Weekly Email – September 22, 2015

In 1935, the Montecristo brand was created in Cuba, named after The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, a book read and re-read often to thetorcedores (cigar-rollers) by company lectors to alleviate the boredom of bunching and rolling leaves all day.In honor of the creation of the brand, Altadis USA has just released this phenomenal, very limited cigar: the Montecristo 80th Anniversary No. 2, a fantastic smoke containing Dominican Pilotico, an extremely rare tobacco grown from seeds hand-carried from Cuba by Jose “Pepe” Mendez in 1960. This leaf is prized for its rich flavor, but is seldom used as filler due to its scarcity.

In addition to the Pilotico, the filler is rounded out by 1999 Nicaraguan Criollo; the binder is Dominican olor, and the wrapper a fine Ecuadorian Sumatra. The result is a cigar that must be tasted to be believed.

These are strictly limited to 3,000 boxes. We’ve got some on hand, so try one while they’re available! This is one for the books. (So to speak.)

By now, you’re well aware of the D’Crossier Selection 512…the savory cigars made by Isaias Santana Diaz, who was kind enough to spend a day with us earlier this month. And now we’ve received the crowning jewel in that line, theSelection 512 Lancero, a traditional 7½” x 38 cigar made as a tribute to Santana’s father, who often smoked lanceros at their home in Cuba during Santana’s childhood. The blend (which differs from the original 512 in that it consists of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers) really shines in this new, hard-to-find release, so make a point of trying one as soon as possible.

The long-awaited followup to local legend Sam Leccia‘s Luchador is finally here:El Gringo, a line extension featuring an entirely new lineup of tobaccos. While the original Luchador consisted of a 5-country blend, the Gringo is a full-bodied cigar fashioned of a Nicaraguan Oscuro wrapper, Nicaraguan Habano binder, and a mind-blowing triple ligero filler (from Jalapa, Esteli, and good old Pennsylvania), an entirely suitable companion to its counterpart.Four sizes are available: the Squared Circle (a 6½” x 64 box-pressed figurado), the Pile Driver (a 6″ x 60 gordo), the Frog Splash (a stout, “mat-pressed” 4½” x 70 stubby similar to the Nub, another Leccia innovation), and Chin Music (a more traditional 6″ x 48 toro). We’ve got ’em all, so get yourself down to ASW and step into the ring with El Gringo!

Not to be confused with our excellent, unbanded habanos (which will henceforth be referred to as “EEs”), Espinosa Especiales are a tasty new release from our old buddy Erik is touted as “a new smoking experience [with] its own distinct personality,” and it truly is a fantastic new blend.The Especial consists of Nicaraguan fillers and binder (from the four primary growing regions: Jalapa, Estelí, Condega, and Ometepe) in a wrapper of dark Mexican Capa Negra, a potent combination with unique characteristics of cedar/oak, nut (a savory nut, like salted cashew or perhaps pistachio), leather, and hay. It’s a heady, powerful smoke quite unlike any of the other Espinosa maduros, a real end-of-the-day treat.

We’ve got all three sizes in stock: the No. 1 (a 6½” x 48 Churchill), the No. 4 (a 5″ x 52 robusto), and the No. 5 (a 6″ x 54 toro). Try them all…it’s a real knockout!

I’ve hijacked the pipe column this week because Jeff doesn’t usually appreciate aromatics…and I just had to tell you about a great new tinned tobacco we’ve gotten in, the elusive Devil’s Holiday from Dan Tobacco, makers of other fine blends such as Blue Note, Tordenskjold, andBill Bailey’s Balkan Blend (and Bill, if you’re reading this, won’t you please go home?).

Devil’s Holiday is described as a “smooth and creamy Black Cavendish with a few tips of fluffy Golden Virginia, topped with a most refined flavour composition of tasty wild forest berries.” This is entirely accurate; the tin note is an immediate and refreshing whiff of blackberry or black currant with an undercurrent (or is that “under currant”?) of vanilla and an appetizing, almost buttery aroma.

It’s a bit damp; some drying time might be in order, but I’m too impatient to try this delicious blend (introduced to me during a meeting of the Pittsburgh Pipe Club by our generous friend and connoisseur Shane), so I load up my rustic pipe using a twisting-in-the-palm-of-your-hand method taught me by the usual author of this column and apply the match.

It takes the light well, and I am treated to one of Devil’s Holiday’s most appealing qualities: smoke that actually tastes as pleasant as it smells. Many cased aromatics produce a hearty room note while the actual flavor of the tobacco pales in comparison; this blend really tastes of berries, figs, and vanilla – but not to the extent that it overpowers the mellow cavendish. Just enough of a fruity note to make it enjoyable, if you can dig it.

The fruity notes becomes less pronounced as you work your way through the bowl, and it finishes as a gentle, creamy, and altogether satisfying (for me, anyway) cavendish/Virginia combo.

Some reviews of Devil’s Holiday dismiss it as a simplistic blend too heavily cased to be enjoyed by “serious” pipe smokers (“a shallow tobacco for shallow people,” sniffs one self-important blowhard), but this one does not! If you aren’t too snooty for aromatics, you’ll get a real kick out of this tasty offering from the mysterious Dan Tobacco…and you may also want to check out the other Dan blends we’ve gotten in from our secret source.

I’m giving Devil’s Holiday 4 and a half pipes! So there! Puff On!™*