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.

One of two additions (along with the “Big Belly” large torpedo) to the original Toro size, this Short Robusto (4.5 x 50) was introduced last summer. The cigar features a dark, rustic Broadleaf wrapper with plenty of black and brown discoloration. Gritty earth is the dominant flavor, along with oak and pepper, in this full-bodied smoke. Since the Nica Rustica blend yields few flavor changes with each smoking experience, I think the small Short Robusto vitola is the best format for the line to date.

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.

This limited edition, created by Don José “Pepin” Garcia to expand Ashton’s San Cristobal line, features the seemingly ubiquitous San Andrés wrapper, this one said to be subjected to “an intensive two-and-a-half-year double-fermentation.” Only 66,000 of the cigars—a single size (6.5 x 52)—were rolled. While the wrapper didn’t exhibit the dirty taste I often associate with this Mexican tobacco, it also didn’t seem to mesh well with the filler and binder from the Garcias’ Nicaraguan farms. Not a bad cigar, just not a special one, especially for $15.

Verdict = Hold.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

photo credit: General Cigar Co.

“Boutique” is a word that gets thrown around a lot in marketing, especially cigars. While larger cigar companies fight for big chunks of market share, smaller boutique companies focus on filling the niches.

In many ways PG Cigars, founded in 1990 to coincide with Paul Garmirian’s book A Gourmet Guide to Cigars (which you can steal on Amazon for $4 shipped), could be considered one of the original boutique producers. Over the years, it has developed its niche by bringing well-aged cigars to market, and eschewing the industry norm of introducing a new cigar every year. Walk into the company’s cigar shop and headquarters in McLean, Virginia, and you’ll find numerous cigars for sale with 20 years of age. (I’d venture to guess the small, somewhat cramped stripmall storefront has more cigars for sale that have been aged 20 years or more than anywhere else in the country.)

With 2015 being the 25th anniversary of the company, PG Cigars did what any boutique cigar company would do: release a 25th Anniversary cigar, albeit in PG’s own understated way. The lone announcement for the anniversary smoke came in a pre-Christmas email along with a link to an NPR story about Cuban cigars that quoted Garmirian.

The 25th Anniversary Connoisseur comes in one size, a 6-inch by 52-ring gauge toro. The company hasn’t released details on the blend, but the deep brown, oily wrapper certainly looks similar to the Havana-seed wrapper used on PG’s 20th Anniversary blend.

Each of the four cigars I smoked for this review (provided by PG Cigars, although I walked in intending to buy the samples) featured excellent construction. There wasn’t a soft spot to be found on any of them and the burn and draw were flawless. (I also appreciate that the bands on these were easy to remove without damaging the wrapper, which is a problem I’ve had on other PG smokes.)

Once lit, the Connoisseur starts out with a unique sweet and bready combination  that reminds me of raisin bread. As it progresses, it reveals a combination of oak, cedar, mushroom, bread, and a salty savoriness that especially kicks in towards the second half of the cigar.

More than anything, this is a cigar characterized by restrained strength. You get the distinct sense that if it had been rushed at all the Connoisseur would have had some rough edges, but instead the full-bodied woodiness is tempered by a cornucopia of other subtle flavors.

While $19 is a lot for a cigar, and you’d expect a lot for such a premium price, the PG 25th Anniversary delivers. It demands a slow, speculative pace to be fully appreciated, and each cigar I smoked easily lasted two hours, but the time is well spent.

For now, this is a single-vitola blend, but PG’s 15th and 20th Anniversary blends were later expanded into multiple sizes, and I certainly hope the same happens for the 25th. In my opinion, the 25th Anniversary surpasses PG’s 20th Anniversary blend and is the equal, although a very different cigar, to the 15th Anniversary. That earns the Paul Garmirian 25th Anniversary Connoisseur our highest rating of five stogies out of five.

Perhaps frigid winters that limit outside smoking time inspired Minnesota-based Crux to craft a Lilliputian cigar that performs more like a Brobdingnagian. Or maybe they were simply looking for a good, small smoke. Either way, they succeeded.

Crux Sports is a 4.625-inch stick with a 35-ring gauge. Don’t let the size lead you to confuse it with lesser cigars. Rolled by Plascencia in Nicaragua, it features a complex, balanced blend. The wrapper is Habano Jalapa from Nicaragua, the binder Indonesian, and the filler is from Nicaragua.

For this review, I smoked five Sports, all provided by Crux. (Despite an expanding retailer base, there’s unfortunately still not one anywhere near me.) Packaging is interesting. They are sold by the box of 30, which consists of six wrapped five-packs. The individual MSRP is $3.75. Crux introduced the line last summer but didn’t begin shipping until quite a while later.

Cutting and lighting both require a bit more attention than might be necessary for a more conventionally sized cigar. I’d recommend matches, a cedar spill, or a soft flame lighter. A butane torch—especially one with multiple jets—is likely to badly scorch the foot.

There’s a hearty fullness to the start, along with a bit of a bite that doesn’t last long. As you’d expect, there’s not a lot of changes in the small smoke. But a little pepper comes and goes. All in all, it’s quite balanced.

Areas where Sports shines are construction, draw, and smoke production. I was amazed at how even and smooth the draw was in each of the five I smoked, and the smoke volume could easily rival many larger cigars.

The five-pack wrapper displays a photo of four sportsmen dressed in what appear to be 19th century garb with the Crux Sports logo emblazoned on their sweaters. I wondered if there was any significance, but Crux’s Logan Drake informed me that they are “just generic sports guys.”

That’s not the case for the cigar they represent. It’s far from generic, and, as such, gets four out of five stogies.

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

–George E

photo credit: Crux

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.”

A collaboration between big and boutique, this Romeo y Julieta is made by Aging Room at La Palma and sold by Altadis under the Romeo label. The thick toro (6 x 54) is expertly constructed, producing an easy draw and even burn. The medium- to full-bodied cigar features earth, cinnamon, syrup, roast nuts, and dry wood. A complex and enjoyable cigar.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys