The Stogie Guys

Call me what you will, but last night, as I watched the political pundits attempt to analyze the election results with their fancy maps and roundtables of “expert” commentators, I could think of no better activity than drinking whiskey. And since the whole election experience had me craving something strong and reliable, I turned to the trusted brand that bears my middle name.

Founded in 1780 by John Jameson in Dublin, this is a very popular whiskey that probably needs no introduction. Jameson has been crowned the fastest growing international whiskey in the world, with sales reaching 2.6 million cases in June.

Jameson is made exclusively from Irish barley, both malted and un-malted, all grown around the company’s modern distillery in the southern Ireland city of Cork. Kiln-fired then triple distilled, the “grain to glass” strategy is meticulously executed with the goal of balance. This helps the original blend remain “true to the pot still whiskey tradition laid down by John Jameson in the 18th century. The current Master Distiller, Barry Crocket, continues this great distilling tradition by ensuring that John Jameson’s high standards are upheld.”

The original blend‘s pour is amber-gold with a brilliant clarity. Swirl the glass to notice the great “legs” (i.e., high viscosity) and the rich aromas of malt and wood. If you pay closer attention, you’ll be rewarded with more delicate notes of honey, grass, and oak. But don’t breathe in too deeply; the smell of the alcohol will overpower the whiskey’s aromatic subtleties.

Fortunately, you won’t find much alcohol in the flavor profile. Jameson is extremely smooth with a gentle sweetness and an enjoyable interplay between wood and nuts. The warm finish is long enough to chew.

Full-bodied stogies would drown out this spirit’s subtle balance of flavors, and I think most mild cigars are better suited for beer or wine. So, for pairings, look to the medium-bodied spectrum. My recommendations include the Isla de Cuba Classic, Bolivar Royal Corona, Gran Habano #3, Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill, and Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino. Any of these will make excellent companions for this fine whiskey, which retails for $25-35 per 750 ml. bottle (40% alcohol).

No matter what cigar you pair it with or how you drink it, I think you’ll agree that Jameson is an excellent way to get top-notch, reliable whiskey for a reasonable price. Heck, if it’s good enough for my middle name, it’s good enough for your liquor cabinet.

–Patrick A

photo credits: Stogie Guys

It seems that Dominican puros have been all the rage of late. Certainly the trend can be traced back to the introduction of the Fuente Opus X in the mid-90’s, which busted the commonly held notion that top-quality wrappers couldn’t be grown in the Dominican Republic.

Recently a host of Dominican puros (cigars with Dominican wrappers, binders, and fillers) have come to market, including cigars by La Flor Dominicana, Davidoff, and Cuvee. This year at the IPCPR trade show, the two largest premium cigar makers—Altadis and General Cigars—introduced their first Dominican puros, the Mi Dominicana and the Cohiba Puro Dominicana, respectively.

The Cohiba Puro Dominicana is the fourth line in General’s “Red Dot” Cohiba brand whose name has been the subject of much litigation. The blend comes in four sizes: Corona, Churchill, Toro, and the 5.5 inch by 50 ring gauge Robusto that’s the subject of this review.

The cigar features a Colorado brown wrapper with dark, almost black veins that’s grown in General’s own fields. According to the cigar’s promotional materials, the “tobaccos have been aged in tercios and charcoaled wooden barrels to enhance their natural flavor.”

Pre-light, I find a unique blend of musty earth, sweet molasses, and pepper. It is very firm to the touch, the same as most of General Cigar’s Dominican-made smokes. One feature I’ve found in all of the Dominican Cohibas, including this one, is a head that is noticeably rounded for a parejo.

Once lit, I find a burst of full flavor with lots of chewy leather and spice on the lips. Soon the spice fades and the cigar becomes more toasty and medium-bodied. From time to time, some bitterness works into an otherwise smooth flavor profile.

The draw is noticably tight, but only occasionally difficult to draw from. The burn is even and the ash steady for half an inch.

Overall, the Cohiba Dominican Puro is a nice smoke, but hardly sensational. Given that the robusto sells for $17 each, I would hope for better. At half that price, I would give it a strong recommendation, but considering the host of tremendous cigars available for considerably less, I have a hard time believing that this will be a regular smoke for most people.

Between generally pleasant flavors, average construction, and an overly high price, the Cohiba Puro Dominicana Robusto earns a rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As we wrote way back in August 2006, every stogie enthusiast will run into an uneven burn from time to time. This phenomenon can be much more than annoying; it can adversely and significantly affect the performance of an otherwise delightful cigar.

The following tips should help everyone from tobacco neophytes to seasoned stogie veterans fix an uneven burn—also called a canoe—especially if the problem stems not from the actual makeup of the cigar but from some outside interference.

Without question, the best strategy is to avoid an uneven burn in the first place. A proper light is a good way to start every cigar. From there, if you notice the mascara (the black line between the ash and the tobacco) begin to meander, rotate the cigar so the slow burning part is at the bottom. Fire, after all, needs oxygen to burn, and the bottom of the cigar will burn faster than the top because it has more access to oxygen. This is also why you should rotate your cigar as you smoke.

Second, if placing the long end on the bottom doesn’t work, we recommend touching up the fast burning part of the wrapper by applying moisture to the wrapper to slow down the burn. Usually saliva will get the job done, but remember you just want to add a little moisture to the wrapper; you don’t want a wet stogie.

If the aforementioned two techniques don’t work, feel free to grab your lighter or matches and gently burn off the section that’s burning too fast. Don’t rush to quickly take a puff afterwards, however, as the ash is likely unstable. Wait until the burnt wrapper turns black and burns off completely.

While it’s always best to smoke each cigar as its blender intended—slowly from beginning to end in one sitting—we understand that not everyone has the time or the inclination. In order to re-establish an even burn after the foot has extinguished, tap the remaining ash and blow through the cigar before toasting the foot again. This practice will help diminish the sour, bitter flavor that’s often associated with re-lit cigars, and it should clear the way for a second shot at an even burn.

Finally, if you’ve uncovered your own unique methodology to fix an uneven burn, please share it with StogieGuys.com readers by leaving a comment below.

–Patrick A & Patrick S

photo credit: Club Stogie

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

I thought the 5 Vegas Miami Churchill was an OK smoke when I reviewed it just over a year ago, so I was interested to try the blend in this Petit Corona format (4.5 x 55). The wrapper is a lovely brown color and free of veins, although with far less oil than many of Pepin’s other creations. After an initial burst of unpleasant bitterness, the cigar settled into nice a medium-full mix of leather, cedar, and burnt coffee. Construction is also a mixed bag. The draw is good and the ash impressively steady, especially considering the last quarter just before the ash seemed to burst at its seems as it pushed towards the head like some sort of slow-motion exploding cigar.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

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

Wow. This robusto-sized masterpiece, which earned a perfect five-stogie rating from my colleague in a June review, is simply fantastic. It boasts stellar physical properties and well-balanced flavors of coffee, leather, cream, and gingerbread. An extra 11 months in my humidor paid big dividends, rendering this oily Cuban well worth its going rate of $110 for a box of 10.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: 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 snippets of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Happy Halloween from all of us at StogieGuys.com. While we can’t recommend a cigar to pair with all the Snickers and Sweet Tarts you’ll be choking down, we can suggest you take a look at our list of the top 15 cigar-friendly costumes.

2) By a tally of 185 to 3, the United Nations condemned America’s embargo on Cuba for the 17th consecutive year on Wednesday. An LA Times editorial agues that the embargo’s continuation is “astonishing” because U.S. sanctions “only strengthen the Castro regime, which can blame all of the country’s problems on Washington rather than addressing their true cause—Havana’s misguided economic policies.”

3) Cigar Rights of America is urging Bostonians and concerned cigar enthusiasts across the country to contact Mayor Thomas Menino. On November 13, his city bureaucrats are aiming to enact “sweeping tobacco restrictions that include banning [cigar] bars” and “smoking on outdoor patios at restaurants and other businesses.”

4) Inside the Industry: Select retailers will be receiving Tatuaje’s Halloween-inspired creation, “The Frank,” a monster (7.6 x 49) with a greenish broadleaf wrapper made by Don Pepin Garcia. La Flor Dominicana is redoing its bands, dropping the flower graphic for a gold script “LFD.”

5) Around the Blogs: Cigar Jack smokes a Trilogy Corojo. Keepers of the Flame lights up a La Herencia. Stogie Review lights up a Ramón Allones Specially Selected. Matt reviews a Toraño Casa Toraño. Velvet Cigar tries a Rocky Patel Autumn Collection.

6) Deal of the Week: After two enthusiastic reviews of the new Cuban Crafters Medina 1959, we were excited to see this deal. Boxes of all sizes of this highly-rated cigar are on sale. Plus, if you’re not ready to go for the whole box, a variety of five-packs are available. Grab yours here while the deal lasts.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

A few nights ago, Washington was witness to the sort of howling, chilling wind that can make a butane torch flame shiver and bend. This stark reminder that winter is rapidly approaching had me reaching into my humidor for a petite stick that wouldn’t require me to be outside for hours.

It wasn’t long before I stumbled across a Ramón Allones Small Club Corona, a Cuban that I’ve often turned to when time is short and temperatures are low. Considered a good companion cigar for seasoned smokers, this 4.3 inch by 42 ring gauge stogie has a reputation for packing lots of flavor into a quick format. Other reviewers have noted tastes ranging from nuts and dried fruit to herbs and wood.

I was actually surprised to find so much info on the web because Ramón Allones is definitely one of Cuba’s lesser-known trademarks. That’s one reason the brand’s cigars are affordable, at least by Habanos’ standards. You can find the Small Club Corona for $5-8, and most boxes of 25 for $115-130.

The Ramón Allones legend, however, is far bigger than its name. While others claim to be the first, I’ve heard the brand—founded in 1837—was the first to have colorful lithographs for box art, the first to utilize bands on cigars, and the first to package cigars in the “8-9-8” style.

Enough history. As I used my V-cutter to establish a moderate draw from the cap, I noticed the thin cigar’s bland band, undistinguished wrapper leaf, and lack of prelight aromas don’t make for a terrific first impression. There’s also something awry about the Small Club Corona’s inconsistent shape.

The cigar improves dramatically once you fire it up. I found a dry, cedar taste with some spice that builds to include notes of black coffee and cashews. Fairly strong, definitely full on flavor. If you make a habit of smoking down to the nub, however, you may be disappointed with the last half inch; it is characterized by a bitterness that’s hardly enjoyable.

While the Small Club Corona burns evenly, it does possess some odd combustion traits. The mascara is obnoxiously pronounced and protruding, and the foot becomes more cone-shaped than one would expect once the stable ash is tapped. But neither quirk adversely interferes with the smoking experience.

This cigar costs more than I’d like to spend on something of its size, even for a Cuban, and it’s no match for the exquisite Specially Selected vitola. Still, I find myself occasionally turning to it for its big taste and 30-minute format—particularly this time of year. That’s why give the Ramón Allones Small Club Corona three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys