The Stogie Guys

This year has been a big one for Tatuaje Cigars, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary—not that it’s easy to miss. The company switched up the packaging on its original Brown Label line, including anniversary bands, and added new sizes.

The tenth anniversary also influenced Tatuaje’s third annual TAA release, which has just arrived on the shelves of Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA) stores. TAA is a small (relative to IPCPR) association of cigar shops that includes many of the most prominent U.S. tobacconists.

This year’s TAA release is different from previous editions in two notable ways. First, the packaging is a variation of the Tatuaje 10th Anniversary cigar with a black background instead of brown on the band. Second, the blend is based on the regular Brown Label line, where as in past years it used a blend based on the Barclay Rex 100th Anniversary blend, one of my all-time favorites.

That means it uses an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler. Like the other additions to Brown Line beyond the original six, this is made at Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father Cigars factory in Estelí.

The cigar is 6.4 inches long with a ring gauge of 54 (with a closed foot), one of the bigger editions of the original Brown Label blend. It sells for $11 each, less by the box. I acquired the three I smoked for this review from Emerson’s Cigars, which still has them in stock.

Even though we’re told it’s the same blend as the original Brown Label, the wrapper seems a bit darker and less reddish than the Brown Label smokes I’ve had lately. There were other aspects that seemed slightly different than the original Brown Label.

The cigar features the excellent balanced combination of wood, cream, bread, and subtle pepper spice that makes the Brown Label a popular medium- to full-bodied cigar. There are also darker charred oak and meaty notes that I don’t recall finding in the other Brown Label sizes. Like most Pepin-produced cigars, construction was excellent.

All in all, it’s a tasty rendition of the Tatuaje Seleccion de Cazadores (the full name for Brown Label), with just a few tweaks caused either by the size or a slight variation in the blend. I was a bit disappointed Pete Johnson didn’t continue the TAA blend of the previous years (though it will be back next year), but the Tatuaje Grand Chasseur TAA 2013 is still an excellent cigar worthy of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In my opinion, not only is bourbon an excellent spirit to pair with cigars, but I’m constantly impressed by the value it offers at all price points.

While good single malt seems to start at $50 (if you disagree, please leave suggestions in the comments), good bourbon can be had for quite a bit less. If you’re willing to spend $50 or more there there are some really special bourbons available (take a look at my recent Guide to Bourbon series for some recommendations), but it isn’t necessary to spend that much.

The $25-30 range offers excellent bourbons that can be enjoyed by connoisseurs, and it’s also an great starting place for someone just exploring all that bourbon has to offer. To that end, here are some of my favorite offerings available in most places for under $30:

Elmer T. Lee – Elmer T. Lee created Blanton’s ($45-50), the highly acclaimed nine-year-old original single barrel bourbon. Later he created his own single barrel bourbon, which sells for $30. Sadly, Elmer isn’t around anymore – though he hand-selected the barrels for his bourbon until his passing – but this is still an excellent spirit. Basically just Blanton’s but a few years younger, it’s full of sweetness with body and balance provided by dried fruit and just enough woody spice.

Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage – Evan Williams took Single Barrel bourbon to a new level with it’s vintage release, bottled every year after nine years of barrel aging. Each year has its own character, but they have in common a butterscotch characteristic with oak and a bit of spice. The 2003 is out now.

W.L. Weller 12 Year – The oldest sub-$30 bourbon I know, this uses wheat instead of rye as a secondary grain, and the result is a delicious combination of sweetness and woodiness. These are the same characteristics that make Pappy Van Winkle one of the most sought-after bourbons, but it’s only a small fraction of the price.

John E. Fitzgerald Larceny Bourbon – A new offering made by Heaven Hill, which also makes Evan Williams, Larceny (like Weller) is a wheat bourbon, which means it has plenty of sweetness. There’s also a lively combination of toffee, cinnamon, and fruit. It’s 92-proof and around $28.

Eagle Rare Single Barrel 10 Year – Were I required to select only one of these, I’d have no problem selecting Eagle Rare 10 Year Single Barrel. Made by Buffalo Trace from the same juice that makes up George T. Stagg, it has lots of char, oak, caramel, and guts. It’s the perfect combination of balance, nuance, and power.

Honorable Mention: Bulleit Rye – Not actually a bourbon (rye is the majority grain as opposed to corn), this is my favorite value in rye. It uses a 95% rye mashbill and has a flavor of red fruit, minty spice, and just the right amount of oak and syrupy sweetness. If you want to discover the difference between bourbon and rye, this is a tasty first step.

Still getting into bourbon? This is a list that will give you a crash course in all the most American spirit can offer. And it will show you that excellent bourbon can be had at a very reasonable price.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Last week I attended W. Curtis Draper’s Little Puff, a fantastic event in DC that raises lots of money for good causes. First and foremost, the event highlights the generosity of the cigar community. (After last year’s event, Little Puff had topped $600,000 raised for charity.)

But in addition to charity and generosity, fine cigars, food, and drink are featured. Like many cigar events, attendees are given a card with the names of all the cigar makers in attendance, who then punch the card when you pick up your cigar from their table.

The result is a lot of cigars. Some were new releases: Fratello, La Gloria Serie R Black, CLE Plus, Drew Estate’s Nica Rustica, just to name a few, all of which I’m looking forward to.

But I actually enjoyed some of the other cigars more. It isn’t that they are necessarily better, but these are cigars I don’t normally smoke because, writing for Stogie Guys, I tend to spend a lot of my smoking time trying the latest releases.

I can’t remember the last time I smoked a regular old Padrón Maduro, but lighting one up the next day I was reminded what an excellent cigar it is, especially given the price. It’s a cigar that was a staple in my rotation when I first got into cigars, but now I maybe smoke one a year.

The same goes for the Don Pepin Garcia Blue, La Flor Dominicana Cameroon Cabinet, Tatuaje Regios Reserva, Alec Bradley Prensado, Fuente Chateau Sun Grown, Oliva Connecticut, and La Aroma de Cuba (original blend). Cigars I don’t frequently light up, even though each is well made and quite good.

It’s a reminder not to get too focused on the latest and greatest. You’re not buying a smartphone where technology becomes quickly out of date. It’s more like music. Sure there’s some good music coming out today; but sometimes it’s better to tune into the classic rock station for dependable favorites that remind you of good times from the past.

–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 limited edition version of the 601 La Bomba is the same blend as the original except it features a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. The cigar (6.5 x 54) is semi box-pressed, and only 2,000 boxes of 10 are available. For me, the maduro wrapper makes the cigar milder than the original. It’s still plenty full-bodied, though, with lots of earth, leather, pepper, and coffee. The cigar produces tons of smoke and has excellent construction. While I generally prefer a Habano wrapper to Broadleaf, I prefer this cigar to the original La Bomba.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Beam is the first name in bourbon, and members of the Beam family have been distilling bourbon since the late 1700’s (not only at Jim Beam, but at many of its competitors). Fred Booker Noe III, a member of the Beam clan, is the master distiller at Jim Beam, which recently added Jim Beam Signature Craft 12 Year Bourbon to its collection.

In addition to Jim Beam’s standard White Label bourbon (four years), Noe is responsible for Beam Black (eight years) and the small batch collection that includes Knob Creek (nine year), Baker’s (seven year, high proof), Basil Hayden (rye heavy, 80-proof), and Booker’s (barrel strength). But the new Jim Beam Signature Craft 12 Year Bourbon is the oldest bourbon being released by Beam.

The addition makes sense when you look at the booming demand for older bourbons, as many people consider 10-12 years the sweet spot. To that end, Beam released the new Signature Craft line with a 12 year bourbon, bottled at 86-proof (43% ABV). (A rare Spanish bandy finished variation of the Beam Signature Series is also being released, but I’ve yet to find it in my area.)

Although it’s not the cheapest 12 year bourbon (Elijah Craig and Ezra B 12 Year, among others, come in under $30), at $40 it is considerably less than many similarly aged bourbon whiskeys. The sleek bottle features a plastic screw cap which, although less elegant than a cork, is actually more functional.

The result is a deep amber-colored spirit that features plenty of wood, vanilla, and dried fruit on the nose. Whether from the relatively low proof or something else, it has a softer mouth feel than many of its counterparts with just the right amount of oak, sweetness, and underlying dried fruit, honey, and a signature Beam yeasty flavor. The finish is medium in length with soft wood and a wine-like fruit component.

It’s balanced and flavorful, and overall an enjoyable, but not overwhelming, experience. It goes great with a wide variety of cigars.

I particularly enjoyed the Illusione Singulare LE Phantom 2010 with the Beam Signature Series 12 year, but then it’s one of my favorite cigars so perhaps that’s because the best cigars always go well with a good spirit. Other recommend pairings include such medium- or full-bodied smokes as the Aging Room Quattro, Litto Gomez Diez Small Batch No. 2, and the Padrón Serie 1926 No. 6.

Some people will dismiss Jim Beam Signature Craft 12 Year Bourbon because it’s released under the Jim Beam name and made by the largest bourbon producer. In my opinion that would be a mistake. This is a good bourbon at a reasonable price, and it’s definitely worth trying if your a bourbon drinker.

–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 was a gift from a friend and, as best I can tell, it’s a custom-rolled Cuban cigar with Mexican origins based on the Montecristo 109 Conte regional blend. (This isn’t the first time we’ve evaluated a custom Cuban cigar.) The cigar is 7.25 inches long with a ring gauge of 50 and a notably rounded cap and closed foot. It features a medium-brown wrapper with relatively few veins. It claims to be a Cuban puro, and I’m inclined to believe that. The profile is sweet earth, with hints of cedar and honey. It’s immaculately balanced and mild- to medium-bodied with flawless construction. It’s certainly hard to procure (I honestly wouldn’t know where to get it) but I can’t recommend it more.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys