CA Report: Top New Cigars (October 17, 2022)

Smoketober is kicking into full gear. See top must-smoke new cigars now!

Only two weeks until Halloween? Somewhere there’s a spider watching you put up fake webs around your bushes…after you tore his real web down…

Far be it from me to criticize your décor…we’ve got stogies to talk about! This week, Caldwell, Rocky Patel, and Ozgener Family Cigars take the spotlight with new cigar blends (and a new size) worth talking about. I’ll be giving them a quick review and gushing about why I consider them top among fresh arrivals. First, something a little different!

Enter Cigar Advisor’s Smoketober Halloween Contest!

Now through October 27, you can enter to win a $50.00 Famous Smoke Shop Gift Card! Just snap a pic of yourself in a Halloween costume while smoking a cigar, and best-in-show takes the prize. As a bonus, we’ll post the picture in the Halloween edition of Top New Cigars on 10/31/22. Please keep it clean and submit photos in landscape orientation only.

Submit your photos here: https://www.facebook.com/CigarAdvisor

Good luck and on to this week’s smokes!

Caldwell Lost & Found 22 Minutes to Midnight Habano de Oro

Wrapper: Habano (Unknown Origin) / Connecticut Radiante
Binder: Proprietary
Filler: Proprietary

Unlike your 17^th straight pair of missing sunglasses, 22 Minutes to Midnight doesn’t require you to travel to some roadside attraction to dig it out of the lost and found bin. In Caldwell’s early Lost & Found days, that’s exactly what he did: search out defunct brands and misfit cigar brands that needed a little love. These days, he’s ready to take L&F to regular production, starting with 22 Minutes to Midnight Habano de Oro. The blend and wrapper origin are a mystery. So is the cryptic artwork on the box. What we do know…is all that matters. It tastes fantastic. That’s largely thanks to those top-secret filler tobaccos—each aged more than 25 years. Expect a medium-bodied bevy of flavors like sweet wood, anise, molasses, nuts, and spices from every puff.

And it you want something mellower, Lost & Found 22 Minutes to Midnight Connecticut Radiante is available for preorder now!

Ozgener Family Cigars Bosphorus

Wrapper: Ecuador Habano Dark Natural/Ecuador Habano
Binder: Ecuador Sumatra/Nicaragua Jalapa (Double)
Filler: Nicaragua Esteli, Jalapa, Ometepe

If the Ozgener name sounds familiar…it should! It’s the ‘O’ in CAO. Former CAO president, Tim Ozgener returned to the cigar industry this year with a new brand and new cigar he’s called Bosphorus. Named for a scenic strait in Turkey, Bosphorus has a full-bodied temperament thanks to a core comprised of Ecuadorian and Nicaraguan long-leaf tobaccos. The blend comes in two wrapper choices: an Ecuador Habano ‘Dark Natural’ that smokes sweet from its additional fermentation. And a spicier standard Habano that gives a little more oomph in the pepper department. No matter which blend you chose, they both come from cigar royalty. There are no wrong decisions!

Rocky Patel Royale Corona (New Size!)

Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
Binder: Connecticut Shade/Broadleaf (Double)
Filler: Nicaragua

There’s nothing about Rocky Patel Royale cigars I can tell you that you don’t already know. But I’ll beat the dead horse and say they’re rich, medium plus in body and strength, and complex in the flavor department. We’re talking almonds, espresso, earth, and sweet spices among others. What is new to Famous Smoke Shop is the size, a stunning 5 ½” x 42 Corona vitola that gives more flavor emphasis to the blend’s tangy Ecuador Sumatra wrapper. Thin-ring cigar fans are already hip to the release and the size is selling out fast. And even if there aren’t any Coronas left, the brand itself is worth revisiting any time. It’s a must-smoke Rocky, after all!