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.”

Made at El Credito in the Dominican Republic with an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper around Dominican olor and Nicaraguan ligero tobaccos, the No. 3 (4.5 x 56) is the smallest size in the Serie R portfolio, and one of the best. Leather, spice, and oaky wood dominate the profile. Construction is excellent. This La Gloria Cubana is a solid value at $5-6 and a nice reminder why the Serie R blend has struck a favorable chord with cigar enthusiasts since 1999.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

These days, Emilio Cigars is a brand that seems to be flourishing—thanks in no small part, I believe, to the warm welcome the outfit has received from the online cigar community.

In addition to the growing blends in the Emilio portfolio (many of which we’ve reviewed), brand owner Gary Griffith also controls distribution for several other companies under his House of Emilio umbrella. Included are 1502, Bodega, Epicurean, Ezra Zion, Guayacan, and Nomad Cigar Co. It’s hard to imagine Emilio Cigars is just a few years old.

The Emilio family was further expanded last fall with the addition of Mia Dora, a new line that started shipping to retailers at the end of October. Mia Dora is produced by A.J. Fernandez in Nicaragua and features a Habano Rosado wrapper and Nicaraguan filler and binder. It comes in three sizes: a Robusto (5 x 50) and a Toro (6 x 50), which come in 21-count boxes; and the Coronita (5.25 x 44), which comes in a 40-count box.

Mia Dora sports bands with a theme dedicated to the Italian town of Ascoli Piceno, birthplace of the ancestors of the love of Griffith’s life, Dora. They envelop a splotchy, light brown wrapper with minimal veins and moderate oils. The Toro feels firm in the hand, and the foot emits soft pre-light aromas of straw, tea, and syrup.

Setting an even light doesn’t take more than a single wooden match. Once underway, flavors reminiscent of clove, toast, and cinnamon take center stage. The texture is bready and the strength is medium. The aftertaste is ever-so-slightly bitter, and the resting smoke is pleasant and sweet.

About a quarter-inch in, the balance really starts to shine as a creamy sweetness comes to the fore. While a slight cedary spice is present throughout, the finale is characterized by more oak and less cedar.

All of my samples smoked impeccably well with no need for any touch-ups, re-lights, or other maintenance. The draw has just the right resistance, the gray ash holds well off the foot, and the burn line stays true all the way to the nub.

The Mia Dora Toro is a very impressive specimen, and one of the better options from Gary Griffith to date. The $10 price tag is a solid value for a cigar that affords good balance and complexity in a medium-bodied format. It’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.”

I last reviewed this cigar in November 2013, writing that the bold Lancero is “a complex, balanced smoke with more substance than your standard flavor-bomb.” Taking it for test drive for the first time in a long time, I found my previous assessment holds water. The Nicaraguan puro features a strength-forward profile of espresso, black pepper spice, and some sweet notes in the background. Construction is solid, rendering La Musa Μελέτη Lancero a solid purchase.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Over four years ago, Florida-based retailer Smoke Inn launched the Microblend Series, a program that commissions custom, limited edition blends from top manufacturers. Today, the series includes Arturo Fuente’s Solaris, Tatuaje’s Anarchy and Apocalypse, My Father’s El Hijo, Padrón’s 1964 Anniversary SI-15, Quesada’s Oktoberfest Dunkel, Room 101’s Big Delicious, and 601’s La Bomba Bunker Buster.

The latest (and ninth) addition to Microblend Series is Pactum, crafted by Illusione and offered in a single, lightly box-pressed size (5.5 x 56). It features a Mexican Maduro wrapper around Nicaraguan tobaccos and sells for $44.75 for a 5-pack, or $134.25 for a box of 15.

“This cigar is in-your-face, with full-bodied flavors and loads of white, chalky smoke,” reads the Smoke Inn website. “Using Nicaraguan tobaccos from the upper primings of the tobacco plant, Pactum takes on the strong and oily characteristics of the leaves… This will be one of the most limited production releases in our Microblend Series to date.”

The cigar has a simple band of navy and white that reads “Cigares Privé,” which is French for “private cigars.” It’s the same band you’ll see on another single-retailer Illusione release: the MC Slam (6 x 54) for R. Field Wine Company, a chain of gourmet food, wine, and cigar shops in Hawaii.

Pactum is a dark, dense brick of a cigar with an incredibly oily wrapper that’s textured and toothy. The foot exudes rich pre-light notes of chocolate, and coffee. A straight guillotine cut yields a moderately firm cold draw.

From the outset, Pactum tastes as oily as it appears and feels. The smoke has a silky texture, and the profile reminds me of cocoa, espresso, black pepper, and peanut. Interestingly, the strength remains surprisingly muted from light to nub, sometimes verging on mild-plus. Changes along the way are minor and include the introduction of some earthy notes at the midway point, as well as a minimal increase in spice in the final third.

I smoked two samples for this review—both provided courtesy of Smoke Inn—and each exhibited top-notch combustion qualities. The burn line is impeccably straight, the ash holds well off the foot, and the smoke production is average.

Pactum is an enjoyable smoke with a great aroma and interesting flavors that pair well with a mid-afternoon cup of coffee. I would especially recommend this to fans of San Andrés-wrapped cigars who are looking for a low to moderate level of strength. I’m awarding this Illusione a very admirable score of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Last month I reviewed the Atabey Ritos, a cigar sent to me by Barry Stein. Many of you know Barry as the founder (and former proprietor of) A Cigar Smoker, a former employee of Miami Cigar & Co., and a current employee of the New Hampshire-based Two Guys Smoke Shop, a chain of cigar retailers.

These days Barry is also doing some marketing for United Cigar, an outfit that “works with top cigar manufacturers throughout the world to create unique cigars built exclusively for the premium cigar retailer.” Among United Cigar’s other brands are Bandolero, Byron, Fleur de la Reine, La Gianna, and Garofalo.

The latter is named for David Garofalo, a Bostonian “who has spent over 30 years as a cigar retailer and is obsessed with cigars” (he’s the owner of Two Guys Smoke Shop and hosts a weekly radio show with Barry Stein). It is a four-vitola line—Robusto (5 x 50), Torpedo (5 x 54), Toro (6 x 52), and Churchill (7 x 50)—made in Estelí by Nick Perdomo to celebrate David’s 50th birthday.

The recipe includes a golden Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper around a Nicaraguan binder and a blend of three Nicaraguan fillers. “The finished cigar has been sitting in aging rooms for a minimum of six full months to marry the blend until it has reached optimum flavor,” according to the United Cigar website. “The flavor is rich and rewarding while elegant and refined.”

The Robusto, which retails for $6.79, features a triple-cap, a firm feel, and a clean exterior with only a few noticeable veins. For such an innocent-looking smoke, the pre-light notes are extremely pungent. I find aromas of hay, hickory, and syrup off the foot. Once clipped, the cap exhibits a moderately smooth cold draw.

After setting an even light, the first few puffs of the Robusto are predominantly nutty and slightly grassy. There’s also a chocolaty background with hints of caramel and a soft peppery spice. The body is mild to medium, and the aftertaste is short and sweet. Towards the midway point, some of the nuttiness fades, leaving behind a flavor that verges on papery and buttery. But the final third once again witnesses an enjoyably interplay between sweet, nutty, and spice.

As for physical properties, the Garofalo Robusto performs impeccably. All three of my samples demonstrated straight burn lines, above average smoke production, and a solid white ash that holds well off the foot.

David Garofalo reportedly spent two years and hundreds of test blends to finalize this cigar. If his objective was to create an interesting mild-bodied cigar that still packs considerable flavor, I’d say he did a job well done with this five-tobacco blend. And the price point is commendable. In my book, the Garofalo Robusto earns a solid rating of three 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.”

It says something about my high regard for RoMa Craft Tobac that I chose the Aquitaine Cranium as my after-steak smoke last night. I was fortunate to have many cigars to select from for my birthday, yet I kept gravitating towards this one as I perused my stash. I’m glad I did. The Cranium (6 x 54) has the bold flavors I seek on a full stomach—including black pepper, subtle syrupy sweetness, cedar, espresso, and a tangy barbeque zing. Construction is superb. Plus, with an MSRP of $8.25, you don’t have to save this Ligero-wrapped smoke for special occasions.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In this segment of Random Thoughts from the Humidor, I ponder who benefits from the criminalization of cigar bars in Nebraska, cigars blended for specific spirits pairings, and if you might be able to light up at the craps table at this summer’s IPCPR Trade Show.

Hope for Cigar Bars in Nebraska?

We’ve been following the story about the criminalization of smoking inside cigar bars in Nebraska for some time. It all started last year when the Nebraska Supreme Court determined the exemption granted to cigar bars was unconstitutional. Now, state lawmakers have drafted a bill to reinstate those exemptions. Frankly, I can’t seem to understand who would be protected by a smoking ban for cigar bars. The employees who choose to work there (assuming the businesses wouldn’t close down)? The patrons who choose to drop in for a cigar? And then I remembered how this whole thing began: Big John’s Billiards, a pool hall in Omaha, didn’t think it was fair to have to comply with the statewide smoking ban if cigar bars didn’t. Personally, I hope the bill to reinstate the exemptions for cigar bars passes. But the bigger question is: Why should the government get to dictate to any private business whether it can provide cigar-friendly accommodations?

Perfect Pairings

Yesterday I reviewed the Dram Cask No. 3 Double Habano Toro from C&C Cigars, a smoke that’s specifically intended to pair with spicier whiskeys. Dram is comprised of four different blends, each built to complement whiskeys of varying strength. This concept isn’t necessarily a first for the cigar industry. The Illusione Epernay, for example, was blended to pair with champagne. But I’m not sure if any previous effort has been as overt in its intent as Dram, or the just-announced Drew Estate Smoking Monk, a Cigars International exclusive that features five blends each designed to be paired with a different type of beer. Given the rising demand for craft spirits (especially whiskey, micro-brew beer, rum, etc.) I wonder if this will develop into more of a trend. It isn’t too hard to imagine a line of cigars blended specifically to pair with certain kinds of wine.

Big Easy Gambling

Last week, the New Orleans City Council unanimously passed a smoking ban. The International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) was quick to point out the new law will not impact its 83rd Trade Show, slated to be held in the Louisiana city this summer, because cigar bars, the convention center, and facilities being used for private events will be protected. However, if you’ve ever been to an IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans, you’ll recall the Harrah’s Casino that’s nearby the convention center can be a popular destination among attendees. Currently, Harrah’s is not exempted from the ban. But it was reported on Monday that efforts are currently underway to allow smoking in half of the casino, and a vote on the proposal could come as early as February 5—presumably in plenty of time for the convention in July.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr