The Stogie Guys

Read through the articles in the StogieGuys.com A-Z Guide to Rye and you’ll notice lots of references to Indiana rye (LDI/MPGI/Seagram’s are just a few of the  operation’s names). As complete a list as I know of companies that sell their ryes is available here, but some of the best-known include Bulleit, Templeton, George Dickel, Angel’s Envy, Willett, and High West (though the latter two also have other sources for their rye).

While some of the companies that sell MPGI products obscure the source, MPG Ingredients, as the former Seagram’s distillery is now known, is very upfront about what it offers. Aside from its 95% rye mashbill, it has recently added two additional rye recipes with lesser rye contents.

The biggest reason MPGI’s rye is so ubiquitous is, at a time when rye is hot, MPGI actually has a significant amount of aged stock to sell. In my opinion, a second and nearly as important reason is that the 95% rye is quite drinkable at a relatively young age, with much of it presumably bottled at between two and five years of age.

This makes the Smooth Ambler’s Old Scout offering a little different. The 99-proof rye features a 7-year age statement, which sets it apart from other widely available Indiana ryes.

The result is a copper-tinted whiskey with citrus, candied fruit, and light oak. The palate has good wood spice, but also deep bourbon-esque sweetness and floral notes. The finish has some pickle brine and orange peel.

Pair it with a medium-bodied cigar like an Arturo Fuente King T Rosado Sun Grown, Bolivar Royal Corona (Cuban), Tatuaje Black, or RoMa Craft Intemperance.

At $40 a bottle, Old Scout Rye is a nice value with enough complexity to be enjoyed neat, but it also makes a nice Manhattan. It’s not as brash as Bulleit (one of my favorite value ryes) but the age gives it more woodiness and depth of flavor.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This cigar isn’t so much a smoke as a commitment.

With a whopping 66-ring gauge and measuring 6.5 inches long, you’d be forgiven for worrying that El Diablo might become El Aburrido. Not a problem; it’s not a boring cigar, though it is certainly a long-lasting one.

The multi-nation tobacco blend leads to a complex, enjoyable smoke. The wrapper is Ecuadorian Sumatra, the binder a Connecticut broadleaf, and Honduran, Nicaraguan, and Dominican leaves comprise the filler.

Each year General Cigar tweaks the lineup for this annual release, and for 2014 it added two sizes: El Diablo for the regular cast and the Rare Lapiz figurado as a limited edition.

The price for El Diablo is $8.25, tops for the line. Online discounters advertise 20-count boxes for about $120. General provided two samples for this review.

Both performed excellently, though getting an even, thorough light takes considerable time and attention, as it often does with big-ring cigars. El Diablo, packed with tobacco and heavy in the hand, had a fine draw, even burn, and great smoke production.

The oily, reddish wrapper is smooth, displaying few veins and giving off a sweet pre-light aroma. The first flavors I got were the leather and earth I often associate with Honduran tobacco. They were joined by a light coffee taste and a bit of spice. Along the way, there are also hints of cocoa, nuts, and burned sugar.

I’d rate the strength as medium. Aging potential would seem to be good in the short term, though I wouldn’t be inclined to let them go more than a couple of years for fear too much might dissipate.

While I can’t claim to have smoked the Rare Corojo annually since its 2001 reincarnation, I have sampled them off and on through the years. The 2015 El Diablo strikes me as perhaps the best I can recall, smoother and more complex than in previous years.

Combined with its relatively low price, El Diablo’s easy to recommend. I know I plan to try other sizes as well. I rate El Diablo three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–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.”

When it was first released a few years ago, the Undercrown Flying Pig was only sold in Europe. Now Liga Privada retailers in the U.S. are able to carry the zeppelin-shaped perfecto. The $12 cigar features the Undercrown’s characteristicly oily Mexican wrapper around a slightly tweaked blend. The result is a very rich combination of coffee, dry chocolate, and woody spice. It starts out medium-full bodied but ramps up as the cigar progresses. While I slightly prefer the Corona Viva size of the Undercrown line (especially taking price into account), this is still an excellent, flavorful cigar.

Verdict = Buy.

–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.”

Six months ago I bought a five-pack of J.D. Howard Reserve HR52s (6 x 52), finding them, at the time, to be neither enamoring nor enchanting. Half a year may not be ample time to change a cigar, but I nonetheless decided to fire up the last stick from the pack to see how it had developed. This time around, the Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder, and Nicaraguan filler combined to yield a profile that’s slightly more subdued. The creamy nutiness is more apparent, and the sour, meaty notes are a little less pronounced. The J.D. Howard Reserve HR52 is definitely better with some modest age, but I still think the $10 price tag is high for what this toro brings to the table.

Verdict = Hold.

–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) Tom Wolf, the governor of Pennsylvania, has included in his 2015 budget proposal a state cigar tax of 40% of the wholesale value. Along with Florida, the Keystone State is currently the only state without a cigar tax, which is why a disproportionate number of online cigar wholesalers call Pennsylvania home, including Famous Smoke Shop, Holt’s, and Cigar’s International. “A lot of these retailers have threatened to move to Florida, which is the capital of the premium cigar industry,” said Greg Zimmerman, president of the Pennsylvania Retail Association for Premium Cigars, to The Patriot-News. “If there was to be this onerous tax of 40 percent on the wholesale it would put us above all neighboring states and drive businesses out of Pennsylvania.” In 2010, Gov. Ed Rendell proposed a 30% tax on cigars that was ultimately voted down.

2) Here are some more details on an item from last week’s sampler. Later this year, the largest Davidoff store in the world—5,000 square feet—will open in Tampa. Called “Davidoff of Geneva–Since 1911,” the location will feature “a completely humidified store filled with premium cigar retail space, multiple lounges both indoor and out, private lockers, as well as an elegant full-service bar serving premium alcoholic beverages,” according to a press release. “This will be the company’s first licensed flagship store outside of Las Vegas.” Jeff and Tanya Borysiewicz of Corona Cigar Co. are partnering with Davidoff in the venture.

3) Inside the Industry: Altadis U.S.A. is releasing “Romeo by Romeo y Julieta Aging Room,” a limited release slated for April that is being made for Altadis by Boutique Blends, an up-and-coming boutique-oriented Dominican cigar company. The cigar, which also will carry the name “Small Batch F25,” is a Dominican puro currently being rolled at Tabacalera La Palma, the Dominican Republic factory where Boutique Blends makes all of its offerings.

4) Deal of the Week: This $26, 5-cigar sampler will save you over 30% off retail price, plus you get free shipping on your entire order. Included is one each of the Avo Heritage Short Robusto, La Aurora 107 Robusto, Gran Vida Habano Corona Extra, E.P. Carrillo Cardinal 56, and the Kristoff Ceniza de Plata Gordo.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

Discerning cigar smokers still flinch at memories of the cigar boom of the mid ’90s. From 1993 to 1997, annual handmade cigar imports skyrocketed from under 100 million to well over 400 million.

The result wasn’t good for consumers. Many established manufacturers couldn’t ramp up production while still meeting quality standards, and lesser quality “Don Nobody” brands flooded the market.

Good cigars were suddenly difficult or sometimes impossible to find, while poor and mediocre cigars were being sold for high prices. From the perspective of consumers for whom cigar smoking was more than a fad, the bursting of this cigar bubble was a good thing, even if it took a few years for things to stabilize.

For the industry, the boom wasn’t so bad. First off, they sold a lot of cigars in the peak of the boom, and the smart ones had enough foresight to be ready to weather the coming bust.

The longer-term benefits to the industry were the lessons learned. Cigar makers are rightfully weary of sacrificing quality for quantity, even as total handmade cigar production has crept up towards mid-boom numbers.

So, at some point, the question has to be asked: Are handmade cigars approaching another bubble that’s about to burst? There are good reasons to think not, but maybe some warning signs too. First off, the growth has been far more steady this time. Also, you don’t hear as much from industry types about a coming end to boom times, which I’m told was seen by many as almost inevitable during the mid ’90s, even if the exact timing or speed of the collapse were largely unanticipated. The counter is that it’s hardly unusual for bursting bubbles to not be anticipated by most people in them, otherwise people wouldn’t lose so much money in those bubbles.

One of the things that worries me is the ever-increasing price of new cigars, especially the increasing number of cigars sold by companies that aren’t themselves cigar makers. Many of these cigars are of good quality, but they don’t always offer particularly good value for smokers, in part because they have to buy their cigars before they sell them to retailers.

Then there are the pending potential shocks to the established cigar industry. FDA regulation has the potential to wipe out numerous brands introduced in the past few years. Other possible market-shattering events include the full end of the Cuban Embargo, or a natural disaster striking a major growing region.

I don’t want to bum anyone out here, but cautious optimism is usually a more intelligent outlook than unrestrained exuberance. While a collapse like the cigar industry saw after the peak of the ’90s cigar boom seems unlikely, industries don’t usually grow forever.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

It’s easy to root for a guy like Noel Rojas. Three years ago, when he moved to Nicaragua from Miami, he made cigars out of his house—with the garage serving as tobacco storage, the dining room reserved for sorting, and a bedroom repurposed as an aging room.

Today, Rojas’ company, called Guayacan, is part of the House of Emilio, which also includes 1502, Bodega, Epicurean, Ezra Zion, and Nomad Cigar Co. His core line is simply called Guayacan, which sports an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. He also makes a Mexican San Andrés-wrapped Guayacan Maduro—as well as a few cigars for other brands—out of his newly constructed Tabacalera Aromas de Jalapa factory in Estelí.

Last summer Rojas added Sabor de Estelí to the Guayacan portfolo. Spanish for “flavor of Estelí,” the line comes in two variations: an oval-shaped Habano and a box-pressed Maduro. Each, as you would expect, features Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos, with the former wrapped in Ecuadorian Habano and the latter in a Mexican San Andrés leaf.

Sabor de Estelí Habano is offered in four sizes: Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 52), Gordo (6 x 60), and Corona (6.5 x 42). The Robusto retails for about $8 and has a highly textured wrapper with plenty of tooth and moderate oils. The feel is a little spongy and the cold draw is smooth. Pre-light, the foot exhibits rich notes of dark chocolate, mole sauce, and damp earth. I find the highly traditional, colorful band to be attractive and a nice complement to the dark wrapper.

From the outset, the Robusto produces a spicy, dense flavor with notes ranging from cayenne, black pepper, and cedar, all balanced by some sweetness and a bready component that reminds me of flour tortilla. The texture is leathery, and the finish is a heavy dose of dark roasted coffee bean. At times, I also pick up cream, peanut, and cocoa. I’d classify the body as medium to medium-full.

The samples I smoked for this review, provided to me free of charge by Emilio Cigars, burned beautifully. I ran into no problems with the burn line, draw, smoke production, or ash.

Over time, I hypothesize the Sabor de Estelí Habano Robusto might mellow out. Personally, though, I love the spice-forward flavor this cigar brings to the table now, and I’m not sure I’d want to sacrifice any of that kick. Teeming with taste and abundant in complexity, the Robusto leaves me wanting more by the time I reach the nub—and that’s one of the better compliments I can pay a cigar. I will be buying more for my own personal enjoyment, and I award this excellent smoke four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys