The Stogie Guys

[Editors’ Note: The following is a commentary by Stephen Boyajian, founder of The Cigar Network, a new magazine to which StogieGuys.com contributes.]

There comes a point in everyone’s life when they want something that doesn’t exist. In a way, this is what happened to me about a year ago. I had looked at just about every print cigar magazine available to me, yet none seemed to grip me enough to push me to subscribe. Some seemed to opinionated. Some didn’t seem opinionated enough, or biased to a certain degree. Some didn’t even really seem like they were about cigars. I came to this realization shortly after launching CigarFriendly.us but at the time, I didn’t give it much thought, continuing to depend on the internet for my cigar information fix.

Fast forward to the 2010 IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans. I met a lot of bloggers that I had previously only met through forums, Facebook, or Twitter. There was a strong feeling among them all. The print cigar media that was out there just wasn’t good enough. Most of these publications rehash news old news. And the ratings…where were they getting their ratings? Some of the numbers did not make sense. Were they biased by money or personal palate? You’re guess is as good as mine.

At some point we moved towards the idea that “any cigar that scores in the 80s is a subpar product” or “if you don’t get a 90 or higher it’s time to come up with something new.” I don’t know how we got here, but I think it’s about time that misconception was laid to rest. Think back to when you were in school. If you got an 84 on a big test, were you happy or did you feel like you failed? For some, getting less than an A+ might be unacceptable. For others, a solid B is something to smile about.

It’s time to recapture the passion we all have for cigars. Cigars create a passion in many of us that can’t be explained to others. Picture two people sitting on a park bench, each with their favorite book. Odds are neither one will strike up a conversation. Now replace these people with two cigar smokers and, more often than not, they’ll spend the next 45 minutes discussing everything from their favorite brands to a recent cigar event. They may even transition to work, family, or politics. There is a good chance they’ll establish a friendship that will last long after their chance encounter.

The purpose of The Cigar Network is just that: to bring some of that passion to a format that anyone can share with someone else. We hope to educate in ways no other cigar publication has ever done, with articles written by people who share that same passion whether they be bloggers, brand managers, or even cigar company presidents.

Our ratings are solely consumer-driven, to avoid any fear of editorial bias. Some cigars will rank in the 90s, some in the 80s, and you will even see some in the 70s. Every issue will feature interviews from both members of the cigar industry as well as popular celebrities, who we promise also smoke cigars. We’ll also share cigar-friendly locations and what you can expect at each one.

As we embark on our journey to try something no other print cigar magazine has done before, we appreciate your support. Our first print issue will be released the first week in April and available at most cigar shops in limited quantities. To ensure you receive yours, visit us at TheCigarNetwork.com to subscribe for your own copy. Use coupon code “stogieguys” at checkout for 15% off the cover price.

–Stephen Boyajian

photo credit: The Cigar Network

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) Avo Uvezian is celebrating his 85th birthday with the launch of the “85th,” the tenth annual limited edition release from Avo Cigars. About 60,000 units will hit select U.S. retailers on March 21, each with an MSRP of $17.50. “The well-balanced combination of the San Vicente and piloto tobaccos enfolded by a Peruvian binder and perfected with a special sun-grown Dominican wrapper as well as the gorgeous Diademas format make it an outstanding cigar,” reads an Avo press release.

2) Paul Garmirian, Inc. is adding two new sizes to its limited edition Symphony 20th. For the first time the Virginia-based boutique cigar maker is offering a Salomones (6.9 x 57) and a Short Robusto (4.5 x 52). They carry suggested retail prices of $210 per box of 10 and $325 per box of 25, respectively.

3) E.P. Carrillo is launching two new blends in late March and early April. The first is called the “Elencos Series” and features the exact same blend as the E.P. Carrillo Edición Limitada 2010. Its three sizes will retail for $9.50-12.50 per cigar. The second, the “New Wave Connecticut Edition,” will sell for $4.50-7.

4) Inside the Industry: General Cigar has designated March 25 as Serie N Day and is hosting the industry’s first-ever national virtual cigar tasting. The grand opening of CXIII Rex is slated for April 4. Illusione has announced that four new sizes—cg4, 88, 888 & mj12—will be released with maduro wrappers in time for the IPCPR Trade Show (in addition to the existing hl maduro).

5) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews the Cain Daytona. Cigar Inspector inspects a Davidoff Special Short Perfecto. Tiki Bar Online kicks back with a Viaje WLP Candela. Cigar Fan fires up a Macanudo Maduro Vintage. Smoking Stogie smokes an Oliva Serie V No. 4. At YourCigarRatings.com, the Guillermo León Gran Corona is currently in the top 10 with a rating of 94.

6) Deal of the Week: The Corona Cigar Co. has a St. Patrick’s Day special featuring two excellent cigars: the green-labeled Toraño 1916 Robusto and the gold-labeled Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne. For $29.95, you get five of each cigar; for $50, you get 10 of each. Make your purchase here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Avo Cigars

For a website with not one, not two, but three Patricks, we just couldn’t let St. Patrick’s Day go unrecognized. It wouldn’t be right.

Today’s the day that everyone can be a Patrick (even George E), have a green beverage or three, and enjoy a fine cigar (maybe even a candela, like the one pictured). It also happens to be the first day of one of our favorite sporting events: the NCAA March Madness tournament.

We’ll be back with our regularly scheduled Friday Sampler tomorrow. In the meantime, let us know in the comments how you plan to celebrate this most Patrick of holidays and, if its not too early to divulge your bracket winner,  which team you think will be crowned the 2011 March Madness champion.

–The Stogie Guys

photo 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) Illinois may become one of the first states to weaken its statewide smoking ban. Enacted in 2008, the current law criminalizes smoking in most indoor “public” places and workplaces, including bars, restaurants, private clubs, and gaming facilities. But, on Wednesday, a House committee approved proposals that “would allow smoking in segregated, ventilated rooms in licensed casinos” and “give local liquor control commissions the power to issue licenses.” The Illinois Casino Gaming Commission reports that casino revenues have dropped over 30% since the implementation of the statewide ban.

2) Xikar, the Kansas City-based outfit best known for manufacturing lighters and cutters, announced a price cut this week on its HC Series of cigars, dropping them an average of 18% per stick to put them in the $6-8 price range. Scott Almsberger, company vice president of product development, said there will be no changes in quality standards of tobacco blends.

3) Inside the Industry: Even though they likely won’t be available until 2014, General Cigar is so pleased with the 2010 Connecticut wrappers that the company plans to use them in a Macanudo Vintage line, which it only does for the best years. Meanwhile, the Quesada España is being introduced to the Spanish market.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews a Cain FF. Nice Tight Ash checks out a Tatuaje Havana VI. Cigar Fan fires up a Nacionales W. Smoking Stogie compares the Viaje WLP Candela to the Illusione Candela. The Barclay Rex 100th Anniversary Tatuaje broke into the top 10 at Your Cigar Ratings.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: public domain

Long before the 107, Broadway, and Guillermo León blends were released, the 1495 Series was a top seller for La Aurora, the Dominican’s oldest cigar maker.

“This edition of La Aurora pays tribute to the city of Santiago de los Caballeros, the Dominican land of cigar, founded in 1495 by Christopher Columbus in the heart of El Cibao,” according to La Aurora’s website. Originally released in 2005, and still in production with four vitolas, 1495 is comprised of a Sumatra Ecuador wrapper, a corojo binder, and a filler blend of Peruvian ligero, corojo, Nicaraguan, and piloto cubano tobacco.

The new 1495 B.M.E. is a spinoff of the original 1495, pairing this same binder and filler recipe with new wrappers. The “Dominicana” version, for instance, sports a clean Dominican corojo wrapper, a moderately firm feel, and faint pre-light notes of caramel and raisin. The blend’s only size sells for around $10 and measures 5.75 inches long with a ring gauge of 54. It was named 25th on Cigar Aficionado’s list of the top 25 smokes of 2010.

Once lit, the flavor gets off to a fast start with a cedary, medium-bodied profile. Dry, woodsy spice is prevalent with background notes of cocoa and graham cracker. The aftertaste is a mixture of citrus, black pepper, and peanut. Flavors as varied as these yield outstanding balance and a fine aroma. As a bonus—while the taste doesn’t change much from light to nub, aside from settling at the midway point and then intensifying towards the end—the intricacy of the profile keeps things very interesting. Never does the Dominicana become boring or monotonous.

Near-perfect construction only enhances the experience. All of the samples I smoked for this review displayed straight burn lines, clear draws, and solid ashes that held firm for more than an inch.

I’m highly recommending this incarnation of the original 1495 Series. If you’d like to try the Dominicana yourself, don’t expect to find it online or in a catalogue. B.M.E., after all, stands for “Brick and Mortar Exclusive,” so you’ll have to check with your local tobacconist if you’re interested in the Dominicana or one of the other B.M.E. varieties (Brazilian, Ecuadorian, or Nicaraguan). Your efforts will reward you with an outstanding medium-bodied cigar, one that’s worthy of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo 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) Yesterday, we summarized some of the anti-tobacco bills that are under consideration in state capitals across the country. While many federal and state politicians continue to restrict cigar rights here in the U.S., their work pales in comparison to the draconian new law that recently took effect in Honduras. The law bans smoking in most public places throughout the country—one of the world’s leading exporters of cigars—and also encourages people to report individuals who smoke inside their homes. “Families or individuals may complain to law enforcement authorities when smokers expose them to secondhand smoke in private places and family homes,” reads a clause in the law.

2) Details are emerging about Crowned Heads LLC, a new cigar company that was announced by Jon Huber and other former employees of CAO in February. Huber and his team are currently in talks with tobacco growers and factories to produce a new five-vitola blend before the end of the year. Huber says his goal is to focus on quality and balance, not volume or sales figures.

3) Inside the Industry: The Jameson Cigar Co. is releasing Santos de Miami, a box-pressed Dominican puro with a corojo wrapper. La Palina El Diario, a more affordable version of the La Palina line, is being made at the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras and will sell for about $10 per cigar.

4) Around the Blogs: Smoking Stogie smokes a Cuban Partagas 165th Anniversario. Stogie Review reviews the Nub San Andreas Maduro. Nice Tight Ash checks out the Reinado Torpedo. Cigar Inspector inspects the Casa Magna. The top cigar on YourCigarRatings.com is the Tatuaje Black Corona Gorda.

5) Deal of the Week: We’ve enjoyed the Don Kiki White Label for years, and now is your chance to pick up this cigar at a deep discount: a box of 20 for just $84.99. Also available is a bundle of 20 La Unica by Fuente/Newman for $59.99. [The original deals expired, but by clicking through the email specials page you’ll find other discounted prices.]

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Wikipedia

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) The 13th annual Habanos Festival concludes today, wrapping up a week-long extravaganza of Cuban cigars, factory tours, seminars, tastings, and plantation visits. This year’s event pays special homage to Montecristo, Partagas, and H. Upmann, with each brand debuting new cigars. Forthcoming releases include the Montecristo No. 2 Gran Reserva, Partagas Serie E No. 2 and Serie D No. 5, and H. Upmann Half Corona. Habanos SA is hoping these sizes boost sales in 2011 and continue the Cuban cigar industry’s rebound after tough years in 2008 and 2009. But there is still cause for concern. “Although Cuba’s cigar industry is cautiously optimistic about the future, officials are worried by developments in their biggest market: Spain,” reports The Telegraph. “In the grip of a financial crisis, Spanish cigar smokers are cutting back on Cuban cigars to save money, while a recently introduced ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces has also hit sales.”

2) Last Saturday, Patrick A was a featured guest at The Cigar Authority, a live internet show that’s simulcast on several New England radio stations. Click here to check out the video (Patrick’s segment starts around 1:09 and ends around 1:30, but the whole show is worth checking out). And be sure to tune in to The Cigar Authority every Saturday from noon to 2pm eastern.

3) Inside the Industry: Jon Huber, formerly the marketing manager and all around public personality for CAO Cigars, has joined forces with three other former CAO employees to start up Crowned Heads Cigars, which will be based in CAO’s former home of Nashville (details of Huber’s final days at CAO can be found here). Altadis USA launched a new website as part of their restructuring that splits off their premium handmade cigars from their domestic machine-made cigars. Davidoff of New York is the home of a new limited edition Torpedo (5.5 x 52) from My Father Cigars. The 2011 Avo limited edition will be a Dominican puro in a perfecto shape.

4) Around the Blogs: Tiki Bar smokes La Sirena The Prince. Smoking Stogie fires up the Federal Cigar 90th Anniversary 109 Rosado. Stogie Review reviews the My Father Le Bijou. Cigar Fan lights up the Alec Bradley Sun Grown. Nice Tight Ash checks out the Zino Embassy 2010. Raleigh Cigars enjoys the Liga Privada T-52. Cigar Inspector inspects the Viaje Satori. The top cigar on YourCigarRatings.com is the Tatuaje Monster Series The Frank.

5) Deal of the Week: Our friends at Citizen Cigar are offering $5 off any box under $75 and $10 off any box over $75. Signing up for the Citizen Cigar newsletter gets you an additional 10% off, so make your purchase today.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Habanos Festival