halfwheel

Review: Intemperance EC XVIII A.W.S. IV (Prerelease)

On February 15, we broke the news of a new event-only cigar from RoMa Craft, the Intemperance Lonsdale. The new vitola would be known as the A.W.S. IV and would be available in both wrappers of the Intemperance line. The debut date is yet to be decided, but it will be happening at a future [...]

Review: Tatuaje Brown Label Civil Cigar Lounge

In 2003, a relatively unknown cigar called Tatuaje was released for the first time. The first cigars on the market from the new brand were named Seleccion de Cazador, adorned with a nondescript brown band and packaged in Cuban style boxes. The Brown Label, as it is now most commonly referred to, became the lynchpin [...]

Review: Oliva Serie G Maduro Belicoso Round

In July 2012, we broke news of a new event-only sampler that would be coming from Oliva that would feature five never before released cigars, four of which come from existing lines and one of which would be a concept blend. The event-only sampler has become a staple in Oliva’s marketing plans, primarily in their STUDIO [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

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: Ortega The Wild Bunch Iron Mike I-Beam (Preproduction)

In July 2012, Eddie Ortega began talking about a new project he was working on, the Dirty Dozen. While he didn’t release a ton of details at the time, his fondness for social media – Facebook in particular – became a vehicle for little bits of information to be released. When the project was announced, Ortega had [...]

Redux: Tatuaje Limited Series Mexican Experiment Robusto

On May 28, 2012, news began to circulate about a new Tatuaje Limited Series release dubbed the Mexican Experiment. Details were a bit sketchy at first, with the cigar first being noted as a 5 x 50 Robusto, then a retailer contradicted that by saying it was a box-pressed 5 x 52 Robusto. To further confuse things, reports of [...]