The Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) A gift shop owner in Roseville, California is causing a stink over cigar smoke. Lu Winslow, who apparently sells high-end ceramic roosters and diaper bags (who buys this shit?!), this week complained to the Sacramento Bee that the cigar shop next door is making her and her customers sick. She says the smoke that somehow seeps in through the walls “eventually landed [her] at the emergency room with dreadful migraines and chest pains.” California’s restrictive statewide ban on smoking isn’t enough for Winslow, so she’s threatening to sue.

2) On Monday, Dayton Daily News’ Hall of Fame sports columnist Hal McCoy answered some reader questions. This was the first one:

Q: Can you smoke in the Arizona (Chase Field) ball park press box? — Bill, Villa Hills, Ky.

A: Only if I set myself on fire. As for smoking my beloved cigars, that’s a no-no in every major-league press box. That doesn’t stop me from sticking unlit ones in my mouth. Josh Hamilton loves to ask if he can use one of my Churchills to hit with in batting practice, “Because it’s bigger than my bats.”

3) A few companies – most notably CAO – have “Double Maduro” cigars, but here’s a new one: Camacho is releasing the first ever Triple Maduro cigar, consisting of a maduro wrapper, binder, and filler. If you’re a Maduro lover, we suggest you add this to your must-try list.

4) Deal of the Week: Last week’s original deal of the week sold out literally an hour after we posted it. Fortunately, new stock came in and now it’s back. It pretty much speaks for itself, so we’ll simply point out that for under $20 you get these nine cigars:

Don Pepin Garcia Black Robusto
CAO Brazilia Gol
CAO MX2 Toro
Arturo Fuente Double Chateau
Hoyo Excalibur 1066 Dark Knight III
Onyx Reserve Toro
Padilla Habano Torpedo
Joya de Nicaragua Antano 1970
Tinder Box La Reserva No. 2 Maduro

Grab them here before they sell out again.

–The Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Someone has been kind enough to nominate StogieGuys.com for a Bloggers Choice Award in three categories. We’d be honored if you would vote for us for Best Hobby Blog, Best Blog Design, and/or Best Blog About Stuff.

2) According to Forbes, Mexico’s Carlos Slim has pushed Warren Buffett – the “Oracle of Omaha” – out of second place on the list of the world’s richest people. Slim, whose money comes from the telecom industry, is said to have only one indulgence: expensive cigars. So, it appears that he’s not only wealthy – he’s smart!

3) Rich Perelman tells us of some idiotic legislation from Illinois. Apparently not content with the state-wide smoking ban already in place, the State Legislature is actually considering a bill to crack down on smoking in cigar shops. The bill – SB0500 – is currently in front of the Illinois House of Representative Rules Committee, consisting of Barbara Flynn Currie, William B. Black, Gary Hannig, Brent Hassert, and Arthur L. Turner. We suggest Illinois Stogie Guys let them know what they think of this terrible bill.

4) Deal of the Week: Since our original deal already sold out, here’s a replacement, also from Tinderbox.com. This “Herf Pack” includes five-packs from two of the great families of cigars: Perdomo and Oliva. It also includes three more five-packs of Tinderbox housebrand cigars, like the recently “Buy”-rated La Reserva No. 2. But the best part is you get a humidor, lighter, cutter, and a pretty sweet Camacho hat, all for less than $40. Get yours here before this one also sells out.

–The Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) No thanks to Virginia Governor Tim Kaine, the Old Dominion almost became the 22nd state to enact a statewide bar and restaurant smoking ban. Fortunately, state senators rejected Kaine’s attempt to attach the ban to a far more reasonable proposed bill that would force restaurants that allow smoking to conspicuously post a “smoking permitted” sign.

2) Do you think that the editors over at Cigar Aficionado just pull numbers out of their asses when they give a cigar a rating on their one hundred point scale? Well, it turns out it’s a bit more complicated than that, as Gordon Mott and David Savona explain in this video. Still, we’re sticking with our easy to understand five stogie scale.

3) We were pleased when we came across this article on CNN’s travel site. It’s not often that you see a good primer on the cigar industry of Cuba. Now, if you actually want to travel there, you’ll probably want to check out our tips on visiting Cuba.

4) If you’re a fan of Rocky Patel’s Vintage Sun Grown line, you’ll be pleased to know that a new size is now available. The monster six inch by 60 ring gauge vitola – with a distinctive pigtail cap – joins the “Sixty” sizes available in Rocky Patel’s other vintage lines: 1990, 1992, and 1999. Of course, back in September, Rocky told Stogie Guys Tampa Bureau Chief George Edmonson that a slightly narrower 6″ x 52 toro was his favorite size.

5) Deal of the week: Tinderbox.com is running a special deal on their “Herf Sampler,” which can be ordered for a modest $23.95. For that you get ten stogies, including some top notch smokes like a CAO Maduro, a Cohiba XV, a tough to find box-pressed Punch Pensada, a Camacho Havana, the Cusano Corojo 1997, and five others. Pick yours up here.

–The Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Since Editor in Chief Patrick Ashby is a native Chicagoan, how could we pass up sharing this story with you? Cigar Aficionado recently named The Windy City the “the most elegant city in the United States in which to smoke cigars.” With its abundance of stogie-friendly hotels, bars, restaurants, cigar shops (including the oldest one in the nation), and blues and jazz joints, how could one argue? In some locales, like Mike Ditka’s Restaurant, you can be ridiculed for not smoking. Heck, you might even be lucky enough to get chewed out by Da Coach himself. If you’re looking for an excuse to visit “the city with the most beautiful urban center in this country,” click here to order tickets to the Big Smoke (coming up on April 10).

2) In case you missed it, cigar-smoking politicos Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rush Limbaugh duked it out on Rush’s syndicated radio show last week. After some childish name-calling from both sides (including “closet liberal” and “irrelevant”), the Governator sent Limbaugh an autographed humidor featuring the governor’s seal on the lid.

3) In our last Friday Sampler, we opened the door to Quick Smoke submissions. After all, the more reader feedback on StogieGuys.com, the better. (Besides, this should also help lighten the workload for our seven-days-a-week cigar website.) We’ve already received a decent number of great submissions, and we look forward to sharing them with you over the next few weekends. If you haven’t already done so, please consider sending one in today.

4) Deal of the Week: In previous Friday Samplers, we told you about a deal that includes 12 premium handmades, all from names you recognize: Rocky Patel, Gurkha, Macanudo, Partagas, La Gloria Cubana, Hoyo, Punch, and more – plus a hat and travel case. Now they’ve got the same deal, with the same great price (only $29.95), but they’re also throwing in a 13th cigar. The deal now includes two CAOs (the Brazilia and the new Gold Maduro). To grab one today, click here: Baker’s Dozen Deluxe Sampler.

–The Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) We want to issue a special thanks to all the DC-area Stogie Guys who made it out to our second monthly Smoke Out at Carpool last night. As you can see in the picture to the right (which shows a portion of the cigar enthusiasts in attendance), we enjoyed good numbers and a congenial atmosphere. Of course, all the beer, cigars, darts, and college basketball didn’t hurt. Keep your eyes open for the next Smoke Out, which will be coming up at the end of April.

2) Enjoy our weekend Quick Smokes? Wish you could post one of your own? Well, here’s your chance: StogieGuys.com is now accepting reader Quick Smokes. Just send us an email with a short description of the cigar (please include its full name and dimensions) and your rating of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell,” and we’ll consider posting it. 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.

3) This week marks the 40th annual National Wine Week. Fourteen restaurants nationwide are serving over 16,000 bottles of wine in celebration. So if you’ve got a Smith & Wollensky Steakhouse (or one of their five other establishments) in your area, you can taste ten fine wines with your lunch for only $10. Because the only thing that goes better together than steak and cigars is steak, fine wine, and cigars.

4) Here’s a deal we’ve mentioned before, but its so good we wanted to tell you again. With the Powerhouse Super 8 deal you get eight top line cigars for under $10. And it includes a few of our favorites, like a Toraño Exodus Silver, a CAO Criollo, and a La Gloria Cubana. To get yours today, click here.

–The Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson this week signed into law a statewide smoking ban over the “Land of Enchantment.” The Democrat, a long-shot presidential candidate in 2008, occasionally smokes cigars, but apparently doesn’t think the adult citizens of his state are smart enough to make their own decisions. The prohibition – which goes into effect on June 15 – bans smoking in restaurants, bars, most workplaces, and even near the entrances of buildings. In order to justify this draconian legislation, Richardson cited a bunch of inflated statistics from self-serving groups like the AFL-CIO and the American Cancer Society.

2) Handmade cigars are a pleasure with hundreds of years of tradition. But that doesn’t mean a little high technology can’t make them even better. That’s what BLH Industries is doing. By using identical plastic molds, as opposed to the traditional wodden molds that get worn down with time, they make it easier for cigar manufacturers to create perfectly constructed cigars every time.

3) Over at BlogCritics.org (where we are regular contributors) JJ sings the praises of cigar bars: “They are havens for cigars. Ashton Classics can go where everybody knows their name. Cigar bars are ideal places for both cigars and cigar lovers.”

4) Finally, here’s our deal of the week: Over at Thompson they’ve still got their “Ultimate Cigar Sampler” deal going – which includes 12 premium cigars (Rocky Patel, La Gloria Cubana, Gurkha, Hoyo, and too many more to name), a cigar case, and a hat for just $29.95. We don’t know how much longer this “holiday special” will run, so you may want to act quickly.

–The Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Since September, we’ve published a number of stories in the wake of Colorado’s deplorable statewide smoking ban. We told you about Orios – a bar in Durango, Colorado – and how it became the first establishment to be charged with violating the regulation. And we reported how just eight weeks into the ban, many bars had been devastated, losing up to 80 percent of their income. Now, many Colorado bar owners are taking a stand by paying government fines to allow their customers to smoke. The justification? The fines – which range from $200 to $500 and up – are much easier to take for a small business than a significant drop in revenue caused by government-enforced prohibition on smoking.

2) Good news for Stogie Guys in the UK: There could be a permanent 50 percent off sale on premium Cuban smokes in the country as a result of a court ruling in favor of Mastercigars Direct. That company can continue importing Fidel’s hand-rolled sticks, even though it’s not an official importer. Experts say the ruling, if upheld, will open the floodgates for other cigar importers, and cigar prices could drop to half of their current value.

3) Capitalizing on the success of our last event, we’re proud to announce the second DC-area Stogie Guys Smoke Out will be held on Thursday, March 22 at Carpool in Arlington, Virginia. Just like our first, we’ll be playing pool, throwing darts, drinking, and smoking cigars from 6:30 p.m. until whenever. Come on out and get in on the fun.

4) Finally, here’s a great deal we just had to share: 16 premium cigars for just $29.95! And that includes just about every big name in the business: Macanudo, Gurkha, CAO, Partagas, Padron, Punch, Rocky Patel, Arturo Fuente, and more. Just click on the photo to snag yours today.

–The Stogie Guys