The Stogie Guys

Well, it’s official. After 35 long days, 43 carefully picked entries, and 5 grueling NCAA games, we finally have a winner for the Stogie Guys College Football Bowl Contest. Congratulations are in order to Bradley Davis of Crestview, Florida, who was the only contestant to pick all five Bowl Championship Series games correctly.

But, as you know, we’re sending more than congratulations Bradley’s way. We’re sending him three fine cigars: a La Aroma de Cuba; a Bahia Gold; and a pricey, four stogie-rated Graycliff Grand Cru.

Bradley told us yesterday that he’s been smoking for about two years and his favorites include the Hoyo de Monterrey Dark Sumatra and anything by Don Pepin Garcia. On his victory, Bradley wrote, “I went with my heart on a couple of games instead of who I thought would win.”

From all of us at StogieGuys.com, thank you to all the contestants and to CigarsDirect.com for sponsoring the contest. Bradley may have had the upper hand this time with his picks of LSU, Kansas, West Virginia, Georgia, and USC, but maybe the next Stogie Guys cigar giveaway will end up in your favor.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Reuters

Once again StogieGuys.com is using football as an excuse to give our readers an opportunity to win some great cigars. This time, one lucky reader will receive three fine sticks: a Graycliff Grand Cru, a La Aroma de Cuba, and a Bahia Gold – all courtesy of CigarsDirect.com.

The Bahia and the Aroma de Cuba will be the subject of upcoming reviews, while the Graycliff recently received an impressive rating of four out of five stogies.

To win, you need to do the best job picking the following Bowl Championship Series Games:

National Championship: Ohio State vs. LSU

Orange Bowl: Kansas vs. Virginia Tech

Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma vs. West Virginia

Sugar Bowl: Hawaii vs. Georgia

Rose Bowl: USC vs. Illinois

To enter, leave a comment on this article that includes your picks for all five games and a prediction for the margin of victory and total points scored for the Championship Game.

The margin of victory, followed by total points, will be used as a tiebreakers if multiple entries correctly predict the same number of games including the National Championship. In the event of matching winning guesses, the first to respond is the winner.

Eligibility: Only one entry per person. Participants must be 21 (verification may be required) and must live in the continental US. You must enter a valid email so we can contact you for a mailing address.

All entries must be received before 2008. Good Luck!

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Every weekend day here at StogieGuys.com we publish short Quick Smokes: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar. Now, you can win free cigars by submitting your own Quick Smoke.

To participate, simply submit your entry to our general contact email address. The five readers who submit the best submissions (as selected by the StogieGuys.com editors) will receive an Arganese Cigars three-pack sampler with robustos from each of their three blends.

Here are a few tips to give your Quick Smoke the best chance of being selected:

All submissions need to include the full name of the cigar with your rating of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.” (A “buy” rating means you would definitely recommend others try the cigar; a “sell” rating means you wouldn’t recommend it; and a “hold” rating is reserved for cigars in between.)

Include your name and hometown.

Please remember we’re not looking for essays; just 100 words or less (three or four sentences will do) with your impressions.

Also, you can increase your chances of publication by choosing a cigar that hasn’t already been a Quick Smoke or the subject of a full review.

While not necessary, please feel free to include an original photo of the cigar, its dimensions, country of origin, etc.

Finally, a little fine print: By submitting an entry into this contest, you attest that you are 18 years of age or older and give StogieGuys.com the exclusive right to publish your Quick Smoke. While everyone is encouraged to enter a submission for possible publication, only those with addresses in the continental U.S. are eligible to win the prizes.

So get your submissions in today for a chance to win some free smokes!

–The Stogie Guys

From all of us here at StogieGuys.com, we want to wish you a very happy Labor Day. Aside from honoring the hard-working men and women who make this country great, we’re taking the day off to barbecue, relax, and smoke a few cigars. We suggest you do the same.

–The Stogie Guys

On this date 231 years ago, 56 liberty-loving patriots declared the U.S. free from the tyrannical policies of Great Britain by affixing their names to the bottom of the Declaration of Independence. They effectively laid the foundation for a new country to become the world’s shinning beacon of liberty, equality, and hope.

It’s only appropriate, therefore, that we celebrate with beer, BBQ, baseball, and colorful explosions in the sky. As such, the StogieGuys.com team is taking the day off to enjoy all things American, and perhaps even a cigar or three.

–The Stogie Guys

With Florida’s 84-75 win over the Buckeyes in last night’s national championship game, the StogieGuys.com NCAA Final Four Challenge has come to a close. And oh what a March Madness it was!

Aside from the fact that I’m getting a little sick of the Gators winning it all in everything, this year’s college basketball tournament was not without its fair share of exciting moments. From VCU upsetting Duke in the first round to Ohio State narrowly escaping Xavier, from Georgetown squeaking past Vanderbilt at the last second to North Carolina blowing it against the Hoyas in overtime, our brackets kept us all on the edge of our seats.

But, in the end, only one StogieGuys.com reader can be crowned champion of our first annual Final Four Challenge. This year it’s Dave Manikowski of Oil City, Pennsylvania. Dave amazingly picked all Elite Eight teams correctly and had Florida defeating Ohio State in the championship.

As promised, Dave will receive these Final Four smokes: a Montecristo Classic Robusto, a Cohiba (Dominican) Robusto, a Gurkha Class Regent Torpedo, and a rare Dona Flor Robusto. Some excellent smokes for an excellent bracket!

And we couldn’t be shipping these out to a better guy. According to Dave, he is a “personal care attendant for [his] friend Troy, who was in a diving accident when he was 15 and is now a quadriplegic and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.”

Avid stogie fans, they started their own cigar placements business called 2 Fogies Stogies Cigar Co. Of Troy, Dave says that “nothing is better than spending some time smoking a fine stogie with him and talking about business plans for the future.”

We’re sure Dave will share some of his winnings with Troy, but we also hope he hangs onto at least one of the cigars until July 23, the date he and his girlfriend Leslie expect their first child.

Congrats, Dave!

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars

On March 22nd (that’s tomorrow!) from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. we’ll be hosting our second monthly Stogie Guys Smoke Out.

Patrick S and Patrick A will be at cigar-friendly Carpool in Arlington, Virginia (two blocks from the Ballston Metro Station) smoking cigars, eating BBQ, playing pool and darts, and talking stogies. We’re also looking forward to watching March Madness on the bar’s many TVs.

Please join us and your fellow DC-area Stogie Guys. An RSVP (via email) isn’t necessary, but would be helpful to ensure that we reserve enough space.

Additionally, while you’re welcome to bring your own cigars, Carpool has a small menu of 10 or so, and Cigar Connection is also just a block away. We hope to see you there!