The Stogie Guys

Back in August we told you about Fidel Castro’s “imminent death” and the possibility for Cuban reform. While his passing was obviously not as imminent as everyone thought (because he’s still alive), his failing health is once again making headlines the world over.

On Tuesday, the Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that “a grave infection in the large intestine, at least three failed operations, and various complications have left…Castro laid up with a very grave prognosis.” The Associated Press reports that such infections carry a mortality rate “as high as 90 percent” for the elderly.

Cuba has released very little about the ruthless communist dictator’s condition, and a diplomat in Madrid even went so far as to say that the leak is “a lie” and “if anyone has to talk about Castro’s illness, it’s Havana.”

Since the evening of July 31, 2006, Castro’s brother, Raúl, has held the reins of the island nation’s overbearing government.

I thought yesterday’s news of Castro’s worsening condition would be an excellent opportunity to revisit this post and remind you that while it’s true we can’t expect major reform from Raúl anytime soon, many foreign policy experts believe he is more pragmatic than Fidel, and therefore more open to economic reforms.

Economic reforms that could, in time, end America’s hypocritical embargo on Cuban goods – like cigars.

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars

Yesterday the country honored Martin Luther King for his promotion of equality under the law and his dedication to ending racial discrimination. Thankfully, we have certainly made much progress towards those goals, in no small part because of King, since his assassination in 1968.

But as Tampa Tribune editorial writer Joseph Brown noted in a recent column, while racial equality under the law has increasingly become a reality in the decades since King’s death, in the same period it has become acceptable to discriminate against another group:

Since King’s assassination nearly 40 years ago, however, one group of Americans has increasingly become a target for legal discrimination. They are barred from many public places – and even bleeding-heart liberals go along with it. Additionally, they are taxed unfairly.

The group: smokers.

Brown points out correctly what many smokers acutely notice regularly, that unlike almost any other segment of the population, discrimination – and particularly legal discrimination – is accepted against smokers where elsewhere it is condemned.

Meanwhile, in an article in the winter issue of Regulation Magazine, which is on the shelves now (unfortunately the article isn’t online, but an edited version is available on the Washington Post website), University of Missouri Law School Professor Thomas Lambert explores the reasons anti-tobacco activists give for that discrimination. Specifically, he looks at the most drastic anti-smoking measure – the smoking ban – and ultimately finds that these justifications just don’t cut it:

Contrary to ban advocates’ claims, the costs of smoking’s externalities are ultimately borne by the owners of smoking-allowed establishments who, as a group, have incentives to efficiently accommodate smokers and nonsmokers. Efforts to shape people’s preferences regarding smoking run into individual choice issues and may be counterproductive. Scientific evidence on the risk of ETS (“environmental tobacco smoke” – more commonly called second-hand smoke) may be overstated and never addresses the important point that some people are willing to take that risk.

A better approach would be a hands-off policy permitting business owners to set their own smoking policies. Motivated by the pursuit of profits, the owners would have the proper incentive to maximize social welfare. The market would be far more likely than government regulation to accommodate the various preferences of nonsmokers and smokers alike.

Lambert’s analysis is a bit dry and academic, but it is also thorough and quite convincing.

StogieGuys.com readers should take the time to read these articles. This way, the next time some anti-smoking zealot tries to tell you why your state or city should ban smoking, you’ll be ready to explain to them just how wrong they are.

–Patrick S

Tags: cigars

You may remember a September 2006 post where we introduced Brazil Cigars, a stogie manufacturer that produces the Dona Flor, Alonzo Menendez, and Aquarius brands from Brazilian Mata Fina tobacco.

Well, last week I was lucky enough (thanks to our friend Paul Arneson) to try a rare Dona Flor Reserva Especial Robusto. This five inches by 52 ring gauge Brazilian puro comes draped in an exclusively sun-grown, highly cultivated Mata Fina wrapper. True to its South American heritage, the stick is loosely packed and a bit coarse to the touch.

After clipping the head with my double guillotine cutter, I took note of some deep black tea and cedar notes. Once lit, these earthy and woody flavors became balanced by sweet toffee and molasses. And towards the end of the smoke, the tastes intensified and shifted from spicy clove to pepper.

Now Mr. Arneson warned me that the cigar would be full-bodied. In fact, he told me to smoke it on a full stomach and expect a good night’s sleep afterwards. He wasn’t lying.

But I’m pleased to report the Reserva Especial is not merely a powerhouse stick that’s sure to knock you on your ass. It’s a complex cigar with a flavor profile that’s as balanced and complete as the finest Davidoff – a seasoned smoker’s delight.

On construction, the loose packing ensured a true and easy draw throughout the duration of the one hour and 15 minute smoke. While the burn started a bit uneven (which may have been my fault), I was able to quickly and permanently correct that.

My only complaint about this Robusto is that the ash is quite flaky and it does not hold firm.

Other than that, this one’s a keeper (if you can find it). I strongly recommend looking up your local Dona Flor retailer via Brazil Cigars’ website. You can expect to pay around $12 apiece for one of these sticks.

For outstanding, full-bodied flavor, I give the Dona Flor Reserva Especial Robusto four 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.

The box pressed (6″ x 50) Maria Mancini Robusto Larga EMS has long been one of my favorites since I made it the first box I ever purchased many years ago. After six months of aging in my humidor, I found the same earth and leather flavors I’d much enjoyed in the past, but sadly the construction on this stick was not as pleasant. The burn was dreadfully uneven (a comon problem on cigars with the Habana 2000 wrapper) and the wrapper split along the edge of the box press.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

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

Some of my favorite smokes are made by Fuente – the Hemingway line, the Double Chateau Sun Grown. This 5 inches by 50 ring gauge Montesino Robusto Maduro, though, was a disappointment. The Fuente site describes it as “full flavored, yet smooth.” I didn’t find that. To me, the flavor was harsh and the smoke, while abundant, was bitter.

Verdict = Sell.

–George E

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 to tide you over for the weekend. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) StogieGuys.com is now publishing seven days a week! This weekend we are introducing “Quick Smokes,” the newest feature to StogieGuys.com. Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a few sentences about a cigar we recently smoked with a simple Buy, Sell, or Hold recommendation. It isn’t a full review, just our quick impressions from a single cigar. Be sure to check in tomorrow for our first Quick Smoke, the Montesino Robusto Maduro.

2) The Bangor, Maine City Council announced that it will become the first municipality in the country to ban smoking in cars when anyone under the age of 18 is present. Tobacco Analysis, a fantastic website by Boston-based public health researcher and expert Micheal Siegel, has an in-depth breakdown of the law where he exposes the hypocrisy of the “feel-good,” but largely do-nothing, law.

3) Earlier this week we reported that Nancy Pelosi, the new Speaker of the House, was planning to ban smoking in the Capitol Building, and already it’s done. But an interesting twist is that while she banned smoking in the Speaker’s Lobby, where members of Congress congregate during votes, all the offices of the members are still exempted from the ban.

4) Not to be outdone by Bangor, or Congress, Atlantic City is preparing to ban smoking on the floors of the city’s 12 casinos (a place where only adults are allowed). We always thought cigars and gambling went together like bacon and eggs, but apparently not in the Reno of the East Coast.

5) Finally, we wanted to call your attention to the affiliate page we’ve put together, where you can find retailers to purchase everything from wine, cigars, golf clubs, and iTunes. This way you can make purchases you’d probably already make and know that a percentage of your buy helps StogieGuys.com improve our content for you and fellow Stogie Guys.

–The Stogie Guys

Tags: cigars

 

SAN PEDRO, BELIZE – Coming to you from beautiful tropical Belize (known formerly as British Honduras), there is seemingly no shortage of cigar topics for me to write about.

I could tell you about my first encounter with the famously fake glass-top box of Cuban Cohiba Esplendidos (prominently featured in an advertisement for the local cigar shop), the fantastic Honduran Punch I had (a Honduran cigar just seemed appropriate here in British Honduras), or the Cohiba Robusto of questionable authenticity I was given upon my arrival (more investigation is needed there).

Yet instead I’ll take this opportunity to praise that often unheralded creature: the cold weather stogie smoker.

The absurdity of writing about cold weather cigar smoking from an 80 degree beach immediately made me think of one of my favorite (and similarly absurd) movie quotes:

It’s easy to grin when your ship comes in, and you’ve got the stock market beat. But the man worthwhile is the man who can smile, when his shorts are too tight in the seat.

A few days in the tropics made me realize just how easy it is to be a cigar smoker in the tropics. Nothing calls for a cigar like turquoise water and a warm breeze, except maybe a warm night at a beach bar with some Bob Marley playing. And naturally the lack of a Cuban embargo means that all the world’s cigars are available to you.

The point is, if you can’t enjoy a cigar here, you probably never can. (Leave me down here too long and I’d probably be up to four a day!)

Which brings me to the cold weather smoker, outside on the porch, in the backyard, or walking the dog (because you can’t for one reason or another smoke inside). Perhaps an oppressive smoking ban forced you out of your favorite watering hole and into the inhospitable winter frost.

To brave incliment weather shows true dedication to the wonderful hobby that is cigars. Like the man who’s shorts are too tight in his seat, the cold weather smoker need not smile while he bundles up for a sub-freezing stogie session, but he does. When many might close up the humidor until late spring, the cold weather smoker bravely smokes on.

So let me propose the following: The next time you’re smoking a cigar in a perfect setting, pause a moment and think of the cold weather smoker preparing to risk frostbite just for the hobby he loves. (Personally, as I make my most difficult decision of the night – Cuban Cohiba, Montecristo, or something else – I know I will think of my friends to the north deciding between gloves, hats, or space heaters!)

Such reflection is important because many of us will end up cold weather stogie smokers ourselves far too soon.

–Patrick S recently vacationed in Belize.