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 at the prolific Raices Cubanas factory with oversight and blending assistance from Alec Bradley’s Alan Rubin, El Diario is a full-bodied blend with a Honduran wrapper, double binders, and filler from Honduras and Nicaragua. KB is short for “Kill Bill,” because of how full-bodied La Palina founder Bill Paley found the cigar. It’s not the most full-bodied cigar you’ll smoke, but it’s no lightweight; lots of dark chocolate, earth, and spice. At $35 for a four-pack, it’s pretty expensive for such a small cigar (4.25 x 40), but it’s also plenty tasty.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Haven’t heard of J. Grotto? Don’t feel bad. Until recently, I knew nothing about the line made by the Rhode Island-based Ocean State Cigars.

Fortunately, the company doesn’t make its cigars in the Ocean State, but at the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras, one of the hottest and most prolific factories around. Raices also rolls cigars for Illusione, Alec Bradley, Viaje, and a number of other brands.

The J. Grotto Reserve has Honduran ligero and Nicaraguan Jalapa filler surrounded by a Honduran Criollo ’98 binder and a Criollo ’99 wrapper. The Lancero (7.5 x 41) is a new addition to a line that also includes a Gran Corona (5.6 X 46), Gran Robusto (5 X 52), Gran Toro (6 x 52), and Gordo (6 x 60).

According to a press release from the company, production of the limited release Lancero was delayed three months due to demand-driven production delays at Raices Cubanas. Even when the delay was overcome, only 1,000 total cigars were made with 100 boxes of 10 being reserved for stores hosting J. Grotto events. (I received three cigars to sample directly from Ocean State.)

It’s a good-looking Lancero with a reddish wrapper that features a bit of oil. It’s a bit spongy but, when it comes to the lancero size, this doesn’t bother me; an overly tight draw is a far more common problem on long, thin vitolas.

Once lit, I find a flavor profile dominated by clove and nutmeg. There’s also earth and roast cashew, with just a hint of cedary spice on the finish, the only spice the cigar demonstrates. Construction is excellent, with no ill effects from the seemingly loose draw.

The cigar is medium-bodied and mostly balanced, though it adds some grittiness towards the final third. It’s smooth, flavorful, and highly enjoyable. The smoothness comes, I suspect, from the fact that the cigar is made of tobacco that has been aged three full years.

At $7.95 per cigar, this is an impressive smoke worth seeking out, even if finding it may be difficult (retailers that do get it will only be getting four boxes each). With smooth, medium-bodied flavors and excellent construction, the J. Grotto Reserve Lancero Limitado earns an impressive four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I enjoyed Hooker’s House Bourbon—bottled by Prohibition Spirits—when I tried it last summer. Enough so that when I saw they were adding a rye, I felt it was well worth a try.

I’ve become skeptical of bourbon (or rye) bottled by companies that don’t distill their own whiskey, many of which just seem to slap their label on spirit they had no role in making. Hooker’s House, on the other hand, doesn’t hide the fact that they didn’t make the whiskey, but they do finish it in wine barrels that create a distinct spirit.

Plus, I have a strong suspicion that I know who makes the rye that Prohibition Spirits finishes in used California Zinfandel barrels. The number of places that make rye is limited, and the places that sell aged stock is even smaller. Between the lack of Kentucky in the marketing material and the extremely high rye content of 95%, it all points to the Indiana-based Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana (LDI), the former Seagrams distillery that provides 95% rye for Bulleit, George Dickel, Templeton, High West, and others.

Each of those ryes is its own twist on LDI’s recipe (againg, barrels, filtration, etc…) and Hooker’s House is a “Sonoma-style American rye” because it places the rye in used Sonoma Zinfandel barrels. They don’t give a specific age statement for this 94-proof spirit, but the fact that it is described as “straight rye whiskey” means all the rye has at least 4 years of time in new charred oak barrels.

The result is a rye with a deep copper color and a spicy, woody nose with citrus and cassis. The taste has lots of rye spice—wood and pepper—plenty of heat, and hints of cherry, mint, and vanilla. The finish is long and hot, with more oak and mint.

While the Hooker’s House rye is pleasant enough, it has a rough and unbalanced edge, especially compared to their bourbon. It does, however, make a great Manhattan.

Straight up, or in a cocktail, Hooker’s House Rye calls for a full-bodied cigar. Either an earthy Nicaraguan smoke (like the Fausto) or a woody, spicy Dominican (like the Opus X).

–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.”

I was a fan of the 7th Capa Especial (5.9 x 46) when it first was released, quickly smoking my way through one of the first boxes available. The cigar features a rustic Sumatra wrapper around Nicaraguan tobaccos. Except for the wrapper, it’s the same blend as the regular Tatuaje Brown Label. While this particular cigar had many of the coffee and earth flavors I remembered, it lacked the sweetness and balance that made the Tatauje 7th Capa Especial a favorite of mine. Maybe this particular stick was dud—I’m certainly not writing off the blend with one subpar stick out of a few dozen—but for $8-9 I would expect better.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

The Scottish town of Cambeltown once claimed the title “whisky capital of the world,” but today it’s a shell of its former self. Where once there were reportedly 28 active distilleries, now there are just a few, with Springbank the largest remaining operation.

Springbank 10 is the distillery’s most widely available expression. It also makes a wide variety of other bottlings, including a “Wood Expressions” line with various finishes and ages, including the 12 Year Claret Cask. (In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, “claret” is commonly used in Britain as a synonym for red Bordeaux wine.)

Fortunately, Springbank puts all the details of their Single Malt Whisky on the label. This particular bottle (one of a run of 9,360) was distilled in 1997 and finally bottled in 2010 at a strength of 108.8-proof. It spent nine years in refilled bourbon casks, before being transferred to fresh claret barrels.

Springbank uses a unique distillation process where the whisky is distilled two-and-a-half times. As shown in this graphic, there are three distillations in each batch, but a certain percentage skips the second still. Also, Springbank doesn’t chill-filter or add coloring to their whiskies, the latter of which is an unfortunately common occurrence.

The natural color is golden and straw. The nose is a fantastic combination of smoke, butterscotch, orange peel, and honey. The whisky coats the palate with a consistency that is not so much syrupy as oily. There’s lots of smokiness, some brine, but not a lot of peat, and hints of apricot, mint, and vanilla. The finish is long with dried fruit, salt, and wood spice.

While Cambeltown whiskies have not always been my favorite, this one impressed me, even at $90. It’s complex and layered, with just the right combination of fruit, smoke, and spice. A few drops of water open it up nicely, but ice is wholly unnecessary.

Medium bodied cigars suit the Springbank and, depending on your mood, you couldn’t go wrong with any of these: La Riqueza, PG 15th Anniversary, El Centurion, or Partagas Benji Menendez Master Series.

–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.”

The Illusione Singulare 2012 continues to improve. The toro features lots of roasted notes, along with cafe-au-lait and oak. The well-constructed cigar features perfectly balanced medium- to full-bodied flavors. Needless to say, I highly recommend it. For a surprisingly enjoyable pairing, smoke one with a glass of champagne.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

There have been plenty of exciting new ryes introducdc in recent years. (I’ve written about Bulleit, Knob Creek, Michter’s, and Breuckelen, and I’m not the only one noticing a resurgence of the classic American spirit.) With the introduction of their own new rye, Tennessee whisky maker George Dickel is putting its own spin on this spirit.

George Dickel’s parent company, Diageo, is the same as Bulleit’s, and the similarities between the ryes don’t end there. Both are distilled at Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana (LDI) using the same rye-heavy recipe (95% rye and 5% malted barley). But of course whisky is far more than just the ingredients that go into it, and the Dickel rye takes its own distinct journey from barrel to bottle.

After five years in new, charred oak barrels (the legally required vessel for aging bourbon and rye whisky) the LDI-made Dickel is sent from Indiana to the bottling facility where it goes through the same charcoal chill-filtering process as Dickel’s original Tennessee whisky (Jack Daniels also uses the “Lincoln County Process“).

The resulting spirit is 90-proof and $25 for a 750 ml. bottle (notably the same price as Bulleit). It is orange-amber in color, with a nose featuring orange peel, oak, ethanol, and spice. The flavor is dominated by the wood (oak and spice) but there’s also a doughy bread flavor and some candied fruit. The finish is very dry and oaky.

I started tasting it straight, but very quickly found that watering down the proof just a bit mellowed the heat and oak, and let some of the complexities come out. Still, it’s not my favorite rye to enjoy straight (I definitely prefer its relative the Bulleit for that) but Dickel makes for an excellent mixing rye, especially in a proper Manhattan (rye, not bourbon, was the original Manhattan ingredient).

Looking for some cigar pairings? The spicy Fuente Opus X is recommended if you’re trying it straight. With a Manhattan, the Ecuadorian Sumatra-wrapped Tatuaje 7th Capa Especial has the balanced sweet and earth notes to complement the best of this new George Dickel Rye.

–Patrick S

photo credit: George Dickel