The 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.”

Once Matt Booth announced earlier this year he was ending his partnership with Davidoff and exiting the cigar business, it was only a matter of time before the discounts began on his Room 101 lines. I recently picked up a 10-pack of these robustos (5 x 50) for $2.25 each. At that price, the HN 305 is easy to like. With a complex blend of a Honduran Criollo ’98 wrapper, Brazilian Mata Fina binder, and filler from Honduras and the Dominican Republic, the flavors may not blow you away, but they also aren’t likely to disappoint. I’ve smoked several and all have performed excellently. Keep an eye out for a sale if you’d like to try something a little different.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

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.”

This is one fine smoke. A dark maduro that melds the typical sweetness and coffee flavors with enough spice and strength from the Nicaraguan filler to keep it more than interesting. The newer cigars from Hirochi Robaina haven’t gotten nearly the buzz that his first releases a few years back generated. They also don’t seem to be particularly easy to find. When I picked this smoke up at a cigar shop I visit infrequently, it was the first time I’d seen it. But after enjoying this Corona Gorda (5.5 x 46, $7.95) treat, I have no doubt I’ll be on the lookout for more.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: HR Cigars

While the future of premium cigars may be clouded by the uncertainty of U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations, one thing is clear: Prices are going to continue to rise.

Whether it’s a result of higher taxes, fees, wages, materials, transportation, inflation—or a combination of all of these—you can expect to pay more. That isn’t always bad. I think even the most fervent cheapskate would be hard-pressed to begrudge raises for low-paid Central American laborers and farm workers.

Still, costlier cigars can certainly impact many smokers. Looking for ways to maintain your level of enjoyment without breaking the bank can be tricky. So here are a few points to bear in mind as you try to keep your spending down.

Don’t buy hype. Frequently, you’ll hear or read complaints that some expensive cigar or other is over-hyped. That same objection could be raised about many low-priced smokes as well. Bundles will be pitched as being like a higher-priced brand or as seconds from a major manufacturer with only cosmetic imperfections. Maybe that’s true sometimes. But sometimes someone wins the lottery, too.

Don’t gamble. Sure, you’ve loved every cigar put out by such-and-such a company. That doesn’t mean you’ll love the next one. Be sure to sample a stick or two of any cigar before investing your hard-earned cash in a box. Better to miss out on the latest rare, limited edition than to have 19 of them sitting unsmoked in the bottom of your humidor as you hope (pray) they’ll improve with age.

Read carefully. Quite a few low-priced cigars use short filler. That’s not automatically a disqualifier, but you should be aware that short-filler smokes may, by nature, be inconsistent from stick to stick, burn faster and hotter, and have a looser draw than long-filler cigars.

Try shorter vitolas. Robustos and coronas usually cost less than Churchills, double coronas, or those monster ring gauge behemoths. Sure, you won’t get as long a smoke, but you’ll likely get more bang for your buck.

Save up and stock up. This is, for my money, the best approach. Make sure you’re on the email list for your local B&Ms and the big online retailers and check their sale offerings. Be ready when there’s a markdown on one of the cigars you truly enjoy, whether it’s at your local smoke shop’s annual sale or an online, daily discount. Also, be prepared when manufacturers alter packaging or strike items from their catalogs. Retailers rarely want old inventory on hand and frequently reduce prices to move it.

–George E

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.”

This light brown extension to the original well-received MBombay Gaaja Toro is a subtle, complex delight. It’s generally medium-bodied, featuring a honey sweetness and gentle spices with bits of tea and nuts. An Ecuadorian hybrid wrapper and filler that includes Peruvian tobacco helps the Gaaja stand out. At $15.50, it’s an expensive smoke. But it’s one I recommend you consider the next time you want to splurge.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

General Cigar’s new Partagas Heritage began with a nod to the past.

Blender Jhonys Diaz called it a “retrospective blend that celebrated the very best of Partagas.” According to General, Diaz and his team developed the blend more than ten years ago, “patiently saving it for a special release.”

It is a complex concoction. The wrapper is a proprietary leaf, Olancho San Agustin Valley; the binder is Connecticut Broadleaf; and the filler is Honduran Jamastran Dominican Piloto Cubano and Mexican San Andrés. This recipe makes for a tasty smoke.

Most noticable at the start are delicate spices that remain throughout, though they shift in prominence. Other flavors include some sweetness, occasional cinnamon, and leather. I ran across a bit of that Mexican dirt, but not strong enough or long enough to spoil the medium-strength cigar.

I smoked five of the Rothschild size, a 4.5-inch cigar with a ring gauge of 50. All burned superbly, with a tight ash and lots of smoke. I thoroughly enjoyed the size, and it’s interesting to note that when Rothschild commissioned the vitola in the 19th century he was seeking a short, large ring cigar.

This new line has that for today’s smoker. Packaged in boxes of 20, there are three other sizes: Robusto (5.5 x 52), Churchill (7 x 49), and Gigante (6 x 60). Suggested retail prices run from $8.49 for the Rothschild to $9.99 for the Churchill.

However, like many General cigars, list price and real price aren’t always the same. I’ve seen the Rothschild for sale online as low as $22.98 for a five-pack.

General has been producing Partagas cigars of one kind or another for decades. The Cuban brand, dating to 1845, also continues to sell widely around the world. The famed Partagas sign outside the old Havana factory should be familiar to anyone who’s been in more than a couple of cigar shops.

The bands of the two cigars can sometimes be remarkably close. The Heritage bands, for instance, obviously have different wording but otherwise closely echo those on the Cuban Partagas Serie lines.

We have reviewed quite a few Partagas cigars over the years, awarding several high ratings. This little smoke is worthy of joining that group, and I give it four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: General Cigar Co.

All Out Kings has been an extraordinarily anticipated cigar since the initial announcement last year. A collaboration between Caldwell Cigar Co. and Drew Estate, the line began shipping only recently.

Here’s how the blend is described on the website set up for the line: “All Out Kings debuts with tobaccos from La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Estelí, Nicaragua, including Connecticut stalk-cut and sun-cured Habano wrapper with an Indonesian Sumatra binder and filler comprised of Jalapa Viso, Estelí Viso, Dominican C-98 Seco, and Connecticut Broadleaf Ligero.” Originally, production was planned to take place at the Joya de Nicaragua factory, but ultimately the blend was rolled at La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate.

Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it?

I thought so before I tried one. But the flavors from this smoke just didn’t line up with what I enjoy in a cigar.

First, there was what I can describe only as a dirty taste that I’m guessing comes from the stalk-cut wrapper, a procedure which can produce heavily earthy notes. Then there was the sharp, back-of-the-throat bite that was particularly intense in the first inch or so and came back in the final third.

Much of the cigar—I smoked three of the robusto-sized Smash (5 x 52), for which I paid $69 for a five-pack—exhibited what I’ve come to think of as a campfire taste with some astringency along the way.

On the other hand, the cigar is an extraordinary performer. The draw and smoke production in all those I smoked were excellent, while the burn was razor sharp. The white ash held on tightly throughout.

I can’t imagine this cigar will engender many middle-of-the-road reactions. If it suits your palate, you’ll likely be a big fan; if not, your reaction will probably be similar to mine. And the only way to find out where you fall on the scale is to try one.

All Out Kings comes in four vitolas. The other three are Gimme Your Lunch Money (5.75 x 46), Foreverlast (6.5 x 54), and The Fourth Pose (6 x 54). All are available in 20-count boxes.

For me, this is a tough cigar to rate. All Out Kings is obviously not a bad cigar. It just doesn’t appeal to me. which is why I give it three stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Caldwell/Stogie Guys

I still recall the first La Gloria Cubana Serie R I smoked, lighting it up years ago at the now-shuttered Bethesda Tobacco just outside Washington, D.C. It was undoubtedly the strongest cigar I’d smoked up to that time, and it knocked me for a loop.

Back then, the natural Serie R, with filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, was among the more powerful sticks on the market, as well as a progenitor of the large ring gauge craze.

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo introduced the Serie R in 1999, the same year he sold his El Credito operation to General Cigar.

I suspect the extraordinary success of that original Serie R line is what led General Cigar to introduce numerous variations. The Serie R Black Maduro is one of two that debuted last year. It’s for sale online, with the sibling Serie R Estelí Maduro sold as a brick-and-mortar exclusive.

The Black Maduro comes in three sizes, with the name of each reflecting the ring gauge: No. 60 (6 x 60), No. 64 (6.25 x 64), and No. 58 (6.9 x 58). You’ll find them all online for about $5 apiece by the five-pack—even cheaper by the 18-count box.

No. 58 has a dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with the same Nicaraguan blend of binder and filler found in the original Serie R Estelí line. The colorful band features the familiar updated La Gloria Cubana female image with a secondary red band demoting “Maduro” in silver, as well as a foot covering.

The pre-light aroma of the wrapper is typical of many maduros: rich, warm, and a little sweet. And, after firing the cigar up, the flavors also include those we often associate with a maduro cigar. There’s chocolate and coffee, of course, and a bit of raisin. Mixed in as the cigar progresses is some pepper that tends to remain in the background.

From the start, the burn and draw are excellent, with smoke production first-rate. The burn is fairly slow, and this big vitola lasts a long time.

Coming in at such a low price, this cigar is easy to recommend for smokers who enjoy maduros, or those who haven’t tried them and want to expand their palate. I give the La Gloria Cubana Serie R Black Maduro No. 58 three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: General Cigar Co. / Stogie Guys