The 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 I first reviewed this cigar, I thought it might improve with age. It’s been six months, so I plucked one of the General Cigar-supplied samples from my humidor. It did have a bit better balance, but overall still isn’t one I’d reach for, even with online prices now several dollars below the $12.99 list. I have one left and plan to try it in another six months. But until I report again, I can’t really recommend it.

Verdict = Hold.

–George E

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) Relations between Washington and Havana have warmed of late, but the days of legal Cuban cigar sales in the U.S. probably aren’t approaching soon. That said, there’s a lot of legal jockeying and market positioning taking place now over brand names and trademarks, as reported in this recent article from Reuters. “‘Thousands of U.S. companies have registered… intellectual property in Cuba in anticipation of the day when they will be able to sell their products there. Cuban companies are doing exactly the same thing,’ said Michael Krinsky, a partner with Rabinowitz, Boudin, Standard, Krinsky & Lieberman. Cuba has already begun to penetrate the U.S. market using its European partner [Altadis] to churn out Cuban brand cigars made with non-Cuban tobacco, legally using the same names as its top domestic brands such as Montecristo and Romeo y Julieta. As a result, when the trade embargo ends, U.S. consumers could find themselves being offered multiple products: a pricier original Romeo y Julieta from Cuba alongside a more affordable non-Cuban variety.”

2) Espinosa Premium Cigars is reviving the old Murcielago brand that debuted six years ago and was made by Don José “Pepin” Garcia. Erik Espinosa had to reverse-engineer the blend since the Garcias never disclosed the recipe to him. The new Murcielago is said to have the same blend as the old one, but this time it is being crafted at Espinosa’s La Zona factory with updated packaging. The three box-pressed vitolas are expected to debut this summer.

3) Earlier this week, Major League Baseball’s website ran a story on the 146th anniversary of the first professional game, which was held in Cincinnati. For cigar fans, there’s a great photo, showing an ancient cutter adorned with a player and the legend Red Stocking Cigars.

4) Inside the Industry: Numbers released by the Cigar Association of America have cigar imports leveling off in 2014 (technically down 3.6 million cigars) after multiple years of steady significant growth. Both the Dominican Republic (126.5 million) and  Nicaragua (117.9 million) were down very slightly, while the third largest producer, Honduras (63.8 million), was up less than one percent. [Related: Cigar Renaissance or Unhealthy Bubble?]

5) Deal of the Week: Limited to 2,000 boxes of 10, the J.D. Howard Single Action 2015 LE by Crowned Heads will not likely last long. The petit lancero (6 x 38) uses a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder, and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. StogieGuys.com sponsors Smoke Inn and Emerson’s both have them in stock in 5- and 10-packs for $46 and $84, respectively.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

Like so many old bourbon brands, I.W. Harper has an interesting and complex story. Originally introduced in 1879, the brand was discontinued in the U.S. market around 1990 but continued to thrive in the Japanese market.

I.W. Harper is owned by Diageo, the largest spirits company in the world, but a company that has a long, though often puzzling, history in the American bourbon market. (It’s a history that is too long and complicated to recount here, but if you want the full story, I highly recommend Chuck Cowdery’s book Bourbon Strange.) Currently, Diageo’s American whiskey portfolio consists of George Dickel, Bulleit, and the Orphan Barrel series.

Now you can add two I.W. Harper bourbons to that list. A 15-year-old limited edition is coming soon, and a non-age statement version that will is arriving on shelves now. Today I look at the regular release, which sells for $35 per bottle.

The bourbon is a blend that, according to some reports, has at least a small amount of the 15-year-old bourbon. It is a light bronze color and made at the New Bernheim distillery, formerly owned by Diageo and now home to Heaven Hill (maker of Elijah Craig and Evan Williams). The nose is delicious and inviting with fresh corn, oak, and black cherry.

On the palate, I.W. Harper features buttered popcorn, caramel, subtle oak, and a bit of creaminess. The finish is very short and clean.

I.W. Harper is surprisingly lively for just 82-proof. At the price ($35) there are plenty of excellent other bourbons, but this one isn’t out of place. It doesn’t taste particularly old or young. Instead, it’s mostly just subtle, sweet, and clean. It may not be the first bourbon I’d recommend, but it will be pleasing for both the bourbon novice and the aficionado.

Pair it with a milder cigar, ideally one with some creaminess. I’d recommend the Illusione Singular 2014, Tesa Vintage Especial Rothchild, or Cuban Cohiba Behike.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Diageo

For many smokers, warm weather signals the time to find some lower-priced sticks that can be enjoyed while pursuing outdoor activities such as golf, fishing, or mowing the lawn.

My advice? Buy a box of La Aurora 1495 Churchills.

Forget the no-name bundles, seconds, factory throwouts, and all those others where you run a high risk of poor construction and inconsistency.

The 1495 delivers top construction and performance with four-alarm smoke production at bargain-basement prices. Just what you’d expect from La Aurora, which has been rolling cigars in the Dominican Republic since 1903.

Check several of the big online retailers, and you’ll find the 1495 at less than $70 for a cardboard box of 25. (Smaller sizes are even cheaper.)

With a ten-year history, this line combines tobacco from Ecuador (wrapper), the Dominican Republic (binder and filler), and Nicaragua and Peru (filler). It’s a smooth combination that creates a mild to medium strength experience.

It’s not overly complex, not the sort you’re likely to look forward to as a celebration stick. But you’ll find nice tobacco flavors with nuts and a subtle spice near the end. At 7 inches with a ring gauge of 50, the 1495 is perfect for those long, sunny afternoons wherever you are or whatever you’re doing.

Smokers looking for a bargain cigar really need look no further. A few years ago, a StogieGuys.com review awarded the 1495 Robusto four stogies.

While, for me, the Churchill isn’t quite at that level, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to new smokers and those looking for a better-than-just-good daily cigar.

I feel the 1495 Churchill is worthy of a strong rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

It’s Cinco de Mayo, a day that celebrates the Mexican victory in the Battle of Puebla, where the Mexican army defeated the imperial ambitions of Napoleon III’s France. You more likely know it as the time of year when advertisements for Mexican beer are everywhere and margaritas and tequila are over-represented at bars.

But I’d like to use the opportunity to talk about Mexican tobacco.

A few days ago, my colleague mentioned his preference against San Andrés wrapper—”I’m more than ‘not a fan’ of the Mexican San Andrés wrapper” he wrote—and I find myself in much the same boat. Tell me nothing more about two cigars than one has a San Andrés wrapper and one does not, and I’ll pick the non-Mexican leaf.

My problem, and this a personal preference, is with the gritty, dry flavors frequently absent any significant sweetness and occasionally with a acidic twinge. For a while I thought this may have been a historic bias against Mexican tobacco, but I’ve tasted enough cigars (including blind) to know it is an accurate perception.

Mexican tobacco’s history plays a role in its reputation for rough, gritty cigars. For years, while the country did export tobacco to be used as a component in many well-known cigars (Macanudo, for example uses a San Andrés binder), cigars produced in Mexico were almost exclusively puros, because tax rates on imported tobacco were prohibitively high.

The result was puros (primarily Te-Amo, which had a big following; if you grew up in New York City in the 80s and 90s, as I did, Te-Amo was a name you saw prominently featured at bodegas and newspaper stands) made by the Turrents, the first family of Mexican tobacco. Those cigars were notably rough and strong, and had only a niche following.

Today the Turrents are severing old ties and rebranding (and I look forward to seeing what they produce next). Mexican wrappers are being used more than ever, but less than ever in Mexican puros. The price of Connecticut Broadleaf has turned many cigarmakers to Mexican San Andrés wrappers as a source of Maduro.

To that end, some cigars with San Andrés wrappers are some of my favorites, including Drew Estate’s Undercrown, Illusione *R* Rothchildes, and Tatuaje’s The Face Halloween blend. These cigars, whether through aging or blending, overcome the aspects of the San Andrés wrapper that I often find off-putting. Not to mention the persistently whispered rumors that Padrón uses Mexican Maduro wrappers without disclosing it, although significant skepticism is advised since no one seems willing to put their name to the claim.

So I’ll continue to try new cigars with San Andrés wrappers or other Mexican components. In fact, I wish cigarmakers were experimenting more with different wrappers grown in San Andrés like the Habano wrapper used in the A. Turrent Revolution. And yet (just as my taste in red wine is generally not for merlot, although occasionally one really impresses me) I remain slightly biased against San Andrés wrapped cigars, not because they are bad, but because my personal preference is such that it takes an exceptional example to impress me.

P.S. For a more traditional Cinco de Mayo reference, checkout my Margaritas recipe.

–Patrick S

photo credit: iivangm (Flickr)

On Friday, it was announced that Gary Griffith had stepped down as head of Emilio Cigars, House of Emilio (the distribution arm of Emilio and several other boutique lines), and the Delaware Cigars retail shops. The announcement referred to this development as Griffith’s “retirement,” noting “his legacy will continue through the brands he’s helped, the distribution company he led, and the cigars that he blended.”

One of the brands Griffith “helped” is Epicurean, which is still part of the House of Emilio. “Epicurean Cigars was created under the careful eye of Steven Ysidron with its focus on handcrafted, small-batch salon cigars,” reads the Epicurean website. “Steven started making cigars in the late 1980s with his father and the Fuente family in the Dominican Republic. In 1999, Steven and his family started producing cigars in Nicaragua.”

Epicurean boasts brands like Gonzo Santeria, AG Vintage 2007, AG Azul Vintage 2008, Santeria Mojo, and Gonzo Vintage 2007. Last September, the Plasencia-made Epicurean Carnavale started hitting retailers in 4 sizes that retail for $9-10 apiece. The blend features a Jalapa Habano Oscuro wrapper around American, Honduran, and Nicaraguan tobaccos (including ASP Estelí Ligero, which are some of the most sought-after leaves around).

The box-pressed Carnavale Lancero samples I smoked for this review all had seamless surfaces and only the thinnest veins. The feel is moderate to moderately soft, and a simple V-cut is all that’s needed to establish an easy cold draw. Off the foot, there’s plenty of pre-light sweetness and earth.

Once underway, the initial profile has plenty of oak and dried fruit with lingering cedar spice. From there, coffee takes center stage, while some sweet chocolaty notes add balance. The texture is bready. Black pepper only becomes evident with frequent puffing, especially if smoked through the nose. At the midway point and beyond, there’s ample bitterness, salt, and earth along with rich tastes of espresso and cocoa.

Construction is solid with average smoke production, a stable ash, smooth draw (especially for a Lancero), and a mostly straight burn line that requires only a few touch-ups along the way.

I’d recommend the Epicurean Carnavale Lancero to anyone looking for a medium-bodied, coffee-centric Lancero. While some additional age would likely round off the edges, right out of the gate this cigar is worthy of an admirable rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–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.”

The UF-13 comes pre-loaded with the pedigree of its Único Serie predecessors. And the cigar is also beautiful, what with its unique cap and gorgeous Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Fortunately, I can say with a great degree of certainty that you won’t be disappointed by this $14 smoke—that is, if you can find it. Dark chocolate, charred oak, and fleeting sweet notes characterize the full-bodied profile. And in keeping with the Drew Estate tradition, construction is top-notch.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys