The Stogie Guys

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) On Wednesday we reported Houston’s senseless smoking ban was set to take effect on September 1. Fortunately, a coalition of private business owners filed a lawsuit challenging the would-be law, claiming it “will create an unfair competitive environment for them to operate.” The lawsuit may delay enforcement of the ban until the possible trial is complete.

2) The prized Fuente Fuente OpusX was recently named the hottest cigar in America, a title it has held for the past three years. Over 50 percent of the various stores surveyed say the brand is the most requested by customers.

3) Around the Blogs: Cigar Monkey smokes the CAO Extreme. Leafy Times tries the Fuente God of Fire. Keepers of the Flame lights up the Don “Pepin” Cuban Classic. Stogie Review reviews the Rocky Patel Vintage 1992. Cigar Jack tries the Oliva Serie G.

4) Deal of the Week: For under $20 you’ll be hard pressed to find a better nine cigars that this “El Clasico” sampler from our affiliate, Tinderbox.com. It includes favorites like the Don “Pepin” Garcia Cuban Classic Black Label, a Punch, and the La Reserva No. 2. Pick yours up here.

[Bonus: While you’re at Tinderbox, check out their RTDA Blowout Sale for some real bargains as they clear out room for new cigars purchased at the trade show.]

–The Stogie Guys

Blended by none other than Rocky Patel and manufactured in Nestor Plasencia’s Honduran factory, Fire by Indian Tabac has gained a reputation for packing a lot of flavor into an inexpensive stick. For only $2 to $3 – and sometimes even less – the line is lauded for its powerful, “Cuban-esque” flavor. Rocky himself even says Fire is one of his favorites “after a great, huge steak.”

But are these accolades too good to be true? I sat down with a seven inch by 49 ring gauge Double Corona Corojo to find out.

The wrapper, a dry, triple fermented capa corojo leaf, is relatively smooth with some small, noticeable wrinkles between each vein. I find the band to be unique and attractive, but am curious as to why “Rocky Patel” isn’t featured. The name, after all, carries a lot of weight in the cigar industry. My hypothesis is Rocky doesn’t want cigar enthusiasts to confuse Fire with his other lines.

Right off the bat, the foot yields a rich and tasty flavor that’s anything but overwhelming. I found the first couple inches to be the most enjoyable, with notes as varied as toast, black pepper, and sweet molasses – very complex for the price range.

I wanted to delve deeper into the many tastes and found that, when smoked through the nose, the flavor is very well-balanced on the palate. The powerful, bitter tastes are canceled out by sweetness; the dry, salty notes are countered by acidity.

Unfortunately, these sensations don’t last for the entire two hour smoke. At the midway point the spice really kicks up and the flavor leans towards harshness, even though I made sure to take my time.

Despite a tight packing of the Nicaraguan and Honduran filler tobaccos (also triple fermented), the draw is excellent and each puff produced plenty of smoke. The foot requires several touch-ups to stay lit and maintain and even burn, and the ash is not terribly sturdy.

Even so, I came away from this smoking experience feeling pretty good about the purchase. After all, for hardly any money, I enjoyed a flavor profile many $6 or $7 cigars would be proud of. I’m recommending you try at least one Fire by Indian Tabac Double Corona Corojo, and giving it three out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

For three-quarters of a century, the Retail Tobacco Dealers of America (RTDA) have been hosting what they call “most important event of the year for tobacconists”: the RTDA Trade Show. Closed to the general public, the five-day gathering is an opportunity for manufacturers to unveil new stogies and stogie-related accessories.

The 2007 trade show, featuring over 300 exhibitors in more than 1,300 booths, wraps up today. So, we thought it appropriate to bring you some of this week’s highlights from the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston.

RTDA → IPCPR

Writing to you from Washington, I’m no stranger to the endless alphabet soup of bloated government bureaucracies. And thanks to the RTDA board of directors, now I’ve got a new acronym to memorize: IPCPR. Due in part to the increasingly hostile anti-tobacco zealots and their attempts to stop adults from choosing to smoke, the RTDA announced on Saturday it will change its name to the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association. Clearly, the move is intended to distance the organization from the cigarette industry, now a lightning rod for meddling do-gooders.

New Cigars Galore

Last Tuesday I provided you with a short rundown of several new cigars that were being introduced. Despite Congress’ attempts to raise federal taxes on premium cigars by as much as 20,000 percent, the trade show, as expected, was a showcase of new stogies. Among the new releases were lines of Scarface cigars from Universal Studios, Playboy by Don Diego stogies that proudly display the iconic bunny logo, and El Tiante 23 Series cigars from former Red Sox pitcher Luis Tiant. Rocky Patel’s got a new stick called Decade, and Alec Bradley introduced a box-pressed Maxx called The Vice. La Aurora is also shaking up its 1495 Series by offering the 1945 robusto in your choice of five – count ‘em, five – different wrappers.

Smoking Ban Looms

The Space City was an interesting choice for this year’s trade show, especially when you consider that it will be marred by a senseless smoking ban starting September 1. While the Houston Chronicle reports the law will include an exemption for “enclosed meeting areas within convention centers, hotels, motels, and other meeting facilities,” bestowing the trade show’s positive economic fallout on the city might send lawmakers in other cities the wrong message. Then again, in today’s sorry day and age, I suppose beggars can’t be choosers.

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars

Johnnie Walker Blue Label is an elusive spirit. It usually sits on the very top shelf of fancy bars collecting dust.

At around $200 per 750 ml. bottle, or upwards of $50 per double at your local drinking establishment, it’s no surprise that this blended scotch is usually reserved only for very special occasions.

Meanwhile, Johnnie Walker Red Label – a far younger and cheaper blend, also made in the Walker factory in Kilmarnock, Scotland – is the second most popular whiskey in the world (second only to Jameson). And Johnnie Walker Red was reportedly famous cigar lover Winston Churchill’s scotch of choice.

So if the Red Label is good enough for Sir Winston, is the super luxury Blue Label worth it? I recently had some to find out.

Every bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label has a unique serial number. Inside is a blend of over a dozen rare whiskeys, some over 25 years old.

The Blue Label is a deep golden color with a smell that is highly aromatic, but not harsh despite being 80 proof. I’m hardly an expert when it comes to scotch tasting (bourbon is more my thing), but I immediately noticed a smoky oak flavor with a spicy finish. Not surprisingly, the Blue Label is smooth and complex – but compared to a single malt, that smoothness seems to come at the expense of the distinctive character that defines single malts.

Ultimately, it’s a fantastic scotch. But whether it’s worth the price still isn’t clear. While some praise this mythic blend as the ultimate blended scotch, others decry it only “for ignorant stockbrokers” and “worth $60 not $200.” Personally, I feel it is somewhere in between the two – an excellent whiskey, but almost inevitably not worth the extraordinary price tag.

If you are luck enough to try Johnnie Walker Blue Label, be sure to enjoy it with a fine cigar that won’t overwhelm its smooth complexity. I would recommend an Ashton Classic or a Davidoff Grand Cru No. 3.

–Patrick S

Like so many in the cigar business, Jesus L. Fuego is a friendly guy. At a recent store event to introduce and promote his new line of cigars, he chatted and joked like the host of a party. He really seems to live up to his goal: “I’m making a cigar for me and sharing it with the people.”

The Fuego family’s involvement with tobacco dates to 1876, and he has worked with numerous manufacturers. He’s often credited as the “mastermind” behind a number of Rocky Patel cigars, including the Vintage 1990 and 1992. Fuego went out on his own last year and introduced his eponymous cigars in December.

Fuego has two lines: the Natural and the Gran Reserva Corojo No. 1. Each comes in five sizes and MSRP ranges from $5.50 for the Natural Corona (4.5×46) to $10 for the Gran Reserva Grande (6.5×58).

The Natural is milder, what Fuego calls an every day smoke. “The people who smoke light will not feel it too strong,” he said. “The people who smoke strong will not feel it too mild.” The Gran Reserva is darker and stronger. Fuego prefers to call it full-flavored and said his aim in creating it was to eliminate harshness.

Both cigars are multinational blends. The Natural sports a Criollo wrapper and tobacco from three countries, while the Corojo-wrapped Gran Reserva blend represents four nations. All the tobaccos, Fuego said, are grown specifically for him.

He is selling through B&Ms, doing numerous events such as the one where I chatted with him at MJM Fine Cigars in Palm Harbor, Florida, a few hours from his company’s headquarters in Coral Gables. And he was looking forward to promoting his brand at the RTDA show currently taking place in Houston, Texas.

Although he isn’t selling directly to the big Internet cigar retailers, he said some of his shop customers offer the cigars on their online sites. Fuego has no website of its own.

Fuego said he won’t introduce anything new for at least a year, taking that time to get established in the marketplace and build on what he called a very good initial reception. Yet, he said, he’s always working on new blends and testing them, seeing what his father and others think.

“That’s pretty much what we do: make a blend that we enjoy and put it out there and see.” Fuego said. “If people like it, it will be good. If they don’t like it, what can I say — I’ll have a lot of cigars I can smoke.”

–George E

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.

The Casa Fuente Double Robusto has a balanced, complex medium to full flavor with a spicy finish. With the exception of a small tear in the delicate wrapper, the construction was flawless – even burn, sturdy ash, and perfect draw. At around $20 per stick, this isn’t your everyday smoke; but if you’re lucky enough to visit Casa Fuente in Las Vegas (the only place you’ll find this rare Fuente-made cigar), I recommend you pick one up.

Verdict = Buy.

–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.

I don’t know how long I’ve had this aluminum-tubed stick, but it’s probably been a year or more. And, to be honest, I wasn’t sure where it fit in with Montecristo’s seemingly infinite number of lines. With a little research, I think I’ve got that down: Montecristo Platinum La Baie Tubes, a five and 1/2 inch stick with a 44 ring gauge. The Platinum line is promoted as a fuller bodied Montecristo, but it would be difficult to prove with this stogie. The first few draws were great: a warm, thick tobacco taste with no bite and a light finish. Unfortunately, all that disappeared quickly, replaced by a relatively bland taste for about half of the cigar. Some coffee and oak notes played in and out for a bit, but they, too, were brief. Overall, not a bad cigar – but not one to seek out either.

Verdict = Hold.

–George E

Tags: cigars