The Stogie Guys

“Brazilian cigars have never really gained traction with American cigar smokers, something that I can’t understand just thinking about the Brazilian tobacco tradition…” So said Lorenzo Orsi in a December 2008 interview.

Five months before, Orsi introduced Monte Pascoal at the IPCPR Trade Show. This blend, named to honor the mountain that was the first piece of land spotted by Brazil discoverer Pedro Álvares Cabral, is a Brazilian puro.

It is constructed almost entirely from mata fina tobaccos with some mata norte mixed in the filler to provide power. The difference between the two, aside from the region in which they are grown, is mata fina is sungrown in sandy soil and barn-dried to yield a sweet smoke, while mata norte is planted later in the year and dried in the open air to yield a full-bodied taste of coffee and nuts.

To manufacture his creation, Orsi, a native of Italy currently living in São Paulo, bought the Brazilian factory that once produced Caravelas cigars. He then built a cedar aging room, invested in new cigar molds, and refined the system of production while retaining all of the rollers—a nine-month process that no doubt benefited from his expertise as an industrial manager in the steel industry.

Today, Monte Pascoal’s distribution in the U.S. is limited but growing. Found at select tobacconists and occasionally available online, the blend comes in six traditional sizes, two of which have earned ratings at or above 9.0 in Smoke Magazine.

The five inch by 50 ring gauge Robusto sells for $7 apiece and sports a firm feel, a gorgeous triple cap, and a pre-light aroma of cocoa. Handsome, albeit coarse, Monte Pascoal helps dispel the myth that Brazilian cigars are less attractive than their Caribbean counterparts.

The foot of the dark, reddish cigar takes to a wooden match easily to establish an easy light. From there, a dry profile of espresso, walnut, and peat emerges. Rustic and resinous with some sweetness on the finish for complexity.

While this flavor is enjoyable, it’s nothing like the chocolate cake taste I often associate with mata fina tobacco (most notably in the Alonso Menendez, another Brazilian puro). No, the Monte Pascoal has a profile all its own, and one that’s sure to please cigar enthusiasts who are looking for something a little different.

Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that this review is based off a single sample—a temptation I rarely indulge and one that I don’t plan to make into a habit. But I did test-drive this blend in several sizes, each of which exhibited similar flavors and outstanding combustion qualities. So I can heartily recommend the Monte Pascoal Robusto if you’re ready to delve into Brazilian tobacco. It earns four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

If, for you, Canadian Club conjures images of something your dad used to drink or a simple whiskey to mix with Coke, you’re not alone. But the brand is challenging that stereotype with its new Sherry Cask Whiskey.

On the heals of other higher end releases like the Canadian Club Classic 12 Year and Canadian Club Reserve 10 Year, this one offers a new twist on Canadian whiskey: a sherry cask finish. According to Canadian Club, it is made in small batches, aged a minimum of eight years in white oak barrels, and finished in old Jerez sherry casks.

The Canadian Club Sherry Cask comes in a classic bottle, complete with a traditional wood and cork top. Each bottle of the 82.6-proof spirit is labeled with the individual cask that the whiskey came from.

The whiskey is a deep amber color with a slight reddish tinge. The nose is maple syrup.

When sipping the Canadian Club Sherry Cask, I find a pleasant toffee sweetness, and wheat notes with some subtle spice flavors. While there’s a hint of smooth sherry sweetness, I was pleased to find it not overwhelming. The finish is smooth with rye flavors and more hints of peppery spice.

This is an excellent spirit to prove that Canadian whiskey can be so much more than just an ingredient in a Manhattan. I recommend drinking it straight or with just a splash of water.

It also goes well with cigars, particularly those with a peppery spice. Full-flavored smokes like the Opus X, CAO Lx2, EO 601 Red, or  J. Fuego 777 Corojo all stand up well.

Available for around $25-30 a bottle, this is a whiskey that punches above it’s weight class, especially compared to scotch or bourbon of similar cost. And the price also means you won’t be too be disappointed if it ends up in an old fashioned.

For a change of pace for the bourbon or scotch drinker, the Canadian Club Sherry Cask Whiskey is well worth a try.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.” The following is a Guest Quick Smoke, submitted by a StogieGuys.com reader. If you’d like to submit your own for publication, please contact us.

The Lx2 Rob (5 x 52) has a beautiful-looking dark wrapper and an aroma of strong, spicy tobacco. The draw is easy and the burn slightly wavy, which I attribute to the ligero. The ash holds easily for an inch. Dark chocolate, pepper, and leather are the main flavors with a truly enjoyable balance. This blend, for lovers of full body and full-flavored cigars, is best after a light meal with a single malt to bring out its underlying sweetness. Just as good as the La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero.

Verdict = Buy.

–Submitted by Marc of Pasadena, CA

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

This slightly-tapered perfecto includes 44-year-old Pelo de Oro pre-embargo Cuban filler tobacco from the former DWG Cigar Company in Lima, Ohio. It is finished with a shiny Cameroon wrapper. Only 40,000 were made (the one I smoked was number 28,573). It’s a distinctly medium-bodied smoke with nutty flavors, leather, and loads of cedar. The taste is consistent, though enjoyable throughout, and the Liberty 2006 has excellent construction with a white ash.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As we have since July 2006, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Indiana’s proposed smoking ban, despite the persistence of anti-tobacco activists, appears dead—at least for this session. While the House passed a “diluted” bill on Tuesday that includes exemptions for bars and tobacco shops, the Senate is unlikely to consider the measure “amid worries that it could hurt some businesses.”

2) Davidoff is moving its U.S. headquarters from Connecticut to Tampa—presumably to be closer to the Switzerland-based company’s operations in the Caribbean. The cigar maker also plans to hire “up to 90 people” at the new location.

3) Inside the Industry: Pete Johnson is launching El Triunfador, formerly a “secret” lancero, as a new six-vitola line in March. Ronson, maker of some of the best butane lighters available for $3-4, has been acquired by Zippo. Bypassing the crippled airport in Port-Au-Prince, the Dominican-based Cigar Family Charitable Foundation is trucking water, food, medical supplies, tents, and blankets to needy Haitians.

4)Around the Blogs:  Stogie Review lights up a Mederos Fifty 3. Keepers of the Flame smokes the Perdomo Habano Corojo. Cigar Inspector inspects a Partagas Serie D No. 3 2006 LE.  A Cigar Smoker reviews the Tatuaje Verocu Tubo.

5) Deal of the Week: This Valentine’s Day Sale has deep discounts on some top smokes. Best buys include the La Carolina (box of 25) for $75 and the J.L. Salazar Robusto (box of 25) for $60. Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

Mederos Cigars is a new outfit that debuted at the 2009 IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans. Named for Cuban-born Carlos Mederos, the cigars are rolled in Estelí, Nicaragua, using tobacco from Mederos’ Estelí farm.

Mederos’ story reads like the history of so many cigar makers of Cuban descent. In Cuba, Carlos worked alongside his father and grandfather in a cigar factory but eventually left the island in 1983 to make a better life for his family in the United States. Never forgetting his cigar roots, he ended up purchasing his own farm in Estelí in 2006.

The result of his journey is a Nicaraguan puro that comes in four sizes, all with a ring gauge of 50: Fifty 1 (robusto), Fifty 2 (toro), Fifty 3 (torpedo), and Fifty 4 (double corona). For this review I smoked a few samples of the five-inch robusto size.

It features a corojo wraper from Jalapa, Nicaragua, that is slightly dry in appearance with many small veins. The robusto feels firm to the touch and well-constructed.

Once lit, I find a medium-bodied smoke with distinct sweet cedar flavors and a cinnamon spice. While it”s not overly complex, it does have a sweet-and-spicy characteristic commonly found in a Cameroon-wrapped smoke.

With the exception of the defining flavors growing slightly stronger as the cigar progresses, there is little variation from start to finish. Fortunately, construction is excellent with a stable gray ash and  an easy draw.

Available for around $6, there’s a lot to like about the straight-forward flavors of the Mederos Fifty 1. No, you won’t be blown away by complexity, but you will appreciate its pleasant and balanced profile.

Mr. Mederos should be proud of his first creation, which earns a most respectable rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Since I wrote about it last March, Buffalo Trace has become my go-to sipping bourbon. It is complex, affordable, approachable, and downright delicious with notes of vanilla and honey. Highly recommended.

So, on my most recent trip to the liquor store, I decided to try my luck with another product of the Buffalo Trace distillery, which is located on the banks of the Kentucky River near Frankfort. My choices included Blanton’s, W.L. Weller, Old Charter, and Van Winkle—a lineup that has helped Buffalo Trace win more international awards since 1990 than any other North American operation, not to mention Whiskey Magazine’s “Distiller of the Year” award in 2005 and 2007.

Remembering some word-of-mouth praise, I decided on a bottle of Eagle Rare Single Barrel and purchased it for just under $25. This brand was introduced in 1975 as a 101-proof bourbon in the Seagram family of liquors. Then, in 1989, it was sold and moved to Buffalo Trace where the multi-barrel, more potent original recipe was re-blended in 2005.

Today, Eagle Rare is offered in two varieties: a 17-year-old “Antique Collection” that sells for upwards of $70 per bottle, and a standard 10-year-old. Both, according to the back of the bottle, honor a creature that symbolizes the “freedom, spirit, and independence of the individual.”

Sampling the 10 year variety, I find a golden bourbon that smells of sweet oak and leather as it is poured from its slender bottle. The aroma is soft yet bright with background notes of melon and banana. But first impressions can be misleading.

The taste, as you might have guessed, is decidedly more powerful than expected with a well-rounded profile of sweet corn, charred steak, and raisin. Oily then blazing, the finish of toast and nuts drags for what seems like days. Bourbon enthusiasts who can embrace black pepper flavors will be captivated while others may be scared off after the first sip.

While many will no doubt disagree, I happen to think Eagle Rare is a bit too powerful to sip on its own. Paired with a full-bodied cigar, however, it suits nicely. Good complements include the Illusione 2, PG Soirée Connoisseur, Patel Bros. Toro, and the Nestor Miranda Oscuro Ruky. Proceed with caution.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys