First of all, I wanted to thank everyone who had entered. I seriously read each and every entry as they came in. This was my main source of entertainment over the past two, busy weeks. We’d also like that thank every who has been with us as well as all the new readers. We try to keep you all engaged and if there is anything you’d like to see more of/less of do not ever hesitate to let us know.

Ok now for the fun stuff, without further adieu, the winner (chosen at random) is:

TriMarkC

Congrats! Email me your address (casasfumando[at]gmail[dot]com) and I will get your crazy cutter, and a few sticks on their way out to you shortly! Keep in mind Christmas is right around the corner, but I will try to get them out before then!

Thanks again for everyone that entered. We have more contests on the way shortly so stay tuned!

First of all, let me thank you all for the remarkable turn out. I am very happy that so many of you not only read our blog, but that you are interested in trying out these great cigars for yourself. I also want to give a very sincere thank you to Bonita Smoke Shop, not only for sponsoring this contest, but for all they do. Not only for us, but for the cigar community as a whole. These people are so amazing!

Now, on to the winner (selected at random from a compiled list of newsletter signups, RT’s, and comments). A big congrats goes out to:

Mr. Danny Principe!

Congrats Danny, you are the winner of a new humidor and a 5 pack of these beauties.

I also wanted to give a runner-up prize. This isn’t something that I planned on doing but a big thank you goes out to:

Mr. ChrisM

for reposting the living crap out of this contest. Thanks for your help man. You win a 5pack of cigars. I’ll throw in a few of Bonita Smoke Shop’s 18th anniversary as well as a few cigars from my personal humidor.

If both of you would be so kind as to shoot me an email with your address information to: casasfumando@gmail.com I will get your prizes out shortly.

Thanks again to everyone who participated! Daniel has yet another contest right around the corner! Keep an eye out for that one, It’ll be REAL soon.

We’ll begin with the review, so you know just what you are going to be getting.

The Good Stuff: Most of you are already aware of Bonita Smokeshop, a great little cigar shop ran by amazing people located in Bonita Springs Florida. For those of you who aren’t, you can visit their site here for more information, or to place an order. They carry just about anything any cigar enthusiast could ask for. Bonita Smokeshop has earned a well respected place in this nations cigar community. Not only are they some of the nicest, most sincere people around, but recently they got rated #9 on Cigarcyclopedia’s National retailer ranking. To celebrate their 18th year anniversary Jackie decided it was time to produce a celebratory blend. She worked on this thoroughly and injected her excitement through onto us. The Bonita Smokeshop 18th anniversary cigar was created by the mind of Jackie and the hands of Willie Herrera of ETB Cigars and his level 9 rollers, trained in the traditional Entubado style of rolling. The Entubado method of rolling each filler leaf into a tube before bunching resulting in a much smoother and effortless draw. The blend starts with an aged Ecuadorian Sumatra Wrapper, bound by Nicaraguan tobacco, encasing Nicaraguan and Dominican filler. For more information visit Bonita’s site.

Size: 6 x 50 – Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra – Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan/Dominican

Prelight: Bonita Smokeshop’s 18th anniversary is a very heavy, beefy little stick. The Ecuadorian wrapper is a beautifully consistent, silky, milky light brown. I always that Ecuadorian wrappers were beautiful but I am always a bit weary as they always seem too delicate and prone to damage, and construction issues. This isn’t the case on any of the samples that I have. The cigar is very firm to the touch, tightly compacted, and has quite a few noticeable veins running the length of the cigar. The 18th anniversary is polished off with a traditional Cuban triple cap. I said it before, but I really don’t see why all manufacturers are triple capping their cigars. The aroma given off by the wrapper supplied me with an abundant compound of spice and tobacco paired with a nutty undertone. The foot of the cigar only escalates the aromas. The cap clipped off with ease using my trusty Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw was very fluid and left behind a very creamy and sweet tobacco taste with just a hint of spice.

First Smoke: Bonita Smokeshop’s 18th Anniversary lit up with ease using my single flame butane torch lighter. The first flavors I was hit with began with a sweet tobacco that then transitioned off to a very creamy, woodsy flavor, backed by tons of sweet spice, and just enough pepper to tease my lips and the back of my throat. The draw is effortless and produces’ a massive cloud of pleasantly cedar scented smoke. The smoke didn’t linger for too long as its 97 degrees out and I have the ceiling fans on my patio up full blast. The burline is extremely solid and consistent leaving behind a light to medium grey trail of nicely compacted ash. The ash held on for two inches before giving way.

Halfway There: The pepper faded away quickly into the second third of this Bonita Smokeshop 18th Anniversary cigar. The main flavor is this really strong, comforting, woodsy flavor complimented by a creamy and sweet spice and cinnamon. The experience is very relaxing and creamy. I’m not feeling any nicotine at this point. The burnline is still dead even and the draw is plentiful. The retrohale is very pleasant as well adding a nice woodsy prime to the pallet.

Finish: Into the final third the flavor profile hasn’t changed up much. Still smooth woodsy, with a dash of spice. There is really no noticeable harshness built up, nor am I feeling any sort of nic-kick despite the length of this cigar and faster speed in which I smoke at.. This is a smooth, well balanced experience. I never had to relight nor even touch up this cigar. It burned clean all the way though the hour and a half experience.

Overview: All in all, I like to consider myself a maduro guy. I see lighter wrappers and my crappy judgment tends to kick in as I try to convince myself that it not as flavorful as darker wrappers. No idea why I do this, but if this 18th anniversary isn’t a kick to my ego I don’t know what is. Packed with tons of flavor I can honestly say this house blend is in a league of its own.

Pairing: I decided to pair this cigar with my everyday beer. New Belgium’s Fat Tire amber ale. Fat Tire is one of those beers that can pair well with anything. Food, cigars, other beers, yard work, whatever the case may be. The biscuit and nutty flavored beer is the perfect compliment to any mild or medium cigar. This cigar would also pair well with any light wine, black coffee, or apple juice.

And now for the contest:
Casas Fumando and Bonita Smoke Shop will be giving one lucky reader not only a chance to sample the 18th anniversary blend, but a little place to store it as well.

We are giving away 5 of Bonita Smoke Shop’s 18th anniversary cigars and this beautiful 50 count, glass top humidor.

Entering is simple:
There are 3 different ways to enter. Each one counts as 1 entry and a winner will be chosen at random and notified Sunday September 12th. Sorry but this contest is limited to US residents only. Winners must be 18 or over.

1. Sign up for our newsletter. You can find the newsletter sign up on the right side navigation bar. If you are already signed up, consider yourself entered.

2. Leave a Comment on this post. Simply leave a comment on this post. No theme this time, but if you comment on how much you’d like to see Daniel in his infamous fun-manchu I’ll give you a cyber hi-five.

3. Retweet the following message: “Visit Casas Fumando and enter to win a humidor and 5pk of @bonitasmokeshop’s 18th anni. Cigars: http://tinyurl.com/2cpzljl @tonycasas” be sure to include the @tonycasas so I can track the RT’s.

That’s it! We are excited to share these with one lucky reader, so let the games begin!

Anyway, now to the fun part, the winner of the Orient Automatic Watch chosen at random is….

BOOMERD35!!

Again, all entries were calculated and given 1 entry for: subscribing the the newsletter, leaving a comment, and RT’ing the phrase listed. Thanks again for everyone who participated, and don’t worry, we have yet another contest sponsored by the lovely people at Bonita Smoke Shop right around the corner!

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

This cigar just recently started hitting the market, and are quickly flying off cigar retailers shelves nationwide. These sticks came direct from the wonderful people at Bonita Smoke Shop, who are currently stocking the Triunfador as well as many other Tatuaje blends.

The Good Stuff: This is a re-release of Tatuaje’s old blend of El Triunfador. The only main differences are the new blend is released in 6 different sizes: The #1 which is a 6.5 x 42, the #2 which is a 5.5 x 52, the #3 which is a 5.62 x 46, the #4 which is a 4 x 48, the #5 which is a 4.4 x 42, and the #6which is a 7.5 x 38 vs the old blend (which will still be in production) only came in lancero form. And the wrapper, the old Triunfado blend was wrapped in broadleaf, where as in the new Triunfador blend, the cigar is wrapped in Habano.

Size: (#1) 6.5 x 45  –  Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano  -  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan  -  Body: Mild/Medium

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

Prelight: Pete Johnson and Don Pepin are no strangers when it comes to excellect craftmanship in thier products, and The Triunfador is a great case study for that. The wrapper is extremly oily, silky smooth, and a very consistent rich brown topped off with the famous, rounded tripple cap. The #1 is a box-pressed cigar, but much like the La Riqueza the edges have quite a bit of roundess to them.  Although this vitola is very thin, the cigar is still very firm with little give when squeezed, not to mention I could find no soft spots what so ever on this stick. The band on the new El Truinfador is a simple, yet elegant red/white/and gold design, again resembling a scaled down version of Pete’s La Riqueza’s Band. The Triunfador gives off quite a bit of aroma, ranging from very sweet tobacco to an almost nutmeg that I can only hope carries through in the actual taste of the cigar. The cold draw produces a very similar taste to the aroma, sweetness, tobacco, and a hint of spice. I had no problems clipping this cigar using my Palio double bladed cutter.

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

First Smoke:Tatuaje’s Tabacos El Triunfador lit up instaneously under my triple flame butane torch. I was expecting to be hit with the burst of pepper that most Tatuaje cigars start out with, but instead I was greeted with an extreme sweetness. The main tastes overall where a mixutre of very sweet tobacco (gotta love that), nutmeg, and a nutty after taste. The Triunfador starts off very smooth, and you can almost tell right of the bat that this is going to be a very mild cigar. I actually smoked this one for the review first thing in the morning. I am not a morning smoker at all, which shows just how mild this cigar really is. The draw was effortless and plentyful, producing a thick, lingering cloud of dark-grey almost brown smoke. The Triunfador doesn’t give off very much stationary smoke at all, but what little smoke that resides is very light scented with sweet tobacco, bits of cocoa, and cedar. The burn line was razor thin, and dead even leaving behind a thick, solid, light grey/white ash. The ash held on for about an inch before tumbling into my ashtray.

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

Halfway There: I’m halfway into this Triunfador, and I am extremly impressed with how sweet, and smooth this cigar is. The sweetness is still present in full force, where as there has been off and on hints of pepper, mixed with lots of nutty aftertastes. There is also quite a bit of woodsy/cedar tastes making face in these complex mashup. The nutty after taste seems to be very prominent once I take a few sips of the water that I paired this cigar with. The burnline is still dead even, and I haven’t needed to touch this cigar up at all. One side note is the speed in which this cigar burns. This was a longer vitola, and it only took me about 25 minutes to get halfway through it. I am not the fastest smoker, but I am far from a slow one so just be prepared, this won’t be an all nighter.

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

Finish: As if the Triunfador didn’t already shine in the first 2 thirds, the last third put it over the top. The sweetness stayed strong from start to finish, the pepper taste had completely vanished after the second third only to be replaced with cedar and nut. The last third really layed down the cedar flavor matching it up with the sweet, sweet tobacco for a perfect pairing. I had absolutely no problems with draw or burn. There was no harshness, and I was honestly very surprised that the cigar did not burn very hot at all towards the nub. I was able to take this one down as far as I could hold it without burning my fingers. Smooth smoke from start to finish with no signs, at all, of any nicotine. All in all this cigar took about an hour to smoke.

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

Overview: Needless to say, I am all about this cigar right now. AWESOME flavor profile, just enough changeup to keep my attention, smooth from start to finish. The El Triunfador is a winner in my book. Pretty much my only gripe about this stick is the fact that it smoke so fast. If it would burn any slower though, I am sure there would be a bit of harshness built up so I am willing to give it a free pass on that one. I honestly think this cigar would appeal to anyone who enjoys smoking. Don’t pass this one up! Price point is about $7 – $9 a stick, and although you’ll tear through them quickly, I think its a great price for the product.

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

On a side note:If you are interested in the Triunfador, a good friend of ours Dan Reeve is actually on an adventure to smoke, and review each vitola in the new line. Head on over to his site ( http://crookedburn.blogspot.com/ ) for full coverage!

Casas Fumando is putting on yet another contest sponsored by none other than the amazing people over at Bonita Smoke Shop. If you haven’t heard of Bonita, head over to their site for an AMAZING selection, unbeatable prices, and the highest quality service any smoke shop has to offer.

Now, to the good stuff. Casas Fumando and Bonita Smoke shop has teamed up to give away a full, lucky, green box of Tabacos Baez Serie SF robustos to one lucky winner!!!

Win a box of Tabacos Baez Serie SF

A bit of information about the cigar (taken from Bonita Smoke Shop):

A flavorful medium bodied cigar made by Don Pepin and honored with the name of the town he was born in. The tasting notes on the Tabacos Baez Serie SF cigars were slight spice with subtle undertones of both cocoa and coffee the Tabacos Baez SF is made with both long (70%) and short filler (30%) and burns like a dream in a lush Nicaraguan Habano wrapper. Pepin has the magic touch and it’s evident in his Tabacos Baez cigars.

And now, how to enter:

Entering is simple. All you have to do is simply post a comment on this post telling us about either a funny drinking experience you’ve had (St. Paddy’s day is all about the booze to some people, and I KNOW a lot of you have some funny stories I can blackmail you with later), a memorable St. Patrick’s Day experience you have had, or simply what you plan to do this St. Patrick’s day.

As an extra bonus, anyone who tweets “Win a lucky box of Tabacos Baez Serie SF from Casas Fumando and @bonitasmokeshop http://tinyurl.com/y95sw7b @tonycasas” will have a second bonus entry added to the list! Don’t forget to include the “@tonycasas” portion so that I will be able to track the tweets.

One lucky winner will be selected at random and announced on Thursday, March 11th 2010. I will ship these cigars out as soon as I can get that persons address to that they will be in hand, and available to enjoy this St. Patrick’s day. You must be 18 years or over to participate.

That being said, Let The Games Begin!

Alec Bradley Prensado

I went through three of this sticks before formulating this review, two from trades that I had just resting in my humidor, and one was provided by one of our great sponsors Bonita Smoke Shop. All three were similar in vitola (Box Pressed Robusto), but oddly all of which changed up in color, from a dark, almost maduro to a soft light, creamy brown.

The Good Stuff: Alec Bradley’s Prensado was one of a number of much anticipated releases that went public during 2009′s IPCPR event in New Orleans this past year. It is create from a complex structure from  Honduran,  corojo wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder from Jalapa,  and a mixture of Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers. It is also said to be Alec Bradley’s strongest cigar to date. 

Size:Robusto 5 x 50 boxpress  -  Wrapper: Honduran corojo  -  Binder: Nicaragua  -  Filler: Nicaragua/Honduras  -  Body: Medium/Full   

Alec Bradley Prensado

Prelight: The Prensado carries with is a very unique, and enticing band. The band itself is white, and gold embroidered with hints of black, brown, and an odd but pleasant mixture of teal. The band is is very large and has an image of what looks to be a medieval leather chest plate (not to be confused with a football). The color of the wrapper is very consistent, and a light, creamy brown. The cigar itself is very firm and only soft at the bottom-most foot portion. There is a very large vein running down the entire length of the cigar, and I’d be very surprised if this vein didn’t offset the burn of the cigar. The Prensado has a very sweet, organic tobacco smell around the wrapper, and an almost fruity cedar smell coming from the foot. The cap is rounded off with the triple cap that I would love see as a set standard on all my cigars.

Alec Bradley Prensado

First Smoke: This cigar was cut using my Palio double blade cutter, and lit up very easily under even my single flame torch that I hate, and hardly ever use. Alec Bradley’s Prensado started out with a slight hint of pepper, that only tingled my tongue for a few seconds before quickly diminishing. As the pepper faded flavors of cedar, cocoa, and tobacco became present. Despite giving off a massive, and very thick draw, the Prensado give off little to no stationary smoke. The stationary smoke is extremely pleasant, and smells of lightly burning cedar. The cigar is starting off extremely smooth. The ash is a very flaky, dark grey. The burnline is extremely sharp, but as expected it is burning a deep, offset crevice due to the massive vein running through the body of this cigar. Surprisingly enough, the ash held on for about an inch and a half before it gave out.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Halfway There: The Presando just keeps getting smoother, and creamier the further I smoke into it. The main flavor is that of cedar. It seriously tastes as if I chopped up my humidor and wrapped it in corojo. To me, this cigar reminds me a lot of Camacho’s 2009 Liberty, only at less than half the price. As stated in my introduction, this is supposed to be Alec Bradley’s strongest cigar to date, but oddly enough I am getting absolutely no nicotine buzz. I am drinking a pretty high alcohol content beer too and not feeling anything off this smoke, amazing. After a big touch up to the foot, the cigar is finally burning dead even, and just as sharp as when I began smoking it.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Finish: Wow, just wow. The smoothness of the Prensado is overwhelming. I usually enjoy robusto, or smaller vitolas, but I would be quite curious to see how a churchill of these bad boys panned out. I smoked this one incredibly fast (about 1.25 hours) to finish, and there were no signs of harshness all the way down to the nub. The flavor stayed very consistent with smooth cedar being the prominent flavor backed by a creamy, milky, cocoa. I had no problems with the burn after the touch up after the first ash and took this bad boy down until I could no longer hold it. My hands never got too warm which was incredible due to the loose draw.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Overview: Overall I was very impressed with this cigar. I loved the Camacho Liberty 2009, just hated the price tag and exclusiveness of it. Alec Bradley’s Prensado is a perfect replacement for an everyday rotation. The price is somewhere in between $7 and $10 and well worth it. All three that I smoked took a touch up or two, but not anything serious, and the overall experience made up for it. This is a perfect, everyday smoke for the experienced, and even casual smoker. Now I just need to get my hands on a few more.

Alec Bradley Prensado

This cigar was paired with one of my favorite beers, Chimay White Tripel. The strength, bitterness, and fruity undertones were a perfect pair for such a smooth cigar.

Alec Bradley Prensado

Ties? Cologne? Deodorant? Who needs any of that when you have fine cigars. Casas Fumando has teamed up with the amazing people at Bonita Smoke shop to offer one lucky winner a chance to get what they really want for Valentines day. A brand new box of La Gloria Cubana Serie “R” Natural #7′s!!

Win a Box of 25 La Gloria Cubana Serie "R" Natural #7

I didn’t want to open the cellophane on the box, so I used a stock image, but you get the jist of it I’m sure.

La Gloria Cubana Serie “R” Natural #7:

Size: 7×58  -  Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra  -  Binder/Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan Blend

Anyway, now for the good stuff. Entering is easy!

Simply comment under this post and let me know what you plan to do for your wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, self, dog, cat, pet rock…whatever, for Valentines day! One randomly selected winner will be chosen Friday, January 29th, and will be shipped this fine box of cigars just in time for Valentine’s day!

To obtain a second entry in our drawing:

all you have to do is tweet “Win a box of La Gloria Cubana Serie “R” from Casas Fumando, check out http://tinyurl.com/ygxuq32 for details. @tonycasas” make sure to include the @tonycasas so that I can track the retweets.

Pretty simple eh?! Now get to commenting. I need ideas as I’m not the hopeless romantic my wife wishes I was! Good luck!!