The 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) Announcements of new cigar releases continue to roll out at what seems like a record pace in advance of what might be the most important IPCPR Trade Show in history. On Wednesday, we learned Drew Estate is launching candela-wrapped line extensions called Kentucky Fire Cured Swamp Thang and Swamp Rat. “This thing should not be, and it’s a deeply disturbing yet pleasing smoke,” reads a press release. “Deep in the swamps it is lurking, waiting to be discovered. By pairing this deliciously sweet candela wrapper with the smoky and tasty Kentucky Fire Cured tobaccos, an eerie mystery has been revealed for a unique and powerful experience.” Three new cigars will be sold in ten-count paper bundles for $7.50 to $8.75: Kentucky Fire Cured Swamp Thang Toro (6 x 52), Kentucky Fire Cured Swamp Thang Rat (6 x 46), and Kentucky Fire Cured Swamp Thang Robusto (5 x 54). “We continue to demonstrate our leadership in the fire-cured tobacco segment, making history as the first company to blend candela and Kentucky Fire Cured tobaccos in the premium segment,” said Jonathan Drew.

2) Recluse has introduced the Amadeus Corojo Reserva, Amadeus Rosado, and OTG Connecticut. The former features a “very special Corojo wrapper that we have been holding onto for years” around Dominican, Sumatran, and Mexican filler tobaccos. The Recluse Amadeus Rosado boasts “the finest Ecuadorian Rosado wrapper available on the market” with Dominican, Pennsylvanian, and Mexican fillers. Recluse president Scott Weeks calls the blend “one of the most complex cigars we have ever made.” Finally, OTG Connecticut is an expansion of the original OTG Maduro blend, which was the very first blend Recluse offered to the U.S. market. It sports a Grade A Connecticut Shade wrapper around Dominican and Sumatran fillers. All three will be sold in 14 sizes with prices ranging from $5.95 for the Petit Corona (4 x 42) to $11.95 for the Kanu #3 (8 x 58).

3) Inside the Industry: La Flor Dominicana has announced a smaller “Petite” size of La Nox, its blend using a dark Brazilian wrapper, Mexican binder, and Nicaraguan filler. Viva Republica is adding Art of War, a new blend made at La Aurora with a stalk-cut Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over a binder of Ecuadorian Sumatra surrounding Colombian, Dominican, and Nicaraguan filler. Sindicato is set to resurrect the Particulares brand, a Nicaraguan puro made by Casa Fernandez to be sold in five sizes with prices ranging from $7.50 to $10 per cigar.

4) From the Archives: With the next IPCPR Cigar Trade Show set to open in imminently, it is interesting to look back at last year’s show to see how much has changed, or hasn’t. In a wrap-up from last year’s show, we noted a few key observations, including decreased attendance, numerous exhibitors, cautious optimism (now seemingly somewhat myopic) about the FDA, and increased discussion about evolving Cuban-U.S. relations.

5) Deal of the Week: StogieGuys.com recommends Bespoke Post, a monthly collection of awesome items delivered to your door for just $55. Past boxes include barbecue accessories, shaving kits, everything you need to make great coffee, and exclusive cigars from E.P. Carrillo paired with custom accessories. You can select a box each month or skip the month entirely. Click here to sign up today.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Drew Estate

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations covering the cigar industry don’t take effect until August, but the impact on cigars is already apparent. The regulations, which have already prompted two lawsuits against the agency (a long-planned lawsuit by the CRA, IPCPR, and CAA was filed last week), threaten to stifle the introduction of new cigars, plus the continued sale of any cigar introduced after February 15, 2007.

With the annual IPCPR Trade Show set to start next week, cigar makers are already announcing new cigars at a record pace, with plenty more expected next week. The reason is clear, as cigars introduced after August 8 will have to wait for FDA pre-approval before being marketed or sold in the United States, while those on the market before that date can be sold for two years without needing pre-approval.

Exact details of the pre-approval process are still unknown, which only fuels the urgency of getting new products to market. Most industry sources hope cigars will be approved as “substantially equivalent” to a product on the market prior to the February 2007 date, but even that standard may be difficult and costly to establish.

According to the FDA’s final rule, the agency estimates it will take 300 hours for each Substantial Equivalence (SE) report, which works out to two months of time for one full-time employee. Industry sources believe the cost of each SE report would likely be even greater than the FDA’s estimate, possibly $100,000 or more.

Those estimates are per SE report, and the FDA requires pre-approval for every tobacco product. This would likely include every new cigar size and packaging combination. For example, if a cigar is sold in 10-count and 20-count boxes, each would need a separate approval. Presumably, so would samplers created by the manufacturer, and potentially even samplers created and sold by retailers.

Needless to say, those costs are prohibitive for small cigar brands for whom a large volume vitola may only sell tens of thousands of units in a year. By introducing lines now ahead of the August 8 deadline, those small manufacturers buy themselves 18 months before they have to decide whether to submit them to the FDA for approval.

By then, cigar makers will have a better picture of the costs and requirements of achieving FDA approval, so they can decide if seeking approval makes economic sense, or if they will be forced to withdraw cigars from the market by August 2018 (after which cigars introduced after February 2007 can no longer be sold unless they have begun seeking FDA approval).

Unfortunately, this means many of the new cigars being rushed out before the deadline are living on borrowed time. While the results of the lawsuits could change the FDA regulations, such lawsuits are always difficult to win. In the meantime, while there will be a lot of excitement over the next two weeks as numerous cigars are announced, the devastating effects of FDA regulation on the handmade cigar market are already showing.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

For its latest release, Cornelius & Anthony has turned up the heat.

Daddy Mac, named for founder Steven Bailey’s father, is a three-country blend produced at Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory in Nicaragua.

It makes a nice first impression, with a barnyard aroma on the pre-light wrapper, which is an oily Brazilian Habano. The binder is Ecuadorian and the filler tobaccos are from Nicaragua.

The cigar starts with a pleasing burst of pepper. Then, about an inch in, it begins to mix with wood, leather, and sweetness. While the pepper never backs completely away, it stays in the background until about the final third, when it amps up again.

The Brazilian wrapper seems to add a little something extra to the Nicaraguan tobacco.

The Daddy Mac is decidedly stronger than the Cornelius line I smoked previously. I’d rank the Daddy Mac as a full-strength, full-flavor blend.

Daddy Mac comes in four sizes: Corona Gorda (5.5 x 46, $8.50), Robusto (5 x 52, $9), Toro (6 x 50, $10), and Gordo (6 x 60, $11). Cornelius & Anthony supplied me with two samples of each vitola, and I smoked them all.

Each one performed excellently, with draw, burn, and smoke production first-rate. According to Courtney Smith, Cornelius & Anthony’s director of brand development, the four sizes were blended to have the “same/similar profile,” though she added that ring gauges do account for some differences.

I was surprised to find my favorite was the massive Gordo, a larger cigar than I usually smoke. While I enjoyed all four Daddy Mac vitolas, for my taste, the Gordo was smoother and more balanced than the others. The smaller smokes were just a bit sharper, the flavors not quite as rounded.

Cornelius & Anthony seems to be expanding its reach at a pretty good clip, so don’t be surprised if you spot its cigars at your local B&M. When you do, I recommend Daddy Mac. I give the Gordo four 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.”

Erik Espinosa announced last year that he was tweaking the blend on his eponymous line, as well as redoing the packaging. The result is well worth checking out: a spicy, flavorful cigar that lets the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper shine with the Nicaraguan binder and filler, all at an everyday price (the three sizes run from $6.75 to $7.50). While not overly complex, there are some flavor shifts as the spice intensity rises and falls a bit, while cedar and a burned coffee notes come and go. Construction and draw are excellent.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Espinosa Cigars

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.”

Made at the Plasencia Cigars S.A. factory for Enrique Sánchez Icaza’s Global Premium Cigars, the seven-vitola 1502 Ruby line sports an Ecuadorian wrapper around tobaccos from Jalapa and Estelí. The Lancero (7 x 40) has a soft box-press, a semi-closed foot, and pre-light notes of sweet hay and cocoa. The profile is chalky—and a little meaty—with core flavors of red pepper, dry wood, bread, and toned-down cinnamon spice. Construction is excellent. Notes of creamy, sweet nut are a little more fleeting than I would like, but this is still a good buy at about $8.

Verdict = Buy.

–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) As we wrote last week, cigar makers, brand owners, blenders, and factories have been frantically scrambling to meet the August 8 deadline set forth by the FDA. (Cigars introduced after August 8 will have to go through the FDA approval process before they can be sold or marketed.) This rush has been personified by Steve Saka of Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust. Saka has recently announced on Facebook a handful of new blends and sizes. This week he shared details on yet another line: Umbagog, an “extreme value-priced ten-count bundle” using a Broadleaf wrapper that didn’t visually make the grade for his more expensive Broadleaf cigar, Mi Querida. The photo shared on Instagram shows a Toro Toro (6 x 52) which Saka says will sell for under $6. The cigar is named for a New Hampshire lake that’s a favorite fishing locale of Saka’s.

2) Following the original Fratello and the Fratello Boxer, Fratello Oro is set to become Omar de Frais’ third blend. “We wanted a mild to medium cigar with a creamy aftertaste that also embodies the true nature of our company, which is full-flavor cigars,” said de Frais in a press release. Oro marks the first time Fratello has worked with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper. The line’s six sizes will retail between $7 and $10. Fratello Oro is made at La Aurora in the Dominican Republic with a Cameroon binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican filler tobaccos.

3) Inside the Industry: Boveda yesterday announced a “long-term” supply agreement whereby the Minnesota-based company will be providing “private label custom printed patented two-way humidity control products” to Xikar, a cigar accessory brand. “We believe retailers and consumers will benefit significantly from this new supply agreement, and it adds an exciting new product line to Xikar’s already formidable accessories lineup,” said Tim Swail, Boveda’s executive vice president. “Our agreement with Boveda is a natural step in our pursuit to be the turn-key supplier of all cigar accessories, to all cigar retailers,” said Kurt Van Keppel, Xikar’s president.

4) From the Archives: Think you need the latest cigar gadget? Before you spend your hard-earned dollars, read this commentary from 2007: The Truth About Cigar Gadgets. Sure, gadgets can be fun, but as the article concludes, “the more gadgets enter into our smoking routines, the less we’ll concentrate on the cigar itself, which is (along with peace of mind) what cigar smoking is really all about.”

5) Deal of the Week: Drew Estate Undercrown fans will want to check out this special. Buy any Undercrown or Undercrown Shade box and you’ll get six cigars (three Undercrown Gran Toros and three Undercrown Shade Robustos) for free, plus an Undercrown Shade guillotine cutter. Use our discount code “Stogie10” to knock an additional 10% off the box price.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Instagram

Mel Shah, owner of an upscale cigar and wine lounge in Palm Springs, California, is the man behind Bombay Tobak. You may be more familiar with the name MBombay, though, which is his small-batch brand of high-end cigars made in Costa Rica.

Shah’s newest creation is called Gaaja (pronounced Gaa-ya), which is Sanskrit for elephant. “We had been working on the blend of Gaaja for more than four years,” reads a press release dated June 20. “The process involved in logistics and long fermentation of tobacco from countries like Peru and Paraguay really tested our patience. We had to wait for three vintages of the hybrid Connecticut wrapper leaf for the perfection we wanted.”

Gaaja was formally introduced on July 1. Its recipe calls for an Ecuadorian hybrid Connecticut/Cameroon wrapper that’s grown in the desflorado fashion. (The process of cultivating desflorado tobacco requires a watchful eye and arduous attention to detail; the buds on these plants are cut off before they flower to force the plant’s energy on leaf production instead of flower production.) The binder is Ecuadorian, and the filler is a combination of Seco from Peru; Viso from Ecuador, Paraguay, and the Dominican Republic; and Dominican Ligero.

Only one size is available: a Toro measuring 6 inches long with a ring gauge of 54. Of note is the peculiar shape, which I would describe as box-pressed on the back (the side with the back of the band) and rounded on the front.

The Toro is a velvety smooth, moderately oily cigar with a clean, golden exterior and a spongy feel in the hand. It’s accented by a unique, interesting band of light blue, red, and gold with “Gaaja” written on one side and “Bombay Tobak” written on the other. The pre-light notes at the foot are pungent and crisp with loads of sweet hay. The cold draw is airy and smooth.

Once lit, I find a medium-bodied, silky profile with flavors ranging from honey and graham to bread and dry wood. There’s a core of creaminess in the background that I would describe as buttery with hints of almond. Tea, cedar spice, and warm tobacco are also present in this complex taste. At the halfway point and beyond, the flavor starts to flirt with the medium- to full-bodied range, and the spiciness ramps up as well. Construction is outstanding.

You should expect a lot from a cigar that retails for $15.50. Fortunately, Gaaja delivers with a well-balanced, thoughtful profile that rewards careful, contentious attention. My advice is to enjoy this in a quiet, solitary environment with little distraction, and be prepared for a rewarding, distinctive experience. This gem is worthy of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys