It’s only natural that we start of with a prize from Bonita Smoke shop. Not only are the girls at Bonita Smoke Shop the nicest, most original, and loving people in the business, but they have also been our biggest support as well as our biggest cheerleaders over the last few years. Jackie has gone above, and beyond for this blog day after day. Her support, kindness, and overall greatness is bar-none. Not only is she a huge supporter of this blog, but of just about everyone she encounters as well. With a wide range of expertise (including her cooking!) she has quickly became one of the most loved, and quite honestly one of the most special people in the industry. You can check out Bonita Smoke Shop’s site here, and follow them on twitter here.

A while back Bonita Smoke Shop had released their first house blend, the 18^th Anniversary, you can read our review here. This cigar was created by Jackie, and the hands of Willy Herrera of ETB Cigars. Back for another round, the two have teamed up again to bring you their newest creation, the “Time Warp”. I’ll let the words of Jackie introduce this cigar:

 “There is a moment in time for me, when I first light up a cigar, that is almost like entering a different time zone. One where the cares of the day can evaporate like the smoke from the cigar and I find myself in my own island of time. Time Warp.  We hope you’ll enjoy your own very special moment of time and pleasure with our newest cigar blend we developed with Willy. We chose a rare certified vintage tobacco which lends a medium/to full medium rich flavor. Next is a well aged flavorful Nicaraguan binder. Under that is a three leaf entubado style construction of the best tobaccos the world has to offer. Enjoy! Welcome to the Time Warp!”

Sounds pleasant eh? (EH?! Really? Stupid Daniel rubbing off on me.) Anyhow.. That being said, Jackie has been kind enough to offer up a full bundle of these cigars! That’s right. One lucky winner will get a full bundle of the Time Warp all to themselves.

What do you need to do? Simple. Take a picture of yourself and anything involving time. It could be you and your favorite watch, your Felix the cat clock, what time you wake up in the morning. Anything, get creative! Once you do that you can either post the picture on our facebook wall, tweet it to “@tonycasas” with the hashtag #casasfumando or email it to me directly at (casasfumando@gmail.com). We will post the pictures up tomorrow along with one winner, at random to receive the prize.

Again, this is limited the US and Canada only. Must be 18 years or older.

Now get to it!

The post Anniversary Contest Day #1 – Bonita Smoke Shop appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: I will jump right into the press release, it pretty much sums up Cremo’s history:

The Original Cremo Cigar, an icon of early America and the most successful cigar brand of the early 20th century, made a commitment to providing their customers with value. The company which rose out of beautiful Manhattan, New York City attained the largest sales of any cigar in its class. The brand was also famously linked to musician Bing Crosby in the early days of Broadcasting Radio.

With a shift in the way cigars were made, factories moved south and all was lost… Now in the 21st century a new dawn awaits. After new buildings were built, and old ones were torn down, a piece of history remained. Now, that piece has been found. Walter Santiago, better known as “Lilo”, a native New Yorker, decided that this amazing company, a staple in the Cigar World, should rise from its ashes.

With the revival of Crémo, the tradition continues with taste and quality as well as class. This was found in El Titan de Bronze (ETB) cigar factory, makers of the “Redemption”, which has scored 88 in Cigar Aficionado and 90 in Cigar Snob. Lilo, along with ETB owner Sandy Cobas and Master Blender Willy Herrera (now with Drew Estate), created an ultra-boutique cigar of masterful construction and excellent flavor.

The factory located in Miami’s famed Calle Ocho, known best for its old school Cuban entubado techniques, is a family owned and operated “fabriquita” which employs level 9 rollers from Cuba, who have worked for Cohiba, Romeo y Julieta, Corona and Partagas. These torcedores (cigar rollers), like a painter to a canvas, handcraft each cigar with meticulous detail.

There you have it. One thing to note is the Cremo doesn’t describe the smoke. Cremo is actually the first personal translation of “Cremar” or “To Smoke”. Thanks Cigar Inspector for pointing that out. Anyways, the blend is composed of a Habano wrapper (not sure if its Dominican or Nicaraguan), a Nicaraguan Binder, and mixed Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. The cigar is available in three different sizes: The Excelsior (5 x 50), the Magnum Opus (5.75 x 46), and the Intrepidus (6 x 52) and run between $8 – $9 a stick.

Size: 5×50  –  Wrapper: Habano  –  Binder: Nicaraguan  –  Filler: Dominican/Nicaraguan

Prelight: The Cremo Classic is a fantastically constructed cigar. The wrapper starts with this almost perfectly smooth, consistent milk chocolate brown. It almost looks like a Connecticut shade wrap, and I thought it was for a while.  There is only one smaller vein running the length of the body of the cigar which leads up to the round, triple wrapped cap. The band is a simple, elegant manila and silver color with the words “Cremo” and “ Handcrafted in little Havana” in dark brown. The cigar is firm to the touch and the only soft spot I was able to find was right at the foot.

The wrapper gives off a very sweet, cedar aroma while the foot of the cigar carries a really nice mixture of spice and nuts with some interesting floral notes. The cap clipped off extremely easy using my handy dandy “V” cutter. The cold draw produces this just awesome profile full of sweet cedar, cinnamon, and even some nutmeg. It tastes much like a Christmas treat!

First Smoke: I was shocked to be greeting with a bunch of upfront pepper from my initial draws on this Cremo cigar. It’s not overpowering, I just didn’t except it to be there. Under the pepper lies a bunch of nutty, cinnamon and cedar flavors. I was expecting a much smoother, milder start but this Cremo Classic actually packs some flavor!  Even the aftertaste is great leaving behind a ton of cedar and tobacco. The draw is wide open and kicks out lots of thick smoke without being too loose. The Cremo Classic gives off just a bit of stationary smoke, but it smells really neat, kind of like roasted nuts. The burnline is pretty wavy, but not too concerning as I think it will correct itself as I continue on with this cigar.  The ash is a bit flaky, medium and dark grey. The ash held on for about in inch before falling into my ashtray. Again, ashtray, not my lap. Success!

Halfway There: The pepper has started to fade into the second third of this Cremo Classic. Once the pepper faded the cigar really smoothed and balanced out. The main flavor is now this soft cedar, sweet nutmeg, and cashew.  The retrohale on this cigar is badass. It coats my nasal passage with a really smooth cedar with just a touch of spice. The burnline has since completely corrected itself as I assumed it would and I am feeling almost no nicotine kick at this point.

Finish: The body ramped up into the final third of this Cremo Classic. I started to feel only a slight nicotine kick while the cigar remained smooth and creamy down to the nub. The main flavors were still that cedar, nut, and sweet tobacco but a lot of the spices that I picked up in the first third made a brief comeback. All in all it took a little over and hour to take this cigar down to the nub. It needed absolutely no touch-ups or relights.

Overview: The Cremo Classic surprised me with it’s bold flavors and it’s overall smooth profile. I was expecting something super mild and it wasn’t anything like that. Great flavors, amazing construction, and an overall good cigar at a great price. This is a great cigar for the seasoned cigar smoker and a perfect cigar for the novice looking for a good cigar that won’t break the bank.

Pairing: I paired this cigar was a very easy to find, affordable, and wonderful winter seasonal. Yes, I stepped out of my Belgian kick for this one, pairing the Cremo Classic with some Samuel Adams Winter Lager. Sam Adams winter lager is brewed at the infamous Boston Brewing Company and clocks in at 5.5% ABV.  Sam Adams winter lager bears the same characteristics as most winter brews, smooth, fruity, caramel, deep amber beer only with a few extra hops which really helps to bring out the flavor without being too overpowering. This beer pairs wonderful with any smooth cigar such as the Cremo. This cigar would also go perfect with your favorite coffee or tea.

The post Cremo Classic Excelsior Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

I am still aiming to get this review as well as my last blind cigar review from Brooks done this week, but I am actually undergoing surgery on Tuesday for my Umbilical Hernia I have had since I was a kid. It screwed up pretty bad on me the last few years, especially the last month and I am glad to finally get it over with. So depending on my recovery I may, or may not get to the last blind review this week. Wish me luck!

The Good Stuff: The Casa Miranda is among two new releases that Miami Cigar rolled out this year at IPCPR. Along with the Limited Release of the Nestor Miranda Gran Reserva, the Casa Miranda made it’s debut last month and have been circling the internet-waves ever since. The Casa Miranda is one of the only cigars in Miami Cigar’s portfolio that is not rolled by Pepin. In fact, the Casa Miranda boasts that it is a 100% USA made cigar, even down to the box. This does not mean that the tobacco is grown here in the US, it just means everything was constructed here.

The Casa Miranda is blended by Willy Herrera of ETB Cigars/Drew Estate and hand rolled on Calle Ocho in Miami by only Level 9 certified rollers. Willy has been on a hot streak lately and made news when he announced his new found partnership with Drew Estate about a month or so back. Expect good things from this guy.

The Casa Miranda is composed of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and filler. The cigar will be released in three sizes; The Robusto, The Toro, and the Belicoso ranging from $10 – $12 a stick. I got these from Bonita Smoke Shop. She always has the good stuff so head over before they sell out!

Size: Toro 6 x 52  –  Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano  –  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan

Prelight: Just by taking one look at the artwork on the band you can tell this is a different type of Nestor Miranda cigar. The band on the Casa Miranda is a very elegant, almost wine-label looking design. Creamy gold and beige accents surround a small cottage with the words “Casa Miranda – Chapter One” in scripted on the front and “Hand crafted in Miami” on the sides. The band sits elegantly on this stunning looking cigar. Willy is a stickler for perfect construction and the Casa Miranda is no exception. The wrapper starts off with just a perfectly consistent, toothy, medium brown color. There are a few vein in the thick body leading up to the seamless, round, double cap.  This cigar has a hell of a lot of weight to it and gives a whole lot of resistance when pressed between my fingers. The cigar bears no soft spots and in fact, gets increasingly more firm as I approach the cap. The wrapper of the cigar gives off a really mild woodsy aroma with just a slight bite of spice at the end where as the foot of the cigar boasts almost nothing but a strong spice with some woodsy aromas laying underneath. The Casa Miranda was easily clipped using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw on this cigar was interesting. The Casa Miranda gave out this really neat woodsy, honey, and strong tobacco flavor that left a little burning sensation on my lips from the spice. In the cold draw, really?! We’ll have to see just how spicy this cigar is once we start smoking it.

First Smoke: As expected, the Casa Miranda started off with a blast of pepper right off the bat. What I didn’t expect was for the pepper to fade so quickly, just after the first few draws. Once the pepper suppressed I was left with a really bold, woodsy flavor with some nice spice, honey, and this citrusy-lemon taste. The draw is just ridiculously easy, but not too loose, kicking out a nice cloud of smoke with every puff. The stationary smoke on this Casa Miranda is great, lots of it and it seriously smells like a burning fireplace. The burnline has some very slight waves, nothing too concerning, and leaves behind a trail of almost perfect, compact, white ash. The ash held on, despite the wind, for well over an inch before giving way. And by “giving way” I mean falling into my shoe. No joke.. ughh…

Halfway There: Much more of the wood flavors have come into play during the second third of this Casa Miranda. I’d like to say they are cedareasue but the spice that accompanies the woodsy flavors puts a neat little spin on them making for a much more deeper flavor. The honey has faded at this point and the spice is still there as well as some of the citrus notes, but I’m also getting this strange little maple flavor on the aftertaste. The retrohale on this cigar is absolutely wonderful coating with a very smooth, creamy woodsy prime. I am not really feeling much nicotine from this cigar, but the body is up there and a bit more than I am used to when it comes to Nestor Miranda cigars. The burnline is still a bit wavy, but I haven’t needed to touch it up at all.

Finish: As the body ramps up a bit into the final third of this Nestor Miranda Casa Miranda, the flavors start to level off and become much smoother and creamier. The main flavor is still the woodsy flavor while the sweetness and most of the citrus has dropped off leaving nothing but a faint spice mixed in with a little bit of espresso. These wasn’t any harshness built up in this cigar, even going into the final inch. I do however feel just a nice little nicotine kick from it.

Overview: You won’t hear me say this often but I think some age on this cigar will do it wonders. It’s a great cigar as it is, but with a little age it may just add that little somethin’ something’ that will really bring this cigar to a whole new level. It was an interesting departure smoking a non-Pepin blended Nestor Miranda and I think they made a very wise decision having Willy blend this cigar for them. He’s been making great things lately and the Casa Miranda is just another notch in his belt. Well balanced with an overall creamy flavor profile, plus the increased body really made this cigar an enjoyable experience with me. This is very box worthy, and there is no doubt in my mind it will be in high demand. Again, if you are looking for these Jackie over at Bonita Smoke Shop already has them, and like I said before, she is one of the best in the business and will get you taken care of.

Pairing: I decided to go for another risky pairing. This Casa Miranda was paired with Ichtegem’s Grand Crew Flemish Red Ale. Brewed at the Brouwerij Strubbe in Belgium this Flanders Red Ale style beer comes in at a modest 6.5% ABV. Most people have no idea what a Flander’s Red Ale style beer is. Basically it’s a sour beer and with it comes a very unique, but acquired taste. The beer pours a dark, reddish brown but tastes much like old orange, apple, and lemon roasted over caramel malt. It’s not for the faint of heart. There more woody flavor profile in the Casa Miranda gave an amazing balance with the sour notes of the beer and really brought the cigar to another level. This cigar would go great with apple juice, a strong brown ale, or some nice scotch.

The post Nestor Miranda – Casa Miranda Toro Cigar Review appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

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!

The post Bonita Smoke Shop’s 18th Anniversary Review and Giveaway appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.