The Stogie Guys

Recently, Empire Cigars in Raleigh, North Carolina, held an auction for some rare, old, non-Cuban cigars. Billed as “the Holy Grail” of cigar auctions, it got me thinking about what smokes were my “Holy Grail cigars.”

Frankly, many of the cigars available in Empire’s auction were cigars that I don’t think necessarily benefit from more age. (High-end Fuente-made smokes like the Opus X, Añejo, and Ashton VSG often lose flavor after a few years, in my opinion, because the tobacco is already extensively aged.) But that doesn’t mean there aren’t old, hard-to-find cigars that I wouldn’t snap up in a second.

I’ve had the privilege of smoking hundreds (probably thousands) of different blends, from cheap bundles to pre-embargo Cubans over half a century old. Still, there are plenty of cigars I’d still like to try.

A quick list of my “Holy Grail” cigars would have to include these four cigars, two of which I’ve smoked before and two of which I haven’t ever come across (at least not at a price I could justify purchasing them at):

Cuban Davidoffs – Until they pulled out of Cuba in 1991 because of sub-standard tobacco (which Zino Davidoff symbolically burned to show that it wasn’t up to his standards), Davidoff Cubans were the perfect combination of capitalist production standards and the ideal climate of Cuban tobacco. Ironically, my father, who isn’t much of a cigar smoker, tells me he used to come across, and occasionally enjoy, a Cuban Davidoff cigar regularly in the 80s and early 90s while in Europe. I always wished he had picked up a few extra cigars for me (though I was quite a few years from cigar smoking at that point) since early and mid-80s Cuban Davidoffs were considered some of the finest cigars ever made.

Pepin-made Padilla 1932 – The current version of the Padilla 1932 is a good cigar, but the original 1932 was one that made me appreciate just how complex, balanced, and exquisite a cigar really could be. In 2008 Pepin stopped making cigars for Padilla, but for a while I could still find Pepin-made Padillas, which had a different band from the post-Pepin variety. I still regret not having scooped up more than I did.

Tatuaje Black Corona Gordo “Ceramic Jar” – Here’s another cigar I wish I had scooped up when I had the chance. Only 1,000 jars of 19 were made. From the dozen or so I have smoked, no other Tatuaje quite compares (high praise when you look at all the high ratings Tatuaje has received). I’ve smoked nearly all of the Tatuaje Blacks, including those exclusive to the Saints & Sinners package, and while all are excellent, none have the perfect balance, sweetness, and smooth flavor of the Ceramic Jar.

Pre-Sandinista Joya de Nicaragua – After the Cuban embargo, Joya de Nicaragua was widely considered to be one of the finest cigars legally available in the U.S. Then, in the late 1970s, all that was destroyed when the Sandinista regime took over. Today, Joya de Nicaragua makes some tasty cigars, but none that compare to what I’ve heard about the original Joya de Nicaraguas, which were the inspiration for Illusione.

So those are my “Holy Grail” cigars. Let us know yours in the comments.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees “the right of the people…to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Cigar smokers are now utilizing an online site set up by the White House to do just that and, if enough people sign, they’ll get an official response from the Obama Administration. The petition, which can be found here, asks the president to instruct the Food & Drug Administration not to regulate cigars. It reads:

“The FDA is considering the creation of regulations for the premium cigar industry. These regulations will jeopardize over 85,000 American jobs, destroy America’s “mom & pop” premium cigar retailers & manufacturers, and risk over 250,000 jobs in Latin America that produce cigars, impacting the economic/political stability in the region. We hope you will stand up for small businesses that dot Main Street America & recognize that premium cigars are enjoyed by adults, are not addictive, and therefore do not conform to the Congressional intent of the Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act. Tell the FDA to leave our premium cigars alone. With this nation’s more pressing issues, harming my simple ability to enjoy a cigar should not be a priority of the government.”

Ever since June 2009 when President Obama signed the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act,” handmade cigars have been a potential target of the FDA. That bill instructed the FDA to regulate cigarettes but left the agency with the unilateral power to expand its jurisdiction to include premium handmade cigars. And only a year after the signing of the bill, the FDA took the first step towards regulating cigars by asking for comments on a proposed rule on implementing regulations.

The petition will need to collect 25,000 signatures in 30 days to get an official response. So far, since it was launched 6 days ago, the petition has over 12,000 signatures, leaving until May 11 to collect an additional 12,900 signatures.

Ultimately, given that Obama was a supporter of the FDA bill as a senator and later signed the bill into law as president, it’s unlikely that he’ll come out and announce that the FDA will no longer consider regulating cigars. Still, getting an official response from the Obama Administration can be a good thing, putting the president on record and drawing attention to all the jobs that would be destroyed by the FDA regulation of cigars. A response may even lead to more attention to the “Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act,” the joint name for two bills in Congress that would protect handmade cigars from the FDA once and for all.

If you haven’t already, sign here.

–Patrick S

photo credit: FDA

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 “Last Stick Standing” promotion will let cigar smokers help choose the next CAO blend. Three blends—“C”, “A”, and “O”—are offered for participants to rate without knowing anything specific about each blend. I received a tin of the three cigars in the mail and decided to light up the “C” blend the next day. The well-constructed smoke starts out with dry spice, wood, and buttery flavors. It’s medium-bodied (maybe medium-full) with good balance and a clean finish. After smoking it, I looked on the Last Stick Standing website and saw that it’s currently in third place, though only slightly. I can see why. While it’s a pleasant cigar with excellent construction, it’s not particularly complex (though I should note that it might not be completely fair to smoke it just a day after multiple days in the mail).

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A few weeks back I reviewed the new Viaje Skull and Bones FOAB (Father of All Bombs), and shortly after took a look at the 2012 MOAB (Mother of All Bombs). Today I review the third (and final) variation from the 2012 class of Viaje Skull and Bones: the “Red” Skull and Bones WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction).

The short, stout cigar is just 3.75 inches long with a ring gauge of 54. Only 7,500 cigars were made, coming in 300 boxes of 25 and selling for $9 each (around $225 per box). Fortunately, I picked up a five-pack just as they were released because they sold out days later.

The blend is 100% Nicaraguan tobacco with a criollo wrapper around unspecified Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The cigar is firm to the touch and the wrapper has a bit of sheen and a few veins.

Once lit, I found a full-bodied cigar with bready and warm tobacco favors. Surprisingly—for a “nuclear” cigar with a “be warned” notice—it was not spicy at all, and frankly not even overly full-bodied. In the second half of the short smoke, it revealed a slight sourness.

Ultimately, it tastes a little young, making me wonder if more time might bring out more subtleties in this blend. On the positive side, the hour-long smoke demonstrated excellent construction from start to finish with an even burn, solid ash, and perfect draw.

Making the obvious comparison to Viaje’s other Skull and Bones releases, it’s easy to conclude that this is my least favorite of this year’s batch. It’s not a bad cigar, but it is underwhelming, especially for the steep price considering the small size. It’s also, somewhat surprisingly (given the nuclear vs. non-nuclear designations), not as full-bodied as the MOAB or FOAB.

When I lit up my first 2012 WMD, I expected a nuclear bomb of flavor, but instead got a fairly nondescript, though full-bodied and full-flavored smoke. Maybe it’s a victim of its own hype, but the Viaje Skull and Bones WMD 2012 is a classic case of good but not great, earning it a rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

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.”

Back when the Liga Privada No. 9 was just hitting the market, I received a few of these “pre-release samples” dated 2007 as a throw-in when I bought a box at a Liga event at my local tobacconist. Now with around five years of age on it, I decided to light up my last remaining one to see how time has changed the cigar. It is well-balanced with milk chocolate, slight spice, and bready flavors. Not nearly as full-bodied as a more recently rolled Liga No. 9, it’s a very good smoke, but I definitely prefer a more recent vintage.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

La Flor Dominicana is best known for ball-busting, full-bodied smokes like the Double Ligero, Airbender, and The Digger. Still, many of La Flor’s cigars don’t fit the big and bold type-casting, inlcluding the Premium line (La Flor’s first line) and the Cameroon Cabinet, the subject of this review.

The Cameroon Cabinet blend was introduced in 2007 and has slowly expanded since. Now it includes four regular production sizes (toro, torpedo, lonsdale, and robusto) plus two limited release sizes (lancero and chisel). Originally, the Cameroon Cabinet cigars were un-banded (as recently as last year) but now many, including the torpedo, use a bronze-colored variation of the classic “LFD” band.

The Cameroon Cabinet features a pale-ish brown Cameroon wrapper with only a few veins and a slight shine. It surrounds a Dominican binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos.

Once lit the Cameroon-wrapped torpedo reveals medium-bodied flavors in perfect balance. The cigar features an exquisite blend of cedar, light spice, cream, and coffee flavors.

The only fault with this cigar is in its construction. The draw is excellent and the ash holds firm, but the wrapper is very frail and each sample I smoked suffered many cracks that resulted in an uneven burns.

The fragile wrapper is, I suspect, a tradeoff for the flavors provided by the Cameroon wrapper. And while it’s a significant tradeoff, it’s well worth the payoff for the balanced, complex flavors the cigar produces.

Ultimately, while I think I slightly prefer the No. 1 size, this torpedo reminded me why I so enjoy La Flor’s Cameroon line. It’s balance and depth of flavor make it an excellent choice for a strong cup of coffee in the morning, or an after-dinner whiskey.

At $10 each ($480 for a box of 50) it’s a cigar that delivers. Despite the construction issues, the exquisite flavors of La Flor Dominicana Cameroon Cabinet Torpedo earn it four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As the weather gets warmer, I increasingly find myself pairing my after-dinner cigars with a glass of well-aged rum. Zaya Gran Reserva 12 Year and the Ron Zacapa Centenario 23 are two staples in my liquor cabinet, but recently I picked up a particularly exceptional rum.

Even older and more limited than the Zacapa 23 is the XO. The XO is blended from solera-aged rums ranging from 6 years to 25 years and generally sells for around $90 (though you should shop around because I’ve seen prices range from $60 to $110).

Like the Zacapa 23, the Centenario XO is a blend of rums made from virgin sugar cane juice aged in Zacapa’s “House in the Clouds” distillery 7,000 feet above sea level, in Guatemala. The rum is aged in a combination of American bourbon, sherry, Pedro Ximenez wine, and cognac barrels.

The result is a thoroughly complex, smooth rum that’s dark bronze in color with long legs. The nose is a combination of oak, molasses, citrus, and spice.

But it’s when you take your first taste that you really appreciate what an exceptional spirit the Zacapa XO is. Powdered cocoa, toffee, orange peel, banana, and cinnamon are all apparent in this exquisitely balanced and smooth rum. The finish lingers with plenty of molasses and a touch of spice.

All in all, this is an excellent rum that’s perfect with a fine cigar. (Try it neat or with a maximum of a single ice cube.) Cuban smokes, with their earthy sweetness, go great with Zacapa XO. So do spicier Nicaraguan and Honduran cigars (though really you’d be hard-pressed to find a good cigar that wasn’t an enjoyable pairing).

While I’m not sure the Centenario XO is worth twice the price of the Zacapa 23, it certainly is a fine rum. If you’re a fan of Zacapa 23 or Zaya, you should find a way to try the Ron Zacapa Centenario XO at least once.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys