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) I guess it was only a matter of time. Earlier this week, the Baltimore City Council expectedly voted to prohibit smoking in all public places – including bars, restaurants, and taxicabs. The law, which goes into effect next year, was rightly criticized by the Baltimore Examiner: “Never mind the fact that restaurant owners now are free to choose whether to ban smoking on their premises and patrons are free to choose where to eat and drink.”

2) Starting on Wednesday, the first boxes of Ashton Estate Sun Grown Robustos began to hit tobacconists in major cities. The release – dubbed the 21 Year Salute – is the second in the ESG line and follows the Churchills that came out last summer. Getting your hands on one of these will cost a whopping $17.50.

3) The 9th Annual Habanos Festival was held in Havana this week sans Fidel Castro, who may not have been well enough to autograph humidors for charity auction (as previously planned). According to the LA Times, the five-day event was uncharacteristically “devoid of star power this year.” The highlight of the festival, however, was the launching of a new line of Cohiba cigars called Maduro 5.

4) Why did Padrón recently up the number of cigars per box from 25 to 26? Is it a clever marketing ploy? A celebration of the success of their 1926 Anniversary line? Nope. The increase is simply a result of changing the type of wood used to manufacture the boxes.

–The Stogie Guys

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

1) In Tuesday’s review, George noted that he wouldn’t be spending the two hours necessary to smoke a Gurkha “CBid Exclusive” Ancient Warrior again. But since he still has one remaining, he figures he’ll just give it away free to a reader. Here’s how you can claim it:

Be the first to correctly answer this question in the comments of today’s article: What stunt did Braves great Lew Burdette, who just died, pull on his 1959 Topps baseball card?

To win you must leave a valid email (one entry per person), live in the continental 48 states, and agree to write a guest “Quick Smoke” review for the site. The winner will be contacted by George to get a shipping address.

2) Yesterday was George Washington’s birthday, and while he is best known as a great general and our nation’s first President, here are two facts you might not know about Washington: He was America’s number one producer of whiskey in colonial America, and he also grew cigar tobacco at his Mt. Vernon estate. Cigars and whiskey…our kind of guy!

3) New Product Watch: Two new cigars are due to hit the U.S. market in the coming months. Altadis is bringing its VegaFina line (the top selling non-Cuban cigar in Spain) to America. Meanwhile, the Don Lino line is returning to its Honduran roots with a Nestor Miranda-made cigar due to hit the U.S. this summer.

4) As if instituting a state-wide smoking ban wasn’t enough, commenter Jerry from Stogie Review adds that the anti-tobacco activists in the Maryland state government are also increasing the tobacco tax by 25 percent. That said, we’d like to invite all the Maryland cigar smokers to join their DC friends over here in Northern Virginia, where – at least for the moment – you can still light up without being hassled by anti-smoking jack booted thugs.

–The Stogie Guys

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

1) In another bizarre twist in Fidel Castro’s protracted battle for health, Reuters reported this week that the wavering communist dictator is signing five elaborate humidors to be auctioned off at Cuba’s annual Habanos festival. As you will recall, emergency surgery forced El Comandante to cede control of his impoverished island nation to his brother on July 31.

2) Toraño Cigars Inc. is celebrating 90 years in the business by releasing a limited-edition Noventa stogie. The sticks, which can already be found in many retail shops, sport a Habano Nicaragua wrapper and sell for about $10 apiece.

3) A cigar store Indian sold for an astonishing $69,000 this week at an antique show in Pennsylvania. The wooden figure – attributed to Sam Robb, New York, circa 1885 – stands over six feet tall while holding a package of cigars and a cube of tobacco. Click here for a brief history on these fascinating sculptures.

4) Representative Keith Ellison – the Minnesota Democrat who made waves in November by becoming the first Muslim elected to Congress – is waging a war against Colorado Republican Tom Tancredo. Because of Tom’s conservative stance on immigration? No. Because he smokes cigars in his office, which is right next door to Ellison’s.

5) Finally, here are our deals of the week: 12 premium big-name cigars (La Gloria, Hoyo, Gurkha, Torano, Rocky Patel, and more), a travel case, and a hat for under $30: Ultimate Cigar Sampler – $29.95. Also, you can claim a free Montecristo cigar with this offer we found in the January issue of The Robb Report: www.freemontecristosample.com. Enjoy!

–The Stogie Guys

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

1) If you look at the top right corner of this week’s Sports Illustrated, you’ll see New York Mets first baseman Carlos Delgado smoking a cigar. We’re pretty sure it’s a La Gloria Cubana Series R because, back in September, we wrote this article about various Mets players celebrating their NL East Title with cigars.

2) Let us be the first to nominate this Conoco gas station for the Best Gas Station in the World Award. Outfitted with sofas, chairs, a 48-inch plasma TV, and a walk-in humidor, this Webster Groves, Missouri business is the first gas station/cigar lounge on the planet.

3) Here’s something new to us: TNT Cigars (a Stogie Guys sponsor) is now offering mobile ordering via text messaging. How it works? We aren’t really sure. But if you do order, don’t forget to claim you free torch lighter by including the code “stogie” at checkout.

4) In October we told you about some crazy guys in Alabama who smoke cigars while running marathons. Well, this weekend they are about to do it again. If you happen to be in the Birmingham, Alabama area stop by the Mercedes Marathon and bring a cigar. You can even contact the “Running Stogies” and join their pit crew.

5) Congrats again to Kevin, the winner of the first annual Stogie Guys Super Bowl Contest, who received the five cigars pictured. And for all you Bears fans, don’t worry: We’ll be back next year!

–The Stogie Guys

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

1) It is hard to find a better combination than cigars and football. That’s why we’re so pleased to announce the first annual StogieGuys.com Super Bowl Cigar Contest. Here are the rules:

Leave a comment on this article with your prediction of the winner of the Super Bowl XLI, the margin of victory, and the total number of points scored in the game. You should also include your town and state.

The reader who correctly predicts the winner and gets closest to the margin of victory gets a fantastic Stogie Guys selected five-pack of handmade cigars! (The exact five cigars are yet to be determined, but we guarantee it will include a four stogie-rated Gurkha Class Regent Torpedo, a Macanudo Robust, and a 5 Vegas.) In the unlikely event of a tie, we’ll use total points as the tiebreaker.

Details: You must use a valid email address so we can contact you. Only one entry per person (yes, we can tell). The contest is only open to readers over the age of 18 in the Continental 48 states (sorry, Alaska and Hawaii). Entries must be left by 3pm EST Sunday.
Good Luck!

2) And as if announcing the first annual Stogie Guys Super Bowl Contest isn’t enough, today we are also announcing the first Stogie Guys Meetup. On Thursday, February 15, Patrick S and Patrick A will be at cigar-friendly Carpool Bar in Arlington, Virginia (two blocks from the Ballston Metro Station on the DC Metro). We’ll be there from 6:30 to 9 p.m. smoking cigars, eating BBQ, playing pool and darts, and talking stogies. Please join us and your fellow DC-area Stogie Guys. If you’d like to RSVP, send us an email.

3) With all the bad news about smoking bans (including the one that just went into effect in France) we were pleased that one commenter pointed out this article about a successful challenge in Colorado. Now let’s hope others follow suit and challenge these oppressive smoking bans.

4) Since we’re always on the lookout for great deals for you, we are pleased to point you in the direction of this deal from Cuban Crafters. We’ve tried a few of the cigars included in the Cuban Crafters Boutique Sampler, and we are very impressed. At under $20 for 12 handmade cigars (plus a cutter), it’s a bargain you should take advantage of. Click here for the deal.

–The Stogie Guys

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

1) In an ugly occurrence that demonstrates the most awful effect of smoking bans – giving more power to the government – Pittsburgh police last week tasered a man who was smoking in a bus terminal. The 50-year-old no doubt crossed the line when he blew smoke in the officer’s face in protest of the law, but that’s what you get when you turn otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals.

2) Cigar smokers in the Tampa area will get a chance March 3 to meet manufacturers, sample fine stogies, and help fight cerebral palsy. The Achieve Foundation is putting on the sixth annual Cigar City Celebration at the Cuban Center in Tampa’s famed Ybor City district. A $125 ticket includes cigars, food, drinks, and entertainment. Check Achieve’s website for more information on this worthy event.

3) Lately we’ve been spending more time west of the Potomac river since our cigar smoking opportunities in DC have been greatly limited by Washington’s extensive smoking ban. Sadly, Virginia may not be the refuge we had hoped. The State Senate suddenly seems poised to pass an indoor smoking ban of its own. Why are our delegates in Richmond taking the lead from those anti-freedom morons across the river? We have no idea!

4) When your city’s NFL team makes it to the Super Bowl for the first time in over two decades, it usually means a boon for the local sports bars. Unfortunately in Chicago, the Windy City’s fascist smoking ban has meant that business is bad, even though Da Bears have won their way to Super Bowl XLI. The good news? Some surrounding towns have temporarily repealed their smoking bans. Unfortunately, on March 15 a Cook County-wide ban will make any temporary repeals irrelevant.

–The Stogie Guys

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

1) In the interest of seeing who actually supports and who opposes smoking restrictions, we further looked into that Bangor, Maine City Council vote to ban smoking in vehicles with children. You’ll remember this story from last week’s sampler. According to the Bangor paper, the vote was 6-3. Now, the council is nominally nonpartisan, but, naturally, most members are politically affiliated. The three who opposed the measure were one Democrat, one Republican, and one politician who emailed to say that he has “not been enrolled in any party for many years.”

2) Tuesday’s commentary noted the article by Professor Thomas Lambert titled “The Case Against Smoking Bans” from the winter issue of Regulation Magazine. At the time that issue wasn’t yet online, but now it is (we’re so far ahead of the curve). You can download the article for yourself here (warning pdf).

3) Here’s a tip: Wanna sound Presidential? Smoke! That’s what this article from Slate says is part of Barack Obama’s charm. The story also says that smoking helped Johnny Cash maintain his iconic sound.

4) Sometimes it’s easy to get down with the enactment of so many smoking bans. Fortunately, if history tells us anything, it’s that these smoking bans don’t usually last. As Abigail Cutler notes in this article from the Atlantic Monthly, since Pope Urban VIII in 1624, people have tried to ban smoking. And, as she further notes, each smoking ban seems to end up in the ashtray of history.

5) A few months ago we told you about this fantastic deal from Thompson where you get eight cigars for just ten dollars. Since then ours arrived in the mail and we were reminded just what a great deal it is, with top brands like CAO, Toraño, Cusano, Ghurka, Padron, and La Gloria Cubana. Order yours here.

–The Stogie Guys