The Stogie Guys

Few cigar retailers launch a house blend with aspirations of growing it into a highly visible, nationally distributed brand that’s recognizable to nearly every premium cigar enthusiast in the country. But that’s exactly what happened with Ashton, a successful brand made by the famed Fuente family exclusively for Holt’s Cigar Co., a Philadelphia-based retailer.

Ashton debuted in 1985 and is now sold in over 60 countries. Aston’s two sister brands are well-known, too: La Aroma de Cuba and San Cristobal. These ubiquitous brands have helped promulgate Holt’s well beyond its stature at 1522 Walnut Street in downtown Philadelphia. Today, Holt’s is among the top five cigar retailers in the world, including a notable online and catalog presence.

The Ashton portfolio includes, but is not limited to, the Classic, Aged Maduro, Estate Sun Grown, Virgin Sun Grown, and Cabinet Selection blends. The latter sports a Connecticut Shade wrapper around Dominican tobaccos that are at least four years old. Ten vitolas are available. For this review, I sampled three Ashton Cabinet Selection No. 4s (5.75 x 46), each of which ran me $9.90.

While this is a regal-looking, handsome cigar, I find it disappointing that the back of the white, black, red, and gold band is often mis-adhered to itself (the two ends are rarely aligned properly). Aesthetics and presentation may not be the most important attributes when evaluating cigar, but I know many cigar factories go to great lengths to ensure the rings are applied evenly and tightly to leave no doubt in the consumer’s mind about the quality of the cigar.

That said, this is otherwise a very attractive presentation. The pale wrapper is clean with tight seams and a well-executed cap. The cold draw is smooth and there are no soft spots.

After establishing an even light, delicate pre-light aromas of sweet hay and sawdust transition into a mild- to medium-bodied profile of creamy butter, toast, almond, and white pepper. The smoke is dry and a little spicy with a cedar-like texture. A fleeting bitterness comes and goes throughout, though it never manifests into a central part of the profile—nor is it a major concern.

The physical properties are excellent from light to nub. The fact that this is a well-made, expertly constructed cigar is evident for the duration of the smoke, as is to be expected from the Fuente family. All of my samples exhibited even burn lines, clear draws, solid ashes, and above-average smoke production.

For one reason or another, the Ashton brand has never really been a regular in my cigar rotation. I’m not entirely sure why, and this Cabinet Selection No. 4 has me thinking I might have been missing out. This is an interesting, well-layered, tasty Connecticut Shade-wrapped smoke that’s easy to find and pleasing to the palate. For that, it earns 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

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 creamy, well-balanced cigar is made exclusively for Jeff Mouttet of Riverside Cigar Shop & Lounge in Jeffersonville, Indiana, by Noel Rojas in Estelí, Nicaragua. It sports an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. I paid about $8.50 for the Toro, and found it well worth the price. Construction is excellent—including a straight burn, solid ash, and smooth draw. The mild- to medium-bodied flavor is toasty, bready, and creamy with hints of cinnamon and a soft, woodsy spice. If you’re in the area, I would urge you to drop in and give the Riverside House Blend a try.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This special winter edition of Random Thoughts from the Humidor is dedicated to the snowstorm that blew through my hometown of Chicago this weekend. I know many of you are also dealing with ice, snow, and plummeting temperatures, so I thought today we’d dig into our extensive archives to find some tips that are especially relevant in these cold months.

Take a Year-End Inventory

In a perfect world, I would only have one very large humidor to worry about, not a handful of medium- to small-sized humidors. But because my many humidors carry sentimental value, I can’t bring myself to consolidate. Plus, given the space I have in our condo in Chicago, one very large humidor would be a lot tougher to make space for. One challenge with this setup is monitoring the humidification levels of each individual humidor. Another challenge is understanding what I have and where it’s located. For this reason, every so often I’ll empty the humidors out, get the stock re-organized, remind myself what cigars I have (and what I’m missing), and “re-charge” the humidors. It takes some time, but I find the process enjoyable and valuable. I suggest you do the same, especially as you prepare your own humidor(s) for the winter. If you can, take your time while you work, and enjoy an excellent cigar you’re sure to be surprised to find at the bottom of your stash.

Re-Acquaint Yourself with a Good Tobacconist

In the winter, a good tobacconist that provides a comfortable, warm place to smoke is worth its weight in gold. As you search for a home base from which to conduct your winter cigar operations, feel free to use this article as a helpful decision-making framework. It lists criteria for consideration, like a good selection, fair prices, hours of operation, WiFi, cleanliness, beverage options, and more.

Brave the Cold

If you don’t have an indoor cigar sanctuary in or near your home, you’ll want to start smoking shorter, smaller cigars to minimize your time outdoors. Other than gloves, space-heaters, hats, and long underwear, that’s probably the best advice I can give you. Remember: That 7-inch, 50-ring gauge Churchill you’ve been eyeing in your humidor is a serious investment in time. If you smoke slowly—as you should to maximize enjoyment—it could take two or more hours to complete. Also, keep these words of wisdom from my colleague in mind; they might help you muster the strength to endure the elements: “To brave inclement weather shows true dedication to the wonderful hobby that is cigars… The cold weather smoker need not smile while he bundles up for a sub-freezing stogie session, but he does. When many might close up the humidor until late spring, the cold weather smoker bravely smokes on.”

Drink Well

While you’re out in the snow, warm your bones with some of our favorite winter libations. The Stonewall Jackson has been a favorite of mine for years. You also can’t go wrong with a hot buttered rum. And don’t forget that winter beers can definitely make solid cigar accompaniments.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

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 can’t remember that last time I lit up a La Flor Dominicana smoke, which is truly amazing given how consistently solid the brand is. This realization hit me as I was scanning the selection of a walk-in humidor at a cigar shop. So I picked out a Ligero L-400 (5.75 x 54). This Ecuadorian Sumatra-wrapped smoke, which features Dominican binder and filler tobaccos, has a balanced profile of sweetness, cream, and subtle spice with a straight burn and a solid ash. I found it to be a good value at about $8.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Famous Smoke Shop

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.”

 

Before Gary Griffith retired from Emilio—a cigar outfit he founded in 2010 that grew to become a distributor of various boutiques under the House of Emilio umbrella—he introduced Draig Cayuquero. This four-vitola line is comprised of a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The Toro (6 x 50) retails for about $12 and yields a medium-bodied, straightforward profile of dark cherry, leather, and musty earth notes. Hints of black pepper and cedar spice come and go, and the combustion properties are fine, though the draw can be a bit tight. I was hoping for more, especially in this price range. And I wasn’t terribly impressed with occasional waves of heat, harshness, and bitterness.

Verdict = Sell.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

By now you most assuredly know that Fidel Castro—the communist revolutionary who overthrew Cuban President Fulgencio Batista via guerrilla warfare in 1959 and ruled the island nation as a totalitarian dictator until 2006, when he installed his brother at the helm—died on Friday, November 25. He was 90 years old.

Castro’s legacy will be a complicated one. The myriad narratives will be shaped by the biases of the authors who document his life, and by the millions of people who will either mourn or celebrate his demise. These threads of opinion will not abide national boundaries, either; consider that, even among Cubans themselves, there will be those who benefited from Castro’s socialist state, while others did not fare so well.

Those who lost their businesses, land, homes, and even family members will not remember El Presidente fondly. I don’t need to remind you that human rights violations were—and still are—not uncommon under the Castro regime. Consider the following summary of Fidel’s time in power, courtesy of the Washington Post: “It began with mass summary executions of Batista officials and soon progressed to internment of thousands of gay men and lesbians; systematic, block-by-block surveillance of the entire citizenry; repeated purges, complete with show trials and executions, of the ruling party; and punishment for dissident artists, writers, and journalists. Mr. Castro’s regime learned from the totalitarian patron he chose to offset the U.S. adversary—the Soviet Union, whose offensive nuclear missiles he welcomed, bringing the world to the brink of armageddon. Mr. Castro sponsored violent subversive movements in half a dozen Latin American countries and even in his dotage helped steer Venezuela to economic and political catastrophe through his patronage of Hugo Chávez.”

I have my own biases about Fidel Castro. While I do not harbor any personal connection to Cuba, I believe humans flourish in free societies, and the proper role of government is to be limited in power and scope, enabling individuals and businesses to interact with one another on voluntary terms. Cuba lies but 90 miles from America’s shores, yet it serves as a tragic example of the impacts of a politically and economically overarching government. You will not count me among those mourning Castro.

My opinion of the late dictator hardly matters, though. If you’re reading this, you might be wondering what Castro’s death means for your future ability to acquire Cuban cigars—or, perhaps more interestingly, if this event will somehow expedite the ability of non-Cuban cigar makers to start including Cuban tobacco in their blends (assuming this isn’t already happening under-the-radar). Crass as it may seem to think of cigars at a time like this, StogieGuys.com is, after all, a cigar website.

On one hand, perhaps not much will change. Fidel Castro hasn’t been officially running the country for a decade (his brother, Raúl Castro, was appointed presidential powers in 2006). And even though Congress is unlikely to change its tune on the longstanding embargo, recall that President Obama—via executive order—has made it legal to bring back cigars purchased in Cuba or elsewhere, as long as the cigars are for personal consumption. This was the latest step in the gradual progress of diplomatic normalization that also included the reestablishment of embassies in Havana and Washington.

That said, President-elect Trump made promises to reverse the wheels Obama set in motion. “The death of Fidel Castro is putting unexpected pressure on [Trump] to follow through on earlier promises,” reports the Wall Street Journal. “Mr. Trump’s top aides said Sunday that he would demand the release of political prisoners held in Cuba and push the government to allow more religious and economic freedoms. Reince Priebus, Mr. Trump’s incoming White House chief of staff, said the president-elect ‘absolutely’ would reverse Mr. Obama’s policies if he didn’t get what he wanted from Cuba.” Still, Trump “could face pushback from U.S. companies now deeply invested in Cuba under the current administration’s policy. Those companies include major airlines, hotel operators, and technology providers, while big U.S. phone carriers have signed roaming agreements on the island.”

Time will tell how the new administration in Washington reacts to the various competing interests related to Cuba. There are plenty of issues and conflicts at play, and cigars are unlikely to be top of the agenda. For now, what seems certain is that the people of Cuba will continue to live under a regime whose main business is the promulgation of extreme political and economic repression. There was a one-party, socialist state during Fidel Castro’s reign; there is a one-party, socialist state with his brother at the helm; and, barring a new revolution, there will likely be a one-party, socialist state long after the 85-year-old Raúl Castro is gone.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

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 recently found myself at a cigar lounge on an empty stomach midday looking for something affordably priced with ample flavor that wouldn’t bowl me over. I settled on the Intemperance EC XVIII blend from RoMa Craft. The torpedo-sized The Industry (5.5 x 54) ran me about $8 (including ridiculous Chicago taxes). It hit the spot. Construction was impeccable, and the dry, woodsy, medium-bodied flavor of cedar, pepper, vanilla, and honey really hit the spot. This is an easy recommendation.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys