DogWatch Cigar Radio Podcast Episode #348

This week we welcome Craig Schneider back for the biggest smoke ever on DogWatch Cigar Radio.  The three of us exchanged cigars this week so we each have three cigars to review making for a total of nine reviews of 6 different cigars (do the math yourself, this one confused me).  We also have mail from Palio contest winners, a request from a listener and a question for our team of experts.

Cigars of the Week -

Cigar of the Week: Bob – E.P Carillo Golosos Cigars
Ring Gauge:  60 Length:  6.5 inches Shape:  Toro Gordo Strength: Medium
E.P Carillo Golosos Cigars - The creator and the man behind the famous cigar brand La Gloria Cubana has launch a new personal project and another fabulous cigar The E.P. Carillo. The filler in the EP Carillo cigar is a well aged 5 year old Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers that is bound and wrapped with a 3 year old Ecuadorian-grown Habano wrapper. This cigar is a medium bodied cigar that is characterized creamy flavors, and rich notes of pepper.

Cigar of the Week: Dale - Mi Tierra Habano
Ring Gauge: 60 Length:4.5” Shape/Name:Parejo - Grand
Mi Tierra cigars are Dominican Puros, made from tobaccos grown on a single farm. Michael Munoz is the brand face of the line, but the cigars were developed in a joint venture with Jose Blanco. All the blend tobacco has been aged for 3 years and is covered in a silky Habano variety wrapper. A complex cigar with more spice then one might expect, especially right from the start. Rich and bold full flavors that keep the cigar very interesting throughout the experience. The body of the smoke is medium, and the strength level is above the typical Dominican profile.

Cigar of the Week: Craig - Anonymous
Ring Gauge:56 Length:6.375” Shape/Name:Parejo - Sublimes (roughly - Little short, little wide)
This large cigar has a rustic Mexican San Andreas Seco skin on a body of tobacco coming from all one country.  It brings a slightly sweet demeanor to the table with an interesting spicy core.  It was released to slightly negative fanfare and never received the due I feel it deserved.  In my opinion, it did not take off as a cigar enjoyed by the masses.  That explains why I may like it, as my tastes tend to lean away from the trends of today.  Strength, but with balance; the only way I’ll take it.

Rearranging show dates!
We are moving the the Nov 4 show to November 5 as Liz and I will be traveling that evening.

_______________________________________________
We get Mail: Sometimes it takes a while....
Liz,
Below is a copy of an email I tried to send on 15 JUL 11.  I continued to listen to the podcast wondering if you ever received it.
 Bob & Dale,
 Thank you!  Thank you  for the selecting me as the May contest winner of the magnificent Palio cutter.  I received it in the mail about two weeks ago and have used it for every cut on my cigars since.  I was just getting ready to buy one when I listened to your podcast and heard I was selected;  now I’ll have to buy a carbon fiber cutter.  You mentioned on the podcast that you believed I was military and you was absolutely correct.  I am a sergeant First Class in the Army stationed in Germany and recently returned home from Afghanistan.  I am very new the good life of cigar smoking but thanks to your podcast (and the power of the internet), I have become educated quickly.  Once again thank you for selecting me, for an incredible radio show, and for your support of the uniformed services.  Keep up the great work!
 v/r
SFC Tim Delaney

More Mail: a call to our listeners
DJ Shalifoe is looking for any retailers that still have pre-General Cigar CAO La Traviatas in stock.  DJ writes:  
The old pre-GC Traviatas come with the CAO branded Boveda pack in the box whereas the post-GC CAOs do not. I'm partial to the Divino and Animados vitolas in either natural or maduro. The reason I want the older ones is that I find CAO cigars under General's ownership to have fallen off the cliff, so to speak.

If any listener knows of a retailer with pre-GC Traviatas, send the info to theshow@cigarmedia.tv and we will pass it along.

More Mail: Listener feedback

John Magrisso to Liz after she followed up to see how he liked the Palio cutter he won in June

Liz,
I received the Palio cutter sometime at the very end of June and shot
Bob an e-mail when upon its receipt.  I've been very happy with it- it
has lived up to all the accolades given on the show each week!
As to the show, I've been listening for a number of years now, and
though I'm not the most vocal listener, I look forward to it every
week and thoroughly enjoy the sense of community it provides us cigar
smokers (especially living here in Massachusetts, where I'll get dirty
looks just for smoking on my own front steps)!  So thank you all!
John

Legislative Update

Venezuela has annulled by decree an anti-smoking law, which prohibits tobacco use in public places and offices a day after enforcement.
Venezuela's Ministry of Health announced its new decision just a day after the anti-smoking law was printed in the Official Gazette.
According to the new legislation, smoking was banned in public spaces, cafes, public toilets, dining halls and joined buildings. The new law was planned to be implemented after three months, said a Press TV correspondent.
Get the full story

Craig: Funny how Venezuela’s ban comes right on the heals of their dictator’s struggle with cancer.  Wait... I’ve read this again.  So they’re annulling the legislation?

Craig’s Esencia Contest
#1 - Adam Zed
 Esencia Canonazo
Cut - took off just the cap to produce a good draw. Not tight, but almost perfect.
Pre-light aroma - I don't do this anymore as the smells might get mixed when I have a lot of singles in the same area.
Apperance - Nice color, firm but not hard body. The cap was almost invisible, it was so well placed and pressed into the crown.
Smoke time - 2 hours on the nose
Drink - Pepsi and ice. Also a bottle of water if I want to cleanse well.
Light - Toasted end with triple torch until an ember appears then draw a couple times with a little bit of heat to the end of the cigar.
 
I decided to break this stick into quarters instead of the typical thirds...no reason, just thought it would work, and it did.
First few puffs ( I don't use these to determine the whole first quarter ) - Big kick to the back of the throat. A lot of black pepper that I get from Nica tobacco. Very heavy.
First quarter - After the first 4-6 pulls, the cigar settled down. I immidiately thought of Illusione MK. Smooth ! The back of throat raspiness went away immidiately. Black pepper lingers for a minute after expelling smoke. Pallet filling, great. The burn is great, straight and not pulling inside at all. The smoke at this point is drying my mouth with every puff, but making me salivate at the same time...I almost equate this to the experience of an almond when you first put it in your mouth, it is drying your mouth, but making you salivate at the same time. There is an underlying peaty/ earthiness that comes in only after smoke is expelled and taste lingers. At this point, it reminds me the only H. Upmann Mag 50 I have had, wonderful !
Second quarter - Started developing a white pepper flavor that I absolutely love, I only get this in T52 Toros and it is the flavor I always search for. Still a drying effect with the smoke in my mouth at the sides, almost like red wine tannins when you first take a drink and it gives you that "bite" at the back sides of your mouth. Still smooth. There is a mineral, almost metallic, taste that comes in now that works well with cigars on the finish.
Third quarter - Settled out now to a lush white pepper flavor predominantly filling the pallet. Still a mineral feeling/taste that works. The body now goes from a steady medium, to medium-full as the smoke seems to get richer and thicker. Now I am getting a roasted deep tobacco flavor at the end of this quarter that fills out my missing piece for what I look for in a great cigar. MMMM ! White pepper and roasted tobacco complement each other so well because they don't bombard your pallet, but complement the experience.
Last quarter - Same tastes at the beginning, but as I get deeper in, the roasted flavor starts to dominate. The flavor and smoke completely coat the mouth. I know when I blow smoke out and it becomes a giant white/grey cloud that floats in the air outside like a cloud, that it has now transcended into full bodied. The white pepper subsided and became a creamy roasted tobacco ending ... oh wow ! Great finish.
 
I don't usually smoke cigars until I littlerally burn my fingers, most of the time I smoke them down to about an inch, but if the smoke is still cool enough and has flavors other than tar, I tend to incure short term pain for long term gain. I have only done this once, with a Padron Maduro.
I highly recommend these cigars, and would buy more to lay them away for a little bit to see if that mineral taste would subside a little bit, as it was the only thing that wasn't helping earlier, but that mineral taste was not bad in any way.
 
 Now for the non-technical of this email;
I love these cigars, and recommend them to as many people as I can. I have given them away to people, even though it is very hard for me to find them as the retailers are not willing to ship up here, and also turned people onto smoking these wonderful beauties. I have had the Lancero, Canonazo, Robusto, and Corona Extra's. My preferance is the robusto's as the blend just "fits".
It is funny that when I ordered some cigars the last time, my friend who goes down across the border to pick them up for me and bring them back across to ship here informed me of how he had been looking for Esencias for a while as well. He was so happy to know where to get them after we discussed my source; Fullers Pullers. He was even happier when he was gifted a 5 pack of cigars heh.
As far as my "experience" with Esencias, I cannot say that I have smoked them with anyone else at the same time, or done anything wild with them anywhere as I have just been smoking them for a few months now, but what I can say is that my "experience" with Marc of Brothers of the Leaf LLC has been fantastic ! He has treated me well, answered a few questions I have asked in a timely manor, sent me a couple cigars to start me off in down the road of ever-expanding credit card debt, and seems to be doing well at maintaining a great
standard on his cigars. As a consumer, I cannot ask for much more from a brand owner....well I guess I could ask him to come up here to the frozen north for a shop event .......... but somehow I highly doubt that :/
 
Thanks Craig for reading this long-ass email, I am just so happy that I finally found a way to get these cigars up here, even though there are a bunch of hoops to jump through.

#2 Ralph from Connecticut (Ralph Purificato)
On Mon, Oct 3, 2011 at 10:36 AM, Ralph Purificato <ralph.purificato@gmail.com> wrote:
Hey guys. Long time podcast listener who went to the CRA website to support the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act. Unfortunately the support in CT seem to fall on deaf ears as you can see below. My response from Senator Blumenthal was the same as from Mr. Leiberman. Just wanted to pass this on and see if we could make a little more noise in Connecticut to let our "representatives" know that consenting adults would like to make their own choices on how we spend our time and money.

I also wanted to take the last half of this email to talk about Esencia cigars for Craig's contest. I still consider myself a "new" cigar smoker though I have been enjoying cigars for close to 10 years. It started when I was 18 and a friend and I were given cigars by an older relative. From that point on we've always frequented our local smoke shop, The Owl Shop in New Haven CT. Up until about 2 years ago I never bothered to try and pick out flavors and a cigar simply being smooth was my main criteria. Now since paying more attention and listening to podcasts and reviews I am enjoying cigars more than ever. With that being said, I finally picked up an Esencia cigar last week and enjoyed it on my porch with a glass of water. The first thing that hit me on the first few puffs was gingerbread. As I smoked the cigar more and tried to pick out the individual flavors, I found that the spice and cedar woody flavors I picked out combined to make that initial "gingerbread" that hit me initially. I really enjoyed this cigar and it seemed to fit the fall season that's starting here. The burn was also terrific and the cigar smoked great down to the nub. I will definitely be picking up more of these and really enjoyed it.
--
Ralph from Connecticut

#3 Dan Crouch WINNER - He shared the experience with another.
I gotta say I never thought I would have an Esencia cigar in my life (or any super premium for that matter).  There are no Brick and Mortars in the area and to be honest they are really not in my price bracket.  However, due to the kindness of Marc Aub I received a few samples and now I am hooked.  The cigar smells as good as it smokes and that is amazing.  All have been smooth and had a nice touch of sweetness along with hints of pepper in the retro.  I even gave one of the few to my dad and he just could not believe how smooth it was.  Now I am saving my change in hopes of buying a box should I ever get up to the city (Chicago).

#4 Charlie Platt from Springdale AR
Some of the best NCCs in my man cave!  I tried these on recommendation of Bob and Dale. Completely satisfied!  A rich and complex smoke. Great work BOTL.
Charlie Platt

What's My Band? - This week we have three unbanded cigars, one from each of the hosts..

Bob:

Dales unbanded (Famous Nicaraguan 7000): Great leather with a slight sweet spice, I enjoyed this cigar tremendously.  Now I guess I have to buy some. 

Craig (Craigs own blend): unbanded was the best constructed lancero I had had for some time.  But the tste did not quite live up to the construction all the way through.

Craig:

From Dale (Famous Nicaraguan 7000): 5x50 Prelight - No tingle,slight sweet spice; cinnamon? Slight Barn funk. Round, like it was from a cabinet or SBN cedar box packed loosely. Curious if it was put in cellophane to fool us or just an older cigar that has lost some shape.  Oil lines where the cigar was touched by somethign else for an extended period.
1st 3rd - Immediate Earth & citrus sweetness. made me think of a royal Corona then, naturally of a Monte pascal. Little tangy sweetness similar to the Montecristo fruity tang.  Overall, despite having the sweet Cuban flavors, the sweetness was more Nicaraguan in how it came across.  More zing than Twang.
Med Body (3/5) - Med/Strong Strength (3.5/5)
Reminds me of the RP 15th at this point but stronger
2nd 3rd - Deepenign up in Flavors & continuing w/ med/high strength (4/5) Slight bready component - Good.  Think this might be a blend instead of a Puro. Turning sugary sweet with less deep/dark flavors.
The bread, sugar, and accompanying 1942 Tequila make a wonderful cookie flavor.  Starts dropping strength back down to ⅗.
Estelian sweetness, like Pepin gets out of his balsy Nic flavors.  Like a JJ or a Black label
3rd 3rd - Sweet tang; more Esteli-an flavors.  Less strength than 1st third, (who did we meet that positions leaves “backward”? Stalk than tip?  They mentioned consistant flavor & strength.) This is so different from that idea.  But, it behaves as if it was opposite traditional flavor/strength progression.  Odd. It should be getting stronger if it was normal & staying the same if it was backward...
Overall - Good, too much nicotine for an anytime smoke for me.  Finished more to my preferred strength but started w/ more complexity & depth of flavor.
Serie JJ? No real idea.  
From Bob (blended dring a Cigar Tourism trip in 2011): 6-1/8”x51 Parejo
Prelight: Barely any wrapper aroma; loads of Saffron & paprika like smoke off of the filler.  Very, very unique for a cigar to have this distinct savory spice flavor.  Pretty wrapper with a funky cap.  I didn’t cut this cigar, I peeled the simple cap off & separated the binder leaf below. Looks a lot like an Equadorian wrapper from the stuff La Aurora puts out but the sizes don’t match their production.
1st Third: Deep, rich flavors; cedary, caramel.  Tastes immediately of both Jalapa Nicaraguan tobacco & Olor (?) Dominican.  Nice mix of flavors
2nd Third: Sweet creamy depth that has evolved from the Nicaraguan base of initial flavors.  Tastes like the sweetness off of a Habano wrapper.  Could this be a La Reloba Habano?  What happened to the Dominican notes? The appearance continues to shine with oils coming to the surface of this thick wrapper.  Almost corojo leathery feel without the appearance. Beautiful veining, color consistency & oils.
More sweet flavor now turning tart & tangy like sorbet
Final Third: Buttery sweetness from the Creamy 2nd third with a wonderful grain. Still woody but a bit softer in how it comes across.  Not as much body as initially and the flavors have gotten a little “easier” on the palate.  Full flavored & still complex.  I really enjoy this stick.  Could it be all Nicaraguan or is there more to it?
I would say no stronger than 3 /5 with an equivalent body.  Great smoke.
La Reloba? No real idea.

Palio Cutter Contest: The September winner of a silver Palio cutter is Dan Lawson from Louisana.  For October's contest, we are looking for photos of you and your friends enjoying cigars.  Send your entry to theshow@cigarmedia.tv.  Please include your mailing address with your entry and type "Palio" on the subject line.

Do you have a suggestion for the unbanded cigar of the week?  Every week Bob and Dale include an “unbanded cigar” segment in their show in which they smoke a cigar without any markings and give their honest opinions.  Bob then opens a sealed envelope and discovers the cigar’s name and manufacturer.  If you have suggestions for the "What's My Band?" segment, please send them to liz@cigarmedia.tv.

Do you have a Cigar Review?  If you call and leave a cigar review on the herf line and it is played on the show, you will receive a DogWatch Cigar Radio patch! You can reach the Herfline at 321-594-4373 - or cigar.radio on Skype. You can also send email to theshow@cigarmedia.tv.

Music provided by the Figurados from their new album, "Lesson Two," and The Surfonics. 

Please visit our sponsors and let them know you heard about them from DogWatch!   

• Black Dog Coffee: http://www.blackdogcoffee.net/
• Cigar Tourism: http://cigartourism.com/ 
• Esencia Cigars: http://www.esenciacigar.com/
• La Palina: http://www.lapalinacigars.com/
• La Tradicion Cubana: http://www.tradicion.com/
• Miami Cigar and Company: http://www.miamicigarandcompany.com/
• Monte Pascoal Cigars: http://www.montepascoalcigars.com/
• Palio Cigar Cutters:http://paliocutters.com/
• Primer Mundo Cigars: http://www.primermundocigars.com
• Vanderburgh Humidors:  www.vanderburghhumidors.com

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