The Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and informative as possible, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Wednesday marked the culmination of the protracted clash over SCHIP, one of the most critical political battles in the cigar industry’s history. Obama’s signature made it official: a 52.75% federal excise tax on large cigars (capped at 40.26 cents per stick) effective April 1. While by no means welcome news, these numbers, thanks to groups like Cigar Rights of America and the IPCPR, are a far cry from the $10 per cigar cap originally proposed by lawmakers in July.

2) Imperial Tobacco Group, the giant that owns Altadis, acknowledged this week that it expects the economic downturn to have a negative impact on its cigar output. Although Altadis makes many top-selling brands, the company’s cigar sales are dwarfed by its cigarette component.

3) Inside the Industry: Erneto Perez-Carrillo, the man who created the Miami-based La Gloria Cubana brand, is leaving General Cigars to start a company with two of his children. All sizes in the Cuban Cohiba Siglo line will be available in metal tubes. J. Glynn Loope was formally named executive director of Cigar Rights of America. NBC’s Today Show toured J.C. Newman’s Tampa cigar factory.

4) Around the Blogs: Cigar Jack smokes a Casa Fuente Pyramide. Cigar Inspector checks out a Diplomatico No 2. Stogie Review lights up an H. Upmann Reserve. Keepers of the Flame reviews the Troya X-Tra Cetro.

5) Deal of the Week: It’s not too late to take advantage of Super Bowl specials from Cuban Crafters. While they have quite a few deals, we particularly recommend the Cupido Tuxedo Churchills, which will be the subject of a StogiegGuys.com review in the near future. Get yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Washington Post

Thanks to politicians, self-interested health organizations, and biased doctors, most of us probably don’t fully understand the many advantages of tobacco. It may surprise you to learn that smoking cigars poses some serious health benefits. That’s right. Benefits.

I discovered some of tobacco’s benefits when a letter from Dr. William Campbell Douglass II came across my desk this week. Once voted “Doctor of the Year” by the National Health Federation, Dr. Douglass says, “When practiced in moderation, smoking can load you up with health benefits you never imagined possible.”

The letter, which likely dates back to 2004 when Dr. Douglass’ The Health Benefits of Tobacco was published, says the author is not on Big Tobacco’s payroll and does not advocate smoking in excess. But he does say “mountains of evidence” suggest smoking and health are not necessarily at odds.

According to Dr. Douglass, smoking can:

• Slash your risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s
• Improve your memory and concentration
• Help prevent thyroid, breast, and skin cancer
• Produce new blood vessel growth around blocked arteries

Moreover, brothers of the leaf have an advantage over cigarette smokers because stogie manufacturers don’t add dangerous chemicals and fiberglass to their products like cigarette companies do. That’s why, to improve cardiovascular health, Dr. Douglass sometimes prescribes “three delicious cigars a day.”

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? Maybe it is. As I wrote in a similar commentary about 16 months ago, I’m not a doctor and I don’t have the training or resources to fully examine Dr. Douglass’ claims.

Still, I thought bringing this to your attention was important. It seems nowadays, when it comes to cigars and risk, there’s more misinformation out there than information. And we can’t rely on special interest groups to find the truth.

So, if you’re interested, I implore you to seek out empirical evidence and continue to read about cigars and health with an open mind. Even though the notion of tobacco health benefits might seem crazy, is it any crazier than blindly accepting faulty “scientific” advice from the very groups that have fueled and profited from the fanatic anti-smoking movement?

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

Back in December, I tasted the rare and expensive A.H. Hirsch 16-Year-Old Bourbon. While writing about that stellar spirit, I noted that A.H. Hirsh is the last of the bourbons made at Michter’s Distillery in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. Today, a series of whiskeys are made under the Michter’s name, but none of them come from the original Pennsylvania distillery.

This Stogie Spirit article is of one of those post-Schaefferstown Michter’s whiskeys. It’s called Michter’s US 1 Single Barrel Straight Rye, which is made by an undisclosed Kentucky distillery.

As the name suggests, this is a single barrel straight rye, meaning it’s made with at least 51 percent rye mash (usually mixed with corn or barley) and aged in new charred oak barrels. Each clear bottle is individually numbered (my sample came from 8D-41).

All rye must be 160 proof or less and, like most, Michter’s comes in well below that at 91.4 proof. The color is an impressive shiny copper hue.

After pouring myself a few fingers, I notice an aroma of resin, vanilla, and citrus. The taste consists of  oak, pepper, and cedar that warms the corners of your mouth. The finish is long and smooth with a hint of mint.

This is a favorite rye of mine and, at a cost of $35 per bottle, it isn’t going to break the bank. In fact, that makes it about a quarter of the price of the Hirsh and nearly half of what Michter’s ultra-premium 10-Year Single Barrel Rye costs. The reasonable price also makes it a great candidate for a classic Manhattan.

As for cigar pairings, I’d pick a cigar with a little spice of it’s own to stand up to Michter’s classic peppery flavors. The CAO LX2, Don Pepin Blue Label, or even the Opus X seem well-suited for the task.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

It happens to me from time to time, and I’m sure it has happened to many of you too. You’re sitting at one of the increasingly rare bars that allow smoking, enjoying a cigar, and suddenly you’re being harassed by an anti-tobacco zealot.

Often they flap their hands around, pretending to cough as they wave smoke from their face. On rarer occasions they will confront you to loudly proclaim, “That stinks! Can’t you put it out?” They might even laughably suggest you are killing them or giving them lung cancer by smoking nearby.

I write “laughably,” by the way, because even government studies suggest non-smokers need to live with smokers for decades before any measurable increased risk is detected. So a few seconds, hours, or even days adds virtually zero risk. But I digress.

How to respond to such a person is not an easy question to answer. We cigar smokers are generally considerate people, so while telling them to buzz off with some choice words has its appeal, that’s not the route I usually take. Instead, I often just say sorry it offends you and go on smoking, or recommend a nearby bar that doesn’t allow smoking. If it’s not inconvienent for me I may even move to another part of the bar.

But since the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP ) is about to be funded through massive tax increases on tobacco, including roughly 40 cents per smoke for premium cigars, I’ve got a new reply to this annoying breed of anti-tobacco zealot: “I’m smoking this cigar for the children.”

After all, only with enough smoking will the government be able to pay for the SCHIP program. In fact, it is estimated that 22 million new smokers will be needed to fully fund the egregious scheme.

And that brings me to the final thing to say to the kind of person who would harass a complete stranger engaged in a perfectly legal activity. From now on, I plan on asking: “Why aren’t you smoking? Don’t you care about the children?”

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I like a cigar with a story. The tale of Black Pearl, launched in 2000, began when founder Doug Wood stumbled across a long forgotten La Perla Habana box label in his travels. Evidently struck by the “romanticism and tradition of the turn-of-the-century Cuban art,” Wood based his cigar company on the stone lithographs he won at auction.

The story of this review isn’t as interesting. Black Pearl is one of those brands I had heard about time and again but, for one reason or another, never got around to trying. I fixed that this weekend by firing up two six inch by 50 ring gauge Rojo Toros.

The Rojo blend, made by La Perla Habana, is a Nicaraguan puro with a carefully applied wrapper, a Colorado-like reddish hue, and a firm feel. The Torpedo was rated 90 by Cigar Aficionado in December 2007 for its rich, cedary flavors and sweet finish.

La Perla sells the Rojo blend as a “smooth and inviting medium- bodied cigar, and an experience you’ll no doubt savor for years to come.” While my encounter with the Toros wasn’t unsatisfactory, I can’t say I completely subscribe to their enthusiasm.

The cigar lights easily to reveal a hearty taste of rustic leather. The draw is smooth and the ash is white, well-layered, and sturdy. The meandering burn, which includes an abnormally large and protruding mascara, straightens into the second third to reveal notes of spice with herbal undertones.

Flavors of clove and tea dominate to the halfway mark until they are overcome by a black coffee bitterness. This adequate yet somewhat lackluster profile dominates the remainder of the 80-minute smoke.

I wouldn’t call the Black Pearl Rojo terribly balanced or complex. It strikes me as the kind of cigar that makes a good companion for the golf course or a barbeque—not an after-dinner joyride that commands your full attention.

But I wouldn’t overlook it either. At $116 per box of 20, the Toros aren’t unreasonably priced. And who knows? Maybe you’ll get caught up in their flavor like Doug Wood was taken with the artwork that inspired them. As for me, I give the Black Pearl Rojo Toro three 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.

It has been almost a year since I reviewed this smoke, and thankfully it hasn’t changed much in that time. While not quite as full-bodied as I remembered, the classically-sized toro still has plenty of cedar, leather, clove, and pepper. This makes for an interesting, complex smoke. Despite a burn that at times needs touching up, the physical qualities are above average.

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. The following is a Guest Quick Smoke, submitted by a StogieGuys.com reader. If you’d like to submit your own for publication, please contact us.

This Robusto has a beautiful and toothy Honduran habano wrapper. Construction is good and the initial flavors offer up some woodiness and spice. As the smoke progresses, the spice mellows and some creaminess emerges along with a hint of sweetness on the finish. The burn is perfect from start to finish and the flavors are complex. With a price of just over $7, this is definitely worth a try.

Verdict = Buy.

-Submitted by Patrick Mize of Gainesville, FL