…and a side of Random Cigar Thoughts.
Come to think of it, I started with premium cigars because there were no gas stations in Boston.
At least none within walking distance from where I was living. There was, however, a little cigar shop down the street and around the corner. The kind that’s pretty much extinct these days, with uneven wooden floorboards and a crusty—but friendly—old guy behind the counter. I went into that shop as an 18-year-old college freshman looking for some Garcia y Vegas to smoke after a party. I left with a little new knowledge and a couple of Gisperts and Fonsecas—the old school blends before AJ Fernandez and Pepin Garcia got a hold of them.
Looking back, a lot has changed in the 30 years since. Perhaps the worst are the sweeping new regulations, imposed and considered, by the FDA. Or the taxes. Or that an 18-year-old adult can no longer go into a cigar shop and buy a premium cigar. But all’s not lost. These past 30 years have seen an explosion of creativity and new voices in the cigar industry. New brands were born, and that inventive spirit continues today in new cigar releases like the Crowned Heads, CAO, and Diesel that are featured in this edition of Top New Cigars.
Have you enjoyed a new cigar that you think should be on our must-smoke list? We’d love to hear from you! Please give us the details in the comments below!
Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Peru
As the folks at Crowned Heads put it, the Mil Dias Marranitos Edicion Limitada is “the same but different.” Using the binder and long fillers from Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Peru in the regular production Mil Dias, this limited-edition blend swaps the original’s Habano wrapper for a dark Ecuador Sumatra maduro. Once lit, you’ll notice this isn’t a run of the mill boutique cigar—Mil Dias Marranitos delivers a gourmet experience with depth, complexity, and nuance. You’ll pick up a slew of flavors in this medium to medium-plus blend including baking spices, toast, earth, creaminess, caramel, dark chocolate, and raisins. Released in limited quantities, it’s time to put Mil Dias Marranitos on your ‘don’t miss’ list.
Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
Binder: Honduras Habano
Filler: Nicaragua, Dominican Republic
CAO Pilon put an old-fashioned tobacco fermentation technique front and center, and the limited-edition offshoot Pilon Anejo ups the ante. Highlighting the effects that proper aging (Anejo is Spanish for ‘old’) has on a blend, the cigars were put aside to rest in an aging room for 2 years after they were rolled. Expect double the flavor from these twice aged beauties including notes of earth, wood, caramel, and a muted spiciness. Pilon Anejo is medium-plus and displays the depth, character, and balance that proves the old adage true—that good things come to those who wait.
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Honduras
Filler: Honduras, Nicaragua
Stubborn Fool is the initial release in Diesel’s new Fool’s Errand trilogy. Set to be released annually, this trilogy is set to shake things up a bit with an interactive game. Stubborn Fool comes in a 5” x 58 figurado and ships with a Tarot card with a QR code that launches the game. Oh, and there will be prizes. But, on to the cigar. Stubborn Fool is crafted at AJ Fernandez’s Nicaraguan factory and uses a dark and oily Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper over a Honduran binder and long fillers from Nicaragua and Honduras. Anticipate a full-bodied adventure with flavors of nuts, dark chocolate, cinnamon, wood, earth, and strong black coffee. To paraphrase the great philosopher Mr. T—“I pity the fool…” that misses out on Stubborn Fool.
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Paul first fell in love with the leaf back in college, where he majored in Philosophy (yes, seriously). Upon graduating, Paul stared into the abyss and unemployment stared back. He responded by founding the ‘Pounding Fathers,’ a traveling Beer Pong team with the other Philosophy grad at UMass. Aspiring to subsist on more than Ramen Noodles and Natural Ice, Paul put down his ping pong balls and picked up a pen - and a cigar - and began working in the premium cigar industry in 2013.
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