The Stogie Guys

As you may remember from all of our coverage in late May, this spring I journeyed to Estelí, Nicaragua, to participate in Drew Estate’s unforgettable Cigar Safari adventure.

There, in addition to getting to tour the factories where some of the world’s best cigars are made, I got the awesome opportunity to blend two cigars: one at Joya de Nicaragua, and the other at Drew Estate. Today I’d like to present my work to you, now that I’ve had ample time to allow the cigars to rest and to smoke a fair number of my samples.

I’d like to point out two things about both cigars before getting into the details. First, I did not grow, cultivate, ferment, or actually roll any of the cigars. All the hard work was done by the fine folks at Joya de Nicaragua and Drew Estate, respectively. My role consisted of walking into a room full of tobacco and selecting a wrapper, a binder, and a filler blend from available tobaccos. As such, the process was fairly idiot-proof—almost anyone could have turned out a decent-tasting smoke since either factory has wonderful tobacco to work with.

Second, while most folks presented with this opportunity might try to produce a cigar tailored for their palate, I set out with a specific goal for each cigar, and then tried to select a blend that would hit the mark. As you’ll see below, for one of these cigars I think I succeeded; for the other, not so much (but I’m not complaining about the result).

Joya de Nicaragua Blend
Wrapper: Connecticut Ecuador
Binder: Habano volado
Filler: Condega seco (30%), Estelí viso (40%), Condega ligero (30%)
Size: 5.5 x 48

My objective with this cigar was to produce a mild, creamy smoke that would be excellent with a morning cup of coffee. I couldn’t be more pleased with the result. This beautiful, golden cigar burns like a champ and yields a nice flavor of cream, butter, almond, and just a bit of spice. I got ten of these from Joya de Nicaragua and I’ve almost completely blazed through the entire stash. I may have to fly back down to Nicaragua to see if I can get more. While Joya de Nicaragua isn’t known for making mild smokes, this one turned out wonderfully.

Drew Estate Blend
Wrapper: Brazilian mata fina oscuro
Binder: Habano Ecuador
Filler: Estelí seco (33%), Jalapa ligero (33%), Brazilian mata fina (33%)
Size: 5.25 x 42

My objective here was to get a medium-bodied smoke that’s low on spice but big on dark chocolate flavors—something that would pair nicely with a glass of red wine. That’s why I loaded it up with mata fina, a tobacco that’s typically sweet and chocolaty. In my blend, though, the Habano Ecuador binder and seco and ligero fillers unexpectedly shine though. The result is a profile devoid of chocolate or any sweetness. Instead, the flavor packs dry spice, leather, and oak. I like this cigar, and it is getting better each month, but it isn’t at all what I had intended.

Regardless of either result, blending these cigars was one of the most rewarding and educational cigar experiences I’ve ever had. Thanks again to everyone at Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua for the opportunity. Until my next visit, I won’t quit my day job.

–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.”

Joya de Nicaragua is (deservedly) getting a lot of attention these days for its newest release, Cuenca y Blanco. But I recently sat down with the Peligroso size (5 x 44) of the older Antaño Dark Corojo blend. This Nicaraguan puro boasts a dark, oily wrapper, excellent combustion qualities, and a bold, rich flavor of espresso, dark chocolate, and spice. It’s a wonderful smoke that’s full-bodied yet smooth and never harsh. What’s more, the Peligroso is a great value at around $5-6 for a single.

Verdict = Buy.

–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.”

Don Tomás is often obscured by the more visible brands from General Cigar, but I’ve always enjoyed the Sun Grown as a nice value smoke for the golf course. While the Clásico isn’t bad either—and the value is quite good at around $3-4 apiece—I’m not terribly enthusiastic about the profile of the Robusto (5.5 x 50). The Habano-seed Honduran wrapper coupled with tobaccos from Nicaragua and Honduras combine to yield a slightly spicy taste that’s a little too papery for me. In the future, I’ll probably just stick with the Sun Grown blend.

Verdict = Sell.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

If you ever wanted to smoke a cigar that projects the “I’m a total badass” image, you could do worse than to choose the Surrogates Skull Breaker.

This intimidating stick, which is made for Ohio-based online retailer New Havana Cigars (NHC), has a menacing name, the look of a rustic rifle shell, and a dark, frightening band that could be flown from the mast of a pirate ship. But the price—$7.50 for the Belicoso (5.25 x 52)—is intended to be more approachable.

Like the Bone Crusher, the Skull Breaker is called “Surrogates” because it’s supposed to be a premium cigar that’s “consumer price conscious,” one that could be a replacement for an expensive, limited release. “Created to bring the excitement of a limited edition stick at a consumer-conscious price point and be readily available,” reads the NHC website, “these vitolas answer the question of whether to save it or smoke it with a blaring ‘Smoke it! Every day!’”

That’s a tall order. The folks behind Surrogates, though, are some of the best in the business. The line is blended by Pete Johnson of Tatuaje and crafted by the Garcias at their My Father Cigars factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. Other than that, not much is revealed in terms of details, except that the cigar’s wrapper and filler are Nicaraguan.

Aside from its double bands and dark, mottled leaf, the first thing I notice about the Skull Breaker its rough, somewhat sticky cap. I also find a nice pre-light aroma of cocoa powder. Once clipped, the cigar displays a good draw with only the slightest resistance.

While toasting the foot, the sweetness of the pre-light aroma turns into a powerful earthy smell that reminds me of campfire. Fortunately, though, the actual taste of the cigar is more complicated, and it captures some of the anticipated sweetness. Chocolate is apparent when smoked slowly. But if you puff too quickly, the full-bodied base flavors of leather, espresso, and black pepper will drown out any cream or sugar, rendering this smoke too bold and too monotonous.

As Skull Breaker winds down, I can’t help but notice some occasional profile similarities to Drew Estate’s outstanding Liga Privada No. 9 blend—particularly in the Flying Pig format. I’ve smoked a fair number of Flying Pigs this year, and each has a unique flavor, distinctive resting smoke, and chalky texture that I love. While it’s no replacement, the Skull Breaker does remind me of the Flying Pig at times, albeit with less complexity.

You don’t have to take my word for it, though. Go ahead and pick up a single or a five-pack from NHC and try out the Skull Breaker for yourself (or wait a bit until Pete Johnson’s new L’Atelier Imports brings Surrogates national, which is expected shortly, and you my find this cigar in a shop near you). With excellent construction, an interesting taste, and a bold yet controllable body, this cigar earns three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Last night I lit up my first cigar in seven days, and I would wager it was at least twice as enjoyable as it would have been had it been my fourth or fifth cigar of the week.

To get back in the swing of things, I fired up a nice 1495 B.M.E. Dominicana on a stormy night here in Chicago. It was everything I was hoping for and more. Cedar, spice, graham cracker, cream…all with a smooth delivery and near perfect construction. I savored every puff of that La Aurora and enjoyed the heck out of it—probably in no small part due to the fact that I had been on a cigar hiatus.

The hiatus was not self-imposed. Last Monday I woke up with a head cold and battled it all week. In typical fashion, it started with a scratchy throat that turned into a sore throat, then my nose got all stuffed up, and then I just started to feel achy and tired. I’ve read that the average adult experiences two to four colds per year, so I guess I was due.

As I’ve written before, I try not to smoke cigars while I have a cold. Not, mind you, because I think cigars may prolong the cold (although doctors say smokers tend to have longer colds—but then again, doctors say a lot of things). No, I choose to abstain from cigars while sick because, quite simply, I can’t really taste cigars when I’ve got clogged sinuses. My nose is the best instrument I have for tasting cigars, which is why I smoke through the nose when I’m trying to get a complete sense of its profile.

Of course, the timing of the cold wasn’t very good (is it ever?). The same day I started to feel sick was the day my smoke kit from the 2012 Saints & Sinners club arrived in the mail. Last year was the debut of the Tatuaje club, which entitles members to exclusive smokes and members-only forums. This year, the kit included 15 handsome cigars from Pete Johnson, including nice extras like a hat, poker chips, and a lighter. Anyways, the point is it didn’t feel good to have beginnings of a cold right as a nice package of Tatuajes arrives—even if it probably makes sense to let the cigars rest after shipment.

Now that I’m back in the game, though, I’m kind of glad I refrained from cigar smoking for a little while. The brief vacation from cigars reminded me just how lucky I am to have cigars in my life. And that first one I lit up was an absolute treat. So if you’re ailing from a head cold—or if you’re a three-cigar-a-day smoker who’s in a rut—you might try giving cigars a rest for a bit. When you come back, it will be all the sweeter.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

When it comes to choosing a sipping rum, I almost always prefer a gold rum, which obtains its color from barrel aging. Some of my favorite gold rums include Plantation, Ron Zacapa, El Dorado, and Zaya. These exemplary spirits always seem to strike the right chord when prepared neat or on the rocks as a cigar companion.

These days I rarely reach for spiced rums, which usually have gold rums as bases but add in extra spices for flavor. Perhaps because of the most prevalent rum in the category, Captain Morgan, I don’t think of spiced rums as sipping rums. Instead, I think of them as components of cocktails, like rum punch or Cuba libre.

The folks over at The Lash are aiming to change that. Dubbed “the reinvention of spiced rum” (a tagline I can’t help but compare to Drew Estate’s “the rebirth of cigars”), The Lash is comprised of a 70-proof, 4-year-old rum from Trinidad and Tobago that’s aged in oak and finished in The Netherlands by adding a proprietary mix of spices. Unlike most other spiced rums, so I’m told, The Lash doesn’t add artificial colors or liquid flavorings to the recipe. A bottle sells in the affordable $25-30 range.

After popping the synthetic cork and pouring the dark, viscous rum into a glass, the thickness of the spirit is immediately apparent, as is a nose of vanilla, burnt sugar, mulled spice, and nutmeg. Since the spices aren’t distilled (they’re mixed into the rum with hot water), you may see some sediment in the bottom of the bottle or in the glass, but I hardly noticed this.

Once sipped, the taste is intense, syrupy, and characterized by cinnamon, vanilla, oak, and licorice. At the risk of having my palate called into question, the finish reminds me a little of Jägermeister, which isn’t a spirit I’m particularly fond of. That said, this is a dark, spicy rum with a ton going on in the flavor department. I can see this being a hit with people who are looking for a rum with a forceful mixture of spices.

Despite the intentions of The Lash’s creators, for me this rum is better suited to cocktails than sipping neat or on the rocks. I found it to produce a unique taste with Diet Coke and a little lime—one that’s predictably more spice-forward than, say, Captain Morgan. I can also see it making an interesting cable car, or maybe even using it as a replacement for bourbon in a Stonewall Jackson during the winter months.

–Patrick A

photo credit: The Lash

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.”

My picture doesn’t quite do it justice, but believe me when I say you’d be hard-pressed to find a prettier, more noble-looking cigar than the 100 Años Preferidos by La Aurora. This Dominican puro has a beautifully executed perfecto format (6 x 58) and a silky, caramel-colored corojo wrapper. It starts with a ton of dry cedar and then transitions to a creamier profile with plenty of corojo spice. Only 300,000 of these cigars were made, and not many are left. If you find one, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pick it up, even though the price tag is north of $15.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys