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.”

The second-year release of this limited edition—an IPCPR exclusive from L’Atelier Imports—is every bit as good as the first, if not perhaps a bit better. With a Nicaraguan sun-grown Criollo ’98 wrapper, Sancti Spíritus binder, and Nicaraguan filler, it’s a smooth, consistent, and generally sweet smoke. The torpedo is 6.125 inches with a 52 ring gauge. You’ll generally find them between $9 and $10, depending on local taxes. Well worth a try.

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 cigar has one of the primary characteristics that I look for in a limited edition: a distinctive taste. After all, what’s the point of a special cigar if it’s basically the same as those that aren’t so special? This year’s Full Moon, a five-inch stick with the same Nicaraguan blend as 2013, boasts a hearty, thick blend of wood, leather, and a bit of coffee bean before a touch of sweetness mingles in during the last third. Much better than eating candy.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

By now, you’ve probably heard or read about the findings of a new long-term study of cigar smoking that generated headlines like this one from Fox News: “Cigars just as harmful to health as cigarettes, study says.” Well, don’t toss your Davidoffs in the dustbin just yet.

A closer look inside the numbers, along with some helpful responses from the study’s lead researcher, show that the results aren’t nearly that clear for those of us who enjoy premium, hand-rolled, all-tobacco cigars.

First, and perhaps most importantly, the study made no distinction between those who smoke machine-made cigars and those who smoke premium cigars. In fact, that information wasn’t even collected in the survey of 25,522 subjects for the 1999-2012 National Health Nutrition and Examination Survey, Dr. Jiping Chen, an epidemiologist in the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Tobacco Products, told me in an email.

Consequently, there was also no consideration of differences in smoking, such as inhaling/not inhaling or the frequency of consumption, Dr. Chen said. “No information was collected in the study on the types of cigars smoked or reasons why cigars were smoked.”

So, someone who sucks down a half-dozen White Owls a day is a “cigar smoker,” the same as someone who lights up an Arturo Fuente Hemingway once a week. “All cigar smokers were treated as a single group,” Dr. Chen said of the survey that was the basis for the cigar study.

This is important because, without getting overly technical, the study compared levels of five “biomarkers”—substances scientists use to measure things like disease or environmental exposure—found in cigar smokers and non-smokers. To get the measurements for cigar smokers, she said, researchers took “the average levels of biomarkers of all cigar smokers.”

Now, to put that in perspective, bear in mind there are roughly 350 million premium cigars sold annually in the United States. Machine-made cigars are sold in the billions. In other words, the premium cigar market is just a tiny fraction of the cigar market.

So it stands to reason that the cigar-smoking group in the study would be vastly tilted toward those who smoke machine-made cigars, and it’s also as likely that an overwhelming percentage of them utilize cigars as do those who smoke cigarettes—as a nicotine delivery system, not for enjoyment, as do most premium-cigar smokers.

Averaging things like this can be dangerous. If, for example, you take the average of Bill Gates’ assets and my assets, we both appear to be very wealthy men.

One other point from the research that I find worth noting is the fact that there was no assessment of the impact of the 2009 SCHIP tax increases. Those undoubtedly led an unknown number of cigarette smokers to turn to machine-made “cigars” because they were taxed at a lower rate and offered a cheaper alternative. To my mind, while these people may now be classified as cigar smokers, they’re really cigarette smokers under a different name.

This contention was at least partly supported, I think, by findings that cigar smokers who were former cigarette smokers had higher levels of the two biomarkers found only in tobacco than did those who hadn’t smoked cigarettes before.

Now, let’s be honest. I don’t think anyone could reasonably dispute the notion that if you smoke cigars like cigarettes you’re almost certainly engaging in the same highly risky behavior as a cigarette smoker. And I can’t imagine that, in this day and age, that would surprise anybody. But that isn’t even remotely the way nearly all of us who smoke premium cigars actually smoke them. We don’t inhale, we don’t smoke all day long, and we aren’t addicted to nicotine.

We do recognize that there is some added danger to smoking premium cigars, but we also know that it is relatively small, and it’s a risk we’re willing to take. Just as we willingly take many other risks in our lives to do things we enjoy.

And as the FDA continues to consider its position on regulating cigars—and whether to grant an exemption for premium cigars—the distinctions I’ve pointed out could make a world of difference. It would be more than a shame for this research to help derail the efforts to secure that exemption because I believe it clearly isn’t applicable.

One bright spot in all this is that the very helpful FDA press officer who helped arrange my email exchange with Dr. Chen told me she will forward this to those involved in the consideration of cigar regulations.

Hopefully, they’ll read it and reach the right conclusion.

–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 little smoke, weighing in at 4 inches long with a ring gauge of 42, has a Criollo wrapper, Honduran binder, and Nicaraguan and Honduran filler. It opens with spice and then features the hints of vanilla and the leather often associated with Honduran tobacco. The spice drops off in the second half and the cigar becomes deeper and warmer. At $8, Papi Chulo is expensive for a small smoke, but this limited edition is interesting and well worth a try.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

The first thing I focused on with this Nat Sherman wasn’t the smooth Ecuadorian wrapper or the pleasant pre-light aroma. It was the simple band, reminiscent of a bygone era of beer joints, pool halls, and all-night diners permeated with ashtrays and cigar smoke.

In fact, much of the cigar captures the spirit of the original Epoca that launched Nat Sherman into the cigar business in 1929. From box art to its medium strength, this is a celebration, much like the Joel Sherman 75th Anniversary released earlier this year.

There are six vitolas in the line, ranging in price from $9 to $15. I smoked the 6-inch, 50-ring gauge Prince, with samples provided by Nat Sherman.

From the start, the burn and draw were just about perfect. If the cigar produced any more smoke, you wouldn’t be surprised to see a hook-and-ladder truck. And not only is there a lot of smoke, it’s thick and rich.

I found no surprise that the Epoca kicked off with that grassy taste familiar to Connecticut tobacco. It was somewhat surprising, though, that it didn’t last. A nice tobacco sweetness edged it aside, with a bit of leather and earth. Then, the grass worked its way back in during the final third.

The flavors are balanced throughout, creating a pleasing experience from start to finish.

While I think almost any smoker would enjoy it, those looking for a stick to add to their morning routine would be the first I’d suggest give it a try. Epoca would also be a good choice for those who routinely enjoy mild cigars and want to step up a shade in strength.

I also plan to try it in a smaller size, such as the Breva, which is 5 inches long with a 42-ring gauge. I wonder whether that might concentrate the flavors more.

All in all, this is another fine new offering from Nat Sherman, and I rate 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 verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

As a bona fide, certified, and unqualified Aging Room fan, I had no doubt I’d enjoy the dark, rough-looking M20 (5.75 x 47)—even though I’m generally not inclined to Mexican wrappers. But knowing what the Aging Room crew can do with tobacco, I was optimistic. The cigar, to put it bluntly, blew me away. With an 8-year-old wrapper and Dominican filler and binder, this limited edition stick kicks off with pepper and spice, and shifts strength and flavors throughout its slender frame. With only 2,000 boxes of 10 on the market, it may not be easy to find. But don’t stop looking.

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 could be the poster child for total cigar enjoyment. From an immaculate Ecuadorian Colorado Claro wrapper rolled around the finely tapered body, to the mouth-watering sweet pre-light aroma and flavors that entice from beginning to end, this little stick is built to please. The tastes are complex, the strength medium to full, construction excellent, and satisfaction immense. Praised by my colleague in a 2010 review that awarded the diminutive Davidoff a rare five-stogie rating, it’s still an incredible smoke—well worth its $14 price tag when you want to reward yourself.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys