2016 CA Report: Trick or Treat Cigars
2016 CA Report: Trick or Treat Cigars
By Jonathan Detore
Every Halloween I sit by my front door and get yelled at all night long by children screaming “TRICK OR TREAT!” While it’s cute the first couple of times, by the end of the night, I feel like giving these little brats more tricks than treats by way of scaring them silly and taking whatever candy they drop for myself. But following this annual tradition always gets me thinking about my childhood and walking around Bloomsbury, NJ, dressed as whatever costume my mom made that year, asking neighbors for candy with my parents to a chorus of “aww, look how cute little Jonny looks.” While this is an annual tradition for kids to follow, it’s kind of a bummer the adults don’t get a reward for all of our work herding the little ones around town every year as they collect their candy. If anything, they deserve a cigar or two for all their hard work, doing everything parents do to keep their kids happy on Halloween night.
This obviously got me thinking as to what Halloween would be like in a town filled with cigar lovers. Adults running rampant from house to house giving out and taking cigars dressed as pilots, killer clowns, cowboys, and more, like a bunch of little kids reliving their youth. It’s the ultimate cigar exchange, and the best block party blowout of the year! But what cigars would you hunt for? What cigars would you want to give out? That’s why I created my own personal list of trick or treat cigars for this fantastic dream town, full of stogies I love and stogies I want to share with my friends, family, and neighbors. The following is a list of 4 cigars I’d love to find in my plastic pumpkin candy pail, and 4 I would want to share with all who knocked on my door.
Take: Psyko Seven
You can’t pass on Halloween without smoking at least one Psyko Seven. Adorned in a prescription pad that looks like a mad doctor from a twisted mental asylum wrote on it, the Psyko Seven is made with 7 different tobaccos from 6 nations including a Mexican San Andres wrapper, making this as complex as your kid’s stash of candy at the end of the night. I’ve smoked plenty of these since they came out, and every time a newbie sees me puffing on one they always have to ask if I got it from a mad scientist. Though I know they’re joking about it, with flavors this insane you’d think only a mad man could create this cigar. There’s no doubt this is on my “Take” list of trick or treat cigars this Halloween, and any house giving them out, I’ll make sure I post myself outside their door until I walk away with a box full.
Give: Crux Guild
The Crux Guild is all about tradition. Tradition of rolling premium hand rolled cigars, the growing process of tobacco, and the tradition of enjoying the fine life with those closest to you. So what better cigar to give out to your friends to help celebrate Halloween with than the Crux Guild? With a full bodied profile in the strength and flavor departments, this powerhouse ensures a frightfully good time by all who enjoy it. Gather your guild and share one of these bad boys.
Take: Acid Kuba Kuba
Halloween is really all about the candy, right? Well then I want something that’s going to satisfy my sweet tooth and my desire to smoke a high-end primo, which is why I’m dropping the Acid Kuba Kuba into my candy bucket this year. Infused with a ton of herbs, spices, and botanicals to send your taste buds on a whirlwind of flavor, these well-aged cigars are a pillar in the cigar industry and a fan favorite across the world. If you’ve never had an Acid, Halloween is the perfect occasion to treat yourself to one.
Give: Red Witch by East India Trading Company
What’s Halloween without at least one “Witch” reference, right? Well prepare to have your palate pulsing with anticipation of the Red Witch by East Indian Trading Company. This massive sucker actually borrows its name from a British ship under the contract of the original East India Trading Company that scoured the seas looking to barter in unique spices, herbs, and of course, tobacco. Though the actual ship is probably nothing but driftwood now, Gurkha did the old ship justice by scouring Latin America looking for a blend of tobacco to make these great trick or treat cigars. Finally they dropped anchor on a Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Ecuadorian blend that pumps out loads of flavor and complexity. Because this is a personal favorite of mine, I figured it should go into my “Give” pile so I can share it with the masses.
Take: Tatuaje Krueger
Of course I’m going to take this cigar. It’s a Halloween tradition to pick up at least one of Tatuaje’s yearly offerings in their Monster Series of cigars. Started in 2008, Tatuaje has released a unique cigar to celebrate Halloween, and named each one after horror villains or iconic horror figures. Names like Frankenstein, Jekyll, and Wolfman should all come to mind, so it makes sense that the indisputable Krueger would make it on their list of slasher stogies. Weighing in a 7 ¼ x 48 as a box-pressed torpedo, once you try this very limited annual offering, you’ll be dreaming about it for years to come. Hopefully you don’t run into the real Krueger…
Give: Inferno Flashpoint
Rolled by the devil himself, the Inferno Flashpoint is sure to light up your palate with oodles of woody, sweet, and some spicy flavors. Okay, so maybe the devil doesn’t roll it, but it’s a pretty menacing name, right? The Flashpoint is the second of three cigars released in the Inferno series of cigars made by Oliva, the first being simply named the Inferno and the third being the 3rd Degree. While this isn’t an overly complex cigar, the flavors it does have jockey for position throughout the smoke which never leaves you wanting more than it offers, and always satisfies. And with a price tag that is just stupid low, you can feel good knowing you won’t need to take out a loan to restock your stogie stash after handing out this high-end premium to your buddies.
Take: SWAG Black
Dark, menacing, flavorful, and oh-so-good! That’s the calling card of the SWAG Black. When the cigar was first released, Rafael Nodal commented on how Dominican cigars are known for their supreme flavor and aroma, but not for their strength profile. That’s why he got to work to create this all-Dominican offering using some of the strongest tobaccos out of the DR to create a Frankenstein stogie featuring the best characteristics of Dominican tobacco, with a strength profile typically only found in Nicaragua. The result is the SWAG Black, a cigar that can easily kidnap unsuspecting souls into a nicotine OD abyss if they aren’t careful, and with a flavor profile that is simply outstanding. This is another personal favorite of mine, and I’m sticking to it. If I’m going to dress up in a stupid costume and go door to door asking for candy, I expect to find one of these at the end of the night.
Give: Camacho Triple Maduro
Dark, menacing, and oh-so-goo… wait, didn’t I just write that? I figured if I’m going to take a dark powerhouse of a cigar to call my own, I might as well give one out as well; and I can think of no better treat cigars to share than Camacho’s Triple Maduro. This is a legendary cigar made by one of the most recognized brands on earth. Named because Maduro tobaccos comprise the wrapper, binder, and filler tobaccos, this all-black bombshell cigar pours out espresso, cocoa, and a slew of other deep flavors with a strength profile that can take down a giant. In my time in the cigar industry, I’ve heard of plenty of brands cigar lovers gravitate towards such as Padron, Oliva, Perdomo and more. But I’ve never met a cigar lover who doesn’t like this cigar, making this one of the most popular brands the industry has ever seen, which is why I put this in my give list.
So there you have it – my list of trick or treat cigars I would give out and take if I were able to. Or at least if Cigar Halloween was a thing. Let me know what you think of my choices, and let me know what cigars you’d love to get and give this Halloween in the comments below!