The Stogie Guys

“The Ashton Classic is truly a smoke for anytime and anywhere and, like an old friend, never lets you down.” So reads the Ashton website.

I wasn’t thinking these exact words as I was browsing the humidor at one of my local shops, but I might as well have been. Going back to my earlier days with cigars—when I regularly tended toward the mild side of the spectrum—the Ashton Classic was my go-to if I wanted something special. And why not? The blend is reliable, tasty, and well-constructed.

These days, even though I still enjoy milder smokes and I make sure to include them in my rotation, I don’t find myself smoking many Ashton Classics. Not sure why. So, as I was scanning the shop’s humidor, I selected a couple Prime Ministers (6.9 x 48) for just under $10 apiece.

Like the 15 other vitolas in the line, the Prime Minister features aged tobaccos from the Dominican Republic wrapped in a golden Connecticut shade leaf. The cap is applied well and there are no soft spots from head to foot. The pre-light aroma smells of honey and hay.

Using a V-cutter to clip the cap, I find the draw is a bit stiff. This makes establishing an even light a bit more time-consuming than you’d normally expect from such a slender smoke. Once the light is set, traditional Connecticut flavors shine through. These include honey, hay, nuts, and some creaminess.

In the final third, a grassy taste becomes dominant. Then the stiff draw starts to get more difficult. As a result, I take more frequent puffs, and this probably contributes to the traces of stale flavors that emerge toward the end. Next time I’ll probably elect a guillotine cut rather than a V-cut to see if this improves the draw experience. Otherwise, the physical properties are very good, including a solid white ash and a very straight burn line.

Aside from the draw, my recent experience with the Prime Minister format was a good reminder of why I used to rely on the Ashton Classic fairly regularly. Sure, there are plenty of other Connecticut-wrapped smokes on the market, and many of them can be purchased for less. But this blend, when at its best, has a wonderfully balanced profile of traditional Connecticut flavors that’s more unique than you might expect. Keeping all of this in mind, I award the Prime Minister four 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.”

La Riqueza isn’t Pete Johnson’s most glamorous blend. However, I think it might be the most underrated. This little (4.4 x 42) cigar demonstrates why La Riqueza always impresses me. It has excellent construction and combustion qualities. The petite corona-sized smoke tastes of dry chocolate, roasted flavors, and woody spice. It’s medium- to full-bodied with excellent balance. Despite being a 30-minute cigar, it still demonstrates ample complexity.

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.”

Released in 2009 by cigar maker Alec Bradley, the Prensado blend sports a box press and a corojo wrapper that’s grown in Trojes, Honduras. I reviewed the Robusto (5 x 50) back in July 2010 and recently decided to spark up another that I had been storing since late 2009, just to see how time had impacted the flavors. What I found was a cigar that has the same basic profile—black pepper, coffee, a chalky texture, some sweetness—but is slightly more toned down. I’m still underwhelmed by this blend, and I think the price point is too high, even though the cost seems to have come down from the original MSRP of $10.

Verdict = Sell.

–Patrick A

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. Below is our latest Friday Sampler.

1) The Maryland Citizens’ Health Initiative, a nonprofit funded by left-leaning foundations, is calling for a 333% increase in state excise htaxes on premium cigars and other non-cigarette tobacco products. The same group helped push an alcohol tax increase through the General Assembly in the previous legislative session. But the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) is vowing to help defeat the proposal. “Maryland voters are sick of increased taxes disguised to obscure government over-spending and they are tired of being told what to do and how to behave,” said Bill Spann, CEO of IPCPR.

2) In last month’s “Question of the Month,” we asked readers how regularly they light up a premium handmade cigar. “A couple each week” topped the poll with 31% of the vote, followed by “just a few each month” (23%), “almost daily” (20%), “at least every day” (13%), and “two or more cigars every day” (13%). Be sure to weigh in on this month’s question by voting in the sidebar to the right. And feel free to contact us if you’ve got suggestion for a future poll.

3) Around the Blogs: Top cigar lists for 2011 continue at Cigar Fan, Stogie Review, Nice Tight Ash, Cigar Brief, and Cigar Inspector.

4) Deal of the Week: This New Years Resolution sampler features 10 cigars for $35. Included are five Rocky Patel Sun Grown Torpedos and five House Resolution Torpedos, a new cigar made by JC Newman that was named in honor of the bill to protect cigars from FDA control.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

Bulleit has been making bourbon since 1999, but its rye is a new and welcome development. Introduced last March, Bulleit Rye is a new twist on that classic American spirit, rye whiskey.

Bulleit is most notable for it’s high rye content. In order to be a rye, a whiskey must use at least 51% rye mash, supplemented by corn, barley, and wheat. Bulleit surpasses that minimum by leaps and bounds with 95% (the highest of any production rye), with just 5% barley.

The result is a whiskey full of character that is quintessentially rye. It has a deep copper color with a nose of fruit, toffee, and oak.

On the palate, the Bulleit Rye Whiskey really begins to shine. It has the spice I’ve come to expect from rye, but not the overwhelming amount that you’d think a spirit made with 95% rye would. Instead, it’s a remarkably balanced, somewhat dry combination of crisp apple, pepper, wood, rock sugar, wood, and toffee. The finish has sweetness, nuts, and woody pepper.

All in all, there’s everything to like about the Bulleit Rye, including the price, which is a most reasonable $25. For that price, the balanced, complex rye is a tremendous value.

