Alec Bradley American Sun Grown Blend

The AB Mixologist, aka Snappy Bigman, has been through town, and the Alec Bradley stocks on local humidor shelves are plentiful. 'Chuno how that goes. He also was amenable to lunch with a couple of us locals, and spread some AB love around  by stopping our gobs with these American Sun Grown treats.

Alec Bradley American Sun Grown

Alec Bradley's branding has come a long ways from the old Trilogy and Ovation  labels, now sporting larger, classier labels with the the crowned 'AB' badge. Presentation is nice, but it's really the icing on some great tasting cigars.

After clipping the cap, I get a nice peppery spice on the lips from the Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, and nice earth and leather notes from the aroma of the unlit foot.

Heat the foot and go, I get some nice, almost medium-bodied leathery wood flavors, with just a touch of earth and a little spice. The spice hums in the background while the leather and wood take on an occasional citrus tone.

I like these a bit better than the American Classic, as the Sun Grown's wrapper adds a nice earthy heat to the blend. Great flavor, and at a $6-7 price tag, these are a good deal.

Alec Bradley Family Blend Robusto

Spring has finally sprung; BOING. Outside, smoking a cigar with an old friend over the lunch hour is my idea of a perfect way to usher in le printemps. I brought out an Alec Bradley stick recently ransomed from a local shop during a visit from regional AB rep, Snappy 'Chuno' Bigman. Snappy spins a good yarn, and the Family Blend story is a good one, but you'll have to hear it directly from him. I will say, though, that Snappy would put his sac on the line if he thinks it's the right thing to do.

The Family Blend robusto is a rustic-looking stick with a light brown Honduran wrapper and veins that would make a smack junkie jealous. A blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos make up the core. The draw is, as usual for Alec Bradley, perfect and the cigar burns okay, but outside in a light breeze I have to touch up the burn a couple times.

Once I get the cigar lit, I get mainly flavors of grass and _____ ; sometimes grass and tart wood, or grass and light coffee, but always the grassy flavor is there. Any sort of spice that may be there is hiding behind the grass. The last third features a tart wood flavor uprising against the oppression of the grass. At their peak the flavors get to almost medium-bodied, but not beyond medium.

Another colleague sits down to join us, and remarks "Hey, are you smoking a Cuba Aliados?" At his reference to the grassy blends of the dearly departed Don Rolando Reyes senior, I start thinking about it more. "No," I reply, "but close enough."

Perhaps Spring is in the air; grass is greening up, trees budding, and I'm tasting that green in this cigar. The Family Blend retails for a buck less, per stick, than the more tasty Black Market line, but I'm happy to pay up to move up a bit.

Alec Bradley Black Market torpedo

My first humidor was a Pinnacle golf ball box, and Alec Bradley cigars have been a regular in my humidor since those days. I have long since upgraded to a FootJoy shoebox, and now an igloo cooler. Over the past year, I've smoked about a box worth of the different sizes of the Black Market (enough so I could wallpaper my man cave with the huge foot bands) and look forward to the wee petit corona-sized Punk. I decided to review one of these torpedoes again after refamiliarising myself with the Family Blend.

Alec Bradley Black Market torpedo

At $8 or so for the torpedo size, the Black Market has a pretty good bang for the buck, especially versus the spendier Tempus and Prensado lines. Its Nicaraguan wrapper is a mottled, shoeleather-brown and has some moderate veins. Drawing through the Honduran/Panamanian fillers is a perfect balance of whim and restraint, and the burn is a little wobbly but care-free.

Right away, bold earthy flavors of leather, wood, and a sultry spice greet my first fiery kiss. The spice doesn't linger long, but the tart woody flavors hold the tone for most of the cigar and mix with cameos of coffee, bitter cocoa, and occasionally hay. Definitely a medium-bodied stick, all told.

The Tart wood/leather of the Black Market has a lot in common with the Family Blend, especially the last third of that cigar, but without the major grass overtones. I'll stick with the Black Market, and look forward to the wee Punk.

Alec Bradley New York

Nebraska is probably as far away from New York as you can get, at least culturally, demographically, and in any other sense of "Small Place" vs "Big Place". So, to have the Alec Bradley New York marca show up in my local humidor, it really took me aback. I grew up on the East Coast, and visited NYC occasionally. Whether it was to catch the Ramones at CBGBs or to browse the PC World show at the Javits Center, I have many fond memories of New York. The super-classy Art Deco styling of the band brings one even farther back, to the times of George Gershwin and 'The Great Gatsby'.

Alec Bradley New York

The New York cigar features a earthy Honduran Criollo wrapper, smooth with a few veins, and a mix of Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers. A nice earthy spice emanates from the unlit cigar.

Once the fire is started, the first flavor is a clarinet glissando soaring high.. er.. I'm thinking Gershwin's 'Rhapsody in Blue'.. This cigar is really a 'Rhapsody in Brown'; Super bright woody and floral chords to start and sultry spice on the palate. The midsection brings some coffee and cinnamon stanzas and finishing with wood and savory spice notes.

 This is a great-tasting, medium-bodied stick, and it burns for over an hour and a half (amazing for a robusto). I don't get any hints of taxi exhaust, dumpsters, hygienically-challenged subway commuters, or even the slightest hint of the aromas that used to waft off the East River.

For just under $10, this is a good cigar; burns long, good flavors, and a nostalgic reminder of days gone by. Time to crank up some Duke Ellington and mix up a nice, dry Manhattan.

Alec Bradley Nica Puro Bajito

The casual observer might miss it, but an earnest glance over the cigars I've reviewed thus far might betray my obvious preference for Nicaraguan tobaccos. So, when Snappy started touting the 'Nica Puro' release, I was instantly interested.

These Bajitos were on the shelf at the shop for just a few hours before I swooped in and bought a handful. For a 4.5" x 52-ish cigar, this Bajito is a hefty little guy, feeling as heavy in the hand as someone else' toro or torpedo. Bajito must be a Spanish term for "Li'l Badass".

Alec Bradley Nica Puro Bajito.

I get a spice on the lips for the first kiss, and once lit, earthy, dark flavors of coffee, leather and bitter cocoa are booming right from the first puff. The earthy spice is fairly subdued, only obvious at the first and last parts of the smoke. This is definitely a medium to full bodied cigar, but the nicotine content doesn't give me the sweats and rumbles.

The amount of smoke coming off this stick is amazingly thick and creamy, like a smokey milkshake. This dense little firecracker takes about an hour to enjoy, from foot to nub, so the $7 price is not unreasonable.

The Bajito has all the flavors of the hallmark Nicaraguan tobaccos; earth, coffee, bitter cocoa, spice, and more earth. If you like Oliva, Padron, or Perdomo sticks, you'll find something to love in this Alec Bradley Nica Puro. But, you'd better get down to the shop and get some before I go back, because I'm not settling for just a handful.