The Stogie Guys

Perhaps no topic generates more interest among new smokers—and many long-timers—than the question of how to detect flavors in cigars.

“Isn’t it all just tobacco?” is a typical inquiry.

Well, yes, it is all tobacco. But you can say the same for a lot of other things we experience with our taste buds. They’re all apples, for example, but a Granny Smith has a vastly different texture and taste than does a Golden Delicious. Or, it’s all wood, though who would confuse the aroma of Aromatic Red Cedar with American White Oak.

Opening your mind—and, consequently, your nose and taste buds—to the potential of discovery is, I believe, the first step to expanding what you perceive in your cigars.

There are any number of ways to do that. You can explore flavor wheels, fill out tasting sheets, sniff spices in the cabinet, and take numerous other approaches to improve your palate. And they’re probably all worth trying.

One caution, though: While exploring tasting processes in other areas, such as wine, spirits, or coffee, bear in mind that they’re often done with several examples simultaneously. Few of us smoke more than one cigar at a time.

My goal here is to provide some context for your approach, and to broaden your viewpoint as you explore cigar aromas and flavors.

Don’t look for exact matches. Think more of what you taste as suggesting a flavor, not replicating it.

1. Concentrate at first on common flavors, such as coffee with a maduro, pepper with a Nicaraguan puro, or grass with a Connecticut wrapper.

2. Try to focus on smell as well, since that’s a significant component of taste.

3. Roll the smoke around in your mouth before you exhale to increase the exposure to your taste buds.

4. Don’t try too hard. Everyone’s senses differ, and our perceptions are not always the same. Some have a higher developed capacity of taste, while others don’t. It’s not a contest to see who can pick out kala jeera or fennel pollen.

If you pay attention and note what you detect, I can almost guarantee you’ll find yourself discovering more and more with each cigar.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

If there’s one word that seems to unite most cigar makers, it’s “new.”

The seemingly irresistible urge to introduce new blends, new line extensions, new brands, new tobaccos, new curing methods, and on and on reaches its annual pinnacle at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show, which starts this weekend in New Orleans.

Ironically, though, if you ask most cigar retailers to name their top-selling brand, the answer you’ll likely get is Padrón, a manufacturer that rarely introduces anything new. The old-school company isn’t particularly invested in social media, either, but it burned up the online cigar community with its recent announcement of a new Connecticut line.

Of course, if you’re a cigar manufacturer competing for shelf space with companies like Padrón, Altadis, General, Fuente, and others, having something new might seem like your safest bet. But is there a risk in going too far in that direction?

I thought about this the other day when I was smoking a Kristoff Galerones Intensivo. I picked it up for about $9 at a shop I visit occasionally because it was a chance to try a stick I hadn’t had, and one about which I’d heard good things.

It was a very enjoyable smoke, combining solid strength with spice, cedar, and coffee. The three-country filler blend (Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and Honduras) worked well with the Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper.

So, I wondered, how come I’ve smoked so few Kristoff cigars?

The answer, I’ve surmised, is the same as for some other brands I rarely light up, such as Rocky Patel or Ghurka. It’s not that I have anything against them or their cigars. In fact, I’ve smoked some that I liked a lot.

But, overall, brands that have so many lines and so many new entries lose my attention and focus. Even when I smoke something I like from them, it tends to get lost in their plethora of cigars.

Truth be told, even someone like me who spends quite a bit of time reading about cigars and the industry, as well as listening to podcasts, just can’t keep up with everything.

With IPCPR, there’ll be a raft of new releases. I’d like to try them all. That, of course, isn’t possible, so I’ll smoke the ones I can find, try to remember the ones I don’t, and possibly add one or two discoveries to my list of favorites.

And I’m sure there’ll be quite a few that I miss.

–George E

photo credit: IPCPR

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.”

Full body, full flavor, and full enjoyment is the only way I can describe this 2013 Avo release for shops in the Tobacconists’ Association of America. A pressed toro (6 x 52), the Movement fits with quite a few Avo limiteds by presenting a stronger and spicier cigar than many may still associate with the brand. It begins with a shot of pepper and a sugared-coffee sweetness. Along the way, the pepper rises and falls, as numerous other flavors weave in and out. It’s a bargain at $11.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/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.”

This year’s Crowned Heads’ exclusive for Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA) retailers is a gorgeous Toro (6 x 52) with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler. Said to be a bit stronger than last year’s TAA limited edition, there’s a nice deep, earthy, and nutty beginning that makes some transitions along the way, including a bit of spice and sweetness. I certainly enjoyed The Angel’s Anvil and thought it worth the $10.50 price, but I find several other Crowned Heads offerings to be more impressive smokes.

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.”

The second annual release of this limited edition—sporting an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper instead of last year’s Habano Oscuro over Nicaraguan filler and binder—seems certain to be another hit for Crowned Heads. I found it to be a deep, complex smoke with a great finish reminiscent of cigars of yesteryear. It’s immensely satisfying, especially in this 6-inch, 52-ring gauge format. I was a fan of the 2014 and like this one even more. With only 90,000 coming out of My Father Cigars, these will surely be snapped up quickly. Make sure you’re among the lucky smokers.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

This is one enjoyable cigar. The kind you light up, sit back, and savor. The Danno Habano is one of three 2015 limited editions commemorating Nestor Miranda’s late son, Daniel, that are hitting store shelves.

Each of Miami Cigar & Co.’s Danno cigars has been special since they debuted in 2009. This is certainly among the best I have had. I’d rate the strength on the upper end of medium, with deep, rich flavors that shift several times along the 7-inch, 56-ring gauge frame.

The Habano wrapper was grown in Nicaragua and is nearly flawless, with a small pigtail cap at the head. The filler comes from Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, and Brazil. All three of this year’s Danno editions use a Nicaraguan Criollo ’98 binder. MSRP is $12.

The other two Dannos feature variations on the filler blend and sport different wrappers, one an Ecuadorian Connecticut and the other a Broadleaf Maduro. They’re rolled at Pepin Garcia’s My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua.

With only 1,000 boxes of each of the three blends produced, these will likely be difficult to find. In fact, Nestor Miranda had a six-shop East Coast tour in June to introduce the cigars and that undoubtedly put a dent in the inventory.

I smoked two for this review, both provided by Miami Cigar. The Danno Habano kicks off with pepper and cedar, joined by a sweetness that lingers into the second third. There, a toasty flavor comes on, with the pepper and cedar receding. In the final third, I picked up graham cracker as the pepper came back, smoothed out by tobacco sweetness.

The flavors are balanced, and the finish is silky. There’s no doubt concentration will pay off in what you experience with this complex cigar.

Construction generally was good, though the second one I smoked developed a small tunnel about halfway down that took a few minutes to run through and necessitated several relights. The white ash was incredibly tight, holding on both for nearly half the smoke before I tapped off.

I give the Danno Habano a high rating of four and a half stogies.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This cigar attracts attention. The white and copper colors in its two bands—one of them extra large—stand out against the dark wrapper.

After lighting up, the first impression might be a little off. The Legacy begins a bit unpolished, presenting a little back-of-the-throat sharpness. Fortunately, that doesn’t last long, quickly replaced by much more pleasant flavors of pepper and coffee.

One of two recent offerings from Tabaclera El Artista, the Legacy is available in two vitolas. The Gran Robusto I smoked is a 5.25-inch stick with a ring gauge of 54. The other size is a 6.5-inch Gran Toro with a ring gauge of 56. Prices are extremely reasonable, with MSRPs just $4.50 and $5.50, respectively, according to the company.

The Dominican company started in the 1950s and uses its own tobacco. The filler in the Legacy is Dominican Criollo ’98 and 1900, an El Arista exclusive. The wrapper is also the 1900, while the binder is described as “Dominican wine-fermented Criollo ’98.”

Three samples were supplied by El Artista, and they’ve been sitting in my humidor for a few months. I was most impressed with the higher-priced sibling, giving the Exactus Puro Ambar a stellar rating in a review earlier this year.

The Legacy, while enjoyable, wasn’t up to that level. As you’d expect, the Legacy was not a complex cigar. Medium in strength, the dominant flavors remained fairly consistent throughout.

Performance was something of a problem. One of the three I smoked developed a tunnel and didn’t smoke right for about a third of the length, while another required numerous relights.

I’d recommend giving the Legacy a try. El Arista appears to be adding additional retailers so you should check its website to see if there’s one near you. I rate this cigar a respectable three stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys