Camacho cigars has decided to team up with Room101 to form Room101 Cigars. The cigar collection will be a blend of “attitude, culture, celebrity, and some of the world’s finest tobaccos.”

Per the Camacho press release, this “special” cigar will be a medium bodied stogie containing Honduras and Dominican Republic tobacco. Six sizes will be released, and trying to be trendy, will represent area codes.

The Room 101 cigar brand is slated to be unveiled at the 2009 IPCPR trade show in New Orleans.

“Following the launch of the cigar, Matt Booth and the Room101 Cigar team will embark on a 90 day “Room 101/Camacho Conspiracy Tour” making stops at 45 retailers across the country. Room101 Cigars will also support the Wounded Warrior Project charity and urge people to donate to their cause.”

puffingcigars.com will pay particular interest on how a jewelry designer based out of California will contribute to the cigar making process. Will Matt Both make the band sparkle with more bling? Will it come in a bedazzled cellophane wrapper? Perhaps he will simply increase the price of the cigar x10 by adding his “luxury” name!

These questions will soon be answered.

You may read the official press release here.

A Stroll in Flavor Country

Every once in a while its  nice to take the path less traveled, and branch out into uncharted waters.  Camacho is no novice brand when it comes to making good cigars, but they are new to making a mild Connecticut stick.  It is in fact a response to the masses who have been clamoring for a stick of this nature.  The Camacho Connecticut is a wonderful treat wrapped up in a truly inexpensive package.

The stick I chose was the robusto (Monarca) size, and it was selling for five and some change at my local cigar haunt, Casa Fuma, in Gilbert.  Having smoked the stick with one of my good friends, and talking with the proprietor of Casa Fuma, Cliff Coen, we all concluded that it was a great stick for the price, and a lovely example of a Connecticut.

In choosing the size, I went with the preferred size of Camacho’s president Christian Eiroa.  In a recent article he stated “I tend to favor the robusto.  It is the chassis from which we make all of the blends.  In my opinion, this size, 50 ring by 5 or 41/2 inches, allows us just the right girth for the blend to develop and the right amount of time to smoke the cigar.”  It is knowing this that I sampled his preferred size, and was greeted with a wonderful smoking experience, that I liken to taking a stroll through flavor country!

Construction: The construction of the Connecticut is a revealing look at the passion of the master blenders at Camacho.  Every Camacho Connecticut is an amalgamation of different blends of tobacco from all over the Central American region.  The wrapper is a beautiful Ecuadorian Connecticut leaf, which gently wraps a Honduran binder, that securely nestles the Dominican and Honduran filler.  All of the  wrapper leaves that I inspected in the box, and on my stick were smooth and without rips or tears.  The cap was of a sturdy construction that allowed for the Camacho Connecticut to be easily punched or cut, without compromising the integrity of the draw.  On this particular size I would recommend a punch.

Draw: The draw of the Camacho Connecticut was tight, but smooth.  It was tight in the sense that you could feel some resistance, but smooth in that smoke had no trouble passing through the channels and come spilling out in creamy clouds of tastiness.

Burn: While smoking the Connecticut I found the burn to be even and steady.  There were some moments where the burn was slightly uneven, but overall it held a fantastic burn down to the end.  Throughout the smoking experience the ash was consistently strong and light gray, with a slight striated pattern.  Overall the cigar burned the way it was supposed to and clearly showcased the telltale signs of expert rollers who know how to construct one fine cigar.

Flavor: One of the most flavorful cigars to me is a well constructed Connecticut.  Perhaps it is because that is the type of stick I first started out with, and it therefore will forever hold a special place in my heart, but a creamy Connecticut is truly a blissful smoke.  The Camacho Connecticut is creamy, spicy, and contains a constant note of cedar.  Upon the first draw the spicy taste is the overture to the masterpiece that is about to unravel in your mouth.  From there the spice becomes the sotto voce to the notes of cedar that take over for the remainder of the time.  From there it is a mixture of cream and cedar with the interruption of nutty flavor all the way to the last inhalation.  Connecticut’s can tend to end on a bitter note, but this cigar had no hint of bitterness at the end, and was a delectable cigar that any connoisseur could appreciate through and through.

Overall Opinion: From start to finish the Camacho Connecticut is one of the nicest mild body Connecticut’s I’ve had the pleasure of smoking.  Everything melded together to create an enjoyable smoking experience for a rock bottom price.  To be quite honest, this stick comes close to Ashton quality at half the Ashton price.  Camacho has done well in venturing out into terra incognita, and come back with cigar gold!  So if you are looking for a delightful mild body connecticut at a lower end price, or higher end price for that matter, then this cigar should definitely be at the top of your list for taste, construction, and overall economy.

There is nothing like ducking out of work early on a Friday or arriving late on Monday so you can escape to your favorite getaway.  Some people might go to a beach, a cool mountain area, a small city or even a big city for a few nights of partying. Regardless of your destination  it’s always a good idea to have a small travel bag that you can easily carry with you.

As a fan of cigars and “cigar swag“, the only item I found that would work for this years travel bag is Camacho’s Travel Bag. The Camacho Travel Bag came with a few smokes (for my drive up north) and it worked perfectly to hold a few small items. The retail on the Camacho Travel Bag is $299.95 but found many retailers almost giving this thing away.

And here is the official press release from Camacho:
The NEW Camacho Signature Blends Traveller Bag is now shipping and will be available at select retailers within the next week. Suggested Retail Price – $299.95, only 5,000 units available.

“This attractive, yet ingenious, cigar bag makes an ideal companion as you venture out to the four corners of the globe. Sporting (20) Limited Edition 11/18 size cigars, the Camacho Signature Blends Executive Traveller is designed to hold (4) of each of our (5) Ultra-Premium Blends.

The stylish isothermal bag in Camacho black and gold, all done up in neoprene and leather, is the newest edition to the growing Camacho family of premium products. The removable interior lets the Camacho Signature Blends Executive Traveller double as a sophisticated “on the go” bag for essentials and non-essentials alike.”

Camacho Signature Blends Executive Traveller

Presentation Outer Case (corrugated)

Soft Travel Bag including:

(4) Camacho Diploma 11/18
(4) Camacho Liberty 2007
(4) Camacho CLE (Unreleased Blend)
(4) Camacho Corojo 10th Anniversary 11/18
(4) Camacho Triple Maduro 11/18

Inner molding can be removed becoming a sophisticated Travel Bag.

Size: 330 x 241 x 127 mm

puffingcigars.com will give you the official answer (this answer is FACT) but allow us to make a few comments and put some questions on the table for the company and the cigar smokers.

Company X has created the viral marketing campaign that the cigar industry has never seen. It is very refreshing to see a big player in the industry break new ground and connect with all the smokers. Especially connecting, and attracting, the cigar smokers who may be put off by magazines displaying the cigar information next to a review of a $100,000 watch.

Additionally you must be applauded for providing cigar connoisseurs (both new and seasoned) with the correct message. Cigars must be judged based on ones own merits.

Many cigar smokers put too much weight on one magazines reviews and numbers (the rating) that appear next to the pictures. I have seen people purchase a stick because it received a 90 and never try another because it was only given an 89.

Attempting to dispel the “Cuban myth” deserves another applause. While Cuban tobacco is something we (USA) have not have the privilege of tasting legally, you can be assured that product coming out of other States is just as good if not better.

Calling out “The Showoff” or the person who buys cigars based on price will yield you yet another applause. The $50 cigar will not always taste better than the $5 smoke. Too many variables come into play that I would not even scratch the surface of why pricing is set. Everyone should be daring enough to give the lower end (based on price not quality) cigars a shot. You, and your wallet, might just be pleasantly surprised.

However this marketing and campaign still leaves me some questions for the this big industry player.

• Are you admitting your cigars have never been, and might not be, rated very well by the big magazine.? I can only remember one cigar that recently received a top 25 rating and that was in 2007.
• Are you telling me to ignore the “luxury” advertisements/image your parent company Davidoff produces and publishes because it’s BS?
• You know your current website/advertisements still try to reference Cuba/Cuban tobacco and the one rating from CA right? Wouldn’t this be leading someone in the opposite direction of Black Band Project message.

Overall I would like to thank Company X for creating such a cool buzz on the internet. I love your marketing, ideas, and stuff you produce. The company is always friendly and it’s a great group of people to have in the industry.

I would also like to tell everyone to sign up for BlackBandProject.com and be safe in knowing that this is a legitimate, established company that will send you a great, perhaps new, product you will fully enjoy.

The company was owned by the Eiroas family who also mainted 9 other cigar brands; Baccarat was one of the more popular brands that Davidoff would acquire.

Davidoff has expressed intrest in keeping the Camacho brand as is – for now. Eiroa will remain as president of the brand, and while the tobacco farms were not part of the deal there was a supply agreement in the terms.

Cigar Consolidation Continues…

It appears as if the online cigar community has come under consoldiation because of an individual named John Caputo.

John Caputo has recently purcahsed CigarLive.com, ClubStogie.com, Cigar-Review.com and Top25cigar.com. The plan is to consolidate these communities under one umbrella that will be known as Puff.com.

In postings (on all the forums) started by John Caputo he states the goal is to create the “largest cigar social site on the planet it will enable us to do things that apart would not be achievable.” Even more interesting was his idea to start a “cigar advocacy group whose voice can be heard and respected“.

While an advocacy group is great and always needed to us, cigar smokers, there is an uneasy bit of tension throughout all the original members of the forums. Not knowing what will truly come about and the feeling of a “family” being broken apart has caused lots of negative comments and concern.