<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[The Reformed Ember Lounge: Cigar Ledger]]></title><description><![CDATA[Cigar Ledger is a structured record of cigars smoked at The Reformed Ember Lounge, noting origin, construction, smoking time, and flavor development with care and consistency. It is not a catalogue of indulgence, but a disciplined journal of slow reflection, where smoke, patience, and memory are preserved rather than rushed.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/s/cigar-ledger</link><image><url>https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!DHGc!,w_256,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F1fbff4ac-d32e-4056-8b37-76d32319fb58_1024x1024.png</url><title>The Reformed Ember Lounge: Cigar Ledger</title><link>https://www.reformation.blog/s/cigar-ledger</link></image><generator>Substack</generator><lastBuildDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2026 21:57:36 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.reformation.blog/feed" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><copyright><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></copyright><language><![CDATA[en]]></language><webMaster><![CDATA[reformation@substack.com]]></webMaster><itunes:owner><itunes:email><![CDATA[reformation@substack.com]]></itunes:email><itunes:name><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></itunes:name></itunes:owner><itunes:author><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></itunes:author><googleplay:owner><![CDATA[reformation@substack.com]]></googleplay:owner><googleplay:email><![CDATA[reformation@substack.com]]></googleplay:email><googleplay:author><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></googleplay:author><itunes:block><![CDATA[Yes]]></itunes:block><item><title><![CDATA[Perdomo Reserve 10th Anniversary Box-Pressed Maduro]]></title><description><![CDATA[Nick Perdomo released the Reserve 10th Anniversary line in 2008 to mark a decade of Tabacalera Perdomo S.A., and the Box-Pressed Maduro arrived in 2020 as a complete reblend of the original, quickly becoming one of the best-reviewed Nicaraguan puros at its price point. The blend is a 100% Nicaraguan puro in every component, all leaf hand-selected from Perdomo's own farms in Estel&#237;, Condega, and Jalapa, aged a minimum of six years before rolling. The wrapper goes a step further: six years of aging plus an additional fourteen months in spent bourbon barrels, producing a dark, oily leaf with a naturally sweet, dessert-leaning profile that does not taste barrel-gimmicked.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/perdomo-reserve-10th-anniversary</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/perdomo-reserve-10th-anniversary</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:47:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/784a40cf-bfe3-4a79-b851-f4ade1e7589f_5712x4284.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:53332}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Cordoba & Morales Kronos]]></title><description><![CDATA[Cordoba & Morales is a small-batch boutique brand out of Estel&#237;, rolling at the Empire Cigar Factory in Nicaragua, and the Kronos is among their most ambitious releases to date.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/cordoba-and-morales-kronos</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/cordoba-and-morales-kronos</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2026 05:09:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f96674e2-ca58-4990-a30f-b549f2fb23fd_5712x4284.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[
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   ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fratello Oro]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Oro debuted at the 2016 IPCPR show as Fratello's third core blend and the first time founder Omar de Frias reached for an Ecuadorian Connecticut shade wrapper, a deliberate pivot for a brand whose identity had been built on bold Nicaraguan construction. To keep the Oro from sliding into the mild, monotonous territory that Connecticut cigars often occupy, de Frias partnered with La Aurora, the oldest cigar factory in the Dominican Republic, and built the blend around a Cameroon binder, a leaf La Aurora is particularly renowned for handling well. The filler pulls from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia, with the Dominican Ligero driving a dry fruit and subtle pepper note that plays off the natural sweetness of the Cameroon.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/fratello-oro</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/fratello-oro</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 18:15:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3c88fa6d-b30d-4b50-ae26-ea5175ce6f96_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:52759}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Plasencia Reserva Original]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Reserva Original is the oldest continuous blend in the Plasencia portfolio and one of the most unusual cigars in premium production: it is certified 100% organic by the Organic Crop Improvement Association, making it the world's first and only OCIA-certified premium cigar. The blend traces its roots back more than 150 years to the family's original Nicaraguan tobacco-growing methods, and in 2001 Plasencia formally pursued and obtained organic certification, committing to zero pesticides, fertilizers, or insecticides across every component from leaf to finish. All tobacco comes from the Jalapa and Estel&#237; regions of Nicaragua, entirely from Plasencia family farms, with each component aged an additional five years after curing and fermentation before rolling at Plasencia Cigars S.A. in Estel&#237;.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/plasencia-reserva-original</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/plasencia-reserva-original</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 18:11:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/1c0919db-4076-423a-b74a-946e6d70aaf3_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:52757}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fonseca by My Father]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Fonseca brand traces its roots to Havana in 1892, passed through the Dominican Republic under Quesada Cigars for decades, and landed in the Garcia family's hands in December 2019. My Father released their interpretation in August 2020 with an explicit goal: channel enough of Don Pepin and Jaime Garcia's full-flavored Nicaraguan puro style to honor the Garcia name while pulling back enough to respect Fonseca's historically lighter, smoother identity. They thread that needle reasonably well. All tobacco in the blend comes exclusively from Garcia family farms in Nicaragua, finished with a shade-grown Corojo '99 Rosado wrapper, reddish-brown and lightly oily, rolled at My Father Cigars S.A. in Estel&#237;.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/fonseca-by-my-father</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/fonseca-by-my-father</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 18:08:48 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/7ca3347e-c9e0-4a5a-aefc-2c4fafe8fb7b_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:52753}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Room101 Farce Nicaragua]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Farce Nicaragua was the first release General Cigar Co. pushed out after acquiring the Room101 brand in June 2022, arriving on shelves in late 2022 and representing a deliberate pivot from the original Farce's five-country construction. Where the original pulls tobacco from Ecuador, Indonesia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Pennsylvania, the Nicaragua is a puro in every respect, and it swaps factories as well, rolling at the oldest operating factory in Nicaragua, F&#225;brica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A. in Estel&#237;, rather than at Tabacalera William Ventura in the Dominican Republic.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/room101-farce-nicaragua</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/room101-farce-nicaragua</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 18:04:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3fedf091-86f0-4614-8043-fe6aa54c06c7_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:52748}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Arturo Fuente Hemingway Untold Story Maduro]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Untold Story Maduro exists only because Carlito Fuente Jr. had the discipline to wait: the cigars age at Ch&#226;teau de la Fuente until the Fuente family judges them ready for release, typically arriving on shelves in limited quantities at the end of each year alongside the annual A&#241;ejo drop. It is a large, imposing perfecto at approximately 7 5/8 x 54, and the sole vitola in the Hemingway line with no Cameroon counterpart, making it one of the rarest configurations the family produces. The Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper is dark, oily, and mottled, grown in full sun in the Connecticut Valley and fermented to a sweetness that the natural Hemingway line never reaches. Underneath sits the same undisclosed blend of aged Dominican estate binder and long-filler used across the Hemingway series, adding a layer of floral vanilla and nougat that the maduro wrapper deepens rather than covers.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/arturo-fuente-hemingway-untold-story</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/arturo-fuente-hemingway-untold-story</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2026 18:12:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/b8bc9caa-10c9-416f-859b-f3bb0363e2fc_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:51207}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Ashton VSG Torpedo]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Virgin Sun Grown line is the product of a partnership between Philadelphia tobacconist Robert Levin of Ashton Distributors and Carlos Fuente Jr. of Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia, the same family behind Opus X, who blend and roll every VSG at their Dominican factory. Launched in 1999, the VSG was Ashton's entry into full-bodied territory, and the Torpedo (6 1/2 x 55) remains the showcase vitola of the line. The wrapper is the defining feature: a dark, oily Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed leaf grown at high altitude on a private estate owned by the Oliva Tobacco Company of Tampa, cultivated exclusively for the Fuente family's use on this blend. Because the leaf matures under Ecuador's characteristic cloud cover rather than direct sun, some retailers call it "cloud-grown" rather than sun-grown despite the VSG name. Underneath sits a Dominican binder and filler, both aged four to five years, blended by Fuente Jr. specifically for this profile.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/ashton-vsg-torpedo</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/ashton-vsg-torpedo</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:49:29 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/3218af98-26ec-49c9-9c83-d3c4e6cd952b_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:50669}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Rocky Patel Sapphire]]></title><description><![CDATA[Sapphire is the third installment in Rocky Patel's unofficial gemstone series, following Gold Label (2024) and Emerald (2025), and Patel describes it as richer and fuller than both. The blend took over a year and more than 100 prototypes to finalize, drawing on tobacco grown as far back as 2014, all with an eye toward capturing the lingering natural sweetness associated with classic Cuban tobacco. The Toro (6 1/2 x 52) is box-pressed, as are all four vitolas in the line, giving the draw a characteristic firmness. A dark, oily Mexican San Andr&#233;s wrapper covers a dual binder, one Nicaraguan leaf from Estel&#237; and one from Patel's own farm in Honduras's Jamastran Valley, the first time he has used his own Honduran leaf in a blend. The filler is all Nicaraguan, drawing from Estel&#237;, Jalapa, and Condega, with all tobacco outside the wrapper grown on Rocky Patel-owned farms. The profile opens with espresso, roasted coffee, and caramel, moves through baking spice and subtle dark chocolate, and finishes with a natural sweetness that builds rather than fades. Medium to full in body, polished from first light to the nub. Debuted at the 2026 PCA Convention in New Orleans and began shipping to retail in June 2026 as a retailer exclusive.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/rocky-patel-sapphire</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/rocky-patel-sapphire</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:46:57 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/222d19ed-faa9-4a05-a20c-34e21f7d9164_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:50668}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fuente Fuente OpusX Templo de Oro]]></title><description><![CDATA[Templo de Oro, meaning "Temple of Gold," debuted at the La Gran Fumada event in the Dominican Republic in December 2025 in four vitolas (#1, #3, #8, and #13), and it may be the most unexpected direction Carlito Fuente Jr. has ever taken the OpusX name. He has described it as perhaps the mildest OpusX he has ever made, a statement that raises eyebrows from anyone accustomed to the line's usual full-throttle profile. The wrapper is the visual giveaway: a luminous, golden-hued Dominican leaf, lighter in color and softer in temperament than any prior OpusX release, wrapped over aged Dominican binder and filler grown at Ch&#226;teau de la Fuente, as with all Fuente cigars. Fuente has not disclosed the specific leaf components beyond that.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/fuente-fuente-opusx-templo-de-oro</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/fuente-fuente-opusx-templo-de-oro</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Tue, 21 Jul 2026 17:43:22 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/de468342-0257-4185-bb0f-a06a891efb96_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:50666}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Plasencia Cosecha 151 San Diego]]></title><description><![CDATA["Cosecha" is the Spanish word for harvest, and the 151 marks exactly that: the 151st consecutive annual tobacco harvest the Plasencia family has accomplished since their founding in 1865, with the tobacco for this blend grown and harvested in 2016. The San Diego is the Corona Gorda vitola of the three-size Cosecha 151 lineup (5 3/4 x 46), and it is a Honduran puro in every respect, all leaf grown on Plasencia family farms and rolled at their Tabacos de Oriente factory in Danl&#237;. The wrapper is a dark, ruddy-brown Honduran San Agust&#237;n Maduro, denser and earthier than the Nicaraguan tobacco Plasencia is more commonly associated with.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/plasencia-cosecha-151-san-diego</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/plasencia-cosecha-151-san-diego</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:05:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/935ebb0f-50fd-4bd8-86f0-46cd1c060ff6_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:49438}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Esteban Carreras Connecticut]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Connecticut is marketed as the mildest line in the Esteban Carreras portfolio, founded by Clay Roberts and named for the Cuban freedom fighter who fought against the Castro regime. The distinguishing feature is the age on the wrapper: the Ecuadorian Connecticut shade leaf is aged seven years before rolling, longer than most Connecticut-wrapped cigars at this price point, and the blend underneath it steps away from the all-Nicaraguan construction Esteban Carreras typically uses, drawing in Dominican binder and a mixed Dominican and Nicaraguan filler instead. All of it rolls at Tabacalera Carreras in Estel&#237;.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/esteban-carreras-connecticut</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/esteban-carreras-connecticut</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Thu, 16 Jul 2026 18:01:34 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/8ec87ebb-e1f5-408c-aa0c-dfde9552316f_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:49436}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hoyo de Monterrey Rojo]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Rojo and its sibling the Oscuro were launched together in June 2024 as General Cigar's effort to reconnect the Hoyo de Monterrey brand with its Honduran roots, both lines rolling out of the HATSA factory in Danl&#237;. The Rojo is the more approachable of the two, built around a silky, brick-red Jamastran Colorado wrapper from Honduras's premier growing valley, a leaf that gives the cigar its name and much of its character. Underneath sits a Nicaraguan binder and a three-country filler of Honduran, Nicaraguan, and Dominican tobacco, a classic construction that leans into what General Cigar has always done best with this brand.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/hoyo-de-monterrey-rojo</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/hoyo-de-monterrey-rojo</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 12 Jul 2026 02:29:12 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/c4508205-8c40-4435-8458-112d847ca1b7_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:48201}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hoyo de Monterrey El Torcedor]]></title><description><![CDATA[The El Torcedor was General Cigar's limited-edition throwback release for the Hoyo de Monterrey brand, produced in a single vitola and limited to 1,000 boxes of 20 cigars. The name pays homage to the skilled hands behind the cigar, and the packaging reflects that same care: a slide-top box with a back notch that props the lid open for display, a thoughtful detail that most manufacturers skip. The blend steps away from the standard Hoyo formula and reaches for something more complex: a Sumatra-seed Ecuadorian wrapper, noticeably metallic and oily on the nose before the light, sitting over a Nicaraguan binder and a mixed Nicaraguan and Dominican long-filler.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/hoyo-de-monterrey-el-torcedor</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/hoyo-de-monterrey-el-torcedor</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 12 Jul 2026 02:26:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f0c6a8eb-e030-4851-aa4e-ecd31cd51f67_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:48200}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Oscar Valladares Ciseron Edition]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Ciseron Edition is a departure for Oscar Valladares Tobacco & Co. in the most intentional way: it is the first cigar from the Honduran manufacturer that does not use a single leaf of Honduran tobacco. The release was conceived as a collaboration with Honduran Post-Cubist artist Elmer Ciser&#243;n Bautista, whose work appears across five different inlaid canvas prints on the wooden box lids, with 500 boxes of each design produced. The cigar inside carries its own weight: an Ecuadorian Habano sun-grown wrapper, brown and lightly oily, wraps an all-Nicaraguan core of binder and long-filler, rolled at the Oscar Valladares factory in Honduras.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/oscar-valladares-ciseron-edition</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/oscar-valladares-ciseron-edition</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Sun, 12 Jul 2026 02:23:19 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/361aaf72-c281-4810-b60a-103d7e31d236_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:48199}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Fratello USA 250]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Fratello USA 250 is Omar de Frias's contribution to the wave of semiquincentennial releases hitting shelves ahead of July 4, 2026, and it may be the most intentionally symbolic of the lot. Production is capped at exactly 250 boxes, each containing 13 cigars, one for each of the original colonies, and rolled at the legendary F&#225;brica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A. in Estel&#237;. The blend is part of Fratello's PURO Collection and leans into American tobacco in a meaningful way: a Nicaraguan Jalapa Habano wrapper anchors an unusual binder of Pennsylvania Broadleaf Seco, with a mixed filler of Pennsylvania Broadleaf Viso and Seco alongside Dominican Ligero. The result in the 6 x 54 Toro is a medium to full-bodied smoke that works American-grown leaf into the profile in a way most manufacturers avoid, an interesting structural choice rather than mere marketing.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/fratello-usa-250</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/fratello-usa-250</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 08 Jul 2026 21:27:37 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/f503b7da-abf6-41bd-b18c-108bbbd5bfef_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:47443}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[West Tampa Tobacco Co. Black]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Black is one of two inaugural releases from West Tampa Tobacco Co., launched in 2022 by Rick Rodriguez and Gus Martinez, both former General Cigar alumni. Rodriguez blended the CAO brand for over a decade before founding West Tampa, and the Black shows it. The key distinction between the Black and its White sibling is the wrapper: both use an Ecuadorian Habano leaf, but the Black's wrapper comes from a higher priming and is fermented for nine months rather than six, producing a noticeably darker, more savory result. In the 6 x 60 Gigante, that wrapper sits over a Nicaraguan Habano binder from the volcanic island of Ometepe and a filler of Condega Viso and Estel&#237; Ligero, all rolled at the Garmendia Cigar Co. factory in Estel&#237;. The profile opens with mocha and dark berry, transitions into distinct coffee and chocolate notes through the second third, and closes with rising pepper and a dry earthiness. Medium to full in body, construction is generally solid, and the burn runs consistently across most reviews.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/west-tampa-tobacco-co-black</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/west-tampa-tobacco-co-black</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 20:49:10 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/21a36f91-5f8e-4035-96c0-86af6b1b31d7_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:46932}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[West Tampa Tobacco Co. Dark Time]]></title><description><![CDATA[Dark Time is West Tampa Tobacco Co.'s most premium release to date and the product of an unusual backstory: master blender Rick Rodriguez and co-owner Gus Martinez rolled these cigars in 2021 at the NACSA factory in Estel&#237;, Nicaragua, before West Tampa had even formally launched. Believing the market would not support a $30 cigar from an unknown brand, they set them aside. More than three years of additional aging later, they finally began shipping in June 2025. The wait shows in the tobacco: a dark, toothy 2019-crop Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, mottled and veined in a way that signals serious fermentation, wrapped over an Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed binder and a mixed Nicaraguan and Dominican filler.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/west-tampa-tobacco-co-dark-time</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/west-tampa-tobacco-co-dark-time</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 20:45:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/e423741e-942e-44e4-9374-46df129742e0_4284x5712.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:46931}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Perez-Carrillo Pledge of Allegiance 2026]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Pledge of Allegiance is Casa Carrillo's annual Independence Day limited edition, now in its fourth year and timed to coincide with America's 250th anniversary. Each year features an entirely new blend, and the 2026 Toro (6 x 54) is no exception. Production is capped at 1,776 individually numbered boxes of ten, a deliberate nod to the year of the Declaration of Independence. Master blender Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, who emigrated from Cuba as a boy and built one of the most respected names in premium cigars, frames this release as a personal tribute to the American Dream. The blend is anchored by a dark, oily Connecticut Habano wrapper, an Ecuadorian Connecticut binder, and a complex Nicaraguan filler drawing from four growing regions: Condega, Jalapa, Estel&#237;, and ASP.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/perez-carrillo-pledge-of-allegiance</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/perez-carrillo-pledge-of-allegiance</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 06:58:56 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/aff2defe-ab89-4ea0-ae63-cfb040ac023a_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:45642}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item><item><title><![CDATA[Rough Rider Sweets Maduro]]></title><description><![CDATA[Rough Rider Sweets is the house brand of Indian Head Cigars, owned and operated by Jose "Jochy" Blanco, the master blender behind Aging Room, La Galera, and Matilde, all rolled at his Tabacalera Palma factory in the Cibao Valley of the Dominican Republic. The Maduro line, added in 2020, takes the same Dominican long-filler core used in the original Sweets and wraps it in an oily, stalk-cut Mexican San Andr&#233;s Maduro for both wrapper and binder, producing a decidedly darker sibling to the Connecticut version. Only the cap is sweetened, leaving the rest of the cigar to deliver natural tobacco flavors: dark chocolate, baking spice, earthiness, and cream, carried through a smooth, medium-bodied burn. An honest, affordable smoke with no pretension.]]></description><link>https://www.reformation.blog/p/rough-rider-sweets-maduro</link><guid isPermaLink="false">https://www.reformation.blog/p/rough-rider-sweets-maduro</guid><dc:creator><![CDATA[Jason L Bradfield]]></dc:creator><pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 06:55:01 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://substack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com/public/images/6ab7de41-475d-4e88-b7a0-22b8bfe5945a_4032x3024.jpeg" length="0" type="image/jpeg"/><content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class="recipe-embed" data-attrs="{&quot;id&quot;:45641}" data-component-name="RecipeToDOM"></div><p></p>]]></content:encoded></item></channel></rss>