The Stogie Guys

Much of what I smoke is driven by the needs of StogieGuys.com: what we haven’t yet reviewed, what readers are asking us to review, what’s new, etc. This requires a ton of variety. (I know it’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it). When I’m just smoking for sheer enjoyment, though, I find myself favoring a few select blends at any given time.

Over the past few days I’ve been smoking more for enjoyment and less for this site. If you follow us on Facebook, you’ll note that I recently took a brief vacation to Florida—a trip that afforded me the luxury of firing up whatever I wanted. I think it’s telling of my taste to look at the cigars I decided to take to Florida.

Tesa Gran Cru Limited Edition. This one-size, box-pressed cigar is all about balance. Anyone can put together a spicy, heavy-handed powerhouse, but few can construct a medium-bodied blend with such equilibrium as Tesa’s Chris Kelly. This torpedo’s Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, criollo ’98 binder from Jalapa, and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos combine to yield a woodsy flavor with notes of cream, salty peanut, and coffee. You can bet I’ll be all over this smoke again as soon as more become available at Kelly’s Chicago shop.

Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve. Remember this cigar? It was released in the summer of 2011 and then, as far as I can tell, sort of forgotten. But I’ve been impressed by the single size, a torpedo (6.1 x 52) with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The flavor has a dry spice with earth, coffee, and caramel. Normally priced around $12, my local shop put the Grand Reserve on special for $9.50 earlier this year, and I decided to stock up. I’m glad I did as it’s currently a favorite.

God of Fire Serie B Double Robusto 2011. I know I reviewed this cigar very recently. I know Prometheus is one of our advertisers. Ever since I tried the Serie B Double Robusto 2011, though, I’ve seriously been hooked. And for good reason. The Double Robusto (5.75 x 52) has an Ecuadorian sun-grown wrapper and a great profile of pepper, raisin, dark chocolate, and espresso. It also smokes like a champ, as it should for $22. I can’t afford to smoke this cigar too frequently, but my vacation was a nice excuse to burn a few of these.

Pinar del Rio Small Batch Reserve Habano Gran Toro. No, not everything on my list has to be expensive. While recently I’ve been reaching for a fair number of super-premiums, I realize this isn’t sustainable. So I’ve also been smoking a few more modestly priced smokes, like the Small Batch Reserve Habano Gran Toro from Pinar del Rio, which packs a flavor of sweet wood for about $6. It also boasts the excellent construction I’ve come to expect from Abe Flores’ brand.

Now these aren’t the same cigars I chose to smoke for pure enjoyment a few months ago, and they probably won’t be the same cigars I’ll choose months from now. My tastes tend to be somewhat seasonal. Just like I prefer rum in the summer and bourbon in the winter, I tend towards milder, creamier smokes in the summer and heartier, spicier cigars in the winter.

In addition, no matter how good a cigar is, I find the principle of diminishing marginal utility starts to apply if I fire up the same stick over and over. So it makes sense for me to rotate my favorites, even as they get interspersed with the cigars I smoke for this website.

In any event, I figured it might be interesting for me to share what cigars I’ve been selecting from my stash lately. Feel free to share your current favorites in the comments below.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Tomorrow, millions of Americans will head to the polls to decide which politicians will make the laws that, for better or worse, we will live under in the coming years. While there are many reasons to vote and many issues to consider, we hope you’ll keep your cigar rights in mind when you decide who to support.

Unfortunately, enjoying a cigar is under attack from legislation and regulation at all levels of government. Who is elected tomorrow could well make the difference when it comes to which cigars we enjoy, and where we are free to enjoy them in the future.

When it comes to presidential candidates, the stances of the major candidates on cigars comes down to a known and an unknown. One of President Obama’s first acts in office was signing into law the largest tax increase on cigars in American history. Not long later he signed into law the bill to regulate tobacco under the FDA, which includes authorization for the FDA to regulate cigars without any further act from Congress, a bill which could in the long run be far more damaging to the cigar industry and the choices cigar smokers have. When cigar smokers petitioned the White House for an official answer about its plans to regulate cigars under the FDA, their calls were answered with a deafening silence.

Obama’s Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, doesn’t have much of a record on theses issues. But considering Obama’s positions and that Romney has been attacked for his criticisms of SCHIP (the tax hike on cigars that Obama signed into law), it’s hard to think he could be much worse. If you’re having trouble pulling the lever for either major party candidate, you also might consider Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, former Governor of New Mexico, whose philosophical beliefs make him the most likely to keep government’s hands off cigars, even if he has zero chance of getting elected.

But while most of the attention is likely to be paid to the top of the ticket, the races further down the ticket are more likely to have an impact on cigar rights in the years to come. After all, it is Congress that makes the laws, and only Congress has the power to fully repeal the FDA’s authority to regulate cigars.

When it comes to House and Senate races, Cigar Rights of America has a voter guide that every cigar smoker should take a look at before heading to the polls. In a few races, like the Florida and Nevada Senate races, both candidates are co-sponsors of the bill to stop the FDA from regulating (and devastating) the cigar industry. In most races, only one candidate is on record in favor of cigar rights. (In a few races, like Arizona Senate candidate Jeff Flake vs. former Surgeon General Richard Carmona, CRA has gone out of its way to endorse the pro-cigar candidate. In that race, it’s Flake.)

When it comes to local and state races, you’ll need to do your own investigations. But please take the time to do so, since when it comes to smoking bans and state tax rates, these local races make all the difference. And, of course, know if there are referendums on your ballot that would increase taxes or smoking bans.

Ultimately, we’re not going to tell you how to vote because we think you’re smart enough to make that decision for yourself. Just remember that the decisions you make in the voting booth have consequences, and the future of cigar rights (smoking bans, taxes, and anti-cigar regulations) could depend on who is elected tomorrow.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: N/A

In this latest segment of Random Thoughts from the Humidor, I contemplate an underestimated FDA threat, a resurgence in smaller cigars, and my favorite cigar routine.

The FDA Would Ruin Cigar Aesthetics

FDA regulations would have many detrimental impacts on premium cigars. Though I’m not sure it would be the most damaging, one that particularly worries me is restrictions on packaging. One of the best things about cigars is the artwork, the ornate boxes and bands that make the first impression about the cigars you are going to enjoy. But if cigars end up regulated the way cigarettes are, ugly government warnings will ruin the aesthetic beauty of a well-designed cigar box. It’s just another reason to support the important Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act in Congress.

Renaissance of Coronas

Maybe I’m just noticing it more, since coronas are often my favorite cigar size for a particular blend, but after a time when smaller ring gauge cigars were completely neglected, the classic corona size seems to be re-establishing itself as a staple size. For a while, it seemed many new cigars were limited to larger ring gauge sizes. Robusto, toro, Churchill, and the “gordo” (6 x 60). And while those sizes aren’t going anywhere (even though I’m seeing less Churchills than I used to), today a corona is increasingly included in that lineup. As a fan of smaller ring gauge cigars, I think this is a good trend.

My Saturday Morning Cigar Routine

If you’re looking for cigar routine, let me recommend my favorite time to smoke a cigar: Saturday morning. As often as possible, I make a strong cup of coffee, grab the paper (the Saturday Wall Street Journal, usually), and sit outside for a leisurely smoke. After a long week of full days, something about sitting around, doing a little reading, and just generally not being in a rush makes Saturday mornings my favorite regular smoking routine. Try it. It’s a great way to start the weekend before rushing to check items off your to-do list.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Flickr

In the latest segment of Random Thoughts from the Humidor, I share my contemplations about Air Jordan, trends in cigar bands, and the impending change in weather.

I Wanna Be Like Mike

Chicago is about to host the 39th Ryder Cup, the biennial competition that pits the best golfers from the U.S. against the best from Europe. As fun as it would be to trade places with the likes of Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson, or Phil Mickelson, there’s no one I’d rather be this weekend than Michael Jordan. USA Captain Davis Love has tapped the “49-year-old, cigar-chomping, billionaire former basketball player” to “keep the players loose, to serve as possibly the greatest role model for success in sport, and to pass out cigars.” Sounds like a good time, and sounds like M.J. will have the best seats in the house at Medinah Country Club.

Bacon-Wrapped Cigars?

I think it’s safe to say manufacturers have gotten increasingly creative with cigar bands in recent years. I understand this trend. After all, without a cigar band, distinguishing cigars from one another is nearly impossible. But how creative is too creative? Yesterday my colleague reviewed a cigar with a metal gear around the band. That’s a significant jump in originality from the days when raised type, glossy surfaces, or even double-bands were beyond the norm. And I’d say it’s even a far cry from the last band that made me do a double-take: the band of jaggedly cut Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper leaf on Tatuaje’s “The Face.” It makes me wonder what’s next. A cigar with a band made of bacon?

Winter is Upon Us

It’s almost October, and that means cold temperatures, icy winds, and low humidity is just around the corner. Over the years we’ve published a number of articles on this subject, and I thought I’d point out a few of them here for the benefit of preparation. First, you may consider finding yourself an indoor winter sanctuary for smoking, especially since smoke-friendly locales are hard to come by these days. Second, if you’re going to be smoking outside, you might want to consider stocking up on shorter smokes. Third, be sure to have the right beverages on hand, including winter beers and ingredients to make hot buttered rum or a Stonewall Jackson. Finally, we’ve also written tips on how to build a temperature-controlled humidor and altering your smoking routines to accommodate the cold.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

Cigars, like friends, have different personalities. Some are boisterous back-slappers. Others are quiet and contemplative. Occasionally, a newcomer will fit right in at first meeting, while a long-time buddy is always welcome.

Here’s a look at five cigars I think of as friends and what makes each one special to me.

Fausto Avion 11 Perfecto Grande. This tasty, peppery Tatuaje cigar with Nicaraguan filler and a Habano Ecuadorian wrapper is a delight. But what makes it stand out for me is the thick, white smoke the Avion produces in extraordinary volume. Few sticks can go head-to-head with it in this category.

Illusione Epernay Le Matin. A rich treasure trove. When I want to just sit back and luxuriate in the cigar smoking experience and all it has to offer, this is the one for me. It’s a cornucopia of flavors woven together as smoothly as a boatswain’s whistle knot.

Double Chateau Fuente Sun Grown. This Arturo Fuente cigar is like the long-time friend who can accompany you anywhere, from an afternoon ballgame to an evening ball. The cedar sleeve and black band at the foot accent a fine presentation, while the cigar itself is second to none in price, quality, and enjoyment.

Paul Garmirian Symphony 20th Connoisseur. Think about who you want with you when celebrating life’s great moments. That’s how I think of this exquisite, high-dollar smoke. If memorable is the goal, Symphony 20th is the path to get you there.

Punch Champion. Like some old friends, I recently realized I haven’t seen this one for some time. Perhaps all the new Punch line extensions have pushed it from retailers’ shelves. Whatever the reason, it’s a shame. This little pig-in-a-python cigar—I prefer the Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over the maduro—is fun, pleasing, and a good companion.

There you have it. Let’s hear about some of your friends in the comments below.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

Yesterday, Patrick A wrote about the cigars he blended while attending Cigar Safari. Today I’m looking at my creations. Like my colleague, I blended two cigars: one at Joya de Nicaragua, and the other at Drew Estate. Unlike my previous experiences blending cigars, these cigars were rolled by experienced cigar makers, which is nice since the other blends I created (at La Aurora and General Cigar’s Dominican factories) were rolled mostly by me, meaning it was had to know whether the blend or just the rolling was sub-standard.

For both cigars I had one shared goal—to create a balanced cigar—along with flavor profiles I was seeking to create. In both cases, the cigars turned out smokeable, though they certainly aren’t better than the professional blends coming from either factory.

Joya de Nicaragua Blend
Wrapper: Habano criollo
Binder: Ecuador Connecticut
Filler: Jalapa seco (25%), Estelí viso (25%), Jalapa viso (25%), Estelí ligero (25%)
Size: 5.5 x 48

Here my goal was a medium-bodied cigar with plenty of balance and only a little spice. And while it isn’t the most harmonious cigar I’ve ever tried, I think I mostly hit those goals, though I don’t really know if it ended up like the “sample” I rolled myself. It’s leathery, earthy, and oaky, all of which makes it downright pleasant to smoke. If I was grading the half dozen or so samples I’ve smoked, I’d probably give it 3.5 stogies out of five (also known as a cigar I’d actually spend money on if it was reasonably priced) which probably says more about the relatively fool-proof options we were given than my own blending skills.

Drew Estate Blend
Wrapper: Brazilian mata fina oscuro
Binder: Habano Ecuador
Filler: Estelí seco (15%), Estelí viso (15%), Jalapa criollo (30%), mata fina (40%)
Size: 6 x 46

Interestingly, though completely unplanned, my colleague and I ended up selecting fairly similar blends from the plethora of options provided by Drew Estate. Like him, I’m a big fan of Brazilian mata fina tobacco, so both our cigars ended up featuring a mata fina wrapper and significant amounts of mata fina filler. While not as balanced as I thought it might turn out, this has become much better in the almost four months since I first smoked it fresh a few days after it was rolled. Still, the large percentage of mata fina overwhelms the blend and unfortunately does so not with the dark chocolate I hoped for, but with a slight sourness that permeates the entire cigar. While I thought this might be the better of the two smokes, it turned out that the Joya de Nicaragua blend was superior in almost every way.

In previous blending seminars, I found a common mistake was to use too much ligero tobacco, which often creates a strong but unbalanced smoke. I successfully avoided that pitfall, but that didn’t necessarily mean the results were fantastic. Most of all, the experience reminded me why the great cigars we enjoy, and even take for granted, are the result of many, often dozens, of blends.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As you may remember from all of our coverage in late May, this spring I journeyed to Estelí, Nicaragua, to participate in Drew Estate’s unforgettable Cigar Safari adventure.

There, in addition to getting to tour the factories where some of the world’s best cigars are made, I got the awesome opportunity to blend two cigars: one at Joya de Nicaragua, and the other at Drew Estate. Today I’d like to present my work to you, now that I’ve had ample time to allow the cigars to rest and to smoke a fair number of my samples.

I’d like to point out two things about both cigars before getting into the details. First, I did not grow, cultivate, ferment, or actually roll any of the cigars. All the hard work was done by the fine folks at Joya de Nicaragua and Drew Estate, respectively. My role consisted of walking into a room full of tobacco and selecting a wrapper, a binder, and a filler blend from available tobaccos. As such, the process was fairly idiot-proof—almost anyone could have turned out a decent-tasting smoke since either factory has wonderful tobacco to work with.

Second, while most folks presented with this opportunity might try to produce a cigar tailored for their palate, I set out with a specific goal for each cigar, and then tried to select a blend that would hit the mark. As you’ll see below, for one of these cigars I think I succeeded; for the other, not so much (but I’m not complaining about the result).

Joya de Nicaragua Blend
Wrapper: Connecticut Ecuador
Binder: Habano volado
Filler: Condega seco (30%), Estelí viso (40%), Condega ligero (30%)
Size: 5.5 x 48

My objective with this cigar was to produce a mild, creamy smoke that would be excellent with a morning cup of coffee. I couldn’t be more pleased with the result. This beautiful, golden cigar burns like a champ and yields a nice flavor of cream, butter, almond, and just a bit of spice. I got ten of these from Joya de Nicaragua and I’ve almost completely blazed through the entire stash. I may have to fly back down to Nicaragua to see if I can get more. While Joya de Nicaragua isn’t known for making mild smokes, this one turned out wonderfully.

Drew Estate Blend
Wrapper: Brazilian mata fina oscuro
Binder: Habano Ecuador
Filler: Estelí seco (33%), Jalapa ligero (33%), Brazilian mata fina (33%)
Size: 5.25 x 42

My objective here was to get a medium-bodied smoke that’s low on spice but big on dark chocolate flavors—something that would pair nicely with a glass of red wine. That’s why I loaded it up with mata fina, a tobacco that’s typically sweet and chocolaty. In my blend, though, the Habano Ecuador binder and seco and ligero fillers unexpectedly shine though. The result is a profile devoid of chocolate or any sweetness. Instead, the flavor packs dry spice, leather, and oak. I like this cigar, and it is getting better each month, but it isn’t at all what I had intended.

Regardless of either result, blending these cigars was one of the most rewarding and educational cigar experiences I’ve ever had. Thanks again to everyone at Drew Estate and Joya de Nicaragua for the opportunity. Until my next visit, I won’t quit my day job.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys