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.”

While I really don’t remember purchasing these cigars, I do remember that I wasn’t particularly impressed when I smoked them. Unlike reviewers who found the Joya de Nicaragua Fuerte Serie B to be a good, cheap smoke, I found the blend to be harsh. So, I tucked them into my humidor and forgot about them. That’s been a couple of years. When I ran across one the other day I thought I’d give it a try. And I was pleasantly surprised. Not all the harshness had dissipated, but it had been subdued enough to let some of the tobacco’s better qualities come through. Among the tobacco flavors I found some leather and wood, though neither predominated. Construction, draw, and burn were fine. So if you’re looking for a very inexpensive cigar—the Corona Gorda (5 x 46) runs around $50 for a bundle of 20—that you can smoke while doing something else, this is worth a shot. Worth it, that is, if you’re willing to invest a couple of years to file down the splinters.

Verdict = Hold.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

Only a couple years ago, Mexican tobacco was quite the rage. It seemed you couldn’t pick up a cigar magazine or check out a new brand without wading through the hype. Features about the Turrents, Mexico’s leading cigar family, and San Andreas morrón wrapper were as common as Black & Mild displays at a 7-Eleven.

Mexican tobacco, the declaration went, was breaking out, no longer consigned to the New York cabbie smoke, Te-Amo. Well, maybe not. I wouldn’t rank the effort with the failed public relations campaigns behind, say, New Coke or Ford’s Edsel. But I also would call it far from successful.

I couldn’t help but recall all this the other day when I was flipping through a reprint of Cigar Journal’s Finest 25 Cigars of 2011. The intro mentioned how impressed the tasting panel was with the number of countries where the cigars’ tobacco originated, including Mexico.

Looking through the list, though, I couldn’t find any that included Mexican tobacco, though there were two with “secret” filler components. So, maybe the Journal knows those are Mexican or, since it was a reprint, the lead-in referred to other cigars in the full issue.

Next, I went through Cigar Aficionado’s top cigars list for 2011 and quickly found one: La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Belicoso with that San Andreas wrapper in the second slot. But that was it. Nothing Mexican was listed in the other 24.

When I went back to CA’s list the year before, there were four in the top 25 with Mexican wrappers, including another size of the La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor.

What does all this prove? I’m not sure. I’d posit that it’s another indication that cigar smokers are discerning, generally make up their own minds, and aren’t particularly swayed by advertising or promotion.

I also think my opinion of Mexican tobacco is probably similar to that of many smokers. I routinely find it to have what I can best describe as an unpleasant dry, dirt taste that more often spoils, rather than enhances, a blend. And while I wouldn’t automatically reject a cigar because it had Mexican tobacco, it likely would drop in consideration.

Sometimes I’m surprised to discover that a cigar I enjoyed contains Mexican tobacco; more often, I find it’s in a stick I didn’t particularly like.

What do you think?

–George E

photo credit: Ben Miller

Say hello to the latest StogieGuys.com winner, Carl Lindstrom. He’s a retired Illinois resident and Florida snowbird who enjoys a variety of cigars with what may be the simplest, and best, method of evaluation: “I either like it or I don’t.”

Lindstrom was randomly selected from among those who commented on a January 2 post urging cigar enthusiasts to contact U.S. representatives and Senators to protect premium cigars from Food & Drug Administration regulation. His prize was a pair of Montecristo New York Connoisseur Edition cigars I’d received from Altadis. I must say I was flabbergasted when I saw his address. For when Lindstrom and his wife escape the cold northern clime, they can be found less than an hour north of me.

And that’s not the only close connection. His local shop in Spring Hill is one I’ve visited and written about, Serafin de Cuba, run by Arnold Serafin. (I also reviewed Arnold’s cigars here.)

Commenting on the Montecristo New York, Lindstrom said he found it a little strong, but that it smoked nice and slow. He summed it up as “a very nice cigar.”

Lindstrom, who goes online by his old high school nickname of Swede, sold Chevys for 32 years and worked five more as a grade school custodian before retiring. Like many of us back then, he started smoking cigarettes as a teenager, tried cigars and a pipe along the way, then quit in 1993. He returned to cigars about four years ago and said it took awhile to abandon the habit of smoking them like cigarettes.

Among his favorites are Nick’s Sticks by Perdomo, the Oliva Serie O, and cigars from E.P. Carrillo. “And when I’m in Florida, the Serafin de Cuba Connecticut Robusto,” he added.

As I wrote before, the contest offered us all a chance to be winners. And that’s certainly true for me. I now have another smoking buddy up the road, and I plan to see if we can get together at Arnold’s shop for a smoke before he flees the coming summer heat.

–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.”

Although this stick came out last year, I’ve only recently gotten around to it. Little about the Retro Especiale line, from band and box to wrapper and taste, is common to the traditional La Gloria Cubana. The blend is a complex mixture of several tobacco strains from four countries, including a Connecticut-seed wrapper grown in Honduras and a double binder that includes Mexican leaf. Numerous flavors developed throughout, with strength about medium. The draw felt a little loose and the burn wandered a bit, but it is certainly an interesting cigar worth a try.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

Sending cigars out for review can pay off for manufacturers. At least in this case it did. Had I not received a couple of Warlock cigars from Altadis, I doubt I’d have ever tried one.

I rarely receive cigars from manufacturers. Lately, though, Altadis has been promoting new smokes, such as the Montecristo New York, by sending them to internet reviewers, including me.

There are several cigar makers whose products I rarely smoke, the two giants (Altadis and General Cigar) among them. It’s not that I think they make bad smokes; it’s just that when I want to try something new I’m much more inclined to explore sticks from other brands. That’s especially true of a cigar with somewhat silly ads and a name that conjures up visions of Darrin, Samantha, and a wiggling nose.

I don’t know why I picked a Warlock from my humidor the other day, though I think remembering that it ranked in Cigar Aficionado’s top 10 list for 2011 probably played a part.

This robusto isn’t a conventional size. It weighs in at 4.75 inches with a 54 ring gauge. Looking online, it seems to run about $6. The blend is a multi-country mix, with the wrapper a not overly attractive Ecuadorian Cubano, the binder from Nicaragua, and the filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

The combination results in a fairly powerful smoke that begins with strong spice, a draw that’s a bit too tight, and what may be the slowest burn I’ve ever experienced. I’ve smoked many a toro that didn’t last nearly as long as this short robusto.

The Warlock isn’t a particularly complex smoke, but it does develop throughout. At the halfway point, for example, a dark, syrupy sweetness overtakes the spice. There are also flavors of wood and leather in spots. If you haven’t tried this cigar for whatever reason, I suggest you give it a chance. This one earns 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 verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Finding cigars on store shelves that I’ve never heard of isn’t at all uncommon. But I was surprised when I walked into a shop with a small selection and spotted two open boxes of a cigar whose name I’d learned only a day earlier by reading Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 list. The Aging Room Small Batch M356 Presto, a diminutive 4.125 inches with a 48 ring gauge, is a Dominican puro with burn problems and great flavors. There is terrific spice, a light finish, and an incredibly smooth experience. If you stumble across one, pick it up. Even if you have to pay nearly $3 over the $7.25 MSRP, as I did.

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.”

From Keith K. Park, the man who launched the high-dollar God of Fire, the Sencillo Platinum (Spanish for simple) is a Honduran puro aimed further down the line at the everyday cigar level. I found it milder than I would have expected, with earth and wood notes predominating. I had some minor burn issues and the draw was very open. According to the Sencillo site, each of the six sizes presents a different flavor profile. If you’re looking for something a little different, pick up one of these. The Robusto (5.25 x 50) lists at $7.95.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Sencillo