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. Below is our latest Friday Sampler.

1) It’s the last day of May, and that means we’re set to reveal the the winners of the seven fantastic prizes we’re giving away to celebrate the seventh anniversary of StogieGuys.com. In case you missed the announcements, the prizes are epic, and they come courtesy of some of our favorite cigar makers, including CAO, Dante, Drew Estate, La Palina, Paul Garmirian, Prometheus, and Tesa. If you’re one of the 2,400+ who registered for this contest, keep an eye on your email in the coming days. We’ll be using our free email newsletter to announce the seven randomly chosen winners in short order. Best of luck to you all.

2) In our most recent sidebar survey, we found 42% of StogieGuys.com readers resolved to try more new cigars, 26% resolved to smoke better cigars, 26% resolved to smoke more cigars, and 6% resolved to smoke fewer cigars. To participate in our current survey, please do so in the sidebar to the right. And if you have an idea for a future survey, please contact us.

3) In honor of Memorial Day, Fox News ran a story about the oldest living U.S. veteran: Richard Arvine Overton, a Texan who served in World War II and is 107 years young. His secret to longevity? Up to 12 cigars per day and whiskey in his morning coffee.

4) Inside the Industry: Gurkha Cigars announced the release of The Rogue, the third release in its East India Trading Company line, made with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Ecuadorian binder, and filler from Nicaragua, Honduras, and the Dominican. Davidoff is releasing the new golf-inspired Davidoff Masters Edition Club House Toro, a limited release of just 7,000 boxes of 10 with individual cigars selling for $22 each.

5) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews the Tatuaje TAA 2012. Robby Ras reviews the CyB Lancero. Stogie Fresh rates La Flor Dominicana Cameroon Cabinet Chisel. Cigar Inspector inspects a Davidoff Puro d’Oro.

6) Deal of the Week: This “Around the World Sampler” features five cigars for $5 a stick. It includes such popular cigars as the Oliva Master Blend 3, Four Kicks, Alec Bradley Family Blend, and CAO Brazilia Lambada.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys

About a decade ago, as small batch bourbon was really taking off, Wild Turkey released Russell’s Reserve 10 Year Bourbon as a limited release. A few years later it became a regular release, and gradually shed the Wild Turkey branding as it became its own line.

Of course the influence of Wild Turkey never really went anywhere given that it’s distilled and aged at Wild Turkey and is named after its Master Distiller Jimmy Russell, who says this 10 year bourbon is the spirit he drinks most regularly. The 10 year “small batch” spirit is bottled at 90-proof and sells for around $30 (I picked up a bottle for $32).

Russell’s Reserve 10 is a dark, amber-colored bourbon that shows a good bit of vanilla sweetness along with soft oak and hints of dried fruit. It has a rich mouthfeel that tingles the palate with lots of dry woodiness, cinnamon spice, roasted nuts, and only hints of sweetness. The finish is long with more oak and candied flavors.

It’s a fine spirit for the price and one that is very approachable, yet with enough complexity to keep even the discerning palate interested. I tasted some side by side with the barrel strength Wild Turkey Rare Breed (essentially just a different expression of the same mash bill) and, even accounting for the difference in proof, found the Russell’s Reserve more rounded and refined.

That refined complexity makes Russell’s Reserve Small Batch 10 Year perfect for mild- and medium-bodied smokes. I found the EPC Short Run 2012 a perfect pairing. For something more medium-bodied, I enjoyed the Viaje Late Harvest.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

The original 107 blend has been one of La Aurora’s most popular releases. It’s no surprise, then, that the Dominican’s oldest cigar maker opted to add a maduro variety.

A select number of tobacconists currently carry the La Aurora 107 Maduro line, and many more are expected to start stocking it in July (to coincide with this year’s IPCPR Trade Show). Four sizes will be on the market: Robusto (4.5 x 50), Toro (5.5 x 54), Belicoso (6.25 x 52), and Corona (5.5 x 43).

Rumors have swirled about the 107 Maduro, which was supposed to have debuted a lot closer to 2010—the year La Aurora released the original 107 line. Will the Maduro use the exact same tobacco as the original, just with a differently fermented wrapper? Are production delays due to the wrapper not burning properly? Who exactly will be carrying this cigar?

We now know the makeup of the final iteration of the 107 Maduro. It has the same Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers, and the same Dominican corojo binder, but this time it’s finished in a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. (The original 107 sports an Ecuadorian wrapper.)

I sampled three Robustos for this review, each provided to me by Miami Cigar & Co. This stout format comes complete with a dark, moderately veined wrapper with a fair amount of oils and potent pre-light notes of powdered cocoa and damp earth. A simple punch cut yields an easy draw on the firm stick.

The flavor starts with a flurry of coffee and black pepper spice that’s highly concentrated on the tip of the tongue. The texture is coarse and the foot burns hot. Despite this powerful introduction, the resting smoke is creamy with a fair amount of sweetness.

The appeal of the resting smoke turns out to be a prelude to the Robusto’s quick transition to a slightly mellower profile. At the half-inch mark, the base of pepper and coffee starts to get complemented by some sweet and creamy flavors. This renders the cigar somewhere between medium- to full-bodied, and that’s about where it stays until the finale.

For around $7, this is a solid maduro—albeit somewhat lacking in complexity or nuance. The physical properties aren’t stellar (the burn requires several touch-ups to stay even and the white ash has a tendency to be flaky) yet the overall smoking experience is enjoyable. I liked the La Aurora 107 Maduro Robusto, though I can’t say I’ll be jumping at the chance to smoke it again real soon. All this adds up to a rating of three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I’m writing this on an unseasonably mild, sunny afternoon as I smoke a Tatuaje Fausto Avion 11. On the one hand, it offers a nearly perfect example of how a pleasant experience can enhance the enjoyment of a cigar. But the reverse is also true: A very good cigar makes a good time even better.

I began to wonder a bit about what it is that I find so enticing about Avion. I smoked them fairly regularly after discovering them shortly their release, but it has been months since my last. This stick has probably been sitting in my humidor for at least a year. I can’t say, however, that time had much effect, at least that I could detect. Other than losing much of its box-pressed shape, the lovely perfecto didn’t seem noticeably different from those I have smoked right out of the box

Of course, it has characteristics common to many Tatuajes I like. Strength, pepper, complexity, to name a few of the most obvious. Thinking more, though, I believe the characteristic that it—and other cigars I prefer most—embodies is one that’s easier to name than to explain: smoothness.

There is no bite, no kick, no harshness in the smoke or in the finish. The tobacco, from first to last, comes across as well-aged and fermented. The flavors, some subtle and some bold, are part of a cohesive blend that is as tightly woven as braided rope. It is without sharp edges or deep troughs.

Smoothness can be present in a cigar anywhere along the strength spectrum, from mild to full, and regardless of size, from a lancero to a thick smoke. It represents, for me, what sets the best apart from the rest. Sort of my Unified Field Theory of Cigars.

Creating these cigars can’t be easy, though there are quite a few blenders and manufacturers who do it regularly with aplomb. And those of us who get to enjoy them on a lovely afternoon are truly the lucky ones.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

All of us at StogieGuys.com would like to wish you a very happy Memorial Day. Aside from remembering the brave men and women who have fought and died for our country, we’re taking the day off to barbeque, relax, and smoke a few cigars. We suggest you do the same.

In the meantime, feel free to sign up for our seventh anniversary cigar giveaway (details here). We’re giving away seven fantastic prizes to seven different readers. We’re announcing the winners at the end of the month, so there’s still time to make sure you have a chance to win.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: flickr (CC)

This month marks the seventh anniversary of StogieGuys.com as a daily web-magazine devoted to cigar rights, reviews, tips, and news. To celebrate, we’re giving away seven spectacular prizes over the course of seven days to seven different readers. All of the prizes have been generously furnished by some of our favorite cigar makers.

Today’s prize comes courtesy of our friends at Tesa, a Chicago-based boutique run by Chris Kelly with a portfolio of blends that have long been favorites of StogieGuys.com. We’re giving away a box of 13 Tesa Series Gran Cru cigars. This is a “stout, refined blend” with a criollo ’98 maduro wrapper around Nicaraguan tobaccos.

To enter to win this prize, visit this page and register. You’ll get additional entries for following StogieGuys.com on Twitter and Facebook. You can also get more entries by Tweeting about the contest (once per day) and by commenting on the posts (like today’s) announcing the prizes (one entry per day, please).

In addition, in order to be eligible you must be signed up to our free email list, where we’ll be announcing the seven winners at the end of the month.

Special thanks to Tesa and the other six participating cigar makers for making this seventh anniversary giveaway possible. And thank you for your loyal readership of StogieGuys.com. We wish you the best of luck!

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Tesa Cigar Co.

This month marks the seventh anniversary of StogieGuys.com as a daily web-magazine devoted to cigar rights, reviews, tips, and news. To celebrate, we’re giving away seven spectacular prizes over the course of seven days to seven different readers. All of the prizes have been generously furnished by some of our favorite cigar makers.

Today’s prize comes courtesy of our friends at Prometheus. It includes a Prometheus 20th Anniversary Magma T White Lacquer Lighter (MSRP $89.95) and a box of 10 God of Fire Serie B Robusto cigars (MSRP $210.00). (See our review of the Double Robusto here).

To enter to win this prize, visit this page and register. You’ll get additional entries for following StogieGuys.com on Twitter and Facebook. You can also get more entries by Tweeting about the contest (once per day) and by commenting on the posts (like today’s) announcing the prizes (one entry per day, please).

In addition, in order to be eligible you must be signed up to our free email list, where we’ll be announcing the seven winners at the end of the month.

Special thanks to Prometheus and the other six participating cigar makers for making this seventh anniversary giveaway possible. And thank you for your loyal readership of StogieGuys.com. We wish you the best of luck!

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Prometheus