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) In the sad contest to become the least tobacco-friendly state in the U.S., California lawmakers are aiming to further burden cigar consumers and retailers with yet another proposed tax hike. The latest maneuver comes courtesy of Kevin de León (pictured), a Democrat from Los Angeles. He is pushing to increase the excise tax on premium cigars by 85-95% to fund “yet-to-be-specified health programs and causes,” according to the Sacramento Bee.

2) John Ross, a friend of StogieGuys.com, has a shocking, must-read article at The Daily Caller about how the U.S. government plans to seize a $90,000 sailboat because it was found to be carrying 33 boxes of cigars off the shore of Puerto Rico. The boat’s owner, Jeff Southworth, maintains the cigars were Dominican-made knockoffs, not actual Cubans. Yet now he is in a legal mess that may result him losing the 46-foot boat. “Unlike with criminal forfeiture, where prosecutors target assets after a criminal conviction, civil forfeiture allows prosecutors to seize Southworth’s property without proving he committed a crime,” writes Ross. “The government doesn’t even have to charge him with one.”

3) Inside the Industry: 262 Cigars announced this week that their Revere Lancero is being shipped to retailers but their Seasonal Blend, originally scheduled for launch in the fall, is being delayed until 2014. Explaining their decision to delay the Seasonal Blend, 262 explained, “In this business, you can either force the tobacco to adhere to your schedule and release a mediocre product, or you can wait for the tobacco to be right and deliver a truly premium cigar to the market. We’ve learned to choose the latter, no matter what.”

4) Around the Blogs: Robby Ras smokes the Padrón 1964 Maduro. Stogie Fresh fires up the Ashton ESG 23 Year Salute. Cigar Fan lights up El Rey de Los Habanos. Cigar Chick checks out the Illusione Epernay. Stogie Review reviews the Los Regalos Quetzal by Emilio.

5) Deal of the Week: Ernesto Perez-Carrillo may have created the original boutique cigar, but two decades later he’s still making great sticks. This deal features two each of the EPC Core Line Natural and Maduro Torpedos for just $20 ($13 off MSRP).

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: sd22.senate.ca.gov

[Note: The following is one of a series of articles regarding StogieGuys.com’s recent visit to Nicaragua as part of Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari. Read all our Cigar Safari articles here.]

Visiting Drew Estate last week, one year after my prior visit, it would have been hard miss the company’s growth. According to Drew Estate CEO Steve Saka, the company is now the third largest premium cigar company in the United States behind only General Cigar and Altadis (as determined by the Cigar Association of America).

One year ago while visiting, I was told they were planning a large new “pre-industry” facility for fermentation, aging, and sorting tobacco. Today, the frame of a massive $3.7 million airplane hangar-like structure is standing (pictured above and below from each end). The plan is for it to be operational by this September and, if current projections are correct, it will be at 100% capacity by 2015.

Liga Privada capacity is increasing too. I was told the company shipped twice as many Ligas in 2012 as it did in 2011, and the number will increase again this year. Given that it can take two years for the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper to be ready, that’s significant.

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It’s been too long since the StogieGuys.com team published a new list of Gold Star Smokes. As you might recall, this special designation celebrates cigars that we feel are worthy of strong recommendations. They don’t necessarily have to be five stogie-rated—just commendable smokes we turn to time and again.

Co-Founder & Editor in Chief Patrick A

For years I’ve been singing the praises of the fantastic cigars at Tesa, a Chicago-based boutique with Chris Kelly at the helm. While Tesa creations can be a little pricey (justifiably so, in my opinion), the relatively new Picadura King Connecticut Robusto only costs $4-5. That makes it a bargain if you like complex, mild cigars to pair with morning coffee. Look for subtle, harmonious flavors of oak, sweet hay, cream, and roasted nuts. And the physical properties are perfect, which is what I’ve come to expect from all cigars from Tesa’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Co-Founder & Publisher Patrick S

Last week I was in Nicaragua visiting Drew Estate and the experience only heightened my appreciation of the Liga Privada No. 9 Robusto. Many people like this cigar when it’s hard to find (and usually it is), but I found myself with a virtually unlimited supply (at least for a few days). It didn’t make me like the cigar any less. If anything, the opposite. Smoking multiple Robustos each day, I thoroughly enjoyed the heavy, sometimes gritty texture it leaves on the palate, resulting in earth and dry chocolate flavors, with just the right amount of sweetness. Tasty, always well-constructed, and still unlike any other cigar available, it’s a Gold Star selection.

Tampa Bureau Chief George E

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As you’ve no doubt seen if you’ve been following StogieGuys.com on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram over the past week, I was fortunate enough to participate in Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari in Estelí for the second straight year.

Like last year, I want to thank all the fine folks at Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua for showing us an amazing time on the incredible trip, especially Jonathan Drew, Steve Saka, Willy Herrera, Juan Martínez, José Blanco, Mario Perez, Pedro Gomez, and Johnny Brooke.

I’ll share my specific thoughts on some exciting new developments from Drew Estate and Joya in the coming days but, first, I wanted to share some photos from my trip.

Drew Estate recently finished a new mural that greets visitors on Cigar Safari. You can see the old mural here.

We visited La Finca de Joya, a tobacco farm owned by Oliva Tobacco that supplies tobacco to Drew Estate and others. This field, with tobacco as far as the eye can see, is actually on the small size. One acre produces anywhere from 1,800 to 2,400 pounds of filler tobacco.

Steve Saka discusses the process of curing tobacco inside a curing barn. The process removes moisture from the leaves as the color changes from green to brown by controlling temperature and humidity. While the technique may vary, it usually takes around six weeks. Even the relatively small curing barn we visited can hold $150,000 worth of tobacco when full. (more…)

This is a terrific cigar, one I think you’ll enjoy smoking from the foot all the way down to the head, which is seven inches away.

For those who still think of Dominican cigars as a generally punch-less division, producing only the occasional hard-hitters like Opus X or some La Flor Dominicanas, it’s time for reconsideration.

This cigar has power. Not a heavyweight, but by no means a lightweight, either. Think Mayweather rather than Klitschko. It’s also nicely balanced and smooth. And the flavors are diverse. In fact, it’s about all you could ask for in a satisfying smoke, including a retail price of only $6.51 before taxes.

With many smokers these days opting for larger and larger ring gauges, lanceros aren’t among the most popular vitolas. Many lines eschew them altogether. That seems a shame because many cigars perform excellently with a small ring gauge, such as this 38, and a long barrel.

I didn’t detect much aroma on the pre-light or the cold draw. But when lit, I was hit with a cinnamon spice, quickly followed by citrus and fruit. That one-two combination continued through the first half or so, then the cinnamon drifted away and was replaced by the tastes of nuts and leather, again with the fruit components.

Construction was excellent and the draw was just right in those I smoked. And while smoking slowly is always best with any cigar, it can be absolutely critical with a lancero because of how rapidly the thin stick can overheat. I made an extra effort to slow down and it paid off.

Regular readers know I’m an Oliveros/Boutique Blends fan. This is another winner in its stable. I give it four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Oliveros Cigars

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.”

As the first release from Crowned Heads, the Four Kicks line garnered lots of attention and praise. Our own Patrick S, for example, has sung its praises more than once, including a 4.5-stogie rating for the Corona Gorda. So, I was quite excited when I finally got to try one recently, the six-inch Sublime. It is Nicaraguan filler and binder wrapped in Ecuadorian Habano. And I have to say it was as good as advertised. Smooth, tasty, medium strength, and excellently constructed (in Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s factory). Don’t pass it up.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Crowned Heads

StogieGuys.com is once again on location in Estelí, Nicaragua. We’ll return to our daily coverage of the world of cigars on Saturday, May 4. In the meantime, feel free to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, as well as via live Instagram updates:

Be sure to come back to StogieGuys.com next week as we share exciting content from our Cigar Safari, hosted by the fine folks of Drew Estate.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys