The Stogie Guys

It’s a good thing this Gurkha Class Regent Torpedo sports one of the manufacturer’s typically distinctive bands. Otherwise it might be mistaken for a block of chocolate candy. The dark Habana 2000 wrapper looks nearly good enough to eat.

But this box-pressed beauty is better for smoking.

This particular stick was a gift from Stogie Guy Patrick S, who said he got it from CBid. He generously passed it along when we met last month in Ybor City.

My experiences with Gurkha have been fairly limited, so I had no real preconceptions when I clipped and lit this one. Before even beginning to concentrate on the taste, I was bowled over by the smoke: incredibly thick, rich, and creamy. Few cigars can match the level of smoke produced by the Regent. It really did hang in the air as if you could slice it with a knife.

After blowing a few smoke rings, I began to concentrate on the taste. There was an initial sharpness that smoothed out about a third of the way down, replaced for a short period by a sweetness and then a nuttiness. As the gray ash grew, the tobacco taste began to meld with a warm, earthy tone. In the final third, hints of caramel came and went.

According to Gurkha, the cigar has a Habana 2000 Indonesian binder and Dominican filler. They call it medium to heavy; to me, it was closer to medium on the scale.

The draw was fine, and the heavy smoke continued throughout. A roomful of politicians puffing these Gurkhas could set a new standard for smoke-filled rooms.

The only problem I encountered involved the burn, including a little canoeing about halfway down. But I was able to correct that fairly easily with a touch up light.

All in all, this is a very satisfying cigar and one I plan to smoke again. It also got me interested in exploring more of the Gurkha line. I give this stick four out of five stogies.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–George E

Last December – following the passage of ballot initiatives in Nevada and Ohio – over half of all Americans were living in a state, county, or municipality with a smoking ban in place.

Yet within “a few years,” all of America could be smoke-free. That according to Bronson Frick, professional mouthpiece for the anti-smoking group that goes by the Orwellian name “Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights.”

The group, which has previously been known to use false and misleading information to whip its donors into an anti-smoking frenzy, recently trumpeted on their website that 50.2 percent of Americans now live under anti-smoking laws. More recently, in an Associated Press article, Frick said the group has plans to make these bans nationwide:

”The movement for smoke-free air has gone from being a California oddity to the nationwide norm,” said Bronson Frick, the group’s associate director. ”We think 100 percent of Americans will live in smoke-free jurisdictions within a few years.”

But smoking bans haven’t just been spreading from state to state, city to city. They are also becoming increasingly extreme. And much like the anti-smoking movement as a whole, these most extreme bans are gaining traction in California:

The Southern California city of Calabasas broke new ground for the United States in spring 2006 when it banned smoking in all public areas, including sidewalks. As of March 1, Emeryville will have anti-smoking laws almost as tough as Calabasas, with new widespread smoking bans, including in parks and on footpaths.

San Francisco now bans smoking in city parks, golf courses, and public squares, and Belmont made international news in November with its pending proposal to ban smoking citywide, except in detached, single-family homes.

And anti-smoking agitators seem determined to push their agenda into uncharted areas, such as adoption. One such group, ASH, proudly described a distraught couple that were refused an adoption because the husband smokes (though only outdoors):

A heartbroken couple has been told they cannot adopt a child because he smokes, even though he says he never smokes indoors. Indeed, the prohibition stands until he quits smoking for six months and provides medical documentation that he is no longer a smoker.

With bans and other anti-smoking laws on the march all across the country, it is important to remember that historically these trends don’t last. But, still, with so much anti-smoking fervor in the air (pardon the pun), now seems like a good time to review the case against smoker discrimination.

–Patrick S

Without getting into too much history here, there are many cigar brand names that transcend their “country of origin.” Due to an uneasy legal environment and the U.S. trade embargo against Castro’s communist regime, you can find Cuban and non-Cuban versions of, among others, Romeo y Julieta, Montecristo, Hoyo de Monterrey, and – most notably – Cohiba.

In that spirit, U.S.-based General Cigar Co. introduced a premium stogie called “Cohiba” to the American market in the 1990s, despite a precarious feud with Fidel’s state-owned tobacco company, Cubatabaco, over trademark rights.

A few days ago I sat down with a five inches by 49 ring gauge Cohiba Robusto. This handsome cigar, which retails in the expensive $8 to $13 range, sports a Mexican binder, a Dominican filler, and a flawless Cameroon wrapper (like I said, there’s nothing Cuban about it).

One of the most noticeable characteristics of the stick is its tight, firm feel. After clipping the head with my double guillotine cutter, I was barely able to make out the pockets of space between the cramped tobacco leaves.

After the cigar was carefully lit, the first thing I noticed – aside from the perfect burn – were mild notes of creamy coffee and light honey. A shiny mascara indicated the tobacco leaves were fully matured when cultivated.

The flavor remained subtle and airy throughout the hour and ½ smoke, living up to its light- to medium-bodied billing. As such, this is the sort of stogie I would recommend pairing not with hard liquor, but with beer or wine (I chose pinot noir).

Fortunately, the perfect burn I noticed after lighting remained fabulously even right down to the very end. And while the ash held nicely off the foot for up to an inch and ½, the draw was a bit difficult, surely due to the cigar’s tight packing.

Overall, this is a fine cigar – especially if you’re looking for something light – but it doesn’t live up to the expectations it sets in price. So while I wouldn’t rush out to your local B&M to stock up on these, I also think they can be a nice change of pace every now and again.

I give the Cohiba (Dominican) Robusto three and ½ out of five stogies.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick A

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

When I’m looking for a fairly quick smoke, I often turn to the 4 1/2 inch (by 30/60 ring gauge) Champion. I find the shape — resembling a python swallowing a pig — intriguing. I would call it a medium strength, flavorful cigar. I find hints of cedar, pepper, even vanilla. I have had occasional burn problems with Champions, though this one ran straight and true.

Verdict= Buy.

–George E

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

Last weekend I sampled my first Avo cigar, a Maduro Robusto, while waiting for a movie. Needless to say, the stogie – not the motion picture – was the highlight of the evening. This five inches by 50 ring gauge Dominican sported excellent construction and woody flavors of oak and cedar. I was, however, disappointed by the lack of balance on the palate; the prevalent salty notes left me yearning for a cool drink.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a sampler of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) In the interest of seeing who actually supports and who opposes smoking restrictions, we further looked into that Bangor, Maine City Council vote to ban smoking in vehicles with children. You’ll remember this story from last week’s sampler. According to the Bangor paper, the vote was 6-3. Now, the council is nominally nonpartisan, but, naturally, most members are politically affiliated. The three who opposed the measure were one Democrat, one Republican, and one politician who emailed to say that he has “not been enrolled in any party for many years.”

2) Tuesday’s commentary noted the article by Professor Thomas Lambert titled “The Case Against Smoking Bans” from the winter issue of Regulation Magazine. At the time that issue wasn’t yet online, but now it is (we’re so far ahead of the curve). You can download the article for yourself here (warning pdf).

3) Here’s a tip: Wanna sound Presidential? Smoke! That’s what this article from Slate says is part of Barack Obama’s charm. The story also says that smoking helped Johnny Cash maintain his iconic sound.

4) Sometimes it’s easy to get down with the enactment of so many smoking bans. Fortunately, if history tells us anything, it’s that these smoking bans don’t usually last. As Abigail Cutler notes in this article from the Atlantic Monthly, since Pope Urban VIII in 1624, people have tried to ban smoking. And, as she further notes, each smoking ban seems to end up in the ashtray of history.

5) A few months ago we told you about this fantastic deal from Thompson where you get eight cigars for just ten dollars. Since then ours arrived in the mail and we were reminded just what a great deal it is, with top brands like CAO, Toraño, Cusano, Ghurka, Padron, and La Gloria Cubana. Order yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

La Aurora is the oldest cigar manufacturer in the Dominican Republic. Founded in 1903, the company makes cigarettes, beer (such as Presidente), and, naturally, handmade cigars.

But the 1495 Series isn’t just a Dominican; La Aurora combined tobacco from four different countries to create this classic-sized five inch by 50 ring gauge robusto.

The medium brown Sun Grown Ecuadorian wrapper has a lovely sheen and hardly any veins. Pre-light, the tobacco revealed earthy notes with hints of chocolate.

After lighting the stick with some wooden matches, the cigar initially gave off some bitter flavors, but this disappeared after only four or five puffs. After the bitterness faded, notes of earth and nut came in clearly, making for a balanced, medium-bodied smoke. At about the halfway point, some subtle spice added to the complex flavor profile.

The draw was easy and the stogie provided abundant aromatic smoke. Another sign of the excellent construction was a perfectly even burn and a gray ash that held for a full inch and a half.

Cigars like the Aurora 1495 show the skill that goes into proper blending. With five different types of tobaccos representing Ecuador, Peru, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic (which is the source for the binder as well as one of the filler tobaccos), it is no surprise that the cigar is complex, but what is most impressive is the balance that this complex blend maintains.

Overall, with its combination of a flavorful, balanced taste and nearly flawless construction, the La Aurora 1495 Robusto earns the notable rating of four out of five stogies.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick S