Featured Cigar Dimensions

Gispert Churchill

In the vicissitude of the global cigar market, major changes often occur overnight. Some of the world’s great smokes have dropped off the radar permanently, despite years of raging success. This was nearly the case with Gispert, which for many years prior to 1950 was consistently among the top five most highly rated Cuban cigar brands available. While it wasn’t often found outside of Cuba, it nevertheless held a substantial market share among Cuba’s finest. But with Castro’s rise to power and the subsequent trade embargos, business was hit hard, and Gispert was one of those fine stogies that suffered considerably. In the hands of the state-run tobacco industry, brand quality diminished, and popularity waned, leading to a near death experience for the former giant.

Recalling the former glory of these fantastic cigars, Altadis, makers of Saint Luis Rey and a host of other top-notch brands, has decided to bring Gispert back to its original grandeur. Combining the great Cuban-seed tobaccos grown in Honduras and Nicaragua with Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Gispert in its renaissance is a cut above the original blend. For the few surviving folks who remember the original pre-Castro Gispert, the new incarnation promises to bring back the nostalgia of days gone by. We found Gispert to be flawlessly constructed with a smooth, oily appearance. As a Churchill, it has that sleek and commanding presence that we all know and love. Expect an overall mellow cigar with herbal tones and plenty of cedar. Easy going, this gentle giant is great for A.M. smoking. If you’re the type of person who likes to smoke while reading the morning paper—and we mean the whole paper—this long-lasting cedary cigar is a good one to have in hand.

La Aurora Robusto Cameroon

La Aurora holds the distinction of being the oldest cigar brand produced in the Dominican Republic. Grown in the same fields of the Cibao Valley for more than three generations, it is the best selling brand within the country, and has been almost since its release back in the early 1900s. Making use of the same growing fields throughout its history has been one of the keys to the brands legendary consistency. Preferidos was the name of the cigar that first established the cigar-making tradition of the Dominican Republic back in 1903. It has survived largely unchanged through today, under the keen ownership of the Leon family, who began farming in the Cibao Valley in the 1880s. It is a time-tested cigar that is these days only produced in limited quantities. The La Aurora line recently was named one of Cigar Aficionado’s top 50 cigars for 2004—yet another distinction enjoyed over its centenarian lifespan. Note the dark West African Cameroon wrapper, which supplies many of the earthy, almost leathery notes. Look for well-placed herbal flavors, along with complex, mineral-like influences released by a blend of Dominican fillers. This medium-bodied cigar finishes with a wonderful balance of firm spice, lingering tobacco, and woody flourishes—the kind of expertly created balance that can only come from being the oldest cigar line in the Dominican Republic. Enhance your smoking experience by pairing with a well-balanced, yet very hoppy brew such as Sierra Nevada’s Celebration Ale.

Nat Sherman Hunter Corona

Nat Sherman offers enough variety in its impressive roster of blends and sizes to keep one trying new cigars for months on end! The Hunter is a part of their “Host” series which matches a sweet CT wrapper with Cuban-seed filler and binders to provide a rustic aroma as well as solid, mild-to-medium strength flavor. It is a super-smooth handmade cigar, rolled with a Connecticut shade wrapper and Dominican and Honduran long leaves as binder and filler.

Nat Sherman cigars have a rich history (not to mention their rich flavor), and the quality of this brand has always been superb. The company was founded in New York at the height of the Great Depression. Seemingly a strange time to jump in to the high-end cigar market, Nat Sherman saw an opportunity; his premium cigars would be enjoyed by people of status, and were seen along with them in the public eye—fashion executives, show business superstars and of course, the omnipresent gangsters of the day. While others were feeling the effects of the Great Depression, entrepreneur Nat Sherman was doing quite well. Now, more than 70 years later, his still family-run business, now in its third generation, continues to produce some of the best cigars on the market. The Hunter corona we’ve selected for you is literally sweet on the lips, with a clover-esque note, and a balancing influence coming from the Honduran tobacco spiciness. This cigar has a great full draw that provides large billows of flavorful smoke, and an ash that is firm in its grip. Try it with a nutty brown ale.

Nestor Vintage Reserve Maduro Torpedo

Cigar-making genius and proprietor of one of the world's largest cigars factories, Nestor Plasencia's road to success was riddled with turbulence. Like most Cuban exiles of the 1960s era, he holds sharp, bitter memories of the island’s post-Revolution period. And who could blame him. The Plasencia family owned two large areas dedicated to growing wrapper leaf when, on October 3, 1962, at 6 am, they were confiscated by the Castro government. In a moment, their livelihood was gone. Knowing the cigar trade but no longer being able to engage in it or gain profit from it, he and his family sought to leave their island home. It took nearly three years to get permission to leave the country, and when they finally did, they were allowed to take only a few dollars and two changes of clothes. When the family arrived in Nicaragua, they had nothing to rely on except the reputation of Nestor’s father, Sixto Plasencia. After rebuilding the business over a decade, cruel history repeated itself as the Sandinistas expropriated their properties in 1979, of which included 1,000 acres of prime agricultural land.

Bruised but not broken, Nestor rebuilt his business once more, this time based in Honduras. Now after many decades of toil and takeover, Plasencia owns cigar operations that span two countries, with more than 4,500 employees producing 33 million premium hand-rolled cigars per year, all rolled from Cuban-seed tobacco. His Nestor Reserve line offers a rich and robust taste with a wonderful aroma and exquisite construction. Note the beautifully square-pressed shape of this ultra dark brown cigar, rolled with Nicaraguan and Honduran long leaf filler, Cameroon binder and Honduran maduro wrapper. Expect a medium-to-full-bodied cigar that is deeply woody with tons of cedar and even a touch of what seems to be pine. Rated an astounding ’93’ by Cigar Insider. We’re going to give you a list of three suggestions which were all enjoyed by our panel members along with this versatile smoke: 1) a moderately peppery 100% Blue Agave Tequila, 2) a bold imperial stout (such as Victory’s Storm King) or 3) a phenomenal cigar with a phenomenal beer—Anchor Brewing Company’s Our Special Ale, 2004 Vintage—truly magnificent.

Onyx Reserve Mini Belicoso

Just about perfect—that’s our take on this pulchritudinous gem of a cigar. Another square-pressed black stallion of a stogie, the Onyx Reserve line is as flavorful as it is dark. Rated a stunning ‘94’ by Cigar Aficionado, this is a rich, full-bodied cigar wrapped with a blackened Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper encasing a combination of Dominican, Nicaraguan and exotic Peruvian long-leaf fillers, all tethered together by a Nicaraguan binder. Produced by Altadis USA, owner of many an enviable cigar line, this cigar is another one to add to their must have list of smokes. This giant sells over two billion cigars each year and holds nearly 40% of the market share in the US. They currently employ more than 5,500 people. Their production facilities form a global network and can be found everywhere from Honduras, Puerto Rico, Pennsylvania, Virginia, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Brazil and Holland. Leaf supplies are obtained from growers in every part of the world. The company also grows some of its own tobacco in Honduras and Connecticut. Yet unlike some of the corporate giants we’ve grown to dislike in the gourmet trade industry, Altadis continues to deliver hand-crafted super premium cigars. Case-in-point: Onyx. Note the fine crystals on the wrapper—a sign of extensive aging. Look for earthy notes, mild spiciness and a moderate pepperiness at the back of the throat. Undeniably aged in cedar, woodsy flavors are unmistakable. Aniversario Pampero rum, a robust porter or dry stout will each suit this cigar nicely in their own unique fashions. Cheers!

ASK MURL

Hey Murl,

I was sitting on my deck the other day enjoying the very fine Avo you sent several months ago and this cigar was holding a serious ash! I held the ash until it was a good inch or so and then started to get nervous about it dropping outside of the ashtray and gave her a good flick. My question is what is the proper etiquette with respect to ashing? Are there any advantages to holding it? To flicking it frequently?

Randy Moss, Eugene, OR

Yo Dandy Randy!

To ash or not to ash? That would be thy question, Oui? Personally, I’m an ash man. I love to hold a great ash, you know what I mean? So firm, just the right texture. And I like to hold that ash as long as possible. I’m not worried about what people might think about me holding it in public either. Heck, I’d hold it for a couple days if nature allowed it. But that’s me. It’s a personal thing I guess.

As a general rule, most premium handmade cigars should hold a long ash. Another note on the old ash, is that one that is whiter is generally an indication that the cigar has been made with higher quality tobaccos. A long ash is actually essential to a pleasant cigar-smoking experience. The ash helps to reduce the temperature of the burning tobacco by creating an air block, and thus cooling the smoke that you bring into your mouth. It also slows the rate at which the cigar burns. These two factors combined unquestionably improve the taste and lengthen your enjoyment of the cigar. So, there is some concrete merit in fact behind holding that ash aside from the fact that you just plain look cool, like you know what you’re doing or something, when you’re doing it. Mind you, once you get about ¾ of an inch going, give it a tap lest you risk the nasty gray matter landing in your kibbles and bits! Hope that helps Randal!

Woof!
Murl

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Members can take advantage of our volume purchasing and re-order their favorite cigars in box quantities at just over our wholesale costs. Re-order any selection featured in the box quantities listed below or order them in convenient 5 paks! Other cigar shapes and sizes not actually featured, but from a featured brand line may also be re-ordered. Call for pricing.

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