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.”

Made for the St. Louis-based Table 36 by Nestor Plasencia, Integrity is a Nicaraguan puro with a Jalapa wrapper, double binders from Estelí and Jalapa, and filler tobaccos from Condega and Jalapa. The Corona Gorda (5.5 x 46) has a slight box press that, at least on the single sample I received at the IPCPR Trade Show, is very pronounced at the foot while hardly noticeable at the head. The result is a powerful, full-bodied smoke with earth and graphite, along with hints of clove and molasses. This was the first Table 36 I’ve smoked, and I’m looking forward to trying others.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

El Cedro is a new brand recently launched by Anwar Elboustani. Elboustani experienced what he calls “love at first smoke” while stationed in Iraq as a translator in the U.S. Navy. In early 2013, nearly ten years later, Elboustani founded El Cedro Cigars, a new boutique brand “inspired by the men and women of America’s armed services.”

The name means “The Cedar,” which refers to the ancient Mediterranean cedar trees which dot the mountains of Lebanon, some of which date back nearly 2000 years. “I chose the cedar tree because to me it embodies eternity… I want ‘The Cedar’ to memorialize those who have fallen for the freedom that every American enjoys,” Elboustani says. (Spanish) cedar also happens to be the type of wood most closely associated cigar making and proper cigar storage.

El Cedro cigars are produced at the new Kelner Boutique Factory in the Dominican Republic, run by Hendrick Kelner Jr.(son of “Henke” Kelner, who oversees Davidoff production and produces many other cigars). Henke Jr. also makes his new Tuxedo Cigars at the new facility.

El Cedro has a Dominican wrapper and binder around a blend of Dominican tobacco (supplied by Kelner Jr.’s sister Monica) and Nicaraguan ligero from an undisclosed source. The blend comes in two sizes: Robusto (5.5 x 50) and Corona Gorda (5.5 x 46), the latter of which is really more of a traditional corona size; they retail for $8 and $7, respectively. I smoked four of the Corona Gorda size for this review, all provided by El Cedro before its national release next month.

With a white and gold band around a medium brown wrapper with only a few veins, it’s a classic-looking cigar. It’s well-constructed with a flawless draw (just enough resistance, but not too much) an even burn, and a solid ash that holds for at least an inch.

The cigar is medium-bodied and distinctly Dominican. Dominant flavors are dry cedar and dusty earth. It’s nicely balanced, even if it’s not overly complex. The tobaccos have a character that suggests they are properly aged and not rushed.

These are the first cigars I’ve smoked from the Kelner Boutique Factory and I’m largely impressed. It doesn’t feature the mustiness that characterizes most Davidoff cigars, but it is smooth, balanced, and well-aged. Those characteristics earn this fairly-priced cigar a very respectable four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I’ve come to lump bourbons into two categories: those who make their bourbon and those who buy their bourbon. This isn’t a value judgement (I’ve had excellent and mediocre examples of each) just a matter of information. For some bourbons, the owner is a distiller; in other instances the owner is a “non-distiller producer” (NDP) who buys and perhaps ages and blends bourbon made elsewhere.

By the way, the same is true of cigars. Some cigar makers have own their factory, while other brand owners contract someone else to make it for them. But for both bourbons and cigars there’s a wide range of those who fall in the latter category. Some companies are completely upfront about who makes their cigars (they may be more like co-producers), while others are completely secretive. Fortunately, for cigars, the top-secret undisclosed factory is the rarity.

For bourbons, those who don’t distill their own tend to be more tight-lipped about their sources. Black Maple Hill falls into that category. The California-based company has Kentucky Bourbon Distillers (itself an NDP) blend and bottle its bourbon. Sources aren’t disclosed, but Kentucky Bourbon Distillers says it buys bourbon from every major distiller except Maker’s Mark. Which ones end up in Black Maple Hill? The handful of people who know won’t tell.

Black Maple Hill occasionally releases very small runs of extra-old (and very pricey) bourbons and ryes, but these days, if you find it at all, it’s likely to be the Small Batch variety. It’s bottled at 95-proof (47.5 ABV) with no statement of age. Not long ago this could be found for $35-40, but now you might pay quite a bit more. My bottle cost $58 at my local Virginia state-run store and still it was sold out a week after I first spotted it on the shelf.

Black Maple Hill Small Batch is an orange amber color. The nose has corn along with coconut, toffee, and oak. On the palate corn continues to dominate with buttered kettle popcorn. There’s also fudge, malty sweetness, and caramel. In other words, tons of sweetness. The finish continues much the same way, with more corn sweetness and touches of oak.

It’s largely a one-dimensional bourbon (corn sweetness anyone?), but it’s a pleasant dimension, even if $60 seems like way too much for it. The sweetness makes it a versatile pairing with a fine cigar. A refined mild cigar (Macanudo or Davidoff) works just as well as a full-bodied maduro (RoMaCraft CroMagnon or La Riqueza).

Ultimately, for the price, Black Maple Hill Small Batch is outmatched by such staples as Blanton’s, Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, and fellow Kentucky Bourbon Distillers’ NDP Noah’s Mill. But I wouldn’t say don’t try it. I’d just say, don’t mythologize the fact that it’s so difficult to find. It may be relatively rare and quite tasty, but that combination doesn’t necessarily make it better than bourbons that are more easily procured.

–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.”

El Bigote is proof a cheesy band doesn’t tell you much about a cigar. I picked up this cigar, made by Honduras Caribbean Tobacco, at the IPCPR Trade Show a few years ago. A dark brown wrapper surrounds the well-made torpedo. Rich earth and cedar dominate the medium-bodied and well-balanced cigar. With surprising complexity, this was very enjoyable.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Christian Eiroa’s Fabricas Unidas has announced this month that it is starting a program to buy back used boxes from retailers. The program is part of the company’s initiative to reduce it’s environmental impact. The following special announcement (addressed to retailers) was published in a recent IPCPR email newsletter:

Beginning August 2013, we will start to buy back our reusable cigar boxes from our retailers. This is consistent with our BAYER Better Manufacturing Practices and Better Growing Practices initiatives to lower our impact on the environment. Our farms are already under these guidelines and the Aladino Factory is currently going through the certification process. This process assures you and your customers that all cigars have been made with tobacco that had zero impact on the environment and that the cigars have all been made under the same strict hygiene standards of food companies like Hershey’s and Heinz. Our next step is to focus on the cigar boxes.

As you can imagine, cigar boxes are one of the biggest offenders to our forests and, although we use woods that are friendlier and from controlled forests, the impact is undeniable. We are asking for your assistance to reduce our impact by 50%. Therefore, we are asking that you sell your boxes back to us for $1.00 per box. We also ask that you not ship us back any less than 20 reusable boxes each time. Reusable boxes can be defined as any box that is whole and it may just need to be repainted. In order to return the boxes, please contact your sales representative and they will get a call tag for you from our office. Once the boxes are received and inspected immediately, the box credit will be applied to your account.

Thank you very much for your cooperation and help us make our industry friendlier and less scrutinized.

Sincerely,

Christian Eiroa

The move is notable for a few reasons. First, it’s a visible action to recycle in an industry where recycling, to the extent it takes place, isn’t visible to consumers. (Unless you count mixed-filler cigars which “recycle” the cuttings from long-filler cigar making.)

Second, I’m interested to see the reaction that Fabricas Unidas gets from retailers who’s help they will need to make this happen, especially considering one dollar per box (credit towards their wholesale account) isn’t a ton considering the work necessary. Still, it has the potential to bring down the price of boxes (which can add quite a bit). The savings can then be passed on to both retailers and ultimately consumers.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Emerson’s Cigars

Knob Creek will always hold a special place on my bourbon shelf, as the first bourbon that got me to appreciate the depth and complexity of flavor that the spirit can offer. Since then, Knob Creek has added single barrel and rye varieties, but Knob Creek will always be associated with three other bourbons to make up the Small Batch Collection.

In addition to Knob, there’s Booker’s, low-proof, cocktail-oriented Basil Hayden’s, and the most under-the-radar of the bunch: Baker’s. Named after Baker Beam, Booker Noe’s cousin and another member of the legendary Beam bourbon family, Baker’s uses the same mashbill (grain recipe) as Booker’s and Knob Creek, which makes the differences between them due to the aging process and how much water is added before bottling.

Baker’s, which sells for around $45, carries an age statement of 7 years and is bottled at 107-proof. That makes it younger but higher proof than 9-year-old Knob Creek. Booker’s, meanwhile, varies in age from 6-8 years and is bottled uncut at whatever the barrel proof is (a bottle I currently have spent 6 years and 2 months in oak and is 128.5-proof).

Baker’s pours a reddish amber color and has a distinctive nose with dried fruit, lacquer, and wood. The flavor features lots of wood and cinnamon spice, with a resiny edge that coats the sides and roof of the mouth. Secondary flavors include green banana, apple, and vanilla. The finish is medium in length with more spice, dried fruit, and tight wood.

Overall, it’s a raw and focused style of bourbon. It lacks the sweetness of both Knob Creek and Booker’s and instead is more like an intensified version of the classic Jim Beam White Label, which also uses the same mashbill as Baker’s. It’s very drinkable neat, though a few drops of water help open up the aroma and flavor.

A full-boded cigar is definitely called for. Among others, I’d suggest: Berger & Argenti Entubar V32 Rogue, CroMagnon, 601 Serie Green, Joya de Nicaragua Antaño, and Surrogates Skull Breaker.

The obvious question is: How does Baker’s stack up to the rest of the Small Batch Collection? For me it’s clearly ahead of Basil Hayden’s. And while I would recommend Baker’s to anyone getting into bourbon, I do prefer both Booker’s and Knob Creek. But that’s not a knock, as those are two exceptional bourbons.

–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.”

Another limited edition from Viaje, Hang Time is a variation of the Late Harvest blend that uses a wrapper from a higher priming, which, according to Viaje, “allows for more time on the stalk resulting in a more intense smoking experience.” The outcome is a less earthy smoke than the Late Harves 648 (2012), which I’ve smoked quite a bit. The medium- to full-bodied profile features cool smoke with hints of black licorice, grass, and a tinge of metallic flavors. It’s well-constructed and interesting for sure, but at the price (about $9) I prefer the regular Late Harvest blend.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys