JC Newman Diamond Crown

     The J.C. Newman Cigar Company wanted to produce a special cigar for their 100th anniversary back in 1995.  Stanford J. Newman enlisted the aid of Carlos Fuente Sr and they set out to create a super premium cigar together. The Diamond Crown was the fruit of their labor.

   The Diamond Crown is an amazing cigar.  Light in body but full of complex flavors yet in complete balance.  Each cigar is constructed of six or seven individual leaves at the Tabacalera A. Fuente factory and are blended into a smoking experience that is truly world class.

   This cigar is sadly the last cigar I have left that I received in a sampler pack when I joined the J.C. Newman Cigar Connoisseur Club.  The sampler contained the incomparable Diamond Crown, a flavorful Brick House, an excelent El Baton, and an outstanding Cuesta Rey cigar and is well worth the price of membership and more.

Punch Champion

     The first thing most people notice about the Punch Champion is its unique shape.  Likened by many to a bowling pin, the shape of this little figurado makes smoking it an interesting experience.

     I thoroughly enjoyed the Punch Champion.  It is a outstanding cigar at a very good price.  When I can make the room in my meager cigar budget, I will be looking to purchase a full box of these incredible little figurados.

     This is the third Champion that I've had.  When I purchased the first from Habana Port Cigar Merchants earlier this year the owner, Luis, asked me to tell him what I thought about it after I had the chance to smoke it.  His request is what eventually led me to create this blog.  In effect, the Punch Champion and Habana Port are the reasons Expedition: Vitola! exists

E P Carrillo Short Run Populare

    When I saw the Short Run in the humidor at Habana Port Cigar Merchants, I had to give it a try.   Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is the master mind behind the reemergence of the La Gloria Cubana cigar line and is now producing cigars under his own label.

     As the name implies, the Short Run a cigar that is produced in a limited number by E. P. Carrillo.  It has a rare Sumatra wrapper with Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers.

     The Short Run was a complex cigar with lots of interesting flavors, but is lacking in balance of those flavors.  The wrapper on my example was somewhat fragile and suffered from some cracks but smoked reasonably well.  At it's price point the Short Run's value warrants returning for another try, if I can find another of these limited sticks.

CAO OSA Sol Lot 50

     The CAO cigar brand has gone thru a major change recently when in 2007 the company was purchased by the Scandinavian Tobacco Group from the Ozgener family that had owned and operated the company from it's founding as a pipe manufacturer.  

     The OSA Sol is their first release after the purchase.  It is made with an Olancho San Augustin wrapper, hence the OSA name, that comes exclusively from a 2008 harvest.  As a fan of a few CAO brands, when I saw this cigar in the humidor at Habana Port Cigar Merchants I had to give it a try.

      I was not disappointed.  The OSA Sol was a well made well balanced smoke, full of interesting flavors.  I am going to pick up a few more in the very near future.