The Stogie Guys

In this edition of Random Thoughts from the Humidor, I ponder what is meant by “flavored” cigars, keeping the palate fresh with milder smokes, and using cigars as currency for wagers.

Food for Thought on Flavoring

On Saturday I published a Quick Smoke of the Drew Estate MUWAT Kentucky Fire Cured (KFC) in the Just a Friend size. As I understand it, KFC is crafted at Joya de Nicaragua using tobaccos that are cured in a barn under fires of hickory and maple. The smoke from these fires imparts (in the case of Just a Friend, according to my palate) notes of barbeque sauce, chewy meat, hickory, leather, sweet tobacco, and peat. It’s an interesting product and process, though the cigars aren’t my cup of tea. In any event, some readers got me thinking with their comments. I hadn’t previously considered KFC to be flavored. Regarding cigars, I take “flavored” to mean infused with artificial flavors that are not naturally inherent in the tobacco leaves as a result of growing, cultivation, curing, fermentation, etc. So, in my eyes, fire-curing tobaccos—or barrel-aging them, for instance—does not make them flavored. I still think of these cigars as differentiated from, say, Flavours by CAO or Acid by Drew Estate. Perhaps the distinction is not important and this is simply a matter of semantics. Perhaps, though, as the government gets more and more involved in the regulation of premium cigars, this will become an important issue. Recall that a previous FDA proposal stated that under its option for a premium cigar exemption, a cigar would only qualify if it “does not have a characterizing flavor other than tobacco.” Would using fire-cured tobacco or tobacco aged in rum barrels be a violation? What about aging a finished cigar in cedar? To date, the FDA has not provided answers. And, in a particularly troubling development, we’ve learned it may not matter; an unauthenticated draft of the FDA’s deeming rules submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) was recently leaked, and the draft shows no exemption for premium cigars. But ultimately, if OMB reinstates an exemption for premium cigars, the notion of “flavored” may become very important.

Mixing Up the Rotation

I’m guessing most cigar smokers started smoking milder cigars, graduated to medium-bodied sticks somewhere along the way, and these days tend to focus on smokes with full body and strength. These seasoned cigar veterans may avoid mild cigars entirely, or they may relegate them to that occasional morning smoke as an accompaniment to a cup of coffee. (I’m basing these broad generalizations off anecdotal evidence, hundreds of conversations, and observations from the ever-expanding world of social media.) To these brothers of the leaf I say this: Don’t be afraid to mix up your rotation with a milder cigar now and then. Not only are these cigars highly enjoyable, but they often provide subtler, more delicate flavors that are harder to find in Nicaraguan powerbombs. Think almond, cream, hay, etc. As an added bonus, you may find your full-bodied favorites taste even better when you sprinkle in a Connecticut Shade smoke from time to time.

Cigars for Friendly Bets

I’m a lifelong Cubs fan and my colleague, Patrick S, is a diehard follower of the Mets (nobody’s perfect, right?). This year, our teams squared up in the National League Championship Series. Before play started—and long before the Mets were eventually vanquished by the Kansas City Royals—we each agreed to send the winner a five-pack of local cigars as a friendly wager. If the Cubs won, he was going to send me hard-to-find smokes from the PG Boutique near his home in Virginia. If the Mets won (as they did), I’d send a sampler of house blends from Tesa here in Chicago. Maybe it’s just me, but for friendly wagers—especially those that are sports-related—cigars just seem to be a more fitting form of payment than money, not to mention a chance to acquire smokes that can’t easily be bought locally.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Drew Estate

Cuban-born Rafael Nodal—who emigrated in 1980 via the Mariel boatlift—says La Bohème brings together three passions: cigars, Cuba, and music. The blend is rooted in Cuban heritage with artwork from a nineteenth century Cuban cigar. The name is a tribute to the opera by Giacomo Puccini. And Nodal calls it “my take on the golden era of Cuban cigars.”

La Bohème came out in 2014 with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper around Dominican binder and filler tobaccos. This February, my colleague reviewed the small Mimi size (3.5 x 46), finding it to be “another virtuoso performance for Boutique Blends,” which is a partnership between Nodal, Hank Bischoff, and Nodal’s wife, Dr. Alina Cordoves Nodal.

This summer, Nodal introduced a La Bohème extension called Encantador (Spanish for “enchanted”). It uses a darker, higher priming of the Ecuadorian Habano capa than the original La Bohème, which comes from José “Jochi” Blanco’s stash of limited tobaccos.

La Bohème Encantador is made at Tabacalera Palma in the Dominican Republic. Three sizes are available in the $10.25 to $12.24 range: Turin (5 x 46), Fenice (6 x 52), and La Scala (5.75 x 54). Only 400,000 total cigars will be made before the line is discontinued due to tobacco availability.

Encantador is easily distinguished from the original La Bohème via its secondary band, as well as the background color on the main band (La Bohème has a cream-colored base to match its lighter wrapper, whereas Encantador is black). Turin sports a sharp box-press with a rustic, dark, mottled exterior that’s oily and traversed by a network of thin veins. The pre-light notes are sweet and chocolaty. A careful punch cut is all that’s needed to reveal an easy cold draw.

Once lit, the profile is a medium- to full-bodied combination of cayenne spice, black pepper, garlic powder, and coffee grounds. The finish exhibits a sharp spice on the tip of the tongue, and the aromatic resting smoke is a beautiful mixture of roasted nuts and coffee. Later on, hints of dark chocolate, cream, and dried fruit make appearances.

Turin—which is named for the northern Italian city where Puccini’s opera debuted in 1896—is a slow-burning cigar with moderate smoke production, a solid gray ash, and a burn that tends to meander a bit.

Any slight shortcomings in the construction department, though, are made up for by a unique, well-balanced flavor that jumps from savory to sweet, fruity to leathery, and creamy to salty. The Boutique Blends mantra centers on small batch production from limited tobaccos for discerning cigar smokers. Whatever the method, the output—in this case La Bohème Encantador Turin—works. And the smaller format seems to suit this blend particularly well, packing a lot of condensed punch into a distinctive, interesting cigar that’s worthy 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.”

Drew Estate extended its My Uzi Weighs a Ton (MUWAT) brand in 2013 with the addition of Kentucky Fire Cured (KFC). A project over two years in the making, KFC is crafted at the Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua using, as Jonathan Drew puts it, “dark fire-cured” tobaccos from a proprietary seed called KY190, Burley. The leaves are cured in a barn under fires of hickory and maple. Just a Friend (6 x 52) is one of seven vitolas. It retails for about $9 and, as you’d expect, exhibits a tremendously unique profile of barbeque sauce, chewy meat, hickory, leather, sweet tobacco, and peat. Though, notably, the taste is more toned-down than the pre-light aromas might lead you to believe. But this is still as close to a love-it-or-hate-it blend as you can get. And my palate doesn’t seem well-suited to the distinctive MUWAT KFC taste.

Verdict = Sell.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Back in April 2014, I visited the Joya de Nicaragua factory in Estelí as part of Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari. At the outset of the tour, Juan Ignacio Martínez—then 31 years old and recently named executive president as his father, Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca, stepped away from day-to-day operations—gave us an overview of Joya’s fascinating history.

Many know Joya is the oldest cigar maker in Nicaragua. Fewer are aware of how Joya’s legacy is intertwined with the political unrest in Nicaragua in the 20th century. When you think Joya, you probably don’t think of Anastasio Somoza Debayle, President Nixon, or the Sandinista Popular Revolution. You probably think of brands like CyB, Joya Red, Cabinetta, Cuatro Cinco, and Antaño 1970.

The aptly-named Antaño blend (which translates to “yesteryear”) was crafted, according to Joya’s website, “as a tribute to recapture the power and essence of the puro that made this legendary brand the most sought-after cigar in the U.S. in the post-Cuban Embargo 1970s.” The blend is well-known to deliver a consistent, rich, spicy, full-flavored experience.

Ten Antaño vitolas are available, including the toro-sized Alisado (6 x 52), which retails in the affordable $6-7 range and has a slight box press. It is handmade at Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua with 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos, including a dark Criollo wrapper.

Alisado, like its Antaño 1970 brethren, enjoys a fairly dense packing of tobaccos within its mottled, somewhat reddish wrapper. Dry and smooth to the touch with minimal veins, the cigar exhibits pre-light notes of cocoa, earth, and hay, especially at the foot. The cap clips easily to reveal a clear pre-light draw.

Once an even light is established, a moist, mouth-watering profile emerges of chocolate, coffee, cedar, and black pepper. Background notes include cream, raisin, and peanut. The texture is leathery and the body is full. Spice is not yet overtly prevalent, though it does linger on the finish.

Towards the midway point, the pepper spice begins to dominate, complemented by the addition of cayenne heat and sweet prune. The finale exhibits more intensity though, admirably, no harshness or bitterness. The combustion qualities are very good throughout; expect a solid ash, straight burn line, hassle-free draw, and above-par smoke production.

Over the years I’ve always kept some Antaño 1970s on hand. They provide a great deal of flavor, enjoyment, strength, and consistency—especially for such a reasonable price. And the more I smoke the line, the more I think the Alisado is the best vitola of the bunch. Something about the format, or perhaps the ratio of tobaccos in this size, simply hits me the right way. That’s why I’m awarding this excellent cigar from Joya de Nicaragua four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Last week I found myself in New Hampshire and had a chance to sit down with Steve Saka. Saka is head of the newly launched Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (DTT) and former CEO of Drew Estate—where he played a critical role in growing the company into a Nicaraguan juggernaut that makes some of the most sought-after cigars in the world.

We met at Twins Smoke Shop in Londonderry (about 40 minutes from Saka’s home in Dunbarton), an outstanding tobacconist/cigar bar that’s home to Kurt A. Kendall’s 7-20-4 brand. It was a great opportunity to talk tobacco, try the new Sobremesa (it’s outstanding, as you’d expect), and get caught up on all things DTT.

Stogie Guys: It seems like your debut brand, Sobremesa, did well at the IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans this summer. How many inaugural accounts did you open?

Steve Saka: We currently have 108 active accounts, and 126 on an active waiting list. We have inquires by another 19 accounts pending.

SG: What does the current production for Sobremesa look like? Are you planning to ramp up output to meet the high demand?

SS: We are currently slated to produce 1,000 boxes per month. Even though we are grossly oversold, we will not be increasing this production in the near term. The reason is not to limit the brand; I am a capitalist so my intent is to always make and sell more cigars. The reason for the limitation is twofold.

First, I want to ensure we maintain steady production. In my opinion, great cigars are crafted when the torcedors are working on the same liga and same vitola every single day at a steady pace. I personally do not believe in “batch” handmade cigar manufacturing or spiking production to satisfy a short-term demand. Doing so sacrifices quality.

Second, I currently have enough properly fermented and aged materials available to make about 300,000 Sobremesa. I never want production to outpace ready-to-use leaf and force us to cease rolling to wait on leaf. Sometimes things happen beyond your control tobacco-wise that force you to stop production for the integrity of the brand, but in this case, I know what we have and it is critical to me to do my best to plan accordingly. In Feb./Mar. 2016 the second pilon of ECH Grade 1 Dark Rosado capa should be ready to use. If this ends up being the case, we will then begin to increase the production accordingly.

SG: Have you already begun thinking past Sobremesa on other blends?

SS: I have secured tobacco for the second liga DTT intends to release and it will be made with Connecticut Broadleaf capa. I am in the process of working on this blend. There is no release timetable—when it is right we will offer it.

SG: Do you know what this new blend will cost?

SS: There is not currently a pricepoint on this second release. I never think about crafting cigars in the terms of trying to hit a particular market segment. My approach is simple: I start with tobacco I like and an idea of what type of cigar I wish to create: strong, mild, sweet, peppery, nutty, rustic, refined, etc. I then work with the leaf to come up with a blend I find satisfying to me, and sometimes during the course of the blending process the leaf can take me in a totally different direction, but to an unexpected great destination.

This is the reason I never like to talk about what a cigar “will be” or even share the blend with others to taste test during the process. Once the cigar itself is 100% done I then figure out what it costs to make it on an ongoing basis and add reasonable profit, and that is how I come up with the price. Then it is up to consumers to decide whether they feel the experience it delivers is worth its cost. If they do, I am grateful and continue making the cigar. If not, I continue to work hoping they find my next offering worthy of their hard-earned dollars.

I think most new cigars being made today are being made to hit a certain pricepoint, or to appeal to a certain consumer demographic. Way, way too many cigars are being created in conference rooms first these days, rather than by artisans in tobacco and cigar making. I think they are totally missing what makes handmade cigars so magical and, in turn, are unlikely to be successful long-term.

SG: Will this second blend also be made at Joya de Nicaragua?

SS: I am working on this particular blend at the NACSA factory. It is best known for making economy price handmade cigars, however we are working together to create a cigar that I would personally smoke daily. They are very committed to this project and have hired Raúl Disla to join the team and work in the factory with me. Sr. Disla is the former general manager of production at A.J. Fernandez; happens to be the brother of Esteban Disla, the much heralded master cigar maker from RoMa Craft; and is an extremely talented master cigar maker in his own right.

It meant a lot to me to get people to think about Drew Estate as much more than just an infused cigar maker, and I feel the same way about NACSA. I believe this factory is capable of producing something totally unexpected in the premium handmade segment and I am honored to be working with them as we strive toward doing so.

SG: What else does the future hold for DTT?

SS: I am in the process of sourcing tobaccos for a future third liga. I have not formally decided where I will be crafting this blend, however I am so incredibly impressed by the workmanship and dedication to my exacting standards that Joya de Nicaragua has exhibited in the execution of Sobremesa that it is my sincere hope it is with them. Whether they agree, I don’t know because I am, admittedly, a total pain in the ass.

StogieGuys.com joins cigar fans throughout the country in eager anticipation of Sobremesa arriving at their local tobacconists. We wish Steve Saka the best and thank him for his time.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

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 visited the Portsmouth location of Federal Cigar earlier this week. Federal, which has four locations in New Hampshire, is known for exclusive offerings from a variety of cigar makers. The Headley Grange Snaredrum, for example, is an exclusive size of the Crowned Heads blend. It’s a “corona especiales” (6 x 38) with the original Headley Grange recipe: Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper around Nicaraguan tobaccos. Only 3,000 Snaredrums were made, and they can be bought online for $9.25 (or, for some reason, $11 at the Portsmouth cigar bar). I found the Snaredrum to be a nice combination of honey, graham, spice, and oak with excellent construction. The fast-burning cigar has a short finish, though, and the profile leaves my palate a little dry. So I’m not fully convinced it’s worth the cost.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

When you think about cigars, the first state that probably comes to mind is Florida. The Sunshine State was—and to a much lesser extent, still is—a place where cigars are made. Cigar culture is inextricably linked to Miami (especially Calle Ocho) and Tampa (especially Ybor City). Many cigar makers live and base their operations there. The absence of a state cigar tax means larger online retailers, and a plethora of brick-and-mortar shops and lounges, call Florida home. And now, for the first time since 1977, a small amount of long-filler cigar tobacco is actually being grown on Florida soil.

Another state that might come to mind is Connecticut. According to a recent article, “tobacco is Connecticut’s fifth largest agriculture product by market value, at $35.7 million… The crop is grown on 49 farms and accounts for 6.5 percent of total agricultural product sales in the state.” Connecticut broadleaf is highly prized and expensive.

Finally, you’d probably also consider Pennsylvania. Again, thanks to zero state cigar tax, the Keystone State is home to some of the country’s largest online retailers, including Famous Smoke Shop, Holts, and Cigars International. In addition, Pennsylvania is also a premium cigar producer. Decades ago, the Amish of Lancaster County supplied a significant amount of premium filler tobacco to the industry. These days, Pennsylvania cigar tobacco is less abundantly used but still important (see yesterday’s review, for example).

The more I travel to New Hampshire, though, the more I think the Granite State is too often overlooked as an important contributor to the premium cigar industry (I fly into Manchester from Chicago about a half-dozen times a year for work). Consider, for instance, the plethora of great cigar shops and lounges in southern New Hampshire alone. David Garofalo’s Two Guys Smoke Shop has three locations and calls itself New England’s largest retailer by volume (did I mention New Hampshire also has no state cigar tax?). The shop is affiliated with the Nashua-based United Cigar Group, as well as cigar media extraordinaire Barry Stein and his new (and excellent) Kilo cigar brand.

Not to be outdone is Twins Smoke Shop with its two locations (one recently remodeled and fantastic). Twins is owned by Kurt A. Kendall, perhaps best known as the purveyor of the 7-20-4 brand. That fine brand, by the way, pays homage to New Hampshire’s cigar history. 7-20-4 was originally produced in Manchester between 1874 and 1963. At one time, over 50 million cigars were made in the state annually.

Last but not least is Steve Saka’s new Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, which is named for, and based in, Dunbarton, New Hampshire. Saka’s first Dunbarton line, Sobremesa, will be appearing at select retailers shortly. To say Sobremesa is highly anticipated would be a gross understatement. Of course, before launching his own company, Saka, a New Hampshire resident, played a critical role in growing Drew Estate from an operation known mostly for its unorthodox infused cigars to a Nicaraguan juggernaut that makes some of the most sought-after non-infused cigars, including Liga Privada.

If all goes according to plan, I should be landing in Manchester today around 4:50 PM. I’ll have no shortage of choice when it comes to selecting what, and where, to smoke. For that I’m grateful.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Wikipedia