As close to Cuba as you can get; A trip to Cuban Crafters in Hialeah, FL.

I’m all over the Cuban Crafters cigar company right now having made the pilgrimage to their headquarters in the Hialeah area of Miami this week.  Walking into this store is like taking a trip back in time to when good friends got together over a cigar and just shared a real good time together, for no particular reason except the comradery.

The building is huge, the cigars are everywhere, the walk-in humidor is bigger than most other entire smoke shops.  When you first walk in there is a giant counter/cashier area where a few of the lovely ladies that work there are happily attending customers.

To the left is a large area where master cigar rollers are throwing down!  Leaf after leaf, these craftsmen delicately turn, mold, cut and press this precious cargo into some of the best local smokes in town.  Across from the center counter is the largest walk in humidor I’ve ever been in, with just rows and rows of cigars from floor to ceiling.

To the right of the humidor is, get this, a barber shop!  Where else can you enjoy a premium cigar and get your haircut at the same time?  Just to the right of that is a Cuban coffee counter, where all the espresso coffee you want is FREE!  In front of that is a collection of humidors like you’ve never seen before, every size, color and shape you can imagine.

Walk into the next room and you’ll find a dozen or so rocking chairs, just waiting to gently rock your worries away as you puff on a juicy maduro!  In the same room there are racks of Cuban Guavera shirts, in all colors and sizes, more humidors as well as beautiful artwork depicting scenes from Cuba.

But wait, there’s more! 

The next room is decorated to look like your walking down a street in Old Havana.  Complete with the ‘Bodega Del Medio’ sign from a famous store in Cuba, this section has four domino tables, and at 3pm on a Tuesday afternoon, you had to wait to get a seat to play!

This is some hard-core old school, double nine Cuban domino so you better bring your A game.  In this room there are also beautiful laminate domino tables for sale with authentic artwork mostly based on Cuban landmarks and culture.

The cigar I tried was a J.L. Salazar “Hermanos” maduro.  Man oh man, just when I thought things couldn’t get any better, this cigar seriously blew me away.  From start to finish, it was smooth, strong enough for my tastes and delicious down to the nub!  A must definite buy by the bundle!

To say I felt like a kid in a candy store would be an understatement.  Top it all off with some of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, and it’s not an exaggeration when I say I wanted to move in.  Thanks to Don Kiki for making me feel right at home, this place really embellishes all that is good about the cigar industry and I can only hope that it remains that way for generations to come!

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What do you love the most about the cigar industry?

My uncle Pepe has been rolling cigars since he was a kid in Cuba.  Now reaching 70 years old, I guess he can qualify as a Master Roller even if his Boquilla / Havana Cigars never made it to the mainstream.

Havana Cigars - Union City NJ

I didn't smoke my first cigar until I was 27 years old, 16 years ago.  It was just one of things at my cousins party where I was offered a cigar and this time gave it a shot.  As any seasoned cigar smoker can tell you, it was love at first puff!

From there my thirst for quality cigars grew and low and behold, I found out I have an authentic cigar roller in the family with his own cigar shop, not far from my house...life is good!!!  I went over to my uncle's shop, and there is my older cousin, working there and telling me about plans to open a second store!

I was so excited, I went everyday and helped in anyway that I could.  My cousin was able to get an investor to help him open the second store, complete with a smokers lounge, with big screen TV's, comfy lounge chairs and lots and lots of great cigars.

It did not take long for to me appreciate what smoking a great cigar is really all about...camaraderie.  I'm not talking about just a bunch of guys, wasting away a couple of hours watching sports, I'm talking about men, sharing philosophy on life, politics, libations and of course stories of adventures (of all types!).

People from all walks of life, mostly men but a few very cool woman too, would come in and stories would just sort of ooze out.  It was a type of atmosphere and companionship that I have not seen before or since.  Some of that is my own fault since there are some great smoke shops near me, and I haven't made the effort to frequent them enough.

In any case, I can enjoy a good cigar alone without any conversation, perfectly fine...thank you very much!  However, what kept me coming back, and building my love affair with the leaf, was all of the great talks, games, laughs and memories I shared at the smoke shop!

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Link to 'Smoke Magazine's' story about my uncle Pepe and my cousin Bobby in 1985.

Happy Birthday to Me, a gift of CLE Corojo!

On November 28th, I turned 43.  Interestingly enough, I did not start smoking cigars until I was 27, and now enjoy about a cigar a day.

I was very happy to receive a 4-pack of Rocky Patel edge from light to maduro, a RP Vintage, an Illusione but the treat of the gifts came in a little known cigar called CLE Corojo!

This medium brown stick is one of the latest offerings from Christin Eiroa's new company CLE Cigars.  I visited the website and enjoyed some beautiful pics of their cigar farm in Honduras.

This all Honduran cigar may not be the most elegant thing to look at, but right from the first puff, I was thoroughly impressed.  Lots of spice and flavor, that had some sweetness as well to balance it out.  Barely 1/3rd of the way through some nice oak and cedar flavors began to step up, and stay with the smoke the rest of the way.

The draw was easy, the flavor was so good, if I hadn't just had an Italian Sweet Sausage sandwich with peppers, I'd probably be looking for a nice steak to eat.  I enjoyed it while drinking a Fosters premium ale, and felt each sip made both taste better.

Produced in limited quantities, this choice, even on Cigars International will cost you a little more than your average purchase.  A box of 25 Robusto's will cost about $133, and in my opinion, well worth the price.

On a birthday where gifts included well known Bourbon, Cigars and accessories (so glad my people know me so well!) this little CLE won top honors, and should be part of your humidor as well.

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