The Stogie Guys

It’s hard to appreciate the cigar making process unless you’ve seen it firsthand. This past weekend I had the opportunity to visit La Aurora’s factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic.

After a tasting seminar with José Blanco, La Aurora’s marketing director, he gave Patrick M, a handful of other cigar writers, and me a tour of La Aurora’s operation. Hopefully the following photos give you some idea of just how much care and attention goes into every premium handmade cigar that we often take for granted:

Tobacco from all around the world arrives at the La Aurora factory where it is aged until it is ready.

José Blanco examines Ecuadorian Sumatra leaf in the fermentation room, where tobacco is exposed to 120-degree temperatures for days at a time to bring out the flavors we’ve come to appreciate in cigars.

Before being sorted for rolling, tobacco goes into a special room where moisture is added to the leaf. La Aurora uses this special machine (which is also used in Cuba) to moisten tobacco in just over an hour. In most factories this process takes two days.

In preparation for being rolled into cigars, tobacco is sorted. Note the rum barrels in the background where tobacco for La Aurora Barrel Aged cigars are aging.

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The Avo Limited Edition 2010 was created to celebrate Avo Uvezian’s 84th birthday. Production is limited to 10,000 worldwide in boxes of 10.

The Super Robusto (5.5 x 55) features a gorgeous Ecuadorian sungrown wrapper. The binder is Mexican Sumatra and the filler consists entirely of ligero.

Pre-light the cigar smells of sweet tobacco, earth, grass, and raisins. It is slightly spongy but feels well-packed from head to foot. As you would expect from an Avo the cap is applied perfectly. The wrapper is oily and has some large veins. A pre-light draw reveals earth, wood, and a slight mint taste.

It takes a little bit of effort to get the cigar lit, probably due to the ligero filler. Initially there is quite a bit of spice combined with and earth and wood. The amount of spice is very surprising  for an Avo.

After about the first half of an inch, the spice begins to fade and the musty flavor that is typical of so many Avo cigars begins to emerge. The draw is excellent and the burn is straight. The smoke is creamy and has great mouth feel.

At about the halfway point the flavors start to change from earth and wood to coffee and chocolate. The burn grows a little ragged and requires and occasional touch-up. The spice that’s so prevalent early comes and goes throughout the smoke, but never reaches the same intensity as at the start.

The Avo Limited Edition 2010 is definitely not your typical Avocigar. It is definitely full strength, full bodied, and on the full side of medium in flavor. At around $15 per cigar the Limited Edition is  also not an everyday smoke but its complexity, construction, and flavors earn it four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick M

photo credit: Stogie Guys

La Aurora made a splash recently with its new La Aurora 107, celebrating the oldest Dominican cigar company’s 107th anniversary. But that cigar, which will be expanding beyond the initial three to include a corona, won’t be the only new cigar from La Aurora in 2010.

During my recent visit to La Aurora’s Dominican factory, José Blanco, sales director and our gracious host, handed me an unbanded smoke. Later he let those of us smoking it know that the cigar would be released at the upcoming International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR)  Association Trade Show in New Orleans.

Blanco disclosed that the cigar will be mostly of Dominican tobacco and would be medium- to full-bodied. The corona gorda-shaped sample I smoked, which I was warned was freshly rolled and not fully aged, featured a lovely, veinless, milk chocolate wrapper. My quick notes (taken, mind you, after four cigars earlier that day) revealed a medium-bodied smoke with dry chocolate notes, a bit of cedary spice, excellent balance, and a clean finish.

I’ve heard rumors the cigar will be named after Guillermo León, La Aurora’s president and fourth generation cigarmaker. However, neither León nor Blanco would confirm the name (but didn’t deny it, either).

Four sizes are expected for the new blend including a corona and a corona gorda. Pricing is also not yet released, but having tried the smoke I think it could be a big hit at the show.

Meanwhile, Blanco also confirmed for me that La Aurora was ceasing production of the La Aurora Barrel Aged. The process of aging the tobacco in rum barrels is extremely complicated and time consuming, he told me, and so they’ll be focusing their resources elsewhere.

–Patrick S

photo credit: La Aurora

Jim Leyland, manager of the Detroit Tigers and longtime fixture of Major League Baseball, is not above the law. So when Michigan’s statewide smoking ban took effect on May 1, he was barred from smoking cigarettes and cigars in his workplace, Comerica Park.

Leyland had been known to sneak into the bowels of the stadium for cigarettes between innings. Now, though, this occasional cigar smoker has to remain tobacco-free at the ballpark just like the rest of us.

I’ve always thought it a shame that it’s so difficult to enjoy cigars inside big league parks. (My colleague and I actually petitioned the Washington Nationals to accommodate cigars back in 2006. We failed.) Sure, a few stadiums—including Comerica—have built-in cigar bars, but admittance to these exclusive locales includes a hefty price tag and segregation from the outdoor splendor of baseball.

Too bad. Baseball and cigars are such a wonderful pairing. Unlike faster-paced sports and sports that are played indoors or out in the cold, America’s pastime is meant to take place outside under natural summer sunlight. Nowadays most teams play most games under the lights. But when I think baseball, I think suntan lotion, floppy hats, peanuts, cold beer, and frosty malts.

I also think relaxation. While many criticize baseball for its lazy pauses between pitches, batters, and innings, I’ve always enjoyed those breaks. They give you the opportunity to study the game and have conversations. Is this a hit-and-run scenario? Would the opposing manager consider a pitch-out with this count? How does this hitter fare against left-handers? Are they drawing the infield in to guard against a bunt, or are they staying at double-play depth? The answers to such questions are better pondered over premium tobacco.

That’s one of the reasons why, when I can’t be at beloved Wrigley Field to watch my hapless Cubs, I do most of my baseball watching at home. The laptop computer is such a great resource. For a price, you can watch or listen to any game—live or archived—in the comfort of your patio furniture. The atmosphere is perfect. Cigars are welcome and plentiful, and beers are more modestly priced.

So, notwithstanding the NHL playoffs, now is the perfect time to set aside an evening or a weekend afternoon, spark a big cigar, and relax to the sights and sounds of bats cracking, umps yelling, fans cheering, and beer cans opening. Each team only has about 120 games left. That may seem like an eternity, but baseball season goes by way too quickly.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

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.”

Since it debuted in October 2008, Cuban Crafters’ Medina 1959 blend has become one of my favorite mild-bodied cigars. This Cuban-seed Sumatra-wrapped smoke is an absolute treasure. Handmade in Miami by Manuel Medina, formerly of the H. Upmann and Davidoff factories in Cuba, it boasts toasted flavors of cream, butterscotch, and onion spice with outstanding construction. I’ve written before of my affinity for the Robusto and Torpedo. The Churchill (7 x 50) is every bit as delicious for $7 apiece.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

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.”

Rarely do I find a cigar so bad that I give up on it after smoking less than an inch or more. This was that rare case. A nice looking cigar, the Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Natural was hot, dry, and harsh with a taste reminiscent of stale cigarettes. The finish was long and unpleasant. One fundamental problem with this stick, and others I’ve tried, is that the roll is so open (I’m guessing to lower the amount of filler) that it’s almost impossible not to overheat.

Verdict = Sell.

–George E

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) With most of the country’s bars, restaurants, and workplaces regulated by prohibitive smoking bans, anti-tobacco activists are setting their sights on the great outdoors. An Albuquerque woman was recently sued—albeit unsuccessfully—for smoking in her own backyard. Her neighbor argued that her cigarettes are a health hazard. Meanwhile, in suburban Chicago, Kane County lawmakers are mulling the legality of an outdoor ban for residential neighborhoods. Illinois already has a restrictive statewide ban that criminalizes  smoking in indoor “public” spaces, enacted in 2008.

2) Inside the Industry: Perdomo is introducing a new value smoke called “Nick’s Sticks Little Havana Blend” that will come in Connecticut, Maduro, and Sun Grown varieties. Reyes Family Cigars has planted its first tobacco in Danlí, Honduras, on 50 acres of land. Macanudo is adding a large smoke to its Gold line which will be called the Gold Brick (6 x 60).

3) Around the Blogs: Smoking Stogie blind reviews a La Flor Dominicana Air Bender. Cigar Inspector inspects a Cubao Maduro. Nice Tight Ash checks out the Nestor Miranda 1989. Stogie Fresh smokes the La Aurora 107. Tiki Bar kicks back with a Camacho Liberty 2009. Keepers of the Flame fires up a Benji Menendez Masters Series. The Cigar Spy sparks a Gran Habano Corojo.

4) Deal of the Week: Cuban Crafters is having a Weekend Cigar Blowout. They’ve got deals on our favorites like the Cupido Tuxedo and the 1959 Miami Medina. The best bargain is a box of 25 La Carolinas for just $50. Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys