The 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.

In our gift guide, we recommended picking up a special Cigar Rights of America sampler, which includes, among other cigars, this toro-sized Fuente Forbidden X. The Forbidden X blend features tobaccos from the same Dominican farms as the Opus X line, although the wrapper is shade-grown and the filler leaf is aged in Calvados (French apple brandy) barrels. The result is 90% of the strength of the Opus X and 50% more balance. It’s a nice medium- to full-bodied smoke with lots cedar, salt, and pepper, and a hint of red pepper spice that lingers on the lips and the roof of the mouth. Construction is good, despite a necessary touch-up towards the final third.

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 take on a single cigar.

Last summer, I bought a five-pack of this highly regarded cigar from MoyaRuiz Cigars for $38.50 and eagerly smoked a couple. I like strong cigars, but, honestly, La Jugada Habano beat me silly. I tucked the remaining sticks in the humidor and forget about them. Until today. I’m glad I went back. A year and a half of time did wonders for this Toro (6 x 52) with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, undisclosed double binder, and Nicaraguan filler. Age toned down the power a notch and allowed other flavors to shine, especially a wonderful sweetness in the last half. If you want a powerhouse, light it up at once. But if you have patience, I think you’ll be rewarded with an even better cigar.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

On Tuesday we offered up some tips for giving the gift of bourbon for the holidays. Today, with one week until Christmas Eve, we provide some suggestions for picking the right cigar gift for the cigar smokers in your life:

MBombay has made quite an impression with high-end cigars produced in small numbers at a factory in Costa Rica, interesting packaging, and the use of Peruvian tobacco.

The KẽSara line (yes, that’s how it’s spelled) bears all of those hallmarks and a few of its own distinguishing features. The cap sports a short pigtail on a deep cap, while the foot is unfinished. The Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper is folded over the Dominican and Peruvian filler. The binder is also Ecuadorian, with no specifics released.

Mel Shah, owner of an upscale cigar and wine lounge in Palm Springs, California, is the man behind the company, Bombay Tobak.

The Robusto Larga is a 4.5-inch stick with a 54-ring gauge and an MSPR of $14.50. It comes packaged in canisters rather than traditional boxes. And, as with other MBombay lines, the traditional cigar band is covered by a large over-band featuring colorful Indian designs.

The light brown wrapper appears somewhat dry, with few veins and a sweet pre-burn aroma. Draw, burn, and smoke production were excellent in the three I smoked, all of which were provided by MBombay.

There’s a bit of sharpness in the first inch or so, which evens out soon after. Peruvian tobacco is often said to have a touch of bitterness in addition to body, which might account for that initial bite. Overall, strength was in the medium range.

The KẽSara burns slowly and lasts longer than might be expected from such a short cigar. Along the way, I experienced a variety of flavors—many very subtle and sometimes fleeting—especially in the final third, when sweetness comes fully to the fore.

With production at rather low levels and the number of retailers carrying MBombay also fairly limited, these won’t be the easiest cigars to find. But they are worth seeking out, offering, as they do, a flavor profile that stands out.

I give the short, plump KẽSara Robusto Larga three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

With Christmas next week you may be scrambling to pick out some last-minute gifts. If your giftee imbibes, here are a few suggestions depending on the type of gift you want to give. (Note: While Pappy Van Winkle or any number of other rare bourbons make for an amazing gift, I’ve limited options to things you are actually likely to find on the shelves of a well-stocked liquor shop.)

Non-Whiskey Gifts

A bourbon gift doesn’t need to be booze. Here are some ideas Amazon will deliver for you:

Glencairn Whisky Glasses – The gold standard whisky glassware is designed to bring out the best in bourbon, rye, and single malt (it’s also good for drinking cognac and aged rum). Even if they already have some, a few more will let them taste some side-by-side, or host a tasting with friends.

A Good Bourbon Book – For a good overview of the the story of bourbon from the 17th century to present, I can recommend Chuck Cowdery’s Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey. Although I haven’t read it (yet), I’ve only heard good things about Reid Mitenbuler’s new book, Bourbon Empire. Finally, for a next level bourbon drinker, even a particularly well-versed aficionado will enjoy Cowdery’s follow-up, Bourbon, Strange.

Inexpensive Bourbon

Bourbon has some great values, so inexpensive doesn’t mean it isn’t good. For under $20 you can’t go wrong with Four Roses Yellow Label ($18), Evan Williams 1783 ($16), or Old Forester ($20, 1L). They are perfect for your office Yankee Swap (if your office is fun) or a secret santa gift with a spending cap.

Bourbon for the Cocktail Aficionado

For a proper cocktail you want something that will hold up and is flavorful but won’t break the bank. Old Grand Dad 114 ($23) and Wild Turkey 101 ($24) fit the bill. Also consider a nice set of cocktail bitters.

Fine Bourbon

Now we’re getting to something special. No real bourbon drinker will ever turn their nose down at Eagle Rare 10 Year ($30) and Four Roses Single Barrel ($40). Blanton’s ($55) is an excellent bourbon that also looks great on a shelf with its distinctive bottle. Booker’s ($60) is barrel-proof and not for amateurs, but it’s consistently excellent, especially for the bourbon-on-the-rocks drinker.

Bourbon to Make an Impression

Well-aged bourbon is in demand these days, especially since people tend to identify older bourbon as better, which has, in turn, made such bourbon tougher and tougher to find. Two such bourbons that you can actually find, though you’ll have to shop around a little more, are the recently released I.W. Harper 15 Year ($75) and Blade and Bow 22 Year Old ($150). Each comes in a fancy bottle (the I.W. Harper’s decanter bottle is particularly sharp) and fortunately the bourbon inside is excellent too. These will impress your bourbon collecting father-in-law or boss.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Today I continue to smoke my way through the suite of lanceros that are exclusive to Stogies World Class Cigars. Stogies is a Houston-based retailer, public lounge, and an online shop that has commissioned some of the industry’s best brands to produce its family of lanceros.

Called H-Town in honor of Houston, the lanceros are made for Stogies by esteemed brands like La Palina, Alec Bradley, Crowned Heads, Quesada, Room 101, and Fratello. If, like me, you tend to lament the trend towards large ring gauge vitolas, you’ve got to be a fan of what the folks at Stogies have been up to.

In September, Pete Johnson’s Tatuaje brand joined the H-Town brigade with a new lancero. The cigar is available online for $50 for a 5-pack or $190 for a box 20. Only 10,000 total cigars will be made.

The Tatuaje H-Town Lancero (7 x 40) recipe calls for an Ecuadorian Sumatra Rosado wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. It is made at the My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua. Dark and slightly reddish in appearance, it sports a triple-cap finished with a pigtail top and a lumpy, mottled exterior with toothy texture and a few large veins. The pre-light notes at the foot include a hearty dose of toffee and caramel.

Right out of the gate the profile is big and bold, yet nonabrasive, and the texture is leathery and concentrated. Cayenne spice, espresso, creamy nut, and nougat sweetness are predominant. Background notes of subtle mint and cocoa conjure slight similarities to The Hyde, which I recently called a “candy bar of a cigar.” While the H-Town isn’t nearly as candy-forward, I’ll speculate there might be some overlap in the tobaccos used for the two blends.

As the Lancero progresses, flavors of citrus, chocolate, oak, and burnt marshmallow add depth as they come and go. Along the way construction is superb. The burn line stays even throughout, the ash holds firm, the draw is always easy, and the smoke production is very high, especially for a lancero.

Pete Johnson and the folks at My Father Cigars put their best foot forward when they crafted this excellent smoke for Stogies World Class Cigars, and $10 is a very fair price. It’s a limited production lancero you won’t want to miss, and one that’s worthy of a four stogies out of five rating.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys