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.”

Pondering my colleague’s recent article about what he calls “Classic Rock Cigars,” I couldn’t help but recall how much I enjoy the Padrón 2000 Maduro (5 x 50)—and how long it had been since I fired one up. No, this cigar isn’t the latest, the greatest, or the most hyped. But it does offer a fantastic, peppery profile of espresso, cocoa, raisin, and dark chocolate, all for less than $6. Like some of my favorite old rock songs, it’s classic and always reliable.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

While smoking cigars is more of an art than a science, over the years we’ve tried to provide you with dozens of Tips to enhance your enjoyment. I hope you’ll take a moment to peruse our archives for everything from fixing an uneven burn and cigar auctions to winning the war on mold and establishing a good light. Many of these lessons are part of our Cigar University.

My quick observations today are far more subjective than the sort of info we usually provide in our tips. I don’t claim to have the answer because, more than likely, there is no one good solution. If anything, I’m hoping to open a dialogue in which I would encourage you all to participate.

The topic, simply stated, is as follows: At what point do you stop smoking a cigar?

I realize this may sound like a silly question. But I ask because I’ve heard and witnessed a variety of different answers. For example, a number of enthusiasts set down a cigar before it reaches the band. Still others practice the polar opposite, resolutely smoking each stick down to the nub. Smokers from the latter school know the best time to quit is a few minutes after your fingers start burning because they’re too close to the encroaching flame.

I, like most cigar enthusiasts, fall somewhere between these two camps, allowing the cigar and the situation to dictate when it’s best for me to set down my cigar. Some cigars, namely those that perform poorly or develop an unpleasant taste in the final third, deserve a premature death. Others merit a long, drawn-out goodbye, especially those that improve as they progress. Obviously, though, if I’m smoking a cigar for a full review or Quick Smoke—rather than for my own pure enjoyment—I’ll burn it down to the end.

While the “play it by year” approach works well for me, only you can determine what’s best for you. So please share your strategy with fellow StogieGuys.com readers and tell us: How low do you go?

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

The fact that Illinois, unlike Virginia, doesn’t have a state-controlled monopoly on the sale of liquor didn’t factor into my decision to move back home to Chicago in 2011. But it certainly didn’t hurt. Liquor store competition generally results in better selection, lower prices, and an overall superior experience. The absence of a state liquor stores was a welcome change.

Our home in the Lakeview neighborhood is a short walk from a Binny’s Beverage Depot, a chain of nearly 30 liquor stores in the Chicagoland area—most of which have a walk-in humidor. While one might expect a liquor store to have a paltry stock of smokes, I’ve consistently found my local Binny’s to have excellent prices and a selection that would be the envy of many stand-alone cigar shops. I can’t go in there to buy libations without perusing the humidor to see what’s new. The whole arrangement is downright dangerous.

One new noteworthy display is the Flor de las Antillas Toro Grande, a cigar that’s crafted exclusively for Binny’s by My Father Cigars. Binny’s is the third tobacco retailer to get its own exclusive Flor de las Antillas vitola, the others being Texas-based Up in Smoke (Lancero) and Philadelphia-based Holt’s Cigar Company (Short Churchill). The formats may be different, but all adhere to the same recipe: a Nicaraguan sun-grown wrapper around Nicaraguan tobaccos.

The box-pressed Toro Grande (6 x 60) retails for $9.70 per cigar, or $174.95 for a box of 20. Only 500 boxes will ever be made for a total run of 10,000 cigars. I sampled four for this review. Each came equipped with a maroon band across the foot, a triple-cap, a firm packing of tobaccos, and pre-light notes of sweet cocoa and earth.

Slightly less awkward in the mouth than a normal 60-ring gauge smoke because of the box press, the Toro Grande starts with a delightful profile of cream, pepper, vanilla, and a spice that reminds me of nutmeg. The texture is bready and a little airy. The midway point witnesses no increase in the medium-bodied profile and more of a focus on coffee and dry wood. The finish is characterized by less sweetness and more bitter notes.

With damn near perfect combustion qualities, the Flor de las Antillas Toro Grande is a solid buy for less than $10—even if its large format means the cigar overstays its welcome a bit. While I’ve never been a big fan of large, thick cigars, I can see myself keeping a few of these on hand for those times that call for extra-long smokes. That results in a 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.”

This new perfecto from Aging Room is a super-premium smoke that’s not to be missed. A Dominican puro, the M21 Fortissimo measures 5.75 inches long with a ring gauge of 47 and costs $13. But don’t let that price tag dissuade you. The profile is complex and balanced with notes of dry oak, espresso, white pepper, cream, and peanut. Construction is perfect. Only 3,000 boxes of 10 cigars will be made, so don’t miss your chance to give it a try.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Officially launched in January, but formalized at last year’s convention, Sindicato is a new company founded by a group of veteran retailers. The group starts with a customer base that’s the envy of any new cigar company.

Heading up this “syndicate” is Abe Dababneh of Smoke Inn. He is joined by Dan Jenuwine (of Quality Fresh Cigars in Michigan), Gary Pesh (of Old Virginia Tobacco in Virginia), Robert Roth (of Nice Ash Cigars in New York and Pennsylvania), and Jeff Borysiewicz (Corona Cigar Company in Orlando). Their stores alone would be top targets for any new cigar line looking for quality retailers.

Three brands comprise the Sindicato lineup. Casa Bella is a “premium bundle” smoke from the Dominican Republic with prices around $2 per cigar. Hex, my favorite, is sold as “a refined medium- to full-bodied cigar”. And Affinity is an Ecuadorian Connecticut-wrapped blend with a mild profile. (StogieGuys.com was also told an eponymous “Sindicato” cigar is currently in the works.)

Affinity comes in six formats: Churchill, Gran Toro, Belicoso, Toro, Corona, and Robusto. The Belicoso measures 6.1 inches long with a ring gauge of 52 and a price of about $7. It’s a pale cigar with a clean, delicate wrapper that’s prone to tiny cracks if you aren’t careful. The sharply pointed cap clips uneventfully to reveal a smooth draw, and the foot boasts pre-light notes of sweet hay and caramel.

Setting an even light across the wrapper, the Nicaraguan binder, and the blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican filler tobaccos, a buttery profile of cream and nut emerges. The finish is short, tangy, and just a little spicy with a slight bitterness. Each puff coats the palate with silky, oily smoke. The body is decidedly in the mild spectrum.

I won’t call the flavor “papery,” though some may find the Belicoso to be too mellow. I’ve always enjoyed milder smokes as long as they back up their lack of power with creaminess and complexity. To be blunt, while Affinity may have character, the samples I smoked for this review were on the verge of being too mild for my personal taste.

That said, the Sindicato Affinity Belicoso brings a decent flavor to the table along with perfect combustion qualities—straight burn, solid ash, good smoke production, and consistently easy draw. Fans of mild-bodied cigars will find it to be a solid buy. In my book, it earns three 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.”

CAO’s newest offering is much more than a marketing scheme focused on muscle cars and pinup girls. Combining a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with a Habano Connecticut binder and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos, Flathead is a wonderful, balanced blend that has plenty of body yet little spice. The result is a rounded profile of cocoa, leather, and cream, and the physical properties are excellent. If you haven’t gotten around to trying Flathead yet, you’re missing out. The V554 Camshaft (5.5 x 54) is well worth the asking price of $7-8.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Arturo Fuente’s Solaris. Tatuaje’s Anarchy and Apocalypse. My Father’s El Hijo. Padrón’s 1964 Anniversary SI-15. Room 101’s Big Delicious. What do these have in common?

They’re all part of the Microblend Series that’s soldby Smoke Inn, a Florida-based cigar retailer. The Microblend Series is inspired by the growing popularity of U.S. microbreweries, harnessing how “limited production quantities allow for a greater emphasis to be placed on quality and consistency,” according to the Smoke Inn website.

With that inspiration, it was only a matter of time before Smoke Inn partnered with Manuel Quesada to put new twist on one of Quesada’s most popular lines: Oktoberfest. Just in time for the German festival, Smoke Inn is now shipping the Oktoberfest Dunkel, named for the German word for “dark” that’s typically used to describe a dark lager.

“In the spirit of Oktoberfest, the Dunkel uses the same binders and fillers of the regular Oktoberfest release, with the exception of the wrapper,” reads a Smoke Inn press release. “A very select broadleaf maduro wrapper envelops this rich cigar with a slight underlying Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper at the foot, thus giving the appearance of a dark, rich Dunkel beer with a savory, foamy head.”

Dunkel is sold in one size (6 x 54) at a cost of $8.95 per single, or $134.25 per box of 15. It’s obviously a unique-looking cigar, which may be why Quesada chose to keep the band exactly the same as the regular Oktoberfest blend. Aside from the different wrapper at the foot, Dunkel’s other aesthetic properties include a tremendously oily exterior, pungent pre-light notes of earth and cocoa, and a dense, firm feel.

The initial profile is reminiscent of the original Quesada Oktoberfest with dark cherry, burnt coffee, and an occasional bitter bite. Sweet notes are more apparent on the aftertaste than each individual puff. But during the outset of the smoke—the one covered in the Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper—the texture is very creamy.

Spice and leather take center stage once the cigar passes into the broadleaf maduro phase. Here the Dunkel becomes more full-bodied with a little more nicotine kick. Perhaps not surprisingly, though, the creaminess prevails, rendering Dunkel one of those flavorful smokes with ample spice and complexity yet a creamy undertone.

All of the Quesada Oktoberfest Dunkels I smoked for this review exhibited admirable physical properties, and all were, quite frankly, a joy to smoke. While I’m no fan of pairing beer with cigars—as I’ve written before—the quality of this smoke is undeniable regardless of pairing. That earns it a solid rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys