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.”

Released in 2009, this cigar had the better part of the decade to rest. It was the second Tatuaje Black Label (said to be Pete Johnson’s personal blend), following the original, now somewhat mythical, Corona Gorda jar release. The torpedo-shaped cigar features a good bit of black pepper combined with paper and bread. Not as full-bodied as more recent Black Label Tatuajes, it is lighter with more straightforward spice. I’ve smoked quite a few Petit Lanceros and Corona Gordas recently, and although the Black Tubo is enjoyable, the more current vintage Tatuaje Black cigars are smoking better.

Verdict = Hold.

–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.”

Unlike the limited edition Balmoral Añejo 18, the XO doesn’t state the exact age of its Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper. However, we’re told the wrapper, the Dominican binder, and the filler tobaccos from Nicaragua, Brazil, and the Dominican Republic are all “eXceptionally Old,” hence XO. The large robusto (5 x 55) performs flawlessly with a solid gray ash, straight burn, and an open, easy draw.  I’d classify the XO’s flavors as muted and subtle, but also complex. There’s a rich creaminess, raisin bread, and just a hint of wood and cinnamon spice. This is the type of cigar I’d smoke with a rich cup of coffee or a balanced brown ale.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations covering the cigar industry don’t take effect until August, but the impact on cigars is already apparent. The regulations, which have already prompted two lawsuits against the agency (a long-planned lawsuit by the CRA, IPCPR, and CAA was filed last week), threaten to stifle the introduction of new cigars, plus the continued sale of any cigar introduced after February 15, 2007.

With the annual IPCPR Trade Show set to start next week, cigar makers are already announcing new cigars at a record pace, with plenty more expected next week. The reason is clear, as cigars introduced after August 8 will have to wait for FDA pre-approval before being marketed or sold in the United States, while those on the market before that date can be sold for two years without needing pre-approval.

Exact details of the pre-approval process are still unknown, which only fuels the urgency of getting new products to market. Most industry sources hope cigars will be approved as “substantially equivalent” to a product on the market prior to the February 2007 date, but even that standard may be difficult and costly to establish.

According to the FDA’s final rule, the agency estimates it will take 300 hours for each Substantial Equivalence (SE) report, which works out to two months of time for one full-time employee. Industry sources believe the cost of each SE report would likely be even greater than the FDA’s estimate, possibly $100,000 or more.

Those estimates are per SE report, and the FDA requires pre-approval for every tobacco product. This would likely include every new cigar size and packaging combination. For example, if a cigar is sold in 10-count and 20-count boxes, each would need a separate approval. Presumably, so would samplers created by the manufacturer, and potentially even samplers created and sold by retailers.

Needless to say, those costs are prohibitive for small cigar brands for whom a large volume vitola may only sell tens of thousands of units in a year. By introducing lines now ahead of the August 8 deadline, those small manufacturers buy themselves 18 months before they have to decide whether to submit them to the FDA for approval.

By then, cigar makers will have a better picture of the costs and requirements of achieving FDA approval, so they can decide if seeking approval makes economic sense, or if they will be forced to withdraw cigars from the market by August 2018 (after which cigars introduced after February 2007 can no longer be sold unless they have begun seeking FDA approval).

Unfortunately, this means many of the new cigars being rushed out before the deadline are living on borrowed time. While the results of the lawsuits could change the FDA regulations, such lawsuits are always difficult to win. In the meantime, while there will be a lot of excitement over the next two weeks as numerous cigars are announced, the devastating effects of FDA regulation on the handmade cigar market are already showing.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

The partnership between Warped Cigars and Casa Fernandez has produced some excellent cigars, including the Warped Futuro Selección Supremas, which impressed be enough to earn our first five out of five rating of 2016. Today, I look at another Warped/Casa Fernandez joint production: Flor del Valle.

The line was the first Warped cigar produced at the TABSA factory in Nicaragua (Futuro came later), where it is made alongside cigars for Illusione, Casa Fernandez, Foundation Cigar Co. (El Güegüense), and others. It was first introduced in 2014, with the petit robusto-sized Las Brumas (4.5 x 48), the subject of today’s review, added the following year.

Las Brumas retails for $9.45 ($236.25 for a box of 25), but shop around and you should be able to find a box for around $200. The the five cigars I smoked for this review came from is dated January 2016.

The Flor del Valle blend uses 100% Aganorsa tobacco with a Jalapa Corojo ’99 wrapper, is bound in a dual binder, and has fillers made up of of Corojo ’99 and Criollo ’98 tobaccos. Las Brumas (translated as “the mist”) is one of three sizes, with an additional “Sky Flower” size using a tweaked blend with the addition of higher priming tobaccos.

Las Brumas’ wrapper is medium brown with some dark splotches. Once lit, the cigar features rich wood (oak and cedar), cafe-au-lait, and dry cinnamon spice.

Pre-light, there were a few notably spongy spots, but none of the cigars I smoked showed any ill-effects related to their combustion qualities, which produced an easy but not airy draw, and an even, solid ash.

Though not as interesting or complex as Futuro, Flor del Valle is still an excellent medium- to full-bodied cigar with a flavor profile that is very identifiably Nicaraguan. The Warped Flor del Valle Las Brumas earns a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credits: 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 at La Aurora in the Dominican Republic, Viva Republica’s Rapture features an Ecuadorian wrapper, Dominican binder, and filler from Brazil,  the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Peru. This robusto-sized smoke (4.5 x 50) is well-constructed and mild with sawdust, cedar, and toast. It’s pleasant and balanced, but ultimately a little on the bland side.

Verdict = Hold.

–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.”

For at least as long as I’ve been writing about cigars, it seems Davidoff has been introducing new cigars to appeal to fuller-bodied tastes. And yet, at least for me, it remains their milder, Connecticut-wrapped cigars that are most quintessentially Davidoff. The Anniversario blend certainly fits that bill. The cigar features light cedar, hay, a hint of honey, and classic Davidoff mustiness, all elegantly layered and well-balanced. Construction is flawless, including an even burn and an ash that holds for nearly half the cigar. Even if a milder perspective isn’t what you regularly seek, you can still appreciate the perfect execution of the iconic Davidoff style.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys