The Stogie Guys

About a month ago, I reviewed the Premium Line, the most expensive brand to date from Roberto P. Duran Premium Cigars. Impressed, I set out to round off our coverage of the company’s Azan line by trying the Azan Maduro Natural for the first time.

Azan is an old Cuban cigar brand that was revived by Roberto Pelayo Duran and reintroduced at the 2013 industry trade show. Azan was originally started by a Chinese immigrant who produced handmade cigars in the Manicaragua area of Cuba prior to Castro taking control. He eventually won a lottery and invested the money in his tobacco operation, only to have the Cuban government nationalize his business.

Today, Roberto P. Duran offers three variations on Azan: White, Burgundy, and Maduro Natural. Maduro Natural includes filler tobaccos from Estelí and Jalapa, a Nicaraguan binder, and a dark Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper that reportedly takes over 22 months to process. “This Maduro wrapper is very oily and naturally dark [hence, “Maduro Natural”] while maintaining the sweetness of the Corojo,” according to the manufacturer. “The beauty of the wrapper comes absolutely natural without any additive.”

Azan Maduro Natural comes in two sizes: Robusto Extra (5.5 x 52) and a belicoso called Campana (5.5 x 52). The latter retails for about $10 and comes complete with a well-executed cap, a firm packing of tobaccos, and pre-light notes of espresso, leather, and earth. The cold draw is moderately tight.

After setting an even light, a spicy, full-bodied profile abruptly announces itself. There’s no easing into this smoke. Right at the outset, bold, rich flavors of coffee bean, roasted nut, and black pepper hit the palate with a thick, leathery texture.

Background tastes include sweet cream and cinnamon. Aside from the additions of cocoa and warm tobacco in the final third, I don’t find many changes from light to nub.

While the complex flavor leaves little to be desired, the two samples I smoked for this review did not perform as well in the construction department. For one, the draw is stiffer than I would like (even though the smoke production is solid). Second, the burn line is often ill-behaved, requiring touch-ups along the way to stay even. That said, flavor is king. And the Azan Maduro Natural Campana has flavor in spades. As an after-dinner smoke and a complement to bourbon, this belicoso is an excellent choice and worthy of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This summer, Kuuts launched Nicaraguan Blend. The new line is likely a response to the popularity of Nicaraguan tobacco, and yet another example of a non-Nicaraguan brand introducing a Nicaraguan-themed cigar.

Kuuts Nicaraguan Blend started shipping to retailers only recently. It sells in the affordable $5-7 range, and is available in 5 formats: Momentos (4 x 48), Pequeño (4.5 x 58), Robusto (5 x 52), Gordo Especial (7 x 60), and Toro (6 x 52). The blend recipe calls for Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos surrounded by an Ecuadorian wrapper. It is marketed as a “solid, medium-bodied cigar.”

Like the other Kuuts brands—including Miró, Placeres Reserva, and Tabacalera Zapata—the Nicaraguan Blend is made at the Compañia Hondureña de Tabacos (CHT) factory in Jacaleapa, Honduras. “Although the Danlí region is the source for a large percentage of the cigars manufactured for worldwide distribution, we have the advantage of owning and operating our own factory,” reads the Kuuts website. “Our factory [can produce] over 6 million cigars a year. With 98 pairs of rollers working in a family atmosphere, CHT has the ability to keep all aspects of the manufacturing process under one roof.”

The Nicaraguan Blend Toro has a light brown, almost pale exterior with little tooth or oils. It’s firm to the touch with a neat cap and an interesting band of black and metallic orange. The pre-light notes are subtle and sweet, and the cold draw is firm.

After setting an even light, I find the initial profile to be light, creamy, and characterized by sweet bready notes with some roasted nuts. The texture is smooth and the body is medium to medium-mild. Then, after the first inch, the Toro begins to taste a little more like what I’d expect from a Nicaraguan-heavy blend: black pepper spice, dry wood, and a bit more overall strength.

Still, even into the final third, the strength remains low and the body doesn’t seem to increase beyond medium. Late-arriving flavors include cinnamon and more sweet cream. All the while the burn line stays true and the gray ash holds well. The draw is a little tight for my liking and the smoke production is slightly below average.

Kuuts has a bigger footprint in Europe, where (generally speaking) the Cuban-esque profile reigns supreme. Perhaps that helps account for why the Nicaraguan Blend tastes so non-Nicaraguan (at least to me). The name of the cigar aside, the Nicaraguan Blend Toro is a nice smoke with balanced, subdued flavors that will strike a chord with less-frequent smokers, as well as experienced cigar fans who seek a morning complement to a cup of coffee. I award it three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

About two years ago, Gran Habano—the Florida-based operation of the Rico family—added two new blends to its Gran Reserva series: Gran Reserva #3 2009 and Gran Reserva #5 2010. They joined the original Gran Reserva, which was the Gran Reserva #3 2008.

Made at Gran Habano’s GR Tabaqueras Unidas factory in Danlí, Honduras, all the cigars in the Gran Reserva series are produced in limited quantities. In the case of the Gran Reserva #5 2010, production was limited to 1,200 boxes of each of the 5 sizes, for a total of 6,000 boxes of 20 cigars (120,000 individual cigars). But at the time of publication of this review, there are still plenty of Gran Reserva #5 2010 cigars to be had.

Blended by George A. Rico, the Gran Reserva #5 2010 blend consists of a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper from 2005, a Nicaraguan Habano binder from 2005, and filler tobaccos from Jalapa. It is offered in the following formats for about $6 to $9 per cigar: Imperiales (6 x 60), Czar (6 x 66), Grandioso (7 x 70), Corona Gorda (5.6 x 46), and Gran Robusto (6 x 54).

Slipping the Gran Robusto out of its cedar sleeve (which covers almost the entire cigar up to the golden band), I find a thick, heavy, dense cigar with a neat cap and a tight cross-section of tobaccos at the foot. The veins are thin and minimal, and the surface is oily with moderate tooth. The cold draw is smooth and the pre-light aroma reminds me of milk chocolate and sweet hay.

According to Gran Habano, the Gran Reserva #5 2010 blend is sold as a “remarkably smooth, earthy, and spicy smoke accompanied by notes of sweet wood and espresso.” Upon setting an even light, I encounter a spicy profile of cedar and black pepper with background notes of coffee and leather. Quickly, a creamy peanut taste also enters the equation, which adds nice balance.

Into the midway point and the final third, little changes in terms of profile, save for a slight increase in intensity at the very end. For me, frankly, that’s a bit of a disappointment. This is a large, slow-burning cigar. More complexity and more variation in taste would go a long way towards better capturing my attention.

Still, with solid construction, a pleasant flavor, and sweet, aromatic resting smoke, the Gran Reserva #5 2010 Gran Robusto is a solid cigar at a fair price. That earns it three stogies out of five. I just can’t help but wonder how the blend would fare in a thinner format.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

They aren’t sexy. They aren’t limited. They aren’t new. Heck, they aren’t even expensive. But the core Padrón line of cigars—often referred to as the “Thousands Series” or the “Classic Series”—is not to be overlooked. If fact, if you’re searching for everyday smokes that are high-quality, consistent, readily available, and don’t break the bank, the original Padrón cigars are a great place to start.

Like many cigar smokers, when you think of Padrón, you likely think of the 50-year-old company’s incredible résumé of accolades (way too many to mention here) and acclaimed super-premium offerings like the Anniversary Series (both 1926 and 1964) and Family Reserve.

But don’t forget the original Padrón line, which includes fifteen vitolas that are available in either Natural or Maduro formats. (By the way, with similar wrapper shades and no distinguishing markings, it’s really hard to tell a Natural from a Maduro without holding two next to each other.) Each is comprised of Cuban-seed Nicaraguan tobacco that’s sun-grown and aged for two-and-a-half years.

The robusto-sized 2000 Natural sports an oily, somewhat grainy Nicaraguan wrapper that’s not without its imperfections. I often find the caps of these cigars to be sloppily applied, and one of the three samples I smoked for this review (the one pictured, in fact) came with a tear in the wrapper above the band. Few have criticized the Thousands Series smokes for being too handsome.

That said, when you remove the Padrón 2000 Natural from its cellophane, the pungent pre-light aroma is more than enough to render the robusto enticing. The foot seems to ooze a pungent fragrance of earth, hay, and cocoa. It’s enough to make me salivate.

Whereas the 2000 Maduro is characterized by espresso, cocoa, raisin, and dark chocolate, the 2000 Natural tastes more of dry wood, black pepper, and peanut. The edges round out and the texture becomes creamier at the midway point. In the final third, I find a fuller-bodied, more leathery texture. But dry wood and cream are still at the core.

Construction is absolutely perfect throughout. Despite any aesthetic flaws, every 2000 Natural (5 x 50) I’ve smoked has a straight burn line, a solid gray ash, and just the right amount of resistance on the draw. Smoke production is above average.

This may not be the most complex cigar on the market, but the quality Padrón delivers for the reasonable asking price of $5-6 is striking. To me, that’s sexy. So the 2000 Natural is 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 can’t peer into the future to see how (or if) Swisher International’s recent purchase of Drew Estate will change the Drew Estate portfolio of cigars. But one potential clue about future blends might be found in the Nirvana series, a five-vitola blend crafted by Drew Estate for Royal Gold Cigars (the premium cigar division of Swisher International). The blend was introduced earlier this year—months before rumors of an acquisition began to circle—with a Cameroon wrapper around a Mexican binder and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. My colleague loves this cigar, and I can’t disagree. Cinnamon spice, graham cracker, coffee with creamer, and a typical Cameroon sweetness all play a role in making this Toro (6 x 52) a well-balanced, complex, enjoyable smoke. Construction is top-notch, too. My only complaint is the price, which clocks in at $11.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

George A. Rico’s American Puro has to be counted as one of the more unique cigars to be released in recent memory. Made in Miami, the blend has only tobacco grown in the United States, including fire-cured leaves from Kentucky.

American Puro is part of S.T.K. Miami, a series of limited blends produced by Gran Habano at the company’s new Miami factory. It’s joined by Zulu Zulu, Opium, and Barracuda—an Ecuadorian Habano-wrapped line with bands of cyan and silver.

Now, George A. Rico has added a Maduro variety to Barracuda, using the same Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos, but replacing the Ecuadorian wrapper with a dark, mottled specimen of Pennsylvania Broadleaf. (If you’re worried about confusing the two, the natural Barracuda has a fish on the band, whereas the Maduro simply has “Barracuda” written in cursive.)

Three sizes are available in the S.T.K. Miami Barracuda Maduro: Robusto (5 x 52), B-54 (6.5 x 54), and Corona Gorda (5.6 x 46). They range in price from $7.50 to $8.50 apiece. Only 200 boxes are being made of each vitola.

I sampled one pre-release Robusto for this review. This is a rustic-looking smoke with a coarse, thick wrapper that has protruding seams and a rugged cap. The cold draw is smooth and the pre-light notes remind me of molasses and grilled meats.

Marketed as medium to full in body, the Barracuda Robusto starts with a mesquite flavor with moderate intensity and a spicy aftertaste. The texture is leathery, and the core flavors include black pepper, syrup, dry wood, and a tangy zest that reminds me of barbecue.

Before long, a cocoa sweetness creeps in, along with cream and roasted nut. These additions help add balance to the principal flavors. Taking time between puffs helps ward off some of the meatier notes while allowing the complexity to shine though.

With solid construction—including a straight burn line, sturdy ash, and ample smoke production—the Barracuda Maduro Robusto is a unique, enjoyable smoke and a good value at about $8. It’s worthy of a respectable score 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

L’Atelier Imports, which debuted just a couple years ago, is an outfit formed by Pete Johnson (of Tatuaje fame) to make “consumer price conscious cigars.” The L’Atelier portfolio includes Surrogates, El Suelo, Trocadéro, L’Atelier Maduro, and the original L’Atelier core line.

The latter is crafted at My Father Cigars in Nicaragua using Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The wrappers are Sancti Spíritus, which is a cross between Criollo and Pelo d’Oro that’s grown in Ecuador.

L’Atelier originally had three formats: LAT52 (4.75 x 52), LAT54 (5.6 x 54), and LAT56 (6.5 x 56). Since its introduction in 2012, Johnson has added four vitolas. One is called LAT46 Selection Spéciale—a corona gorda measuring 5.6 inches long with a ring gauge of 46.

Interestingly, when it was rolled out in early 2013, LAT46 was slightly different than its predecessors, as the Sancti Spíritus wrapper comes from a higher priming for this size. That means the wrapper is darker, and the overall profile is supposed to pack more of a punch. So LAT46 was given the “Selection Spéciale” designation to differentiate it from the other vitolas. Since, two other Selection Spéciale sizes were added: the LAT Torpedo and the LAT38 Special lancero.

I smoked five LAT46s for this review. The corona gorda looks dark enough to be a maduro. Its exterior is clean and oily with a reddish tint and few noticeable veins. The triple cap—adorned with a pigtail—clips easily to yield a smooth cold draw. The foot exhibits rich pre-light notes of raisin, black cherry, and dark chocolate.

Once lit, the initial profile is of coffee, cedar, pepper spice, and black licorice. The texture ranges from chalky to leathery, and the aftertaste has a lingering salty bite. Strength and body are both medium to full. The fragrant resting smoke is creamy.

At the midway point it becomes clear this is a complex, balanced cigar with lots to offer (especially to attentive smokers). In addition to the aforementioned flavors—which, I think, constitute the core taste from beginning to nub—notes of sweet cocoa, peanut, and caramel come and go. Throughout, construction is perfect, including a solid ash, great smoke production, and a burn line that requires no touch-ups.

In the reasonable $8-9 range, it’s hard not to love the LAT46 Selection Spéciale. This one has “box purchase” written all over it. One of the best cigars I’ve had the pleasure to review in 2014, it earns an outstanding rating 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