Selection Includes One Each Of The Following Items:
Length: 6”
Ring Gauge: 60
Strength: Medium-Full
Rating: 89
The Oliva portfolio of premium cigars is wide ranging and covers the bases of flavor profile and price points. No matter which of their products you choose, you are guaranteed a great tasting cigar at a fair price point. While some of their other marks get the lion’s share or attention, it’s a great idea to look back and enjoy one of their first premium blends. Even after all these years, the Oliva Serie O is still a champ. Though it’s been on the market for close to a decade, it keeps racking up the accolades. It scored a 92 in Cigar Aficionado recently. It’s a testament to the care and attention to detail that the Oliva family puts into products that bear their name.
Made in one of their Nicaraguan factories, the Serie O uses a blend of Oliva-grown Nicaraguan tobaccos for the filler and binder. But the real magic is the Nicaraguan Habano wrapper (also grown on family farms). By controlling the process from start to finish, the quality of this cigar is unrivaled at the price point. Tasting notes include thick, balanced notes of caramel and pepper with hints of cedar and milk chocolate. With the Serie O, the Olivas have created a wonderful medium-full bodied blend that maintains relevancy in an ever changing world.
Length: 6”
Ring Gauge: 60
Strength: Medium-Full
In 2008, Christian Luis Eiroa (CLE) sold his eponymous Camacho Brand to Davidoff. He had a 5 year non-compete agreement, and the moment that was up in 2012, he launched his new brand. CLE Cigar Company came out of the gate with a bang at launch. It’s no surprise given the company’s pedigree. Wasting no time, he developed a series of well-regarded blends and worked his tobacco and marketing magic to create one of the hottest new(er) cigar companies on th7//e market. Each and every cigar they produce is made with precision, care, and excellence. That’s not just marketing hype. He has elevated his craft and only uses the finest tobacco available to create his blends. Most feature some of his family’s exclusive Honduran Authentic Corojo tobacco as it provides the signature flavor and aroma that his fans have come to expect.
The CLE Signature THT-EKE 03/17 is a cigar with an exceedingly complex name. Only a few people really know what the “THT-EKE 03/17” part of the name actually means, and Christian Eiroa and team are not sharing. Our best guess is that it has something to do with the special wrapper developed and grown by Christian’s father, Julio. For years, Julio labored to grow a thicker and more flavorful Cameroon wrapper in the Jamastran valley of Honduras before he finally perfected it. The CLE Signature is the first cigar to bear this wrapper, and it is produced in limited quantities. Not much else is known about the blend other than Christian Eiroa personally selected the filler and binder tobaccos to be used in this blend. It’s a fairly safe bet that the blend includes some of the family’s Authentic Corojo tobacco. Tasting notes include flavors of cream, leather, and coffee with hints of earth, baking spices, and dried fruits. The flavors are harmonious and well balanced making the THT-EKE 03/17 one of the most special CLE cigars ever produced.
Length: 6”
Ring Gauge: 60
Strength: Full
Rating: 89
La Aroma de Cuba roots date back to the late 1880s in Cuba, where the brand became an early favorite of Winston Churchill. In the midst of Cuba’s rebellion against years of Spanish conquest, Churchill arrived on the island in 1895 as an eager young lieutenant. There, the genesis of his brilliant military career and his avid passion for handmade cigars emerged. More than 120 years later, La Aroma de Cuba embraces an entirely fresh and prominent heritage in Nicaragua. Today, it is blended by legendary cigar-maker Jose ‘Pepin’ Garcia in Estelí, Nicaragua. Pepin’s foundation in Nicaragua is preceded by his extensive reputation in Cuba as a master blender. For decades, Pepin oversaw production of a number of Cuba’s most revered brands. Generations of meticulous cigar-making craft influence the unrivaled standards for flavor, aroma, and quality expressed in La Aroma de Cuba cigars.
Pasión is the Spanish word for Passion and that’s precisely what makes this La Aroma de Cuba blend so special. It’s the attention to detail and quality that goes into this and every premium cigar made by the Garcias. Looking at the specs, this Nicaraguan puro is not that different from other cigars claiming to be a puro. But dig a little deeper and you’ll understand that passion of quality and unique flavor were the driving forces behind this blend. Every leaf of wrapper, binder, and filler harvested for Pasión undergoes a meticulous Triple Fermentation process by My Father Cigars. This full profile cigar includes tasting notes of cedar, leather, and earth, with hints of citrus, spice, molasses, and cashews. This is one of the finest La Aroma de Cuba releases to date.
Length: 5”
Ring Gauge: 62
Strength: Medium
Rating: 87
It’s not easy being known as the “Godfather” of premium cigars, but it is a title that Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, Jr. wears well. Since 1980, Ernesto has been making some of the most sought-after cigars in the world. His journey began in his father’s (Ernesto Sr.) El Credito cigar factory in Little Havana, Miami in the mid 1970s. Four years later, his father passed away, and Jr. took the reins. He carried within him the four greatest lessons his father taught him: dedication to work, humility, patience and respect. These principles have guided him throughout his life and career. He is always patient and willing to lend a hand to friends in need, and it’s why he’s often known as the “godfather.” He may not be your relative, but he’s always around to provide advice or a helping hand to other cigar makers. He’s truly one of the nicest people in the cigar industry.
Ernesto Perez-Carrillo was one of the first manufacturers to make cigars with truly large ring gauges. It helped catapult his old brand, La Gloria Cubana, to the top of the charts with the Serie R. Now under the label bearing his name, the E.P. Carrillo Inch cigars are the talk of the town when it comes to big diameter cigars. He didn’t stray too far from his original formula in recreating the magic. The blend uses Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers, a Nicaraguan binder, and a Ecuador wrapper leaf. Think of this blend as a beefed up Serie R for the modern smoker. Tasting notes include flavors of earth, cedar, and nuts with hints of pepper, coffee, and cocoa. It’s a great smoke that should satisfy lovers of large, bold cigars.
Length: 5”
Ring Gauge: 56
Strength: Medium-Full
Rating: 88
Joya de Nicaragua has a well-deserved reputation for making high-quality, very bold and flavorful cigars using Nicaraguan tobaccos. In the 1970s, it was considered the finest brand in Nicaragua and possibly the world. And like many other cigar manufacturers, they love to celebrate milestones with special cigars. To be honest, we can’t think of any other industry as smitten with celebrating anniversaries. This is not a bad thing by any stretch of the imagination, rather just an observation. Truthfully, these milestones drive most cigar companies to create some of their best work, and the Joya de Nicaragua Cuatro Cinco is no exception. To celebrate their first 45 years of heritage as well as the bright future of Joya de Nicaragua, Cuatro Cinco was created.
Joya de Nicaragua Cuatro Cinco was the first blend created under the then newly formed Obras Maestras team at JDN in 2014. This team was tasked to create new, more premium blends to beat the Joya de Nicaragua name and show the world again that they are one of the finest factories in Nicaragua. This blend was originally released as a single vitola limited edition. Due to its popularity, the team went on to blend new shapes and sizes and make the line a limited production entity in their portfolio. The blend features a blend of Grade A Nicaraguan filler tobaccos along with a Dominican binder leaf. The wrapper is a dark looking Nicaraguan Habano Criollo leaf. This special blend features tasting notes of earth, leather, and hickory along with hints of molasses, pepper, and espresso. All of these flavors are well balanced throughout the smoke. It was a homerun for Joya de Nicaragua and a great starting point for the Obras Maestras team.
