The Stogie Guys

And there, at the bottom of one of my humidors, were three Palma Real Connecticut Lonsdales, each of which, by my best estimation, had been resting in my possession for at least two years.

I had no idea how they got there. And I knew very little about the brand. To make matters worse, when I started researching for this review, I couldn’t find much information about Palma Real, except for the brief promotional paragraphs published by the likes of Cigars International and other online retailers.

Here’s what I’ve been able to gather after a lot of (mostly fruitless) research: Palma Real is a value line that’s available in six sizes—Lonsdale (6 x 44), Porky (6 x 60), Presidente (7.5 x 50), Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 50), and Torpedo (6.5 x 52). Each comes in either a Connecticut or Maduro wrapper.

The Connecticut Lonsdale features a dry, lumpy exterior leaf, a binder from the Dominican Republic, and Dominican long-filler tobaccos of the Olor variety. It can be purchased for less than $2 apiece when bought by the bundle of 50 online.

This cigar isn’t much to look at, and several of its aesthetic imperfections give me cause for concern. For one, the firmness of the Lonsdale varies depending on where you grip it, foretelling potential construction problems. Second, the lack of oils or pre-light fragrances leads me to believe that the flavor, once lit, will be hot, harsh, and papery.

While it isn’t hot or harsh, the initial taste is definitely papery. The profile, which verges on bland, encompasses notes of cardboard with a cayenne spice on the aftertaste. At best the Lonsdale is uninteresting. At worst it’s downright offensive to the palate. After the first inch, a few of the usual suspects—cedar, nuts, cream—waft in and out. But they never hang around long enough to make the thick, chalky smoke appealing.

Sure, the Palma Real Connecticut Lonsdale has pretty decent construction for a budget cigar. If you decide to purchase this smoke, expect the burn to be fairly even, the draw to be smooth, and the ash to hold well off the foot.

But don’t expect to be wowed by the flavor. I certainly wasn’t. While I never expect much from cigars that cost so little, I also don’t expect them to have a flat, insipid flavor that prompts me to immediately grab a different cigar just to get the taste out of my mouth. Unfortunately, that’s what I found with this stick, which is why I’m rating it one stogie 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.”

This Dominican puro was originally available in only one vitola: the robusto-sized “Iniquity.” Since, two frontmarks have been added, including “The Reason” (6 x 58). It features a Habano ’98 wrapper, a criollo ’98 binder, and a profile of dark coffee and cedar. While enjoyable, and despite its good construction, I can’t fully recommend this $6 cigar because, at times, it displays an overly meaty profile that detracts from its otherwise pleasant flavor.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Last year was a big one for Charlie Toraño and his family, as they renamed their company the “Toraño Family Cigar Company” and exercised their option to retake distribution from a deal with CAO. “It belongs in the family,” Charlie told us.

These days the company is getting a lot of attention about its newest creations: Master, a bundle line called Brigade, and Single Region. But the Exodus 50 Years Blend, launched in 2009, still has the cigar community talking. And, as I was told by a Toraño representative last week, it is still selling very well.

This blend is rolled in memory of the Toraño family’s 50-year exile from Cuba. It comes dressed in a Brazilian Arapiraca sun-grown wrapper with a Honduran binder and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos from Estelí and Pueblo Nuevo. The four regular production sizes—Short Churchill, Torpedo, Robusto, and Box Press—are handmade in Nicaragua, retailing for $6-8 apiece.

I picked up three Short Churchills (6 x 48) at a recent Single Region Tour event in Arlington, Virginia. I got them for about $5 each, since they were on special. This firm, slender vitola sports a moderate cold draw, pre-light notes of cocoa, and an exterior leaf as oily as it is dark.

A couple wooden matches gets the foot thoroughly toasted and lit. From there, the flavor displays a profile of black cherry, cinnamon, leather, and pepper. It’s bold, but decidedly medium-bodied and well-balanced. The thick smoke is cool—never hot or harsh—making for a smooth experience.

Despite its length, the Short Churchill’s taste doesn’t change much from light to nub. What you see at the beginning is pretty much what you get throughout, and that’s OK with me. All the while the burn is straight and the gray ash layers evenly and sturdily off the foot.

The Toraños make some excellent cigars, and the Exodus 50 Years Blend may be their finest. Don’t let all of their newest creations prevent you from trying this line if you haven’t already done so. The Short Churchill is an outstanding value and 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.”

When I first acquired this maudro-wrapped Churchill (7 x 52), it cost $180 for a box of 25—a price I was happy to pay given its flavor and quality. Now, almost two years later, the investment seems even wiser, despite the fact Cuban Crafters dropped the box price significantly. With perfect combustion qualities and a taste of cocoa, coffee, pepper, and black licorice, this is a fine smoke that ages beautifully, adding creamy notes with time.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

One thing’s for certain about Rocky Patel: He makes a heck of a lot of cigars. Rocky’s flashy website doesn’t even bother to mention many of his blends, be they seasonal, limited editions, retailer exclusives, or what have you.

But you can bet his most popular lines are listed online, including Vintage ’90 and ’92, Decade, 1961, Sun Grown, and Olde World Reserve. The latter was introduced at the 2005 industry trade show (back then the IPCPR was called RTDA), and then re-blended and re-introduced in 2006. Since, both Olde World Reserve versions—the Costa Rican-wrapped Maduro and the Corojo—have garnered praise from the mainstream cigar media and enthusiasts alike.

Some even go so far as to compare Olde World Reserve to the Padrón Anniversary series. Rocky, on the other hand, is more interested in internal comparisons. On his website, he lists the line as “a full-bodied smoking experience that combines the smooth complexity of the Vintage series with the earthy strength of The Edge.”

Three vitolas are available in the Olde World Reserve portfolio, each comprising Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos and sleeved in decorative tissue paper: Robusto (5.5 x 54), Toro (6.5 x 52), and Torpedo (5 x 54). The Torpedo is black—and I mean jet black—with an oily, mottled exterior leaf. It has a firm feel, a clear pre-light draw, and a subtle fragrance of sweet cedar.

That subtle fragrance transitions into a bold, full-bodied aroma as the foot is toasted. So it isn’t surprising that the initial flavor is rich and powerful, encompassing notes of black pepper, moist chocolate cake, espresso, and toffee. Later, cream and roasted nuts develop as the cigar’s thick, dense smoke coats the palate. All the while the Torpedo’s combustion qualities are very good. They include a finely layered gray ash and a fairly straight burn line.

When the Olde World Reserve Maduro first came out, it fetched around $10-11 apiece. These days, you can get a box of 20 Torpedos for $160 ($8 per cigar) at Citizen Cigar. That makes this smoke a much more attractive investment, and one that’s a smart buy if you’re looking for a sweet, complex maduro. It may not be on par with the Padrón Anniversary series—most cigars aren’t—but this Rocky Patel creation is worthy of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Abe Flores reinvented his company prior to last summer’s industry trade show. There, he introduced his re-blended standard lines, dropped his cigars’ prices by 10%, and debuted a new creation: the 1878 Cubano Especial Capa Maduro.

That cigar got off to a fast start. In August, when we reported live from the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) annual convention in New Orleans, Flores told us that he had sold 8,000 boxes of the Capa Maduro in two months. Priced around $5 each, his strategy was to lure more enthusiasts to Pinar del Rio and entice them to try his other lines.

Now Flores has a new line that he’s eager for us to try. Called the 1878 Cubano Especial Capa Natural, it features the same interior tobacco as its Maduro predecessor—a Dominican criollo ’98 binder and a two-country filler blend from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic—wrapped around a four-year-old Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper.

The Capa Natural Robusto (5 x 52) is an attractive, golden-colored smoke with an intricate pigtail cap and a pre-light aroma of sweet hay. The wrapper is clean and oily with minimal veins. In all, this cigar makes an aesthetic impression befitting a stogie twice its price.

Notes of leather, grass, dry oak, and vanilla characterize the introductory profile. While the flavor is more salty than it is creamy, there’s an underlying nuttiness present that adds a balance to the overall taste. Floral notes will also be found by attentive enthusiasts.

After the first inch, it becomes clear that the Capa Natural Robusto is built with care and precision. The white ash builds off the foot sturdily, the smoke pulls through with ease, and the burn is straight and true. These combustion qualities are consistent from light to nub and across all three samples I smoked for this review.

All three also developed flavors of cedar and black pepper at the midway point—welcome additions to the medium-bodied profile. Here, I conclude that the 1878 Cubano Especial Capa Natural Robusto is a homerun as far as I’m concerned. Between its MSRP of $4.55 and its complexity, this promises to be a welcome addition to my humidor for some time. I look forward to sampling the seven other vitolas in the Capa Natural line, and I have no reservations about awarding the Robusto 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.”

In partnership with Felipe Sosa, Charlie Toraño has produced a real winner with his new Master blend. This four-vitola line includes a silky Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The Robusto (5 x 52), a firmly packed cigar that retails for around $5, sports excellent construction and a smooth, medium-bodied profile of cedar, caramel, and milk chocolate. It’s a welcome addition to the Toraño portfolio.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys