connecticut Broadleaf cigar at each of these factories, and that is the wrapper that La Coalición uses. In addition to the Broadleaf wrapper, La Coalición features a Sumatra binder and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. The Siglo is a classic 6 x 52 Toro-sized vitola.
The Crowned Heads La Coalición Siglo is going to deliver everything that one would expect from a Connecticut Broadleaf cigar. This includes notes of coffee, cocoa, earth, cedar, mixed pepper, and cream. The flavors delivered are medium-bodied countered by medium strength.
This makes the third year Crowned Heads has secured a spot on the Countdown. Nicaragua continues to be a dominant country of origin for cigars making the 2021 list. Of the 11 cigars we have unveiled moving up the Countdown, this is the seventh one from Nicaragua.
For details of the 2021 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2021 criteria:
Sunday Dec 19, 2021
Sunday Dec 19, 2021
Coming in at #21 is the Aganorsa Leaf Supreme Leaf Robusto. This is an excellent cigar but lands on our list because of some of the peculiarities of the way we do our list. The Robusto was a one-time release in early 2020 that sold out rather quickly. While other sizes were re-released, the Robusto was not. We managed to review it late in 2020 - which qualifies it for the 2021 list.
Over the years Aganorsa Leaf has garnered a reputation for the ”leaf” (a.k.a. tobacco) it grows being some of the best produced in the world. The Aganorsa Leaf Supreme Leaf pays homage to that as it is 100% comprised of tobaccos grown on the Aganorsa farms in Nicaragua. The blend is described as Corojo '99 dominant. The Robusto size is a box-pressed that measures 5 x 52.
The Aganorsa Leaf Supreme Leaf Robusto offers quite a lot in the way of complexity. This cigar produced notes of natural tobacco, earth, dried fruit, baker’s spice, cedar, and wood, as well as black and white pepper. One thing that was very clear during the evaluation process is that this is a blend/size combination that responded very well to aging.
This is the eighth year Aganorsa Leaf has landed on the Countdown. This included seven consecutive years from 2013 to 2019. Nicaragua is emerging as a dominant country on the list. Of the ten cigars we have unveiled moving up the Countdown, this is the sixth one from Nicaragua in 2021.
For details of the 2021 Cigar of the Year Countdown, see our 2021 criteria: