The Stogie Guys

“The name Jesus (IhsouV) adds up to 888 in Hebrew numerology called Gematria. Each letter is assigned the corresponding number. ‘Necessary and Sufficient’ both describes the balance and profile of this cigar. It also represents to not go wanting, He is all I need, He is necessary and sufficient.”

That’s the explanation Illusione creator Dion Giolito gives on his website about the name of this Churchill-sized cigar. Each of the 12 vitolas in the original Illusione lineup have unique names—including cg4, 2, and hl—and each refers to either Giolito’s faith, a significant year in his life, or his favorite numbers at the craps table in his native Las Vegas.

The Illusione name itself is a nod to conspiracy culture. Whether you’re enchanted or annoyed by the mysterious nature of Illusione, odds are you’re a fan of the cigars themselves. I rarely hear such universal praise for a brand from tobacconists, reviewers, and cigar enthusiasts alike.

In a 2008 interview, Giolito told us he established Illusione to replicate the flavor of pre-Sandinista Nicaraguan cigars. “Nicaraguan tobacco has always had my attention from the beginning,” he said. “Joya de Nicaragua was, and still is, one of my favorite cigars, particularly the original blends.”

The Illusione 888 (6.75 x 48) is an oily, milk chocolate-colored beauty that is visually striking. It is dense yet easy to draw on with faint pre-light notes of cocoa.

After establishing an even burn, a task that takes hardly any effort, a flavor of dry earth, leather, and spice emerges. Creamier tastes of chocolate, marshmallow, and oak add depth in the second third. As the cigar progresses, it intensifies in spice and boldness, smoking more and more like the Nicaraguan puro that it is. All the while, though, the profile maintains a harmonious, complex balance that’s far from overbearing.

I smoked three 888s for this review, two of which exhibited poor burn lines that required a fair amount of maintenance. The third was just about perfect—on par with what I’ve come to expect from Illusione. Great burn, solid ash, and an effortless draw.

When this cigar is smoking properly it’s one of the finest full-bodied Churchills available for less than $10. I always seem to have a few in my humidor as they make excellent post-dinner companions on slow, relaxing nights. So, despite some constriction flaws, the Illusione 888’s outstanding flavor earns it four 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 verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Between Reservas, Conojus, black labels, and Verocus, it had been a few months since I smoked the original line that put Tatuaje on the map. This torpedo (6.1 x 52) features a tasty combination of woodsy spice, savory steak, and roasted coffee. With flawless construction, it’s every bit as good as I remembered and well worth its $9.50 price tag.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Marrying both of Sam Leccia’s popular concepts—Cain, a “straight ligero” recipe, and Nub, a short, stubby format—this Nicaraguan puro weighs in at four inches with a ring gauge of 54. Its flavor, predictably, is full-bodied and powerful. Floral notes and hints of fruit help balance heartier tastes of leather and spice. With fine physical properties, this Habano-wrapped shorty is a good choice if you need a quick jolt of premium tobacco after a heavy meal.

Verdict = Buy.

–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. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) A trend among colleges and universities—both public and private—is the imposition of campus-wide smoking bans. The anti-tobacco zealots at the California-based American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation boast that, to date, there are 446 U.S. campuses that have completely criminalized smoking. Another 77 relegate tobacco usage to remote outdoor areas. You can find a complete list of these Draconian institutions here.

2) Officials in Cambridge are proposing to extend Massachusetts’ statewide smoking ban to include outdoor spaces like parks. “Ridiculous,” said Chris McCalla, IPCPR’s legislative director. “This is just another twisted attempt by lazy lawmakers to control people with unnecessary legislation based on unsubstantiated assumptions.” In a press release dated October 13, McCalla went to on cite that no credible studies have found secondhand smoke to be a health risk indoors, let alone outside.

3) Inside the Industry: The company formerly known as Reyes Family Cigars has changed its name to “Puros Indios/Cuba Aliados” and is introducing new packaging lower prices. Habanos. S.A. is reviving the H. Upmann Noellas in a traditional jar presentation. Davidoff released the new “Zino Chateau” featuring an Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut wrapper around Dominican tobaccos.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews the Viaje Summerfest. Cigar Inspector inspects the Red Lion Maduro. Smoking Stogie smokes the Tatuaje Face. Nice Tight Ash checks out the Liga Privada Dirty Rat. Tiki Bar kicks back with the Tatuaje 7th Reserva and 7th Natural.

5) Deal of the Week: Monday was Columbus Day, a good reason for a sale from Cuban Crafters. Great deals are available on the Cupido Tuxedo and J.L. Salazar blends. Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Google Images

Kinky Friedman’s Utopian cigar is easy to root for. Profits from the smoke are donated to the Utopia Animal Rescue Ranch, the “never-kill” animal shelter Kinky Friedman sponsors.

Friedman, the charismatic musician and politician, is also easy to like, particularly after running a  gubernatorial campaign as a staunch opponent of smoking bans and fighting for the “de-wussification” of Texas. Long a cigar lover, he unleashed his own line of cigars in 2007.

With names like the Kinkycristo, Governor, Texas Jewboy, and Big Richard, it’s clear Kinky had a bit of fun creating his cigars, which use Honduran wrappers and Costa Rican binders with Honduran and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. But the Utopian (6 x 52) isn’t a joke; Kinky doesn’t make any money selling these $6-7 cigars, instead using his profits to help abused and abandoned animals.

The Honduran wrapper has a nice oily shine. The cigar is firm to the touch and constructed well. According to the official website, the Utopian uses the time-consuming entubar method, which creates an easy draw. It lights easily with just two matches.

The cigar starts off with roasted coffee flavors. There are also slightly bitter meaty and leather notes, but those begin to fade halfway through. At that point the cigar begins a more interesting phase, with roasted nuts and a creamy base combining for what is almost a peanut butter flavor. A rich milk chocolate flavor emerges as the leathery bitterness recedes.

The Utopian isn’t exactly perfectly balanced, but it has a pleasant medium- to full-bodied taste with plenty of rich roasted flavors. So, for being an enjoyable cigar benefiting an excellent cause, the Kinky Friedman Utopian earns a commendable 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

The other day, the IPCPR sent out a newsletter pointing to an article that questioned studies citing declines in heart attacks as a result of smoking bans in Scotland and Wales. According to this article, the heart-attack data was cherry-picked, and a thorough examination didn’t lead to the same conclusions.

I was reminded of my latest, frustrating efforts to dig into a report earlier this year that was used to assert that cigar and pipe smokers inhaled. Since this runs counter to my own experiences as a current cigar smoker and former cigarette smoker, I wanted to know more.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years, it’s that, when it comes to presenting information, the devil (or is it God? I’ve never gotten that straight) is in the details. Ever wonder how polls on the prospects of two candidates can be so different? Try looking at who they questioned (Likely voters? Registered voters?). Would you be concerned if I told you an activity in which you engage doubles your risk of death? Probably. But if I told you that activity would increase your chances of dying from one in a thousand to two in a thousand, would your reaction be the same?

When it comes to smoking, a classic example can be found in reports of teenage cigarette use. The figure you’ll often see from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is that about 20% of high school students are cigarette smokers. Of course, that depends on what the definition of “is” is. The CDC defines “current cigarette use” as having smoked “on at least 1 day during the 30 days before the survey.” To me, at least, one cigarette a month is a pretty low threshold and not what the average person generally thinks of as a cigarette smoker.

So I was most curious about the inhalation study. I had numerous questions before and after I read the report in Annals of Internal Medicine. They were, I thought, fairly simple and important questions, such as whether the subjects smoked machine-made or premium cigars, and how many cigars the cigar-only smokers smoked per day or week.

Unfortunately, I never got any answers. Limiting my inquiries to just a few, I emailed several of the authors without success and engaged in a lengthy electronic correspondence with a staffer at the publisher’s office. She tried to get some answers but ultimately failed.

Now, I don‘t believe in conspiracies. I have a healthy respect and belief in science and the scientific method. More often than not, I’ve found the biggest impediment not to be ideology or mischief, but ego. Whether it’s politicians, scientists, corporate executives or any of dozens of other professions (yes, including journalism), people are too frequently defensive and dismissive when questioned. And when the topics are highly charged, as is the case with tobacco use, the walls can go up faster and higher.

All of which is a real shame. Because I’m also a firm believer that sunlight is the best disinfectant. And that kind of light doesn’t even cause dangerous sunburn.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

When I think of the non-Cuban Montecristo brand, the one made by tobacco giant Altadis, several blends come to mind. Among them are Classic, White, Cabinet Selección, and the standard self-titled line

But there are three others, including the five-vitola Reserva Negra line. This blend was launched in 2008 as the first Montecristo to sport a maduro wrapper—a dark San Andres Marrón leaf from Mexico. As the Robb Report pointed out in 2009 when it named the Reserva Negra to its “Best of the Best” list, however, cigar enthusiasts should leave their preconceived notions about Mexican tobacco at the door.

I kept that in mind as I examined the Corona (5 x 44). With a dry, coarse exterior leaf clad with various bumps and several protruding veins, it doesn’t look like a $7 smoke. The faint pre-light aroma and tight draw are also causes for concern.

Keeping an open mind, I touched fire to the foot, igniting the Nicaraguan binder and two-country filler blend from Honduras and Nicaragua. These tobaccos, combined with the flavorful maudro wrapper, produced a high octane profile of spicy black pepper and thick espresso.

This intensity retreats after about five minutes. Here, several additions to the profile round off the hearty baseline. They include notes of sweet cocoa, cream, and a bit of caramel. The overall effect reminds me of a crème brulée, a tasty sensation that lasts until bold, meaty flavors dominate the finish.

I prefer to think of the Reserva Negra Corona as an NFL game. The opening kickoff is violent and fast, the second and third quarters feature masterful passes and a few trick plays, and the final drive is a hard-nosed running attack with big hits and some injuries.

And if this cigar is a football game, the game is played well with few penalties. The Corona, after all, boasts solid physical properties like a slow burn pace and a solid white ash. If only the draw were slightly looser and the burn slightly straighter.

While the Reserva Negra Corona has a lot going for it, it also has several deficiencies. Chief among them is a tendency to turn sour here and there. Still, serving as an example of the potential of Mexican cultivated tobacco, it’s worth a try. I award it three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys