I’m always looking for new and interesting cigars for our continually expanding range here at Gauntleys and this Spring is no different. Most of these cigars are from Nicaragua and show just how good the “New World” cigar producers have become in recent years. Cuba has a long tradition of producing the finest tobacco and cigars in the world, but the industry is a little static and innovations in cigar production are lost on the island.

Here in the UK we are also a little slow on the uptake too, we like tradition and this is evident in what (mainly) we smoke. After all the UK has been heavily involved with the Cuban Cigar industry since it first began, many of the iconic brands and factories were started by English importers and businessmen a like. The only drawback to this is that we miss out on many of the treats the “New World” offers, most producers no longer bother to contemplate the UK market as many potential customers will not bother even trying them. A lot of this is down to either snobbery or the fact they try one and class them all the same……………….. not all Nicaraguan cigars are the same!

When Castro seized power he gave tobacco farmers and factories an ultimatum, either become part of the Nationalised industry or depart the island. Many farmers, rollers, blends and factory owners therefore left the island and headed for places such as. The Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and Brazil as they offered ideal climates and soils for growing tobaccos. Many rollers and factory owners thus set up shop in Miami, in an area now known as Little Havana. To begin with the results were less than perfect but as time has gone by, the quality of raw leaf and techniques has allowed these producers to not only match their Cuban cousins, but in many cases surpass these once untouchable Cubans.

While some of these cigars have been established for some time in other parts of the world, like I said earlier, the UK is usually the last country to get a chance to try these, if we get the chance at all that is. Personally I am a big fan of New World cigars, because I believe they offer a larger range of flavours and smoking personalities.

Brick House Cigars

Brick House cigars first arrived on the scene in 1937, when production began in America using 100% imported Cuban leaf. The Embargo however saw the end of these cigars, along with many other brands that used pure Cuban leaf. However in 2009 JC Newman resurrected the brand using Nicaraguan filler and Ecuadorian grown Havana Subido seed wrapper.

These cigar is packed full of sweet spices and woods. A little pepper comes into play at the half way point, but on the whole it’s a cool and creamy cigar. Not to strong for a novice and enough flavours to act as a mid day smoke for the more seasoned Nicaraguan smoker.

We now carry the Short Torpedo in our Humidor (click to view)

Tatuaje

Pete Johnson joined the Cigar world back in 2003, the former Rock Star had a vision of producing Cuban style cigars in Nicaragua. He met Jose “Pepin” Garcia and the journey began. Initially his first blends didn’t taste quite right and the cigars just didn’t look Cuban enough. However the two worked on the cigars and eventually after an overhaul of the rolling method along with changing the wrapper leaf the first Tatuaje “Brown Line” was created.

Every aspect of the Tatuaje cigars production is done in the traditional Cuban way, the tobaccos go through 2 fermentation cycles are even dried in the Cuban way to remove as much ammonia as possible. Then the filler is folded using the Cuban entubar method, where each leaf is folded like an accordion. Finally the cigar is then wrapped in a Nicaraguan leaf, grown from Crillo 99 seed. Even the box is a typical Cuban SLB cabinet to allow the cigar to age beautifully.

The result is spectacular and smokes as well as any comparable Cuban, and I have so far smoked plenty of the Café Noellas, which are on par with Punch and Le Hoyo (some of my favorite smokes)

We carry the Café Noellas (click to view) and Petit Cazadores Reserva (click to view)

My Father

On the subject of Garcia family, Jose’s son Jamie created a new blend in 2008 to honor his father. A new 7 acre Factory complex was constructed in Estel which now employs over 700 people. Taking a leaf(!) from the traditional way his fathers Tatuaje range are produced, the My Father range uses Nicaraguna tobaccos and are rolled again the Cuban way.

Every My Father cigar is rich and complex with a wonderful range of flavours. From sweet hints of cedar to punch pepper, all perfectly balanced and rounded. The cigars have become iconic in America because of their quality and flavours and have been appeared in Cigar Aficionados Top 25, for 2 years running.

We carry the Cedro Deluxe Cervantes (click to view)

Ashton VSG

These are not new cigars or even new to the UK, as we have had these cigars on our shore for a fair few years now. After trying many different sizes of these over the past few years, I have finally decided to not be selfish and introduce you to these wonderful Dominican cigars.

The VSG range uses tobaccos grown exclusively by some of the industries biggest names. The wrapper is grown by the Oliva family on a private estate in Ecuador, where only the upper leaves are selected and matured. Whilst the filler tobacco is grown in the Dominican by the Fuente family and matured for around 5 years. When these are combined together the result is a rich and powerful smoke, nothing like 90% of the other cigars produced in the Dominican.

We carry the Belicosos No1 (click to view)

Nub Maduro

When NUB first came on the scene they created bit of a stir. A maximum of 4inches long with a very wide ring gauge. The theory behind such a bold shape came about after some experimentation between Sam and the Oliva family. These cigars are very dynamic smokes, the flavours develop as you smoke your way along. Most hit the peak of their flavour at the half way point, as a general rule of thumb.

The thinner and longer cigars offer the biggest range of flavours but take longer to hit the ceiling, whilst the thicker and shorter cigars tend to be less variable, flavour wise, but they tend to reach their peak faster. Therefore by making the cigar short and very thick, the sweet spot is hit faster and stays there. Most Nub cigars have the same volume of tobacco in them as a big Churchill or double corona sized cigar.

The first 3 Nubs utilized Cameroon, Connecticut and Cuban Seed wrappers to produce 3 distinct tastes. At the time I wondered why a Maduro version hadn’t been created; I loved all 3 versions of the Nub and have an affinity for the Maduro leaf, so when I found out Nub was coming out in a Oily Black Brazilian wrapper, I got a little excited! As you would expect the use of the Maduro adds a beautiful sweet edge to the subtly spicy Nicaraguan filler.

We carry the 464T (click to view)

Vasco Da Gama Capa de Oro

Europe and cigars have a long history, ever since Columbus first stepped foot on Cuba. Why we think of the Dutch as being the European hero’s of Cigar Production I have no idea as most European counties at one point or another made cigars. Don’t forget that the UK also had a thriving industry too. After leaving school my Gran worked in 2 cigar factories in my home town (Hucknall) and until 8 years ago the last English cigar factory existed not ¼ mile form our shop.

In Germany Vasco Da Gama still hold their heads up high and produce some fantastic cigars, packed with some of the worlds finest tobaccos. These cigars are machine made but filled with fine Cuban and Java tobaccos. These cigars all smoke as well as any hand made cigar and carry an element of history in every stick.

Until recently the UK had only 4 cigars from Vasco Da Gama, these are:

• No3 – Sumatran(Claro) Wrapped Robusto
• No2 – Brazilian(Maduro) Wrapped Corona
• No2 – Port infused Corona with a Sumatran Wrapper
• No2 – Whisky Infused Corona with a Sumatran Wrapper.

However they produce a number of other cigars, which only the Europenas get to smoke, well, until now that is!

Early in 2012 the Capa De Oro was released into the UK market. The Capa De Oro uses Cuban grown and matured tobacco. Vasco Da Gama are unique in that they are one of the few European cigar makers to be allowed to use this precious wrapper as the use of it is closely regulated by the Cuban tobacco authorities. Essentially they have restricted its use to companies who have historically used Cuban tobacco only in their cigar production.

By using the Cuban wrapper, these cigars have a little more spice and a richer profile. They are wonderful cigars that taste amazing, but don’t cost the earth. I predict that these cigars will become very popular cigars for the UK market.

We carry the tubed corona (click to view)

So there you have it 6 new cigars for our range. I believe that if you love a good, well made cigar that you should at least try them the once because once you have you will realize great cigars do exist outside of the small island called Cuba.

We have also created a new sampler pack so you can try one cigar from each producer. (click to view)