The 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) This week, Great Neck, a suburb of New York City, became the first municipality in the Empire State to ban outdoor smoking on sidewalks. “Mayor Ralph J. Kreitzman says the ban was enacted after officials got complaints about smokers standing outside stores in the village,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “Kreitzman says violators found smoking on sidewalks in the 1.4-square-mile village could face fines of up to $1,000.” The law went into effect immediately.

2) A politician in Kentucky has proposed a bill that, in the unlikely event it is passed, would impose a no-exemption smoking ban on all indoor workplaces and public places in the state, including bars and restaurants. “Kentucky unemployment is nearly 11%, yet some legislators seem to be more interested in creating job-killing bills like smoking bans,” said Chris McCalla, legislative director of the IPCPR.

3) Upcoming Event: The Midwest Smoke Out has been scheduled for April 7 at the Horseshoe Casino outside Chicago. The event will feature spirits, cigars, food, and such guests as Carlito Fuente and Rocky Patel. The price of admission ($150) also includes a one-year membership renewal in Cigar Rights of America.

4) Around the Blogs:  Stogie Review reviews a La Caridad del Cobre. Tiki Bar kicks back with a Paul Garmirian Symphony 20. Cigar Fan fires up a Padilla Dominus. Nice Tight Ash checks out La Sirena. Smoking Stogie smokes a Puro Express Bespoke. Two Tatuaje Reservas, the Gran Cojonu and Petite Cazadores, top YourCigarReviews.com.

5) Deal of the Week: OneOff Cigars were once high-end smokes that cost plenty. This week’s deal features a clearance special with boxes of 20 OneOff cigars available in five sizes for under $2 per stick. Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Google Maps

The new year is less than two weeks old, and that means it’s not too late to for a list of hopes for the cigar community in 2011. Here are my top five wishes:

More Limited Editions

Limited edition smokes can be frustrating. They’re often hard to get and, if you don’t move quickly, you may not be able to buy any, meaning you may have to make a decision before you really know all the details about the smoke. Still, there’s a refreshing bit of honesty in limited edition cigars. Many cigar makers, particularly those who don’t grow their own tobacco, have only enough tobacco to make a small run without sacrificing quality and consistency. So limited releases can be some of the best (if rare) cigars available. For that reason, I welcome more limited cigars, as long as they’re limited for a good reason and not just a marketing gimmick.

Reasonably Priced Cigars

After a few years of seemingly exponentially expensive new smokes, 2009 and 2010 saw a number of solid new cigars in the more reasonable $4-7 range. With the confidence in the economy wavering (to say the least), cigar makers seemed to understand that for dedicated cigar smokers to enjoy more cigars, they would require good cigars that didn’t cost an arm and a leg. Let’s hope that this lesson is taken to heart in 2011.

Innovation from the Big Guys

It has become commonplace for veteran cigar smokers to seek out boutique smokes and ignore those made by the largest companies, particularly those by industry giants Altadis and General Cigar. But those companies are large and successful for a reason, not the least of which is massive tobacco stores that ensure consistency and quality control second to none. Last year, more innovative blends like Altadis’ Warlock and General’s new La Gloria Cubana offerings showed that bigger doesn’t need to be bland. So in the new year I’m hoping the cigar industry’s biggest companies continue to pair their knack for consistency with boundary-pushing, innovative cigars.

More New Cigar Companies

It seems like every week I get another press release announcing a new cigar from a company I’ve never heard of before. In the cigar boom of the late 1990s, this was a symptom of the fact that anyone and everyone thought they could make money by bringing a new Don Nobody cigar to market. It would be easy to dismiss all the new cigars as another similar boom, but I’m inclined to think there’s an important difference: Today, most of the people behind new brands seem genuinely passionate about creating quality sticks. Sure, not all of them are great and not every new brand will succeed, but the net affect is a push towards better cigars as current companies feel pressure to maintain quality and remain innovative.

Enhanced Awareness of the FDA Threat

I think cigar smokers are finally catching on to the serious threat that smoking bans and cigar taxes pose to their hobby. The realization that FDA oversight of cigars poses a serious, if not mortal, threat to cigars is coming more slowly. If FDA bureaucrats and anti-tobacco advocates have their way, every new cigar brought to market would have to undergo months, if not years, of testing before it receives FDA approval. That burden would stifle all the new innovation I mentioned above, making it too risky financially for all but a few new cigars to reach the market in a given year. Hopefully, 2011 will be the year that all cigar smokers realize the grave threat that FDA regulation of cigars poses to the innovation that we’ve come to expect and enjoy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Google Images

Aside from creating thousands of jobs and innovating and producing the stogies we love, most cigar companies also make significant charitable contributions. Many are playing active roles in the development of communities, increasing access to basic necessities, and even saving lives. These selfless initiatives are admirable and, in my opinion, underreported. So today I’m pleased to highlight several companies who deserve our praise. They are but a few of the dozens of organizations in the tobacco industry who are giving back in important ways.

Toraño Family Cigar Co.

For the holidays, Toraño partnered with the Miami-based Neat Stuff to provide new toys for children who come from abused and underprivileged homes. Company president Charlie Toraño (pictured) says this won’t be the last time he’ll undertake a charitable effort. “I look forward to Toraño Family Cigar Co. being more involved in the community in the near future as we can’t lose focus on those who are less fortunate,” he said. Franklin Monjarrez, executive director of Neat Stuff and a cigar smoker, said: “I am honored to have met with Charlie Toraño to undertake this amazing event to help Neat Stuff deliver toys to the children who need them most.”

Cigar Family Charitable Foundation

No discussion of cigar charities is complete without mentioning the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation, a joint venture of J.C. Newman and the Fuente Family. This organization builds schools and health clinics, supports the development of business ventures, sponsors sports programs, and invests in water purification, all in the Dominican Republic. The goal is to make a positive humanitarian impact in an important cigar-producing country.

Other Noteworthy Causes

While space is too limited to provide even a cursory glance of the tobacco industry’s overall charitable contributions, it’s worth noting that cigar makers are giving to a host of causes, including the troops, guide dogs, hunger relief, cancer research, literacy, disaster relief, etc. Altadis’ Montecristo Relief Organization, for example, has donated millions to build homes, schools, and medical facilities, as well as provide scholarships and economic opportunities to victims of natural disasters in the Caribbean and the U.S. And Tesa, one of my favorite boutique manufacturers, donates 10% of its profits to benefit the housing, education, and sustenance of the Nicaraguan people.

Friends of CRA

Let’s also not forget that many cigar companies support Cigar Rights of America, a consumer-based, non-profit public advocacy organization that works at the local, state, and federal level of government to protect the freedoms of cigar enthusiasts. So, in addition to joining CRA yourself, you can fight against tobacco taxes and smoking bans by buying cigars made by the Friends of CRA.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Eighteen months ago, my colleague reviewed the pre-release version of the Tatuaje L’esprit de La Verite. According to the wine-inspired model of the Vintage line, the Churchill-sized La Verite is tops in the blend, while that L’esprit de La Verite he smoked is the “second.”

That isn’t the only thing about the Tatuaje Vintage line that takes a cue from the wine world. Unlike almost every other cigar on the market, the Tatuaje Vintage line consists of tobacco entirely from one farm. In this case it’s Don Pepin Garcia’s La Estrella farm in Estelí, where the Nicaraguan habano tobacco was grown.

Also like wine, Tatuaje creator Pete Johnson planned to use a futures system to sell the cigars before they were available to be consumed. That ambitious plan fell through for the 2008 vintage—not necessarily all that surprising given that it took decades of consistent wine making for top Bordeaux wines to develop a robust futures market—but I suspect in a few years he won’t have much trouble pre-selling much of the Vintage production, particularly if buyers get a nice discount for their faith.

The cigar has a classic look, with a matte, nearly vein-free medium brown wrapper framed in a classic gold band that displays the 2008 vintage. The gold trim differentiates the Churchill (7 x 47) from the robusto-sized L’esprit de La Verite, which has a silver band.

When you finally get around to smoking the $20 cigar, the first thing you’ll notice is its immaculate balance. La Verite features a combination of subtle cedar, coffee bean, paper, and cream. There’s also a bit of peppery spice when you retro-hale.

As it develops, the profile moves from medium-bodied to more full-bodied and cedar emerges as the dominant flavor. If most top cigars are like Bordeaux, with rich, well-defined flavors, this is more like fine Burgundy: balanced, subtle, and noble.

I’m interested to see how aging affects this smoke. Johnson says the Churchill is blended to age longer, with slightly more ligero tobacco. That potential for greatness may be enhanced by the fact that the cigar was rolled immediately after fermentation, so it could age entirely as a completed cigar.

Ultimately, this is a very good cigar with the potential to be even better in the future. Still, I’m looking forward to the Vintage 2009, which will use a combination of habano, criollo, and pele de oro tobacco; I expect this to better demonstrate the blending talents of Johnson and Pepin. But just because I’m more excited for the next edition of the Tatuaje Vintage doesn’t mean that the balanced strength of the 2008 is at all disappointing. With the potential to get even better, the Tatuaje La Verite 2008 earns a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

La Aurora has grabbed its share of headlines lately, launching highly anticipated (and well-marketed) blends like Guillermo León and 107. But let’s not forget that the Dominican’s oldest cigar maker offers plenty of other wise investments for smart enthusiasts.

Among them is the Preferidos series, a collection of smokes that debuted in 1998 to honor Eduardo León Jimenes, the man who founded La Aurora in 1903. Initially, all Preferidos cigars were perfectos. About five years ago, though, La Aurora began to offer Preferidos in standard parejo shapes.

Today you can find five-packs of Preferidos in the Robusto size, each pack with one cigar from the line’s five blends: Connecticut, Ecuador, Cameroon, Corojo, and Maduro. These blends are also sold individually or by the box.

The Cameroon Robusto (5 x 50) features an oily, water-spotted wrapper with Dominican binder and filler tobaccos. All of these components were aged up to three years before spending additional time in rum barrels. This strategy is intended to speed up the fermentation process, not infuse the tobacco with a rum taste.

So it isn’t surprising that this cedar-smelling cigar’s profile doesn’t include molasses or any other flavors that I associate with rum. Instead, it starts with a dry woody taste, hints of black pepper, and a sugary finish that’s commonly found in African Cameroon tobacco. The overall effect is straightforward yet well-balanced.

At the midway point and beyond, the Robusto develops strength—making it decidedly medium-bodied—and some creamy tones. These additions play nicely off the sweet and salty flavors that remain in the foreground. All the while the construction is near perfect. Expect a firm ash, a straight burn line, and a smooth draw.

I enjoyed all three Cameroon Robustos I sampled for this review. Still, at $8-11 apiece, this cigar’s value doesn’t compare favorably against some of the other Cameroons on the market, like the Cuban Crafters Cameroon or the H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon, just to name a couple. But for its harmonious flavor, aromatic resting smoke, and outstanding combustion qualities, the La Aurora Preferidos Cameroon Robusto shouldn’t be ignored. It earns three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

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 limited edition version of Pete Johnson’s El Triunfador is made for Seattle-based J&J Cigars. The corona especial (bottom) is an inch and a half shorter than the original Triunfador lancero (top) and, depending on your source, is either the exact same or a slight variation of the original blend. It features coffee and strong cedar notes in a full-bodied, well-constructed smoke. No matter the particulars of the blend, it certainly is very similar in flavor to the lancero;  that’s not an unfavorable comparison since the original is a most enjoyable smoke.

Verdict = Buy.

–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 price on this thick toro varies significantly depending on where you buy it. In my case, it was free—a gift from my father. That’s a pretty good deal. With a chalky, medium-bodied profile of cedar, cream, powdered coca, and honey, this Ecuadorian-wrapped smoke from Avo displays all the nuance you’d expect from a cigar that normally retails for as much as $12. Coupled with good construction, the Compañero (6 x 54) is a wise purchase.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys