I was offered an excellent chance at a fairly new line of cigars from a company I had not tried, Villiger Stokkebye International’s La Capitana.  VSI has been in the tobacco industry for well over a century, as far back as 1882.  The company was founded by two families, Jean Villiger of Pfeffikon, Switzerland and the Stokkebye family of Denmark.  The two families combined to form VSI, and have been offering their products to the US market for over 30 years with great success.  Villiger cigars sell over 500 million …

H. Upmann cigars started with Herman Upmann, a German banker, who began producing cigars in Cuba in 1844.  He used his cigars to promote his banking firm, and would gain a reputation of producing a quality product.  Today H. Upmann cigars can be found from both Cuba and the Dominican Republic in a variety of lines and sizes, and is still known for high quality and great flavor profiles.

This particular cigar is an 1844 Reserve in a toro size, measuring in at 6 x 52.  It uses a milk chocolate …

Perdomo cigars have a rich history in the tobacco and cigar industry, going back to San Jose de las Lajas, Cuba during the pre-revolution era. Silvio Perdomo, the first of the family, worked with both H. Upmann and Partagas, two well known and widely successful cigar makers. After the Cuban Revolution Silvio was imprisoned for years, but would eventually be released. He would finally settle in Miami, FL, where his family would start Tabacalera Perdomo. Perdomo has since become well known for master craftsmanship, blending, and a quality product in …

Whisky lost in 1909. Rediscovered in 2009. Replicated in 2011.  That’s the Coles Notes of the history behind Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland malt, one of the most talked about whisky releases of recent years.  Mackinlay’s Rare Old Highland Malt, originally produced at the Glen Mhor distillery, was the primary method Ernest Shackleton and his team used to keep warm on their 1907 expedition to the Antarctic.  Perhaps they  got a bit too warm as they ultimately failed to reach the south pole, returning home in March 1909 and leaving behind …

Ah yes, another Alec Bradley cigar review.  I come back to this company every now and then because they offer cigars that I can enjoy with a variety of flavor profiles that are well balanced and all at a price that’s easy on my pocket.  I’ve written about the Maxx and Tempus line, and now I’ll go onto the cousin of the Tempus line, the Select Cabinet Reserve, or SCR.  The SCR is very similar to the Tempus, having the same blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers.  There is a …

I’ve written plenty on CAO already (namely, the Brazilia Gol and the OSA Sol).  They’re well known for their bold flavors, top notch construction, and unique packaging.  The LX2 series is no different, sporting all of those traits and then some.  The LX2 (ligero-times-two) moniker is given after its extensive use of ligero leaves in the construction of the cigar.  The wrapper is a sun-grown Nicaraguan leaf, binder Honduran, and fillers two different ligero tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.  Despite the heavy use of ligero leaves, the cigar is …