The Stogie Guys

Can’t find Pappy Van Winkle anywhere? Here’s a bourbon that you’ll find on the shelf of virtually every decent liquor store, as well as some less-than-decent shops, in America.

Bulleit Bourbon is in that nice sweet spot in the market, a step or two up from the bottom shelf. Prices vary from state to state, but you’ll likely pay between $20 to $30 for the 90-proof straight Kentucky bourbon.

Owned by liquor giant Diageo, the high rye bourbon (the mashbill is just under 40% rye grain) was distilled for many years at Four Roses distillery. Because of growing demand for its own whiskeys, Four Roses recently stopped supplying Bulleit. Who exactly is making bourbon for Bulleit now is sort of a mystery.

What’s in the bottles on shelves right now probably is still from Four Roses (at least in part) and probably aged at the famed Stitzel Weller distillery. Soon enough, Bulleit’s $115 million new distillery will be up and running and the mini-mystery of where the bourbon is made will go away.

The nose on Bulleit has lots of sweet corn, light caramel, and oak with just the slightest floral aroma. It pours a light copper color and comes in its distinctive old style apothecary bottle.

On the palate, Bulleit features light char, caramel, buttered corn bread, and honey. The finish shows off the rye spice and wood that lingers on the roof of your mouth.

There’s no question in my mind that Bulleit Bourbon is a steal at $20 and it hangs well with the best bourbons under $30. You wouldn’t hesitate to use it in a cocktail, but its perfectly pleasant neat, which is how I prefer it.

For a cigar pairing, Bulleit calls for a medium-bodied cigar with a little spice. I’d particularly recommend the Tatuaje Black, Aging Room F55, La Flor Dominicana, or My Father.

For all the hype of limited edition bourbons like Pappy Van Winkle and the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (which are both outstanding), Bulleit is a reminder of what I like best about bourbon. You can still find excellent bourbons for a reasonable price and Bulleit just another example.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

If you’re like me, the last few days on Facebook you’ve seen a lot online about how bacon can cause cancer and is just as dangerous as smoking. (Maybe it’s just that a lot of my friends are fans of bacon, tobacco, or both.)

It’s a perfect story to go viral with a headline designed to scare. A modern version of: “It kills thousands of people every year, and you give it to your children every day… tonight at 10.” (It’s just water.)

Unfortunately, it’s a also a perfect example of bad government science and the bad journalism that perpetuates it. Like stories that deal with cancer and tobacco, it leaves out critical context.

The gist of the story is that smoked meats, like bacon and hot dogs, can be carcinogenic, meaning they can cause cancer in humans. That may be true in a technical sense, but it tells readers almost nothing about the risk that bacon poses, or the risk they actually face from eating bacon.

In truth, while bacon may be carcinogenic, eating lots of bacon adds only very slightly to someone’s overall risk of cancer. Drill down on the “bacon causes cancer” headline and you’ll find that if you eat a serving of smoked meat (one hot dog or two strips of bacon, for example) daily over your lifetime (which is quite a lot), the odds of you getting colorectal cancer, which bacon contributes to, goes up only 0.8 percent.

But “daily bacon increases relative risk of cancer by slightly less than one percent” doesn’t quite have a ring to it. Instead, we’re simply told bacon can cause cancer, which while literally perhaps true is also pretty much meaningless as a statement. It does nothing to help consenting adults decide for themselves whether or not to order a side of bacon since it simplifies, and probably over-amplifies, the risk.

Unfortunately, when it comes to tobacco, and especially cigars, the critical issue of relative risk is ignored even more often. It remains the position of the U.S. government that “cigars contain the same toxic and carcinogenic compounds found in cigarettes and are not a safe alternative to cigarettes.”

Once again, that may be true in a technical sense. But the statement is also meaningless. Saying cigars contain the same chemicals as cigarettes doesn’t say anything about the relative risk of smoking cigars compared to smoking cigarettes, or how much of those chemicals each activity delivers in a way that can increase your risk. It’s the equivalent of saying driving the speed limit is not a safe alternative to speeding drunk because you can crash either way. (You can, of course, get in an accident either way, but obviously the risk of that happening isn’t the same in both cases.)

The fact is, the average cigar smoker who smokes cigars properly (without inhaling) is way better off than the average cigarette smoke, but our government can’t bring itself to say that because doing so would admit that with normal use cigar smoking is in fact less risky than smoking cigarettes. It would be nice if our government would be honest enough with us to say so. At least for now, though, Uncle Sam is unwilling to admit what we all know to be true.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Flickr

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

When my colleague reviewed the Neanderthal SGP this past week, it reminded me I had a Neanderthal I’ve been meaning to fire up. I’ve smoked the original HN size before, but not this new petit corona size, which comes only (for now) as part of the El Catador de Las Petite Coronas box, which has two each of RoMa Craft Tobac’s five blends, each in a little (4 x 46) size for $62.50. Much like the larger sizes I’ve smoked, the HoxD trades away nuance and subtlety for power, which manifests itself as damp earth, charred oak, and black pepper. Even more so than the larger sizes, this cigar tastes raw and coarse, which is probably the point. But it’s a little too much in such a small, concentrated size.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Few cigars were as anticipated at this past summer’s IPCPR Trade Show as the Padrón Dámaso. The reason is simple: In an era where many cigar companies compulsively create new cigar lines to debut each year, Padrón rarely expands its portfolio.

Founded in 1964, Padrón only added its first new line (1964 Anniversary) beyond its core line in 1994. A second 1926 line was added in 2002, and the annual Family Reserve line release was the next added in 2008. All are proudly billed as 100% Nicaraguan, with either a maduro or natural wrapper.

That makes a full new line featuring a non-Nicaraguan wrapper a very newsworthy event. That new cigar line is named for Jose Padrón’s grandfather Dámaso who was the first Padrón to arrive in Cuba sometime in the late 1800s from the Canary Islands.

Dámaso comes in four sizes, each of which comes in boxes of 20 cigars and features dual white bands, plus a security band underneath with an individual serial number (a feature Padrón introduced to counter counterfeits). I smoked four of the robusto-sized (5 x 50) No. 12 vitola (one of four sizes) for this review.

Although not prominently identified, the Connecticut-seed wrapper used for the newest Padrón is grown in Ecuador (as opposed to Connecticut). It’s a nice-looking wrapper, with an even khaki color. Pre-light there’s a nice combination of grass, earth, and pepper.

The cigar is slightly salty and bitter immediately after being lit, but very quickly settles into a combination of hay, earth, white pepper, and cedar. Towards the second half there are cashew and cream notes.

While billed as a milder Padrón, especially towards the beginning it has sneaky strength. Even after it smooths out after the initial burst, it maintains more strength than many Connecticut-wrapped cigars, which is pretty much what you’d expect from a Connecticut Padrón. The choice of an Ecuador-grown Connecticut wrapper makes sense here since it tends to stand up to the Nicaraguan binder and filler better than a Connecticut-grown leaf.

Construction is flawless, especially the burn, which features a narrow black line, and was perfectly straight for each of the samples I smoked. I was surprised how quickly the robusto burns, as I finished each sample in well under an hour despite setting a very deliberate pace with the final two.

There’s no question in my mind that this new offering from Padrón is a good cigar. Although the $12.50 price isn’t the most wallet-friendly (this cigar would be be a segment-killer at $8), it is a perfectly constructed, well-executed Connecticut cigar with enough flavor not to let you forget that it’s a Padrón. That earns the Padrón Dámaso No. 12 four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Yesterday both Cigar Rights of America (CRA) and the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) issued email alerts announcing that the pending FDA cigar regulations took another step towards final implementation. As we’ve covered previously, such regulations could be devastating to the thriving handmade premium cigar industry, even though there is no indication that such regulations would have any impact on youth smoking or public health.

According to the reports, the FDA has officially sent the latest version of the deeming rule on cigars to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the White House for economic review. The controversial rules not only would subject cigars and pipes to FDA regulation, but also the growing line up of e-cigarette and vaping products.

OMB has 90 days from receiving the proposed rule to conduct its review before it goes to final implementation. According to CRA, the OMB may have received the rule from FDA up to a month ago, meaning that the 90-day maximum time period could end before 2016.

CRA and IPCPR will both now direct lobbying efforts to OMB, which is charged with examining the economic impact of proposed FDA rules. The groups and their lobbyists will attempt to show the potentially devastating economic impact that the proposed regulations would have on cigars, including costing jobs both in the U.S. and abroad.

In its initial proposed rule, the FDA offered two options for regulating cigars: option 1 (which covers all cigars) and option 2 (which exempts handmade cigars over $10). Although the proposed rules transmitted to the OMB presumably include the agency’s decision on that important issue, it is unlikely the OMB will make public the agency’s intentions on the issue of a possible exemption.

While the OMB review may seem like a formality, those familiar with the creation of the initial proposed rule say the OMB was critical in advancing the option of an exemption for some cigars. If the OMB feels the FDA’s final version insufficiently addressed its previous concerns, it could request further revisions.

Also, although unlikely, with such a hot-button topic, if the modifications requested by OMB are significant enough, they may not go to final review, but could instead be sent back to the FDA. Experts familiar with the federal rule-making process indicate that if the revisions are large enough, it could even trigger a second round of public commenting before returning to the OMB for another final review, which could delay the process significantly.

–Patrick S

photo credits: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

Over the summer I renewed my Cigar Rights of America membership by buying a ten-cigar sampler that included this special Tatuaje Black Toro. Since the size can only be purchased as part of the CRA sampler, I hadn’t smoked one since I reviewed one six years ago. The cigar features the same flavors I’ve come to expect from the Black Label  line, including leather, bread, and subtle spice. But it’s a good bit stronger than the recent Petit Lancero and Corona Gorda sizes I’ve smoked. Although not my favorite size for this blend, it’s still an excellent, well-made cigar and, especially since you have to join Cigar Rights of America to get one, it is easy to recommend.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This is the crazy season of bourbon. Super-hard-to-find, rare, limited editions are being released in very small quantities, and buyers are going to ridiculous lengths to get them. Some want to drink them, others are looking to profit off a secondary market where a rare bottle purchased one day can sell for many times the retail price a few days later.

Here’s an example: Two days ago a bottle of Old Forester Birthday Bourbon I had ordered arrived at my local liquor store. But because it was listed in their online inventory, by the time I had picked it up the store manager said he had received dozens of calls for the bottle. Just two years ago I bought three bottles for the same price with no fuss at all and I could have (and probably should have) bought many more.

Wild Turkey Master’s Keep bourbon is certainly a product of that craziness. The 17 year Wild Turkey is the oldest ever released by Wild Turkey, and Wild Turkey knows that such a rare bourbon can command a price; in this case, $150 for a 750 ml. bottle. Albeit rare, that high price (even in this overheated bourbon market) has meant that a month after the release you can still find Master’s Keep on some shelves if you want one.

The story of how this bourbon came to be is a complicated one. Long story short, after being distilled in 1996, the barrels spent only a short period of time in Wild Turkey’s warehouses before they were moved to brick warehouses nearby. In 2003, they were moved again to different brick warehouse before finally being moved back into traditional wood and metal Wild Turkey rickhouses in 2010.

The time in brick warehouses, where bourbon tends to age more slowly, has had a considerable impact on the bourbon. For one thing, rather that increasing in proof over time, Master’s Keep decreased in proof over time, to 43.4% ABV (86.8-proof).

The result is a bourbon with a truly fantastic nose. It’s a rich combination of mulling spices, apple, pear, tree sap, and pie crust. On the plate there is caramel, clove spice, burnt sugar, and oak. The finish features lots of dry oak.

It’s a unique and delicate bourbon that deserves an equally subtle cigar. A few recommendations: Illusione Singulare LE 2014 Anunnaki, Paul Garmirian Gourmet, and the Tatuaje Black Corona Gorda.

Ultimately, however, when it comes to price I have trouble spending $150 on Master’s Keep. It’s not that it isn’t good. It is. And it’s surely unique and tasty. But anticlimactically, the nose is the aspect of the bourbon that stands out the most. I would highly recommend trying to find some in a bar before shelling out for a full bottle.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys