halfwheel

Redux: E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut Divinos

Back in March of 2011, E.P. Carrillo put his entry into the ever-fluid marketplace that is Connecticut-wrapped cigars, the E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut. While it was originally released in three vitolas, a fourth has since been added. Here is what I said in my original review back in March of 2011: E.P. Carrillo absolutely nailed this [...]

Review: La Gloria Cubana Trunk Show Liga LR-1 (Prerelease)

Since being selected as one of the brands in the General Cigar portfolio to get a significant amount of focus and attention, La Gloria Cubana has steadily added new products over the past few years that have blended design and product innovation. Their latest release, Trunk Show, which debuted at IPCPR 2012, is no exception. [...]

Review: La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Reserva Romantico (Prerelease)

Back in July, we heard murmurs that Ashton was preparing a new La Aroma de Cuba as a follow-up to the Mi Amor. The La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Reserva was announced shortly before the IPCPR trade show when Ashton informed a handful of top accounts via a letter. Here’s a copy of that [...]

Review: Foundry Wells (Prerelease)

One of the most interesting releases of the IPCPR show in Orlando was a new line from General Cigar called Foundry. It is described as “the brainchild of Michael Giannini,” based off of his fascination with the steampunk movement and innovators.  Says the press release: General Cigar is proud to introduce FOUNDRY, a new boutique [...]

Review: Nestor Miranda Special Selection Connecticut 5.5 x 54 (Prerelease)

In addition to the Grand Reserve 2012 and Añoranzas, Miami Cigar & Co. debuted the newest Nestor Miranda Special Selection at IPCPR 2012, the Connecticut. It’s the third different wrapper for the regular production version of the Nestor Miranda Special Selection, which has previously been offered in Habano Rosado and Oscuro, both from Nicaragua. The [...]

Review: Jameson La Resolución (Prerelease)

For Jameson Cigars’ latest release, owner Brad Mayo dug into the history books a bit and came up with a name that hasn’t been seen for over 150 years. La Resolución is a Cuban brand from the mid 1800s, a fairly obscure marca with relatively little turning up in a Google search of the name. What does exist is [...]

Review: Rocky Patel The Edge Habano Toro (Prerelease)

At the IPCPR show at the beginning of August, Rocky Patel showed off seven new cigars that will be released on various dates before the end of the year. One of the releases is a new version of the extremely popular The Edge line, The Edge Habano. It is also the first Nicaraguan puro in The [...]

Review: Rocky Patel Private Cellar Robusto (Prerelease)

A flurry of press releases about Rocky Patel’s new lines came out just prior to the IPCPR convention and trade show in Orlando, among which was news of a brand new line called the Private Cellar. “Private Cellar is a personal favorite – a blend that I have been working on and aging for a number of [...]

Review: XIKAR HC Series Habano² Robusto (Prerelease)

The XIKAR HC Series has an interesting history, dating all the way back to 2007 and XIKAR’s entry into the cigar market with the Defiance, which debuted at the 2007 RTDA trade show in Houston. Despite the fact that the cigar received some critical acclaim, the name didn’t resonate with consumers and in May 2009 [...]

Review: Tatuaje The Old Man and the C (Prerelease)

One of Tatuaje’s most revered blends is the Private Reserve, otherwise known as the Black Label blend. Ever since the original release of the Corona Gordas vitola in ceramic jars back in 2008, it has become one of the hottest releases Pete Johnson has produced. Word came down last year that Johnson was going to [...]