Weekly Email – Mar. 11th, 2015

Next Thursday, March 19th, we’ll be hosting a very exclusive event: An officialAshton VSG Grand Tasting! This is a ticketed event running from 4:00 to 8:00 pm, and tickets are available now at the shop for $10 each. In case you’ve never tried them, the VSG line is a bold series featuring four- to six-year aged Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper leaf which offers “vibrant notes of dark chocolate and earth.” VSGs are available in 12 vitolas, ALL of which will be available. Get in on this event while you can, because they don’t happen often!

Next time you’re in, you may notice a few changes in our decor, which should come as no surprise if you’ve been following the newsletters: ASW is now the 4th official Espinosa Lounge in the United States, which entitles us to carry exclusive releases by our old friend and master blender Erik Espinosa, head honcho of the La Zona factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. Erik was on hand yesterday, as were his trusty cohorts Fernando Zacarias and Anthony Jimenez, to help us christen the newly redecorated lounge and to introduce the first release in his new Backroom series…

…the Alibi, a fantastic new flavor-bomb in the form of a 6″ x 48 “small Churchill” featuring an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro wrapper and a rich combination of fillers. This secret, proprietary blend produces a chocolatey sweetness that you simply have to try to believe. Only 200 boxes of these were produced, and they are strictly limited to the four Espinosa Lounges currently in existence. TheBackroom Series is expected to see at least one new release each year, so watch for more exclusives to appear on our shelves in the future…but you’d better try these while you can, because they will absolutely FLY out of here!

Ah, Spring! That magical time of year when new cigars begin to emerge from the frost-hardened earth… And this trio from La Gloria Cubana is the first of many we’ve received this week! (Technically the second, but let’s not quibble.) Tres Puros is an aptly named new release, as it features three cigars comprised entirely of tobaccos from three countries: Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. All three are 6″ x 54 toros, and they arrived in a trio of cleverly designed magnetic boxes. Nobody’s tried them yet, and there are only 12 of each…so get down here, get your Puros while you can and let us know what you think!

Ah, Spring! That magical time — oh, wait. We’ve been through that already. Next on our list of long-overdue new stuff are these fantastic new cigars from Villiger. The Cuellar is an absolutely outstanding combination of Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Cuban Seed Piloto Ligero binder, and fillers of Cuban Seed and Criollo ’98, a mild, creamy smoke that passed the Mike test almost instantly (and let me tell you, ASW Mike is hard to impress). We have two sizes available: Robusto (5″ x 48) and Churchill (7″ x 50), and either one will prove immensely satisfying.

Everyone knows just how enjoyable the Romeo by Romeo y Julieta is… Well, brace yourselves for the creme de la creme: The Romeo Añejo, a truly stunning blend of 2010 Connecticut Broadleaf, ’08 Dominican Olor, and double-fermented ’09 Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos. Rich, chocolately/coffee flavor abounds, with a hint of sugar frosting and a bit of rum raisin (or maybe that’s just my Baskin-Robbins jones talking)…a very enjoyable cigar, robust but not overpowering. We carry the 6″ x 54 Toro, and chances are it won’t be here for long either, so grab a couple while we have them. They’re just too savory to pass up!

The brainchild of master blender Agustín Garcia, the new Punch Signature Series from General Cigar is a powerful smoke featuring an Ecuadorian corojo wrapper around a unique Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan/Dominican fillers. Talk about potency! The flavor profile is dark and complex: a spicy mix of pepper, woody notes, and black coffee, with just the slightest tinge of vanilla or cream to top things off. Make no mistake: these cigars are strong and delicious, not for the faint of heart (or constitution). We’ve got all four vitolas on our shelf: Robusto (5” x 54), Gigante (6” x 60), Rothschild (4½” x 50), and Torpedo (5¾” x 52). Come by and try a Punch that lives up to its name! These are seriously tasty with a lot of oomph built right in. (And oomph is hard to come by these days.)

“I didn’t play at collecting. No cigar anywhere was safe from me.”