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.”

One of many cigars A.J. Fernandez created for online giant Cigars International, Ruination was the full-bodied followup to the original Man O’ War, made with an Ecuadorian Habano ligero wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan and Honduran filler. The Belicoso (5.7 x 56) features deep, full-bodied flavors, including chewy nut, coffee, cream, leather, earth, and vanilla. It’s a tasty smoke with just a hint of black pepper on the finish. Selling for $6-7 (though discounted below that from time to time), the well-constructed Man O’ War is highly recommended for fans of strong, flavorful cigars.

Verdict = Buy.

–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.”

Haven’t heard of Los Hermanos? I hadn’t until I got one as a throw-in with an order I placed from Atlantic Cigar, apparently the exclusive provider of this cigar made by Casa Fernandez and Tropical Tobacco. The Toro (6.5 x 52) is a Nicaraguan puro that sells for just under $7. It starts out dry and woody with a slight bitterness. Fortunately, it doesn’t stay that way as the bitterness fades and the cigar shows coffee, leather, and even some black pepper. Los Hermanos may not be complex, but it’s a decent, medium- to full-bodied cigar at a fair price.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In the early days of Cigar Rights of America (CRA), the creation of the organization caused a stir for existing groups, especially the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR).

While it’s often forgotten now, just days after the announcement of the founding of CRA in 2008, IPCPR moved to start its own organization for consumers. The group, called “Friends of the Industry,” was hastily announced just a day after CRA was unveiled. Manufacturers, who had lined up behind, and provided the initial funding for, CRA were caught off guard by the IPCPR’s seemingly unplanned attempt to copy the CRA. “All the cigar manufacturers are lining up to be part of the CRA, and we invite the IPCPR to join our organization. I think we should work together,” Ashton president Robbie Levine told Cigar Aficionado.

Nothing much became of IPCPR’s consumer group, at least not officially. Though the association has (thankfully) made more effort lately to encourage consumers to contact their elected representatives, even if they’ve dropped the “Friends of the Industry” group name.

In hindsight this seems to be a good thing. My opinion is informed by being a member of Cigar Rights of America since soon after its founding, and becoming an online media member of the IPCPR last year. Now more than ever I’n glad the CRA was created.

Recently, the need for an independent consumer-oriented group has been reinforced by an ongoing controversy over the role of media (and specifically online media like StogieGuys.com) at the IPCPR annual trade show. My intention isn’t to get into that controversy, but if you want to read more I recommend checking out the opinions of Cigar Craig and Jerry of Stogie Review.

IPCPR primarily represents two key constituencies: the retailers whose numbers make up most of its ranks and the manufacturers who pay a large percentage of its fees, particularly to be part of the trade show. These are important groups, whose fundamental goals are in line with cigar smokers, especially when it comes to anti-tobacco zealots’ attempts to regulate and tax cigars out of existence.

But when it comes to smaller, more internal, issues, cigar consumers’ interests are not always perfectly in line with manufacturers or retailers. The debate over cigar media access to the annual trade show makes this clear. Our readers certainly benefit from our reporting (and that of others) from the trade show, even if some people would prefer a more controlled release of information. That’s part of why the Cigar Rights of America is so fundamental. It represents an increasingly independent voice for consumers and their interests. Cigar smokers need to join the CRA, so the organization can effectively represent cigar smokers exclusively.

“Industry” voices (both manufacturers and retailers) are important and should be supported. But the pure number of voting cigar smokers is a force they need to counter the anti-tobacco lobby. Join today and be proud that you’re a part of the solution.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a bit of an explosive theme in cigar names in recent years: Tatuaje Thermonuclear, 601 La Bomba, Don Pepin Garcia Firecracker, Viaje WMD, Viaje MOAB (Mother of all bombs)… you get the idea. Berger & Argenti’s Entubar V32 isn’t exactly of the same vein, but there’s something a little fuse-like about the entubar foot.

And the caution tape “advisory” tells you exactly how to light the fuse: “Thoroughly toast entire cigar foot before smoking.” Normally that’s obvious, but with the protruding entubaro scroll, the same as the original Berger & Argenti Entubar and Quad Maduro, it is actually good advice. I’d recommend a torch, as matches are quite a bit of work.

This Entubar cigar takes the V32 name because the center tube is thicker than the other lines (32 ring gauge to be specific). Essentially, it’s a small cigar of ligero in the middle of a larger cigar. The Nicaraguan puro features a Jalapa Valley wrapper around binder and filler tobaccos from the Estelí, Condega, Jalapa, and Jinotega regions.

The result is a full-bodied, balanced cigar with tons of chocolate and earth. The flavor is like a really good cup of hot chocolate (not that instant junk). With saltiness and wood notes that emerge towards the second half of the cigar, it is a very savory smoke.

Like all of Berger & Argenti’s collaborations that I’ve tried, construction is excellent. The cigar produces tons of smoke, draws easy, and burns evenly—a testament to the time-consuming entubaro bunching method. I smoked two of the “Rogue Rothschild” size (5.6 x 54), one of the four sizes available. Only 1,000 boxes of 20 of each size are being made (80,000 total). Between the limited run and time-consuming construction, the V32 is a pricey cigar, with prices ranging from $11 to $14 each.

Despite the high price, I found this to be a very impressive cigar. Savory, flavorful, and balanced, the V32 will appeal to almost all cigar smokers and is a must-try for maduro fans. Its flavors aren’t quite explosive, but they are well-rounded, deep, and complex. Personally, I liked it even more than the box-pressed Quad Maduro, which is no slouch of a cigar. That’s enough to earn the Berger & Argenti Entubar V32 Rogue Rothschild our highest rating of five stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. A list of other five stogie-rated cigars can be found 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.”

This “Mother of All Bombs” (the 2012 edition) is a slightly smaller version of the Father of All Bombs I reviewed earlier this week. The MOAB (4.5 x 52) also has an all Nicaraguan blend with a dark, ebony-colored, sun-grown criollo wrapper. The cigar features the same dark flavors as the FOAB, with charred oak, dark coffee, and damp earth, paired with some bready flavors. While not particularly different from it’s slightly larger Father, the MOAB was strong but not off-balance, with excellent construction. Even at $9 a stick, like the FOAB, this is an enjoyable cigar worth picking up if you can find one of just 7,500 that were made.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Viaje has made a name for itself creating extremely limited production cigars. In fact, Viaje’s cigars are made in such limited quantities that they often sell out in mere days.

Since chances are the Viaje cigar you have your eye on will be sold before you have a chance to sample one, purchasing many is pretty much an act of faith. Maybe Viaje’s small batches are a brilliant marketing strategy (some might call it a gimmick) but the incredibly small size of the release drives demand for these rare cigars.

That is certainly the case with the Skull and Bones series, of which the three new editions of only 300 boxes of 25 (7,500 total cigars) were released. Two of those were a second edition of a cigar released a year ago: the WMD “Weapon of Mass Destruction” (3.75 x 54) and the MOAB “Mother of All Bombs” (4.5 x 52). A third, the FOAB “Father of All Bombs,” was a new addition to the Skull and Bones line.

FOAB is slightly fatter than the MOAB with a 56 ring gauge and the same 4.5 inches in length. Like all Viaje cigars, it is made at the Raices Cubana factory in Honduras, which also produces cigars for Illusione, Padilla, Alec Bradley, La Palina, and others. The Viaje FOAB is an all Nicaraguan blend with a dark sun-grown criollo wrapper. The cigar sells for $9.20 each ($230 for a box of 25), a substantial price for a cigar you might call a petite robusto.

With a name like Father of All Bombs, you’d expect a full-bodied a bomb of a cigar, and while FOAB is definitely full-bodied (no matter what your definition is), it isn’t overwhelmingly so. Perhaps that’s why Viaje owner Andre Farkas says he doesn’t include the FOAB (or MOAB) in the Skull and Bones red line, because MOAB and FOAB aren’t nuclear but conventional weapons.

The cigar features charred oak, chocolate, and dark coffee. There’s also bready and roasted nuts present, notes you wouldn’t usually identify with a full-bodied smoke. It’s surprisingly well-balanced, though the flavors don’t change much throughout.

Construction was excellent for each of the three cigars I sampled with a solid gray ash, firm-but-not-difficult draw, and straight burn. Given that this little cigar costs almost $10 each, it would have been very disappointing if it weren’t well-constructed.

I only picked up a five-pack (it cost me $46), and there are very few left so I look forward to seeing how my remaining cigars deal with a bit of age (and I should note that I smoked these within days of receiving them). Ultimately, though, I really did enjoy the FOAB. I was pleasantly surprised to find this cigar not overwhelmingly strong. It may not be a cigar for beginners, but it has enough balance to be enjoyed by a seasoned smoker. That earns the Viaje FOAB (“Father of All Bombs”) a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This new addition to La Palina’s El Diario line has been anticipated since late last summer. KB, short for “Kill Bill,” is a small corona (4.5 x 40).

The name is a reference to the cigar’s strength and La Palina owner William Paley, who is called Bill or “Little Bill” to his family. As the re-founder of La Palina (his grandfather Samuel Paley founded the brand in 1896 but Bill Paley re-established it a few years ago) explains in this video, it is La Palina’s strongest cigar yet.

Like the other El Diario sizes, the blend is a collaboration between La Palina and Alan Rubin of Alec Bradley. Paley used Rubin as his point man to produce the cigars at the Raices Cubana factory in Honduras, where many Alec Bradley cigars are made, in addition to such highly regarded cigars as Illusione, Viaje, and many of the Padilla lines.

The cigar features Nicaraguan and Honduran tobacco. The wrapper is an oily Honduran corojo ’99 rosado leaf. Underneath are dual Honduran criollo ’98 binders that surround the Nicaraguan filler composed of corojo ’99 and criollo ’98 leaf.

Paley is right about this being the most potent La Palina yet. Even though the blend is the same, the size intensifies the flavors. There’s a spicy dark chocolate flavor that’s reminiscent of Mexican mole. Additionally, there’s a syrupy sweetness, oak, and dark charred notes.

Construction was perfect in each of the two samples I smoked, which you’d expect from a $9 cigar. The KB comes in a four-pack ($35 MSRP) and has just shipped to retailers who will get sleeves of five four-packs (20 cigars each). The sixth size in the El Diario line will be regular production, but is only being made in limited numbers right now.

While not perfectly balanced, KB makes up for it with bountiful flavors and a substantial nicotine kick. This new smoke is my favorite vitola in the El Diario line. That earns the La Palina El Diario KB an impressive rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys