The Stogie Guys

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

From the start, I wasn’t impressed with this cigar. The triangular shape (which, I think, means I got this on C-Bid) felt odd, not comfortable. It was spongy to the touch, and when I lit it the first impression was harshness. As I worked down the five inch stick, that evened out a little but never developed into a pleasant taste. The experience mirrored earlier ones with these cigars. I’d hoped some time in the humidor would help, but it seems to have made no difference.

Verdict = Sell.

–George E

Tags: cigars

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

1. With the final episode of “The Sopranos” only two days away, many diehard fans are searching for a proper way to send off the family. As Cigar Aficionado explains, why not toast them with an official Sopranos cocktail? Drinks range from the feminine “Made Martini” and “Carmela Supreme” to the powerful “Bada-Bing” and the “Final Whack.”

2. Think fascist smoking bans in the U.S. are a pain in the ass? Just look at what our dentally-challenged cousins across the pond have to deal with. Starting July 1, smoking in London’s offices, bars, and restaurants will be illegal – no exceptions, even for the city’s 20 cigar bars. Some smoke friendly establishments are building rooftop patios, but it’s probably only a matter of time before the government bans outdoor smoking as well.

3. Around the Blogs: Cigar Fan reviews a CAO MX2. Leafy Times says Padrón is the best. Cigar Jack isn’t loving the Ashton VSG. Matt tries an A. Pontillo. Stogie Review has a Rocky Patel OSG. The Smoking Lounge reviews a Gispert Toro.

4. Deal of the Week: If you haven’t taken care of Father’s Day yet, you’d better pick up one of these samplers for pops: Powerhouse 22, Father’s Day Sampler, Super Sampler, Premium Sampler, Herf Sampler, or El Torito Sampler. All include ten or more quality smokes for under $30, so don’t blame us if you show up June 17th empty handed!

–The Stogie Guys

I recently downloaded another cigar database that offers all sorts of ways to categorize and characterize my smokes. It’s really quite impressive. And I’d be quite impressed by anyone who filled one out and kept it up to date. Even as I was opening the program for the first time, I knew I never would use it.

Oh, I’d like to. I think the information would be great to have. But the most I can muster is a half-hearted effort to write down the purchase date on a label and stick it to the cellophane. Even with that simple task, I’m probably just above the Mendoza line.

I got some insight into my “I’m such a dismal failure at properly indexing my cigars” condition last night when I pulled a Dominican Montecristo from my humidor. (It looked like a Robusto; I, of course, had recorded no information on that.) This was one to which I had affixed a date: May 2006. As I picked it up and admired the lovely brown wrapper, I began to wonder what a year in the box had wrought, so I took it out to the deck and lit up.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. It burned slowly and absolutely straight. The smoke was luscious, the tastes varying throughout. Was it better than a Montecristo fresh from the box? Or one with six months – or two years – aging? To be honest, I don’t know. When I started smoking cigars, I took fairly extensive notes on each one that I smoked. Perhaps if I dug those little notebooks out I’d find a page or so on a Monte that I might be able to compare to that recent one.

But I’ve realized I’m not really interested in keeping all those records because, frankly, it seems just a little too much like work. Don’t get me wrong. I’m fascinated by such topics and will read and listen to other people’s cigar experiences almost endlessly. And when I’m reviewing cigars for StogieGuys.com, I do take careful notes.

When I’m just smoking for myself, though, I’d rather simply concentrate on that. The only records I maintain these days — and rather halfheartedly at that — are two expanding lists: favorites and those I want to try.

How about you? What sort of records, if any, do you keep? Are there diligent recorders of database data among our readers, or smokers as lackadaisical as I?

–George E

Tags: cigars

Ever since I was first introduced to the line back in December, I’ve been a big fan of the Toraño Signature Collection. So, with six months and approximately five sticks under my belt, I figure it’s about time for me to share my thoughts via a full review.

My vitola of choice, the six inch by 50 ring gauge Toro, is a gorgeous cigar that scored an impressive 4.7 in Smoke Magazine – the highest rating in the publication’s history, according to Toraño’s website.

It’s most noticeable feature is a seal brown Brazilian maduro wrapper. Sun-grown, it carries a few subtle seams and veins, but is otherwise very enticing. Toraño contrasts the cigar’s dark appearance by capping it off with two cream-colored bands.

Like so many other full-bodied stogies, you can tell this is going to be chock full of flavor as soon as the cellophane is removed. But instead of simply kicking your ass right out of the gate, the first few puffs amaze with a balanced taste of leather, spicy pepper, and sweet syrup.

I’m not exactly sure why the broadleaf binder was paired with the unique Dominican Cuban and Nicaraguan habano ligero filler, but it definitely works.

Advertised as a strong cigar with a complex flavor profile, the Toro doesn’t disappoint. At the halfway point, the spice amps up as new, nutty notes are introduced. Delicious.

But for all its flavor, the Signature Collection almost outdoes itself. Even full-bodied fans will need to take their time, and some may have to put the cigar down once they reach the first band. My advice: Make sure to enjoy this on a full stomach, or you won’t be enjoying it at all.

Either way, the stick’s construction won’t be a problem. The draw is moderate to easy, with each puff producing a lot of rich smoke. The burn is remarkably even with a noteworthy mascara sheen. My only complaint is the ash is not as firm as I’d expect from a tightly-rolled cigar.

All things considered, I think Carlos Toraño built a real winner with his Signature Collection. For only $5.50 apiece, each Toro packs a ton of flavor (and you can find them even cheaper online if you keep your eyes open). I’m highly recommending this cigar, and giving it four and ½ out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

If you don’t think smokers are a persecuted class, then you haven’t been paying attention.

Those who choose to smoke face a new smoking ban or exorbitant tax nearly every day, under the guise of “public health” – a rarely defined and limitless justification for restricting the choices that individuals are permitted to make about their own lives.

And it is that so-called “public health” justification that makes the newest form of smoker persecution all the more hypocritical and appalling. In Leicester, England health bureaucrats have launched a plan to deny smokers access to surgeries if they continue to choose to smoke:

Smokers could be denied routine operations on the NHS unless they quit a month before surgery…

The proposals, which have been drawn up by Leicester City West Primary Care Trust, could be extended to other areas.

The Leicester plans would involve smokers being given counselling and nicotine patches to help them stop. But the patients would have to give a blood sample to prove they had quit before being put on the waiting list and admitted for elective non-emergency surgery.

Doctors would decide whether to operate if the patient failed to give up.

The Leicester trust will launch a consultation on the proposals to coincide with the smoking ban that comes into force in England on July 1.

Now keep in mind that Britain has nationalized health care, and that the denial of care is by government doctors who are paid with taxpayer funds – particularly the billions collected in tobacco taxes. In Great Britain taxes have driven the cost of a pack of cigarettes up to £5.50, or nearly $11 U.S.

But later in the article the health Nazis reveal their real reason for this denial of medical treatment: “Its plans were welcomed yesterday by health charities but condemned by smoking groups which said they were part of a drive to save money and turn England‘s 10 million smokers into pariahs.”

And if turning smokers into pariahs is the goal, then Britain is doing a good job.

The government recently announced that smokers would be liable for an £80 on-the-spot fine for stubbing out cigarettes in the street. And European Union officials are considering banning smokers from lighting up outside office doorways, at bus shelters, and on outdoor train platforms.

–Patrick S

The man we’ve called “America’s cigar smoker in chief” is in hot water again – this time not for his alleged history of womanizing, but for a cigar.

While on a trade visit to Canada, the Governator’s motorcade stopped at a hotel to pick up a Cuban Partagas, the Associated Press reported this weekend. Schwarzenegger allegedly smoked the $14.83 stogie while traveling to Ottawa International Airport.

So what’s the big deal? Aren’t Cubans legal in Canada? They are, but under the U.S. embargo Americans are prohibited from buying Cuban cigars anywhere in the world.

“Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are prohibited from purchasing or importing Cuban cigars, regardless of where they are,” U.S. Treasury Department spokeswoman Molly Millerwise said in a statement. Americans convicted of violating trade regulations can be sentenced to fines or prison, but it wasn’t clear Friday if a U.S. citizen had ever been prosecuted for lighting a Cuban cigar in another country.

If this comes as a surprise to you, you’re not alone. I was under the impression that U.S. law did not transcend other countries’ borders – especially when it comes to something as trivial as a hypocritical trade embargo.

Schwarzenegger’s people haven’t confirmed or denied the cigar in question was Cuban, and his spokesman said, “There’s no way of telling now because he smoked it.”

Frankly, I hope Arnold gets away with it (and that’s certainly not because I sympathize with communism). I smoke Cubans whenever I get the chance, in America or elsewhere.

I mean, if it’s legal to fill up my car with gas from countries that support terrorism, why can’t I buy cigars from Cuba?

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars

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

This 6.1 inch by 52 ring gauge pyramid cigar has a taste as rugged as its dark maduro wrapper. Earthy, leather notes dominate the flavor profile, and a unique, rustic aftertaste is the result of the Dominican, Mexican, and Brazilian long-filler. The burn requires a few touch-ups, and the ash is anything but stable. Still, for only $4.50, the Te-Amo Cabinet Selection Belicoso isn’t a bad smoking experience; it’s just nothing special.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars