The Stogie Guys

Last November we reported live results – and ultimately wrap-up analysis – of the various anti-tobacco initiatives up for grabs on Election Day. While voters were reluctant to pass tobacco tax hikes, they had no qualms against voting for senseless smoking bans.

One such law was the statewide smoking ban in Ohio. Calling for a prohibition on smoking in public places and most private businesses, the ban passed easily with about 58 percent of the vote. We also mentioned that a similar Buckeye State proposition with some reasonable exemptions failed miserably.

Ah, but there may be a glimmer of hope for Ohio yet. Our friends over at Cigar Jack brought this Cincinnati Enquirer article to my attention, which explains a bill has been introduced by State Sen. Gary Cates (pictured) that would make cigar bars exempt from the ban.

When you think about it, this is a no-brainer. Smoking bans shouldn’t exist in the first place, and enforcing them in private places that completely depend on a smoking clientele is both sick and cruel. People like Greg Varacalli, owner of Anthony’s Cigar Bar & Grill, are reporting revenue decreases in excess of 60 percent. That’s enough to force bankruptcy.

So let’s do what we can to help out these hardworking entrepreneurs. In December you made a difference by blitzing the toll-free “Complaint Hotline” the state initiated to allow nosey Ohioans to report smoking ban violations. Once again I’m asking you to lend a hand (especially if you live in the state) by contacting a state senator and asking him or her to support S.B. 195.

This is one of those rare situations where instead of merely bitching about bad policy we can actually do something about it. Every call or letter will help.

On behalf of everyone here at StogieGuys.com, all reasonable people in Ohio, and the cause of freedom, thank you in advance.

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars

The Fuente Opus X may be considered the most elusive cigar in the world, but did you know Fuente makes a stogie that’s even rarer than the Opus X? That cigar is the Casa Fuente, and it’s only available at the Casa Fuente store in Las Vegas.

On a recent trip to the “Entertainment Capital of the World” (also known as sin city) I had the opportunity to visit Casa Fuente and talk cigars with Michael Fayerverger, the general manager. As we talked in the humidor, he told me the vitola that best demonstrates Casa Fuente’s flavor profile is the five and ¾ inch by 52 ring gauge Double Robusto.

Michael also generously agreed to take a few minutes to answer some questions for the third edition of our “Ask a Cigar Insider” series.

SG: Who’s the most interesting person to visit Casa Fuente? Can you tell us a bit about your customers?

MF: I think the most interesting person to meet was Andy Garcia, who attended our grand opening. You see all his movies and they’re great, and then to see him in person, makes it that much better. Plus he is a very close friend of the Fuentes. We get customers from all over the world; from entertainers to the average tourist to our local and repeat customers, and everyone has a cigar story. So it’s great to have such a diverse group of customers.

SG: Your store is the only place people can buy the Casa Fuente cigar. What makes that blend so special?

MF: From what we’re told, it’s a blend of Opus X, with a Cameroon wrapper. This makes it a phenomenal tasting cigar.

SG: If you could only smoke one specific cigar for the rest of your life, what would it be? If you had to pick a cigar not made by Fuente/Newman, what would it be?

MF: The cigar I’d pick would be the Ashton Virgin Sun Grown Spellbound. If I had to pick a cigar not made by Fuente/Newman, it would be a La Flor Dominicana LG.

SG: Casa Fuente has a very extensive list of drinks. What is your favorite beverage to enjoy while having a smoke?

MF: My favorite drink is a refreshing Mojito, made with 12-year-old Montecristo Rum.

SG: In your personal humidors, do you keep the cellophane on or off? Why?

MF: Both. The ones that come with cellophane I leave on. The ones that don’t have cellophane, that’s the way I keep them. Everyone seems to have different answers on the way they keep their cigars. I like to look at the cellophane after the cigars have been sitting three or more years, because the cellophane turns all yellow, and then I know I’m in for one hell of a cigar.

SG: When the Las Vegas smoking ban went into effect, your store had to go to court to continue to allow people to smoke on the patio. What’s the status of that litigation?

MF: First we filed a restraining order. Then we had our court date, which I’m happy to say we won. So smoking on the patio at Casa Fuente is a big go.

Thanks to Michael Fayerverger for taking the time to answer our questions. During your next trip to Las Vegas, be sure to visit Casa Fuente in the Forum Shops at Caesars Palace.

–Patrick S

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 stogie has some impressive accolades under its belt, including a rating of 91 from Cigar Aficionado, a ranking in the Top 25 Cigars in the World by Cigar Insider, and the honor of being named Nicaragua’s Cigar of the Year by the European Cigar Cult Journal. Well constructed and full of earthy flavor, it’s easy to see why. I had a great time with this six and ½ inch by 52 ring gauge smoke, and I’m confident you’ll enjoy the double-fermented Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper as much as I did.

Verdict = Buy.

–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.

I recently discovered this gem of a cigar tucked in the bottom of my humidor where it had been aging for well over six months. Simply called “Ybor City Handmades” this pyramid is sold at King Corona Cigars in the center of Tampa’s historic Ybor City cigar district (bundles are also available online for $60). This solidly built torpedo features a nearly veinless Connecticut wrapper and mild creamy flavor with an abundance of pleasant almond notes. The next time you’re in Ybor I suggest you pick a few up.

–Patrick S

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) Following yesterday’s review of a sub-par, machine-made Cuban, we thought it appropriate to draw your attention to this article by James Suckling, European editor for Cigar Aficionado. Today’s best Cubans, according to Suckling, “cater to the wants and needs we have as lovers of the leaf, and to the modern life we all aspire to” better than any others in the country’s rich history of stogie production.

2) The second batch of Gurkha Estate Select Reserve and Estate Select Vintage Shaggy cigars started to make its way to the U.S. yesterday. The popular “Shaggy” cigar gets its name from the filler tobacco leaves jutting out from its uncut foot.

3) Around the Blogs: Velvet Cigar smokes an Oliva Serie V. Stogie Fresh lights up a Bucanero Canon Cubano. Cigar Jack reviews a Don Pepin Garcia Blue. Leafy Times smokes the CAO Black VR. Keepers of the Flame goes with the Por Larranga Cuban Grade. Stogie Review fires up a Romeo y Julieta Anniversario.

4) Deal of the Week: If you figure that the aluminum case included in this week’s deal runs $4 (and it probably costs four times that much), then that means you get these big name cigars from Fuente, Partagas, Macanudo, La Gloria, CAO, Padrón, and others for just $2 per stick. Included in the 13-cigar sampler is the exclusive CAO Gold Maduro, which you won’t find anywhere else. It is definitely a steal, so grab yours today by clicking here.

–The Stogie Guys

Here at StogieGuys.com, we don’t get to review many Cuban cigars. So while we plan to change that shortly, I jumped at the chance to smoke the Guantanameras a friend was nice enough to gift me after his overseas trip.

The brand is named for the famous Cuban song of the same name which means “girl from Guantánamo.” Guantanameras have a reputation for their mild flavors and inexpensive prices.

The Compay is a small vitola (four and ¾ inches by 40 ring gauge) that comes in boxes of ten for about $25 American. With a crumpled, wrinkly wrapper, even a novice stogie enthusiast can tell it’s machine-made.

Exposed behind sealed cellophane, the interesting, cedar-colored band makes no secret of Guantanamera’s forbidden origin. The head comes pre-cut, and the small foot is easy to light with just one wooden match.

The taste is very mild and a bit papery right out of the gate. This was somewhat of a disappointment to me because the tobacco – grown in the Vuelta Arriba region of Cuba – radiated rich earthy aromas once I peeled away the cellophane.

At the midway point, a clove-tasting spice introduces itself, and this adds some much needed flavor. Then the papery taste gives way to notes of leather. For me, these changes were too little too late.

While the burn and draw are just fine, the ash is about what you’d expect from a machine-made stick: flakey and unstable. This characteristic, coupled with the cigar’s rustic appearance, made me thing of Altadis’ Backwoods.

When it’s all said and done, this 45 minute smoke just doesn’t amount to much. I’ve heard Guantanameras are popular with American tourists who don’t want to waste money on pricey Cubans just to have them confiscated by customs upon their return home, but I’d rather take a chance on something decent.

So even though I tried to review this cigar on its merits as an inexpensive, machine-made Cuban, I can’t give the Guantanamera Compay anything better than a sub-par two out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

A little over a week ago Rich Perelman published some great cigar import data at his always interesting CigarCyclopedia. Among the figures was the fact that imports are running well up from 2006 and 2005.

Looking at the numbers, though, prompted me to think about how important context is, and how you might want to utilize the data if (or when) your state is considering increasing its tax on cigars.

I think the first thing to impress on any legislator is that for tax revenue, cigars are a poor resource to mine. On a state level, in fact, the cost of collecting and recording the taxes could come close to the amount paid. And that’s not even factoring in the potential cost if the state starts trying to police Internet sales or is forced to deal with a black market.

For the truth is, cigar smokers constitute a small market. Consider the figures:

• Perelman notes that the record for premium cigar imports was 417.8 million in 1997. This year, he says, the figure might approach 335 million.

• Compare that to cigarettes. In 2006, according to the CDC, there were 371 billion cigarettes consumed in the United States. (I’ll save you the math; it’s 18.55 billion packs.)

While it’s difficult, if not impossible, to get an accurate figure on the number of people who smoke premium cigars on any sort of regular basis, the figure I’ve seen most often is about 1 million. Even if you want to multiply that by five, it still pales when compared to the number of cigarette smokers. There are 45.1 million of them, according to the CDC.

I could go on, but you get the point.

Perhaps the legislator will reply that, rather than increasing revenue, the goal of higher taxes is lowering underage smoking. You then might want to point out that virtually no children smoke premium cigars, either unaltered or stuffed with marijuana. As evidence, the CDC notes that the two brands preferred by those 12 and above are Black & Mild (22.8%) and Swisher Sweets (14.4%).

If cutting underage smoking is the goal, and the legislature believes increasing the cost will help accomplish that, then it should focus on the cigars favored by that group. For example, cigars that include paper, homogenized tobacco, plastic tips, etc., could be taxed at a much higher rate than those containing only tobacco.

Is that fair? Probably not, but then is it fair to tax beer, wine, and distilled spirits at vastly different rates? Again, probably not. But states do so all the time.

The truth is that the biggest impact of a major increase in the cigar tax is likely to be the bankruptcy of small business owners who have cigar shops in the state.

Will using this kind of information help persuade legislators? Probably not with those who are totally anti-tobacco. (To them, though, I would say they should have the courage of their convictions and propose a ban on all tobacco sales. But that’s another story.)

I would hope, though, that facts would make an impression on least some reasonable lawmakers.

–George E

Tags: cigars