The Stogie Guys

On Monday I kicked off our coverage of our recent pilgrimage to Estelí with a focus on Drew Estate’s plans for expansion and dedication to quality control. Today I’ll delve into the Nicaraguan company’s new pre-industry facility, which they’ve dubbed “DE2.”

Officially unveiled in January, DE2 is a 60,000+ square foot, $4 million building that was erected directly across the street from La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate. Whereas the company was previously renting smaller facilities around Estelí to process, ferment, age, and sort the tobacco it purchases, those operations have now been expanded and centralized in DE2. Nicholas Melillo led most of our tour of the facility.

Currently Drew Estate has enough tobacco within the building to support two years of cigar making; Jonathan Drew aims to increase the supply to about four years. This will enable the company to withstand pricing pressures from its tobacco suppliers—a critical strategy especially with A.S.P. tobacco, which is in high demand.

Speaking of tobacco suppliers, Drew Estate doesn’t grow any of its own tobacco, save for this small “experimental” field adjacent to DE2. But Jonathan Drew assured us that, within a few years, “you can count on Drew Estate being one of the largest tobacco growers in Nicaragua.” Such vertical integration represents a major shift in strategy for the company.

The basement of DE2 houses 300,000 pounds of tobacco (roughly $5-6 million) in pilones undergoing fermentation. It is equipped with state-of-the-art temperature gauges and fire prevention technology. One of the tobaccos aging here is a new Florida Sun Grown leaf that we’ll have more details on in the coming days.

The land next to DE2 (which can be seen across the experimental field through the employee cafeteria) is also owned by Drew Estate. It is the likely site of DE3—another facility that will almost certainly be needed if the company is to meet its goals for expansion.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

San Lotano cigars have been a hit for A.J. Fernandez, and this extension seems certain to keep the line high on the charts. The Bull lives up to its billing as a more powerful smoke, while maintaining an inviting, smooth balance. The Bull was originally distributed by the parent company of Cigars International, but has since joined the rest of the San Lotano lines offered through A.J. Fernandez Cigar’s regular distribution channels.

The filler is from Fernandez’s fields in Nicaragua, as is the binder. They’re rolled in a fine-looking dark brown Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper that is encased in a cedar sleeve stamped with the silhouette of a bull’s head.

The Robusto, one of the three introductory vitolas, sports a hefty 54 ring gauge with the typical length of 5 inches. Befitting the premium price tag of $9.60, it’s also decked out with a black cloth foot band and is lightly box-pressed.

I haven’t come across these locally yet; the two I smoked for this review arrived in my mailbox as part of a Fernandez sampler.

I’m a fan of cedar spills and it seemed appropriate to use The Bull sleeves to light the cigars. It was a good way to start. The natural cedar mixed with an explosion of flavors that included spice in the back of the throat, some floral notes, and a pleasant metallic tone.

About halfway through, The Bull took on a darker taste. There was less spice, and the floral notes were gone, replaced by a rich tobacco fullness. But spice reappeared in the final third as the cigar continued to evolve.

Construction in the two samples was excellent, as was the burn and dark gray ash. And it’s hard to imagine a cigar producing more smoke.

Near the end, The Bull did get a bit harsh, signaling time to let it go.

For those who enjoy a full-bodied cigar, this is one you shouldn’t miss. I give the San Lotano The Bull Robusto a strong recommendation and four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Last week Patrick S and I were on location in Estelí, Nicaragua, to attend Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari. In the coming days we’ll have lots of content to share with you—including dozens of photos, a new premium tobacco being grown in Florida, and a behind-the-scenes look at “DE2.” But today I’ll start with the high-level highlights about our host.

It’s worth pointing out that Drew Estate is now producing around 100,000 cigars per day. To put this in perspective, even though there’s no such thing as the “typical” cigar factory, the median for cigar factories could be considered to be around 35,000 cigars per day.

Jonathan Drew admitted to the challenges associated with such high production. Drew Estate needs to hire more supervisors and more employees for the quality control room. Currently, the company is purposefully rejecting a higher percentage of cigars at each level of the process—a decision that’s less than optimal for profit maximization. But it’s clear Drew Estate will not compromise on quality control.

Eventually, as the organization acclimates to its accelerated levels of production, the percentage of rejects is expected to drop to an acceptable level. This acclimation includes promoting more standouts to supervisor rolls, hiring more staff, and even knocking down walls in the factory to improve flow and reduce accidental cigar damage.

Jonathan Drew seems to be grappling with the reality that his role is to make business decisions for the company. He is more of a corporate executive than a cigar blender or tobacco man. Nicholas Melillo, on the other hand, is redoubling his efforts in many areas he shared with Steve Saka (before Saka’s departure). These include tobacco purchases, overseeing the aging and fermentation processes, and working on blending.

Willy Herrera will be expanding his Herrera Estelí line with a Lancero. We saw the prototype on Drew Estate’s main rolling floor. He also has a whole new line in the works called Herrera Norteño, which will make use of Mexican tobacco. Willy continues to be an imposing, soft-spoken presence.

Part of Drew Estate’s expansion includes ensuring enough room to age cigars post-production before they are shipped. Interestingly, the room currently used for this purpose is colder than you might expect. That’s because Drew Estate has found that cold aging is similar to the “low and slow” rule of barbeque. Aging takes longer at a colder temperature, but the end result is superior. However, with Liga 9 in particular, they’ve found less aging produces a better result, so that blend is spending less time in this room.

Here are a few other nuggets of information about Drew Estate that are worth mentioning:

— Despite rumors that the company purposefully depresses production of Liga 9 to drive up price, Jonathan Drew once again assured us that he is making as much of the blend as possible. The key constraint is the availability of certain tobaccos. Again, the theme here is that quality will not be compromised.

— Drew Estate considers its main competitors to be Arturo Fuente, Davidoff, General Cigar, and Altadis—not small boutique brands.

— The cigar bubble burst of the late ’90s was, in a way, a blessing for Drew Estate. Falling demand meant the up-and-coming company had access to better tobacco than they might have otherwise been able to purchase.

Later on this week, I’ll report specifically on Drew Estate’s new pre-industry facility, which they’ve dubbed “DE2,” and what the enormous building means for the company. For now, I welcome your comments and questions.

–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.”

Oliva’s Master Blend line was introduced to give the manufacturer a premium offering in addition to its highly successful, more modestly priced cigars. Master Blends 3, a Nicaraguan puro with a splotchy sun-grown broadleaf wrapper and ligero filler, continues to fulfill that expectation. Back in 2010, my colleague gave the Churchill four stogies, and I wouldn’t disagree. Running about $10.50, it is a classic example of well-aged and fermented tobacco that is as smooth as a glass-bottom boat. My only reservation is the length. I can’t help but wonder whether the Robusto might be a better—and shorter—showcase.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

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.”

Normally an event-only cigar, I received this edition of Intemperance’s Ecuador Connecticut cigar while visiting the small Nica Sueño factory in Estelí, where the RoMa Craft cigars are made. Interestingly, this is the vitola (5 x 56) that RoMa Craft uses while creating its blends, which you could say makes it the purest example of what its creators intend smokers to experience. The medium-bodied cigar features cedar, roasted nuts, and hints of spice. Construction is flawless. I’ll admit that at first I didn’t think the Intemperance lines were quite as good as the original RoMa Craft Cromagnon and Acquitaine lines, but slowly I’ve come to appreciate them just as much.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

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) Iconic Leaf has announced an extension to its Recluse line of cigars called Amadeus. Select retailers will receive pre-IPCPR shipments of the product, which features a Connecticut-seed Ecuadorian shade wrapper, a proprietary binder, and a filler combination of Dominican and Connecticut tobaccos. A press release issued by Iconic Leaf describes Amadeus as “rich and flavorful with a smoothness that is undeniably Recluse.” There will be six vitolas—three box-pressed, and three of the Sidewinder variety (a format pioneered by Iconic Leaf that’s a flattened oval with a slight box press and a bit of a taper at the cap). Amadeus appears to be the company’s first attempt to capture some of the milder premium cigar market. Iconic Leaf launched a few years ago and has kept the identities of its principals private.

2) Customers of Pennsylvania-based online retailer Famous Smoke Shop may notice the recently introduced cigar brand search page. The tool enables browsing of all brands by alphabetical order, by strength, or by country of origin. According to a press release, “Famous Smoke Shop is excited to implement the new cigar brand search page to offer their customers an easier and more convenient way to shop to improve the overall shopping experience.”

3) Inside the Industry: D’Crossier is introducing a new line called Golden Blend Series featuring Nicaraguan and Dominican filler that is comprised 40% of tobacco aged for ten years. The Costa Rican-made cigar has an Ecuador wrapper and Costa Rican binder and comes in five sizes: Robusto, Torpedo, Taino (6.5 x 54), Churchill, and Double Corona.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews L’Atelier Extension de la Racine. Cigar Fan fires up a Cain Daytona. Cigar Inspector inspects the Punch Ninfas. Leaf Enthusiast checks out the Nica Rustica by Drew Estate.

5) Deal of the Week: Famous Smoke Shop has a variety of coupons available ranging from $10 or $20 off (orders of $100 and $200, respectively) to free five-packs and free boxes. The coupons can be combined with sale items or even constantly updating Cigar Monster deals.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Iconic Leaf

Hopefully, after my previous discussion on the different types of tobacco pipes, you were inspired to go pick one up. Now you’re probably realizing you need some tobacco. Well, today I’m going to discuss different types of tobaccos and some good beginner blends.

A quick disclaimer: This article is going to paint in very broad strokes. There are tons of different tobacco “genres,” but I’m going to focus here on the Big Three. This is not to say that they have more merit than the others, or that there is something inherently more important about them. They are simply the most common. Also, the blends that I recommend will be from my personal experience and opinion. If you don’t like them, or if you have another idea, please feel free to discuss it in the comments. Just know I am not trying to say these are the “best” blends; what I am saying is they are good, beginner-friendly representations of the larger groups they come from.

Virginia Tobaccos — Virginias are some of the most common tobaccos. If a blend is not pure Virginia, then it likely has some Virginia leaf in it. What’s great about Virginias is they come in all different shades. Mainly, there are “bright” and “matured” varieties. The difference here is in color and flavor. Bright Virginias are yellows and light brown, and taste sweet, with notes of hay and citrus very common. Matured, dark Virginias have a higher nicotine content and a much richer flavor (full palate sweetness, dark earthiness). There are also reddish Virginias, which seem to be a good in-between. Virginias tend to come in the flake format, or broken flake, which is a bit harder to prepare to smoke, so I’d recommend watching some videos on that before you attempt it (this is a topic we will cover later). For a lighter blend, I’d heartily recommend Orlik’s Golden Sliced, which has great lemon and citrus notes. For a darker version, try H.H. Matured Virginia from MacBaren.

English Tobaccos — This definition is a constant topic of debate, but used colloquially English blends refer to blends which feature latakia. Latakia is a leaf similar to fire-cured (for more info, see my review of the A.J. Fernandez Spectre), and tastes smoky and spicy. These are great tobaccos, but I would recommend you start with a tin containing only a slight amount of lat, to make sure you like it. Luckily, there’s a fantastic series of pipe tobacco which is just that: McClelland’s Frog Morton. Specifically, I’d recommend either the titular “Frog Morton” or “Frog Morton Across the Pond.” Across the Pond is a bit more intense, but still shouldn’t scare anyone away.

Aromatics — Much like flavored cigars, these are blends with something added to them. These are the pipe tobaccos most people associate with their grandfathers (if you ever want to figure out what your grandfather smoked, I’d bet money it was Middleton’s Cherry, which you can still find at drugstores today). Some aromatics are very goopy. What I mean is there’s a lot of flavoring added and they smoke very wet. Also, aromatics tend to “ghost” briar pipes (they leave their flavor in the pipe itself). Due to this, I only smoke aromatics in a corn cob. My favorite aromatics are currently Drew Estate’s Central Park Stroll, which has chocolate and fruit notes, and MacBaren’s Honey & Chocolate, which is the most chocolatey blend I’ve ever tasted (the honey, however, I don’t get).

These should be very accessible blends that will help you get into pipe smoking. If you try any of these, or if you’d like to hear reviews of them, or if you have other suggestions, let me know. Next time I’ll cover packing a pipe and avoiding tongue burn.

–Joey J

photo credit: N/A