We've told you about our love for this Steve Saka sensation.
While we're at our inaugural outing at Vintage Cigar Lounge and Club in Westerly, RI, Steve just happens to be here. (Full disclosure: We were coming anyway but knowing he would be here made us do the Saka Samba of Delight.
This cigar is one of Valentino's all-time favorites.
And this, translated to "my mistress," is Steve's most recent release, well-deserving every ounce of delighted hullabaloo surrounding it. Try it; you'll like it!
Of course Valentino purchased a box of Sobremesas.* Of course we asked Steve to sign it in the only proper way:
Vintage Cigar has a full complement of sizes (vitolas) of both Saka Selections. Make the drive. Come and get them!!
*I've in the past couple of days purchased a box of the mistress, because I'm an awesome girlfriend.
We've been seeing these beauties for a couple of months and wondering how in the heck we were going to lay our hands--and mouths--on some. And then the mighty mighty internets came to the rescue.
Twitter BFF cigarweekly.com** offered us up some and you know we love to try new things.***
After letting them rest for as little time as possible, we couldn't wait anymore and this happened...
The Kings Arapiraca
Poor Valentino. He doesn't spend nearly enough time on Twitter.**** So he hadn't heard of the Kings Arapiraca or Kings Cigars, which are "guaranteed to be flawless, from the cutting of the cap to your final draw. Our cigars are manufactured in our factories in the Dominican Republic in the Yaque Valley near Santiago and in Estelí, Nicaragua." [source]
When he first lit this King of Kings, with a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, Ecuadorian Habano binder, and Dominican Republic filler, he said, "This reminds me of unsweetened iced tea." And yes, it actually tasted that way for me as well, in all my second-hand smoking glory.
Our pals at cigarweekly.com said in their review, "Personally, I had no preconceived notions about what the cigar would be like. Pre-light aromas were very nice, draw darn near perfect, excellent construction. Even burn with the slight shoulder at the edge of the ash that speaks of aged tobacco. I got black tea flavors, along with dark caramel/molasses flavors without any cloying sweetness, rich earthiness and slightly woody essences. Flavor and body consistent, deepening and shifting as the smoke progressed. I had it pegged as high-quality Nicaraguan leaf, so I missed that. This has to be one of the nicest Dominican-filler cigars I’ve ever had."
The Kings website touts the cigar as "[m]edium to full-bodied...crafted for a rich taste that is smooth and unique with a little bit of spice that enhances the robust flavors and awakens your palate.
"Made with the highly coveted Brazilian flavorful Arapiraca leaf, which is grown in central/eastern Brazil. It is often referred to as a Brazilian Maduro, although a bit less sweet and a little more light and earthy than a 'standard Maduro.'”
If you're all about the twitter, like one of us is, you can follow Kings Cigars. Follow as in Twitter-follow, not stalker-follow.
If you'd like to try the Kings Cigars, you can order this sampler on their website:
Kings Cigars Assorted Sampler
Baron Robusto 5 x 52
Conde Robusto 5 x 52
King of Kings 6 x 64 Soft Press
Kings Gran Torpedo 6 5/8 x 60
Conde Churchill 7 x 52
And you definitely should! Get one! Try them out! Let us know what you think! Or just leave us a comment to say "Hello!"
When I am Editor of the World--and this WILL happen someday--cigars I love will be readily available. I guess we're kind of working on that, with the continuing Saga of the Overfilled Humidor. In this tale, a certain couple purchases a 2,000-count humidor from 1st Class Humidors in late August. It looks like this:
By mid-December, this mofo was so filled that when our hero opened the door, certain cigars abandoned ship. I knew this happened when I heard, "Dammit!" from the living room, and then about five seconds later, heard "Dammit" again as the second wave of loose cigars dove into the great abyss.**
After Christmas, a second phone call was made, prices negotiated, and we currently and anxiously await this sight:
Yay! Two!
Here's why this humidor wound up so full so fast: Elves.
Hahaha. No. Because when Valentino had a cigar he really liked, we determined whether or not it was Boxworthy. Many were. So I guess I'm kind of Editor of the World. Penny World.
The other day, we received this fantastic package from the lovely and talented Stephanie Harris, she of Black Label Trading cigars:
The bands are so cool. And scary a little bit. (I'm a delicate flower.)
First up for smoking? This sweetie pie:
The Royalty--a perfect start since I am a beautiful princess.***
Because I know this made Valentino giddy with delight, I'll share it with you: The filler is Nicaraguan.**** The binder is Honduran and the wrapper Ecuadorian corojo.
Keep in mind I am easily distracted. As I chatted with the lovely bartender at Habanos (because we were the only two females in the cigar bar), he lit it up. I may have been mid-sentence as the smoke wafted in my direction before being sucked up by the place's new smoke eaters.
I know the joke is majorly overused, but...
"Hey! Nice Ash!"
Dagnabbit, the pepperiness woke me up. I shake my fist at you corojo! But that's okay because that first blast was a tap on the shoulder telling me I should pay attention; this promises fantabulousness and I shouldn't miss a moment. You must always listen to the corojo, for the corojo is wise.
Of the Royalty, the Cigar Federation said, "Rich. Elegant. Unique. Royalty by Black Label Trading Company shows the world the quality of tobacco and blend masters BLTC work exclusively with. BLTC’s blender, who has over 30 years’ experience, brings a medium strength cigar and flavors you don’t see every day. Floral notes dominate, with notes of cinnamon and nutmeg and a mild spice finish make it truly a unique smoke."
By the way, Cigar Federation is your only online option for the Black Label Trading brand, although maybe your local B&M has them? Ours don't (hint, hint, hint), so it's Cigar Federation for us.
In case you didn't know, Black Label Trading punched its way into the cigar world in 2013 with not one or two, but six unique offerings, according to founder James Brown.*****
When asked what makes his company different from the other cigar companies, Brown said, "First and foremost, our blends. We have focused on defining very unique flavor profiles that you don’t see in cigars everyday. Also, our philosophy is simple – make a great cigar. If a cigar is perfect in a [r]obusto then why make it in five other sizes. We keep it simple with usually 1 or 2 sizes per blend. This also goes along with our small batch mind-set. We keep production very limited to ensure quality every time." [source]
We have many more Black Label Trading cigars to try, but this one, as our first foray into the brand means as soon as that new humidor gets itself in the door, we're getting ourselves a box. Yes, it's boxworthy.
Dammit. If the rest of them are as good as this, we're going to need to order a third humidor.
Hello, new friend.
*We really did buy the t-shirt. They're available here.
**I'm not sure what they thought was out there in the big, unhumidified world for them, but they were easily captured and returned to their rightful place.
***
****Valentino lurvvveeeees Nicaraguan tobacco. If you're tobacco and you say you're from Nicaragua, he has already fallen in love with you.
n.b.*: I started this post in September--September!--and am now just getting back to it. (Yes, I know we're now finishing up December.) Just ignore the references to school starting. Or hop in the time machine and read it in real-time. Your choice.
Don't you hate it when life gets in the way and there's nothing you can do to move that damn blockade that's keeping you from having fun?
Yeah, that happened. I've been caught up with work** and adjusting to a new schedule. Valentino's been doing his consulting thing, telling people what they need to do.***
Anyway, on Thursday (a million years ago), we threw caution to the wind...
...and went to our local hangout, Habanos. And! We met up with Caballero #2, who we hadn't seen in ages!
Naturally, when we arrived, the cigar trading began almost instantly. Cabellero #2 had four sticks laid out where we'd sit:
But can we just say, "Dammit! Trumped!" Valentino had already planned his swap, like a kid deciding which Matchbox car to share with a friend. But he didn't realize his well-thought-out decision would be overwhelmed by the sheer number gifted to him.
But we're still proud of his choice!
The other day****, we'd picked up a few EP Carillo 5th Anniversary... at Mr. J's Havana. (You know we walked out with way more than that, right?)
Released this past fall--right before we bought them!--remember fall, lo all those months ago?--the cigar does exactly what it says, celebrates five years from when Ernesto Perez-Carillo left General Cigars to start making his own delicious cigars. Remember how much we--I--liked the EPC Cigar Now Known as Chocolate Cake? It was definitely box-worthy!
Well this delight is also fantabulous. It has an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, Ecuadorian Corojo '99 binder, and Nicaraguan filler and a one-size-fits-all vitola,***** the double robusto at 6 1/2 x 54.
Here's a funny thing: as I said, I'm writing this in the car and our hero just asked, "What are you doing?"
I had to admit, "Writing a blog post I started in September about the EPC 5th anniversary."
"That was a really good cigar. It was creamy and kind of sweet." Luckily he said nothing about my mad procrastination skills.
I nod, even though he can't see me, and I do remember that cigar and that night at Habanos when both kind gentlemen lit up together, so I got a stereo-sensory blast of the goodness. Let's just be super thankful that on occasion I remember that I'm forgetful and actually type notes and AND put the name of the cigar the notes are about. (Sometimes I don't. This makes me have the sad and the major frustration.)
But this time, Caballero #2 describes a pepperiness but my sensors are all about picking up the subtle sweet creaminess. Valentino mentions a hint of coffee. This is what I love about cigars (besides all the other things I love about cigars): we're all sharing the same thing and yet getting a different experience, based on who we are.
That's why when newcomers to the cigar world ask, "What's the best cigar?" They rarely get a straight, definitive answer.
Valentino loves (irony--read: hates) when folks respond to a question with another question. And yet that's really the only appropriate response in this situation. "What flavor profile do you like?" "What cigars have you tried and liked? Not liked?" "Do you like strong or milder cigars?" The questions can go on and on, because there is no one best cigar. Just like not everyone likes the same foods, so too the cigar. Strength, size, shape, ring gauge...all those things make up the answer to what the question should be: "What's the best cigar for me?"
Well, for some of you, the EPC 5th Anniversary, which ranked quite high in all three of our palettes, is the answer to that question. You should give it a try and see if you're one of them!
*nota bene--Latin for "note well." I love Latin. I know it's a dead language and all, but I would love to resurrect it, a la Frankenstein's monster.
**Actual conversation--Student: Do you have our papers? Me: Shush. You're disturbing class.
***Two things just occurred to me: 1. Our jobs aren't that far apart after all and 2.Urgh. I shouldn't write late at night because I forgot what #2 was going to be.
****Let's do the Time Warp again. You're welcome, by the way...
*****You remember that vitola is the fancy way to say size, right? I know, I know. Why not just say what you mean and move on? And generally I'm right there with you, but specialized language within a group gives a shared sense of belonging. Oh crap. Why am I giving you a rhetoric lesson? I've been done with school three days. Let it go, Penny!******
******If you're expecting me to give you a rendition of "Let it Go," you have a long wait. That song goes right through my spine, and not in a good way.
