Cigars

Smoke Inn’s 25th Anniversary Event Release UDPATE
The Raji

Due to venue conflicts, The Herrera Estelí Miami Smoke Inn 25th Anniversary The Raji launch event will NOW take place at Smoke Inn’s headquarters in Boynton Beach Florida on Friday May 6 from 6 to 9 p.m. EST and will be open for all to attend! Attendees of the epic event will meet Jonathan, Willy, Abe, and the man of honor Raji Dababneh, while grooving to beats spun by Drew Estate’s very-own D.J. Eli. There will be special promotions on select Drew Estate products that evening including The Raji with opportunities to take home special event cigars such as the Herrera Caja China and the highly sought-after Savage Feast, as well as other surprises as the evening unfolds. Fans from all over the country will be able to take advantage of the special promotions and give-a-ways through Smoke Inn’s e-commerce site.

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2021 marked the 25th Anniversary of the opening of the first Smoke Inn premium cigar store, and Drew Estate and Smoke Inn’s owner, Abe Dababneh, are celebrating the landmark achievement with the launch of a special cigar that not only commemorates Smoke Inn’s historic birthday but also honors Abe’s father and mentor, Raji Dababneh.

The Herrera Estelí Miami Smoke Inn 25th Anniversary The Raji (6 x 50, Toro) is a limited-edition cigar that’s lovingly produced at El Titan De Bronze, the Little Havana boutique cigar factory that’s owned by Drew Estate Master Blender Willy Herrera’s family and where all Herrera Estelí Miami cigars are made. Constructed using a Mexican San Andres wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, the Herrera Estelí Miami Smoke Inn 25th Anniversary Raji is a spicy medium- to full-bodied cigar with hay and floral notes. Every Herrera Estelí Miami Smoke Inn 25th Anniversary The Raji cigar features a commemorative band around its foot, and the cigars are packaged in 10-count boxes that are adorned with the Smoke Inn logo. Ramping up the celebration and honoring Raji Dababneh even more, Raji’s signature is emblazoned on the bottom of every box.

“When I was growing up in Chicago, I watched my dad work tirelessly at the little grocery store he owned,” says Abe. “He always put in whatever it took to overcome any challenges and keep a roof over our heads and food on our table. He is a true inspiration for me as a businessman, husband and as a father. I learned, and continue to learn, so much from him. Dedicating our 25th anniversary cigar to him is the best way for me to give my heartfelt thanks to him for all that he has done for me.”

“Relationships are the cornerstones of cigar culture, and they are the starting point for everything we do at Drew Estate,” adds Jonathan Drew, Founder and President of Drew Estate. “Abe and I have been close friends from the very start, and he has always been a true ‘stand and deliver’ guy who deserves the tremendous success he has experienced so far. His father, Raji, clearly has been a great mentor and teacher, just as my own dad, Gary, has taught me along the way. It’s an honor to pay tribute to all our fathers and mentors, as well as celebrate Smoke Inn’s 25th with this majestic Herrera Estelí Miami expression.”

Sales for “The Raji” will begin on May 6th for all attendees of the event and will also be available on Smoke Inn’s website for consumers nationwide.

Las 6 Provincias LV (Las Villas) From Espinosa
Las 6 Provincias LV

Now here is a cigar that had certainly intrigued me since its release back on December 20th, 2021. What highlights this cigar is that it’s individually packaged in their own branded coffin, presented in a 10 count curio display AND to top it all off the authenticity of original artwork from local Cuban Artist Eden Gutierrez depicting scenes from Las Villas before the Communist Revolution. The fact that this cigar has a Nicaraguan wrapper, binder, and filler; made at the AJ Fernandez’s San Lotano factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua makes it even more enticing to smoke and to speak of the story which pays homage to the Cuban history. In fact Erik Espinosa in a press release was quoted saying, “We are incredibly happy to continue this homage to our company’s Cuban roots and the Cuba of our forefathers, before Castro took power”. 

The province of Las Villas was the center of the Cuban cattle industry between the 18th and 19th centuries before shifting to sugar production in the 20th century. The original province of Las Villas was nestled between Matanzas and Camaguey. In 1976, the province was divided, with Cienfuegos, Sancti Spiritus, and Villa Clara each becoming their own province. The name Las 6 Provincias means “six provinces” and there are six planned releases of Las 6 Provinces with each having a unique blend, size and associated artwork. Now that a little light has been brought upon this beautiful cigar it’s time to get into the review. 

Las 6 Provincias LV

At first glance this box-pressed 5 ½ X 54 robusto, had a wondrously dark chocolate rich color to the wrapper, with the Cuban artwork was really drawn in, knowing I am ready to enjoy the journey that this Las 6 Provincias LV cigar will take me on. Giving the cigar a smell I could really get that deep essence of the Nicaraguan soil, like walking around a barnyard, you know that smell I’m talking about. Taking a few cold draws the glands immediately activate with saliva. Profiles of chocolate, floral, cinnamon, cedar and almost a fruity sweetness were picked up. With my palate senses activated, I was ready to light up and get into this. 

Upon light up, a copious amount of flavor hit my tongue. Black pepper, leather, wood, toasted nuts, a very dry cocoa powder, with a hint of brown sugar sweetness dancing in the background. As I proceeded with smoking into the first third the intensity of the initial profiles smoothed out and all of those tasty flavors really made my palate happy! Add a dash of salt to those toasted nuts, that dry cocoa powder now became semi sweet bakers chocolate, the black pepper transitioned into a creamy white pepper, yet the cinnamon stays prominent thus far. 

Burning right into the second third, the profiles remain the same. Cedar notes with a swirl of citrus fruity notes come through which adds a nice little transition. As the flavor notes continued to satisfy the palate the burn is pretty consistent, half way through I had to touch up a little bit with a single flame torch but nothing that would take away from the experience. So far the flavor is very robust and has a medium – medium plus in strength. 

As I reached the last third of the Las 6 Provincias LV the overall flavor profile remains similar yet, because of the spectacularly grown Nicaraguan tobacco used within this cigar, there are other profiles that came through. Espresso, that semi sweet bakers chocolate turns into a dark chocolate, that white pepper transitions again back to black pepper, that leather taste really never left but here into the last third it’s really making its presence. The floral citrus notes went away but that brown sugar came back around to add that nice sweetness to tie it all together. 

I smoked this cigar right down to the nub, only had that little construction issue half way through and the profiles were absolutely amazing. I’m rating Las 6 Provincias LV a 9 out of 10 or 4 out of 5 pints however you want to look at it; this cigar is phenomenal would certainly smoke again despite the fact that it does have an MSRP of $22 a stick and a box of 10 for $220 only 1,000 boxes of 10 were made so this cigar might be a little difficult to locate. Looking forward to the next release at the same time I’m anxious to see if I can locate the two prior releases to give them a try! Great tobacco that took me on a awesome journey A+! Hoping you; the reader, can locate one so you too can enjoy the experience I just did! Cheers and Enjoy!

Wrapper –  Nicaraguan

Binder – Nicaraguan

Filler – Nicaraguan 

Website: www.Espinosacigars.com

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 pints.

  • William O’Connor, AKA Billy Kartwheels, is the Co-Captian of the Distinguished Ruffians NY Chapter. Billy has had an interesting life, going through college, being in the Navy and living on a submarine, he has visited 48 states (hitchhiking through 35) of them and even lived in a Hare Krishna monastery for some time. After having numerous brushes with death durring his travels he has decided it was best to take it easy and appreciate life to its fullest all while smoking a cigar at the same time. 

Cohiba Serie M
Cohiba Serie M

We, as cigar enthusiasts, will think of Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Honduras, and so on when it comes to discovering where a particular cigar originates from but, what about the USA? Well, here we have a cigar “Serie M” by Cohiba Cigars that is made right here in the USA; constructed at the El Titan de Bronze Factory in Miami Florida to be exact. General Cigar announced the limited edition project earlier in the year 2021. 

Some of you may know the history of Cohiba others may not. The Cohiba brand has its origins in Cuba going back to 1968. The U.S. version of the brand is owned by Scandinavian Tobacco Group and has been in the U.S. since 1981. For the most part, the U.S. version has come out of General Cigar’s Dominican factory, but for the past few years, the Cohiba band has been produced by other factories owned by General Cigars including Honduras (Cohiba Royale), Nicaragua (Cohiba Nicaragua), and now the United States (Cohiba serie M). 

The Cohiba Serie M is a Nicaraguan forward blend. Nicaraguan tobacco makes up the wrapper, binder, and filler. The wrapper is a Nicaraguan Corojo, which marks the fist time that leaf has been used on Cohiba cigar. There is a double binder with both leaves from Nicaragua. The fillers contain leaves from two regions of Nicaragua (Jalapa and Esteli) and also contain some Domincan Piloto Cubano tobacco. Learning about the origin of this cigar I’m ready to light up and get into my review! 

Having a few cold draws to start this process I’m picking up some natural tobacco notes with some cedar and citrus. Very earthy which kind of dried my mouth out a little. Had a couple sips of water to get my palate ready and here I go with the light up. 

The first third of the Cohiba Serie M kicked off with notes of cedar, earth, bread, honey-citrus, and baker’s spice. Early on, the cedar and citrus notes moved to the forefront. The cedar soon became the sole primary note. The citrus settled into the background, joining the earth and baker’s spice. There were times when the earth notes popped into the forefront. A slight red pepper note emerged late while I entered the second third. 

As I continue on to the second third of the Cohiba Serie M cedar notes maintained on my palate with an increase of red pepper and earth notes. The honey-citrus notes slowly receded during this phase. By the midway point, the earth notes took over as the primary flavor with some coffee joining the party, pushing the cedar into the background with the red pepper and baker’s spice. 

Smoking right into the final third the red pepper and earthy notes were joined by cocoa powder; almost a malty taste and leather right down to the end. 

I was certainly impressed with the overall burn despite the fact that I have heard that other individuals who have tried this cigar had construction (wrapper cracking) and burn issues. The Cohiba Serie M cigar is a medium to a light medium+. This cigar only comes in a 6×52 toro size with an msrp of $29.99 and/or box of 10 for $299.90. It is most certainly one to try despite the price; I will rate this cigar a 4.5 out of 5. Since this Cohiba Serie M was made in the US as mentioned in the beginning of this review it is a “Limited Cigar” so if you are able to find them certainly purchase at least one to smoke and see what YOU come up with for your own review! Enjoy!

Wrapper –  Nicaraguan

Binder – Nicaraguan

Filler – Dominican & Nicaraguan

Website: www.cohiba.com

Rating: 4.0 out of 5 pints.