The complex spice makes for an excellent accompaniment to a cigar. Spicy Honduran smokes (like the CAO OSA or Humo Jaguar) and earthy Nicaraguans (like the Tatuaje Brown Label or Padrón 1964) go equally well. Spicier Dominican smokes like the Fuente Opus X and La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero also make for a good pairing.

No matter your choice of cigar, whiskey fans—whether bourbon aficionados, Scotch connoisseurs, or rye enthusiasts—should give the Bulleit Rye a try. It’s the rare combination of cheap, tasty, and unique, which has quickly made it a staple in my collection.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In December, I reviewed the Habano Oscuro from the reinvented Tiant Cigar Group, and I was impressed. I later received an email from Daniel Tiant who was prodding me to try the Habano Rosado blend since, in his words, it has more complexity than the Oscuro.

Daniel is the son of Cuban-born baseball legend Luis Tiant, known to many simply as “El Tiante.” Tiant launched his own line of cigars in 2007 (around the time of the 25th anniversary of his final major league game) and only recently unveiled the two new blends that serve as the cornerstone of the company’s reintroduction: Habano Oscuro and Habano Rosado. Each is made at Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father Cigars Factory with Ecuadorian-seed wrappers and Nicaraguan binders and fillers.

Why scratch the company’s original creations and launch two entirely new blends? “I wanted a more serious image with our cigar company, and that is the reason we recreated our cigar bands, boxes, and overall presentation,” Daniel told me.

Both new blends come in four vitolas that retail for $6.80 to $8.60 apiece: Pyramid (6 x 52), Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 50), and Toro Gordo (6 x 60). They are sold mostly in the New England area, including shops in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, but are also available at several locales in Florida. Daniel is looking to expand distribution nationwide.

The Habano Rosado Toro has a nice triple-cap, a firm feel in the hand, and a clean, silky exterior leaf. The pre-light aroma is mostly earthy with a touch of sweet cocoa. The maroon band is easily removed and the cold draw has just the right amount of resistance.

Where the Habano Oscuro starts with a chary, chewy Nicaraguan zing, the Habano Rosado has a jasmine-like floral taste with notes of toast, cinnamon spice, and a toffee sweetness on the finish. This is an entirely different cigar with a more medium-bodied profile (the Oscuro is a bold, full-bodied smoke). Still, the spiciness makes it no pushover, and the complexity makes it quite interesting.

As the straight burn line works down the cigar and the white ash builds off the foot, I notice that the resting smoke has a pronounced sweetness. I also notice that the taste of the cigar mellows halfway through with some of the spice giving way to more sweet notes. The overall balance of the profile from this point to the end is how I will remember the Toro, and perhaps the main reason why I look forward to smoking more of this blend.

Now I can see why Daniel prefers the Habano Rosado to the Habano Oscuro. I’d have to agree with him, giving the Rosado a slight edge over its partner in crime and awarding it four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Tomorrow, Clemson and West Virginia will face off in the Orange Bowl, but freedom already lost when anti-tobacco lobbyists and three U.S. senators successfully bullied the Orange Bowl into canceling their three-year sponsorship deal with Camacho Cigars.

In early December, Camacho Cigars, a subsidiary of premium cigarmaker Davidoff of Geneva, announced their partnership with the Orange Bowl to be a “corporate partner” of the game for the next three years and for the BCS Championship game in 2013 when the site of the Orange Bowl would host the biggest game in college football. The deal included cigar lounges at the site of the game, and Orange Bowl officials praised the deal saying, “We pride ourselves in affiliating with quality brands, especially those with strong South Florida ties, like Camacho Cigars.”

But the praise didn’t last long. Anti-smoking lobbying groups got wind of the new partnership and quickly began complaining: “The association of cigar smoking with one of the nation’s top collegiate sporting events sends the wrong message to impressionable young fans and helps market cigars as athletic, masculine, and cool,” the groups wrote in a letter to the Orange Bowl Committee and the NCAA.

Soon, anti-tobacco politicians were piling on. Three Democrat senators (Dick Durbin, Frank Lautenberg, and Richard Blumenthal) wrote to demand the game drop Camacho as a sponsor, writing, “Tobacco has no place in sports, and the promotion of cigars at the Orange Bowl sends the wrong message to young fans.”

Faced with this professional PR campaign and the implicit threat of three powerful senators, the Orange Bowl caved and canceled its sponsorship with Camacho, which it had so proudly announced two weeks earlier.

The whole incident shows the hysteria and propaganda that the are the basis of the anti-tobacco movement. Take a look at some of the other sponsors and you’ll be unable to come to any other conclusion:

No one blinks an eye at the fact that Bacardi and Bud Light are sponsors, apparently “promoting” alcohol towards minors by being sponsors. Meanwhile, Orange Bowl partners Taco Bell, Frito Lay, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, and Coca Cola are “promoting” horrible health that kills millions who suffer from obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

Then there’s Bank of America, perhaps the most offensive sponsor of the game. They took billions in tax dollars for a bailout after helping ruin the American economy by significantly contributing to the mortgage crisis, but no one is clamoring for the Orange Bowl to drop them.

And yet, according to these zealots, “tobacco has no place in sports” and “cigars are just as harmful to [one’s] health as cigarettes.” Even though both claims are demonstrably untrue.

Ultimately, that’s the difference between us cigar smokers and the anti-tobacco crazies. We just want adults to be able to have the choice to enjoy a cigar if they want to. They lie and threaten to stop adults from having that choice.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Flickr