The 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 new Toro (6 x 54) has a soft box-press and will be hitting shelves later this month. It features a pale brown criollo ’98 wrapper from the San Andeas region in Mexico that surrounds a Dominican binder and Nicaraguan filler. The cigar produces pleasant mild to medium cafe au lait flavors with excellent balance and some spice that builds. Construction is excellent. A fine, well-made cigar, though it hardly wowed me.

Verdict = Hold.

–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.”

Joya de Nicaragua is (deservedly) getting a lot of attention these days for its newest release, Cuenca y Blanco. But I recently sat down with the Peligroso size (5 x 44) of the older Antaño Dark Corojo blend. This Nicaraguan puro boasts a dark, oily wrapper, excellent combustion qualities, and a bold, rich flavor of espresso, dark chocolate, and spice. It’s a wonderful smoke that’s full-bodied yet smooth and never harsh. What’s more, the Peligroso is a great value at around $5-6 for a single.

Verdict = Buy.

–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 spread of government-imposed smoking bans is not limited to only North America and Europe. In Lebanon, smoking was criminalized in restaurants and bars starting on Monday. “Restaurant owners and employees have staged a sit-in to protest the new smoking ban in closed public places,” according to the Washington Post. “A recent study showed about half of Lebanon’s adults are smokers,” though most choose cigarettes or water pipes over cigars. Nonetheless, the issue of smoking freedom is expected to become a more prevalent discussion at the global level over the coming years, especially as the populations of emerging market economies start to amass the disposable income required to smoke cigars.

2) An interesting article in the New York Times this week profiled Ana Pérez, a Cuban-born 26-year-old based in New Jersey who works part-time as a cigar roller. “She is one of eight young and attractive cigar-rolling women employed by a company called Cigar Dolls (website here), which is based in Miami,” reads the article. “Though its roots are in Cuba, cigar rolling is big business in New York, Florida, and many places around the world where Cubans have popularized the craft at Cuban restaurants, weddings, and other events.”

3) Inside the Industry: Avo is adding a “Special Toro” to its Heritage line, although it will only be available in limited quantities. The cigar will be 6 inches long with a 60 ring-gauge, a first for the Heritage blend, and will sell for just under $10. Like the other four Heritage sizes, the Special Toro will use Dominican ligero, Dominican seco, and Peruvian seco fillers, along with a Dominican San Vicente binder and a Cuban-seed wrapper from Ecuador.

4) Around the Blogs: Cigar Fan fires up an Aging Room M356. Nice Tight Ash checks out a Bonita Smoke Shop Time Warp. Cigar Brief smokes a La Perla Habana Black Pearl. Stogie Review reviews a Herederos de Robaina. Cigar Inspector inspects a Fuente Fuente Opus X. A Cigar Smoker smokes the Hoyo de Tradición.

5) Deal of the Week: Here’s a deal literally created just for Stogie Guys readers. The “Stogie Guys Cigar Sampler”—offered by longtime supporter Corona Cigar—contains seven cigars for just $29.95 (plus free shipping on your entire order). The sampler includes limited edition cigars from Avo and Davidoff, plus cigars from by Rocky Patel, J.C. Newman, Casa Fernandez, and two Corona “house” blends. Pick yours up here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

In this segment of Random Thoughts from the Humidor, I pontificate on the upcoming football season, Lance Armstrong, and observe the latest from Puro PAC.

Football and Cigars

Baseball is still my favorite sport to watch with a cigar (the pace of the game and the long season is perfect for relaxing with a cigar), but football is a close second. Finding a cigar shop with your game on television is a goldmine, while watching the Sunday night game (which streams for free online) isn’t bad either on a crisp fall night on my balcony. My favorite Super Bowl viewing experience was at Shelly’s Backroom, although that had more to do with the fact that my Giants beat the undefeated Patriots that year.

Lance the Dope(r)

Following years of allegations that Lance Armstrong cheated his way to his historic victories in the Tour de France, the U.S. Anti-Doping Association has stripped him of all seven of his Tour de France titles. Lance claims the government agency lacks the power to do this and claims it is all a political attack against him, but has dropped all his legal challenges to the agency’s actions. Meanwhile, Armstrong continues to push for the government to control the lives of adults who choose to use tobacco and relentlessly attacks those who oppose his efforts. Does he see the irony (or hypocrisy) of complaining when the government supposedly overreaches against him for putting a foreign substance in his body, while at the same time pushing the government to interfere even more into the lives of millions of others who choose a different (and legal) substance? I doubt it.

Puro PAC Supports Cigar Bill Co-Sponsors (And Some Who Aren’t)

Puro PAC, the “Super PAC” created to fight for Cigar Rights in Washington, has been busy raising money and supporting candidates (so far the PAC hasn’t reported any independent expenditures). According to the most recent reports, all of the money is going to incumbents (though recipient Shelly Berkley (D-NV), a cosponsor of H.R. 1639, is currently challenging Republican Dean Heller for his Senate seat). Roughly two-thirds of the money has gone to Republicans. Of the 46 recipients of Puro PAC contributions, all but seven are co-sponsors of either the Senate or House versions of the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Preservation Act. Those who aren’t include Speaker John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey (who apparently raises money at cigar events but also voted for FDA regulation of tobacco to begin with and led the charge to raise the SCHIP tax), and non-cosponsoring Representatives Leonard Boswell (D-IA), Yvette Clarke (D-NY), and noted cigar smoker Gerry Connolly (D-VA).

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I’m never quite sure whether it’s God or the devil in the details, but there’s little doubt that such attention makes a big difference.

This hit home for me the other day when I was smoking at a local shop. I’d walked back to the counter to use a lighter to correct an errant burn.

“Do you want some matches?” the clerk asked. I said yes, and she handed me a box decorated with colorful Drew Estate regalia. The first thing I noticed was that the matches were a bit longer than the usual “penny” size. That’s a nice touch for a cigar smoker, who generally needs a longer-lasting flame than someone lighting a cigarette or tossing a match on fluid-soaked charcoal briquettes.

What really made an impression, though, was the way they ignited and burned. The head went up immediately, requiring little pressure, which greatly reduced the likelihood of the matchstick breaking. And the head burned smoothly, fully, and evenly.

OK, I probably sound like I’m going overboard. But I couldn’t help but think that the matches were a reflection of the way Drew Estate approaches its business. Careful attention to everything and making sure all that’s done is done right, whether every customer will notice or not.

I had a similar experience with Aging Room cigars. The bands on the M-356 and Quattro sticks I’ve smoked were applied without glue all the way to the end. There’s a little bit left out and easy to grab for removing the band.

That’s been the case for the six or eight of these cigars I’ve smoked, and maybe I’m jumping to a conclusion. But I know that for someone who likes to remove the bands from his cigars and is often struggling to get them loose without tearing the wrapper, this is great.

So even though I can’t answer the question with which I started, I can say this: The best companies create the best impressions when nothing escapes their attention. And when it’s a cigar maker, there’s added pleasure for those consuming their products.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr

When José Blanco announced he was rejoining the cigar industry in August 2011 after “retiring” from La Aurora only a few months earlier, it wasn’t much of a surprise. A return to tobacco seemed inevitable for those who knew Blanco. What was somewhat surprising was that he decided to join Joya de Nicaragua, where he was named senior vice president.

Joya de Nicaragua is an old-school brand run by Dr. Alejandro Martinez Cuenca, who purchased its remnants in 1994 after its nationalization during the Sandinista Revolution, which ended a few years before the purchase. Up until the introduction of the Cuenca y Blaco cigar, the company had made almost exclusively Nicaraguan puros. (Previously, only the Joya de Nicaragua Cabinetta Serie had used non-Nicaraguan tobacco, and then only for wrapper.)

The new line, formally introduced a month ago, is the first cigar to fully depart from the all-Nicaraguan formula and it does so in a major way, with tobacco from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, and Peru. The filler comes from Estelí and Ometepe in Nicaragua, along with with Peruvian tobacco, and is surrounded by a Dominican Piloto Cubano binder and an Ecuadoran Habano wrapper.

The cigar comes in five sizes, the longest and skinniest being the Lonsdale Club at 6.5 inches with a 44 ring gauge. I’ve smoked three different sizes and find this to be my favorite (at least so far). I picked up a five-pack of these from Emersons Cigars, where they sell for just under $9 each.

The cigar features a classic-looking red, blue, and gold band that mentions nowhere on it that the cigar comes from the Joya de Nicaragua factory. The wrapper is medium brown with only a few very small veins, making for an attractive stick.

The Cuenca y Blanco harnesses the rawness and strength that defines Joya de Nicaragua, but adds a complexity and finesse that is unlike their previous blends. It’s a medium- to full-bodied smoke that features a laundry list of flavors: floral notes, cedar, honey, leather, oak, and spice.

It’s a departure from other Joya de Nicaragua cigars, but it doesn’t forget its roots, and at its core it still has a bit of the twang that you might find in their Antaño or Celebration blends. With excellent construction, complexity, and tons of flavor, it’s a standout from the new cigars I’ve smoked thus far at the show. That earns the Cuenca y Blanco Lonsdale Club a rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–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.”

This spring, a fifth size was added to the Crowned Heads line: a lonsdale (6.5 x 44) simply called Selección No. 5. Made at Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. in the Dominican Republic, it utilizes a reddish-brown Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler. Like other Four Kicks I’ve smoked, construction was flawless. The cigar starts out with spice and wood, but near the halfway point transitions into a rich combination of molasses and leather. This might be my favorite size in the Four Kicks series as the smaller ring gauge really lets the complexity of the blend shine through.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys