The Stogie Guys

We’re pleased to announce a new contributor to StogieGuys.com: Mark Carlos McGinty, author of the award-winning novel The Cigar Maker. “Mark M” adds unique expertise to our site, focusing on the rich history of the cigar industry and examining the intricacies of the cigar industry today.

Regular readers will recall that Mark has contributed to the site a few times already. In May, he wrote an article on the complex legal issues that will arise when the Cuban embargo finally ends. More recently, he wrote about the history of the Cuesta-Rey brand and the two revolutionaries who started it in the 1890s. (Both articles are well worth reading, if you haven’t already seen them.) As Mark’s bio notes, cigars and Cuban culture run in his family:

Mark Carlos McGinty is a descendant of Cuban cigar makers and the award-winning author of The Cigar Maker. You can read an excerpt of his book here. His work has appeared in Maybourne Magazine, Cigar City Magazine, Yahoo! Entertainment, and La Gaceta. Mark grew up in Minnesota but spent a good part of his childhood with his Cuban relatives in West Tampa eating ropa vieja and Cuban sandwiches, drinking café con leche and fresh-squeezed orange juice from his grandfather’s tree. His great-aunt rolled cigars for Arturo Fuente so, of course, his favorite cigar is the Arturo Fuente Flor Fina 8-5-8.

Mark spent seven years writing The Cigar Maker, a time when he ate a lot of Cuban food and smoked way too many cigars. Most of those seven years were spent researching the history of Cuba, Tampa, and the cigar industry during the period of 1850–1910. A labor of love with dozens of family anecdotes woven into the story, The Cigar Maker was a finalist at the Indie Excellence Book Awards in 2011, won the Bronze Medal at the Independent Publisher Awards, and was a finalist for ForeWord Magazine’s 2010 Book of the Year. Visit the book’s official website to learn more: www.TheCigarMaker.net.

Mark’s first novel, Elvis and the Blue Moon Conspiracy (Beaver’s Pond Press, 2003), won an Eric Hoffer Book Award Honorable Mention for General Fiction. He graduated from Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, and obtained his master’s degree from Xavier University in Cincinnati. Mark lives in Minneapolis with his wife and daughter and pays close attention to the Minnesota Twins, a subject that could one day warrant its own book.

Please welcome Mark to the site in the comments below. And as a bonus, we’ll select one commenter to win a signed copy of The Cigar Maker.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This weekend, my local tobacconist had a special on the Guillermo León blend by La Aurora, a cigar I have been enjoying regularly since it debuted last summer. The entire Guillermo León lineup was on sale for about $4—far below the standard MSRP of $7-9 per cigar.

I was pretty thrilled about this special and made sure to stock up on (what I consider to be) a fantastic smoke. The whole experience got me thinking about the most productive ways to save money on cigar purchases. So here are five tips to help you get the most out of your cigar budget:

Try your hand at cigar auctions. Instead of ordering cigars from retailers with fixed prices, many people turn to cigar auctions to buy cigars in eBay-style markets. While not every item is going to offer substantial savings, if you look patiently and don’t get caught up in bidding wars you can find some real bargains on good cigars. Just be sure not to pay more than the fixed price. (more…)

Last year, with considerable mystery, a website for Tatuaje Anarchy sprung up. As we first revealed, the cigar was an exclusive cigar made for the West Palm Beach-based Smoke Inn chain of cigar shops. That cigar (reviewed here) was the first exclusive made to celebrate Smoke Inn’s 15th Anniversary.

Proprietor Abe Dababneh has since followed up the Tatuaje Anarchy with more exclusive blends. Currently available is the Padrón Anniversary 1964 SI-15 blend, a thick toro size of the popular Padrón Anniversary line available with both natural and maduro wrappers. Coming in August is the My Father El Hijo, produced at Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father Cigars factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. (A final release, by Fuente, is due this Fall.) (more…)

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 cigar by Casa Fernandez came in the sampler pack sold by Cigar Rights of America to support their fight against anti-tobacco laws. The Nicaraguan smoke features a flawless dark wrapper with just a bit of shine. The blend is the same as the original Casa Fernandez line, but the size is new. The cigar tastes of roasted coffee, cedar, and a distinctive spicy finish that focuses on the tip of the tongue. Complex and full-bodied with superb construction, it’s great with a pour of Zaya rum.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credits: 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.”

With a name like Evil, you’d expect this cigar to pack an extraordinary punch. It really doesn’t. While strong, the 6-inch Toro isn’t especially so. There’s little complexity in what is an OK smoke. More distinctive is the humongous band and the thick Brazilian wrapper that could almost pass for leather. I’m not sure whether Gurkha’s lack of attention to the blend’s description on the website—the same as that for the Assassin, a similar cigar, except for misspellings and improper word usage—reflects its feelings for the line.

Verdict = Hold.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

As we have since July 2006, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. Below is our latest Friday Sampler.

1) At 75 percent, New York has the highest state tax on cigars, a sad fact that explains why so many Empire Staters buy their smokes online or through the mail. Politicians in Albany had the opportunity to provide some relief to local tobacconists and consumers when the State Senate passed a modest tax cap at $1.00 per cigar. But this week the Assembly adjourned without addressing the bill, leaving it dead (at least) until the January 2011 session. “I know many of you are upset because we didn’t get the cap passed into law this time around,” wrote Ron Melendi, president of the New York Tobacconist Association, in an open letter. “With one house securely in place, we can now focus all our energy on the Assembly over the coming months.”

2) Anti-tobacco politicians in Texas have been pushing hard, including Rodney Ellis, a Democrat who introduced statewide ban in the Senate, and Myra Crownover, a Republican who introduced a sister bill in the House. On Thursday, though, the legislature ended its special session without voting on either proposal, marking the sixth time the Lone Star State has rejected a statewide ban.

3) Inside the Industry: Camacho and Room 101 have announced a new limited edition cigar called Namakubi. Officially due out at this month’s trade show, Tatuaje has begun shipping a new cigar called the “7th Capa Especial,” which boasts an oily Sumatran wrapper. Tatuaje owner Pete Johnson also officially confirmed that the next Tatuaje Halloween monster series cigar will be “Wolfman,” a torpedo with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and a shaggy foot. Florida-based retailer Smoke Inn is releasing an exclusive blend of Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father called “El Hijo,” which features a box press and an unfinished foot.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews Devils Weed. Smoking Stogie smokes a Litto Gomez Small Batch No. 1. Cigar Coop fires up a Monte Pascoal. Toasted Foot toasts a D’Crossier Imperium Class Vintage. Tiki Bar kicks back with a Los Imperialistas. Casas Fumando lights up El Primer Mundo Liga Miami.

5) Deal of the Week: Smoke Inn is featuring pre-release five- and ten-packs of the new Drew Estate/Joya de Nicaragua creation called “My Uzi Weighs a Ton.”

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

I’ve always been a fan of Knob Creek. I recall my father picking up a bottle at some point when I was in college, and I remember it tasting far better than the Jim Beam I had grown accustomed to drinking at school. (Coincidentally, Beam makes Knob Creek along with other small batch bourbons that I’ve come to enjoy, including Booker’s and Baker’s.)

But I didn’t realize Knob Creek came in a Single Barrel edition until a friend recently bought me a bottle. (He owed me after he polished off most of a bottle of my Baker’s.) Sure enough, late last year Knob Creek came out with its first single barrel Knob Creek. (more…)