The Stogie Guys

Memorial Day. Veterans Day. Independence Day. Christmas. Thanksgiving. These are the days of the year when many Americans focus their thoughts and generosity on the men and women who are bravely serving in the armed forces overseas.

No matter what your opinion of U.S. foreign policy, one thing that shouldn’t be divisive is supporting our troops. And you needn’t wait for a holiday to do your part. Year round, men and women who are serving in dangerous conditions would appreciate any spare cigars you can send their way.

Last summer, the StogieGuys.com team took inventory of our personal humidors and sent some cigars to the Kandahar Koughers, a group that has gotten much well-deserved publicity for its efforts. The Koughers, according to their Facebook page, smoke donated cigars “under adverse conditions” to increase morale, relieve stress, and build camaraderie. Feel free to send cigars of your own to the Koughers at the following address:

MAJ David Luttrell/Randy Sauers
c/o Kandahar Koughers
KAF RCC, BLDG 232
APO AE 09355

The Koughers are worthy recipients of your generosity, but they aren’t the only cigar club made up of overseas military personnel. Another is the Tali-banned Cigar Aficionado Club (TCAC), a group of U.S. and coalition soldiers that provides fellowship and complimentary cigars to members. Today the StogieGuys.com team is sending a nice package of cigars to the club’s chapter in Kabul. We encourage you to do the same at the following address:

Chris Mino
NTMA/CSTC-A
Attn: MTAG
APO AE 09356

If you haven’t done it before, mailing cigars to troops really couldn’t be simpler. Just use a free USPS flat rate Priority Mail box and fill out a brief customs form. The postage is the same to an APO box as it is for domestic shipping. Delivery will take a bit longer, though, so be sure to provide adequate humidification to keep the sticks from drying out.

But whether you send cigars to the Koughers, TCAC, another group, or an individual, I urge you to make a contribution. In addition to those sticks you’ll never miss, toss in a few special cigars. As my colleague George recently wrote, “I bet you’ll get more from donating them than you would from lighting them up.”

-Patrick A

photo credit: TCAC

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.”

My previous experiences with this Cuban have ranged from, “Eh, not worth the price,” to, “Excellent, as long as you age it for a year or more.” I recently gave the Exhibición No. 4 (5 x 48) another shot, this time with a specimen that had been in my possession for over a year. What a disappointment. The bland profile tasted of dry wood and ammonia. The physical properties were good, but who cares about construction when you invest $8-11 and a year of humidor space to get a crummy-tasting stick? I’m starting to think my good experiences with this smoke were mere anomalies.

Verdict = Sell.

-Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

An important milestone was reached yesterday. The number of co-sponsors on H.R. 1639—federal legislation that would protect premium cigars from Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulations—hit 150. That means almost 35% of the U.S. House of Representatives is co-sponsoring this bipartisan bill.

Ever since June 2009 when President Obama signed the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act,” my colleagues and I have written ad nauseam about the danger of granting the FDA jurisdiction over handmade cigars. In fact, our warnings on the subject date back to the summer of 2007, when a Senate panel brought national attention to the issue.

Why have we been so outspoken and persistent in our objection to FDA regulation of cigars? According to an FDA spokesperson, the agency would make cigars subject to registration, product and ingredient listing, additional taxes, and premarket review requirements. Such regulation would be devastating to the cigar industry, and in particular to boutique cigars and the creation of new blends.

The proposition of these regulations also shows a complete misunderstanding of the handmade artisanal nature of premium cigars on the part of FDA bureaucrats. “Ingredient listing” would be nearly impossible beyond “100% tobacco” since blends are regularly tweaked to provide consistent flavor from one year to the next. Further, even if blends aren’t changed, the chemical composition of tobacco leaves changes from harvest to harvest, meaning any disclosure of “ingredients” beyond tobacco would be either completely stifling or totally meaningless.

Similarly, by forcing new cigars to go through a costly FDA approval process, the now constant stream of new cigar blends would grind to a halt. Suddenly, instead of releasing small batch blends, cigar makers would be forced to focus on large runs that they think would have mass appeal after a time-consuming approval process.

Since this issue has come to the fore, our discussions with cigar makers, retailers, and industry leaders suggest a growing consensus: FDA regulation is the single greatest threat facing the cigar industry.

So if your representative is not currently one of the 150 co-sponsors of H.R. 1639 (and if your senators are not co-sponsors of the companion bill in the U.S. Senate, S. 1461) please contact them immediately. The very survival of the cigar industry as we know it may depend on the outcome of these efforts to protect cigars from FDA regulation.

-Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

I remember reading about the Edición Especial from La Aroma de Cuba shortly before it was released in the summer of 2008. Somehow, three and a half years later, I’m just getting around to trying it for the first time.

The seven-size line is part of the Ashton portfolio and one of three La Aroma de Cuba blends mentioned on the Ashton website (the other two being Mi Amor and the original line). It is produced in Nicaragua by the Garcias with an Ecuadorian sun-grown wrapper surrounding Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos.

I finally decided to try this cigar when the toro-sized No. 3 (6 x 50) caught my eye in my tobacconist’s humidor. This is a handsome smoke. The wrapper is smooth with minimal veins, the cap is a work of art, and the seams are virtually invisible. With a firm feel from head to foot, the Edición Especial No. 3 makes a great first impression.

Fortunately, that impression is followed by a very nice introductory taste. A core of warm tobacco is complemented by dry wood, coffee, and some sweetness on the finish. Each puff yields tufts of cool smoke.

Towards the midway point, the taste grows on you until it becomes difficult to pick out individual flavors. Instead of being a contemplative cigar that rewards close attention, I find that the balanced and intermingling flavors lend themselves to conversation or reading. No, this isn’t one of those smokes that will inspire you to study a flavor wheel. But it’s an excellent choice if you’re looking for a medium-bodied, well-rounded profile to complement another activity.

As the Edición Especial No. 3 grows creamier in the final third, I take note of the physical properties. The burn requires a few touch-ups to stay even but is otherwise well-behaved. The draw is smooth and the ash holds very firm off the foot.

I understand you can find this cigar for about $6 when you buy it by the cedar chest of 25 online. In my case, I paid $8.50 at my local shop for each of the samples I examined for this review. The Edición Especial No. 3 is a solid value at $6 and a reach at $8 or more. Either way, it’s a solid smoke with a nicely balanced profile that’s worthy of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

-Patrick A

photo credit: Old Virginia Tobacco

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.”

What’s the difference between the Tatuaje Fausto Avion 11 and this prototype from Pete Johnson’s Saints & Sinners club? I can’t tell by searching online about the latter, and I’ve never tried the former. The makeup seems to be the same—Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos surrounded by a dark Ecuadorian Habano wrapper—and the flavors are similar to those described by my colleague in his review of the Fausto Avion 11. These include pepper, dry wood, nuts, and some syrupy sweetness on the finish. If there is no difference, I’m inclined to put the Fausto Avion 11 on my shopping list because the Proto 3 is a delight.

Verdict = Buy.

-Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Back in 2009, the folks at Miami Cigar & Co. teamed up with Don Pepin Garcia to create the Nestor Miranda Special Selection, a limited release made by Pepin in Nicaragua. The Rosado version of that series ended up being one of my favorite smokes of that year.

The partnership between Miami Cigar and Garcia is still going strong, as evidenced by the debut of the Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve during the summer. This cigar, available only in a torpedo size (6.1 x 52), is made at the My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua and priced at about $12. When my local tobacconist put it on special for $9.50, I thought it was high time to take it for a test drive, so I bought a handful to review.

The Grand Reserve makes a good first impression with a beautiful cap, an intricate band of emerald and gold, and a clean Connecticut broadleaf wrapper with minimal veins. Underneath, the Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos are packed evenly to produce a firm feel from head to foot with no soft spots. And I would be remiss to forget to mention the delightfully pungent pre-light aroma of milk chocolate and hay.

Clipping the cap yields an easy draw that concentrates each puff to a relatively fine point on the palate. Once lit, this is where the dry woodsy spice is focused. But while the spice is focused on the tip of the tongue, the rest of the palate certainly gets involved quickly as notes of earth, coffee, and caramel round out the flavor.

Smoking through the nose and paying close attention is rewarded with a taste of cashew. Aside from this nuttiness, more creamy notes come into play at the midway point, making this a truly complex and balanced smoke. So many wonderful elements are present, including spice, cream, sweetness, and earthiness.

As you would expect from a super-premium, the physical properties are excellent. Each of my samples exhibited a solid white ash, a smooth and consistent draw, and a straight burn line that stays lit evenly.

Only 10,000 of these torpedos were produced. I really enjoyed the Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve, so I think I’ll be heading over to my tobacconist soon to see if they have more in stock. If they do, I’ll be OK with shelling out $12 for each—and I’ll be really pleased to find them still listed for $9.50. Don’t pass up on your own chance to try this cigar, which is worthy of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

-Patrick A

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.”

I really enjoy the Lonsdale in this blend, which I reviewed back in March 2011. But I continue to find the Robusto (5 x 48) to be less than spectacular. For some reason, this vitola in the Habano Ecuadorian-wrapped line doesn’t have the sweetness or the balance of the Lonsdale, leaving the main profile of dark coffee, pepper, and leather to be too singular and sometimes bitter. I have all the respect in the world for Pete Johnson and Tatuaje, but I don’t consider this El Triunfador to be worth the $7 it retails for.

Verdict = Sell.

-Patrick A

photo credit: N/A