halfwheel

Review: Pinar del Río Small Batch Reserve Maduro Robusto (Prerelease)

Rumblings of two new cigar lines from Pinar del Río started circulating around the internet in late January, and on February 2, we broke the details of the new additions: the Small Batch Reserve and Flores y Rodriguez. The Small Batch Reserve will be the first to come out, with a due date of late this month or [...]

Review: La Escepción Selectos Finos (ER Italy 2011)

In 2011, Habanos brought back an old Cuban brand La Escepción. as an ER for Italy. The size is a 6 1/2 x 38 Panatela called Selectos Finos, a size that had never been offered by La Escepción prior. La Escepción is one of the oldest Cuban cigar brands with its introduction by owner José Gener sometime in the late [...]

Redux: Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Lancero

The Don Carlos Lancero is a cigar that I should like. Up until December 2011, the Don Carlos Lancero was a rather rare specimen reserved for Casa Fuente, Prometheus releases and other limited fashions that meant walking into a B&M and purchasing a box was out of the question. Truth be told, for the most [...]

Review: La Flor Dominicana Double Claro No. 42

In late 2010, Litto Gomez added his name to the growing, yet still small, hat of manufacturers to produce a Candela cigar. Unlike recent initial launches from both Dion Giolito of Illusione (~hl~ Candela) and Andre Farkas of Viaje (WLP Candela), Gomez announced that his release would be regular production from the get go. (Giolito’s [...]

Review: EloGio Excepcionales

At IPCPR 2011, the boutique brand EloGio announced the limited edition Excepcionales, a 5 5/8 x 82 (yes, you read that correctly) Double Perfecto. The 300 boxes of 10 Excepcionales joined EloGio’s two other lines, the Serie LSV and the Serie Habano, both of which are available in the same six vitolas. EloGio is owned [...]

Review: Undercrown Corona ¡Viva! (Prerelease)

In early December 2011, Erik Calviño of Cigar Snob Magazine posted this picture of a preproduction Undercrown. Shortly thereafter, it was confirmed that the name was in fact Undercrown Corona ¡Viva!, a Corona Gorda-sized extension to Undercrown lineup that was set to debut in Spring of 2012. Steve Saka, president of Drew Estate, described it [...]

Review: La Gloria Cubana Deliciosos (ER Cuba 2009)

In 2009, Habanos S.A. released a new La Gloria Cubana release made solely for Cuba. Launched under its Edición Regional banner, the La Gloria Cubana Deliciosos was the first, and is to this day the only, ER for Cuba. Known more for its packaging and pricing, like many ERs, the Deliciosos found its way out [...]

Review: Davidoff No.1

In August of 1989, one of the most expensive, yet least destructive fires in history took place. Zino Davidoff, founder of Davidoff, allegedly burned upwards of 130,000 Cuban Davidoffs in the infamous Davidoff bonfire that marked the end of white label in Havana. By 1991, after years of frustration over poor quality, Cuban Davidoffs were no [...]

Review: My Father Atlantic 15th Anniversary Robusto

For those of you that don’t know… On February 9th, 2012, site sponsor Atlantic Cigar Co. put up for sale the next of their four part 15th Anniversary Series. For the first release, Viaje was commissioned to create a special cigar and for the second, My Father was chosen and decided to make a box-pressed [...]

Redux: Viaje White Label Project Fifty Fifty Red

Today’s redux review is of a cigar I reviewed way back in June of 2011, the Viaje White Label Project Fifty Fifty Red. I bought a bundle of these when they were released, but I don’t think I have smoked one since the first review. Here is what I said about the Viaje White Label [...]