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. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) After a recent Pentagon/Veterans Affairs study proposed banning tobacco in the U.S. military, the Department of Defense announced this week that it would not act on that recommendation. While the decision was applauded by many, most made no mention of soldiers’ individual rights—arguing instead that “extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures.” The military will continue to ban smoking indoors and during basic training.

2) The anti-tobacco movement, of course, isn’t just plaguing states and cities across America. From France and Turkey to Thailand and India, dozens of other countries are forcing smoking regulations upon their own citizens. This article lists many of the international smoking ban developments from January 2008 to the present.

3) Inside the Industry: The Cuban Press Sampler arrived at CAO headquarters on Tuesday. Theo Fulz, CEO and president of cigar giant Altadis, is retiring this fall and will be succeeded by current CFO Gary Ellis.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review lights up a Rocky Patel Summer Collection 2009. Keepers of the Flame fires up a Tatuaje Havana VI Angeles. Cigar Inspector inspects a DPG Blue Label. Nicetightash.com reviews a Camacho SLR Maduro.

5) Deal of the Week: Why it’s called the “King Sampler” we’re not sure, but it does get you a dozen top smokes for about $3 per stick. Included are two each of the Gran Habano 3 Siglos Torpedo, the 5 Vegas Cask-Strength II, the Bahia Blu B500, the pricey Graycliff 1666 Presidente, the La Herencia Cubana Torpedo, and the tasty AJ Fernandez-made Man O’ War. Get yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

It’s been happening a lot recently. So much so that I thought it appropriate to write this and get it all out in the open. In case you haven’t noticed, I’m speaking about the fact that our cigar ratings—particularly those published over the last month—have been climbing like grade inflation at an Ivy League school.

Yesterday’s review of an Opus X Perfecxion No.2 was no exception. Including the Tesa Vintage Especial Rothchild and the Montecristo Sublime Edición Limitada 2008, it was the third stick to receive our highest rating in the last five weeks. This may not sound like cause for concern, but consider that only 21 cigars have earned the “five stogies out of five” distinction since we started publishing reviews.

Those three exceptional cigars aside, we’ve also recently given high marks to the Casa Magna Colorado Torito, Nub Habano 464 Torpedo, Tatuaje L’esprit de La Verite, and both Nestor Miranda 20 Aniversario blends. All of these scored better than our average rating (about 3.5/5 when you calculate the mean of our library of almost 300 reviews). So what’s the deal?

In anticipation of any concerns, no, we haven’t changed our methods. We’re still relying on our tried and true—albeit unique—ratings system, and we’re still smoking multiple samples of each cigar before we publish a full review (unless we specify otherwise).

I’d also like to reiterate that ads or samples from manufacturers in no way influence our decisions. We’ve worked hard to earn your trust over the years; believe me when I say that we have much more to lose by being dishonest than we have to gain.

The recent upward trend of ratings can best be explained in this way: We’ve simply been choosing a lot of fantastic cigars to smoke, read, and write about. Heck, even though we can’t let preconceived notions impact our ratings, it’s much more fun to fire up that highly anticipated new release than it is to sift through value smokes to try and find a diamond in the rough.

We understand we must do both, however, if we are to provide our readers with the most comprehensive coverage of the world of cigars. Rest assured that we haven’t abandoned our goal of identifying undervalued and under-priced gems. Be it the timing of new releases or be it coincidence, we’ve just been picking a lot of winners lately. Hopefully you’ve been doing the same.

One final note: I realize some of you don’t buy into numerical ratings altogether. I can dig that. That’s why my colleagues and I spend so much time and text discussing our impressions of a cigar and so little time and text describing how we derived its score. Consider the rating a mere guide—more of a means to evaluate cigars relative to one another than an ultimate judgment.

After all, remember that the best cigar in the world is the cigar you like the best.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

No non-Cuban cigar is surrounded by more mystique and hype than the Opus X by Arturo Fuente. Indeed, it’s legend stands with some of the biggest names from the forbidden island nation and, even though Fuente imports three-quarters of a million Opus X’s into the U.S. every year, the Opus is nearly as difficult to find as illegal Cubans.

The Opus X legend starts with its unique Cuban-seed rosado wrapper. When first planted on the Fuente estate in 1992, it was an daring experiment to see if premium wrapper could be grown in the Dominican Republic.

The Opus X line uses 100% Dominican tobacco (wrapper, binder, and filler), is cured in rum barrels prior to being rolled, then aged for at least a year before being boxed and shipped. Today, largely due to the success of the Opus X, there are a number of other Dominican puros on the market.

The Perfecxion No. 2 measures 6 and 3/8 inches with a ring gauge of 52.  The rosado wrapper is reddish brown with a slight sheen. The torpedo-shaped stick is extremely solid and firm.

Pre-light, it leaves a leathery flavor in your mouth with a bit of raisin. Despite its rock-solid construction, the draw is deliberate but not too difficult.

Upon lighting, it starts out medium-bodied then quickly evolves. Only one inch in, it turns into a full-bodied flavor bomb. Leather, sweet cedar, and pepper dominate while underlying raisin, cocoa, and earth round out the taste.

It all makes for a balanced, intense smoke, while the torpedo shape focuses the flavors on the palate just right. A sturdy ash and a relatively even burn round out the above average physical properties.

That brings me to one of the biggest questions about the Opus X: price. The suggested retail price for the Opus X Perfecxion No.2  is just $14, but you’re more likely to pay twice that much due to sky-high demand. (Occasionally you’ll find a place that sells the Opus X for around $14, but don’t expect them to last long on the shelf.)

Ultimately, no matter what price you pay, you get a fantastic smoke that lives up to the hype. That’s why it’s easy to give the Opus X Perfecxion No.2 our highest rating of five of stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. A list of other five stogie-rated cigars can be found here.]

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I recently spent four days in Las Vegas and I’ve come to this conclusion: Something about smoking makes many normally considerate people extremely rude.  As cigar smokers have gotten more and more considerate when they light up, some non-smokers have decided to throw good manners out the door.

I realize that smoking isn’t as accepted as it once was, and I do my best to be considerate of those who may not appreciate the fantastic aroma of premium tobacco.  Nowadays, when I’m somewhere that smoking isn’t to be expected, I usually ask around to make sure smoking doesn’t bother anyone. “Mind if I smoke?” is a question that cigar enthusiats are accustomed to asking these days before lighting up.

Too bad smokers’ increasingly courteous behavior isn’t being returned by all non-smokers. As my trip to Vegas revealed, rudeness towards smokers seems to have become acceptable.

Repeatedly, I found people complaining out loud, pretending I couldn’t hear their complaints.  This was apparent even where smoking is the norm, on the  vice-filled casino floor—one of the few “public” places left to light up a cigar in this country—and often when I had been smoking well before the obnoxious complainer had arrived.

For some unfortunate reason, rudeness towards smokers has become acceptable, even as our our culture has become more and more tolerant of other differences and personal choices. Tolerance and even basic manners, it seems, goes out the window when tobacco is involved.

Maybe it’s all that propaganda about smoking that floods our televisions, radios, and newspapers. People have been told that one second of tobacco smoke will instantly put them in the hospital.  This despite the fact that it takes years, if not decades, of “second-hand smoke” before any statistically meaningful increase in risk takes place.

Add to that all the hyped-up fear and law after law—be it a smoking ban, a paternalistic regulation, or a punitive tax hike—that treats smokers like second-class citizens, and we’ve got society where bigotry against smokers is acceptable. (A “bigot,” after all, is defined as “a person obstinately or intolerantly devoted to his or her own opinions and prejudices; especially: one who regards or treats the members of a group with hatred and intolerance.”)

While cause and effect are hard to determine, no matter what the reason, it seems we have turned a corner as a society. Smoking, once accepted as a personal choice that adults can make for themselves, has unfortunately become a subject where prejudice and narrow-mindedness are increasingly accepted.

Bad manners may be the result now, but if history is any indicator, as prejudice and bigotry become more widespread, this anti-smoking mindset will become increasingly entrenched and institutionalized in our laws and culture. It’s not a pleasant conclusion, but the sooner we realize and accept it, the better chance we have of stopping it.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Amazon.com

A few weeks ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find a healthy supply of Casa Magnas for sale at my local tobacconist. It goes without saying that this relatively new brand has been rather elusive since it was launched at the IPCPR Trade Show in the summer of 2008 by Manuel Quesada and Nestor Plascencia.

Casa Magna seemingly went from obscurity to overnight sensation after Cigar Aficionado gave the Colorado Robusto a rating of 93 and named it best of the year. That underscores, for better or worse, the tremendous influence the magazine wields in the world of stogies.

While I’ve learned to take CA’s reviews with a grain of salt, I had every reason to believe this Nicaraguan puro would live up to its reputation. Nearly everything I’d heard or read—including a March Quick Smoke by one of my colleagues—was overwhelmingly positive.

My expectations only increased after I examined my two Toritos (4.75 x 60), each of which cost me $6.50 apiece. The red Colorado wrappers almost seem to glisten with dotted specks of oil and tooth, and the whole stubby frame is astonishingly firm.

That density gives way to an easy draw with spice on the lips. Then, even though the pre-light aromas of honey and earth suggest a medium-bodied profile, the first inch has a bold and hearty taste of fresh mulch and black cherry. Notes of apricot and nut add complexity.

Not much changes into the second or final thirds but, as you can see, there’s plenty going on here to hold the attention of discriminating cigar enthusiasts. The interplay between sweet and salty flavors is especially satisfying, as are the fragrances of the resting smoke.

Rolled in Nestor Plascencia’s Segovia factory in Estelí, the combustion qualities are characteristic of a much pricier cigar. The slow burn requires few touch-ups, the draw remains clear throughout, and the gray ash holds strong for two inches or more. As with any stick above a 54 ring gauge, though, the Torito’s girth is awkward and slightly uncomfortable.

But it’s clear to me that the Casa Magna Colorado is worthy of its lofty repute. Even if you don’t consider the blend to be the best creation of 2008, it deserves a spot somewhere at the top of the class. I look forward to trying the other vitolas and I give the Torito four and a half 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.

Extended in name and length, this seven inch by 54 ring gauge salomon features an Ecuadorian Sumatra-seed wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and a filler blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos. The mellow flavor is of honey, cream, and cedar spice. With outstanding physical properties, the Reserva Figurados Selectos de Lujos will win you over for consistency and charm—especially if you embrace its occasional bitterness.

Verdict = Buy.

–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.

Not long ago I wrote that it isn’t always wise to let your rarest cigars sit in your humidor forever. With that in mind, I decided that Independence Day would be the perfect occasion for this rare (and pricey) Opus X Chili Pepper, which had been in my possession for the past two years. This Dominican puro features a somewhat rustic wrapper, but it’s well-constructed and is exceptionally firm to the touch. The flavor profile has plenty of cedar and a good amount of black pepper spice—what some call a Nicaraguan bite. As the cigar progresses, a subtle sweetness balances this medium- to full-bodied figurado.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys