The Stogie Guys

Today is Columbus Day, which means that government employees and a few lucky others get a day off work. The holiday celebrates Christopher Columbus’ “discovery” of the Americas, which happens to be an important date for cigar fans.

That’s because Columbus is widely credited with introducing the tobacco plant to Europe, which set in motion a series of events that culminated in the cigar industry we see today. It was during Columbus’ voyages to the new world that Europeans first encountered the tobacco plant.

According to history, it was two of Columbus’ crew members who were most responsible for bringing tobacco to Europe. Both, Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis de Torres, took a liking to tobacco after seeing native Americans smoking the leaf.

After arriving in Cuba in November 1492, which Columbus thought was the Asian coast, Columbus sent Torres and de Jerez inland to explore the country and to contact its ruler. The two men were received in an Indian village where they saw the native custom of drying leaves, inserting them in cane pipes, burning them, and inhaling the smoke.

Upon his return to Spain, Jerez continued smoking and introduced his habit to his home town of Ayamonte. The smoke reportedly frightened some of his neighbors, resulting in the Spanish Inquisition imprisoning him for his use of the “devil’s weed”—making Jerez the first victim of anti-tobacco laws. He spent seven years in prison for his “sin,” only to be released as smoking was becoming an accepted activity in Spain.

One legend has Torres being threatened with prison in Spain for smoking tobacco, but in all likelihood such stories are confusing him with his fellow sailor. The more accepted history says that Torres was killed while settling Hispaniola (now the Dominican Republic and Haiti). Internal conflict wiped out the settlement party when Torres, a Jew who became Catholic under threat from the same Spanish Inquisition that later imprisoned Jerez, took issue with attempts to convert the native people to Catholicism.

Whatever the exact truth, there’s no denying that Columbus and his crew were pivotal in the history of cigars. And that is reason enough to light up a cigar fine this Columbus Day.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Wikipedia

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.”

Sometimes creamy and often nutty, the Gurkha Legend Robusto (6 x 50) is a satisfying smoke with excellent physical properties. It employs a seven-year-old Connecticut Broadleaf maduro wrapper, eight-year-old Dominican filler tobaccos, and a Cameroon binder to turn out a musty, woody profile. While enjoyable, it  doesn’t have the complexity to back up its price tag, which hovers around $9.

Verdict = Hold.

–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.”

The maduro wrapper on this recently introduced smoke uses a special fermentation process that Alan Rubin says creates the sweetness with shorter fermentation time (and thus fuller body) than a traditional maduro. The  dark chocolate-colored torpedo vitola (6.1 x 52) is constructed well and notably firm. It features an interesting combination of flavors: cocoa, licorice, black pepper, and a slight chalkiness. The combination makes for a complex and unique smoke that is definitely worth a try.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

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) It was announced on Monday that Swedish Match and the Scandinavian Tobacco Group had merged to create a new tobacco giant (under the latter’s name). The company now controls an estimated 30% of the premium cigar market in the U.S. with such popular brands as CAO, Macanudo, Cohiba, Dunhill, Punch, and La Gloria Cubana. The global venture is expected to manufacture 2.5 billion cigars per year—second only to the Imperial Tobacco Group, Altadis’ parent company.

2) An anonymous stogie-wielding golf fan has quickly become an internet sensation. The so-called “Cigar Guy” was captured in this photo of Tiger Woods at last week’s Ryder Cup in Wales. The Wall Street Journal reports that the image has been widely distributed and parodied across the web “both for the drama in the image (the ball is heading straight at the camera) and for the mystery of the cigar-chomping spectator.”

3) Inside the Industry: The Montecristo Relief Foundation contributed funds for 110 wheelchairs for victims of storm-ravaged areas of Honduras. Drew Estate launched its new online store. You might have missed it, but in the spring General Cigar released a new size of its Rare Corojo blend: the corona-sized Elite. After many months without a functioning web presence, Tatuaje has relaunched its website including a list of retailers receiving “The Face” limited edition cigars.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews a Toraño Noventa. Tiki Bar kicks back with a Guillermo León by La Aurora. Cigar Fan fires up a Mi Barrio. A Cigar Smoker smokes the Tatuaje Pork Tenderloin. Nice Tight Ash checks out the CAO La Traviata Maduro. Cigar Inspector inspects a Prometheus Angelenos.

5) Deal of the Week: Like CAO? With multiple blends achieving high ratings, what’s not to like? If you’re looking for a great way to try CAO’s various highly-rated blends this CAO Sampler is the way to go. For just $70 you get the 10 highest rated vitolas from CAO. Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: ST-Group

If you thought of Avo as a predominantly mild brand, up until two years ago you’d be right. But recently Avo has taken on a more full-bodied edge, first with its 2009 and 2010 Limited Editions, and now with the Avo Heritage.

Introduced at the IPCPR Trade Show in August, the Avo Heritage is a four-size line with a Churchill (6.75 x 48), a Toro (6 x 50), a Short Robusto (4 x 56), and the Robusto (4.9 x 50) that is the subject of this review. Each costs $7-9 (this Robusto ran me $8 at a local Virginia shop).

The blend features Dominican binder and filler tobaccos with the same Ecuadorian sungrown wrapper that Avo featured in its 2009 “Compañero” Limited Edition. It is a dark, oily stick with a few prominent veins. A pre-light draw reveals musty notes and some spicy leather on the lips.

Once lit, the flavor is full-bodied with an intriguing mix of tastes. Leather, cinnamon, mustiness, peppery spice, cream, and cocoa are all evident.

Towards the final third, bready flavors are introduced as the peppery spice fades. What was once a full-bodied smoke loses a bit of its power but adds finesse as the profile takes on more rounded, balanced characteristics.

It’s very enjoyable smoke with commendable combustion qualities. Only one of my samples required a slight touch-up for an uneven burn. With an abundance of complexity, strength, and finesse, the AVO Heritage Robusto shines as one of the best new cigars of 2010 and earns an impressive rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A friend recently mentioned that he planned to significantly narrow the scope of his cigar purchases. Taking the “life’s too short for bad cigars” approach, he intended to select only a handful of specific blends and smoke little else.

My gut reaction was that he was making a mistake. To each his own, I thought. But trying new cigars is more of a journey than an objective. Part of the fun of the cigar hobby is discovering what’s out there, deciding what you like, and then comparing, contrasting, and experimenting with variables like age.

Besides, as illustrated by this year’s IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans, talented cigar makers are constantly turning out new blends. The industry’s greatest strength is its abundance of innovation and the wherewithal to put new ideas into practice. While not all new cigars are good cigars, why would any enthusiast deprive himself of fresh creations?

But then I got to thinking: Maybe my friend is on to something. There are, after all, some noteworthy advantages of narrowing the scope of your cigar intake. One would be the certainty of knowing that every cigar you light up is going to be outstanding—assuming you carefully selected your favorites. Another would be the elimination of the risk of spending good money on cigars that disappoint.

Perhaps my own cigar routines would be drastically different if not for this website. Much of what I smoke is driven by our cigar review needs: what we haven’t yet reviewed, what readers are asking us to review, what’s new, etc. This requires a ton of variety. When I’m just smoking for sheer enjoyment, though, I often find myself turning to the same dozen blends.

Truth be told, I wish I could afford a little less variety and a little more loyalty in my cigar rotation. Whereas I currently smoke my favorite blends only about 10% of the time, I’d like to bump that up to around 50%. I doubt that’s possible.

But don’t get me wrong: I certainly don’t resent StogieGuys.com for the variety it imposes on my cigar intake. I consider this web magazine a great joy, a terrific journey that I have the privilege to share with my colleagues and our readers. And I must concede that I may not have discovered my favorite blends if not for the website’s requirement of me to venture beyond my comfort zone.

How often do you venture beyond yours?

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

As we’ve documented before, there’s a long tradition of sports teams celebrating a championship, gold medal, or pennant with a few victory cigars. So everything seemed normal when the Cincinnati Reds clinched the National League Central Division one week ago.

According to media reports, team owner Bob Castellini passed out victory cigars in the locker room and a number of players lit up celebratory smokes. But now the Cincinnati Department of Health has announced it will  investigate the baseball club for violations of Ohio state law.

Apparently, five anonymous callers to the state’s smoking ban tip line complained about the cigar-filled celebration. There’s no indication that any of the anonymous tipsters were present at the celebration. It could have  been anti-smoking militants, or maybe it was disgruntled Cardinals, Cubs, Astros, Brewers, or Pirates fans.

Under state law, public investigators must now return to the location of the reported violation within 30 days, at approximately the same time, to look for violations. The absurdity of an investigator stopping by the locker room when it is empty or during a playoff game has drawn fire from critics.

“Cigar Rights of America calls upon Mayor Mark Mallory and the Cincinnati City Council to rebuke the city Health Department, and direct them to stop this senseless investigation and waste of public dollars,” stated J. Glynn Loope, Executive Director of Cigar Rights of America. “This dramatizes why members of the Ohio legislature need to amend the Ohio Clean Indoor Air Act, to allow for common sense exemptions from this nanny state piece of legislation.”

–Patrick S

photo credit: Fox19