The Stogie Guys

Today we are sharing the fourth and fifth installments in our series of videos from our recent trip to Estelí, Nicaragua, with Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari.

In today’s first video, Steve Saka, president of Drew Estate, talks about some of the things that make his company and factory different from other cigar operations in Nicaragua and around the world. “Do you know how to become a millionaire in the cigar business?” he asks. “Start with $10 million.” The moral of the story: Producing cigars successfully is incredibly difficult.

In today’s second video, Steve Saka discusses Drew Estate’s business practices and how the company is socially conscious about its workforce. What other cigar factory provides life insurance to all of its employees?

We’ll resume the video coverage of our Nicaraguan adventure tomorrow. Meanwhile, you can check out our previously published coverage of the trip at your convenience. Photos are here. And for videos, please see Part 1 and Part 2.

–The Stogie Guys

video 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) Cigar Rights of America (CRA) reports politicians in Springfield are “dangerously close” to drastically increasing the cigar tax in Illinois from 18% to 35%. “This will give Illinois the highest effective rate of any surrounding state, and drive purchases online and out-of-state,” reads a CRA Action Alert. “The bill passed the Illinois House [last week] and passed the Senate in April of 2011. It now is going back to the Senate for debate and voting on the House’s changes.” The move comes less than three months after the Cook County Board increased cigar taxes in Chicago.

2) On Tuesday, New York State announced it would temporarily stop enforcing a controversial law that criminalizes outdoor smoking at state parks. Before this week, violators were subject to a citation for disorderly conduct. But a smokers’ rights organization claimed that the Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation failed to comply with state rules about new policies, so the office has decided to delay enforcement until the policy can be properly vetted. “There’s a state rule-making process that we’re undergoing that will take a couple of months and in that time we will not issue tickets,” Dan Keefe, a spokesman for the parks office, told Reuters. Meanwhile, the office “hopes smokers will nonetheless choose to voluntarily refrain from the habit even without the threat of a ticket or citation.”

3) Inside the Industry: Christian Eiroa, former president of Camacho Cigars, announced he is launching the CLE Cigar Co., and that the company’s first two blends, CLE Corojo and CLE Cuarenta, are expected to hit the market in July. Carlos Fuente Jr. was honored with the 2012 Dominican Distinguished Humanitarian Award in recognition of his charitable work in the Dominican Republic. CAO is extending its Last Stick Standing promotion to July 31 to make sure everyone has enough time to get their ratings in.

4) Around the Blogs: Congrats to Charlie at Stogie Review on the birth of his child, Chase—enjoy that well-earned celebratory cigar! Cigar Fan fires up a few Macanudo Gigantes. Nice Tight Ash checks out Flor de las Antilles. Doc Stogie unveils his Cigar Safari video. Cigar Brief reviews the Obsidian. Cigar Explorer explores the Viaje Exclusivo 2012.

5) Deal of the Week: This “Rocky vs. General” sampler features 10 old favorites for just $30. You get the Vintage 1990, 1992, 1999, Sungrown, and Olde World Reserve by Rocky to compare against the Partagas Classic, Partagas Black, Hoyo Excalibur, Don Tomás, and Punch from General Cigar.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

Today we are sharing the second and third installments in our series of videos from our recent trip to Estelí, Nicaragua, with Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari.

In the first video, Mario Perez of Joya de Nicaragua shows us how seco, ligero, and viso filler tobaccos are bunched together in a binder leaf. This is, according to Perez, one of those “very special moments” in the creation of a cigar. We also see how a criollo Nicaraguan wrapper is applied to a cigar and why it is important to stretch the leaf during this process. Finally, Perez gives us a tour of the Joya’s aging room and shipping preparation room.

Wrapping up our Joya de Nicaragua coverage, this video shows the blending seminar we attended, which was hosted by Mario Perez and José Blanco. Of note are the haphazardly rolled “cigars” Patrick A and Patrick S bunched together to taste their respective blends. Let’s just say we’re thankful we didn’t actually have to roll the blends ourselves.

We’ll resume the video coverage of our Nicaraguan adventure on Monday. Meanwhile, you can check out our previously published coverage of the trip here and here.

–The Stogie Guys

video credit: Stogie Guys

In yesterday’s post, we explained that we had plenty of highly informative video content to share with you from our recent trip to Estelí with Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari.

Today we are proud to share the first in a series of videos that highlight the best and most interesting parts of our Nicaraguan adventure. In today’s segment, Mario Perez of Joya de Nicaragua gives us a tour of the Joya factory in Estelí. Included is a discussion of why Joya only ferments a select few wrapper leaves after receiving them, an illustration of wrapper preparation, info on why certain leaves need to be sprayed with water, and a demonstration of tobacco de-veining and classification.

Tomorrow we’ll provide the second half of Mario’s Joya de Nicaragua tour, including bunching, rolling, and video of the cigars being readied for shipping.

–The Stogie Guys

video credit: Stogie Guys

As you’ve no doubt seen if you’ve been following us on Facebook or Twitter over the past week, Patrick A and Patrick S participated in Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari in Estelí, Nicaragua.

First and foremost, we’d like to thank all the fine folks at Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua for showing us an amazing time on the incredible trip, especially Jonathan Drew, Steve Saka, Jose Blanco, Mario Perez, Pedro Gomez, and Johnny Brooke. We learned a ton and our passion for fine cigars was reinforced four-fold—as was our understanding that we have so much more to learn about tobacco. But that’s a learning process we embrace.

We know you embrace learning about premium cigars as well, and in that spirit we have a plethora of photos, videos, and other content to share with you from our recently concluded adventure. The video content is forthcoming shortly. In the meantime, we thought we’d share some of our favorite photos from the trip.

We had a tremendous group of guys for this trip, pictured here. Included are such notables as Jonathan Drew (red shirt and cap), Steve Saka (lower right), Doc Stogie (black CroMagnon shirt), and Brian Berman and Mark Brownlee of CRA.

The Drew Estate factory has a sense of style all its own, including this beautiful mural painted along the back of the factory and near the entrance to Subculture Studios, the nerve center of the company’s artistic creations.

As you might imagine, there were plenty of smokes available to us during the trip, and we weren’t shy about taking advantage of this awesome luxury. From Liga Privada No. 9 and Undercrown to Liga Privada T52 and Unico Serie, Cigar Safari was a great way to sample (and re-sample) all of the finest offerings from Drew Estate. The MUWAT Bait Fish, for example, was a favorite of ours as a potent post-lunch smoke with some dark coffee.

(more…)

StogieGuys.com is taking the rest of the week off as Patrick A and Patrick S travel from Chicago and Washington, respectively, to visit the fine folks at Drew Estate in Estelí, Nicaragua. We’ll return to our daily coverage of the world of cigars on Saturday, May 26. In the meantime, feel free to follow us on Facebook and Twitter as we participate in Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari. And be sure to come back to StogieGuys.com next week as we share exciting content from our smoke-filled adventure.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Drew Estate Blog

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) Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) are trying to ban flavored cigars at the national level, but officials in Miami-Dade County aren’t content to wait on that bill to move through the legislative process. This week commissioners voted 12-1 to preliminarily approve a measure that would criminalize flavored cigars completely in the south Florida county, which is home to 2.5 million residents. The supposed intent of the restriction would be to cut back on underage smoking, but it is already illegal for minors to purchase tobacco. While this law would not impact the legality of handmade premium cigars, defenders of cigar rights should keep an eye on the movement to restrict the sale of flavored cigars.

2) To mark the launch of the new Hoyo de Monterrey website, General Cigar is hosting a “Box a Day Giveaway.” From now through July 31, you can visit the website to enter to win a box of Hoyo de Monterrey Reposado en Cedros cigars. Winners will be announced every Monday on the website, as well as on Hoyo’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

3) Inside the Industry: Davidoff’s Puro d’Oro line is getting a makeover, dropping the simple gold foot band for a band that more closely resembles other Davidoff cigars. Nestor Miranda and Miami Cigar & Co. have announced that a 2012 edition of their Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve will debut at the IPCPR Trade Show in August, featuring a stronger blend with Nicaraguan fillers and a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper.

4) Around the Blogs: Cigar Brief smokes a Swag Lavish Robusto. Cigar Explorer explores an E Doble by Erik Espinoza. Cigar Fan fires up a La Casita Criolla. Stogie Review reviews a Padilla Studio Tobac Special Edition Figuardo. Cigar Inspector inspects a Fuente Opus X Fuente Fuente 2001. Tiki Bar kicks back with a My Father Flor de Las Antillas.

5) Deal of the Week: Smoke Inn is taking pre-orders on the new Arturo Fuente Polaris. The cigar is a first from Fuente, a micro-blend, with only 550 boxes made. Boxes of 10 are just $89 and if you order now you get a free Fuente T-shirt.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Wikipedia