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 this powerhouse line debuted five years ago, it was made by Don José “Pepin” Garcia for EO Brands. After the company split, production moved to Erik Espinosa’s La Zona factory in Estelí. Through the changes, it has remained a strong, distinctive Nicaraguan puro with a dark Habano wrapper. Most notably, the flavor includes hot pepper, spice, and a touch of coffee. The Napalm (5 x 52) retails for about $7.50 but can often be found for much less online. Whether you’re a committed fan of strong smokes (our 2012 review of the Nuclear vitola noted “the subtlety of an AC/DC song”) or just want an occasional injection of fire, light up a La Bomba.

Verdict = Buy.

–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) Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) visited the J.C. Newman Cigar Co. headquarters in Tampa on Wednesday to express contempt for FDA regulations on premium cigars and garner “news coverage… in a major media market along the Interstate 4 corridor as he’s locked in a contentious election against U.S. Rep. Patrick Murphy, a Jupiter Democrat,” reports the Tampa Bay Times. “This is a law that was passed to keep cigarettes and harmful tobacco products out of the hands of young people and children, and I don’t think any of us disagree with that. Anybody who knows about the premium cigar industry knows it’s not an industry that targets or is consumed by young Americans,” he told reporters. “The end result and the worst-case scenario is about half the people working here in Tampa will lose their jobs at some point, maybe more, because all they’re going to be able to sell is the things they were making before 2007.” Both Rubio and Murphy support congressional efforts to exempt premium cigars from harmful FDA oversight.

2) A little more than three years after launching Fratello Cigars, owner Omar de Frias has decided to leave his decade-plus career at NASA to focus full-time on his cigar operation. “I set an aggressive goal for myself at [this summer’s industry trade show]. I exceeded that goal. Given the enormous support I received and increasing demand for Fratello, this was the time to give the cigar industry the extra 50 hours a week I was spending on our nation’s space program,” said de Frais in a press release. “Although it is a tumultuous time for our industry, I have confidence in the staying power of my brand and the relationships I have worked so hard to build with our retailers and consumers.” Fratello Cigars can now be found in over 350 tobacconists in the U.S. and in 7 countries.

3) To regular StogieGuys.com readers, the FDA’s anticipated impacts on the premium cigar industry are as well-documented as they are frightening. Yet the American craft beer industry—now 2,300 craft breweries strong—is also reeling under pressure from the cumbersome bureaucracy. A new book from lawyer Baylen J. Linnekin entitled Biting the Hands That Feed Us, and highlighted in Men’s Journal, details “the unforeseen consequences of FDA rules and regulations that… can put unnecessary pressure on artisanal food producers and encourage waste in the system that gets food from the farm to you.” Of particular interest is “a proposed rule… for how brewers handle the byproducts of making beer that just about everyone in the industry found absurd and business-killing costly.” Read about it here.

4) Inside the Industry: Although technically introduced at the IPCPR Trade Show this summer, Miami Cigar & Co. formally announced the national distribution of the Nestor Miranda Collection Corojo this week. The new blend comes in four sizes with suggested retail prices ranging from $7.50 to $9.50. The blend joins the Connecticut, Habano, and Maduro blends in the Nestor Miranda Collection.

5) From the Archives: With last week’s news that Americans traveling abroad can finally import Cuban cigars for personal consumption, now is a good time to revisit this 2008 commentary: Is the Cuban Cigar Hype Justified? Conclusion: “Make no mistake about it, Castro’s oppressed island nation produces some fine stogies, from the Partagas Serie D No. 4 and the RyJ Short Churchill to the Cohiba Siglo VI and the Monte Petit Edmundo… I personally question whether all the Cuban cigar hype—and the excessive prices that come with black market goods—is justified. I think many of us give sub-par Cubans a pass simply because we’re not supposed to smoke them. The forbidden factor unquestionably makes them more attractive.”

6) Deal of the Week: The Liga Privada Dirty Rat is a very sought-after and hard-to-find limited edition smoke. Currently, it is in stock here (4-packs are $58 and boxes of 12 are $157), but move quickly. Buy the box, or any order over $75, and get a free triple-flame table lighter by adding the coupon code “StogieDeal” at checkout.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

On Friday, news broke that federal rules for importing Cuban cigars (and rum) were changing. While the Obama administration has been largely hostile to handmade cigars, moves towards normalizing relations with Cuba have been a silver lining to the otherwise draconian stance by the Obama presidency, most notably the FDA, towards cigars. The changes officially went into effect on Monday, October 17. Here’s what you need to know:

Cuban cigars bought overseas can now be brought into the U.S.

In December 2014, for the first time since before Cuban Embargo, it became legal to import Cuban cigars into the United States, but only for officially licensed travelers to Cuba and only if the value of the cigars (and rum) totaled $100 or less. Further, until March 16, 2016, it was also technically illegal to buy Cuban cigars overseas even if they weren’t smoked outside the U.S. Now, it is legal to bring back cigars purchased in Cuba or elsewhere, as long as the cigars are for personal consumption.

Online sales from overseas on hold for now.

Many of the news stories about the rule change were vague and implied that all overseas purchases of Cuban cigars for personal consumption were allowed. Since non-approved alcohol can be purchased from overseas for consumption, it left the window open for Cuban cigar purchases overseas online, which would then be delivered into the U.S. However, the Treasury Department has made clear that the rule changes for importing Cuban cigars only apply to accompanied baggage: “OFAC is also removing the prohibition on foreign travelers importing Cuban-origin alcohol and tobacco products into the United States as accompanied baggage.” So while non-FDA approved, non-Cuban cigars can be purchased from overseas and shipped into the U.S., Cuban cigars still cannot be imported unless you are personally traveling with them (in other words, they must be in your baggage).

Taxes and duty still must be paid on Cuban cigars.

While you can bring in Cuban cigars, you are still responsible for declaring them on your customs form. The Treasury Department also notes that you may have to pay when you bring your cigars back with you: “In all cases, the Cuban-origin goods must be imported for personal use, and normal limits on duty and tax exemptions will apply.” Generally, you can bring back up to 100 cigars with a value of $800 without paying duty. Note you also may be required to pay federal excise taxes on the tobacco products you are importing.

There are lots of fake Cuban cigars out there.

Cuban cigars tend to be expensive, which creates an incentive for people to sell counterfeits. Since we first wrote about how to spot a fake, Habanos (the Cuban government-controlled distribution company) has beefed up its assistance to cigar smokers when it comes to verifying a Cuban cigar’s authenticity. In addition to a helpful page detailing the anti-counterfeiting measures they use, they also have a page where you can input the serial number of a box to check authenticity. But the best advice remains to purchase your cigars only from reputable and official Cuban cigar retailers, and always be weary of a deal that seems to good to be true. Fake Cubans have even been spotted at duty-free shops in airports. And the guy at the beach selling “discount Cubans” is almost certainly selling fakes.

Don’t get caught up in the Cuban hype.

We’ve said many times that while Cuban cigars can be very special, they are not the be-all-end-all of cigars. Many of the finest cigars produced today are made outside of Cuba, and if you are not used to Cuban cigars, you may not find them particularly enjoyable as they tend to be different from the finest Dominican, Honduran, and Nicaraguan cigars. The benefit of the new rules is that more Americans will get to legally try authentic Cuban cigars for themselves, and they will finally be able to judge them free from the hype and mystique that is tied up in trying a banned product.

–Patrick S

photo credits: Flickr

On Friday, the Obama administration lifted restrictions barring Americans traveling abroad from bringing back Cuban cigars and rum—another step towards further normalizing relations between Washington and Havana.

Since December 2014, American citizens who were officially licensed to visit Cuba (for reasons including religion, journalism, education, visiting family, etc.) were granted the ability to bring back $100 worth of Cuban cigars and/or Cuban rum into the U.S., as part of a $400 total import allowance. This change—which coincided with a prisoner exchange that was brokered with Cuban President Raúl Castro—was a shift from the previous policy, which didn’t allow any Cuban cigars, or other Cuban goods for that matter, to be imported.

Now, travelers to Europe, Canada, Mexico, or other places where Cuban cigars are legally sold (including Cuba) can legally import Cuban cigars and rum without limitation, as long as the importation is for personal consumption only.

While this is a rather significant shift in policy, it’s important to remember the longstanding Cuban embargo is still in effect. Obama can’t reverse the embargo in its entirety; that would take an act of Congress. So don’t expect to suddenly find Cuban smokes at your local tobacconist, or a way to order them online from U.S. sellers. (Whether or not cigars can now be legally purchased by consumers from online retailers in other countries is not clear.)

Still, this is a major win for cigar enthusiasts who enjoy Cuban cigars and regularly travel abroad. It’s also a step in the right direction. The Cuban embargo has been a massive failure when you consider the objective was (and still is?) to cripple the Castro regime. The island’s totalitarian communist regime has been unbelievably stable for decades, and its economic policies have only recently begun to take small steps towards liberalization. Furthermore, America hypocritically has no qualms trading with many other countries that regularly suppress human rights and political freedoms.

So while it’s appropriate for cigar enthusiasts to cautiously applaud Friday’s announcement, our adulation for the administration should be, at best, very tempered. Recall that, thanks to President Obama and the anti-tobacco policymakers he relies upon to craft and carry out policy, cigars commercially solid in the U.S. at retail shops and online are subject to highly draconian regulations—regulations that will force businesses to close and eliminate an estimated 30,000 jobs in the U.S. and 300,000 jobs abroad.

Setting aside the ban on samples, new warning labels, and the ridiculously arbitrary nature of the February 15, 2007 cutoff date, the lack of clarity about the FDA approval process is the biggest reason why industry experts predict the rule will devastate the industry. What will qualify as “substantially equivalent”? How will the FDA build and maintain the capacity to process approval applications in a timely manner? How will small, family-owned boutique cigar operations pay the outrageously high costs needed to successfully gain FDA approval (estimates for the cost of obtaining FDA permission to sell a cigar vary widely from $20,000 to $100,000 or more for each size and each packaging option within each blend)?

One can see how the elimination of restrictions on importing Cuban cigars for personal consumption—which are not subject to FDA regulations, by the way—coupled with outlandish FDA rules on all other cigars could jeopardize U.S. retailers and manufacturers of non-Cuban cigars in places like Nicaragua, Miami, Honduras, and the Dominican Republic. What’s the message here? Commercial cigar sales in the U.S. have to abide ungodly stringent rules, while Cubans get to flow more freely? Is it not hard to envision a future state where Cuban cigars are exchanged on the black market once they have been legally imported? Won’t these cigar sales cut into the profits of non-Cuban manufacturers and retailers who must comply with the terrible new rules?

Whether or not this was Obama’s intention makes no matter. Good intentions do not always result in good outcomes, especially in matters of public policy. So while we aficionados tip our hats to Friday’s announcement, let’s remember the cigar industry is entering extremely perilous waters thanks to a reckless course set by Obama and misguided, misinformed members of Congress who agreed to grant FDA oversight over premium handmade cigars.

It should go without saying that Obama is no friend of cigars. But you certainly wouldn’t know that from reading the outpouring of support on social media, or the laughably off-target “reporting” from the mainstream media.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

On Friday, news broke that the Obama administration ended the prohibition on bringing cigars into the U.S. for personal use. (An earlier change had allowed up to $100 worth of Cuban cigars to be brought back only by licensed travelers to Cuba.) This will certainly kick off a rush of people wanting to try their first (legal) Cuban cigar, but the question remains: Are they any good? I get asked that question frequently, and the answer I always give is as follows: Like non-Cuban cigars, some are exquisite, others quite bad, and most fall somewhere between. This Petite Edmundo has over half a decade of humidor time, which has resulted in a savory smoke with roasted flavors, light spice, and a slight creaminess. I suspect many people will be disappointed when they finally get their hands on a Cuban cigar as they wont live up to the hype, but this well-aged Montecristo didn’t disappoint.

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 verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Last summer, E.P. Carrillo introduced the Core Plus series, a lineup of four vitolas available in either Natural or Maduro wrappers. The robusto-sized Enchants format in the Natural selection comes complete with a dry, reddish Ecuadorian wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. It sells for under $7. On the palate, it’s spicy, leathery, and considerably sweet. A prominent sugary note reminds me of Luden’s wild cherry cough drops, a medicinal flavor of which I’m not particularly fond. The burn leaves much to be desired, as my single sample required several re-lights to stay on course. I have been a fan of many E.P. Carrillo creations over the years, but the Core Plus Natural Enchants left me unimpressed.

Verdict = Sell.

–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) President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines—best known for his internationally condemned violent campaign against drugs that has left 3,600 dead since he took office in June—has his sights set on banning public smoking. Health Secretary Paulyn Ubial “said Mr. Duterte wanted a 100 percent smoke-free environment in public places, as in the southern city of Davao, where he was formerly mayor,” according to the Associated Press. “The measure would restrict smoking to designated outdoor areas away from the public, and would include e-cigarettes as well as traditional cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. Ms. Ubial said there was no reason for smokers and tobacco companies to oppose the ban. ‘We’re not stopping them from smoking,’ she said. ‘We are just telling them not to smoke around nonsmokers.’”

2) Not shying away from its reputation as a super-premium brand capable of commanding high prices, Davidoff has announced two Royal Release cigars—a Robusto and a Salomones—with MSRPs of $80 and $100 per cigar, respectively. The blend features an “Aromatica Dominicana” wrapper that’s exclusive to this release, a Habano Ecuador binder, and a variety of Dominican filler tobaccos. “The seeds themselves were created, germinated, and planted especially for this purpose,” according to a Davidoff press release. “The heritage and pedigree of today’s Royals can be traced back to the harvest of 2004/5, a year of near perfect growing conditions and ideal rainfall.” In addition to the cigars, which are sold in boxes of ten, Davidoff is also releasing a Royal Release lighter by S.T. Dupont ($970) and an ashtray made of handblown glass from Murano, Italy ($290).

3) Inside the Industry: Meier & Dutch, the distribution arm affiliated with Cigars International, which is owned by  the Scandinavian Tobacco Group (which is also the parent company of General Cigar), has announced the introduction of Lucious Lyon. Inspired by the FOX television program Empire, Lucious Lyon is named after the show’s lead character, portrayed by Terrence Howard. The cigar is made in Honduras in three sizes and features a Connecticut wrapper, dual Connecticut Broadleaf and Mexican binders, and filler from four countries: the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Along with the cigar, Meier & Dutch is also releasing a line of accessories made up of a crystal ashtray, a high-gloss humidor, and a cutter and lighter by Xikar.

4) From the Archives: Coffee and cigars go together about as well as any pair we can think of. Whether you’re a fan of light roast or prefer thick, sweet café Cubano, there’s sure to be a cigar to fit your preference. StogieGuys.com has been making recommendations and offering coffee advice for years. Check it out here, here, and here.

5) Deal of the Week: Crowned Heads fans will want to jump on this deep discount (50% off) on the two limited edition Mason Dixon releases. Both the North and South blends are in stock for $99 for a box of 20. Add coupon code “StogieDeal” and get a free triple-flame table lighter (good on any purchase of $75 or more).

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr