As many of you know I was lucky enough to be one of the bloggers that General Cigar invited on a 4 day trip to cover their operations in Santiago, Dominican Republic. The way this trip went down was kind of random in the most organized way possible. Basically, Victoria McKee, our PR contact with General Cigar, contacted us and let us know that we were all invited on a grand tour of the General Cigar organization in Dominican Republic. This trip would include the rolling, warehousing, box manufacturing, growing, and even machine operations. She also noted that we would be accompanied by key personnel from each of the General related brands. Very cool, and of course we all jumped on it not really knowing what to expect. The crew included: Anthony of Cigar Brief, Barry Stein of A Cigar Smoker, Ben Lee of Nice Tight Ash, Bryan Glynn from Cigar Obsession, Craig Vanderslice from Cigar Craig, Dan Reeve from Cigar Explorer, David Jones from Tiki Bar, Doc from Stogie Fresh, Justin Yoch from Ash Report, Patrick from Cigar Examiner, Patrick from Stogie Guys, Skip Martin from Hava Cigar Shop/Cromagnon, Stephen Boyajian from The Cigar Network and Tony Blake from 365 Cigars. Jerry Cruz from Stogie Review was also slotted to join us, but had to cancel last minute due to a work emergency.

Day 1:

Not really knowing what to expect I set fourth on my journey. A car service picked me up at my house at 5:45am. Why is that important? Cause they weren’t supposed to be there until 6:45am. The driver insisted on waiting in the car, but I felt terrible so I showered and got dressed as fast as I could only to arrive at the airport about two and a half hours early. My first stop was Dallas where I met up with Skip and enjoyed a nice lunch, as well as some interesting conversation. If any of you have ever had the pleasure of meeting Skip you know exactly what I’m talking about. First, he managed to upset an American Airlines flight attendant in line to buy tootsie rolls based on his experiences with the company. Extremely amusing. Then we ate lunch at a pizza bar where we enjoyed some great conversation with our waitress before heading to Miami. Skip’s awesome. Spend some time with him, you’ll love it.

Skip and I were the last ones to fly into Miami so we were greeted with all the family blog faces as well as Abe Flores from Pinar Del Rio who just happened to be on our same flight, Yuri Guillen from Team La Gloria, Michael Giannini from La Gloria Cubana, and Rick Rodriguez from CAO. We packed the plane and headed off.

Once we landed in DR it was evident that the humidity was going to eat me alive. Just the walk from the plane to the airport had me sweating. I’m used to heat, it gets hot as hell in El Paso, but the humidity was something else. We rarely see more than 20% here in the desert. Anyways, to make a long story short, we got our luggage and packed into the van. Driving in the DR is freaken insane. There really is no lanes, no structure, no nothing. That being said, about 5 minutes into our trip from the airport, just as Michael Giannini was telling us how crazy the driving is, we witnessed two kids on motorcycles get PLOWED by an SUV. One kid actually ended up under the wheel of the vehicle before the SUV sped away. Nuts! This all happened about 15 feet away from my window on the van. Welcome to the DR!

After unloading at the hotel we headed poolside for BBQ, drinks, and cigars. Barry and the famous Benji Menendez were already there waiting for us. The rest of the night went on, drink after drink and cigar after cigar. We stayed up a little later than we probably should have considering we didn’t get to the hotel until about 10pm and had to be up around 6:30 am the next morning.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Day 2:

After enjoying breakfast, a new Cromagnon prototype (Thanks Skip, it was Delish!) and realizing that the humidity was actually causing the lenses on my camera to fog up, we headed to a Tax-Free work zone in central Santiago which housed the General Cigar facility as well as quite a few other factories (I can’t remember exactly which ones, and could be way off but I want to say Fuente, Quesada, and even Cigar Rings were part of this zone). Once at the factory we headed straight to the training room to get the inside scoop on the company and meet some of the key personnel behind the brand Jhonny Diaz, Edmundo Garcia, and Francisco Rodriguez. It was insane learning just how big this operation was. General cigar operations span 2,792,362 meters combined and houses over 2,125 employees in the Dominican Republic alone. Granted, the Honduran and Nicaraguan operations under the General brand are smaller, the sheer size of the company blew me away. One neat tidbit was the initiatives that General Cigar actually offers it’s employees. Outside of paying more than just about any other mass organized factory in Santiago, here are a few of the things General Cigar offers each of it’s employees:

Education

General Cigar believes that education is the key to a better future in the Dominican Republic and Honduras.  The company allocates hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to support programs that increase literacy among employees and residents of the D.R. and Honduras, while also providing scholarships for its employees and providing complete funding for schools in both countries.

General Cigar began its “Literacy Initiative” in 2004, and today, this program remains one of the company’s most unique corporate social responsibility endeavors. General Cigar underwrites the program, provides instructors and holds classes within its Dominican and Honduran facilities.  Under this campaign, company employees, as well as citizens who live in urban and rural areas surrounding the company’s farms and factories are taught to read and write based on curriculum mandated by the Dominican and Honduran governments.  Students who pass the course receive a diploma that is formally presented during an annual graduation ceremony, the most important event held by General Cigar in a given year.  To date, more than 600 Dominicans and Hondurans have advanced under this program.

General Cigar is also very proud of its “Continuing Education” program which continues to offer a range of professional development courses designed to provide employees with additional skills and training relevant to jobs within the company.  More than 4,000 employees have prospered under this program which boasts more than 50 unique areas of training, each developed in cooperation with technical education institutions in both countries.

Another component of the company’s commitment to education is General Cigar’s support of post-secondary education for its employees. In a given year, approximately 30 employees are able to attend college or pursue advanced technical training, directly due to financial assistance from the company.  As a result of this program, General Cigar currently employs more than 64 college graduates, with 16 of these employees holding master’s degrees. In fact, all of General Cigar’s upper and middle management employees hold college degrees. This investment continues to make General Cigar one of the Dominican Republic and Honduras’ most professionally and technically-advanced companies.

Under the “School Sponsorship” endeavor which was created in 1997, more than 2,500 students have benefitted from General Cigar’s support, which helps to broaden the scope of learning and ensure a better future for the children.  Through this initiative, General Cigar provides broad-based financial support to four economically-challenged Dominican schools. The company underwrites infrastructure costs, while also providing students with school supplies and sporting goods. General Cigar has also utilized this program to bring technology to remote urban areas by appointing the schools with modern computers.

Health/Well Being

General Cigar also dedicates considerable resources toward creating a better quality of life for its staff. Health insurance, dental exams and blood pressure screenings are available for employees of both countries. In addition, the company provides transportation, including new bicycles to employees and conducts intramural baseball and soccer leagues within their Dominican and Honduran facilities.

For those employees who need assistance in paying for home repairs, General Cigar has a dedicated fund which allows employees to secure no-interest financing for home improvement projects. Over the last 27 years, this program has dramatically improved the quality of life for many employees and their families.

Just as General Cigar is passionately committed to advancing tobacco cultivation, the company uses its vast resources to contribute to the health of the Dominican and Honduran people. General Cigar purchases citrus fruits, vegetables, dairy products, livestock and fish which are then sold at below wholesale prices to company employees. Providing nutritious and affordable food is another way that General Cigar contributes to the well-being of its employees.

General Cigar also maintains a “Natural Disaster” fund allowing the company to readily provide its employees and people in the Dominican Republic and Honduras with food, clean drinking water, necessities such as diapers and medical supplies as well as home repairs and shelter.

Reforestation/Environmental Protection

Protecting the environment and preventing pollution are two additional areas of focus for General Cigar’s corporate social responsibility programs. Perhaps the only cigar manufacturer to have its own reforestation program, General Cigar replenishes cedar and mahogany trees to replace those that are depleted in making their handsome cigar boxes. Each farm in the Dominican Republic and Honduras participates in the reforestation activities which are now part of the company’s standard agricultural operations.  To date, more than 35,000 trees have been replanted.

General Cigar is also pleased to have been recognized for being in compliance with “ISO 14001” standards which acknowledge the company’s commitment to conducting its business in the utmost environmentally-friendly manner.

In addition to its Dominican and Honduran charitable initiatives, General Cigar supports various charities in the United States, to benefit literacy initiatives, support members of the U.S. armed forces and their families, and provide funding for medical research and disease prevention.

With the recent addition of CAO to the General Cigar family, the company now has a dedicated cigar making facility in Nicaragua. They have already begun exploring the possibility of replicating and expanding their corporate social responsibility programs in that country.

The presentation alone blew me away. I guess I just never really took the time to step back and really think about what goes into the cigars we all love. After the presentation we took a really quick tour of the factory before arriving in a room where they stack, and separate stored tobacco. The room houses two huge tables, each containing about 15 different types of tobacco leafs, labeled, waiting for us. It was then that they told us that they were going to have us create our own blend! It was slightly daunting at first, but the more we played around with mixing tobacco, the more I realized that I had no idea what I was doing. Benji Menendez, Rick Rodriguez, and the guy who helped me Michael Giannini were all there to lend us a hand. Sampling each tobacco made it VERY easy to formulate a blend in my head, but every time we rolled them together we were hit with the realization just how hard blending is. I can personally say that my first 5 or 6 blends were absolutely terrible. Finally, crazy nicotine highs later, we left the room with what we all thought was the final blend of our cigars.

We kicked back and enjoyed a feast of a lunch at the training room before heading back out to tour the General Cigar Warehouse. Holy crap it was huge! I wasn’t expecting that much tobacco. Francisco made mention of having 50 year old tobacco stored there and a building total value of over millions of dollars worth of product each bunched, labeled, packed, and piled in these handmade mesh bags weighing hundreds of pounds each, and running anywhere between $2,000 to $9,000 a pop.

After the tour we headed out, had dinner and probably more drinks then we should have at an amazing Italian restaurant before heading back to the hotel room for another late night of drinks by the pool. I swear we were all running about 2 – 3 hours of sleep each night.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Day 3:

After a quick breakfast and some calls to hotel rooms to wake up some of the guys, we packed back on the bus and headed to Licery El Medio, which was a suburb of Santiago. This area housed another factory ran by General Cigar. This factory only had about 400 employees and handled mainly the long filler portion of the operation. One interesting fact about this factory was that it was once owned by Capote before being taken over by General cigar. General could very easily move these operations into the main factory in Santiago, but due to the poverty and low income area of the location of the factory General Cigar decided to keep it where it was so that they didn’t have to displace any of the current employees who counted on that job as their only means of surviving.

This is where we met Don Quico. Don Quico is an agricultural engineer who is basically in charge of the tobacco from soil to factory storing. He spoke with us giving insight on just about every area in tobacco growing. I had no idea that it took a total of between 30 – 90 days total for the farming of each tobacco plant depending on the type of leaf, and the priming. Most priming happens about 20 days apart. Another interesting note that a few of us picked up on was when he mentioned that most of the flavor of the tobacco is located in the outer edges of the leaf. Also, Ligero always needs to be placed in the center of a cigar when it is being bunched to ensure proper burn. A few of use kept that in mind if we used ligero in any of our personal blends.

After a quick tour of the long filler factory we were taken another 20 minutes away from the city to take a tour of the actual farms where they raise the tobacco. The first leg of the tour showed a smaller section of the farm with large silos where they grow all the shade grown tobacco. The second leg took us through the sun grown facility. That facility houses a MASSIVE above-ground irrigation system. We got to see first hand the machine and man work that went into planting each of the seeds. As we headed further into the farm we came to a huge gazebo that overlooked the entire farm. This gazebo was something straight out of the movies. It had a bar, kitchen, restrooms, power generator, and even a large man made lake. I could spend an entire vacation here. We joined up for dinner and drinks here with General Cigar’s President Dan Carr.

We enjoyed a huge dinner here as well as way too many drinks once again. I was lucky enough to sit next to Stephen on the way back so I could see the train wreck of a night unfold.  We got back to the hotel to find the pool had been closed (probably due to our prior late nights). Victoria immediately jumped on the phone and within minutes had cases of beer, bottles of rum and scotch, as well as a full bar staff waiting for us. 2 bottles of Johnny Walker later Stephen stumbled to bed. Dan Reeve and Skip actually had a bet. Not as to IF he would throw up, but whether or not he would throw up in public or not. I spent most of that evening secretly sending tweets from Skip’s ipad, and listening to Dan Reeve, Ben Lee, and a drunken David Jones talk about how boring football is.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Day 4:

The next morning I woke up from my 2 hours of sleep and stumbled to breakfast. Surprisingly there was only one person there before me. Any Guesses who it was? Stephen. After being asked why he was there early he went on to tell me how he couldn’t stand to sleep in his vomit ridden room any longer. Turns out he threw up at some point in his slumber and didn’t realize it till he woke up the next morning. Looks like Dan won that bet.

After breakfast we quickly made our way back to the factory. The realization of this being our last day at the factory had already started to set in with a few of us. But today was the day we learned how to bunch, roll, and package our own cigars. First was the bunching. I think all of us thought we were rock stars after that portion. It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t nearly as hard as we thought it was. Each of us were paired with our own personal helper who trained us how to bunch before setting us out on our own. It took us over an hour to bunch all 20 of our cigars. 10 would be brought home while 10 would be smoked by the General team who would then decide a winner.

After the bunching, we let our cigars sit in molds under the press while we took a quick ride over to the box manufacturing facility. I wasn’t expecting such a huge, expedited operation! Basically blank timber came in and boxes went out. They did everything there from cutting, sanding, painting, manufacturing, pressing, stamping, and glazing the boxes. It was insane. They were even making wooden ashtrays as we took our tour.

We then went back to the factory to try our hands at rolling. This was a humbling experience. I think it was one of the hardest things I have ever done. I don’t think very many of us got the hang of it. My cigars looked like they had been made by a 5 year old.

After we rolled our cigars, a few of us had lunch and then headed out to a museum and a few monuments to enjoy our final day in the DR before heading back to the hotel room for a little rest.

That evening we headed up to Camp David for a final farewell party.  Drinks and food! We basically digested the remainder of the trip before listening to a speech from Dan Carr. One of the questions on everyone’s mind was “why did they do this for us?”. He answered that question by basically letting us know three things. One, they appreciate us as a valid source of media (which is something I still don’t take seriously), that they wanted to show us what they were doing as a company, and that they wanted our serious thoughts on what they could do better. They also announced the winner of the best blend, and to our surprised it was Stephen. I don’t know how he did it, he was still half drunk while he was rolling his cigars. We spent the remainder of the night there. Before leaving, Bryan Glynn actually took these pictures of us. The first one was a 15 shot mash up of each of the bloggers, followed by a single shot of us along with the people who made the trip possible.

We headed back to the hotel for a few final drinks before heading to the airport for our journey’s home the next day.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

Final Thoughts:

To sum up this trip, it was seriously one of the best, and most educational experiences I ever had. General Cigar really went out of their way to make us feel us feel welcomed, and part of the team. They taught us not only about their day to day operations and what they offer as a company, but how tobacco is grown, harvested, stored, aged, rolled, packaged and consumed. I had no idea the process was so immense and General Cigar has a really efficient way to accomplish it.  Victoria McKee was the star of the show. She really did so much for us every step of the way and my sincerest thanks goes out to her. Did it change the way I perceived the company? Greatly. When most people think General cigar they think of this huge money making machine, which isn’t really the case. They give back more than anyone else in the Santiago area. Did it change the way I thought about cigars. Totally. I can now see the amount of work that goes into each one. Did it change the way I feel about General’s cigars? Not at all. I knew they were quality product, and although they don’t come out with many blends that suit my profile, they have always been a huge hit with other cigar smokers.

Again, if you want to see all the pictures click this link: Dominican Republic Trip 2011

Today’s cigar is his latest edition to the regular production cigars that was unveiled officially at IPCPR 2011. It is the EP Carrillo Core Line Maduro. It will join the other regular line cigars which now include the EP Carrillo Core Line Natural and the New Wave Connecticut. If you read my above linked revore of the Natural Core Line, you’ll notice I wasn’t a huge fan. Having said that, I really enjoyed the New Wave Connecticut and so did Tony in his review of it. So is this another winner in the line-up?

The Core Line Maduro has the same band as the other regular production blends with the only difference being a black backdrop in the bottom section of the band. The similarities don’t jsut end there… The binder used on the Core Line Maduro is the same as the wrapper used on the regular Core Line Natural. Filler content is also the same but the percentage of Dominican vs Nicaraguan leaveswas adjusted slightly to set it apart and balance nicely with the new wrapper.

According to Ernesto, the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper used here is actually one of the same ones he originally used back in the 70’s when he was blending for La Gloria Cubana. That’s not to say the wrapper is 40+ years old… just a similar crop/region which should give a similar profile.

A Brazilian wrapper was also in the running for this cigar but Ernesto decided to go with the Connecticut Broadleaf instead. That’s a tough call, I enjoy both of those leaves as wrappers. Maybe we’ll see something in the future with that leaf if he’s already testing it out in some sample blends? We can hope and wait! But for now let’s see how the EP Carrillo Core Line Maduro stacks up!

Cigar: E.P. Carrillo Core Line Maduro
Drink: Cigar City Brewing Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale
Vitola: Club 52 (5.875 by 52)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Ecuador Sumatra
Filler: Dominican and Nicaraguan
Price: $7.20 MSRP
Burn Time: Just short of 1.5 hours

Construction:
• This is a fairly dark chocolate colored cigar with some occasional brownish areas
• The blemishes actually make it seem as if this cigar may be dyed a little bit
• For the most part it has a little bit of give and spring in it when squeezed and it’s consistent from one end to the other
• The top of the cigar is finished off with what looks to be a slightly scrunched triple cap, and it possibly has some extra dye on it cause it’s very dark
• The foot appears only moderately packed, hoping it doesn’t give me any tunneling problems
• The cap clipped off super cleanly and fell in one neat package to my ashtray
• The draw is a little bit open but it’s not overly airy so it should hold out well

Burn:
• The toasting was a bit difficult and uneven, most likely cause the foot had some holes in it
• Within the first inch I had a major canoeing problem that needed adjustment with my single torch lighter
• Ran into a pretty slight tunnel just past the halfway mark. Likely it was only the wrapper that wasn’t burning and it didn’t tunnel too far, a quick touch up fixed it
• A few more tunneling problems as I get to the end of the cigar

Smoke & Ash:
• The is a lot of smoke coming off this cigar right from the first draw
• The resting smoke is also fairly abundant and consistent
• The ash is pretty dark grey, almost black through the first couple inches but I’m blaming that on my relight at this point
• The ash seems a bit flaky but still holding on past the one inch mark, I will tap it off now before I make a mess
• The second ash had a little bit of a lighter grey tone to it but it flaked out like a blooming flower

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper on this cigar gives an almost sweet barnyard type of aroma, sounds weird to explain but that’s what I’m getting
• The foot has a bit of the barnyard and sweet aromas but it packs a fresh cedar aroma in there along with a touch of coffee
• Pre-light draw is giving me some sweet coffee notes and a very bitter chocolate mixed with that fresh cedar
• Initial draws have a nice mix of bitter and sweet chocolate and coffee. They take turns fighting for dominance
• The body has been mostly mild to start and the cedar is making an appearance now and then
• The slight bitterness I’m getting on the chocolate and coffee is very interesting, it’s not bad in any way. It’s almost like a very dark chocolate or a strong espresso without sugar, I’m enjoying it
• As I head into the halfway mark, there haven’t been too many change-ups. I think the bitterness has subsided and it’s getting a little sweeter, dominant flavors are still coffee, chocolate and some cedar
• Body remains mostly mild, and retrohale has been giving me a very soft bite with a smooth coffee flavored finish
• Luckily, the touch-ups for the non-burning wrapper tunnels haven’t affected the flavors all that much
• As I get to the last 3rd, the slight bitterness is back as well as some nutty flavors in there
• The cigar finished nicely with no harshness

Final Thoughts:
Overall I enjoyed this cigar. It was plagued with some burn issues but it doesn’t seem the flavors were affected by my touch ups. The flavors themselves were fairly straightforward but enjoyable if it’s the type of cigar you are looking for. This is a traditional maduro cigar so don’t expect a big kick of nicotine or a full bodied flavor here. I think it helps fill a niche that a lot of manufacturers are overlooking lately and helps balance out the EP Carrillo brand for more consumers. I found this to be an enjoyable and relaxing cigar that can be shared with new cigar smokers as well. I would recommend trying a couple of these if you can track them down. If you are someone who only smokes full bodied powerful smokes, then this probably isn’t the cigar for you.

Pairings:
As some of you may know, I recently took a little trip down south to Florida. While there, every place I went to was pushing a new brewery located in Tampa, not far from the historical cigar location of Ybor City. The brewery is called Cigar City Brewing and as you can guess, they have many cigar related, or cigar complimenting brews in their inventory. They seem to be making a huge splash in the area. Today’s brew in called Cubano-Style Espresso Brown Ale. The name pretty much explains what to expect when you drink this, it’s not a nice dark and slightly thick pour with a complimentary espresso flavor to it. It also mixes in some tasty malty flavors and drinks very smoothly. As for this pairing, I think it was perfect! Coffee flavors played a big part in both the EP Carrillo Maduro and in the chosen brew, which made them compliment each other perfectly. The cigar isn’t overly powerful so stick to a pairing that allows you to enjoy the flavors it has. Some good picks would include coffee, another similarly flavored brown ale, or perhaps even a dark soda.

In 2009, Ernesto leased a large factory and started his own namesake company, EPC Cigar Co. The company began production on a very limited line known as the E.P. Carrillo Edición Inaugural 2009. You can read Tony’s review of this cigar here. Soon after, Ernesto began producing a more readily available line called the E.P. Carrillo Short Run. Tony also reviewed that cigar here. You can also read more about the cigar company by visiting their website at www.epcarrillo.com

EPC Cigar Co.’s third entry into their growing line is their full production cigar named the E.P. Carrillo Core Line. This cigar is currently available in a variety of 6 sizes ranging from a short robusto up to a churchill. Today’s cigar is the toro size which is called the “Club 52” which refers to it’s ring gauge.

Cigar: EP Carrillo Core Line
Drink: Great Lakes Brewery Pumpkin Ale
Vitola: Club 52 (Toro 5.875 x 52)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican Republic
Price: Paid $6.00
Burn Time: 1.75 Hours

Construction:
• A nicely wrapped cigar with a light cinnamon brown colored wrapper
• The triple cap is extremely clean and blends in seamlessly
• The foot is well packed with one slightly darker spot
• There are a lot of veins on the wrapper but they are not prominent, just lightly visible. They make for a lightning strike pattern on the wrapper
• The cigar has a bit of squeeze to it but bounces back nicely, the middle of the cigar appears to be a bit softer then the foot or the head
• Cut was very clean and easy

Burn:
• Toasting was very nice and even
• Burn line started off a bit wavy but s straightening out
• After it corrected it’s wave it’s been burning razor sharp through the first couple of inches
• Past the half-way mark the burn is still going razor sharp
• The cigar went out near the end but it was likely because I was smoking it very slowly, if you draw at a normal pace I doubt this will go out on you

Smoke & Ash:
• Nice mouthful of smoke from every draw sits lightly on your tongue
• Resting smoke is lightly moderate making a nice image from a crisp line flowing into the sky, very nice
• Ash is rigid and bumpy but holding tightly together
• The almost white color of the ash looks very clean and appealing
• The resting smoke is very woodsy, not quite cedar, more just generic burning wood

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper has an earthy aroma mixed with a light nutmeg spice
• The foot has a mild sweetness complimented by some woodsy and spicy notes
• Pre-light draw is very woodsy, almost like taking a big inhale after chopping some wood
• Initial draws are very woodsy with a smooth spicy undertone, maybe some paprika and nutmeg mixture
• Considering the spicy flavor, the retrohale is actually fairly mild with no bite and a smooth woodsy finish
• Some creaminess is joining the mix after about 2 inches
• As I approach the half-way mark the retrohale is developing a mild bite, the smooth cedar finish is still there
• The flavor has pretty much stayed the same for most of the cigar, I was surprised not to get more dimensionality
• As I approached the nub of the cigar I started getting a slight secretion that made the cigar bitter, this is likely some over-humidification on my part
• Body of the cigar was a solid mild from start to finish and smooth the whole way through
• I believe this cigar may have been over-humidified a bit which caused the build-up at the foot

Final Thoughts:
Although my tasting notes don’t seem all that spectacular this was actually a pretty good cigar. I think it’s biggest downfall was the lack of changing flavors. It wasn’t incredibly dimensional or vastly complex but it was a good smoke. The construction was excellent leaving a perfect burn line from start to finish, the price is accessible and the flavors, although straightforward, were still quite tasty. It reminded me of some Cubans where the majority of the flavor was woodsy with some hints of spice and creaminess here and there. I would recommend this cigar to pretty much any level of smoker. I think it has something to satisfy an experienced smoker and something for a new smoker to enjoy easily. I’d definitely recommend picking up a few of these and trying for yourself. I think Ernesto Perez Carrillo has another solid smoke on his hands here although his first two releases may have this one beat. I also believe some age on these sticks might allow a little more complexity to build into the cigar, I’ll definitely revisit these in a couple months to see how they’ve changed.

Pairings:
Great Lakes Brewery is one of the few craft breweries that seem to be getting their seasonal ales into the Ontario beer market. Our restrictions here are quite high and that makes a lot of other seasonals rare to see. The Pumpkin Ale was a good amber brew with a bit of spice but I was expecting a little more spices or some sort of pumpkin flavors but they seemed very light and hard to pickup on. I also enjoyed an EP Carrillo Core Line Robusto with some Tawny port and found it to be a better match. Some coffee, Scotch, dark soda or a hefty stout would also make an excellent pairing here.

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!!