The Stogie Guys

StogieGuys.com is once again on location in Estelí, Nicaragua. We’ll return to our daily coverage of the world of cigars on Thursday, April 10. 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

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.”

Since we’re headed to visit Drew Estate in Estelí today, I thought I’d try out the blend I made during last year’s visit. Truth be told, I don’t remember exactly what the blend is (I have it written somewhere), but I remember it has the same stalk-cut Connecticut Habano wrapper as the Liga Privada T-52 and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. I also selected an unusual size (6.5 x 46) with a pigtail cap and closed foot. As for flavor, the medium-bodied blend features plenty of classic Habano notes of warm tobacco, bread, and wood with hints of coffee and clove. It’s pretty simplistic and hardly a masterpiece, though it is well-constructed and balanced. Still, there’s a reason you won’t be seeing Drew Estate put this blend into production.

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.”

I’ve smoked a handful of Camacho cigars since the brand’s re-launch and have yet to find one I enjoy nearly as much as I did when they were leading the full-bodied charge years ago. Unfortunately, the Corojo Robusto (5 x 50) continues that streak. This Honduran puro, with a $7 price tag, is powerful but one-dimensional with not much in the way of flavor.

Verdict = Sell.

–George E

photo credit: Camacho Cigars

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) For the third time in three years, next week StogieGuys.com will be on location at Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari. The four-day pilgrimage takes place in Estelí, a city in northern Nicaragua that has become a mecca of tobacco cultivation and premium cigar production. Its prominence in the industry has grown considerably in recent years; imports from Nicaragua grew 15% in 2013—an achievement that has the Central American nation on pace to surpass the Dominican Republic as the largest provider of premium cigars to the U.S. market. Patrick A and Patrick S will once again be on hand to learn from cigar icons like Jonathan Drew, visit tobacco processing facilities, walk cigar factory floors, and get a behind-the-scenes look at one of the industry’s most exciting companies. And, of course, we’ll return with lots of content and information to share with you. Before we depart on Sunday, feel free to leave comments on this post with any questions you’d like us to ask while we’re there.

2) La Palina’s “Mr. Sam” is transitioning from an 850-box limited run to a regular production series in the La Palina portfolio. Crafted in Miami at El Titan de Bronze with an Ecuadorian wrapper around Nicaraguan tobaccos, it will be offered in three vitolas: Corona, Robusto, and Toro. The line is named for Samuel Paley, who founded La Palina in 1896.

3) Inside the Industry: Nicaragua took another step towards surpassing the Dominican Republic in cigar imports to the United States. According to Cigar Association of America numbers (published first in Cigar Insider) Nicaragua produced 15% more cigars in 2013 than it did in 2012. Dominican production was flat, while Honduras was down slightly. If the rates of growth remains the same in 2014 then Nicaraguan would surpass the Dominican Republic.

4) Deal of the Week: The Stogie Guys Sampler at Corona Cigar Co. was recently updated. Just $30 gets you 7 cigars, including an Undercrown and the limited Avo Lounge cigar.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A New Jersey bill currently under consideration represents a new type of anti-tobacco legislation.The proposed law, introduced March 24, would tax all advertising for tobacco products at a rate of 25%.

While a number of states are considering expanded smoking bans and increased tobacco taxes, the New Jersey law would be the first time a state would tax tobacco advertising. New Jersey already taxes cigars at a rate of 30% of the wholesale price and has a $2.70 per-pack tax on cigarettes, the sixth highest in the country.

Advertising directed at children is already regulated, so the ads this bill targets are for adults who can legally purchase cigars and other tobacco products. Revenue raised from the tax would go towards state funding of programs to prevent the use of tobacco products including electronic cigarettes.

Analysis

The bill only has four sponsors out of an 80-member General Assembly. And no companion bill has been introduced in the New Jersey Senate.

Given the current support, it is unlikely it will pass this term, but it should be a warning for advocates of cigar freedom. Anti-tobacco zealots are not happy just taxing tobacco; they also want to silence speech targeted at adults for tobacco products, or at least tax that speech and use the revenue to counter the message.

The proposed legislation also raises free speech issues since it targets one specific viewpoint for a tax and uses it for a message (anti-tobacco advocacy) that would presumably be opposed by those paying the tax. Generally, courts have found laws that target or limit a specific viewpoint to be a violation of First Amendment free speech protections.

It isn’t clear how the bill would apply to national publications where advertising happens to reach New Jersey audiences, but isn’t specifically targeted to them, which would include sites like StogieGuys.com. Further, the proposed tax would likely hit more dynamic and innovative types of tobacco particularly hard, which would include premium cigars where new products utilize advertising to fight for consumer attention.

Even though passage of this tobacco speech tax may not be likely immediately, this is a disturbing new type of anti-tobacco legislation that cigar smokers should be wary of. In the past, far too often seemingly unique and farfetched anti-tobacco proposals have become mainstream only a few years later.

–Patrick S

photo credit: wikipedia

When I first saw the Nirvana on the shelves of the tobacconist near me, I was confused. I hadn’t heard anything about these cigars up until I saw them, and as someone who is very active on tobacco blogs (not to mention someone who works somewhat in the industry), that’s pretty rare for me. So, imagine my delight when I stumbled upon a beautiful new Cameroon smoke from Drew Estate with absolutely no warning.

This cigar is truly beautiful, too. The Cameroon wrapper is a really nice shade of reddish-brown, with a light tint, and the gold bands on the cigar make it stand out. I really like Cameroon wrappers. In fact, I think they’re underused, but I understand that some find them too delicate. If you’re one of those smokers, you should still be excited about the Nirvana, which is made by Drew Estate exclusively for Royal Gold Cigars (the premium cigar division of Swisher International, Inc.). Drew Estate has stated that their intention with this blend is to match the sweet earthy complexities of a Cameroon smoke with the strength, boldness, and spice of the Nicaraguan fillers. On top of this, the cigar has some Honduras filler with a Mexican San Andreas binder.

I clipped the cigar and it lit very easily with a single-flame torch. The first thing I noticed was the amount of smoke. Similar to the Undercrown or T52, the smoke off this cigar is like a small signal fire. Well, maybe not that bad, but I was the only one smoking in our twelve-person lounge when I lit up, and I needed to turn on the exhaust system. This smoke is not harsh or heavy, though, it’s very smooth and pleasant. I wouldn’t quite call it creamy, but it’s close.

About an inch into the cigar that typical Cameroon sweetness came in, with notes of earth and coffee in the background. All of these were complimented by a very long, enjoyable, spicy finish. The flavors on this are hard to pin down, because there are so many, but these are the main ones. As the cigar continues the spice dies down and the Cameroon flavors become stronger and more pronounced. Throughout all of it, though, the cigar maintains a perfect balance—as one flavor moves forward, others fade to the background to allow specific points to have their spotlight.

This cigar is easily my favorite smoke I’ve enjoyed in 2014. There is something to love here for everyone. While the cigar is a bit more expensive than average, weighing in about $10, it is absolutely worth it. Seek this smoke out if you can. With that being said, I’m going to have to award it a four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Joey J

photo credit: Stogie Guys

General Cigar recently unveiled two new blends that will fall under its Partagas 1845 brand. One, Partagas 1845 Extra Oscuro, is for online and catalog retailers. The other, Partagas 1845 Extra Fuerte, is for brick-and-mortar shops.

Releasing two similarly branded cigars (one for cigar shops, the other for online/catalog) seems to be a new strategy General Cigar is embracing, since they did something similar with La Gloria Cubana Serie R Black/Serie R Estelí. The idea, I suspect, is to protect cigar shops from online competition and vice versa, while having the branding, packaging, and profile be similar enough that each benefits from the publicity and marketing of the other.

In the always competitive world of premium cigars, if it provides even a small advantage then it’s good strategy, though I think the risk is that it can be confusing for consumers who shop both in-person and by mail-order. Unless they are side by side, they look very similar: the Extra Fuerte has a black and silver band, while the Extra Oscuro has a dark purple and silver band, with a darker oscuro wrapper.

The Partagas 1845 Extra Fuerte features a four-country blend with an oily Ecuadorian Habano ligero warpper and an unusual Habano Connecticut binder. The filler uses Dominican Piloto Cubano and three types of Nicaraguan tobacco identified only as “Gurdian, Estelí, and ASP”.

It comes in four sizes: Robusto Gordo (5.5 x 52), Gigante (6 x 60), Double Corona (7.5 x 54), and Supremo (7 x 58). Each comes in 20-count boxes with suggested retail prices ranging from $7.49 to $8.49 per cigar. I smoked three of the Robusto Gordo size for this review, all of which were provided as samples by the manufacturer.

The cigar lives up to its “extra fuerte” name with a full-bodied combination of deep flavors. It’s dominated by woody notes, namely dried oak and char, but there are also black coffee and clove spices. While it’s a little sharp and slightly unbalanced at first, but rounds out nicely during the second half.

General Cigar has been using more and more Nicaraguan tobacco in their new blends, and I think the results have been very good. Like the La Gloria Serie R Estelí, the Partagas 1845 Extra Fuerte ramps up the flavor and body, but without betraying the identity of the original. The Extra Fuerte went well with some Zaya Gran Reserva 12 Year.

With flawless construction, full-bodied flavors, and a fair price point, there’s a lot to like about the newest blend to carry the historic Partagas name. That earns the Partagas 1845 Extra Fuerte Robusto Gordo a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys