The Stogie Guys

In December, I reviewed the Habano Oscuro from the reinvented Tiant Cigar Group, and I was impressed. I later received an email from Daniel Tiant who was prodding me to try the Habano Rosado blend since, in his words, it has more complexity than the Oscuro.

Daniel is the son of Cuban-born baseball legend Luis Tiant, known to many simply as “El Tiante.” Tiant launched his own line of cigars in 2007 (around the time of the 25th anniversary of his final major league game) and only recently unveiled the two new blends that serve as the cornerstone of the company’s reintroduction: Habano Oscuro and Habano Rosado. Each is made at Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father Cigars Factory with Ecuadorian-seed wrappers and Nicaraguan binders and fillers.

Why scratch the company’s original creations and launch two entirely new blends? “I wanted a more serious image with our cigar company, and that is the reason we recreated our cigar bands, boxes, and overall presentation,” Daniel told me.

Both new blends come in four vitolas that retail for $6.80 to $8.60 apiece: Pyramid (6 x 52), Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 50), and Toro Gordo (6 x 60). They are sold mostly in the New England area, including shops in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, but are also available at several locales in Florida. Daniel is looking to expand distribution nationwide.

The Habano Rosado Toro has a nice triple-cap, a firm feel in the hand, and a clean, silky exterior leaf. The pre-light aroma is mostly earthy with a touch of sweet cocoa. The maroon band is easily removed and the cold draw has just the right amount of resistance.

Where the Habano Oscuro starts with a chary, chewy Nicaraguan zing, the Habano Rosado has a jasmine-like floral taste with notes of toast, cinnamon spice, and a toffee sweetness on the finish. This is an entirely different cigar with a more medium-bodied profile (the Oscuro is a bold, full-bodied smoke). Still, the spiciness makes it no pushover, and the complexity makes it quite interesting.

As the straight burn line works down the cigar and the white ash builds off the foot, I notice that the resting smoke has a pronounced sweetness. I also notice that the taste of the cigar mellows halfway through with some of the spice giving way to more sweet notes. The overall balance of the profile from this point to the end is how I will remember the Toro, and perhaps the main reason why I look forward to smoking more of this blend.

Now I can see why Daniel prefers the Habano Rosado to the Habano Oscuro. I’d have to agree with him, giving the Rosado a slight edge over its partner in crime and awarding it four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Tatuaje creator Pete Johnson has called his series of Vérité cigars his “most serious project to date.” This statement resonates with the many enthusiasts who consider Tatuaje to be among the world’s best cigar outfits.

I can understand why Johnson holds Vérité (French for “the truth”) in such high regard. “La Vérité Vintage,” as he calls it, brings a vintner’s approach to cigar making, employing a wrapper, binder, and filler all grown on the same farm. “Much like a single vineyard wine, La Vérité showcases the soil where the tobacco was grown,” reads his website. “The seed varietal varies from year to year based on the crop planted and the tobacco yielded.”

Also like wine, Johnson uses a futures system to sell the cigars before they’re available for consumption. Even though it would not ship until July, the second vintage, 2009, went on sale back in March. That’s when I bought a box of 10 La Vérité 2009s for $150. (I also bought a box of 10 L’Espirit de Vérité 2009s for $120.) These prices respectively increased to $200 and $160 in April, then again to $225 and $180 in May.

Like the 2008 Vintage, all of the tobacco in this cigar comes from La Estrella, the Garcia family’s farm in Nicaragua, and is handmade under the direction of Jaime Garcia at My Father Cigars. Unlike the 2008 Vintage, which was made with 100% Habano Nicaraguan tobacco, L’Espirit de Vérité 2009 is comprised of 50% Habano, 40% Criollo ’98, and 10% Pelo de Oro tobacco.

Visually, the Churchill is very similar to L’Espirit de Vérité. It has a medium brown, somewhat reddish exterior leaf that’s oily and textured. The seams are easy to pick out and several thick veins run the length of the seven-inch cigar. But the overall impression is one of quality, and the faint pre-light aroma of earth and cocoa proves to be a good predictor of the complex smoke that’s to follow.

Where L’Espirit de Vérité 2009 starts with pepper, raisin, and cocoa and later transitions to creamier, nuttier tones, the Churchill is creamy from the get-go. Flavors of cashew, raisin, and mint are apparent at the outset. Later, towards the midway point and beyond, a dry wood taste takes center stage as most of the creaminess dissipates. The physical properties are also excellent, as you would expect from a cigar that now costs over $25 apiece (if you are lucky enough to find one).

If pressed, I’d have to say that L’Espirit de Vérité 2009, a robusto-sized smoke, is slightly more enjoyable than this Churchill. But it’s really close, and that’s high praise. The Churchill has ample complexity, subtlety, and several interesting transitions along the way, earning it a 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

Before La Riqueza, El Triunfador, Ambos Mundos, La Verite, La Casita Criolla, and Fausto, Cabaiguan was the first cigar made by Pete Johnson that didn’t bear the Tatuaje name.

These days, Cabaiguan (pronounced kah-bei-gwahn) is often thought of as a milder version of the standard Tatuaje fare. But as my colleague pointed out in his 2009 review of the Robusto Extra, this blend is excellent in its own right and worthy of comparisons to some fine Cuban cigars, including the Partagas Serie D No. 4 and the Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill.

Cabaiguan is made at Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua with a Connecticut-seed, shade-grown, Ecuadorian wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler leaves. The name on the yellowish band honors the town of Garcia’s birth in Cuba in the northern province of Sancti Spírites.

I smoked a handful of Guapos (5.6 x 54) for this review. This vitola costs about $11 apiece and is topped with a pigtailed triple cap. It is moderately soft to the touch with pre-light notes of earth, hay, and honey. The head cuts easily to reveal a smooth draw.

I try to work a fair amount of Connecticut-seed Ecuadorian smokes into my cigar rotation, so I have a pretty good feel for the sorts of flavors I like—and the flavors I don’t like—when it comes to this breed. And I’ve appreciated the Cabaiguan for years because I know it brings many of my favorite elements to the table while avoiding the major flavor pitfalls of milder cigars, such as metallic notes or a paper-like taste.

What’s especially appealing about the Guapos is the interplay between the tangy spice that hits the tip of the tongue and the mellow undertones of nuts and cream. Attentive smokers will also notice some floral tastes in addition to oak and pecan. This profile doesn’t tend to change much throughout the smoke, but I find the subtlety of the flavor is more than enough to hold my attention.

What’s more, the physical properties enable you to sit back and enjoy the cigar without having to worry about the burn, draw, or ash. This is, of course, to be expected from a cigar of the Garcia/Johnson pedigree. And I would argue it’s a requirement of any smoke that costs over $7, as this one certainly does.

While the Guapos may not be my favorite size of the Cabaiguan line (that honor probably belongs to the Coronas Extra), it’s a wonderful cigar and definitely worthy 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

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 from first generation Cuban-seed tobaccos grown in Nicaragua, this corojo-wrapped smoke has a thick, bready profile of dry wood, pepper, toast, and molasses. It burns well, and there is a noticeable thickness to the smoke the Robusto (5 x 50) produces. This is one of those cigars that I don’t light up very often, but when I do, I always find myself wondering why I took so long to come back. Expect to pay around $8 to $10.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As I wrote in my review of the Corojo Robusto last month, C&C Cigars is a new outfit that launched at last summer’s IPCPR Trade Show.

C&C is owned by Joe Chiusano, the former president of Cusano, a brand that ended up getting purchased by Davidoff in 2009. He and his team of former Cusano/Davidoff employees—including Jeff Aronson, Maurice Tisseur, and Shane Hays—have cooked up three premium lines that are handmade in the Dominican Republic: Corojo, Connecticut, and Limited Release Maduro.

The latter features a naturally ripened Dominican wrapper with Dominican binder and filler tobaccos. “This cigar delivers a rich, full, and aromatic medium-plus strength profile,” reads a C&C press release. “The curing process allows the proprietary maduro wrapper leaf to retain much of its natural sweetness complementing its full flavor. All natural, no dye or oils added.”

Like the other two blends, the Limited Release Maduro is available in three sizes of 18-count boxes: Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 52), and Churchill (7 x 50). Each size costs $3.99 to $4.49.

I sampled a handful of Robustos for this review. This vitola has a dark exterior leaf with minimal veins and moderate oils. It is light in the hand with a soft feel from head to foot. The faint pre-light aroma reminds me of milk chocolate, and the cold taste is a little musty.

Once lit, the initial flavor includes a heavy dose of espresso and some notes of charred steak. The profile is definitely bold but lacking in spice. I found myself hoping for some sweet or creamy tastes to provide balance.

Those tastes slowly creep in around the midway point, where flavors like cocoa and cashew join in. These additions help offset the mostly bitter base of espresso and add depth. All the while, the Robusto’s physical properties are outstanding for a $4 smoke. The burn line is straight, the ash holds firm, and the draw is consistently clear.

Like the Corojo, the Limited Release Maduro isn’t going to wow any seasoned cigar veterans. But this is a good choice for any everyday smoke if you like espresso flavors and want a well-built stick that won’t break the bank. For that, it earns three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

With only 13 shopping days left before Christmas, consumers across the country are traipsing through crowded malls to find the perfect gifts. Many have cigar enthusiasts on their lists but find shopping for cigars either intimidating or confusing.

Never fear. Cigar smokers need not be a difficult crowd for which to buy presents. Their dedication and passion for the hobby of cigars makes it easy to narrow down gift choices. This holiday season, you can be virtually assured of gift-giving success if you follow some simple rules of thumb.

Only give a box if you’re sure. Some cigar enthusiasts are completely loyal to one brand or one specific blend. If this is the case, you can’t do wrong by buying a box he or she is sure to love. Maybe this isn’t the most original idea—and maybe the box won’t be much of a surprise—but any cigar smoker will tell you that you can never have enough of your favorite smokes.

Samplers offer variety. Many cigar enthusiasts don’t have just one favorite cigar. For these folks, I can’t recommend buying a whole box. Instead, samplers can be terrific presents. When you give a sampler of ten different cigars, it’s like giving ten different gifts. The recipient might not love all ten, but chances are he or she will really enjoy at least a few, and you might even be responsible for turning someone on to his or her new favorite smoke.

Consider cigar accessories. Every cigar enthusiast needs a great table lighter, a travel lighter, a nice cutter, a good ashtray, etc. Instead of buying cigars, think about giving the gift of a cigar accessory. Many accessories can be personalized and, unlike cigars themselves, are likely to last for years to come. My wife gave me a wonderful alligator skin cigar case years ago and I’ve cherished it ever since.

Cigar knowledge is power. Aside from the tremendous knowledge offered by the online cigar community, many books have been written on the subject, and most of these would make an excellent gift. My favorite has to be The Gourmet Guide to Cigars by Paul Garmirian, a solid work that was published in 1990 and is now considered a classic. Other interesting reads include Playboy: The Book of Cigars, The Cigar Lover’s Compendium, and The Cigar Maker (by our very own Mark M).

Don’t forget cigar rights. Most cigar smokers have a fervent passion for defending cigar rights and opposing tobacco taxes and smoking bans. For these folks, a membership to Cigar Rights of America is an excellent gift. Benefits of membership include supporting professional lobbyists who fight for cigar freedoms, discounts at cigar shops, free cigars, and more.

I hope these tips are helpful as you shop for that cigar smoker on your list. Feel free to leave a comment if you have a tip of your own that you’d like to share. And happy holidays.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

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.”

La Casita Criolla, a new blend Tatuaje creator Pete Johnson launched this summer, is made from 100% Connecticut broadleaf tobacco. But this prototype, exclusively available through the Saints & Sinners club, intermingles that Connecticut leaf with tobaccos from Nicaragua and Mexico. The result is a cigar with a full-bodied profile of earth and coffee with some sweetness on the finish and good construction. I still haven’t tried the final La Casita recipe so I can’t offer a comparison, but if it’s similar to the Proto 2 it’s worth a try.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys