Originally published at Tiki Bar Online
Or at least “My Most Anticipated Cigars of the IPCPR 2013 Show.” Whether or not they will turn out “best” is something that only time will tell.
Being extremely busy last week with my regular job as well as trying to tie up plenty of loose ends for the 3rd Annual Chattanooga Tweet-Up and Cigar Festival, I did not have as much time as I would have liked to pay attention to every detail of the coverage of the IPCPR show. In past years, I’ve linked to some of the better articles and coverage at other blogs, but I am going to decline to do so this year. There are some great blogs out there providing some great show coverage. Many are friends of mine and you probably already have your favorites.
First, let me say that there were a few more “surprises” than I thought would be unveiled during the show this year, although still not as many as in “the good old days” when the show was the time it seemed most manufacturers showed off everything new they were working on. As Billy Joel once said, “the good old days weren’t always good.” I think having new releases spread out throughout the year is much better for everyone involved: consumers, retailers and manufacturers. That being said, these are a few of the cigars that most pique my interest:
GUAYACAN MADURO
What a difference a year makes. Noel Rojas told us that he had exhibited at last year’s IPCPR show, but the response was so bad, he was unsure of his place in the industry by the time it was over. Why was the response bad? Unknown person, selling a strangely-named brand in a booth that was apparently easy to overlook. When he showed up at the 2012 Chattanooga Tweet-Up, that all changed. The cigars were flat-out incredible. He was the surprise star of the event, and by the time it was over he was negotiating a distribution contract with Emilio Cigars (soon to be House of Emilio).
This year he got plenty of attention in the House of Emilio booth for his original release and for his new Maduro. I haven’t heard when the cigars will actually hit stores, but Noel did mention that he wanted to get some samples to me so we could get a review done before they did debut. Here’s hoping they are as spectacular as his first release. It will be good to see him again at this year’s Chattanooga Tweet-Up, starting in just 9 days.
NICA RUSTICA
This new cigar by Drew Estate employs the use of some (barely) cultivated wild tobacco that grows in Nicaragua. I received an early sample when I went on the Cigar Safari trip and found it to be rough, crude, rustic and highly potent due to the very high nicotine content of the rustica tobacco. And yet…there was something definitely interesting in there. While I couldn’t even finish that sample, something in the flavor profile was extraordinarily unique. Nicolas Melillo told me the final version would be smoother and more refined…more approachable. So I am really interested to see what he’s been able to come up with.
JD HOWARD RESERVE
Our friends in Nashville have been hard at work again. Crowned Heads and Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Jr., came up with another new blend to introduce at this year’s big show. Again, I was privileged to try a pre-release version and found there to be some interesting flavor present. But…it was a larger ring gauge version and just didn’t hit me in a way that I said, “I gotta have more!” So, as soon as these hit the shelves, I’ll be hitting the HR46 and HR48 to see what this blend has to offer in a size that fits my palate better.
REVERE LANCERO
Back in November, Clint Aaron from 262 Cigars handed me a Lonsdale of his Revere blend. Destined to be a store exclusive, the cigar was the best Revere I had tried to date. Since he was only going to release that size to one store, I blurted out, “You gotta make a Lancero!” He had a devious look in his eye…but if you know Clint, that happens often…and he said, “We’ll see.” And here we are. He is trying to get some of these to send to us at the Tweet-Up. Since I’ll be making the grab bags, it might take some force to pry them out of my hands and into said bags.
7-20-4 SPIDER
These were shown off at last year’s show if I’m not mistaken, but never showed up at retailers. I kept hearing how great they were from those who had gotten early samples, but…even though Burns is a 7-20-4 retailer we never got any. That is apparently destined to change soon.
PINOLERO MADURO
One of the surprises for me from last year’s show was AJ Fernandez’s Pinolero. Good cigar in the Robusto, great cigar as a Corona. When I heard there would be a Maduro version, my spidey-sense went berserk. It doesn’t sound like we’ll be getting them for the Tweet-Up grab bags, but Clay Roberts from AJF Cigars will be at the event and it’s always possible he’ll have some to hand out.
