Friday 9 January 2015

A Closer Look at Gispert cigars

Although the name “Gispert” is somewhat French-inspired and you might not be able to get it right at the first time (by the way, its called “Hees-pairt”), we are sure that it won’t stop you from ordering this over and over again once you’ve tried it. And you can definitely order more because it comes at an amazingly low price than its Cuban counterparts. Perhaps this is what high-quality-meets-reasonable-pricing means.



The Gispert comes in two brands: Natural and Maduro. The Natural has a blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers embraced by an Ecuadorian Connecticut shade wrapper and a Honduran binder. It is topped with a beautiful triple cap. The wrapper is devoid of veins, so your cigar is like holding silk in your hands. The aroma will remind you of cedar and berries. The taste will give you a smooth and creamy delight with every flawless draw – the kind that soothes and caresses your palate. It will unfold like sweet cinnamon, follow with thick cream, and top it up with a dash of spice.

The Maduro is unique from the Connecticut because of the wrapper and because of the fact that the entire line-up is box pressed. The Maduro comes with a San Andrés maduro wrapper that has slight veins and an even color, and a Honduran- and Nicaraguan-grown long filler blend – the recipe to give you a sweet but full-bodied flavor that the connoisseur loves. The aroma is a mix of sweet cocoa, hay, and a subtle touch of nuttiness that lingers on.


This cigar comes with an interesting history of its own. It was founded in 1940 in Pinar del Rio at the Carlos Balino factory, which came under Habanos SA, a Cuban state-owned tobacco firm. The rich tobacco from Vuelta Arriba was used by Simón Veja Peláez to make the Gispert. After the Cuban revolution in 1959, the sales began to dip and what was originally a fleet of 11 vitolas was reduced to a single one, the Habaneros No.2.

But thankfully, the brand took a new breath in 2003 as Altadis SA, a Franco-Spanish tobacco company, started manufacturing it in an attempt to reprise the classic Cuban brand. At present, the La Flor de Copan Cigar Factory in Honduras is the place where these little pieces of delight are rolled to perfection and sent out for cigar lovers like us. Now it is made in 6 sizes, all with ring gauges larger than usual –  Robusto (5×54), Toro (6×54), Corona (5.5×44), Belicoso (6 1/8×52), Lonsdale (6.5×44), and Churchill (7×54).


Gispert Cigar-a vintage Cuban brand is the one cigar you can choose if you cannot make up your mind among many, and definitely the one you would want to start your day with as it teams up great with coffee. The semi-boite box that the Natural comes in makes for an impressive gift, or you can even keep it as a décor piece.

Want to combine it with a drink? Arrange for some fine Belgian ale or Imperial Russian stout for an evening with friends. After all, good cigars make a good company better, don’t they?


The Best of CAO for you

CAO’s success also has a lot to do with their seemingly endless innovation filler. No, it’s not the name of their special filler, but kind of what drives their special blends. And, that never fails to win them more fans who become loyal admirers over time.

Since it is a little difficult to try all of CAO’s, we’ve listed the creme de la creme below.

La Traviata Radiante Maduro

The Radiante, standing at 6 inch by 52 ring, is the toro size of the La Traviata
line. The wrapper is a sinful dark Connecticut broadleaf, the binding is a flavorful Cameroon leaf, and the blend is Nicaraguan and Dominican. With every inch you smoke, there is pepper, cocoa, toasted nuts, and coffee to relish. It’s the standby choice of many aficionados, and continues to stay at the top of our choice.

La Traviata Evil Snowman

CAO came out with two Christmas themed cigars in the winter of 2013. The Evil Snowman and the Angry Santa. The Snowman comes as a beefed up cousin of the La Traviata line which  is enormous at its 6.5 inches and a 52 ring gauge size. The wrapper is a maduro Connecticut broadleaf, the filler a Nicaraguan and Dominican blend, and the binder a sturdy Honduran. The medium-body beauty is delight to look at as well. As for the flavor, a pepper base continues throughout and savors your palate, with subtle hints of wood piquing the drama. A worthy candidate to accompany your drinks.





La Traviata Angry Santa

Also from the La Traviata line, but with leaves from a higher priming. The effect? A bolder spicy flavor that caresses your palate long after you’ve laid the cigar to rest. The size is close to its counterpart - 6 inches and 52 gauge. It employs an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and the broadleaf binder. The Honduran and Nicaraguan filler blend bring out key flavors of toasted nuts and light citrus. As it is with some cigars, this one is better enjoyed after some aging.

The Flathead

An example of CAO’s innovation that already has folks going ga-ga over it. The unique cuboidal shape gives plenty of body and the excellent Nicaraguan and Dominican long fillers give the highly interesting mix of cocoa, black pepper, and earth. A Connecticut Habano seed binder and a Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper fermented to perfection complete the story. This stogie will tantalize your taste buds and the strong aroma will linger on long after you’ve finished it.



And now that you know about them, you are welcome at Mike cigars - a place that has all the coolest CAO cigars and everything else on board together. And what makes Mike Cigars all the more special is the fact that they offer some serious discounts on its website. They also have an only-adult policy which doesn’t let under age individuals make purchases at their site. Free shipping (on most of the buys) and fast delivery come as an added delight.

After you’ve had your feast, don’t forget to let us know what you thought about it!