The Stogie Guys

I know many of you are going to disagree with this statement, but I see Gurkha as sort of a hit or miss brand. Sometimes I’m blown away by incredible value, and other times I’m left utterly frustrated by poor construction. Consider, for example, the vast differences between our reviews of the Class Regent and Connecticut Reserve lines.

So I dove into a Gurkha G3 not knowing what to expect. I’ve smoked three recently, and now I can say this line has a lot to offer – especially for enthusiasts who place high value on multifaceted flavors.

Marketed as full-bodied, toasty, and sweet, the G3 received a respectable 88 in the December 2006 issue of Cigar Aficionado and has been called “the most complex cigar to bear the Gurkha name to date.” Only 500 boxes (10,000 stogies) were made in a one-time production.

Due to a shortage of Nicaraguan wrapper leaves, G3 only comes in one vitola: a six inch by 50 ring gauge Toro. It retails for $7 to $8.50 per stick and has a Cameroon binder and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos.

Special care is taken by Gurkha to make a good first impression. The dark wrapper is half covered with a smooth cedar sleeve that sports a shiny black ribbon across the foot – similar in appearance to a CAO Black.

The “hip,” modern band is unlike traditional Gurkhas. This may seem silly but, looking at it, I can’t help but feel the manufacturer intends me to smoke this after an urban night on the town.

Soft to the touch, the initial taste is quite similar to what I expected based on pre-light aromas: licorice with heavy notes of chocolate. A toasty earth flavor is also present, but I can’t put my finger on exactly what that is. In any event, what strikes me most about the G3 is how full the flavors are despite its light and mild body.

Avoiding the pitfalls of other Gurkha lines, this cigar has a fairly even burn, a very strong white ash, and a draw that’s not too cumbersome.

The G3 is a fine smoke with a big, interesting taste. I think the price, however, is a bit higher than it should be, particularly when you consider the Rocky Patel Vintage ’90s and ’92s cost about the same.

Maybe that isn’t a fair comparison because this cigar can hold its own. If you find it for $7 or less, I can easily recommend buying it. The Gurkha G3 Toro earns three and ½ out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

I’ve praised 5 Vegas before, so I was excited to sample their newest line: the Miami. While the company’s earlier lines seem to fit into either the “value” (with the original, gold, and black lines) or “premium” such as with the Limitada edition, Miami fills the gap in between, with an MSRP of about $8 or so. They can be found, however, for half that price on cigarbid.com.

Cigar International (owner of the 5 Vegas brand) didn’t specify who produced previous 5 Vegas lines, but Miami is made by the hottest blender and producer in the business: Don “Pepin” Garcia. Garcia produces the cigars in his El Rey de los Habanos factory in Nicaragua.

Curiously, while the advertising copy accompanying the 5 Vegas Miami notes the El Rey de los Habanos factory by name, it makes no mention of Don Pepin, leaving it to the informed reader to put two and two together. This is pure speculation, but I suspect that in an effort to protect the “Don Pepin” brand name, an agreement may have been reached to not use his name in the promoting of this particular line.

Like other Don Pepin cigars, this is a Nicaraguan puro featuring a “Cuban-seed” corojo wrapper. The wrapper is a deep Colorado brown color and only has a few small veins. The Churchill has classic Churchill proportions: seven inches by 48 ring gauge.

Before lighting the cigar I notice a musty scent from the foot. To the touch the only imperfection is that the bottom third of the cigar is slightly spongy.

After clipping the cigar, and lighting it with a few wooden matches, I find an easy draw. The burn starts out even and would remain so until the end.

Most prominent in the 5 Vegas Miami Churchill is a cedary flavor with an underlying bite. That bite is characteristic of nearly every Don Pepin-blended cigar I’ve tried, and seems to be the result of his heavy use of strong Nicaraguan ligero.

Additionally, I notice flavors that remind me of charred steak – an unusual flavor to find in a cigar, but not altogether unpleasant. And around the midway point, as the char flavors fades, creamier notes develop that go very well with the ligero “twang” that persists to the end.

Ultimately, the 5 Vegas Miami Churchill is similar to other cigars produced under the watchful eye of Don Pepin. This particular blend is medium-bodied with lots of flavor and good balance. But it lacks the deep complexity of Pepin’s eponymous line, or Tatuaje that made him a household name for many cigar enthusiasts.

Still, this is good cigar at a reasonable price. The 5 Vegas Miami Churchill earns a rating of three and 1/2 out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick S

Smoke shop customers in Florida have been reading a new magazine over the past few months. The colorful publication with the ironic name has grown in pages, distribution, and coverage. Here, publisher and editor Erik Calvino, who is based in Miami, answers questions about starting a new publication, the Florida cigar scene, and industry concerns.

SG: When did your first issue come out?

EC: Our first issue hit the street in May 2006. It was a thin, pamphlet-looking thing but we were proud of it.

SG: What prompted you to put out a magazine?

EC: I have always enjoyed writing about things that I am passionate about. And one night in 2005 while smoking a stogie and driving up to Tampa to visit a client in my previous life as an IT consultant, I started toying with the idea of putting out a magazine. I had written briefly for IT industry magazines so I knew that this project would entail ungodly hours of work…and it does. But I couldn’t wait till the morning and sometime around midnight I called my dad (and business partner) and said, “Do you know anything about the magazine business?”

SG: What niche are you trying to fill?

EC: We are all about the local cigar scene. There are plenty of publications out there that deal on a national level and do it well. We are not like them and don’t ever aim to be like them. Our niche is your town, your store, your cigar bar, your cigar-friendly eatery…that’s what we are about. Before Florida Cigar Snob Magazine there was no economically feasible and effective way for a cigar shop to let you know it was there. There was no effective way to inform you that it was hosting a herf, a smoker, a tasting, etc. Now they do.

SG: I understand you’re expanding your circulation area. Where is the magazine now available? What are your expansion plans?

EC: Florida Cigar Snob is currently circulating from the Keys to up to Orlando with the heaviest concentrations in Miami, Broward, Palm Beach County, Tampa Bay, and Orlando. We are steadily making our way northward till we hit the state line. We anticipate that by the May 2008 issue we will have most of the state well-covered. In addition, our website is a great way for folks to check out the magazine. Our site offers the ability to view the magazine in its entirety for free or subscribe to the printed version for one year for only $12.

SG: How have you been accepted in the marketplace?

EC: Overwhelmingly positive. I am grateful for the acceptance that we have received from the cigar business. Both manufacturers and retailers alike have been interested and excited about the idea from day one. As a result of this acceptance, we boast some big cigar advertisers that we are proud to have on our pages. But by far the most rewarding part of this business is the appreciation from cigar shop owners and customers as we visit the different shops in the state. Smokers love the fact that the magazine is about them.

SG: Do you do other magazines?

EC: We don’t publish anything else at the moment. Publishing a magazine of an acceptable quality requires more work than most people can imagine. But certainly as things become easier and my time gets freed up a bit, we will expand the operation further. By that I do not mean to take the Florida Cigar Snob national, I mean to start up another local publication. The local scenes get our blood pumping!

SG: What are your connections to the cigar industry?

EC: We have some solid connections in the cigar industry that were essential to the creation and development of Florida Cigar Snob Magazine. The Oliva Cigar Family, namely Jose Oliva, and I are dear friends. It was Jose Oliva that first introduced me to smoking cigars some 13 or 14 years ago. My grandfather smoked cigars and I loved the smell but I had never taken a puff. But when your friends’ family name is on the box, you have to give it a shot. So Jose gave me a quick lesson on the preparation and lighting procedure, and I was off and puffin’. Mind you I had never smoked anything up until that moment…other than secondhand smoke, I had zero exposure. Needless to say I drove home in second gear that night…and I was instantly hooked. The next day I thanked Jose and asked him where I could buy a box.

For more information on Cigar Snob Magazine, visit www.cigarsnob.com.

–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 following is a Guest Quick Smoke, submitted by a reader for our Quick Smoke Cigar Giveaway contest. If you’d like to submit your own for publication, please contact us.

I stepped into my car one morning, lit this monster up, and started puffing down the road. Some 218 miles later, three hours and five minutes from starting, I put the beast down. At 7 5/8 inches with a 54 ring gaige, this Lincoln Log of a cigar (Dominican with a Connecticut wrapper) is a long-hauler’s dream! Great draw and no major burn issues over the entire course of the smoke. It tastes great, too; like Chinese five-spice with some leather and sugar thrown in. It did get a little zippy with nicotine toward the end (what l call “nicotingle”), but it didn’t slow me down a bit. At about $60 for ten sticks, it’s a real Fuente bargain!

Verdict = Buy.

–Submitted by Eric Chester of Prescott, AZ who will receive the forth of five Arganese samplers.

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

With terrific lines like Black, Brazilia, and Criollo, I’ve turned into quite the CAO fan. Maybe that’s why I had such high expectations for the 6 1/2 inch by 50 ring gauge Gold Corona Gorda. With an Ecuadorian wrapper and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos, the flavor is mild and creamy, and I have no complaints about construction. The only problem is this $4 cigar is missing that wow factor I’ve come to expect from CAO. Still, it’s certainly not a bad smoke, and I’d be interested to see how the blend reacts to some aging.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

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) General Cigar, Inc. reached a settlement yesterday in its protracted legal battle against four companies that were selling unauthorized “yellow band” Cohibas (as opposed to authentic “red dot” Cohibas). The defendants acknowledged trademark infringement and reportedly turned over 10,000 sticks to General “for destruction.” I wonder if they’ll be destroyed in the same manner U.S. Customs destroys Cubans, as reported by former Kennedy Press Secretary Pierre Salinger: “One by one.”

2) Here’s a helpful tip: A handy item to include with your smoking paraphernalia is one of those tiny screwdrivers that comes with eyeglass repair kits. The little head will turn most lighter flame-adjustment screws as well as depress the gas refill nozzle to drain the tank before refilling.

3) Around the Blogs: Cigar Inspector inspects a Punch Black Prince. Keepers of the Flame reviews a Montecristo Serie C. Cigar Monkey smokes a Cusano Cuvee Blanc. Stogie Review tries a Graycliff Blue Label. And Cigar Jack has a cool “Blog Carnival” cooking.

4) Deal of the Week: The World Series Sampler has seven quality cigars for under $30. Included are such top notch smokes as the CAO Italia, Oliva Serie G, Partagas, La Aurora, and Cohiba – all in the Robusto size. Grab yours here.

5) Finally, you may have noticed that Monday’s review of the Fuente Hemingway Short Story was sponsored by CigarsDirect.com. In the coming months, CigarsDirect will be supplying us with a number of stogies so that we can continue to provide our readers with a wide selection of cigar reviews. (Don’t worry; you’ll still get the same unvarnished truth from us.) But we do encourage you to check out CigarsDirect’s website where they have an excellent selection of stogies, including hard-to-find smokes such as the Fuente Opus X, Casa Fuente, and Anejo lines.

–The Stogie Guys

Truth be told, about a week ago I had never heard of the company. But now I can safely say that if you’re into mild cigars with good construction and you’re on a budget, you probably need to know about Bacchus.

The Natural line, according to Thompson, “has been a winner for years.” It is composed of Cuban-seed tobacco that’s grown in the Cibao region of the Dominican Republic – specifically, an Indonesian wrapper, a Sumatran binder, and a Piloto Cubano / Olor filler. Bacchus says its cedar aging rooms “produce a classic blend of subtle, mild flavors you expect from premium cigars.”

The Toro is classically sized at six inches with a 50 ring gauge. It retails for around $2 per stick or $50 for a bundle of 25. I find the wrapper to be fairly attractive, though not without its fair share of noticeable seams and veins. The cigar is quite soft to the touch, and the shiny white and gold band seems to beckon for attention.

Given its reputation as a mild stogie, I was really surprised by the initial woody spice flavor. So my first impression was of a dog with a quiet bark but a painful bite.

The taste, however, thankfully settles down quickly into light notes of cedar and ginger. Creamy and mostly salty on the palate, the smoke is thick and rich and the mild flavor remains almost completely constant from beginning to end. The only exception is a faint bitterness that comes and goes from time to time. Call it a hunch, but I get the feeling this is a flaw that cannot be remedied by further aging.

The physical properties are really exceptional, especially for a value stick. I was quick to take note of the clear draw, even burn, and firm ash.

On the whole, what this cigar delivers is reliability, good construction, and a pleasingly mild taste. I’m not bothered by the fact that it lacks a name or any flashy characteristics.

But I am bothered by the fact that it doesn’t bring anything memorable or exciting to the table. You could say that’s to be expected at the price, but that argument just doesn’t hold water when compared to similarly-priced cigars like the Don Kiki Brown Label.

All things considered, I’m giving the Bacchus Natural Toro two and ½ out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A