The Stogie Guys

In my review of the Corojo No. 5 Maduro 2011 last week—a Gran Habano smoke that recently got a makeover—I mentioned the Florida-based operation of the Rico family also recently added a few sizes, discontinued a vitola in the G.A.R. Red line, and introduced the George Rico S.T.K. Miami Zulu Zulu Mas Paz Edition.

The Mas Paz Edition is made in Miami at G.R. Tabacaleras Co. Cigar Factory & Lounge. A percentage of sales benefit a non-profit organization that will fund renovations for La Casa de la Madre y el Niño, an orphanage in Bogotá, Colombia.

The cigar’s packaging was designed by Mas Paz, an artist who was adopted from La Casa de la Madre y el Niño when he was one. “I am blessed to have been adopted into a home where I have food, clothes, and a loving family,” reads the artist’s website. “It is my mission to do what I can to help. I work to spread the message of Mas Paz, by sharing a positive message and my story to the world along with a quarterly donation to my orphanage, raised with 5% of all income gained from paintings, projects, and my online store.”

The George Rico S.T.K. Miami Zulu Zulu Mas Paz Edition comes in two wrapper varieties: Ecuadorian Connecticut and Nicaraguan Habano. Both have Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos and come in three sizes that retail for $8.25 to $9.27: Lancero (7.5 x 40), Rolo (6 x 54), and Corona Gorda (5.6 x 46).

The Nicaraguan Habano Corona Gorda receives high marks for appearance. The first impression is accentuated by the eye-catching wax paper sleeve. Underneath is a pigtail-capped cigar with a reddish hue and pre-light notes of rich syrup and coffee. The cap clips cleanly to reveal a smooth cold draw.

Once lit, a medium-bodied profile emerges with notes of espresso, leather, and campfire. There’s an underlying earthiness, along with a floral taste. Creamy peanut and a little cocoa help add balance. If smoked too quickly, some less-than-pleasant bitter tones come through, yet the Corona Gorda is still a mostly soft-spoken specimen with little nicotine or spice. The finale is characterized by citrus, coffee, and leather.

I was only able to smoke one Corona Gorda for this review (which was, in full disclosure, provided to me by Gran Habano), but that single sample performed admirably in the combustion department. Throughout, the burn line remained true; only one touch-up was needed along the way. The ash held firm, the draw was easy, and the smoke production was slightly above average.

At times, the Mas Paz Edition Nicaraguan Habano Corona Gorda is a little flat. At times, it speaks with understated complexity and balance. It’s the kind of cigar that seems like it might improve significantly with some age, and I’m tempted to buy a few to test my hypothesis. Right now, I’m scoring it three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

If there’s one word that seems to unite most cigar makers, it’s “new.”

The seemingly irresistible urge to introduce new blends, new line extensions, new brands, new tobaccos, new curing methods, and on and on reaches its annual pinnacle at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show, which starts this weekend in New Orleans.

Ironically, though, if you ask most cigar retailers to name their top-selling brand, the answer you’ll likely get is Padrón, a manufacturer that rarely introduces anything new. The old-school company isn’t particularly invested in social media, either, but it burned up the online cigar community with its recent announcement of a new Connecticut line.

Of course, if you’re a cigar manufacturer competing for shelf space with companies like Padrón, Altadis, General, Fuente, and others, having something new might seem like your safest bet. But is there a risk in going too far in that direction?

I thought about this the other day when I was smoking a Kristoff Galerones Intensivo. I picked it up for about $9 at a shop I visit occasionally because it was a chance to try a stick I hadn’t had, and one about which I’d heard good things.

It was a very enjoyable smoke, combining solid strength with spice, cedar, and coffee. The three-country filler blend (Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and Honduras) worked well with the Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper.

So, I wondered, how come I’ve smoked so few Kristoff cigars?

The answer, I’ve surmised, is the same as for some other brands I rarely light up, such as Rocky Patel or Ghurka. It’s not that I have anything against them or their cigars. In fact, I’ve smoked some that I liked a lot.

But, overall, brands that have so many lines and so many new entries lose my attention and focus. Even when I smoke something I like from them, it tends to get lost in their plethora of cigars.

Truth be told, even someone like me who spends quite a bit of time reading about cigars and the industry, as well as listening to podcasts, just can’t keep up with everything.

With IPCPR, there’ll be a raft of new releases. I’d like to try them all. That, of course, isn’t possible, so I’ll smoke the ones I can find, try to remember the ones I don’t, and possibly add one or two discoveries to my list of favorites.

And I’m sure there’ll be quite a few that I miss.

–George E

photo credit: IPCPR

When it comes to the naming of cigar brands, blends, and sizes, cigar makers can be pretty darn creative (or crazy, depending on your point of view). I suppose the diversity and, yes, strangeness of names is partly due to the challenge of coming up with something that’s marketable and descriptive that hasn’t already been used in the vast tobacco lexicon.

Case in point: Fred “GodFadr” Rewey, owner of the Orlando-based Nomad Cigar Co., named his first Nicaraguan cigar “Lot 1386” to honor the approximate coordinate of Estelí. The subject of today’s review, “Lot 8613,” simply flips that coordinate. (Bonus points to the first commenter to locate that coordinate.)

In any event, the Nomad Estelí Lot 8613, which was launched in April, marks the fifth full-production cigar for Nomad and the third full-production cigar in Estelí. (Lot 1386 was a limited to 307 12-count boxes.) “I blended the cigar at the end of 2013 (the same time I blended the C-276),” said Rewey. “This cigar, along with the C-276, was the result of a three-month stay in Nicaragua, blending, learning, and hitting the fields… I chose ‘Estelí Lot 8613’ because it was very reminiscent to the Lot 1386 LE that I released in 2013. Although the blend is nothing close to the original LE, the smoking experience was similar to me on some esoteric level.”

Estelí Lot 8613 boasts an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. Five sizes are available, all made at Tobacalera A.J. Fernandez: Robusto (5 x 50), Coronita (5.5 x 46), Toro (6 x 50), Grand Toro (6 x 58), and Churchill (7 x 48).

The Toro retails for about $8. It’s a handsome, oily specimen with a milk chocolate-colored wrapper that has only a few thin veins. The feel is moderate to slightly spongy throughout. The cap clips neatly to reveal a smooth pre-light draw, and the foot has an aroma reminiscent of sweet hay and cocoa.

The flavor opens with oak, honey, and a little subdued cayenne. A raw, meaty spice jumps in after a quarter-inch and is particularly pronounced on the finish if you smoke quickly, but dissipates as fast as it arrived. Thereafter, cream, earth, and citrus take center stage. The texture is bready and the body is medium to medium-full. The cigar wraps up much the way it began with oak and honey.

With good combustion qualities across the several samples I smoked, the Nomad Estelí Lot 8613 Toro is a pleasure, though by no means a memorable standout. The most appropriate rating, in my judgement, is three 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 take on a single cigar.

The 654 (6 x 54)  is the only normal-sized cigar in the JFR (“Just for Retailers”) XT line made by Casa Fernandez; the others are 660 (6 x 60) and 770 (7 x 70). Billed as the most full-bodied JFR, the XT features a Corojo wrapper (there’s also a San Andrés maduro version) around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The box-pressed smoke starts out with a surprisingly tame combination of leather, sawdust, and roast nuts. As it progresses, mild spice is added to the medium-bodied smoke. Construction is superb, and the price ($6.92) is reasonable. But that describes many Casa Fernandez smokes. This one, while not unpleasant, isn’t a standout.

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.”

Full body, full flavor, and full enjoyment is the only way I can describe this 2013 Avo release for shops in the Tobacconists’ Association of America. A pressed toro (6 x 52), the Movement fits with quite a few Avo limiteds by presenting a stronger and spicier cigar than many may still associate with the brand. It begins with a shot of pepper and a sugared-coffee sweetness. Along the way, the pepper rises and falls, as numerous other flavors weave in and out. It’s a bargain at $11.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

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) Steve Saka—the former Drew Estate CEO who is returning to the cigar industry from a two-year absence—has announced the first blend from his new cigar operation, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust. Called Sobremesa, it will be made at Joya de Nicaragua in Estelí (using tobacco Saka provides to Joya) with an Ecuador Habano wrapper around a Mexican binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua. There will be five sizes—Corona Grande, Robusto Largo, El Americano, Gran Imperiales, and Cervantes Fino—but pricing is not yet known. “I have been running like a bat out of hell to finalize this liga and marquee that I haven’t really given that much thought about how I was going to sell the brand,” wrote Saka on Facebook. “I know that sounds insane, but here it is just a week before the IPCPR and I am in Nica still sorting and indexing leaf with JDN so as to figure out what exactly these cigars are going to cost to make… So I really don’t know the price, but I will. The only sales plan I have is that I was going to offer it to a few retailers first who are really truly close personal friends.”

2) The Foundation Cigar Company, which was recently launched by another former Drew Estate employee, Nicholas Melillo, has likewise announced details of its first blend, El Güegüense (“The Wise Man”). A Nicaraguan puro, the blend will feature a Corojo ’99 wrapper from Jalapa that’s described as “rosado rosado café” in color. It’s billed as “medium to strong” and will come in five formats: Robusto, Toro, Churchill, Corona Gorda, and Torpedo. El Güegüense is made at the TABSA (Tobaccos Valle de Jalapa) factory in Nicaragua using Aganorsa tobacco. Melillo, popularly known as “Nick R. Agua” on social media, left Drew Estate in May, where he served for 11 years with responsibilities ranging from tobacco purchasing and fermentation to quality control and shipment planning.

3) Originally released in 2013 as a limited release under the Miami Cigar & Co. umbrella, a re-blended KILO is returning to the market, this time as part of the United Cigar Group made in Nicaragua by Noel Rojas, who owns Guayacan Cigars. KILO sports an Ecuador Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan Corojo 2006 binder, and filler from three different variations of three-year-old Ligero from Rojas’ farms in Nicaragua and from Aganorsa. Barry Stein, the blender and driving force behind both versions of KILO, described the cigar’s return: “I always wanted to work with Noel, but my former employers were already locked into a factory in Nicaragua. Noel was one of the first friends I made in Miami and he taught me a lot about tobacco and blending that complemented what I learned at La Aurora from their master blender, Manuel Inoa. When the original KILO came out, Noel and I brainstormed on some tweaks to the blend that take the cigar to the next level, and I am happy to bring this to cigar smokers via United Cigar Group.” The cigar, which is available in 18-count boxes, is available as a Robusto (5 x 50, $9) and Toro (6 x 52, $9.50).

4) Inside the Industry: Crux Cigars announced the new “Crux du Connoisseur” line which will be available in three sizes in September and is made at Plasencia Cigars S.A. with a Habano wrapper from Jalapa, a Nicaraguan binder, and Honduran filler. At the IPCPR Trade Show next week, Duran Cigars will release the Limited Edition Roberto P. Duran Salomon (7.25 x 57), featuring an Ecuadorian Habano Criollo wrapper. Black Label Trading Company recently announced the Deliverance Nocturne, made in two custom salomon vitolas at the Fabrica Oveja Negra with a  Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan Habano binder, and filler from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania.

5) Deal of the Week: Cigar Place is offering an additional 40% off its already discounted clearance section by using the promo code “clearance.” Notable deals include five-packs of the Henry Clay Brevas ($15), Padilla Habano Robusto ($17), and Macanudo Gold Label Hampton Court Tubos ($18).

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Facebook

Yesterday, the House Appropriations Committee took an important first step toward fixing one of the most outrageous aspects of the proposed rules to regulate cigars under the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The appropriations bill passed the Committee yesterday for next year’s funding of the FDA, included a funding rider to stop the FDA from retroactively regulating cigars and other tobacco products introduced since February 2007. Under the legislative fix, the new date existing products would be grandfathered in as exempt from the costly and difficult FDA pre-approval process would change from February 15, 2007 to the date (likely later this year) when the proposed regulations are finalized.

While cigars introduced after the FDA’s cigar regulations go into effect would still be subject to FDA approval before being marketed or sold—a process that likely would take months or years and could cost an estimated $400,000 per each new cigar blend and size—the change would be a significant improvement from the current situation. Absent any change, under current law, most or every cigar introduced since February 15, 2007 would be subject to the FDA pre-approval process, with the likely impact of permanently making illegal most cigars introduced in the past eight years.

The key language in the appropriations bill still has a long way to go before becoming law. Having successfully passed the House Committee, including surviving an amendment vote 23-26 to strip the FDA regulation date change out of the bill, the bill now goes to the House floor for passage.

If it passes the House, the next step would be a companion bill from the Senate Appropriations Committee. There, Kansas Senator Moran, a co-sponsor of the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act, is chairman of the subcommittee with oversight over the FDA and could be key to ensuring the language eliminating the February 2007 date is included in the Senate bill.

If such language passes out of the full Senate Appropriations Committee, next step would be the full Senate, after which the bill would go to President Obama’s desk to be signed into law or vetoed.

Analysis

With the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act seemingly stalled for the immediate future, this is a significant and serious attempt to address the devastating impact of the proposed FDA regulations. Still, it faces  major challenges, not the least of which is the fact that the proposed FDA regulations could become finalized any day now—before any appropriations bills are passed.

According to an agenda issued last year, the deadline for the FDA regulations was June 2015, and in Senate testimony in March FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg reiterated that now-passed goal. In addition to time constraints, two other issues complicate the process significantly.

First, while cigar industry representatives work to protect cigars from the damaging impact of the regulations, the elephant in the room is e-cigarettes. A large part of the agitation for these regulations by anti-tobacco activists is because the deeming rule would effectively ban e-cigarettes and vaping devices—which they view, almost certainly incorrectly, as having negative public health implications.

While, in theory, new cigars could be approved by the FDA as “substantially equivalent” to grandfathered cigars, the e-cigarette industry was almost nonexistent in February 2007, meaning approval of e-cigarettes and other vaping products would be even more difficult than the already arduous process that new cigars would face. This hardens the anti-tobacco opposition to a change in the cutoff for grandfathered tobacco products, but it also means the growing e-cigarette industry could be a key ally for cigars in pushing for a change.

The second complication has nothing to do with specific issues of tobacco regulation but is the often dysfunctional federal budget process. While the system is set up for 12 appropriations bills, frequently budget showdowns due to fiscal deadlines lead to continuing budget resolutions and omnibus spending bills that combine various appropriation bills into one large spending bill. To ease passage, appropriations riders, like the one on FDA regulation approved yesterday by the House Appropriations Committee, can get stripped out of the final bill, especially if leadership doesn’t make their inclusion a priority.

Ultimately, while this rider can alleviate some of the damage FDA regulation of cigars will cause, it doesn’t fix the larger issue: The vibrant handmade cigar industry will come to a screeching halt if new cigars are forced to go through an FDA approval process that takes months (or years) and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. To fix this bigger problem, cigar smokers must work towards passage of the Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act to remove the FDA’s authorization to regulate handmade cigars.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Best Price Cigars