The Good Stuff:

Skip Martin, founder of RoMa Craft tobac announced earlier this year that our beloved Cromagnon would be undergoing a change. Due to tobacco sourcing limitations the company was forced to swap the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with a Pennsylvanian Broadleaf. The Clovis features the same blend as this version of the Cromagnon: a hybrid Sumatran binder over Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. It still carries the updated wrapper, only the Pennsylvanian Broadleaf is separated, barber pole style with an Ecuadorian Candela leaf. The cigar is offered in a single “EMH” 5 x 56 format. The cigar comes packaged in boxes of 24 running $13.15 per cigar with only 500 boxes being produced. I purchased mine over from Small Batch cigar.

• Size: 5 x 56
• Wrapper: Pennsylvania Broadleaf / Ecuadorian Candela
• Binder: Sumatra Hybrid
• Filler: Dominican Republic and Nicaraguan
• Price: $13.15
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium/Full

Prelight:

The RoMa Craft Tobac Cromagnon Clovis starts out with the obvious standout characteristic of its very dark brown and army green barber pole style wrapper. The brown is mostly consistent with a few lighter areas around the tobacco’s natural veining while the green is so consistent it almost looks like plastic. The construction on this cigar is flawless as the wrapper is not only perfectly separated but laid over itself seamlessly. The wrapper’s texture is very toothy and very gritty with a good amount of oil coating it. The wrapper is thick and dense while the cigar as a whole is very hard and solid leading up to its round, double-wrapped cap. The cigar is then polished off with the updated Cromagnon wrapper which still carries the same standard black and white pair with an updated silver text on the Cromagnon embossing.

The wrapper on the RoMa Craft Tobac Cromagnon Clovis gives off a very musky, woodsy aroma with a light floral character while the foot of the cigar is more earthy with notes of spice and natural tobacco. The cap took a bit to cut due to its thickness. The cold draw produces loads of woodsy and oaky notes with musk and a touch of sweetness.

First Third:

The RoMa Craft Tobac Cromagnon Clovis starts out with a nice little black pepper punch which fades very quickly allowing the cigar to release notes of strong cedar and musk over lighter notes of dark chocolate, light espresso and a dry earthiness. There is also a nice herbal tea note in there that is trying to fight its way through the flavor profile. The draw is perfect. Each puff kicks out a good amount of thick, white smoke which dissipates very quickly while the cigar releases almost not stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is rock solid and sharp leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted light gray ash which held on for almost an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the RoMa Craft Tobac Cromagnon Clovis and the cedar and musk have really taken over. The cedar flavor is remarkable. Under the woodsy flavors I find the same rich, dark chocolate, espresso and just a solid dryness. There isn’t much sweetness in this profile at all. The retrohale really pumps up the cedar to a whole other level. I close out the second third with only a minor nicotine kick which is surprising considering how slow this cigar burns.

Finish:

The final third of the RoMa Craft Tobac Cromagnon Clovis is where the body of the cigar really ramps up. First that mild black pepper is back and with force. Underneath is it very bold musk and cedar over dry, deep dark chocolate and espresso and the floral earthy flavors that have been poking in and out are very evident now. It took me almost 2 hours to smoke this slow burning cigar down to the nub. There was no harshness, no extended heat and no sap. The cigar burned perfect from start to finish with no help needed from my torch as I close out with a decent little nicotine hit.

Overview:

I have always loved the Cromagnon from the first time I smoked it in Skip’s initial release sampler packs. To this day I keep my humidor stocked with them. When Skip announced the blend changed I didn’t really worry much, if anything I got excited. I know the tobaccos are both very similar, but I also know that Skip wouldn’t have made the change if he didn’t think it was worthy to carry the same Cromagnon moniker. I’ll probably end up copying that portion of the overview over when I review the standard new release, but I figured it applied here too. Now the Clovis carries a very similar experience only there are some lighter herbal notes I am able to pick up which differentiate it from the standard Cromagnon. Or maybe it’s a placebo. Either way I do feel there are little nuances that make the cigar different. While it’s a bit pricey and hard to find, it’s a worth cigar if you do find it and urge you to pick it up as it won’t be around for very long as I already had a hard time getting my hands on it.

The post RoMa Craft Tobac Cromagnon Clovis EMH appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

The RoMa Craft Tobac Quinquagenario was created to celebrate the birthday of my boy and RoMa Craft Tobac fonder, Skip Martin. While the name may seem a bit wild to those who aren’t too fluent, it roughly translates to someone who is in their 50’s which is very fitting. Another special addition to the celebratory blend is the fact that Skip collaborated with the famous blender E.P. Carrillo to create the blend. Skip made multiple trips to the Dominican Republic to work with E.P. Carrillo which Skip credits to allowing him to learn more about Sumtran-see wrappers from Ecuador. This ultimately helped him create one of RoMa Craft’s new releases the Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 which we also reviewed recently. the Quinquagenario features an Ecuadorian Sumatran wrapper over a Dominican binder and filler tobaccos from the Dominican Republic. The cigar is offered in a single 5 x 50 format which comes packaged in boxes of 24 with only 2,000 boxes being released, running $15 per stick. I purchased a handful of these over from Mardo Cigars.

• Size: 5 x 50
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
• Binder: Dominican Republic
• Filler: Dominican Republic
• Body: Medium
• Strength: Medium
• Price: $15

Prelight:

The RoMa Craft Tobac Quinquagenario starts out with a very consistent, milk-chocolate brown wrapper. There really aren’t any color variations found throughout the wrapper. Speaking of the wrapper, its texture is mostly smooth with some very light grit and only a light layer of oil. The wrapper feels a bit thin and brittle so I don’t handle it too harshly as I find no softspots or trouble areas. The wrapper Carris some lighter veins as it’s laid perfectly over itself leading up to the cigar’s round, triple-wrapped cap. Like all RoMa Craft cigars, it’s evident that a lot of care went into developing the beautiful, and elegant navy blue (Skip was in the Navy right?) and white band with the Quinquaguagenario script embossed in silver across the front. Gotta love the paper stock he uses on all his releases.

The wrapper on the RoMa Craft Tobac Quinquagenario gives off some light honey and molasses aromas while the foot of the cigar is very earthy with some great brown sugar notes over natural tobacco. The cap cut like button under my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces notes of honey, orange citrus, and loads of natural tobacco.

First Third:

The RoMa Craft Tobac Quinquagenario leads with honey, cashew, and a great musk over lighter notes of citrus, vanilla, and light coffee. There is a tiny bit of pepper that just teases my lips a bit. The draw is stupendous. Maybe I have had bad luck lately, or maybe this thing is just rolled perfectly but the smallest of puffs kicks out the perfect amount of very thick, very dense smoke which sticks around for a pretty long time before dissipating while the cigar releases a ton of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burnline is very even and very thin leaving behind a very tightly compacted trail of white and light gray ash which held on for about 3/4 of an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the RoMa Craft Tobac Quinquagenario and an awesome sweetness as really made it’s way to the forefront of the cigar creating a wonderful graham-cracker flavor that is leading the way back by the honey, cashew, and musk with backing notes of vanilla and creamed coffee. The retrohale brings the citrus back out along with a great little spice that pairs really well with the graham cracker. The cigar is still burning like a champ as I close out the second third with absolutely no signs of nicotine.

Finish:

The final third of the RoMa Craft Tobac Quinquagenario showcases an awesome dark chocolate flavor that I didn’t really pick up until now. The Dark chocolate has taken center stage at this point backed by graham cracker, cashew and musk making a very enjoyable, yet smooth flavor profile. I took me an hour and twenty minutes to take this down to the nub and I didn’t want it to end. I experienced no harshness, nor extended heat. The cigar actually left me with zero nicotine kick as well which isn’t something I find in most RoMa Craft blends.

Overview:

A big part of a collaborative effort is to make sure each contributor leaves behind their personal mark and that’s exactly the case in the Quinquagenario. While I am used to the deep, rich and bold flavors skip bakes into each one how blends, this cigar has a bit of a finer touch to it which is likely attributed to E.P. Carrilo’s touch. It’s different for sure, but incredibly enjoyable. The flavor profile is refined, yet complex despite being creamy if that makes any sense. It’s a cigar you don’t have to thing about. It’s just good as a great cigar should be. I only have one more of these left, and plan on picking up a few more to keep around as I really enjoyed it and want to make sure they aren’t sold out before I have a chance to get my hands on more.

The post RoMa Craft Tobac Quinquagenario appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

Skip Martin, founder of RoMa Craft Tobacco unveiled the newest addition to the Intemperance, the Volstead VO 1920 at this year’s PCA show in Las Vegas. Produced at the Fábrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño S.A. in Nicaragua, the blend features an Ecuadorian Sumatra Hybrid wrapper over a Mexican San Andres binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. The Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 is offered in the following regular production formats: Izzy Einstein (4 x 46), Belle Linvingstone (4 1/2 x 52), Bill McCoy (5 x 50), George Remus (5 x 56), and the Roy Olmstead (5 1/2 x 54 Belicoso). Each comes packaged in boxes of 24 with the exception of the Izzy which comes packaged in boxes of 30. The regular production lines range between $6.75 and $9.25 per stick. In addition to the regular production lines the company is also releasing six different limited-production formats: Blind Pig (8.25), Senator Volstead (5 x 50), Noble Experiment (5 x 56), Revenuer (5 3/4 x 46), Gran Perfecto (5 5/8 x 60), and the Judas Hole (6 1/2 x 44). Each limited production format comes packaged in boxes of 12 except the Bling Pig and Revenuer which comes in boxes of 24. The limited production releases range between $8.25 and $13 per stick. I purchased mine from our friends over at Neptune Cigars.

• Size: 5 x 56
• Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra Hybrid
• Binder: Mexican San Andres
• Filler: Nicaraguan & Dominican Corojo
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium
• Price: $9.50

Prelight:

The RoMa Craft Tobac Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 starts out with a beautiful, milk-chocolate brown wrapper that’s very consistent in color except for a few darker areas around the cap of the cigar. The wrapper’s texture is slightly toothy and slightly oily. There are some smaller veins running through the cigar’s body. The wrapper itself feels a bit thin and delicate while the cigar is packed tightly and has a great weight to it. There are no soft spots to be found throughout the cigar. There is a very small, unfinished foot area that exposes some of the cigar’s binder/filler. The wrapper is laid seamlessly over cigar’s soft box-pressed body leading up to its round, double-wrapped cap. The cigar is then polished off with the standard, elegant white and brown Intemperance band along with an additional, reversed color band featuring the Volstead 1920 logo embossed across the front. One note I need to make is the quality of paper stock used on all RoMa Craft’s cigars. It’s exceptional.

The wrapper on the RoMa Craft Tobac Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 gives off a sweet mixture of tobacco and honey aromas while the foot of the cigar is much more musky with notes of natural tobacco over soft spice and a bit of sweetness. The cap cut clean and easily using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces notes of honey and cinnamon over loads of musky tobacco.

First Third:

The RoMa Craft Tobac Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 starts off with a soft blast of black pepper which fades almost instantly allowing the cigar to release bold notes of cedar musk and honey over lighter notes of pecan, cinnamon, espresso and vanilla, with a great little nutmeg aftertaste. It kind of reminds me of a lightly Christmas-flavored coffee drink and I totally dig it. The draw is absolutely perfect as each little puff kicks out huge clouds of thick, white smoke which take a white to dissipate while the cigar releases a good amount of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. As a quick side note that I know my readers have heard my play on repeat since the beginning of time: I absolutely love how comfortable soft box-pressed cigars are in both my hand and my mouth. I with we’d see them a lot more often. The burn line is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted medium gray ash which held on for about 3/4 of an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the RoMa Craft Tobac Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 the flavor profile is dominated by musk and honey with bold notes of espresso and cinnamon and light notes of pecan, raisin, and vanilla. There is also this really crazy spearmint flavor that sneaks into the aftertaste every once in a while. I don’t pick I up often at all. The retorhale brings out more spice and a little bit of black pepper. Considering how much I enjoy the flavor profile of this cigar as it sits, I don’t find myself doing it too often. The cigar is still burning like a champ and I close out the second third with nothing in terms of a nicotine kick.

Finish:

The body of the RoMa Craft Tobac Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 has really ramped up now as it sits well in the full-bodied arena. The musk and honey still lead the charge with a more balanced mixtures of vanilla, cinnamon and raisin at this point. The cigar burned much slower than I anticipated which I am happy about as it took me almost 2 hours to take it down to the nub. I experienced no harshness nor any extended heat. I never once had to reach for my torch to touch-up or relight my cigar as it burned flawless from start to finish. I close out with only a very minor nicotine hit.

Overview:

There aren’t too many brands out there currently that kick out stellar releases one after another like RoMa Craft. I honestly don’t think I have ever come across a RoMa Craft I didn’t just enjoy, but thoroughly enjoy and the Volstead VO 1920 is no exception. The flavor profile is balanced, yet complex enough to keep me entertained. The profile itself marries up really well with my subjective palate as I really enjoyed the flavors. The construction was top-notch and the price is very affordable and the full-production releases will always be easily available. This makes this a perfect, box-worthy cigar that will find its way into my everyday rotation.

The post RoMa Craft Tobac Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Noble Experiment appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

By now you should all be familiar with the Cromagnon line from RoMa Craft Tobac as it was the debut blend that launched the company into what it has become today. Back in 2013 the line was expanded with the addition of a Candela version of the cigar and this year it was expanded once again with an extremely limited production blend of a Candela/Broadleaf wrapped cigar called the “Black Irish”. The Black Irish is offered in a single 5 x 56 format and starts out with a Connecticut Broadleaf / Candela barber pole style wrapper over a Cameroon binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The blend is very difficult to find and I was lucky enough to nab mine from a buddy who I’m pretty sure had a hard time parting with them (Thanks Jason!). 

Size: 5 x 56
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf / Candela
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Nicaraguan (Esteli. Condega, and Ligero from a small farm in Esteli on the Honduran border)
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Mefium/Full
Price: $10.99
Pairing: Belching Beaver Good Morning Beautiful (Brown Ale 5.5% ABV)

Prelight:

The obvious stand-out characteristic of the Black Irish is the beautiful barber-pole style wrapper on the cigar where the Connecticut Broadleaf and Candela wrappers overlap each other giving a candy-cane style effect. The Broadleaf is a beautiful dark, consistent brown and the small amount of Candela is an olive green. The construction on the cigar is flawless as the wrapper is laid seamlessly over itself. The wrapper’s texture is pretty toothy with a good amount of oil while the candela portion is a bit smoother than the broadleaf. The wrappers feel very dense and hard while the cigar as a while is firm to the touch with no soft spots leading up to the cigar’s rounded double-cap. The cigar is then polished off with the standard, elegant, black white Cromagnon band which I absolutely love. The band features an embossed “Cromagnon” logo in the front and a small, white Roma Craft Tobac logo in the back. Band design doesn’t get much cleaner than this. 

The wrapper on the Black Irish gives off some great spice aromas, sweetness, and coconut while the foot of the cigar carries much more spice, pepper, musk, and natural tobacco scents. The cap cut clean and easily using my double bladed Xikar XO cutter. The cold draw produces some great musk, pepper, spice, and oaty flavors. 

First Third:

The Roma Craft Tobac Cromagnon Black Irish starts out with a subtle little black pepper zing, just enough to tease my tongue before transitioning into a melody of sweet chocolate and coffee notes back by some herbal tea type flavors, coconut, spice and musk. The draw on this bad boy is phenomenal. Each tiny little puff kicks out a whole mess of thick white smoke which hangs around for a considerable amount of time before dissipating. The cigar also releases a pretty fair amount of stationary smoke as the oils burn from the wrapper while the cigar rests in my ashtray. The burn line is very even and razor thin leaving behind a trail of compacted medium gray ash which held on for almost an inch before falling into my ashtray. 

Second Third:

As I continue into the second third of the Roma Craft Tobac Cromagnon Black Irish the chocolate and coconut really begin to take center stage backed by sweet brown sugar, musk, black tea, and spice. The flavor profile is phenomenal. I find retrohaling the cigar really brings out the musk and spice while not being too harsh on the nasal passage. The cigar is still burning perfectly without any help from my torch as I close out the second third with nothing in terms of nicotine. 

Finish:

Into the final third of the RoMa Craft Tobac Black Irish and the flavors continue to pour out pure awesomeness. The chocolate and coconut still lead the charge, the tea has became much more prominent while the backing flavors are a subtle mixture of musk, spice, and a bit of floral pings here and there. The cigar took me almost two hours to take down to the nub and I experienced absolutely no harshness, nor extended heat while it burned flawlessly from start to finish and I never once had to reach for my torch to touch-up or relight my cigar. 

Overview:

I have been a long-time fan of RoMa Craft Tobac’s releases and I have to be honest hear, the Black Irish is probably one of the best cigars I have smoked from the team. The flavor profile is unique, and incredible while the cigar sports perfect construction, and the price point is about where you would expect it to be. I bet you can guess that my only gripe is that these are pretty near impossible to find. So if anyone has been hoarding onto these… let me know.. now please.  

Pairing:

Belching Beaver’s Good Morning Beautiful is one of a series of releases the brewery has created to celebrate the Deftones. This 5.5% ABV brown ale is brewed along with coffee, coconut, and maple syrup. The beer leads with a very light body with hints of coconut, malt, chocolate and really light coffee with an incredibly thin mouthfeel before finishing clean with more malt and coffee. The beer itself is a bit lacking and I really expected more flavor for it. If it I had to pair this cigar again I’d toss in a heavy imperial stout, sweet bourbon, or even some sweet iced black tea.

The post RoMa Craft Tobac Cromagnon Black Irish appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff:

The RoMa Craft Tobac Neanderthal is the first full-production line that we’ve seen from them in quite sometime (you can check out some of our past RoMa Craft Tobac reviews here: (CroMagnon, Aquitaine, La Campana de Panama Soberana) . In fact, word of the Neanderthal product hit the cigar community back in 2013. In 2014 the RoMa Craft offered samples of the Neanderthal at the IPCPR trade show in Las Vegas, and now the blend we all have been waiting for has finally started to creep into shops and we’ve been dying to get our hands on them. Skip Martin, co-founder of RoMa Craft, created the Neanderthal along with Esteban Disla at the Nica Sueño Factory in Nicaragua. The goal was to create a full-strength cigar that also delivers in the flavor department. Coop, over at Cigar Coop had some great information on just how Skip managed to accomplish this:

RoMa Craft Tobac co-founder Skip Martin discussed details of this cigar on the 4/18/14 edition of Stogie Geeks. As Martin was becoming more experienced with the blending process, he discovered that increasing the strength of the blend through adding ligero is something that really did work. At the same time, Martin learned that different tobaccos have different nicotine levels. He was introduced to a Pennsylvania Double Ligero leaf known as Green River Valley Sucker One (GR-S1). This is a regrowth leaf from Pennsylvania broadleaf that has a natural higher nicotine level (between 9% to 13% – significant higher than the 5% – 6% found in Esteli, Ligero). Using this leaf allowed Martin to increase the blend’s strength. Various filler tobaccos were then added to balance out the flavor and aroma.

The blend consists of the Pennsylvania Double Ligero mentioned above, Nicaraguan leaf from the Condega, Jalapa, Pueblo Nuevo, and Esteli regions as well as some Dominican Republic tobacco for the fillers along with a U.S. Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro Binder, and a Mexican San Andreas Maduro Wrapper. The RoMa Craft Tobac Neanderthal is available in a single, complicated to manufacture, full-production format called the “HN” which stands for “Homo Neanderthalensis”. The HN is a 5 x 52/58 figurado with a completely flat cap.

Along with the standard format, the RoMa Craft Neanderthal is also offered in a 4 1/2 x 52 vitola called the “SGP” or “Shallow Gene Pool” which is a store exclusive limited to Serious Cigars in Houston and Riverside Cigar Lounge in Indiana which will also be available as an event exclusive. While I don’t know exactly what the packaging and prices on the SGP will be, the HN comes packaged in boxes of 50 and runs $12 a stick. I picked mine up at Cigar Hustler who quickly shipped them out to me, and still has them in stock.

Size: 5 x 52/58
Wrapper: Mexican San Andreas Maduro
Binder: U.S. Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Filler: Pennsylvania Double Ligero (GR-S1), Nicaraguan (Condega, Jalapa, Pueblo Nuevo, Esteli), Dominican Republic (Olor)
Body: Full
Strength: Full
Price: $12
Pairing: Prairie Artisan Ales Barrel Aged Bomb! (Double Stout 11.2% ABV)

Prelight:

As I stated above, the RoMa Craft Tobac Neanderthal is far from a traditional format. The cigar starts with a completely dead-flat cap and a 52 ring gauge which widens out to 58 towards the foot of the cigar before quickly tapering back in a bit just before the foot. The wrapper on the RoMa Craft Tobac Neanderthal is a beautiful, consistent, dark brown with a few darker areas around the foot of the cigar, and running parallel to the larger vein that runs the course of the cigar’s body. The texture is a slightly oily and very beady with a lot of rough tooth while the wrapper itself feels extremely dense and thick. Hell, the whole cigar feels so heavy I could probably knock someone out with it if I hit them over the head with it. That being said, there aren’t any soft spots whatsoever as the bell of the cigar leads up to the flat cap. The boxes of these cigars actually come with a razor blade to aid in the clipping of the cap. The RoMa Craft Neanderthal is polished off with the beautiful letter-pressed bands I absolutely love. This one is a light tan and features the word “neanderthal” embossed in the front and a small RoMa Craft Tobac crest in white on the back.

The wrapper on the RoMa Craft Tobac Neanderthal gives of some nice oaky aromas while the foot of the cigar is much more natural with some damp tobacco and pepper scents. The cap was a bit difficult to line up properly using my double bladed Palio cutter. If I had a razor blade similar to those that came in the box that would have been my weapon of choice, but I made do and after a bit of precision work I cut just a tiny sliver off the cap, exposing the filler tobacco. Skip’s a one man army trying to teach people how to properly cut cigars. The cold draw produces a really meaty mixture of plum, oak and spice with some natural tobacco mixed in.

First Third:

The RoMa Craft Tobac Neanderthal starts out with a bang leading me in with some bold cayenne pepper, strong oak, plum, pecan and spice. The pepper was so strong it would leave my lips and tongue tingling for a few seconds after every round of draws. It took about a quarter inch for the pepper to fade out and as it did more and more of that oaky goodness came out. Despite the cigar being packed with tobacco the draw was absolutely perfect. Each tiny puff kicked out massive clouds of thick, white smoke. The cigar let loose a good amount of stationary smoke as well as the cigar rested in my ashtray. The burn line had one good sized wave but it started to correct itself as I neared the end of the first third. The ash left behind was tightly compacted, dark and medium gray, and held on for about an inch and a quarter before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

The RoMa Craft Tobac Neanderthal continues to impress with the sheer amount of flavors being pumped out. The oak is still leading the way with some dark chocolate, coffee, pecan, spice, plum, and some slight char and sweetness. It’s got some bite too as I started to feel the nicotine about halfway in. The retrohale is way sharp coating my nasal passage with a bit too much cayenne pepper backed by some of the oak I pick up on the standard draw. As I suspected the burn line has fixed itself and is now burning razor thin, and perfectly even.

Final:

Again, the flavors are killing it into the final third of the RoMa Craft Tobac Neanderthal. The oak is still taking center stage back by lots of spice, chocolate, and coffee. There is still some slight spice and sweetness mixed in as well. After that wave in the first third, the cigar has burned perfectly and razor thin without any extra help from my torch. Usually, stronger cigars tend to build up a good amount of harshness towards the end of the smoke, but after the 2 hours it took to take this bad boy down to the nub it was clean and smooth, still boasting a ton of flavor and a great deal of strength. I walked away from this cigar with a nice nicotine kick.

Overview:

Skip has just added to an already stacked arsenal. Out of the gate I expected the RoMa Craft cigars to have a bit more bite than they had when they first launched (mostly due to Skip’s love for full-bodied, full-strength cigars), but was surprised with the more mild approach. It’s not a bad thing by any means as I’ve been a huge fan of each of the past sticks in their portfolio, but they delivered a powerhouse cigar with great balance, and bold flavors with the Neanderthal. This cigar comes out of the gate firing on all cylinders and doesn’t give up until your fingertips are burning. At $12 a pop it’s not the most affordable cigar out there, but it’s more than justified and very box worthy. Being that the Neanderthal is a full-production line I can see it having a permanent place in my regular rotation for a very long time. The Aquitaine has been my favorite RoMa Craft Tobac stick for a very long time, but it now has some competition. Now if we could just get them in a shop here locally, that would be great.

Pairing:

A little nod here to Skip and his love for Prairie Artisan’s stouts. The first time I smoked a Neanderthal I knew I wanted to pair with something that would really match up to the bold oak I encountered throughout the cigar. There was little doubt in my mind that the Barrel Aged Bomb! from Prairie Artisan Ales would be the perfect pair. Brewed at the Prairie Artisan Brewery in Oklahoma this 11.2% ABV imperial Stout is aged in Balcones Distilling whiskey barrels with coffee, cacao, and vanilla beans and chilies added. The Barrel Aged Bomb! starts out with lots of sweetness, vanilla, chocolate, and malt with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with more sweet milk, chocolate, a bit of booze, spice and a nice bourbon aftertaste. What more can I really say, it was a match made in heaven. I think the RoMa Craft Tobac Neanderthal would also pair wonderfully with just about any big stout, a Belgian quad, or a few fingers of bourbon.

The post RoMa Craft Tobac Neanderthal appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: As I said, the Aquitaine Blockhead is a shop exclusive to Monte’s in Albuquerque and used to be only available at events. The Aquitaine blend itself is not an exclusive and made it’s debut at last year’s IPCPR. The exclusiveness pertains to the box-pressed format of the blockhead while the blend remains the same. The Aquitaine blockhead isn’t RoMa Craft Tobac’s first shop exclusive. Actually, it’s not even the first “Blockhead”. Skip Martin of RoMa Craft Tobac had previously released a Blockhead version of the Aquitaine’s sister line, the Cromagnon (which I reviewed here) to Tower Pipes and Cigars in Sacramento, California and Tobacco Grove in Maple Grove, Minnesota. The Aquitaine starts off with an Ecuadorian Habano Ligero wrapper, a Cameroon binder, and 3 different Nicaraguan fillers each from Esteli, Condega, and Pueblo Nuevo which is a small town on the Northern border of Nicaraguan and Honduras. The blend is identical to the Cromagnon only replaces the Connecticut Broadleaf with the Ecuadorian Habano Ligero. The Aquitaine comes in 8 different sizes including the Box Pressed Blockhead (6 x 54), the Knuckle Dragger (4 x 52), the Mandible (4.5 x 60), the EMH Early Modern Human (5 x 56), the Anthropology (5.75 x 56), the Cranium (6 x 54), and two limited edition sizes including the Atlatl (7 x 38) and the Mode 5 (5 x 50 perfecto). The Blockhead runs $9 a stick and they had plenty in stock at Monte’s while I was there. For more information about Monte’s you can visit their site here, Facebook here, instagram here or twitter here. I always stop in whenever I am in town (El Paso isn’t too far from them) and they have always been great people.

Size: 6 x 54 Box Pressed
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Ligero
Binder: Cameroon
Filler: Nicaraguan from Condega, Esteli, and a Ligero from Pueblo Nuevo
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $9.00
Pairing: Prairie Artisan Ales / Evil Twin Brewing Bible Belt (Imperial Coffee/Vanilla/Chili/Cacao Stout 13% ABV)

Prelight: The Aquitaine Blockhead is one badass looking cigar. We’ll start with the format in which the name “Blockhead” is obviously pulled from. It’s box-pressed to the max almost forming a perfect square. The corners and edges are real sharp and hard. Again, I’ve said it over and over I am a huge box-press fan and absolutely love this size. It’s very comfortable in both the hand and the mouth. Next we have the wrapper. The Aquitaine carries a very thick, incredibly toothy, and incredibly oily texture. It’s definitely one of the prettier wrapper leafs as the medium and dark brown color showcases the natural webbing in the leaf and carries only a few smaller veins. The Blockhead is rather firm and packed pretty tightly. It’s a heavier cigar but again the box-press makes it really comfortable to hold despite being a longer format. There are absolutely no soft spots or construction flaws. The cigar is capped off with a stoutly round, seamless, triple cap. The Aquitaine Blockhead is then polished off with the standard brown, and white layered, letterpressed bands with the word “Aquitaine” pressed into the front and the RoMa Craft Tobac logo in white on the back. I am a HUGE fan of these bands. Simple, elegant, clean, and they serve the purpose of distinguishing your cigars without the need to be overly flashy letting the cigar’s appearance speak for itself. I’ll put these bands up there with the Liga Privada, Most Tatuaje, and Illusione bands as my all time favorites.

The wrapper on the Aquitaine Blockhead lets looks a whole ton of syrupy, molasses, chocolate aroma mixed over some bold tobacco notes while the foot of the cigar is a bit more modest only showing some natural tobacco and spice aromas. The cap cut very clean and easily using my handy Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces some strong syrup, and raisin notes with a bit of spice and tobacco mixed in.

First Smoke: The Aquitaine Blockhead starts off with some modest black pepper backed by some sharp spice, raisin, espresso and some grassy tobacco flavors. As I smoked down the first inch the pepper completely faded away and a real nice brown sugar sweetness crept its way in. While the Blockhead is very tightly packed with tobacco the format makes it incredibly easy to get a nice, big, thick draw with every little puff kicking out tons of dense, white smoke. The burnline is a bit thick, but dead even forming a compacted medium and dark gray ash which held on for about an inch before falling into my ashtray.

Halfway There: As I venture into the second third of RoMa Craft Tobac’s Aquitaine Blockhead some really interesting charred meat flavors began to sneak into the flavor profile. Maybe I’m just hungry, maybe the heat is starting to get to me but it was actually pretty potent and mixed in well with the syrup, cedar, and spice while there was still a slight sugar and espresso on the aftertaste. The retrohale far more modest than I was expecting as it coats my nasal passage with some soft cedar, spice, and plum. I really enjoy the retrohale from the Aquitaine and find myself routing it that way quite often. The draw is still flawless and the burnline is perfect and I am feeling zero in the nicotine department.

Finish: RoMa Craft Tobac’s Aquitaine Blockhead really took off into the final third. The spice and espresso ramped up, the pepper came back, the brown sugar and raisin stayed strong, and even that meaty flavor stayed with it. This is a flavorful cigar and I found it pretty bold, but the one thing I enjoyed the most was how creamy and balanced the flavors were. They weren’t fighting for your attention, instead they complimented each other resulting in a complete performance. The burn and draw were perfect the entire time and I never had to take my torch back out of my pocket for any touchups or relights nor did I feel much in the nicotine department. It took me about 2 hours to smoke this bad boy down to the nub and I enjoyed every minute of it. I experience no harshness and the only heat I felt was from the sun on my head.

Overview: It’s not hard to tell how much I enjoy the Aquitaine blend. I always have. Jeremy and I actually had a conversation the other day about where we would rank each of Skip’s blend and both of us had the Aquitaine right up at #1 or #2. The Blockhead has to be one of my favorites in terms of formats for the Aquitaine. The boxpress is comfortable and produces a massive draw which really lets the cigar showcase how complex, yet balanced it’s flavors are. At $9 a pop these are priced perfectly and I am glad I picked a few up while I was at Monte’s. The shop is about 4 hours away from me, but I tend to visit Albuquerque quite often so it’s not too hard for me to get my hands on them and I plan on picking up quite a few more next time I make a trek up there. Hell, this is a box purchase for sure as these are the perfect addition to just about anyone’s rotation.

Pairing: This is the second time I’ve paired a cigar with Prairie Artisan Ale’s Bible Belt which they produced in collaboration with Evil Twin Brewing (see Espinosa’s 601 La Bomba Bunker Buster). Why? Two reasons: 1) It’s simply a badass beer which pairs perfectly with most bolder cigars and 2) Skip has been on a tear with these beers lately and I found it fitting to do an homage to him. Bible Belt is a hefty Imperial Stout weighing in at 13% ABV which is basically a mash up of Prairie Artisan’s popular Prairie Bomb! (which I paired with Viaje’s 2013 Christmas Tree) and Evil Twin’s Even more Jesus. The result is a crazy flavorful stout aged over coffee, cacao nibs, vanilla beans and chili peppers. In contrast to the Prairie Bomb! the Bible belt is much more chili heavy which creates this awesome spice which pairs up perfectly with the spice in most cigar experiences while the creaminess, sweetness, coffee and chocolate do the rest of the work marrying up with the robust flavors of the Aquitaine creating a pairing that’s near flawless and impossible to replace. Knowing how often Skip smokes his own supply it’s easy to see why he’s been such a fan of this beer.

The post RoMa Craft Tobac Aquitaine Blockhead (Monte’s Exclusive) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The Good Stuff: RoMa Craft’s La Campana de Panama Soberana is the first limited edition release that we have seen come from the Fabrica de Tabacos Nica Sueno factory. While there have been a few event and shop exclusives the Campana is the only full limited release and will not be the last. La Campana de Panama Soberana is part of Skip Martin’s “Craft” series. The Craft series will feature runs of limited edition cigars that are either rare by accounts of tobaccos used in them, method of production, or both. In the case of the Campana de Panama Soberana the rareness relies in the production process. The Campana is composed 100% by hand using no molds. In fact, the only tool used to create the Campana de Panama Soberana besides two hands is a chaveta. The Campana de Panama Soberana starts off with a Brazilian Ariparaca wrapper coated with a few small bands of Ecuadorian Connecticut leaf around the foot bound by a Connecticut Broadleaf binder and filled with Nicaraguan and Cameroon filler tobaccos. The Campana is carries a unique, tapered, trompeta format and comes in boxes of 10 running $150 a box, or $15 a cigar. Only 1,000 boxes will be released.

Size: 5 x 46/60
Wrapper: Brazilian Ariparaca / Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler: Nicaraguan / Cameroon
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $15
Pairing: Uinta Crooked Series Labyrinth (Quad Black Ale – 13.2% ABV)

Prelight: RoMa Craft’s La Campana de Panama Soberana obvious characteristic it’s unique format. The cigar starts out with a very large 60 ring gauge at the foot area which consistently tapers up to a much smaller 46 ring gauge around the cap. Much like a trompeta vitola. Surrounding the foot of the cigar is two separate sets of lighter double bands made from a lighter shade tobacco leaf. In between each of these sets is a much darker band of leaf. Not only does it give the cigar a very unique feeling, but it also reminds the smoker that this cigar is completely hand-made as the lines on the wrapper bands are quite crude. The foot of the Campana de Panama Soberana adds to the effect by being unfinished, meaning instead of a straight cut showcasing the filler tobacco some of the wrapper leaf is folded over the foot concealing areas of the filler. While the cigar looks a big wonky it’s actually rather balanced in my hand and for the most part comfortable. The wrapper leaf is a medium brown with areas of darker brown webs and orange accents. There are a few larger veins running through the body, but nothing worry some. The Campana is polished off with a snubby, round, double cap which runs seamlessly into the body of the cigar. The wrapper has a decent amount of tooth and some slight oils but what’s most impressive is how seamless this cigar feels. There are the expected bumps and what have you, but had you not told me this cigar was rolled without the use of molds I would have had no idea. The wrapper feels a bit delicate but I couldn’t locate any soft sports or areas that would concern me. The wrapper on the Campana de Panama Soberana screams of sweet spice and honey while the foot of the cigar was a bit more modest releases some spice and tobacco aromas. The cap cut like butter using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw revealed some sweet spice that I was expecting along with some awesome berry I wasn’t mixed in over some natural tobacco flavors.

First Smoke: La Campana de Panama Soberana started out with a nice little pepper blast which quickly faded away a left me with some strong cinnamon, sweet brown sugar, cedar, and tobacco notes with a really interesting black cherry aftertaste. The draw on this cigar is incredible. I always fear that the draw will be too loose whenever I dive into a mold-less cigar, but this baby is perfect as it pumps out mouthfuls of thick, white smoke with every little puff. The burnline has a few slight waves, but nothing concerning and it’s rocking razor thin. The ash left behind is a bright white with medium gray mixture which held on for almost an inch before it fell into my ashtray.

Halfway There: Into the second third of RoMa Craft’s La Campana de Panama Soberana and the flavor has started to mix up quite a bit. A strong floral and honey mixture has made it’s presence known while more of the cinnamon and spice have faded out leaving behind the cedar and black cherry notes. Every once in a while I get a nice hit of espresso in there, but it’s not very consistent and just slips its way in there to keep me on my toes. The retrohale is badass coating my nasal passage with some sharp spice, cedar, and cherry. It really opens up the pairing I chose for this stick. The burnline is rockin’ solid at this point and hasn’t required any additional attention from my torch. I am feeling zero in the nicotine department as I close out the second third.

Finish: The cinnamon is back in full force during the final third of the Campana de Panama Soberana. I swear this is what smoking a graham cracker would taste like. Cinnamon, brown sugar poured over some soft spice, honey, cedar, and espresso. I’m not sure if it’s the variable ring gauge or what, but this cigar has really had some nice flavor change ups and has never failed to keep my attention. The burnline has been perfect, and in the hour and forty five minutes it’s taken me to smoke this cigar I never once had to pull out my lighter, nor did I feel any nicotine at all. The Campana de Panama Soberana really showcases the skill of the rollers at Fabrica de Tabacos de Nica Sueno.

Overview: Now I am torn a bit with the Campana de Panama Soberana. Let me start by saying that I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar. The flavor profile, the unique size, and the change ups really made for a great experience and It’s hard for me to get over the absence of mold use for this cigar as it preformed so well. While I enjoyed this cigar, it’s hard to see myself grabbing it over an Intemperance BA or Aquitaine especially at the price point. It’s a great cigar if you are looking for something special or different, but it’s hard to place the Campana de Panama Soberana over some of RoMa crafts already released blends that come in at half the price. The Campana does however showcase the tobacco, and the extreme skill of the staff over at RoMa Craft’s Fabrica de Tabacos de Nica Sueno which I am sure they were striving for. I can’t imagine how hard this cigar is to roll, and to roll as consistently as they are doing it over there. If you can appreciate that then this cigar is definitely worth picking up. I personally can see having a few of these on hand for those times I am in the mood for a different type of experience, but I don’t think it would easily find it’s way into my regular rotation.

Pairing: I’ve been sitting on a few bottles of this brew for a while now. I was pretty impressed with the first one I drank and made the effort to make sure I had a few on hand as it could easily pair well with quite a few cigars. Hell, almost anything Uinta has been brewing lately is worth picking up. From the Crooked series comes Uinta’s Labyrinth a barrel aged quadruple black ale with licorice sticks added as it’s aged in oak barrels. Boasting a ABV of 13.2% this Utah brewed beer isn’t for the faint of heart. This is a very dark, very heavy brew. The flavor profile consists of a ton of malt, sweet berry, chocolate, with just a hint of licorice with some great cola and spice on the finish. I loved how the fruit, licorice and spice married up with the flavor profile in the Campana de Panama Soberana while the chocolate and malt really helped bring out the fullness of the blend. Word to the wise though, take your time with this beer. Not only will it overpower most mild to medium cigars, but it will also start to cloud your vision as the alcohol will creep up on you.

The post RoMa Craft Tobac La Campana de Panama Soberana appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

Up on the docket for Day 3 is none other than Ernesto Perez Carrillo. The E.P. Carrillo brand has made a huge splash in the few short years since it was created. From their tasty limited editions to their very popular regular production lines, their success has been great. Based out of Miami, Ernesto is definitely not new to the cigar industry but his self-named brand is a new project. The official kick-off was in 2009 and he continues his family run legacy along with his son and daughter. Be sure to head on over to www.epcarrillo.com and take a look at their current offerings and be sure to read a little bit of their interesting history.

E.P. Carrillo and family have definitely been a great support for us here at Casas Fumando and we’re grateful for the kindness and generosity they have showed us. Yet again, they are showing their awesome side and have given up a box of their Core Line Natural Golosos. The Golosos vitola is a massive 6.25 by 60 cigar filled with an interesting mixture of Ecuadorian, Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos. We actually reviewed the Core Line Natural awhile ago in the Club 52 vitola, you can find that review here.

So now the big question is, how do you win yourself this awesome box of cigars? Well, we’re gonna make this an easy one but you’ll have to put on your creative hats and think of something. You can use any of the following methods to enter:

 
So here is your mission if you choose to accept it!
Come up with your own creative name and blend for a large 6.25 x 60 cigar.

We’re leaving this totally open with no theme to follow, we just want to see some funny/interesting/creative/weird ideas. Tie it into yesterdays line names if you posted one but let’s focus just on the one vitola this time. Let’s make sure to keep it (somewhat)clean!
That’s it, easy-peasy! Now hop to it before we decide to smoke all these cigars ourselves!

*Note* 18 years or older ONLY. The winner will be announced tomorrow.
 
 

Now onto the winners from Day #2 – RoMa Craft Tobac

 
The lucky person is going to receive a wicked package from RoMa Craft Tobac, specifically an Intemperance Sampler pack! We had an awesome amount of replies for the contest and we got some very creative ones too. Here’s a couple of honorable mentions that Skip Martin picked for the contest:

Honorable Mention: nwbonick

Line: Seven Deadly Sins
Wrath. 5 x 42. Comprised of 100% Nicaraguan Sungrown Ligero and infused with ghost chilis.
Sloth: 4 x 26. Pre-cut cigarillo.
Pride. 6 x 50. Barber pole wrapper with a band depicting the Irish flag.
Lust: 8 x 52. Diameda format. ‘Nuff said.
Greed: 7 x 50. Connecticut wrapper and gold embossed band. Retails for $100/cigar.
Gluttony: 4 x 60. Infused with bacon. Also known as the “Baconater.”
Envy: 7 x 60. Oscuro wrapper.

Honorable Mention: revjava

So my idea for a cigar line is Coffee Inspired …
The line would be called: SmokeBucks and have a green mermaid as a logo (No trademarks violations!) The line would consist of :
The Peaberry~ a 5×42 Petit Corona Claro that would be mild and take 5 months of extra aging to bring it from green to dried
Coffea Arabica~ (nicknamed-“The Daniel”) a 5×50 Toro Colorado Maduro that would be full flavored and infused with Maple Syrup. This Cigar would only be sold at Tim Hortons, Hockey Games and Scuba Shops Side Note~ each box would come with a pint of Canadian Grade B
The Ethopian~a 6×42 Lonsdale Oscuro that is Earthy in it richness and smooth in it’s fullness, like the space that inspires it.
Café Robusta~(nicknamed “The Tony”) a 6×60 Gordo Maduro infused with Imitation Banana and Brisket flavorings. A quirky yet consistent smoke, known by many. The Tony would be sold in box that looks like a Foosball table and come with a Bobblehead of Wayne Newton
Caffees Fumando # 9~ a 7×49 Double Corona Colorado produced by Drew Estate in the Liga Privada line, This cigar would hope to made weekly, but in truth would come out more often ( most weeks). This cigar has the ability to Tweet, post on FB, take really really good pictures and give great samplers to Coffee addicts that show some creativity…

WINNER #1: JoeyV

In a nod to old school hip hop which anyone who follows Chief Hava on twitter knows is a big deal, Id name my line GrandMaster and all the vitolas would be a nod to the legends of hip hop.
4 x 52 Petite Robusto – Bushwick
4 ½ x 60 Petite Gordo – Sugarhill
5 x 55 Robusto Extra – Furious 5
6 x 46 Grand Corona – Bambatta
6 x 60 Gran Toro – Notorious
It would be a two blend cigar. Full flavored, full strength binder and filler. One wrapped in Conny and one wrapped in Conneticut Broadleaf. Word to yer mutha!

WINNER #2: Jeremy H.

Driven by my love for cigars and fishing, I will have to carry on a fish theme with my cigar line “Outrigger”.
Half Corona – 4.25 x 42 “Minnow”
Corona – 5.5 x 42 “Perch”
Rothschild – 4.5 x 50 “Pan Fish”
Robusto – 5 x 50 “Flathead”
Toro – 6 x 50 “Wally”
Lancero – 7 x 38 “The Pike”

Congrats to our winners and a big thank you to our Sponsor! Please be sure to email us your name, address, phone number and email address to casasfumando@gmail.com

The post Contest Day #3 – E.P. Carrillo (and Day #2 Winner!) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with RoMa Craft Tobac, here is an excerpt from www.havacigarshop.com, online home of RoMa Craft Tobac:

”RoMa Craft Tobac was formed in 2012 by Michael Rosales and Skip Martin combining the operations of their two companies, Costa Rican Imports, LLC and Galveston Bay Tobacco, LLC. The combined company holds the CroMagnon, CroMagnon Aquitaine, Intemperance, Adrians Costa Rica, and Hava Cigar brands and manages manufacturing operations in Esteli, Nicaragua and San Jose, Costa Rica.”

Now, we are all familiar with Skip. Skip is, and always has been one of the most stand up, and genuine guys in the industry. Not to mention someone I would like to call my friend. I spent some time with him on a recent trip to the Dominican Republic, and I have to say, the guy is exactly as his online persona appears. Within 5 minutes of meeting him, he had already pissed off an American Airlines flight attendant while in line to buy gummi-bears. That being said, he made the trip fun, and interesting with his funny stories, crazy late-night shenanigans, and his constant singing of old-skool hip hop.

Not only is Skip a great guy, but he and Michael really know their stuff. Their debut blend, the CroMagnon is proof of that. You can read my review here, which I can openly say that I, along with many others loved. Here we are a year or so later and Skip and Michael have teamed up again, along with their newly established factory to bring you, the Intemperance. This release is hot off the press, and if I am not mistaken Skip’s wife Angela had just made mention that she was dropping off some of the first pre-orders for shipping! Here is a little info about the blend:

The Intemperance Volstead Sampler contains all eight cigars in the liga.
Intemperance is presented in two capa varietals. Each contains four vitolas, two parejos and two figurados:

Intemperance EC XVIII – Ecuador Connecticut

The Charity, a 4 x 46 Petito, $5.00
The Virtue, a 4 1/2 x 52 Short Robusto, $6.00
The Faith, a 5 x 50 Short Perfecto, $6.50
The Industry, a 5 1/2 x 54 Belicoso, $7.00

Intemperance BA XXI – Brazil Arapiraca

The Intrigue, a 4 x 46 Petito, $5.00
The Avarice, a 4 1/2 x 52 Short Robusto, $6.00
The Envy, a 5 x 50 Short Perfecto, $6.50

Gotta love Skips naming conventions, probably the best, and most original in the industry. Anywho, if you would like more information on the cigar you can visit Hava Cigar Shop here, and even order directly from the site. Browse around, Skip has started to fill the shop with some awesome swag along with cigars. You can also stay up to date with RoMa Craft Tobac by following them on Facebook and Twitter.

Want to be one of the first ones with this cigar? Here is your chance. RoMa Craft Tobac has offered up 1 full, Volstead sampler. That’s right, all 8 cigars in the line could be yours.

Entry is simple, I want you guys to think of a cigar line. Your personal blend, something that you hold dear to you. Now think about the sizes you would make, and what you would name each one. I really think that Skip has a knack for his vitola titles, and I want to see how creative you guys can get! Leave a comment below with your sizes and titles and we will pick one lucky winner to receive an Intemperance Volstead sampler directly from RoMa Craft Tobac!

Again, 18 years or older ONLY. The winner will be announced tomorrow.

And of course, onto the winner of our contest, Day #1 – Bonita Smoke Shop.

Before announcing the winner, I wanted to post a few of the entries from people who allowed me to post their pictures. I loved the creativity, and some of them literally made me crack up when opening them. It’s also nice to put a face to so many of you people.

Corey - As long as it's not a Flyer, I'm OK with that.

Paul - Who I am assuming is smoking at work. Lucky dog. (Cool Pink Hanger)

Michael - Mean looking dude with a pretty colored wall.

Leo - with his badass Humi-Clock. Look at that proud, proud man.

Keith - who promised to give me this watch. So kind of you man, so kind.

Josh - Time for a cigar indeed.

Jmulley - with his beautiful little one (and an awesome hat)!

Jesus - who had to travel a long way to get all the way up to the clock.

Jeremy - Getting all sorts of creative (and a little creepy).

Jeff - Alas, the man behind the curtain!

Jake - this is his email to me: " Please don't judge me based on this photo. I wasn't ready. My eye itched. It was taken by a midget. A sleepy midget. a sleepy, cranky midget. A sleepy, cranky midget that doesn't care what contest it's for, who only wants to snap this awful picture and go to bed. Pick any excuse you want, just don't think I look like this all the time." I'm telling your wife what you called her.

Doogie - keeping it real.

Derek - showing us the goods, making our mouths water.

David - awesome picture, vacation time. something that I really need.

And…. our winner, from a Galaxy far, far away.:

Lupe - yes, appearently that's a guys name too, lighting it up, sith style.

The post Contest Day #2 – RoMa Craft Tobac (and Day #1 Winner) appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

The reason is simple, we wanted to reward you, our readers, for making this, Casas Fumando, possible. You are the driving force behind this blog. We don’t run this blog to make money on advertising, to get free cigars, or to obtain any type of fame. Our reason is simply to share our love of cigars with you.

3 years ago, I started Casas Fumando. Actually at that time it was under a different name, but it was the same blog, same reviews. I actually had a personal blog in which I would share my graphic/Web design experiences. On that blog I posted a review of a cigar that I really enjoyed. Just as a little inlet into my personal life. At the time I was smoking a lot of infused cigars and that first cigar actually happened to be an Acid. Anyways, as time went on my webstats began to show an interesting trend. No one gave a crap what I had to say about design, but my one little cigar review, that was something different. It was pretty much the only article anyone ever read. Knowing this, I started Casas Fumando which at the time, was more of a catalog of my own cigar experiences, and less of a cigar review site. As I got more serious about it, I realized that I couldn’t do it alone. For the life of me, I can’t remember how he and I met, but it was at this time that Daniel T. began sharing his experiences on Casas Fumando as well.

A lot has changed since then. Daniel and I have actually became very close friends. We went from 10 page views a day to over 1.5 million a year. We average 2 to 3 reviews a week and have not only earned the respect of some of the larger cigar review blogs, but from many of the larger manufacturers as well. Most of all, we have established a form of 2 way conversation between us, and you. We share our thoughts, you tell us yours, and we make fun of Daniel along the way.

That being said, this is where the fun begins. We will be running a 9 day long contest. You heard that right, 9 freaken days. Each one of these days will be sponsored by a company that has given us their support over the past 3 years. Each contest will showcase this company, as well as what they have done for us, and the product that they will be giving away and what you need to do to enter the contest for that day.

This contest is open to anyone in the US and Canada who are 18 years of age or older. Once each day concludes we will contact the winner directly and arrange shipping. We will be shipping some of the items, and some of the companies will be shipping to you directly. It doesn’t matter how many times you have won contests from us in the past, these will be open to everyone.

First, there is a very easy way to gain some extra ground in these contests. Recently we started a Facebook account. It’s probably the easiest way for us to keep up with you guys as well as share all the neat things we are smoking and drinking without having to write up reviews for each one.  It’s also a great way for you to get a hold of us if you have a random question or want to tell us what you’ve been smoking. Want a free entry into each and every single one of our contests? Just “like” our page! Already a fan? Then you are already entered. On a side note, if you share our Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/casasfumando) page on yours, and ask you friends to “like” us, we will give you an extra entry to each one of the contests. Alternately, if you share this page, and any of the contest pages as they are posted then you will get an extra entry into that contest as well! We want the “likes” and promise not to flood your timelines.

Again, if you are not on facebook, DON’T Worry! Tune in on each of the days listed below for instructions on how to enter! Don’t worry, we will make it as easy as possible on you. The idea is to reward all of you for reading, not make you work for it

 The being said, let’s get our mouths watering and announce each one of our contests!

Day 1 – Tuesday – 03-13-2012 – Bonita Smoke Shop

We love Jackie, and Jackie loves EVERYONE! Bonita Smoke Shop will be giving away 1 bundle of her famous “Time Warp” cigars! These cigars were hand-crafted on Miami’s Calle Ocho at the El Titan de Bronze factory by Willy Herrera (Drew Estate), formally from El Titan de Bronze cigars.

Day 2 – Wednesday – 03-14-2012 – RoMa Craft Tobac – Intemperance Volstead Sampler

From the makers of Cro-Magnon, Skip Martin has agreed to reward one of you lucky readers with a sampler of his newest creation, the Intemperance! The Intemperance Volstead Sampler comes with 8 cigars, one of each size, and each wrapper.

Day 3 – Thursday – 03-15-2012 – EP Carrillo

Ernesto has partnered up with us and has an awesome contest in store for you! EP Carrillo has agreed to part with a full box of EP Carrillo Core Line Golosos!

Day 4 – Friday – 03-16-2012 – Rocketfuel Coffee

Who doesn’t like coffee? Who doesn’t like super premium coffee? Rocketfuel has always been friends of ours, and today, they are friends with you! One lucky reader will win a gift pack containing 1/2lb Hawaiian Kona, 1/2lb Jamaican Blue Mountain, 1/2lb Rocketfuel XXX, a $60 value!

*NOTE: Cigar not included. And this blend is different than the gift pack, but you get the idea.

Day 5 – Monday – 03-19-2012 – Emilio Cigars

What can we say about Gary? He knows his cigars, and has always been a great supporter of us, as well as many other tobacco related organizations! Like the AF1 and AF2? Love the Grimalkin? Well Gary is giving you the chance to try them all with his contest containing an awesome sampler with few of each of his cigars, 10 in total as well as a pair of Grimalkin coffee mugs and an Emilio Cigar Polo shirt!

Day 6 – Tuesday – 03-20-2012 – Ortega Cigar Company

Recently Eddie Ortega, co-founder of EO Brands, ventured out on his own and started a new company called “Ortega Cigar Company”. His fist release, the Serie “D” is already making a huge splash, and you can be among the first to get your hands on them. Eddie has offered up 3.. that’s right 3 sampler boxes (5 cigars, one of each size)!

Day 7 – Wednesday – 03-21-2012 – Miami Cigar

2 years ago Daniel and I named the “La Sirena” our #1 cigar of the year. We still stand by that decision and I still love that cigar! Ever had an “A” sized cigar? Seriously, more than 9 inches of deliciousness! Miami Cigars is giving away a full box of La Sirena “A” as well as a few T-shirts!

Day 8 – Thursday – 3-22-2012 – Joya De Nicaragua

Jose Blanco has to be one of the greatest men in the business. A genius, and a friend. With his new company, Jose and Joya De Nicaragua has agreed to supply one lucky reader with a full box of Antano, one of my personal favorite cigars of all time.

Day 9 – Friday – 3-23-2012 – Smoke Inn

Last but certainly not least, Smoke Inn. Abe is another precious cigar soul and has always shown his support to new media, traditional media, and just about any cigar smoker out there. Strengthening that support, Abe and Smoke Inn has agreed to give one lucky reader a full box of the Smoke Inn Exclusive, Don Pepin Garcia My Father El Hijo, and a Smoke Inn Survival pack containing a travel humidor, hat, and cutter!

That’s a whole lot of winning! Again, start spreading out the news via facebook, be sure to tag us so that we can keep track. Stay tuned on each one of the mentioned dates so that you can find out how to win the above products! Thanks again, for the support. You guys rule!

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This cigar is one stirring up lots of talk on the twitter boards as of late, as it is the brain child of one of the #CGARClan’s very own Skip Martin, in combination with Mike over at Adrian’s Cigar. Everyone pretty much within the twitter cigar community knows of both of these guys, and thier superior knowledge in all things tobacco related. Knowing this, combined with Skip’s distinct full bodied blends of choice, i knew we were in for a nice little treat way before hearing any type of reviews.

The Good Stuff: The CroMagnon line, from what I know, isn’t fully available yet. And when it is, I believe the only place to get it will be direction from @CroMagnonCigar, or from the Hava Cigar Shop (which is an online store that Skip runs ever since the hurricane blasted through his B&M). I picked up the first run sampler pack from Skip a few weeks ago that he calls the “Taxonomy”, and really enjoyed smoking through the entire line. Skip made mention that the first sampler packs were intended for his disposal, but he was so happy with the blend that he couldn’t wait to get these cigars in the hands of BOTL and SOTL everywhere.  The entire selection will have nice “Cro Magnon” themed names and will come in five sizes: The Knuckle Dragger (4 x 52), the Anthroplogy (5.74 x 46), the Mandible (5 x 60 at first release but will be 4.5 x 60 going forward) , the EMH a.k.a the Early Modern Human (5 x 56), and the Cranium (6 x 54) and will run you around six to eight bucks a stick. Today, I decided to review the Knuckle Dragger. You can purchase any of the Cromagnon line direct for Havacigarshop.com.

Size: 4 x 52  –  Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf  – Binder: Cameroon  –  Filler: Nicaraguan  –  Body: Full

Prelight: The CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger is one ridiculously oily cigar. In fact, this has to be one of oiliest cigars I have ever hand. Just handling the cigar leaves a silky layer of oil on my fingertips. The CroMagnon sports a very hefty, thick, very dark almost bittersweet chocolate brown wrapper. There are patches of darker spots throughout the leaf that covers the body of the cigar. The construction is impeccable. The body of the cigar shows only very small, smooth veins leading up to a nice, rounded,  double cap. It’s worth the note that some of the cigars I received in my sampler pack from Adrian’s actually had triple caps. This Knuckle dragger may have a partially covered up one. I’m not sure if they will be double, or triple, but hopefully Skip will read this and shed some light. The cigar is really firm to the touch, and the wrapper feels very durable.

The CroMagnon gives off a hell of a lot of pungent, sweet tobacco scent with hints of cedar and even a bit of bready dough scent coming from the foot of the cigar. The cap clipped very easily using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw released by the CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger starts off with just a wisp of pepper backed by a ton of sweet tobacco, and some mixed in earthy flavors.

First Smoke: The CroMagnon kicks out a ton of thick smoke, be ready for it! The first couple of draws surprised me with a nice little pepper punch that was nothing more than a memory after about 5 minutes of smoking. After the pepper faded out I was welcomed to a very sweet tobacco flavor with some very woodsy undertones. I can’t really place it, but it’s not cedar. Something more rich and deep with accents of dark chocolate. As I stated before the draw is very thick, and very easy, you may not want to hit this too many times each draw. The smoke produced is very thick, and very pungent. Although the CroMagnon doesn’t give off a lot of stationary smoke, the draw is enough to annoy the hell out of any non-smoker that may be sitting around you. The ash left behind from the perfectly even burline is a very tightly compacted white with light grey and held on for about an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: Probably due to the Cameroon, there is this very nice floral flavor being added to the flavor mix into the second third of the CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger. Outside of the floral addition the flavors are still rocking hard with the woodsy and chocolate flavors. There is also a little bit of slight fruit mixed in. This cigar really packs the flavor. The burnline is still dead-on and I’m really not feeling too much strength off this cigar. Sure there is some there, but after so many people made such a big deal about the power this cigar pushes through, I have yet to see it. This also goes along with something I have touched on before. Not all cigars effect everyone the same when it comes to the body of the blend. There has been some more medium cigars that I thought were ass-kicking and just as well there has been some stronger cigars that I thought were less than impressive in the strength category. Cigar smoking is purely subjective from any angle you look at it. I’m just simply stating my personal opinions.

Finish: The CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger, and every vitola I have smoked, has really taken a long time to get through. These things burn incredibly slow, which usually leads to harshness into the final third. Surprisingly enough the cigar has actually mellowed out a bit into the final third. The flavors are still holding true, but the cigar has gotten much easier to smoke. The dominant flavors are the woodsy and tobacco flavors backed up by soft hints of chocolate, some coffee hints, and even notes of the pepper making a brief re-appearance. The body is still there as well, but it really isn’t anything concerning. All in all the small stature of the Knuckle Dragger took a little over an hour to smoke.

Overview: One thing I liked about this cigar was the marketing. It was a nice little “CroMagnon” theme and each of the names for the vitolas matched up. Along with the theme Skip and Adrian’s took a very social media heavy approach to getting the word out focusing strongly as Twitter. But, they didn’t hype this cigar up at all. Instead, they let the community know it was out there, gave them the first peeks, and then let Twitter speak for the cigar itself. From what I have gathered, the outcome has been very positive. It’s not about how much you can hype up your blend, its how well the cigar community views it. They will tell you if it’s worth your hard work, and in this case they have. I for one, really enjoyed this cigar. I would have been one of the first people to tell you otherwise too. I know Skip well, and he’s the type that wouldn’t let anything less than stellar hit the market and it shows. The CroMagnon is a perfect full-body, full-flavor cigar that won’t knock you on your ass. At least it didn’t for me. Would I purchase it again, oh I will. Is it box worthy? For sure.

Pairing: I decided to pair this CroMagnon with an all time favorite, and my all time go-to beer New Belgium’s 1554. 1554 is a traditional Brussel’s style black ale brewed by the New Belgium brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado with an ABV% of 5.6. I smoked a bunch of these CroMagnon’s and each time I kept thinking to myself how awesome they would go with some 1554. The tart fruity flavors, with the chocolate malt and caramel undertones really married up to the similar flavors I pulled out of this CroMagnon. This cigar would also pair great with just about any stout, some black coffee, sweet tea, and even your favorite port.

The post Adrian’s CroMagnon Knuckle Dragger appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.