Trocadero by L’Atellier

Wrapper : Nicaraguan Rosado Habano
Binder : Nicaraguan broadleaf
Filler : Nicaraguan
Source : Gifted by Jeff

Welcome to this week’s cigar review of the Trocadero by L’Atellier in the cambon size (5 1/4×52). This cigar is available in two more sizes also, honore (5 3/4×56) and montaigne (6 1/4×60) with a MSRP of $3.50 to $4.50 depending on size. This is a bundle stick from L’Atellier Imports which you should know is a …

Vertigo Intimidator Lighter

A few weeks back I received a surprise package from Steven over at Lighters Direct. The package contained four Vertigo lighters for me to try out.

Prior to receiving the package I hadn’t had any experience with the Vertigo line. Since then I’ve learned that it is a budget line, of sorts, produced by Lotus. Lighters are said to run $30 and under. The Vertigo Intimidator Lighter runs $27.95 from Lighters Direct.

When I first started playing around …

Brian’s The Week In Smoke, Cigar Safari Edition

It’s time again for another issue of Brian’s The Week In Smoke. This time, a special edition is in order to cover the cigars I smoke down in Nicaragua on Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari. But instead of revisiting cigars like the T52 (which I smoked every day I was there), I’m focusing mostly on the rarer, more interesting smokes of the trip. Oh yes, I should mention that these cigars were included as part of the trip, so …

God of Fire Don Carlos 2008 (first impressions)

Sadly, smoking a cigar has become a relatively rare event for me lately, as everything at home and work has been so busy. Having finally found an opportunity to enjoy a nice, long, relaxing smoke, I sifted through my coolidor looking for something truly top-shelf. A while back, our friend Keith Park of Prometheus sent me a wonderful Limited Edition God of Fire 9-cigar Assortment. I’ve been spreading these out a bit, only smoking them on special occasions in …

Cigar Bunching Methods at Drew Estate with Willy Herrera and Nick Melillo

A lot of people know that a cigar is composed of a wrapper, binder and filler, but not many understand how it all comes together.  One of the most critical components in the cigar making processes is the bunching of the filler tobaccos to be rolled with a binder.  At Drew Estate, they used what they refer to as estrujado method or “lazy entubado” and entubado methods.  That is where they form a base of two tobacco leaves before using …