The Stogie Guys

I’ve smoked over a dozen of these over the past six months and, during that time, this stick has become my hands-down favorite Cameroon. The reason? It consistently delivers what I consider to be exceptional taste and wonderful physical properties at a bargain price.

Just like Cupido, La Carolina, J.L. Salazar, and Don Kiki – both Brown and White – the Cameroon Toro is made by our friends at Cuban Crafters. Alberto Noguera, national sales director for the Miami-based boutique manufacturer, was nice enough to send up plenty of these cigars for our Smoke Out in March, and the overwhelming feedback from our guests was very positive.

The six inch by 54 ring gauge Toro sports a seamless Cameroon wrapper with a sungrown Cuban-seed habano binder and long filler, each fermented five times. You can pick up a box of 25 for less than $100 – a great price given the cigar’s status as a favorite among Cameroon fans and its impressive 8.9 rating in Smoke Magazine.

The firm-feeling stogie clips cleanly and starts with a burst of earthy spice and rich cedar. Subtle sweet notes complement the experience, a characteristic that’s typical of Cameroons, and each puff produces tons of thick, pleasant smoke. The flavor tends to mellow as the cigar progresses, but its medium body is enough to keep you on your toes.

Construction is admirable with a white, sandy ash that holds well and a draw puts up just the slightest resistance. While I remember the burn on the first few requiring some touch-ups, lately it has been as straight as any cigar I’ve smoked. This suggests that you’re better off locking these away in your humi for a month or so after a purchase.

In all, this is a terrific smoke – every bit as good as the Robusto, which George E named one of his Gold Star Smokes in March. I always have a few on hand, especially since seasoned cigar veterans and newbies alike are quick to tell me how much they enjoy it. That’s one of the many reasons I give the Cuban Crafters Cameroon Toro four and ½ out of five stogies.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. To purchase this cigar from a StogieGuys.com affiliate, click here.]

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

StogieGuys.com will be featured on the Livin’ Large with Geoff Pinkus radio show on WIND 560 AM in Chicago today. The show runs from 5-7 pm Central (6-8 Eastern) and Patrick S is scheduled to be on around at 5:35 pm Central (6:35 Eastern).

Geoff’s show is about “cigars, cars, spirits, wine, beer, restaurants, music, sports, hot chicks, jets, Harleys, guns, bikes, and fishing.” You can even call in at 877-560-WIND to ask a question on the air. If you’re not in the Chicago area, you can listen live here (and if you miss it, a podcast will be available here). You can listen to last week’s appearance here.

–The 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.

In January, Robert Spoden of Bucanero Cigars told us about his company’s philosophy of focusing its resources on making great sticks, not marketing. The six inch by 54 ring gauge Treasure Belicoso is a good case in point. This Costa Rican puro boasts a smooth, leather-like flavor and excellent construction. You can expect to pay between $90-100 for a cedar chest of 16.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

Believe it or not, today is the 100th edition of the Stogie Guys Friday Sampler. We command you to celebrate with a cigar.

1) Albuquerque Councilor Michael Cadigan has withdrawn his proposal for an exemption-free smoking ban for the New Mexico city. Many applauded the decision, but many fear the battle is far from over. “Government is not going to let us be,” one cigar shop owner said. “Why are they trying to save us from ourselves?”

2) Celebrity political activist Sean Penn is apparently no fan of smoking bans. The actor, best known for his criticism of the Iraq War, lit up a cigarette to protest France’s new anti-smoking laws at a Cannes Film Festival press conference. The AFP reports an Iranian director quickly followed suit, claiming she needed a smoke “for medical reasons.”

3) Inside the Industry: Alec Bradley is releasing a new line called “Tempus,” which sports a wrapper Alec Bradley founder Alan Rubin discovered on a small Nicaraguan farm. Our friends at Cuban Crafters will be at Espresso Cigars in Clinton, Iowa this weekend. National Sales Director Alberto Noguera and Chief Roller Manuel Medina will be on hand to roll cigars, meet aficionados, and share a few smokes.

4) Around the Blogs : Cigar Jack checks out the Punch Rothschild Double Maduro. Her Humidor smokes the Dona Flor Mata Fina. Keepers of the Flame smokes an Augusto Reyes Criollo. Stogie Baby lights up a Nub Habano. Stogie Review smokes the Avo Tesoro LE. Stogie Fresh reviews a Camacho Scorpion Perfecto.

5) Deal of the Week: Cuban Crafters has slashed prices on a number of cigars. Included are boxes of Stogie Guys favorites, including the Cameroon and White Label lines – each of which is available at deep discount. See all the deals here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys

[Editors’ Note: The following is a guest commentary from Chris Verhoeven, a Washington, DC-based friend of StogieGuys.com who successfully overcame a bout with tobacco beetles.]

With summer just around the corner, this is a good time to read up on how to keep your cigars safe. And of all the things that can happen to your cigars, perhaps nothing scares the average aficionado more than beetles. These little critters can make quick work out of some of your favorite – and God forbid – most expensive sticks. But fear not; there is hope. Your best defense against beetles is knowledge, so read up and soak it all in.

I was recently attacked by beetles, so I’ve done as much reading as possible in an effort to save myself future heartache. This commentary is intended to pass along lessons from my research with hopes that you can keep your goodies beetle-free.

Most people won’t notice they have a beetle problem until too late – when they see beetles running around or holes in a wrapper leaf. But the process starts long before, when cigars are exposed to temperatures of around 80 degrees or more for an extended period of time. You see, all cigars have the potential to have beetle eggs in them. It’s a sad fact of life that most are laid on tobacco leaves before they are harvested. High temperatures activate the eggs, which then go through the larva, pupa, and beetle stages. All this takes anywhere from 10 to 12 weeks, with the adult beetle stage only comprising the last 14 days or so.

Therefore, if you see beetles, they have been eating your cigars for a good eight weeks and you’ll probably experience some losses. The best way to identify a ruined stick is to hold it up and tap on it. If a fine, black sand-like substance falls out the foot, the cigar has fallen victim. This black sand is the excrement left by the various stages of the beetles eating your cigar. That said, however, please keep in mind that no black sand does not ensure the cigar is safe. There are a number of reasons the excrement would not fall, such as blockage or a delay in hatching.

It is worth noting that beetle excrement has the ability to make your sticks stink when smoked, as well as taste bitterer. I noticed no difference in taste when I smoked an infected stick, but heard a quick snap and crackle as I burnt through the larva inside.

Defeating the Enemy

In order to kill the various stages of the beetle, you need to freeze all of your cigars. Simply double bag (in Ziploc freezer bags) every stick and suck out as much air as you can, then follow this schedule: one day in the fridge, three days in the freezer, one day in the fridge again, and then one day at room temperature before putting them back in your humi.

This process slowly works your cigars up to being frozen to minimize potential damage by becoming so cold and dry while killing anything living inside them. Keep in mind, though, that there is no definitive answer on whether freezing kills inactivated eggs. Freezing, therefore, does not give you the ability to ignore your humidor’s temperature in the future.

For those of you with larger humidors where freezing several hundred sticks would be a daunting task, rest assured there is still hope. Beetles aren’t dumb. If there’s food around, they’ll generally stay put. That said, in my experience, I have no reason to believe that a tightly sealed cigar box in your humidor that has been infected could be breached. Ziploc bags are also a good defense against spreading, although beetles have been known to chew through cellophane.

So, with summer fast approaching, my advice is to keep a watchful eye on your smokes. Several days of shipping in the heat could very easily meet the criteria for activation. Be vigilant, know your enemy, have Ziploc bags handy, and good luck.

–Chris Verhoeven

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Last month I was fortunate enough to be one of the first to review the Isla de Cuba Classic Belicoso. I found it to be an excellent smoke with a delicious flavor profile and an all-around quality feel. Today I examine the other line from the new Tampa-based boutique manufacturer: Aged Maduro.

Like the Classic blend, Isla offers its Aged Maduro cigars in five traditional vitolas – Corona, Robusto, Toro, Belicoso, and Churchill. Both lines first hit retailers after the company launched in February to bring old Havana favorites back to the U.S. market. President Darryl Lieser was nice enough to participate in our Cigar Insider series on May 5, and he’s reportedly working hard to build the brand’s credibility and get Isla’s blends noticed by retailers across the nation.

With a Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper, a broadleaf binder, and proprietary filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, Aged Maduro is clearly the heavier of the two lines. The Robusto measures five inches with a 52 ring gauge and boasts the same quality feel I noticed in the Classic: firm to the touch yet clear in draw. The dark, almost seamless wrapper is dry and a bit granulated.

Isla’s promotional materials say the Aged Maduro cigars are bold with “subtle notes of rich sweetness.” Based on my experience with two Robustos, I’d have to agree. Given its prelight aroma, the smoke starts just as you’d expect with a black pepper spice, some cashew creaminess, and a typical maduro sweetness. I find the whole effect to be akin to the taste of rich espresso. Clove and cocoa bean flavors kick in at the halfway mark, and the smoke remains full-flavored, but never harsh, until the nub.

To the cigar’s credit, its physical properties resemble those of the Classic Belicoso. The burn is either very straight or self-correcting, the foot stays lit when left unattended, the draw is true, and the white ash is solid and strong.

I am impressed with this blend and the brand as a whole, and I think pessimists who question Isla’s prices will be pleasantly surprised. With a price tag of $146.25 per box of 25 at JR, the Aged Maduro Robusto may not be the very best value in all of cigardom, but it’s certainly a damn good one. I give it a well-deserved four out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys