A Spicy Connecticut

Back during the last trade show, I wrote about the new line from the Garcias—Jaime and Pepin.  It is the My Father Connecticut.  This is the family’s first venture into a Connecticut. Now most Connecticut wrapped cigars tend to be on the milder side.  Not so with this one, it is a full-bodied Connecticut and it has shipped and is in stores now.  The My Father Connecticut uses Ecuadoran Connecticut for the wrapper over a Nicaraguan Criollo 99 binder with Nicaraguan Habano and Nicaraguan  Criollo fillers.  Other than the wrapper, all the tobaccos come from the Garcia’s farms in Nicaragua.  The My Father Connecticut comes in 4 sizes:  Corona Gorda at 6” X 48; Robusto at 5.25” x 52; Toro at 6.5” x 54 and the Toro Gordo at 6” x 60. They are packed in boxes of 23 and the list price is from  just over $7 to  just over $9.

Insidious

Christian Eiroa and Tom Lazuka are the ones behind Asylum…the line known for big bold cigars.  The Asylum line features a 7” x 70…talk about big.  Sheesh.  The Asylum Schizo is a very affordable line of mixed fill cigars where the biggest one, the 7” x 70 lists at $3.70.  At the trade show, Eiroa rolled out the Asylum Straight Jacket a more fuller bodied smoke using all Nicaraguan tobaccos but being long fill, it is certainly a bit more than the Schizo with the 7” x 70 listing for about $12 each.  But knowing that stronger is not always better, now Eiroa and Lazuka have gone back to a time before Camacho (Christian’s former brand which is now made and owned by Davidoff) and come up with a cigar that is reminiscent of his former company’s best seller.  Baccarat—the game was the Eiroa family’s big seller.  Made in Honduras with that country’s wrapper and filler and a Mexican binder, it is a smooth cigar with a sweet tip.  Eiroa now has unveiled Asylum Insidious – much milder than other Asylum cigars complete with a sweet tip.  Insidious is Honduran-made at Christian’s factory there and differs from the original in that it uses a smooth Ecuadoran Connecticut wrapper over Honduran fillers and binder.  Insidious comes in more traditional sizes as well: 6” x 44, 7” x 48, 5” x 50, 6” x 52 and of course being Asylum a bigger one at 7” x 64.  Insidious lists for around $4.

Moose no Squirrel

Back at the trade show in talking with Michael Giannini, he told me about his idea for a cigar based on the image of a moose chillin’ out. Michael comes up with interesting ideas but you are never sure where he will go with them.  Anyway, Michael wanted his Foundry Tobacco company to have a value-priced cigar.  Chillin’ Moose is that cigar.  It certainly is value-priced, even at full list price the 6” x 60 is under $4. (But we have them around $2 – talk about affordable!)  The Chillin’ Moose uses a Connecticut Habano Rosado wrapper over Ecuador Sumatra binder and fillers from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic and Mexico.  This is not a strong cigar, more in the mild to medium range, as Giannini said it is meant for just relaxing.  There are three sizes, 5.25” x 45, 5.5” x 50 and the aforementioned 6” x 60.