oh my. China customs! Have you had alot of custom rolls in general? What is your favorite thus far?
Precisely what I want to know... Seems to me like they ones I have had are much better value then the higher priced EL, RE, and GR stuff...even though I have not had a GR lol. I think I would cream over a Robaina custom...
Funny side story, a good friend was telling me some Cuban was telling people he was Hiroshi and taking $$$ from tourists recently until he got caught. Remind me to tell you the story some time with who it was.
I have some authentic custom rolled cigars from La China from Partagas, Yolanda Gonzalez from Melia Cohiba Hotel, Hamlet Jamie Paredes from CDH now with Partagas, Monsdale, Jose Luis Perez Mingollo from Cohiba factory, Jorge Lopez Leal from CDH La Habano Diplomatic Club and now from Hiroshi Robina. It all depends on the authenticity and the quality of tobaccos.
I would like to you to know that 85% custom rolled cigars are fake even in Cuba. This statement came from my friend who is one of the Director of casa del Habano. During my second trip to Cuba he took me to some of these factories. They are literally next to Partagas, H Upman and other major factories. He also told me that even the famous rollers make many custom rolled cigars with poor quality tobacco since it is an extra income for them and the demand is high. I will write an investigative article about custom rolled with pictures in the "Rip's Journey to Cuba" thread.
In a nutshell, the source of the custom rolled cigars are the key to collect the top quality cigars. I have smoked both and the differences are North to South Pole.
As always RIP, your posts bring a smile to my face. I enjoy reading what you are willing, and able, to share. While much of it is beyond my imagination, let alone personal experiences, i get great satisfaction in reading the details. We all have wonderful stories to tell of the places we have seen, people we have met and experiences we have felt, but there is a sense of allure in what will be revealed by your next post. Thanks for sharing them.
High quality custom rolled cigars are very limited quantity. Usually they offer 5-10. I have visited most of the rollers factories with my CDH friend so they couldn't offer me the inferior one. When you hold the cigar and smell them you can tell right way about the quality of of the tobacco. I smoked one Hiroshi Robina's aged custom rolled cigar and they are simply out of this planet.
I agree most of the LE, RE cigars are disappointment. However the Grand Reserva line cigars are very special but at the same time overpriced like Padron or davidoff. I smoked them all and will always keep some GR in my collection to see the changes.
I have no favorite Custom Roller, it depends on the quality of the tobacco. Lately I am more into custom rolled cigars even from Nicaragua. Once you discover the source of properly aged and high grade tobacco it is not easy to smoke commercial brands. Please don't get me wrong there are many excellent commercial brands in the market. When you smoke some really aged cigar and have the source, it is obvious to demand for price vs value . I will discuss about my recent taste shift some other time. Please stay tuned...
Dustin I would like to know about fake Hirochi story. He will visit here soon and he promised to come to my house when he is here. He is also a very good and sincere cigar maker just like his grandfather. He treated me very well when I visited his finca last time. I want to do the same for him.
catfishbluezz:
jliu:
oh my. China customs! Have you had alot of custom rolls in general? What is your favorite thus far?
Precisely what I want to know... Seems to me like they ones I have had are much better value then the higher priced EL, RE, and GR stuff...even though I have not had a GR lol. I think I would cream over a Robaina custom...
Funny side story, a good friend was telling me some Cuban was telling people he was Hiroshi and taking $$$ from tourists recently until he got caught. Remind me to tell you the story some time with who it was.
Appreciate your kind words Barry. I try my best to share my limited knowledge about cigar and the industry whenever I can. I love cigars but I also enjoy the aspect of the history, facts and the friendship I gain through this hobby. I enjoy the way cigar brings people together and create a bond and beautiful friendship between us.
bearb:
As always RIP, your posts bring a smile to my face. I enjoy reading what you are willing, and able, to share. While much of it is beyond my imagination, let alone personal experiences, i get great satisfaction in reading the details. We all have wonderful stories to tell of the places we have seen, people we have met and experiences we have felt, but there is a sense of allure in what will be revealed by your next post. Thanks for sharing them.
Hey Dustin. Interesting... will definitely want to hear all about this fake Robaina farm roll. I actually got gifted one from a local guy that frequents the BnM. I have yet to smoke it. That's a big fat cigar haha
Thanks Rip for your responses. I completely agree with you on the quality of the tobacco used for the custom rolls. I've had Santos, Carlos Fernandez, Monsdale, Ravi's and recently purchased some Hamlet lanceros. All in all, Monsdales from early 2013 has been the best for me. Supposedly those went into a custom Partagas humidor of some sort. Overall, custom rolls I've had were good. Fantastic? I would say Monsdale from early 2013. I smoked a Monsdale from 2011 and my 2013s were far superior to the 2011s. I overall find it very annoying and in the dark about cuban cigars. Annoyed at "cuba being cuba." When I find a great cigar, it is a cuban cigar without a doubt (namely 2008 Cohiba Esplendido, 2004 Cohiba Siglo VI, Montecristo Gran Reserva, La Escepcion RE Italy). But man, I know that when I pick up a overly priced Padron or Davidoff, at least they will be great w/o having to question much on it (construction, draw, burn, flavor profile, etc). Just my two cents.
I can't drop one name as my most favorite custom rolled cigar but the one below is definitely my top three custom rolled cigar. These cigars were rolled by Jose Luis Perez Mingollo of Cohiba factory to celebrate 15 years of CDH store in Havana Diplomatic Club. They are super rare.
jliu:
Hey Dustin. Interesting... will definitely want to hear all about this fake Robaina farm roll. I actually got gifted one from a local guy that frequents the BnM. I have yet to smoke it. That's a big fat cigar haha
Thanks Rip for your responses. I completely agree with you on the quality of the tobacco used for the custom rolls. I've had Santos, Carlos Fernandez, Monsdale, Ravi's and recently purchased some Hamlet lanceros. All in all, Monsdales from early 2013 has been the best for me. Supposedly those went into a custom Partagas humidor of some sort. Overall, custom rolls I've had were good. Fantastic? I would say Monsdale from early 2013. I smoked a Monsdale from 2011 and my 2013s were far superior to the 2011s. I overall find it very annoying and in the dark about cuban cigars. Annoyed at "cuba being cuba." When I find a great cigar, it is a cuban cigar without a doubt (namely 2008 Cohiba Esplendido, 2004 Cohiba Siglo VI, Montecristo Gran Reserva, La Escepcion RE Italy). But man, I know that when I pick up a overly priced Padron or Davidoff, at least they will be great w/o having to question much on it (construction, draw, burn, flavor profile, etc). Just my two cents.
This special cigar gift is more special to me than many others since some of them are not going to be released in the market or going to be released soon and most importantly from my good friend AJ. AJ is not only a sincere and humble cigar maker but also a good person. He always wants me to try new thing and make me feel special by counting on my taste buds. He doesnt want me to buy his cigars anymore rather than just ask from him. I am not going to do that because I value his friendship, mentoring and willingness to educate me about tobacco and the cigar. In this beautiful world there is nothing more valuable than a sincere friendship. How often we can get that? I will always cherish this with complete trust and humbleness. Here is some very special gift from AJ during my recent trip to his factory. He has a nice tall humidor with all his gems. It smells so good with clean cedar aroma which is full of his personal smoke, some of his great creation and some experimental cigars he has been working on. To me it is like a treasure humidor full of surprises.
These are all very special gift to me from a special friend.
First two he recreated to challenge a prominent cigar maker's cigar who he believes sucking up cigar lovers money. The middle one is with one his Limited Edition blend with a new wrapper. The last two will never be released in the market. This is something AJ rolled by himself for his personal smoke. He warned me I will like them very much but can't have anymore cause he doesn't have any. I am suppose to provide my feedback on first three cigars but haven't get the chance yet but I will. AJ knows that I do not like all his cigars and he caught my attention with Man O War Armada. So he gave me 10 more from his inventory. I also recently bought 15 from CCom. This is one of my favorite AJ cigar. First batch of my own blend which he thinks almost a perfect blend and doesn't require any adjustment. When he came to my house next day first thing he asked for this to smoke after dinner because he didn't keep any extra for him AJ is going to prove his class again with this new blend. He spent a lot of time and some of his guarded tobaccos to create this special Limited Edition blend. I am not in a situation to release further information. This is for European market only and quiet expensive cigar. he rolled very limited quantity and going to be one time release. This is an excellent smoke and I love them.
Sorry I had to delete the picture of the cigars because I couldn't edit the name. I will post them later when I can edit the name.
I attended the inauguration party of the 3rd Nicaraguan Cigar Festival- Puro Sabor 2014 and missed the special cigar box. AJ knows I am a collector and he gave me a box of this special release. This is a cool gift from AJ. I don't know enough about the background of this wine. When he came to my house for dinner with his family he gave me this bottle of wine. The wine has his name engraved on the glass.
Another special gift from my good friend AJ. The prototype Armada II and his other ongoing prototype cigars. I am not going to disclose any information. I smokes the LIGA...man what a great smoke! AJ's Limited Edition project will kick out many existing and overhyped brands soon. he is simply a genius blender.
Interesting, all of his stuff has had to much power for my palate. I know there is wonderful rich nutty tobacco in Nica, I just haven't seen it from him yet. There are a few of his blends I enjoy, but nothing I would regularly smoke.
The Heads of State and Government of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) gathered in Havana, Cuba on January 28 and 29, 2014 at the Second Summit, on behalf of their peoples and faithfully interpreting their hopes and aspirations, Mindful that peace is a supreme asset and a legitimate aspiration of all peoples and that preserving peace is a substantial element of Latin America and Caribbean integration and a principle and common value of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).
Only 33 boxes of these cigars were specially produced for 33 Heads of State of Latin America and the Caribbean Region. It was handed over to each President by Cuban President Raul Castro himself. The Nicaraguan President Ortega also got a box and somehow one of the cigars came to my collection- end of conversation-:)
This cigar suppose to be the cream of Cuban tobacco. I am still trying to get the box. This is most probably the only picture on the internet. It is truly an ultra rare cigar that money cannot buy. I am very proud to be able to add this cigar to my collection. The size is little bigger than A sized cigars.
Here is the link http://celac.cubaminrex.cu/en/categoria/discursos-e-intervenciones if you want to know more about CELAC. Please note that the second band is the logo of the CELAC Habana 2014 Summit.
What's up Daniel. I am doing fine. I have been traveling in and out of Nicaragua a lot lately. However, I am not going to travel for a while and be here more often. Hope you are doing well my friend.
Hello Jim. My wife is still at the war zone. Life has been little hectic for me. Six more months then the entire family will be together. I see her every three months but still it is hard. Single parent responsibility is huge.
Bigshizza:
Trip is bringing back the cigar porn... Drool my friend!! Hope all is well with you and your family!!
In every 4th of July, American Embassies all over the world celebrate the day with stylish party and invite other Foreign Diplomats and Dignitaries to the Embassies. Of course in Nicaragua some large cigar manufacturers also get the invitation to the party. Some of them specially roll cigars for the Ambassador. Our Ambassador also received few special boxes. This year I was in Washington with my family. However, the Ambassador was very kind to save some for me. She knows that I am a cigar lover and a collector. Here are some pictures of the Ambassadorial cigar gift from Nicaragua. I have no idea about the quality.
Comments
Funny side story, a good friend was telling me some Cuban was telling people he was Hiroshi and taking $$$ from tourists recently until he got caught. Remind me to tell you the story some time with who it was.
I have some authentic custom rolled cigars from La China from Partagas, Yolanda Gonzalez from Melia Cohiba Hotel, Hamlet Jamie Paredes from CDH now with Partagas, Monsdale, Jose Luis Perez Mingollo from Cohiba factory, Jorge Lopez Leal from CDH La Habano Diplomatic Club and now from Hiroshi Robina. It all depends on the authenticity and the quality of tobaccos.
I would like to you to know that 85% custom rolled cigars are fake even in Cuba. This statement came from my friend who is one of the Director of casa del Habano. During my second trip to Cuba he took me to some of these factories. They are literally next to Partagas, H Upman and other major factories. He also told me that even the famous rollers make many custom rolled cigars with poor quality tobacco since it is an extra income for them and the demand is high. I will write an investigative article about custom rolled with pictures in the "Rip's Journey to Cuba" thread.
In a nutshell, the source of the custom rolled cigars are the key to collect the top quality cigars. I have smoked both and the differences are North to South Pole.
I agree most of the LE, RE cigars are disappointment. However the Grand Reserva line cigars are very special but at the same time overpriced like Padron or davidoff. I smoked them all and will always keep some GR in my collection to see the changes.
I have no favorite Custom Roller, it depends on the quality of the tobacco. Lately I am more into custom rolled cigars even from Nicaragua. Once you discover the source of properly aged and high grade tobacco it is not easy to smoke commercial brands. Please don't get me wrong there are many excellent commercial brands in the market. When you smoke some really aged cigar and have the source, it is obvious to demand for price vs value . I will discuss about my recent taste shift some other time. Please stay tuned...
Dustin I would like to know about fake Hirochi story. He will visit here soon and he promised to come to my house when he is here. He is also a very good and sincere cigar maker just like his grandfather. He treated me very well when I visited his finca last time. I want to do the same for him.
Thanks Rip for your responses. I completely agree with you on the quality of the tobacco used for the custom rolls. I've had Santos, Carlos Fernandez, Monsdale, Ravi's and recently purchased some Hamlet lanceros. All in all, Monsdales from early 2013 has been the best for me. Supposedly those went into a custom Partagas humidor of some sort. Overall, custom rolls I've had were good. Fantastic? I would say Monsdale from early 2013. I smoked a Monsdale from 2011 and my 2013s were far superior to the 2011s. I overall find it very annoying and in the dark about cuban cigars. Annoyed at "cuba being cuba." When I find a great cigar, it is a cuban cigar without a doubt (namely 2008 Cohiba Esplendido, 2004 Cohiba Siglo VI, Montecristo Gran Reserva, La Escepcion RE Italy). But man, I know that when I pick up a overly priced Padron or Davidoff, at least they will be great w/o having to question much on it (construction, draw, burn, flavor profile, etc). Just my two cents.
This special cigar gift is more special to me than many others since some of them are not going to be released in the market or going to be released soon and most importantly from my good friend AJ. AJ is not only a sincere and humble cigar maker but also a good person. He always wants me to try new thing and make me feel special by counting on my taste buds. He doesnt want me to buy his cigars anymore rather than just ask from him. I am not going to do that because I value his friendship, mentoring and willingness to educate me about tobacco and the cigar. In this beautiful world there is nothing more valuable than a sincere friendship. How often we can get that? I will always cherish this with complete trust and humbleness. Here is some very special gift from AJ during my recent trip to his factory. He has a nice tall humidor with all his gems. It smells so good with clean cedar aroma which is full of his personal smoke, some of his great creation and some experimental cigars he has been working on. To me it is like a treasure humidor full of surprises.
These are all very special gift to me from a special friend.
First two he recreated to challenge a prominent cigar maker's cigar who he believes sucking up cigar lovers money. The middle one is with one his Limited Edition blend with a new wrapper. The last two will never be released in the market. This is something AJ rolled by himself for his personal smoke. He warned me I will like them very much but can't have anymore cause he doesn't have any. I am suppose to provide my feedback on first three cigars but haven't get the chance yet but I will.
AJ knows that I do not like all his cigars and he caught my attention with Man O War Armada. So he gave me 10 more from his inventory. I also recently bought 15 from CCom. This is one of my favorite AJ cigar.
First batch of my own blend which he thinks almost a perfect blend and doesn't require any adjustment. When he came to my house next day first thing he asked for this to smoke after dinner because he didn't keep any extra for him
AJ is going to prove his class again with this new blend. He spent a lot of time and some of his guarded tobaccos to create this special Limited Edition blend. I am not in a situation to release further information. This is for European market only and quiet expensive cigar. he rolled very limited quantity and going to be one time release. This is an excellent smoke and I love them.
Sorry I had to delete the picture of the cigars because I couldn't edit the name. I will post them later when I can edit the name.
I attended the inauguration party of the 3rd Nicaraguan Cigar Festival- Puro Sabor 2014 and missed the special cigar box. AJ knows I am a collector and he gave me a box of this special release.
This is a cool gift from AJ. I don't know enough about the background of this wine. When he came to my house for dinner with his family he gave me this bottle of wine. The wine has his name engraved on the glass.
Only 33 boxes of these cigars were specially produced for 33 Heads of State of Latin America and the Caribbean Region. It was handed over to each President by Cuban President Raul Castro himself. The Nicaraguan President Ortega also got a box and somehow one of the cigars came to my collection- end of conversation-:)
This cigar suppose to be the cream of Cuban tobacco. I am still trying to get the box. This is most probably the only picture on the internet. It is truly an ultra rare cigar that money cannot buy. I am very proud to be able to add this cigar to my collection. The size is little bigger than A sized cigars.
Here is the link http://celac.cubaminrex.cu/en/categoria/discursos-e-intervenciones if you want to know more about CELAC. Please note that the second band is the logo of the CELAC Habana 2014 Summit.
In every 4th of July, American Embassies all over the world celebrate the day with stylish party and invite other Foreign Diplomats and Dignitaries to the Embassies. Of course in Nicaragua some large cigar manufacturers also get the invitation to the party. Some of them specially roll cigars for the Ambassador. Our Ambassador also received few special boxes. This year I was in Washington with my family. However, the Ambassador was very kind to save some for me. She knows that I am a cigar lover and a collector. Here are some pictures of the Ambassadorial cigar gift from Nicaragua. I have no idea about the quality.