halfwheel

Redux: Viaje Exclusivo Corona Gorda

Of all of the blends and releases that Viaje has produced, the Exclusivo line is not only one of the most liked, but is also one of the populous. Although supposedly made for the personal consumption of Viaje owner Andre Farkas, there are now more than ten releases in the line, with more confirmed to [...]

Review: Tatuaje Mission Pipe Shop CQ1 Belicoso

Today our review will focus on another one of Pete Johnson’s single store Exclusive Series releases called the Mission Pipe Shop CQ1, which was made for Mission Pipe Shop in San Jose, Calif. Back in November of 2012 we had the story about its official unveiling although some details had been floating around the Saints [...]

Review: Oliva Master Blends 3 Corona Gorda

In 2003, Oliva released the first in the Master Blends line, followed by the Master Blends 2 in 2005 and the Master Blends 3 in 2006. Intended to be the flagship line of the brand, the length of updates since the introduction of Master Blends 3 has meant it has fallen slightly out of notoriety [...]

Review: Padrón W. Curtis Draper 125th Anniversary Maduro

It took nearly one year from announcement to arrival, but in mid-January, W. Curtis Draper in Washington, DC finally took receipt of the final cigars for its 125th Anniversary Series, courtesy of Padrón. Its arrival follows the 2012 appearances of the Cabaiguan WCD 120 REDUX, a small batch of the original La Aurora 100 Años and the Arturo Fuente W. Curtis Draper [...]

Redux: Hoyo de Monterrey Short Hoyo Pirámides (EL 2011)

Habanos S.A.’s Edición Limitada program has been well documented since launching in 2000, evolving into its current format of a trio of cigars launched annually that uses tobacco aged for two years to create a limited production of cigars that often come at a sizable markup from the marca’s regular production cigars. As has become standard, 2011 [...]

Review: Sancho Panza Escuderos (ER Germany 2011)

Despite being one of Habanos S.A.’s oldest brands, established in 1848, Sancho Panza has one of the smallest portfolios of any of the Habanos lines. In 2010, when Habanos S.A. released the Sancho Panza Quijote for Altadis S.A., the Spanish distributor of Cuban cigars, it was the first Sancho Panza Edición Regional and quite possibly [...]

Review: Ortega The Wild Bunch Island Jim WaHoo (Preproduction)

As you’re likely aware, Eddie Ortega announced an ambitious project in the summer of 2012 dubbed the Wild Bunch that would see him release a new cigar every month in 2013 that would be a tribute to a person that he had met through his cigar-related journeys. Ortega had this to say about the inspiration [...]

Redux: Graycliff Espresso Elegante

Released in late 2003, Graycliff’s Espresso line of cigars became their fullest bodied blend in the entire brand. Originally blended by the creator of the original Cuban Cohiba, Avelino Lara, and Graycliff’s Enrico Garzaroli, the Espresso line is rolled at the Graycliff factory in Nassau, Bahamas. While there are at least nine different vitolas in [...]

Review: Liga Privada Único Serie UF-13 Dark (Prerelease)

It’s been a long wait, but Drew Estate is finally ready for the national release of perhaps its most anticipated Liga Privada ever, the UF-13 Dark. Way back in early 2011, I smoked the first of what would end up being quite a few reiterations of a blend that Liga Privada was working on, dubbed [...]

Review: Cigars of Habanos Custom Rolled Piramides

Today we are looking at the original release of a custom rolled Cuban cigar for the Cigars of Habanos of Hong Kong. These were originally released back in 2010 with plans to only release 300 boxes of 25 cigars. When these were commissioned the blend was created to appeal to the Asian market as this [...]