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.”

In September 2013, I reviewed this Ecuadorian Habano-wrapped, Miami-made cigar and found it to be full-bodied with bold, salty spice and flavors of espresso, black pepper, and charred steak. Back then, I thought it was decent but lacking in balance. Almost four years of humidor time has done wonders for the Crémo Capa Caliente. Now, instead of raw power and a heavy-handed profile without much depth, the Toro (6 x 52, $12) is more medium-bodied with ample sweet cream and roasted nuts to balance out the spicy, savory core. My recommendation? Take this El Titan de Bronze-made cigar for a test drive; if at first you don’t succeed, let the cigars rest and reap the rewards later.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In October, Meier & Dutch, announced Lucious Lyon. If the Meier & Dutch name doesn’t ring a bell, it is the distribution arm affiliated with Cigars International, which is owned by the Scandinavian Tobacco Group, which is also the parent company of General Cigar.

Lucious Lyon is inspired by the FOX television program Empire. I’ve never seen the show, so, employing my crack research skills, I will rely on the following Wikipedia summary of the premise: “Although filmed in Chicago, the show is set in New York and centers on a fictional hip hop music and entertainment company, Empire Entertainment, and the drama among the members of the founders’ family as they fight for control of the company.”

The Lucious Lyon cigar line—certainly not the first cigar venture aiming to capitalize on a TV series (e.g., The Sopranos, Breaking Bad)—is named after Empire’s lead character, portrayed by Terrence Howard. Along with the cigar, Meier & Dutch also released a line of complementary Empire-themed accessories, including a crystal ashtray, a high-gloss humidor, and a cutter and lighter by Xikar.

The cigar is made in Honduras at the STG Danlí factory and features a Connecticut wrapper, dual Connecticut Broadleaf and Mexican binders, and filler from four countries: the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Three sizes are available: No. 1 (5.5 x 50, robusto), No. 2 (6 x 54, torpedo), and No. 3 (6 x 52, toro).

I smoked several Lucious Lyon No. 1s for this review. This vitola retails for $12.50 and comes with a large black band that easily slides off the oily Connecticut wrapper. Underneath is a well-rolled cigar with tight seams and soft pre-light notes of hay and molasses. The cap clips easily to reveal a moderate cold draw. Overall, the robusto makes a good first impression and sets the expectation that it is a high-quality mild cigar worth of your attention.

After an even light is established, the initial profile is dry, spicy, and surprisingly potent. The most prominent flavors include oak, cedar, salt, bread, and more black pepper spice than I was anticipating. After about half of an inch, however, the spice subsides a bit, and notes of cream and roasted nuts start to displace the dry bite. Thereafter, the robusto settles considerably into a mild- to medium-bodied experience with a focus on cream, hay, oak, and occasional hints of peanut.

Throughout, the draw is slightly tighter than I would prefer, and the smoke production is a little below average. That said, the burn line is straight and true from light to nub, and the ash holds very well off the foot.

I can’t help the fact that I’ve always been weary of any cigar bearing a celebrity name, an endorsement from a popular athlete, or a tie-in to a TV show. My sense is you often pay dearly for the name and licensing, while more important aspects like tobacco, blending, construction, etc. can be somewhat of an afterthought. In the case of Lucious Lyon No. 1—while I’m sure a portion of the $12.50 price tag represents a licensing fee to FOX—I’m happy to report the cigar is pretty good. Overpriced, but good.

In my book, this robusto would score better if the price more closely matched the quality of the experience. It would be a much better value in the $6-8 range. As it is, though, the Lucious Lyon No. 1 is a good mild- to medium-bodied smoke that gets off to a fast start and quickly settles into a creamy, nutty profile that’s familiar yet enjoyable. That earns it a mark of three 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 2012, General Cigar expanded the La Traviata Maduro line by adding the Luminoso format (4.5 x 50). This particular specimen had been resting in one of my humidors for nearly five years. It sports a thick, dark, toothy Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper around a Cameroon binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Once lit, pre-light notes of cocoa and musty earth transition to a medium-bodied, well-balanced profile of black coffee, oak, pepper, and cherry sweetness. Construction is excellent. The CAO La Traviata Maduro Luminoso is a solid choice if you seek classic maduro flavors but are short on time.

Verdict = Buy.

–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.”

The first 1888 line—Villiger’s introductory hand-made long-filler cigar—was a limited edition that hit U.S. shelves in 2009. This incarnation is made in the Dominican Republic and sports an Ecuadorian leaf over a Mexican binder and filler from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The Robusto (4.9 x 50) is a mild- to medium-bodied, papery-tasting smoke with sweet cream, butter, almond, and hints of Davidoff-esque mustiness. Construction is exquisite. The asking price of about $6 is more than fair. That said, the cigar’s lack of complexity and depth renders it unworthy of a full recommendation.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In March 2009, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo ended his nine-year tenure with General Cigar. The move effectively made the Artesanos de Miami his last blend with La Gloria Cubana, the brand he built from relative obscurity to industry prominence.

Perez-Carrillo parted ways with General to establish his own family-owned boutique. He wasted no time in that endeavor. With a factory in Santiago and a work-in-progress website, the EPC Cigar Co. was up and running in time to debut its first blend at the IPCPR Trade Show that August.

Few in the industry doubted he would be successful in his new venture. That Perez-Carrillo has done well on his own is no surprise to anyone. One industry insider described him to StogieGuys.com as the tobacco world’s “mad genius.” Alan Rubin of Alec Bradley is said to have bestowed Perez-Carrillo with another fitting title: “the original rebel.”

Perez-Carrillo evidently appreciated the compliment. Last summer, he debuted a new blend called Original Rebel Maverick (as well as a Broadleaf maduro-wrapped companion line called Original Rebel Rebellious). It sports a pigtail cap, a closed foot, and an oily, clean, medium-brown Ecuadorian wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. Three Maverick sizes are available. I recently sampled several in the “52” format (5.5 x 52), a robusto extra that retails for about $9.

Once lit, pre-light notes of sweet hay and dried fruit transition into a toasty introductory profile of oak, butter, and dry cedar spice. Intermittently, those flavors are accented by a delicious taste that I can only describe as a combination of salted caramel and sweet cream. The effect is one of balance and complexity. I find few changes in flavor or strength from light to nub. At times, notes of leather and some black pepper spice waft in and out, but that’s about it. I don’t consider the consistency in taste a defect, mind you, since the billowy, medium-bodied smoke is satisfying and harmonious.

As for construction, the draw is virtually effortless throughout, and the smoke production is above average—a welcome trait since the resting smoke is sweet and aromatic. The ash holds well off the foot. The burn is imperfect though not troublesome; a torch touch-up is necessary here and there to keep the burn line even.

If the E.P. Carrillo Original Rebel Maverick blend has thus far flown under your radar, I would suggest springing for a single to take it for a test drive. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself buying a box of ten shortly thereafter. In my book, this fine cigar is worthy of an admirable rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

It’s incredibly cliché but, let’s face it, there just aren’t enough hours in a day—especially if you’re a cigar enthusiast. Between work, commutes, kids, errands, three square meals, taxes, and all the other responsibilities us grown-ups shoulder, how exactly is a human supposed to set aside an hour (more reasonably, 90 minutes) to enjoy some premium tobacco?

The older I get, the harder it gets to find the time. Not only do the days, weeks, months, and years seem to get shorter, but there’s just so much more going on in my life. My job is more demanding. I travel more frequently. And, most importantly, I’m now responsible for the upbringing of two small people I helped make. I would imagine many of you can relate to this (albeit blessed) conundrum.

But we must find the time. We must smoke cigars, even if it means waking up 90 minutes earlier and/or staying up 90 minutes later. We must overcome obstacles like temperature, smoking bans, and—the hardest hurdle of all—the finite number of minutes in each day.

I need my regularly scheduled cigar. Not because I’m addicted to the leaf (unlike cigarettes, I don’t know one cigar smoker who has a physiological dependency on cigars), but because I need to unwind. I need some quiet moments when I can kick my feet up and relish in the aromas, flavors, sights, and sounds of an impeccably made cigar.

I notice many people choose to pair up cigar smoking with another activity, be it golf, driving, walking, or whatever. Some are probably just trying to cram a cigar or two into their busy schedules; others might proactively prefer to not make the cigar the centerpiece of any given experience. Personally, I’ve always found the best way to get the most out of a cigar is to put the rest of the world on hold and just sit down and smoke. Finding the time to do so is the tricky part.

Speaking of time, be sure to take your time while you smoke. Smoke slowly. Cigar enjoyment is not a race, and there’s no prize for finishing first.

Besides, in order to “cook” the tobacco at the right temperature, you should try to limit your puffs to a reasonable pace. When you puff you’re caramelizing the sugars in the tobacco to bring out the flavors. If you puff too often, the temperature will rise, the tobacco will cook too fast, and the smoke may get hot and harsh.

I find this is especially true with full-bodied smokes. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen someone sucking down a ligero-laden cigar like it’s going out of style. I can’t imagine that’s enjoyable. Most things, cigar smoking included, aren’t nearly as pleasant if rushed.

My advice? Carve out some time to smoke a fine cigar and, when you do, make the most of the experience by taking your time.

–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 Mayimbe Robusto had been resting in one of my humidors for about three years before I fired it up the other night. It’s the same vitola my colleague reviewed in 2014 and I later took for a test drive in 2015. It was impressive then, and I think it’s even better today. This Nicaraguan is from A.J. Fernandez—a fixture of the industry who rode a wave of catalog/online sales to cigar stardom. It originally ran about $14 but today can be found in the $10 to $12 range, perhaps less, especially if bought by the box of 10. That makes the Mayimbe Robusto (5 x 56) an easy recommendation. It sports exquisite construction with notes ranging from coffee and cayenne to cinnamon and dry wood. Age has added delightful flavors of sweet cream and roasted nuts. The satisfying, complex profile is the product of a blend that includes a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper around tobaccos from Nicaragua and Honduras. Reacquaint yourself with Mayimbe if, like me, you haven’t had one in a while.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys