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.”

While Drew Estate crafts many excellent cigars, in my opinion there is none finer than the elusive Velvet Rat (one of only a few cigars to ever receive our five-out-of-five rating). Yes, it’s hard to find. Yes, it’s expensive at about $14. But this Connecticut Broadleaf-wrapped beauty is a lighter, creamier, more harmonious blend than the famed Liga Privada No. 9. I love me some Liga, however the Velvet Rat (6.25 x 46) elevates the blend to a new level. Expect Drew Estate’s trademark draw with notes of coffee bean, cocoa, pepper spice, syrup, and caramel. Think moist chocolate cake.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Last year, two of my favorite cigars happened to be Abaddon and Ouroboros, both of which are made for Blue Havana, a tobacconist in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago. They are crafted at Fabrica de Tabacos Nica Sueño in Estelí by Skip Martin of RoMa Craft Tobac.

I was so impressed by these cigars that I decided to better acquaint myself with RoMa Craft and its core lines: CroMagnon, Intemperance (EC XVIII and BA XXI), and Aquitaine. If you haven’t already done so, you should do the same. After all, Skip Martin’s Estelí operation may be small with limited production, but he’s undoubtedly making some of the best cigars in the world.

By way of background, RoMa Craft was born after the Hava Cigar Shop and Lounge in Galveston, Texas, was decimated by Hurricane Ike in 2008. At first it was an online version of the old brick-and-mortar store, but distribution and cigar production grew. Today, while RoMa Craft’s production is nowhere near the levels of its neighbors Drew Estate or Joya de Nicaragua, the outfit is nimble, efficient, and turning out excellent smokes.

I visited the factory last month to learn about cigar blending (and sample some of Martin’s rum collection). There, I received a sampler of RoMa Craft smokes, including the CroMagnon EMH, a robusto extra (5 x 56) that’s short for “Early Modern Human.” Like the Cranium (6 x 54) my colleague reviewed in 2011, EMH has an oily Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper around a Cameroon binder.

The long-filler includes three types of Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. They hail from Estelí, Condega, and a small farm on the Honduran border. “This third leaf, a Ligero, brings a strong, smoky, savory flavor to the blend,” according to the RoMa Craft website. “When combined with the mildly sweet characteristics of the Broadleaf Maduro wrapper, the exotic bite of the Cameroon binder, and the clean finish of its Viso and Seco companions, the blend delivers the precise, deep, rich tobacco flavor we wanted to present…”

In my own experience, smoking the sample I received from Martin and several others I purchased myself, the EMH’s hearty, musty, leathery pre-light notes transition to bold, full-bodied flavors ranging from pepper and savory char to cocoa and espresso. The texture is dark and chalky. Still, I agree with my colleague that the CroMagnon EMH is “more than just a club of strength across the palate.” There’s depth and complexity, some of which can be attributed to the sweetness of the Cameroon binder. And it certainly doesn’t hurt that the combustion qualities—burn, draw, ash, and smoke production—are all up to snuff.

This slow-burning power-bomb runs about $8, which is a very fair price for this level of quality. If given the choice between the two, I prefer the slightly cheaper Intemperance BA XXI. But the CroMagnon EMH is an outstanding selection if you’re looking for body and impact. In my book, it’s 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

Nicholas Melillo, popularly known as “Nick R. Agua” on Facebook and Twitter, is leaving his role at Drew Estate, where he served for 11 years with responsibilities ranging from tobacco purchasing and fermentation to quality control and shipment planning.

According to a press release issued midday on Friday by Drew Estate, “Melillo mastered the blending of some of the company’s top-selling brands, including Liga Privada No. 9, T52, Dirty Rat, Flying Pig, UF-13, L40, Undercrown, Nirvana, Kahlua, Java, and Nica Rustica, He also worked alongside Willy Herrera on Herrera Estelí.”

When Melillo joined Drew Estate in 2003, the company was nowhere near its current levels of production (about 100,000 cigars per day with 1,500 employees—the largest cigar operation in Nicaragua). The Connecticut native played an integral role in the company’s success, according to Jonathan Drew. “Melillo has been a major asset in bringing our company to our current level of expertise and quality,” reads the press release. “He has been instrumental in creating blends to categorically change the traditional cigar market.”

Melillo, who got his start at a cigar shop near New Haven, Connecticut, was formerly Executive Vice President of International Operations for Drew Estate. In January, he left to become a consultant on tobacco purchasing and cigar blending under his company, Melillo International. The next step in Melillo’s premium cigar career is not yet known—though it is clear he does not plan to leave the industry for good.

Who Will Fill the Void?

As I was visiting Drew Estate in Estelí last month, Jonathan Drew was candid about the fact that he was grappling with the reality that his role is to make business decisions for the company. He is more of a corporate executive than a cigar blender or tobacco man. Nicholas Melillo was filling the roll of blending, monitoring fermentation, and attempting to maintain quality control in the face of increased production.

These roles used to be shared between Melillo and Steve Saka, the CEO of Drew Estate who retired in July 2013. Saka has a non-compete agreement in place until the summer of 2015 (Drew Estate repurchased his interests in the company when he left), whereas Melillo remains a partner in Drew Estate.

On the heels of Melillo and Saka leaving, the obvious question is: Who will step up to the plate for Drew Estate’s growing tobacco purchasing, fermentation, blending, quality control, etc. needs? My colleagues and I will keep you apprised as details emerge.

–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.”

When I first tried this Robusto (5.25 x 52) back in 2010 (it was introduced in late 2009), I found its profile of spice, pepper, dry wood, and espresso to be a little monotone. Either my tastes have changed, which is entirely possible, or this cigar is much better. I picked it up at a local shop for $7.50 and was impressed with its chalky texture and tastes of spice and dry cocoa. It smoked perfectly, and the draw was notably smooth with tons of smoke production. My experience is a testament to the strategy of revisiting cigars.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I’ve had the privilege to blend three different cigars in the past few years, all thanks to my participation in Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari. In each case I chose a different wrapper. I chronicled the results of my Connecticut Ecuador and Brazilian Mata Fina blends here, and I anticipate writing about my latest, Cameroon-wrapped attempt shortly. (Spoiler alert: The Cameroon smoke is quite good, if I do say so myself.)

Each time I’ve blended a cigar, the process has been similar. I’m presented with a menu of pre-selected, pre-fermented, aged tobaccos. They are organized by filler, binder, and wrapper. Based on the vitola format of my choosing, I’m told how many filler leaves I’ll need. And while barber poles and double-binders are certainly on the market these days, I’m instructed to select just one wrapper and one binder.

Besides a few general rules of thumb (don’t overstuff with Ligero to avoid intensity and burn problems, pick a combination of sweet and spicy tobaccos, etc.), every time I’m stabbing in the dark. For me, the process is all trial and error. I’ll walk around the tobaccos, select some filler leaves, crudely stuff them in a binder, get some wrapper in there, and light the whole bunch on fire to get a sense of the general profile. Extinguish. Re-blend. Repeat.

Usually about 60 minutes is allotted for this exercise. I’d love to have a whole day to do this. Maybe a whole week. But even then it wouldn’t be nearly enough time. When the hour comes to an end, I jot my recipe down and hand it in. Several days later I receive about ten cigars. Thankfully, the folks at Drew Estate don’t make us roll the smokes ourselves; my creations would be unsmokably poor-constructed.

Even if my result doesn’t taste positively top-notch, smoking a cigar you’ve blended is thrilling. I keep my ego in check, though. Remember that Drew Estate had already done all the hard work before I made any decisions. They sourced and selected the tobacco. They cared for it, fermented it, and aged it. And they gave me paragraphs of info on each type of tobacco so even a novice like me can yield something decent.

Going through this exercise several times got me thinking: What exactly is meant by cigar blending? What does someone like Willy Herrera do when he’s hired at Drew Estate before the Herrera Estelí line is launched? What did José Blanco do when he was crafting CyB?

Despite the photos in advertisements and the pictures on boxes, surely the great cigar men are not wandering sun-drenched tobacco fields all day with fedoras and white, button-up shirts with breast pockets brimming with cigars. These strike me as mere photo-ops. What really happens when the rubber meets the road in blending?

I’d imagine the answer varies by company and by individual. But folks I’d consider cigar blenders seem to be engaged at various levels of the process—from seed to smoke, if you will. And their activities (meeting with suppliers, checking tobacco that’s fermenting, producing test blends in various sizes, providing instruction to the buncheros and rolleros, etc.) are differentiated from the business aspects of cigar making (payroll, strategic direction of the company, marketing, budgets, etc.).

Perhaps the best understanding of cigar blending was shared with me by Skip Martin when I visited his RoMa Craft operation in Estelí. At the back of his small factory, he had a table full of cigars that were made 100% with one type of tobacco. Martin says he’s constantly smoking these sticks—some of which are not completely enjoyable on their own, mind you—so he instantly knows what the various tobaccos taste like on their own. He stores these mental snapshots so, as he’s creating test blends and finding areas for improvement, he knows exactly which tobaccos to add and which to remove.

In this fashion, true cigar blenders know what the tobaccos they work with taste like—just like you and I know what peanut butter tastes like without having eaten peanut butter recently. This is what it takes to be a cigar blender. Everyone else, myself included, is simply engaging in trial and error. We lack the skills to add the level of targeted refinement that’s required to yield an excellent cigar.

This realization only adds to my enjoyment of a balanced, harmonious smoke. I hope it does so for you as well.

–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.”

Five dollars doesn’t go as far as it used to. Someone needs to tell this to Abe Flores, head of Pinar del Rio Cigars, who has built a portfolio of tasty, consistent smokes that don’t break the bank. Light up a dark, Brazilian Arapiraca-wrapped 1878 Capa Madura Robusto (5 x 52) and you’ll have a hard time imagining how a cigar this good can cost little more than $5. This medium-bodied treat is packed with Criollo ’98 tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, and it boasts a balanced profile of creamy nut, cocoa, black pepper, and dry wood. What’s more, construction is perfect. And the easy draw—thanks to the entubado bunching technique—produces tons of flavorful smoke.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

If you peruse Joya de Nicaragua’s website, you’ll see pages dedicated to Antaño 1970, Antaño Dark Corojo, Cabinetta, CyB, and the company’s other core blends. What you won’t find is any information about Celebración.

Nicaragua’s oldest cigar maker launched Celebración in 2004 as a less powerful version of Antaño 1970. It was crafted by Manuel Quesada (known for the Quesada and Fonseca brands), who toned down the ligero to achieve the intended result. Today it’s still made in Estelí at Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua.

Celebración is marketed as a more approachable alternative to the strong smokes Joya de Nicaragua is known for—as well as a way to get Nicaraguan depth without the full body that some smokers find too power-forward. Remember that ten years ago not only did Cabinetta and CyB not yet exist, but there were far fewer Nicaraguan-made cigars in the American market. These days it’s a much different story, witnessed by the latest figures suggesting Nicaragua will soon surpass the Dominican Republic as the top source of cigars to the U.S.

The Celebración recipe includes a Habano Criollo wrapper around Nicaraguan Habano-seed binder and filler tobaccos. The puro comes in six sizes: Churchill (6.9 x 48), Consul (4.5 x 52), Corona (5.5 x 42), Gordo (5.5 x 60), Toro (6 x 50), and Torpedo (5 x 52). Prices range from $5 to $8 per cigar.

With a moderately oily, clean wrapper and a well-executed cap, the Toro is a handsome smoke. It’s firm to the touch except at the foot, which shows a cross-section of lightly packed tobaccos. The pre-light aroma is sweet and the cold draw is moderate in resistance.

While definitively more subdued than Antaño 1970, this cigar isn’t necessarily mild. It trends toward the medium-bodied spectrum with a fair amount of dry, woody spice. Interestingly, more than any other smoke I can remember, the spice tends to creep up in the aftertaste, creating an intensity on the top of the tongue only after the smoke has been released from the mouth.

Background flavors include syrupy sweetness, earth, cream, and peanut. While a little flat at first, they build into the second third. The finale of the Toro (the part I like the best) is characterized by increases in heat and spice. All the while the construction is top-notch. The burn stays even, the draw smooth, the ash holds firm, and each puff yields ample smoke.

With an MSRP below $7, this is a good—albeit less-than-memorable—cigar that serves as somewhat of a bridge between the Cabinetta and Antaño 1970 lines in the Joya de Nicaragua portfolio. Given a choice between the two, I’ll take CyB every time (I really like that blend). But the Celebración Toro is a nice bargain and worthy of three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys