The Stogie Guys

The first impression of Sam Leccia’s Black comes as soon as you remove the cellophane sleeve. A distinctive and full aroma fills the air. It’s smoky, outdoorsy, and it has a hint of pipe tobacco and campfire.

From the outset, it’s clear that this cigar is different. That’s no surprise, considering the range of tobaccos used in Black. The filler combines Nicaraguan and Dominican ligero, Brazilian Mata Fina, and a bit of fire-cured tobacco. Completing the international mix is an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and a Nicaraguan Rosado binder.

The flavors reflect the complex aroma with some added spicy components and sweetness. I found it to be medium in strength, with a fascinating twist. It nearly always felt as if it was going to jump up a notch but never did. The finish was also remarkable: very long and thick.

I’ve smoked three: one while at the IPCPR Trade Show and two at home. Construction, draw, and smoke production in each was excellent. The small Dominican factory producing the line knows its stuff.

Although the slightly fat robusto (a 52 ring gauge with the typical 5-inch length) is the only one of the four sizes I’ve tried, I can’t help but think it’s probably the best for this smoke. It runs around $8 per stick.

A lot of smokers will pick up a Black, and its White partner, because they’re familiar with Sam Leccia from his work with Oliva, where he generated a tremendous following with Nub (and later Cain). They should have no trouble finding these new cigars. They’re in catalogs, and it seemed as if nearly every retailer at IPCPR stopped to talk with Sam, who shared space with Toraño, which is distributing his smokes.

For those seeking something different, Black should be at the top of your list. Not just because it’s different, but because it’s good. In fact, this is a cigar that’s more enjoyable every time you smoke one. I rate it four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: @SamLeccia

We got an email recently from the commander of the 480th Fighter Squadron in Afghanistan noting that StogieGuys.com had promoted (and participated in) cigar-giving to the troops and wondering if we could help. Could there be any other answer than “yes”?

I can’t imagine anyone these days needs an explanation why cigars are so needed and appreciated by service members deployed in places like Afghanistan. But if you do, here’s a bit of Lt. Col. Cameron “Rider” Caroom’s email:

“As there is no beer, good food, or anything similar allowed in the AOR [area of responsibility], my band of warriors is evolving into a club of cigar aficionados. In fact, we have even taken to ensuring compliance with our social standards and general good order and discipline by ‘shacking ($5)’ each other and the proceeds are used to stock our humidors.  Sadly, our stocks are dwindling.”

The 480th has a distinguished history, including a Congressional Medal of Honor winner in the Vietnam War. The Afghanistan assignment came during the spring and, according to the Air Force, the squadron is at Kandahar Airfield for approximately six months to provide round-the-clock “air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack capabilities.”

I know you don’t want these men and women to be without a cigar when they have a some precious down time. Mailing cigars to the military is pretty simple. I recommend Priority because it helps cut down on delivery time. Be sure to include some humidification device to help keep the cigars in good shape.

Just check with your post office if you have any questions. Use this address:

Cameron Caroom

451 EOG/480 EFS

APO, AE 09347

When your package is on its way, light one up in honor of service members everywhere. And thank you for your support.

–George E

photo credit: Kandahar Koughers Facebook

Here are ten things I took away from this year’s International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show in Las Vegas:

1. There seems to be no limit to how large a cigar ring gauge can be.

2. Altadis and General are committed to maintaining their positions as industry giants.

3. Selling cigars is hard work.

4. Sam Leccia is still a rock star in the industry.

5. Retailers want to meet with manufacturers to talk about cigars, not just prices.

6. I’ll never understand why humidor makers continue to use analog hygrometers.

7. Lots of folks want to be in the cigar business.

8. Print isn’t dead in the tobacco industry. More than a half-dozen magazines had booths.

9. The brands assembled in the House of Emilio make up quite an impressive collection.

10. Class and company size are sometimes related, sometimes not.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Five cigar facts of which you may not be aware:

1. The number of people who smoke premium, hand-rolled cigars is tiny. Forget the “crowd” at your local cigar shop or how quickly a hot limited edition sells out. We’re talking hard numbers. No exact figure exists for the number of cigar smokers, but extrapolating from published data shows just what an elite group we are.

A 2002 government survey found that 2.2% of U.S. adults identified themselves as cigar smokers. The overwhelming majority of cigars sold here are machine-made, roughly 12 billion vs. 350 million premiums. (And nearly half of the 12 billion are “little cigars,” which are much more akin to cigarettes than to premium cigars.) Do the math, and feel free to round up. It’s about 6.5 million cigar smokers consuming about 12.5 billion cigars, of which fewer than 5% are premium cigars. We’ll make the fairly outrageous assumption that half of the 6.5 million are consuming both, and you’re left with 3.25 million premium cigar smokers. My belief is that it’s considerably under 2 million, which would make it about the size of the Columbus, Ohio, metro area.

2. The cigar business can be an intricate web. Consider these connections. Two of the largest U.S. cigar retailers are owned by two of the world’s largest cigar makers: Altadis, owned by Imperial Tobacco, has controlling interest in JR Cigars, and Swedish Match, owner of General Cigar, owns Cigars International. And don’t forget that Altadis is half-owner of Habanos S.A., Cuba’s tobacco monopoly.

3. Sigmund Freud almost certainly never said, “Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”

4. More than a decade before Cigar Aficionado’s 1992 debut, the publisher of the magazine Screw started Cigar, a quarterly that didn’t last.

5. Germany, according to the consumer research firm Euromonitor International, is second to the U.S. as a cigar market.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr

A comment from a reader asking what I meant about a cedar sleeve being handy for lighting gave me pause. I know many StogieGuys.com readers are highly knowledgeable about cigars. But some are newcomers. So, this is for you: a few tips I hope you’ll find useful.

1. Don’t stress out over what you should and shouldn’t do. As a beginner, I remember being so intimidated by warnings not to cut too much of the cap that I wouldn’t touch a guillotine to the head of a cigar. For the longest time I used a punch or a V-cut. I was always relieved when a cigar shop proprietor offered to clip my smoke. Mine was a classic case of overreacting. Clipping the cap doesn’t rank with splitting the atom.

2. Resist the urge to purchase more than a couple of sticks at a time, at least for several months. Not only do tastes change—and not just when you’re starting out quickly—but the style and size of cigar you enjoy can also shift dramatically. Lately, I’ve become disenchanted with huge ring gauges, even for cigars I enjoy, such as the E.P. Carrillo Inch. I nearly bought a box of them when I had smoked a couple. Now I’m glad I didn’t.

3. Don’t make your selections by using the calculation of price/tobacco. You know the concept: “This Churchill is only 50 cents more than this robusto and there’s a lot more cigar.” Quantity and quality are distinct qualities, and a fair amount of the cost involves things you can’t see, such as aging tobacco, consistency, and quality control.

4. Avoid most catalog/online store samplers. Lots of smokers will disagree vehemently with this one, but, hey, these are my tips, right? My primary reason for this suggestion is that, while a few of the house brands that are used to fill out these offerings are decent smokes, my experience tells me that most of those used to fill out samplers are pretty poor. A cheap, mediocre cigar is a bargain only if you’re considering nothing but price. I’d rather measure my enjoyment. Invest your money and your smoking time in good cigars from the beginning, and I think you’ll enjoy a far, far better payoff.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr

So many sticks debut at the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show, I usually find that before I’ve had a chance to try many of the new cigars, it’s time for the next convention.

In an effort to keep my expectations in check, I’m tightening my focus. Here are four I’m hoping to get to soon, and why.

Foundry: Michael Giannini has cooked up some intriguing smokes in his role as General Cigar’s mad scientist. And for these small batches, the emphasis is on small, as in a few hundred boxes. Some are just for B&Ms, others will be sold online. Packaging is unique, the tobaccos said to be exotic and rare. Who knows if I’ll ever see any of the 18 blends, much less get to try one. If you do, please submit a Guest Quick Smoke.

Aging Room: A Dominican perfecto, the M21 Fortissimo is another Aging Room limited edition: 30,000 cigars in 10-count boxes. The price is about $13 per stick. My fondness for Aging Room cigars makes this one I really hope to find.

San Cristobal Revelation: At least I should have no trouble finding this one. Like its siblings, this latest line extension from Ashton is rolled by Don Pepin Garcia. With an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over Nicaraguan filler and binder tobaccos, Ashton is promoting this line as medium in strength. It’s offered in a mix of regular and very large ring gauges.

Melanio Maduro: Following the success of one of my favorites, the Serie V Melanio, this one-size (6.5 x 52) box-pressed torpedo was being offered only at the Trade Show. While it could become an annual release, Oliva marketing director John Conroy said this year just 10,000 10-count boxes were available. The single-stick price is around $13.

So, what’s on your hot list?

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Have you been looking long and hard for that special stein of a bulldog puffing a stogie? Wondering where to buy organic rolling papers? Or want a straight razor for shaving?

If you said yes to any of these questions, as well as a host of others, the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show has a display for you.

There’s no doubt the convention is a big tent. After all, there was a Davidoff black tie party at one extreme and a cigar proudly promoted as Cheap Bastard at the other.

But it’s the non-cigar pitches fighting for attention on the Las Vegas convention floor that often stood out. Here’s an introduction to some of the most notable.

One item that caught my eye was the electronic hookah. No need to fool with stuff like a pipe, charcoal, or shisa. A Tinder Box retailer told me that when her shop began carrying them, older patrons dismissed them as drug paraphernalia. Now, she added, many are customers, and she can barely keep up with demand.

I’m guessing many of you are, like me, fairly ignorant of the hookah industry. Here’s an idea of its size: Starbuzz Tobacco handed out a 112-page catalog printed on heavy, slick stock.

Of course, it’s difficult to talk about hookah without mentioning its role supporting the Trade Show model industry. For a convention with a predominantly male clientele, there’s probably nothing that attracts attention like young women who are, shall we say, lightly clothed. But the winner probably was the 8Hr Buzz Energy Shot greeter.

A standout of different nature was the Lil’ Brown Smoke Shack’s cigar mascot, reminiscent of the Milwaukee Brewers’ Racing Sausages, towering over everyone on the floor.

And I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the above-and-beyond work at Nat Sherman’s annual welcome booth. This year, the always helpful staffers were also selling bags to raise funds for the Ocean County Long Term Recovery Group, an organization helping victims of Super Storm Sandy.

Learn how you can make a donation here.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys