The Stogie Guys

As I’ve noted before, with the FDA deadline just days away at the time, the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show saw a flurry of new cigar announcements, as expected. Pete Johnson’s Tatuaje was no exception. And I don’t think I have to go out on a limb to say fans of Tatuaje were most excited for the new Tatuaje Reserva Broadleaf Collection.

The Tatuaje Reserva Broadleaf Collection consists of a whopping 100 cigars selling for $1,200, featuring ten each of the six original Miami Seleccion del Cazador (Brown Label) “HUNTER” sizes, plus the J21, SW, K222, and Cojonu 2003 blends. Originally, the cigars were set to only be available in 5,000 master cases of 100 (pictured above). More recently, though, Tatuaje has announced some will be released in boxes of ten of each size.

The master cases of 100 began arriving at retailers earlier this year and StogieGuys.com secured one. In addition to master cases of 100, Tatuaje owner Pete Johnson announced this year that the cigars will also be available in boxes of 10 of each vitola ($140 for the K222 box of 10).  In March, I reviewed the lonsdale-sized (6.4 x 43) Havana Cazadores vitola. Today, we evaluate the toro-esque K222 (5.9 x 52), the most recent addition to the Brown Label offerings.

The original K222 was released last year as a tribute to Pete Johnson’s late dog, Kona, who passed away at 2:22 PM on April 26, 2015. That version features a dark Ecuadorian Habano wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobacco. The Broadleaf Collection edition swaps out the Ecuadorian Habano for Connecticut Broadleaf. To differentiate from other Reserva lines (including the original K222, which also uses the Reserva secondary band), the Broadleaf Collection bands say Broadleaf below Reserva on the second band.

I smoked four K222 Reserva Broadleaf Collection cigars for this review. The deep brown wrapper has just a little oil. One of my samples featured some oversized veins running from the cap to the foot, but all four exhibited excellent combustion qualities.

Once lit, I found a cigar heavy on tannin and oak notes combined with a roasted flavor that reminded me stale coffee. Through the 90-minute smoke, I also found bread and black pepper notes.

The K222 Reserva is strong and full-bodied, but neither balanced nor complex. I frankly was underwhelmed by the cigar, which caught me by surprise since I gave very high marks to the original K222 and the previous Broadleaf Collection (Havana Cazadores) I reviewed.

Maybe the explanation is that this is more an experiment than a polished blend, as the original K222 was clearly blended for the rich Habano wrapper and not a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Whatever the reason, while hardly an unpleasant cigar, it doesn’t come close to the original K222 blend, nor is it among the best of the Broadleaf Reserva Collection. This is why the K222 Broadleaf Reserva earns 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.”

One of the first cigars I smoked under the Casa Fernandez brand was Arsenio, which is named after Casa Fernandez master blender Arsenio Ramos. It’s a tremendous value considering $45 gets you a box of ten. In 2014, Casa Fernandez added a new Arsenio line called Serie Oro. Today I’m smoking the large Toro (6.5 x 54), which retails for just under $10. The Nicaraguan puro features a Corojo wrapper grown at an Aganorsa farm in Estelí. With a soft, box-pressed shape, the cigar produces medium-bodied flavors with plenty of graham cracker sweetness and black coffee notes. Construction is excellent. It is hard to beat the original Arsenio when it comes to valye, but the Serie Oro is a fine, balanced, well-made cigar.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys,

For more than a decade, Davidoff seems to have been looking to add a full-bodied cigar to the Davidoff line. Known for its classic, complex, balanced cigars that tend toward the milder end of the spectrum, various additions over the years have been aimed at consumers who appreciate Davidoff but want a fuller-bodied cigar.

Recent “Black Label” releases—Davidoff Nicaragua, Escurio, and Yamasa—as well as previous releases—Davidoff Millennium, Maduro, Puro Dominicano, and Puro D’Oro—all were marketed in part as Davidoff’s answer to consumers seeking a bolder Davidoff. From a branding and blending prospective, it’s a fine line to walk: something new without betraying a carefully cultivated image and profile. (Success has been mixed: Maduro and Puro D’Oro have been discontinued along with some Millennium vitolas, while Nicaragua was just expanded to a box-pressed line.)

This year, another bolder Davidoff offering was introduced: the 702 Series. For the line, the the company took seven popular White Label vitolas and swapped out the traditional Connecticut wrapper for an Ecuadorian-grown Habano.

The deep brown wrapper was originally featured on a limited edition 2009 Toro Especial cigar and was created by Davidoff as a hybrid of three Cuban seeds. The binder and filler for each of the seven 702 cigars is the same as the non-702 version.

I smoked three of the 2000 size (5.1 x 43). The cigar features an Ecuadorian binder and Dominican filler. The suggested retail price is $15.80.

The cigar starts out with a burst of caramel and cinnamon sweetness, but soon settles into a more traditional combination of roasted nuttiness, café au lait, and warm, well-aged tobacco.

With a perfect draw, solid ash, and even burn, the cigar delivers medium-bodied flavors from start to finish. With the exception of occasional black pepper there isn’t much spice, though towards the final third leather and biscotti flavors emerge.

As mentioned above, Davidoff’s challenge has always been staying true to what makes Davidoff so appreciated as it caters to consumers whose tastes tend toward fuller-bodied flavors. By bifurcating its Black Label and White Label lines, Davidoff has finally settled on a successful formula.

The addition of the 702 Series adds a new twist, but ultimately fits into the White Label line as a medium-bodied cigar that is subtly complex and exquisitely balanced. Davidoff cigars are always priced as premium cigars but they usually deliver, and the 702 Series 2000 is no exception, which is why it earns 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

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.”

Shaped like a large shot gun shell and packaged in a box that looks likes a 25-pack of shells, Zombie Super Shot is the Viaje Zombie blend in a Super Shot shape that sells for around $7 per cigar. The cigar features savory leather, earth, and chalk flavors with hints of creaminess. Towards the final third of the 45-minute smoke, the cigar adds charred bourbon barrel notes. Well-constructed with lots of smoke combustion, this is an easy cigar to recommend to fans of full-bodied Nicaraguan smokes.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Want to celebrate Cinco de Mayo this Friday but not into slamming tequila shots and drowning yourself in light Mexican beer? We’re here to help.

Armed with three bottles of Corralejo Tequila (Silver, Reposado, and Añejo), we’ve selected three drink and cigar pairings with cigars featuring the increasingly popular Mexican San Andrés wrapper.

Corralejo, made in the Guanajuato state of Mexico, is one of just a handful of companies granted the right to produce tequila outside the spirit’s best known home in Jalisco. Made with 100% blue weber agave, the company uses unique production techniques—employing the Charentais method (commonly associated with cognac distillation) for second distillation—which takes place in an Alembic copper pot still imported from Tomelloso, Spain. Even if you’re not familiar with Corralejo brand by name, you may recognize the colorful red, white, and blue bottles.

Corralejo Silver Maragarita & Undercrown Corona ¡Viva! by Drew Estate

First off, I’m a big believer that sour mix in margaritas is only useful to cover up harsh, bad tequila. So please skip it. Instead, go with this simple recipe that uses only fresh squeezed lime juice, quality tequila (in this case, Corralejo Silver), Cointreau or Grand Marnier, and ice. If that’s too tart for you, a splash of simple syrup can be added, but nothing more. Serve it on the rocks or up strained into a cocktail glass. Personally, I skip the salt.

If such stories are to be believed, the Undercrown blend was created by the rollers responsible for making Drew Estate’s popular Liga Privada No. 9. Made with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper along with a Connecticut-grown stalk-cut Habano binder and Nicaraguan and Brazilian filler tobaccos, the cigar produces roasted coffee, sweet cream, and nutty flavors along with copious amounts of highly aromatic smoke that stands up well to a well-made margarita.

Corralejo Reposado El Diablo & Casa Turrent Serie 1901 Robusto

If you’re not the margarita type, El Diablo is a simple yet tasty tequila cocktail. Just shake 1.5 oz. Corralejo Reposado tequila, .5 oz. crème de cassis (I used a small batch Cassis made by the Mt. Defiance Cidery and Distillery in Virginia), and .5 oz. fresh lime juice, then strain into an ice-filled highball or Collins glass. Add 2–3 oz. of ginger beer (I had some Goslings on hand) and garnish with a lime wedge.

The Turrent family is the most prominent when it comes to Mexican cigar tobaccos. (Over the years, there have been a number of Turrent-branded cigars, and they also make the well-known Te-Amo line.) Their 1901 blend uses three types of Mexican tobacco, including a San Andrés maduro wrapper, along with Nicaraguan tobaccos. The cigar’s dry richness, woody spice, and meatiness contrast nicely with the sweetness of the El Diablo cocktail.

Corralejo Anejo Tequila Neat & La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor

Though better known for margaritas or shots, fine tequila is best enjoyed neat or maybe with a single ice cube. Corralejo Añejo is no exception. Pale straw in color, the tequila features aromas of fresh agave, lemon, and vanilla. The body has light oak, buttered corn, pear, and a little pepper spice. The finish is clean. All in a bright, crisp, very smooth tequila that, at about $40, stacks up favorably to many higher-priced tequilas.

La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor is one of my favorite San Andrés cigars. It has a dark, oily wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The most prominent flavors are coffee and roasted earth, and there is also a nice bit of complexity with dry bittersweet chocolate and a hint of nuttiness. Medium-bodied and well-balanced, it neither overpowers nor is overpowered by the subtle, smooth flavors of straight Corralejo Añejo.

–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 2016 release by Warped Cigars features Nicaraguan Aganorsa tobaccos. The lonsdale (6.4 x 42) is well-constructed with an understated yet classic band. The cigar produces immaculately balanced, medium-bodied flavors, with cream, light cedar, roasted cashews, and an almost prefume-like sweetness. Construction was superb, with the elegant cigar producing an easy draw, even burn, and sturdy ash. I’ve recommended many Warped cigars over the years and Maestro del Tiempo is no exception.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Although no one knew it at the time, one of most important dates for cigars sold within the United States would be February 15, 2007. Under the Tobacco Control Act and subsequent rulemaking, cigars marketed before that date are grandfathered in as exempt from FDA regulations, while those introduced afterwards will eventually need FDA approval to be legally sold and marketed within the U.S.

Although a determination of grandfather status isn’t yet needed for a cigar to be sold without going through one of the FDA approval tracks, the FDA has begun accepting submissions requesting a grandfathered status review of a tobacco product regulated under the deeming regulations that went into effect last year. Earlier this month, the FDA issued the first such determinations for 13 handmade cigars.

Two companies had cigar products established as grandfathered and thus exempt from FDA approval rules: Altadis USA, one of the largest sellers of handmade cigars in the United States, and Ortega Premium Cigars, a boutique company.

Altadis submitted five cigars from five different brands, each in a corona format: Montecristo Classic Collection Especial No. 1, Romeo y Julieta 1875 Exhibicion No. 1, H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon Corona, Saint Luis Rey Corona, and Don Mateo Natural No. 5 (a bundle cigar). The approach of establishing one size first may be a legal strategy, with the company likely to next seek to expand grandfather determinations to other formats.

Ortega Premium Cigars received grandfather determinations for four sizes in each of two brands: VIBE and REO. In 2007, VIBE and REO were under EO Brands, then co-owned by current VIBE and REO owner Eddie Ortega with his former business partner Erik Espinoza. Both cigars were collaborations between EO and Rocky Patel.

The Ortega determinations were shepherded through by attorney Frank Herrera, whose boutique law firm specializes in cigar trademark and FDA compliance issues. Ninety-eight other cigars have also received grandfather determinations, but those cigars would not be considered handmade or premium cigars.

FDA-Funded Study Confirms Minors Not Smoking Premium Cigars

One of the main arguments against the deeming rules that regulate premium cigars in a similar manner as cigarettes is that youth smoking of premium cigars is not an issue. This is also a reason frequently cited for the need for legislation exempting handmade cigars from FDA regulations.

Even the studies cited by the FDA when they rejected a proposed exemption for premium cigars over a certain price did not point to handmade cigar usage by minors, but relied on a more nebulous “youth and young adults.” As we noted at the time, that included usage rates for adults as old as 29.

A recent study published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine buoys the arguments made by opponents of FDA regulation of traditional cigars. The study was funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Food and Drug Administration and conducted by the Department of Health Behavior of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, New York.

As reported elsewhere, the study shows extremely low usage rates (2.3%) among those aged between 12 and 18, even with  extremely broad definitions of usage (even just “one or two puffs” ever). Fewer than one percent of the 13,651 youth surveyed said they used a cigar once (even “just one or two puffs”) in the 30 days prior to being surveyed.

A deeper look at the study’s numbers shows even less cause for concern for youth smoking of cigars. Of the tiny percentage of those who claim to use traditional cigars virtually all used other tobacco products too, while the number who exclusively used traditional cigars was so small that “estimates were suppressed” because the number was not statistically significant.

Though the conclusion that youth smoking of traditional cigars is virtually zero came as no surprise to those in the handmade cigar community, having FDA-funded research to back up these claims may prove useful in lobbying for the FDA to ease regulations on handmade cigars and for pushing Congress to pass an exemption.

–Patrick S

photo credits: Stogie Guys