Cigar Photography

smoke in focus …

Thor Nielsen of Cigar Press

Feb 22

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This week we continue with the ‘Cigar Industry In Focus‘ series and placing Thor Nielsen in focus.

The man requires very little introduction. If you follow premium cigar industry you will recognize his name as the owner of the Cigar Press magazine pushing the envelope to stay fresh and unique. The magazine screams art and out of the box presentation. David Nielsen’s (Thor’s father) drawings should not be missed. Ad’s are relevant and within reach for the average Joe.

Excerpt from the Cigar Press website:

Cigar Press premiered in June of 2007. It was founded in Los Angeles, California by Thor Nielsen, who currently lives in and produces Cigar Press out of Miami, FL. It can be found in cigar shops around the United States in all 50 states as well as other countries and cities such as Canada, New Zealand, Amsterdam, Great Britain, Brazil, Hong Kong, among others.

Cigar Press is undoubtedly a fresh approach to cigar-related print media. Everything from content to design is unique and approached with innovative style …

Cigar Press Magazine is the new voice for cigar related print media in the industry. While we appreciate the traditional aspect of the cigar industry, we are not always traditional in our own approach or style …

Cigar Press aims to provide unparalleled quality and truth in its photography, cigar tasting reviews journalistic, and artistic integrity. We dive into the cultural aspect of the countries and people who are involved in the cigar business. Each issue of Cigar Press is focused from beginning to end while being visually bold and daring … Each issue can feature interviews, factory tours, cartoons, products, cigar art, and other cigar-related subjects that the reader finds useful and entertaining … Beer and brewery tours can be found in most issues as well as travel features, events, cigar scene coverage and much more. We are innovative in design and style. Our mission is to educate our readers by engaging them in content while visually stimulating them.

Thor and I attended the Cigar Safari in Esteli, Nicaragua back in 2012. While touring Drew Estate’s factory, we had a pleasure of sampling freshly rolled ‘naked’ Feral Flying Pigs. As one would expect from the Drew Estate product, the sample produced so much smoke, it covered half of Thor’s face & upper body. The stage was right, the object was ready, photo props (cigar, black glasses, rock-style ring) were in the right place. Two frames later, I pulled of this dreamy-looking portrait which exposed only half of Thor’s face and glasses but covered the rest with a cloud of thick and “curly” smoke. Mysterious finish, just like the man himself.


Nikon D3 + 14-24mm f/2.8 (1/90sec / f/4.0 / 24mm)


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La Palina Goldie Laguito No.2

Jan 17

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This week we are photographing and reviewing the La Palina Goldie Laguito No.2 – one of the latest releases from La Palina stable. Produced at the El Titan de Bronze factory in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, the entire collection of Goldie has been rolled in the Laguito No. 2 vitola (hence the name) by master roller Maria Sierra.

La Palina Goldie Laguito No.2 press release:
Goldie Drell Paley, the namesake of our brand, was the wife of Sam Paley, who in 1896 founded La Palina Cigars. To celebrate the history, contributions and accomplishments of women in the cigar industry, we are proud to release the La Palina Collection Goldie. e Goldie is a limited 1000 box release. Produced at the El Titan de Bronze factory in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami, the Goldie is made under the supervision of owner Sandy Cobas. The entire collection has been rolled in the Laguito No. 2 vitola (6×38) by master roller Maria Sierra. Maria is one of the ?rst women trained to roll cigars in Cuba. Her historic 32 year career at Villa El Laguito began July 22, 1967. Maria is a 95 rated, category 9 roller trained by Fidel Castro’s personal roller Eduardo Rivera Irizarri, as well as Avelino Lara, the creator of the legendary Cohiba blend. Each cigar is ?nished in the traditional Laguito style with a fan cap, exclusively taught to rollers at Villa El Laguito. e Goldie is blended with the prized Medio Tiempo leaf, found on only 10% of tobacco plants. The La Palina Collection Goldie embodies the tradition, expertise, and passion of women in the cigar industry.

Visually, the La Palina Goldie Laguito No.2 screams elegance. Smooth, light brown wrapper, well blended seams, visible veins, triple cap, traditional yet striking band and last but surely not least, exotic fan cap. The draw was superb from the very beginning to the very end. In the flavor department: slightly spicy finish, hints of nuttiness, woodiness. Toward the end, noticeable increase in spice and pepper on the tongue. A very apparent fruity flavor lingering in the mouth throughout the cigar. Considering vitola size, insanely strong and very light ash in the first half. That firm ash begin to flake starting in the second half. Good amount of smoke as depicted below. Near perfect burn line throughout.


Personally, the La Palina Goldie Laguito No.2 has it all a smoker would want. Approachable vitola size, great presentation, fantastic construction and burn, complex flavors which start on the medium plus and go up to full, creamy texture, etc … accolades continue. If you think this is not for you b/c of the shade of the wrapper, the size, the presentation, you are doing yourself a disservice. Seek out La Palina Goldie Laguito No.2. You will not regret it.


Country of Origin: USA (El Titan de Bronze)
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Nicaragua, Dominican Republic
Length: 6″ Ring: 38

Construction > Excellent
Burn > Excellent
Enjoy > Yes
Recommend > Absolutely !
Buy >Absolutely !

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Tatuaje ‘The Mummy’

Dec 31

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Cigar Review by Matt Zaccheo (guest)
Cigar Photography by Jay L (cigarphoto.net)


2012 Halloween brought another “Monster Series” limited release. This year, Pete Johnson of Tatuaje introduced 5th installment called “The Mummy.”


Cut: Palio
Drink: Unsweetened Lipton cold brew iced tea
Palate: Fresh. Had not smoked for 4 days prior.

Prelight: As my eyes move from the ragged closed foot, they are drawn to the subtle color variations in the veining on the light brown Colorado wrapper. There are few prominent veins and the creasing is accentuated by reddish hues giving it a mottled and weather-beaten appearance. The wrapper is smooth to the touch, has very little oils, and a very fine tooth right up to the gorgeous triple cap. To sum up the overall appearance: crude rustic elegance. It’s definitely a “Monster.” The prelight aroma is rather unassuming and muted: mild cedar, straight tobacco, and light barnyard. The cold draw is in keeping with the prelight aroma: mild cedar, some raisin notes, sweet tobacco and light hay. Nothing screams bold or adventurous.

Draw: Comfortable and effortless. Balanced to the length of the cigar perfectly.

Flavors: Initial spice, but not the classic Pepin black pepper. It’s a woody spice up front with cedar predominating. There are distinct cinnamon and nutmeg notes balanced by leather and earth. The pepper(black/cayenne) comes on the retro, and it’s BIG! As I settled into the first third there is a core of cinnamon and cedar. Initially, the smoke is drying on the palate, but as the cigar starts to transition a wonderful sweetness emerges and softens the sharp woody edges. It’s not a dense, thick molasses sweetness. It’s a bit nebulous at first. It’s there, but I can’t put my finger on it. It’s light and engaging. I’m hoping it continues to develop. The smoke becomes creamy and mellows on the palate. As I get into the second third the strength is consistent. On my palate it’s a medium minus. Flavors that continue to dominate are mild cedar and cinnamon and then that sweetness begins to take on a more defined role heading into the latter portion of the second third. I know what it is now. It’s fantastic. It’s graham cracker! As it transitions into the final third there are some fleeting herbal, grassy, and minty notes, but the cinnamon, cedar, and graham cracker are still center stage all the way to the nub.

Burn: Excellent. Two touch ups. The ash was a flaky salt and pepper and split in funky directions. The burn rate and temperature was spot on. Smoke production was good. Total smoke time was 2 hours.

Construction: Excellent.

Descriptive adjectives: Rustic Elegance, “Cinn-a-Monster”

Box worthy: Yes

Overall: Pleasantly surprised. Of the mini-monsters, the Mum was my least favorite. I was so underwhelmed, after my experience with it’s little brother, that I did a box split for the full size Mummy this year. That was a mistake!


Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown Criollo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Length: 7.75″
Ring: 48


Please consider the following post:
* Tatuaje ‘The Face’
* Tatuaje ‘The Boris’ (* not Monster Series)

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Studio Tobac 2012 Event-Only Release

Dec 18

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This week, CigarPhoto is displaying, not reviewing, Studio Tobac’s 2012 Event-Only releases. Below is the outcome of a commissioned assignment CigarPhoto did for Studio Tobac back in May of 2012.


During 2011 Studio Tobac Tour, attendees at each event had a chance to participate in a raffle with one custom Studio Tobac Scrimshawed Xikar Xi3 cutter body (* made by Rick “HutcH” Hutchings) as the grand prize. There was also the infamous and relatively strong ‘Donkey Punch’ upon “special” request. 2012 Studio Tobac World Tour, in addition to the Studio Tobac Limited Edition Sampler 2012, brought two event-only releases: Cain NUb Daytona 460 & Cain Special Release 550. Those were given out to the two winners of the grand prize at each event.

From Bryan “The Show” Scholle – Studio Tobac’s Ambassador:

  • The Cain Special Release 550 cigar was designed with a small rare batch of Ligero we had in the factory. We did not have enough to use for a normal production cigar or even a small batch release. We had enough to make 800 cigars total.
  • Both Cain NUb Daytona 460 & Cain Special Release 550 will never be available as regular production.
  • There are no more boxes of these cigars available. We used them all during events.
  • We are currently working on new stuff for 2013



The following are makeup / specs of each cigar:

Cain NUb Daytona 460 (4 x 60)
amount available – 800 cigars / 80 boxes
wrapper – Ecuadorian Sumatra
binder – Nicaraguan
filler – Jalapa Valley Ligero, Nicaragua

Cain Special Release 550 (5 3/4 x 50)
amount available – 800 cigars / 80 boxes
wrapper – Nicaraguan Habano
binder – Nicaraguan
filler – Nicaraguan Ligero (small rare batch)

 

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Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate

Dec 11

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It has been a while since ‘Cigar Industry In Focus‘ series had an update so I decided to dig through Lightroom catalogs for the right contender. This week we are placing Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate in focus.


Jonathan Drew (stage name – JD) requires very little introduction, if any. In fact, if you don’t know who JD is, you probably have been living under the rock for the last few good years OR you have chosen to ignore today’s Mecca of the cigar industry – Nicaragua. Why did I mention Nicaragua ? Well, if you had a chance to meet Jonathan in person or have read some of his social-media posts, you know that the man lives and breathes Nicaragua. There is that much passion ! In May of 2012, I had the pleasure of visiting La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate and the amount of knowledge, information, tips, tricks and passion that was pouring out of Jonathan’s mouth throughout the trip, was simply mind blowing. If you know Jonathan, you know that he can make your ears “bleed.” I call him the ‘Tobacco Poet.’ Just when you think you know a little bit about cigars and the industry, trust me, you don’t know much. Jonathan Drew and others are uber-cigar-geeks and they will hypnotize you with the cigar knowledge.


Another objective while in Nicaragua was to photograph Jonathan Drew to further contribute to my ‘Cigar Industry In Focus‘ project. When I think of Jonathan, I think of two things: tobacco and Nicaragua so I wanted to include these two ‘props’ while I was making the photograph. While my previous ‘Cigar Industry In Focus‘ entries were somehow staged, below photographs were made ‘gorilla’ style: quick movement, rapid in & out bursts, strategically placed focal point, use of negative space, rule of thirds, etc. I was pleased with the outcome. In fact, very pleased with the color version below. If you stare long enough at the leaf, you will find it “pulsating” and/or looking as if it had a 3D finish. 


Please consider the following post:
* Cigar Safari
* Liga Privada Lounge
* Liga Privada Unico Serie ‘L40′
* Liga Privada Unico Serie ‘Feral Flying Pig’
* Liga Privada No9 ‘Flying Pig’
* Liga Privada T52 ‘Flying Pig’

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