The Stogie Guys

This year’s industry trade show is still months away, but that doesn’t mean new cigars aren’t debuting in the interim. Case in point is Inferno, made by Oliva.

Inferno is available from Famous Smoke Shop, an online retailer based in Pennsylvania. “Inferno cigars are one of the newest additions to Oliva’s stable of fine Nicaraguan cigars,” reads the Famous website. “Despite its potency, the smoke is velvety smooth with a complexity that will delight you even more than the affordable price.”

The price certainly is attractive, with the Robusto (5 x 50) sold for $4.50 for a single or $72 for a box of 20. The other two sizes in the blend—Churchill (7 x 50) and Toro (6 x 50)—are similarly priced.

I sampled three Robustos for this review, each provided to me free of charge by Famous Smoke Shop. The Robusto is a handsome smoke with a dark, reddish Nicaraguan Habano wrapper. You won’t find any soft spots, or any difficulties with draw, but you will encounter some harmless lumps and a few dark splotches. A nice aroma of dark chocolate emanates off the foot. For what it’s worth, the fire-themed red and gold band makes no mention of Oliva.

Quickly showcasing its filler tobaccos of Nicaraguan ligero, the Inferno Robusto kicks off with a full-bodied blast of heavy-handed espresso and black pepper spice. After a few puffs, though, it settles into medium-bodied mode, pulling back the reins on the espresso and pepper. What’s left is a muted core of cocoa sweetness and coffee.

At the midway point and into the final third, I start to appreciate the resting smoke more as I grow a little less interested in the Robusto’s actual taste. I guess that’s bound to happen. A cigar like this isn’t oozing with complexity or displaying a harmonious balance that begs to be appreciated. Instead, it’s delivering an honest profile at a fair price.

I think most of us are expecting (or hoping) for exactly that when we buy a box of cigars and the per-cigar price is less than $4. Here you get a nice golf course stick with excellent construction that won’t blow you away, but also won’t disappoint. That’s what makes the Oliva Inferno Robusto worthy of three 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.”

Back when the Liga Privada No. 9 was just hitting the market, I received a few of these “pre-release samples” dated 2007 as a throw-in when I bought a box at a Liga event at my local tobacconist. Now with around five years of age on it, I decided to light up my last remaining one to see how time has changed the cigar. It is well-balanced with milk chocolate, slight spice, and bready flavors. Not nearly as full-bodied as a more recently rolled Liga No. 9, it’s a very good smoke, but I definitely prefer a more recent vintage.

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.”

Boutique manufacturer Viaje has made quite a name for itself in the cigar world with limited run smokes and sharp marketing. The Oro is a Nicaraguan puro with a double binder and a Corojo ’99 wrapper. I smoked the Delicado, a 6-inch stick with a ring gauge of 50. I found it a well-made, enjoyable smoke, though not as full-bodied or complex as advertised. At around $8, it’s not one I’d reach for over and over, but a nice selection every once in awhile.

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) A ban on outdoor tobacco advertising, instituted by officials in Worcester, Massachusetts, was declared unconstitutional this week by a federal judge. “In his decision, [U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock] said the city has no legitimate interest in prohibiting ‘non-misleading advertising’ to adults to prevent them from making decisions of which the city disapproves,” reported CSNews.com. “The judge also ruled that the city failed to show that the outdoor advertising regulations are more extensive than necessary to advance its substantial interest in preventing underage tobacco use.… Worcester City Solicitor David Moore said city officials were disappointed by the ruling, but hadn’t yet decided whether they would appeal the case.”

2) From now until the end of June, everyday cigar enthusiasts have the opportunity to help select the next new CAO blend. The “Last Stick Standing” promotion makes three-pack tins available at select cigar shops, each comprised of three different blends that have been in development (and each one named “C”, “A”, or “O”). After sampling each, CAO fans can vote here to decide which cigar will be released later this year, or in early 2013.

3) Inside the Industry: Rocky Patel is introducing a Candela version of the Edge blend in a toro size. La Aurora is launching a Salomon  (7.25 x 52, the same size that was used for the Puro Vintage 2003) to its 107 line that will begin shipping next month and will retail for around $12 and come in boxes of 8.

4) Around the Blogs: Tiki Bar kicks back with a RoMa Craft Intemperance EC XVII Faith. Cigar Brief smokes the Punch Rare Corojo and Rare Corojo Limited. Cigar Brief fires up a Room 101 San Andreas. Cigar Fan lights up a Padilla Artemis. Nice Tight Ash checks out the La Traviata Luminoso. Stogie Review reviews a Quesada Q D’Etat Molotov.

5) Deal of the Week: Famous Smoke is offering offering some valuable coupon deals on it’s wide selection of cigars. Click here and enter coupon code “SAV15IMPRD” at checkout to save $15 on orders of $100 or more, or click here and enter coupon code “FRSHPIMPRD” to get free shipping on orders $50 or more.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Google Maps

La Flor Dominicana is best known for ball-busting, full-bodied smokes like the Double Ligero, Airbender, and The Digger. Still, many of La Flor’s cigars don’t fit the big and bold type-casting, inlcluding the Premium line (La Flor’s first line) and the Cameroon Cabinet, the subject of this review.

The Cameroon Cabinet blend was introduced in 2007 and has slowly expanded since. Now it includes four regular production sizes (toro, torpedo, lonsdale, and robusto) plus two limited release sizes (lancero and chisel). Originally, the Cameroon Cabinet cigars were un-banded (as recently as last year) but now many, including the torpedo, use a bronze-colored variation of the classic “LFD” band.

The Cameroon Cabinet features a pale-ish brown Cameroon wrapper with only a few veins and a slight shine. It surrounds a Dominican binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos.

Once lit the Cameroon-wrapped torpedo reveals medium-bodied flavors in perfect balance. The cigar features an exquisite blend of cedar, light spice, cream, and coffee flavors.

The only fault with this cigar is in its construction. The draw is excellent and the ash holds firm, but the wrapper is very frail and each sample I smoked suffered many cracks that resulted in an uneven burns.

The fragile wrapper is, I suspect, a tradeoff for the flavors provided by the Cameroon wrapper. And while it’s a significant tradeoff, it’s well worth the payoff for the balanced, complex flavors the cigar produces.

Ultimately, while I think I slightly prefer the No. 1 size, this torpedo reminded me why I so enjoy La Flor’s Cameroon line. It’s balance and depth of flavor make it an excellent choice for a strong cup of coffee in the morning, or an after-dinner whiskey.

At $10 each ($480 for a box of 50) it’s a cigar that delivers. Despite the construction issues, the exquisite flavors of La Flor Dominicana Cameroon Cabinet Torpedo earn it four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Gary Mormino and George Pozetta bring us The Immigrant World of Ybor City, one of the best books on Tampa history. And in reading about Tampa, once the cigar-rolling capital of the world, we’re served a little-known slice of cigar history too. Starting with the history of Tampa’s Ybor City, home to more than 250 cigar factories during its peak, the authors take us through a turbulent century of labor disputes, the arrival of Italian, Cuban, and Spanish immigrants, and the rise of one of the world’s great cigar towns.

This excellent read is made for consumers of American history. Highlighting the Spanish-American War and the arrival of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in Tampa, through the city’s immigrant culture we glimpse into a world of American nostalgia and understand why so many who arrived from foreign shores decided to stay. Cigar makers were paid well, and their families had access to libraries, theaters, baseball fields, and affordable healthcare. It was the American dream at its finest. And Mormino and Pozetta have captured it all. From the evolution of Tampa as an urban center to the economic adjustments of the Great Depression. From the establishment of an immigrant culture in to World War Two and beyond.

This book was extensively researched and includes dozens of photographs from the early era of cigar making, from a cigar worker’s neighborhood roots in Italy, to the factory floors of the 1910s. See immigrant women stripping stems from stacks and stacks of tobacco and watch skilled tobacco-selectors grade and pair aged tobacco leaves. Look into the Cuesta Rey factory in 1924 and watch an animated lector shout from an opened newspaper while hundreds of cigar workers listen quietly and roll their product.

What struck me, apart from the vividly detailed history, was the sense of closeness the authors provided. Though many of the anecdotes are from long before the writers were born, they address the day to day activities of the average cigar maker with the familiarity of a man just home from a day at the factory. Their depictions of the local culture—the street-corner orators, the dinging trolley cars, the street vendors—with an intimacy that makes you feel you are watching some tropical Cuban version of The Godfather Part II.

A window into another time, a time when Tampa was the cigar capital of the world. The Immigrant World of Ybor City makes great summer reading for the curious cigar historian.

–Mark M

photo credit: Amazon

As the weather gets warmer, I increasingly find myself pairing my after-dinner cigars with a glass of well-aged rum. Zaya Gran Reserva 12 Year and the Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 are two staples in my liquor cabinet, but recently I picked up a particularly exceptional rum.

Even older and more limited than the Zacapa 23 is the XO. The XO is blended from solera-aged rums ranging from 6 years to 25 years and generally sells for around $90 (though you should shop around because I’ve seen prices range from $60 to $110).

Like the Zacapa 23, the Centenario XO is a blend of rums made from virgin sugar cane juice aged in Zacapa’s “House in the Clouds” distillery 7,000 feet above sea level, in Guatemala. The rum is aged in a combination of American bourbon, sherry, Pedro Ximenez wine, and cognac barrels.

The result is a thoroughly complex, smooth rum that’s dark bronze in color with long legs. The nose is a combination of oak, molasses, citrus, and spice.

But it’s when you take your first taste that you really appreciate what an exceptional spirit the Zacapa XO is. Powdered cocoa, toffee, orange peel, banana, and cinnamon are all apparent in this exquisitely balanced and smooth rum. The finish lingers with plenty of molasses and a touch of spice.

All in all, this is an excellent rum that’s perfect with a fine cigar. (Try it neat or with a maximum of a single ice cube.) Cuban smokes, with their earthy sweetness, go great with Zacapa XO. So do spicier Nicaraguan and Honduran cigars (though really you’d be hard-pressed to find a good cigar that wasn’t an enjoyable pairing).

While I’m not sure the Centenario XO is worth twice the price of the Zacapa 23, it certainly is a fine rum. If you’re a fan of Zacapa 23 or Zaya, you should find a way to try the Ron Zacapa Centenario XO at least once.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys