The Stogie Guys

With a medical procedure looming, my doctor insisted I give up cigars for several weeks to clear nicotine from my system. I don’t really know how serious the risk is. All the material she gave me seemed to focus on the impacts of cigarette smoking.

Still, I trust her skills, she’s an excellent surgeon, and I knew I’d have no difficulty complying. And I do want to recover as quickly as possible. If that means a few weeks without cigars, so be it. What I didn’t fully count on, though, was how much I’d miss my cigar time.

Sitting on the back deck in the afternoon reading the papers or having one in the evening and listening to a baseball game. Dropping by the local B&M on Sundays and lighting up while watching an NFL game.

Sure, I can still read, listen, and watch. But, for me, these activities lose something without an accompanying cigar. Rarely do I ever smoke more than one cigar a day, so it’s purely pleasure, not a habit.

And I know about tobacco habit and addiction. I started smoking cigarettes as a teenager. Back then, I think the minimum smoking age was 16, though no one hesitated to sell a pack to someone much younger (who was just assumed to be buying them for their mother or father). My high school had a student smoking area and, when I went to work, every desk came with an ashtray. Cigarette advertisements were everywhere.

I smoked steadily for decades and quit about 30 years ago. It was about the time the anti-smoking movement was beginning to take hold. Employers were doing things like banning smoking in the open and creating smoking rooms. I could see all that wasn’t going to end well for cigarette smokers.

But that didn’t make it any easier to quit. I struggled for months, maybe years, before I didn’t want another cigarette. Part of that was because I truly enjoyed smoking cigarettes. Well, some of them, anyway.

I used to joke that I’d take up cigarettes again when I retired. I didn’t but instead became attracted to cigars. Why, I’m still not exactly sure, though I don’t think it really had anything to do with cigarettes.

Lighting up a cigarette was a reaction, a release, a trigger. A way to focus, a signal to perform, a reward. Cigars are much more about relaxation and pleasure, a complement to enjoyable activities.

So, I’m looking forward to getting done with the operation, recovering, and, once again, hitting the humidor.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

First Smoke is a new series of Quick Smoke reviews, each evaluating a single pre-release cigar. Like the Quick Smokes we publish each Saturday and Sunday, each First Smoke is not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

It was about 10 years ago, I think, when General Cigar’s Bolivar line underwent a transformation to a bolder, stronger cigar. I remember being impressed at the time and smoking quite a few until they gradually moved to the back of the box. I can’t remember when I last had one. Until now, that is. I was excited to try the new incarnation, with its “classic taste reimagined” by General’s skunkworks, Foundry Tobacco Co. Though I wasn’t able to attend the past summer’s IPCPR Trade Show, General kindly sent me samples of Bolivar and several other new releases. (Don’t pay much attention to the band; General says the sticks were rolled for the Trade Show and the bands don’t represent the final product.)

It’s a nice-looking, dark, oily stick with a pigtail cap and an unfinished foot. According to General, the wrapper is Havano Connecticut, the binder Ecuadorian Sumatra, and the filler from Nicaragua, Honduras, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. List price on the robusto-sized 550 (5 x 50) is $6.49, lowest of the three sizes. Construction and performance were excellent, with a near-perfect draw.

I found the new Bolivar rich but a bit harsh. That diminished somewhat after the first third but picked up again towards the end. There is some nice tobacco sweetness as well as notes of chocolate and coffee, particularly in the middle. Overall, though, for me the bite was a drawback. While I’d definitely recommend trying it, you might be better served by first letting your tobacconist age them a bit on their shelves.

Verdict = Hold.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

For lovers of light Connecticut cigars, this large limited edition will almost certainly be a hit. With a Nicaraguan binder and multi-nation filler, the strength is light while the predominant flavor is the familiar grass and hay from the lovely light brown wrapper. Construction and performance are excellent. For my taste, though, this Danno (samples provided by Miami Cigar & Co.) is simply too light. Judge your preference accordingly.

Verdict = Hold.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Sam Leccia rose to prominence in the cigar world not by simply going off the beaten path but by carving out his own personal freeway. When he pioneered Nub—a concept now widely copied—Leccia promoted it passionately. Affable and engaging, he hit the road like an evangelist on a tent-show revival tour, gaining new fans wherever he went.

Stymied by a non-compete after he left Oliva, Leccia was out of the picture for a while but never out of the thoughts of those who admired his work. Forums and blogs often sizzled with rumors of his return. When Leccia did come back, heading an eponymous company, the inaugural Black and White cigars earned high praise, particularly his use of fire-cured tobacco, quite unusual at the time.

Then came another speed bump. Industry giant General Cigar acquired his distributor, Toraño, and soon thereafter Leccia licensed his brands to General and went to work for the company. And, once again, Leccia and his cigars were the center of attention and rumor. Would the creative iconoclast be swallowed up by the corporate behemoth? To some, it seemed as if Steve Jobs had gone to work for IBM. (Interestingly, Leccia was a trailblazer in this as well, his move foreshadowing the angst that followed the sale of Drew Estate to Swisher shortly afterward.)

These days, Leccia says, he’s splitting work time among his home in Pittsburgh (site of Leccia Tobacco headquarters, aka “my garage”), General’s offices in Richmond, and on the road. In an email, he said he’s been to over 30 states and 4 countries since February: “I find that being on the road and meeting with retailers and customers is one of the most important aspects of this business, and I don’t imagine that ever slowing down.”

Interestingly, Leccia said the biggest surprise for him at General has been “how truly small this large company really is… People think of it as some huge corporate goliath, and it is so far from that. The premium cigar industry is incredibly small, so sure, General is a big fish, but the pond is more of a deep puddle.”

When it came time for this year’s cigar trade show, consumers were keenly interested in what Leccia would introduce. Once again, he went his own way. Rather than something completely new—which is what might have been expected—Leccia showed off an extension of his existing Luchador line, called El Gringo. (Of course, he did that his way as well, bringing a professional wrestler—masked, of course—to the floor to knock Leccia around.) With four sizes, each named for a wrestling move, El Gringo has a Nicaraguan Oscuro wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Ligero from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania. The band features a distinct version of the line’s Mexican wrestling mask.

General sent me samples of the Frog Splash, which retails for $8.25 and comes in boxes of 21. Short (4.5 inches), sharply pressed (Leccia refers to it as a “mat press”), and thick (70 ring gauge), it looks like a powerhouse. And it doesn’t disappoint, displaying strength in the upper-medium to full range.

I wasn’t sure at first how it would smoke. For someone not particularly fond of large ring-gauge cigars, Frog Splash is a bit intimidating. The press, though, does make it more comfortable. I tried a guillotine cut on the foot of a couple, but found a large punch worked better, tightening up the draw a tad. Each one I smoked performed excellently: slow, even burn; tight ash; and lots of smoke.

From beginning to end, it is a smooth, rich cigar, with pepper, dark chocolate, spice and coffee tastes that rise and fall throughout. I found it engaging and enjoyable from beginning to end, which was about two hours.

I recommend giving this line a try, especially if it is outside your cigar comfort zone. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. As for a rating, I give the Frog Splash a high-flying four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

From the gorgeous, dark Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper to the satisfying final puffs, this new release is, for me, one of the finest regular production lines from Avo. The blend, with Nicaraguan Ometepe, Dominican, and Peruvian filler, begins with a peppery kick. Along the way, the slow-burning, box-pressed Toro (6 x 54, $10) mixes in an undertone of nuts, a little hay, cedar, and some occasional sweetness. A fine cigar.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

The new Route 66 cigar line sports a retro band, an all-American name, and filler that includes the trendy Mexican San Andrés tobacco.

If you haven’t seen Route 66 yet, that’s not surprising. Acme Cigar Co.’s Jay Lundy said they have just recently begun to roll out nationally from their Texas base after what he called an “absolutely great” reception at this summer’s cigar industry convention in New Orleans.

But you’re likely to have come across Acme even sooner if you’re even mildly active on social media. The company is very active on various platforms, along with AKA Cigars, its sibling.

Route 66, rolled in Estelí, has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a Jalapa Criollo binder, and filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, in addition to the San Andrés tobacco. It comes in four sizes, including a massive (8.5 x 52) cigar with both ends closed that Acme says can be split and smoked as two Rothschilds.

The Hot Rod, which I smoked for this review, is a Robusto (5 x 50, $5.90). The cigars were supplied by Acme.

It’s a pleasant cigar with excellent construction, good burn, and a fine draw. I didn’t notice the dirt flavor I often associate with San Andrés wrappers, but the cigars did have a somewhat raw finish and an occasional back-of-the-throat scratch.

Flavors included pepper, burned coffee, and a little hay, all of which were nicely blended. I’d call it a medium-strength smoke.

The name Acme has a special place in American pop culture. Cartoon fans recognize it as the source of nearly every hair-brained gadget Wile E. Coyote used to try to catch the Road Runner. Before that, though, Acme gained widespread use when phone books came out because Acme would land your firm at the top of the list. Still today, you can type “Acme” followed by just about any business you like—pharmacy, auto, sporting goods, sponges, plumbing, etc.—into Google, and you’ll find numerous examples. Earlier cigar-related Acme trademarks had apparently expired and that enabled Lundy to grab it.

As part of its push to get cigars into more hands, Acme is sponsoring a Stogie Guys contest with five-cigar sampler packs as prizes. To enter, all you have to do is follow Lundy on Instagram at @akajaylundy and post a comment here to say that you’ve done so. (You’re a StogieGuys.com reader, so we trust you; no proof necessary.) We’ll pick the winners at random in a week or so.

As for the Route 66 Hot Rod, I’d suggest you give it a try, especially if you’re looking for a modestly priced addition to a regular rotation. I give it three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

This was my first Cubanacan, but it definitely won’t be my last. With an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Ecuadorian binder, and Nicaraguan filler, it kicks off with pepper and wood, adds a natural tobacco sweetness along the way, and comes back with more pepper in the final third. Medium strength, excellent construction, and straight burn—a bargain at about $8.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Cubanacan