The Stogie Guys

Quai d’Orsay occupies a unique little corner in the landscape of post-nationalized Cuban cigar offerings. The line is named for the street that runs along the left bank of the Seine in Paris, where both the French Foreign Ministry and the headquarters of former state-owned tobacco monopoly SEITA are located.

Quai d’Orsay was created to appeal to French tastes, which was believed to favor milder cigars. The line was reportedly created by Cubatabaco in 1973 at the request of SEITA. SEITA managed the brand outside of the purview of Cuban cigar distribution company Habanos S.A., until SEITA merged with Spanish tobacco company Altadis, which later purchased a 50% stake in Habanos.

The brand has featured a resurgence in recent years. After years of neglect, Habanos revamped the line and elevated it from a purely regional brand to a global one. (It doesn’t hurt that, unlike so many other brands, there isn’t a competing non-Cuban version in the U.S. market, which means it wouldn’t face the same trademark hurdles if the Cuban trade embargo is ever completely lifted.)

Given the historical connection, it’s no surprise when Quai d’Orsay is featured as a regional exclusive for the French market. In 2016, another RE was released called Secreto (4.3 x 40). The three small coronas I sampled featured golden brown wrappers and were slightly spongy to the touch.

Pre-light notes included bread and cedar. Once lit, the cigar quickly shows off notes of hay, cedar, and white pepper. The profile is mild- to medium-bodied and evolves to include hints of cumin, pine, sourdough bread, and light roast coffee.

Secreto exhibited excellent combustion, with a perfectly even draw and a sturdy black and gray ash. At around $8 per cigar, and packaged in boxes of ten, it’s one of the more affordable Cuban cigars our there.

I’ll admit this cigar surprised me, in a good way. Despite its small size, it provided nearly an hour of enjoyable, interesting, complex flavors. That earns the Quai d’Orsay Secreto Cubano Exclusivo Francia RE 2016 a 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

A couple times each week 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 cigar has been resting in my humidor for more than a few years. The 7 inch by 38 ring gauge lancero features excellent construction. The Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper surrounds Honduran binder and filler from Colombia and Nicaragua. Flavors include rich earth, dark chocolate, light wood spice and cafe-au-lait. The medium-bodied cigar is a well-balanced, highly enjoyable smoke.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Last month my colleague wrote an article that (among other things) sought input on what cigars our readers would like to see us review. I was somewhat surprised by one comment that noted we’ve only reviewed two blends from Curivari’s many offerings.

I’ve long appreciated Curivari’s offerings for the value they provide and, frankly, I expected that in our hundreds of reviews we would have visited the Curivari line more than just twice. But apparently we haven’t. So today we look at another Curivari blend: the Curivari Seleccion Privada Coronation.

Curivari Seleccion Privada Coronation comes in three formats: a lonsdale called Cazadores (6.1 x 44), a Petite Corona (4.4 x 42), and a Corona (5.1 x 44). I smoked three of the latter vitola for this review. Each of the sizes comes in boxes of ten (I wish more cigars were sold this way), which can be found for just $40-50 if you shop around.

The Curivari Seleccion Privada Coronation isn’t listed on the dated Curivari website, but apparently the difference between the Coronation blend and the regular Curivari Seleccion Privada blend is the wrapper and size. The standard blend is frequently cited as using a Habano wrapper and it comes in sizes that are 50 ring gauge or wider, while the Coronation employs a Corojo wrapper and comes in the aforementioned thin sizes. Both blends, like most of the Curivari offerings, are Nicaraguan puros.

The Curivari Seleccion Privada Coronation Corona features pre-light notes of oat bread, hay, and cardamom. Once lit, notes of leather, tannins, and toast dominate the medium-bodied smoke. As it progresses, more cedar, black coffee, and cinnamon spice develop. The finish is long and woodsy.

The band looks like a Cuban Partagas from a distance and, while the cigar won’t be mistaken for Cuban Partagas when smoked, it does have a Cuban-esque element. Construction is excellent with an easy draw and sturdy ash.

Like the Curivari Buenaventura, this is a cigar that offers a lot of flavor for the price (both can be found for around $4 per cigar). With complex flavors and excellent construction, the Curivari Seleccion Privada Coronation Corona earns a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I’m both excited and annoyed about the prospect of rum becoming the new bourbon. In recent years, bourbon shortages have driven up prices, as demand has shot up for high end, well-aged, limited-release bourbon.

The plus side of that scenario is more good rum on the market. The downside, of course, is higher prices and standout releases becoming increasingly tough to find. For example, I’ve already heard Foursquare referred to as the “Pappy of Rum,” which isn’t good for rum drinkers considering the price and exclusivity of Pappy.

That said, it isn’t hard to see why Foursquare is so highly regarded. The Barbados-based distillery uses traditional distilling methods, innovative cask usage, and an unadulterated (without added sugar) style.

The Foursquare 2004 Single Blended Rum and Foursquare Premise Single Blended Rum each show off what makes Foursquare a standout for many rum lovers. Prices vary for each, if you can find them (the 2004 will be particularly hard to find), but expect to pay $60-90 for each.

Foursquare 2004 Single Blended Rum
This artisanal pot and twin column-distilled rum has been aged for 11 years in ex-bourbon casks and is bottled at full strength (59% ABV)
Nose: Bourbon-y with vanilla, oak, dried fruit, and a hint of ginger
Palate: Great intensity with nutmeg spice, chocolate, vanilla, and tropical fruit, though surprisingly lacking in heat given the high proof
Finish: Long with banana, nutmeg, and oaky vanilla

Foursquare Premise Single Blended Rum
Distilled in pot and twin column stills, this ten-year-old bourbon was aged three years in ex-bourbon casks before being transferred to ex-sherry casks and bottled at 46% ABV
Nose: Dried fruit, orange peel, and maple
Palate: Sophisticated and balanced with honey, red wine, red apple, marmalade, and pralines
Finish: Long and rich with sherry, vanilla, citrus, and wood spice

These are two great rums, each elegant in their own way, and both perfect pairings for a fine cigar. Personally, I prefer the intensity of the higher-proof 2004, but Foursquare Premise is also one of the best ten or so rums I’ve ever enjoyed.

Pair each with a good cigar and you’ll be in for a treat. Foursquare 2004 can stand up to the strongest full-bodied cigar like the Bolivar Royal Corona, Drew Estate Liga Privada Único Serie Velvet Rat, or Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch. Foursquare Premise pairs excellently with a balanced, medium-bodied cigar like the Paul Garmirian Reserva Exclusiva, Tatuaje Black, Warped Futuro, or Davidoff Colorado Claro.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A couple times each week we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

The Paul Garmirian Symphony 20, which celebrates 20 years of the PG brand, debuted in 2009 at a dinner on the final night before Virginia’s smoking ban took effect. It was officially released in 2010 in a single toro-sized format called Connoisseur, with other vitolas added later. This particular cigar comes from the original batch and therefore has at least nine years of age (the wrapper is from 2007). While time tends to have a mellowing effect on cigars, this cigar still has full-bodied flavors with notes of leather, roasted almonds, black coffee, light cedar, and a hint of must. Construction is excellent. Somewhat surprisingly, nearly a decade of age hasn’t changed this cigar as I would have expected. But that’s OK; this was an enjoyable, complex, full-bodied smoke to begin with.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

The original Illusione Rothchildes is a cigar I recommend to a lot of people, for all the reasons my colleague laid out when he first reviewed it in 2014. A flavorful, medium-bodied profile, excellent construction, and a sub-$5 price tag. You can’t go wrong.

It’s a cigar I regularly keep on hand to give to guests since it will be appreciated by cigar veterans, but isn’t so expensive that I’ll resent it if they decide they don’t want to smoke the whole thing. Everyone can appreciate the classic look (the band’s colors and square shape remind me of Henry Clay) and the size is ideal for when you don’t have a lot of time. Plus, it’s not too intimidating for a newbie.

Needless to say, when in 2016 (almost certainly due to the upcoming FDA deadline) Illusione introduced a Connecticut version of the Rothchildes, it became a cigar I wanted to check out, especially since, although I enjoy the original, I find cigars that use Mexican tobaccos generally don’t hit my palate quite right. Although formally introduced in the summer of 2016, it wasn’t widely available for quite a while thereafter.

Like the Mexican-wrapped version, the single CT vitola (4.5 x 50) comes with an affordable price tag ($5.50 MSRP, though you can buy a box for around $200). The Rothchildes CT swaps out that Mexican wrapper for an oily, tan Ecuadorian Connecticut leaf, though it still uses Nicaraguan binder and filer tobaccos, and is made at the TABSA factory in Nicaragua.

Connecticut cigars carry an expectation for mild flavors, but the Rothchildes CT reminds us this isn’t always the case. Pre-light graham cracker notes are followed by significant pepper once lit.

The medium-bodied flavors include buttered toast, cocoa, and oak. It is (unusually) both creamy and quite dry on the palate, especially on the finish. Construction was excellent on each of the three cigars I smoked, with an ash that held for well over an inch.

Like the original, the Illusione Rothchildes CT gives smokers a lot of bang for their buck, which makes it an excellent cigar to have on hand to smoke yourself, or hand out to friends. Enjoyable medium-bodied flavors and excellent construction earn it a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A couple times each week we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

 

I’m increasingly a fan of of this affordable (around $5 each) offering from Casa Fernandez. (Interestingly, the bands have changed from Nicaragua to Miami, so presumably it is being rolled in Miami now, which makes the price even more impressive.) The Nicaraguan puro, made completely from highly regarded Aganorsa tobacco, features a well-balanced combination of coffee and light cedar. It’s medium-bodied and produces plenty of thick, powdery smoke. Construction is excellent.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys