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) If you’re planning to take a cruise, be sure to ask in advance about smoking restrictions. Among the latest to extend no smoking rules is Royal Caribbean International. According to Fodor’s Travel Wire, in January 2008 the line will no longer allow smoking in guest quarters in 18 of its 21 ships. Smoking will continue to be OK in designated areas of some bars, on balconies, and starboard outer decks.

2) News surfaced on Wednesday that the House is considering its own version of the Senate’s proposed 20,000 percent cigar tax hike. Instead of charging up to $10 per cigar in federal taxes, the new bill would put the cap at $1 and does not include a tax on inventory. I guess that’s good news. Sort of.

3) Well, the anti-smoking zealots have already gotten to Churchill and Tom and Jerry; it was only a matter of time before Mickey went smoke-free too. Disney’s chief executive announced this week that the company would be eliminating smoking from its films, as well as discouraging the act under its two other labels: Touchstone and Miramax. Is the best way to deal with an issue to censor it?

4) Around the Blogs: Keepers of the Flame lights up an FP Habano 98. Stogie Fresh smokes a Camacho Triple Maduro. Stogie Review fires up a Cuba Aliados. Cigar Jack tries a “JFR” Coronoa Gorda. Velvet Cigar smokes a Toraño Reserva Selecta. Cigar Beat reviews an Oliva Serie V. Cigar Monkey goes with the Ashton VSG.

5) Deal of the Week: If you’re looking to add a small humidor to your collection (maybe for the office?) or looking for a good starter humidor, this deal is for you. For just $40, you get a Mahogany humidor, humidor solution, cigar cutter, a Camacho hat, and 25 cigars. And with sticks by Perdomo, Oliva, and Camacho, the cigars alone are worth the price. 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. Aside from the ridiculous 20,000 percent cigar tax increase being proposed in Congress, this week’s big news concerns the acquisition of cigar giant Altadis. The maker of such famed brands as Cohiba, H. Upmann, and Romeo y Julieta will reportedly be sold to Imperial Tobacco for a cool $22.4 billion. The deal is expected to close by the first fiscal quarter in 2008.

2. Speaking of Romeo y Julietas, the highly anticipated Edición Limitada cigars – first introduced at the 2006 RTDA trade show – are finally shipping out to local B&Ms. The new blend features a San Andreas Corojo wrapper covering Nicaraguan and Dominican long fillers and a Broadleaf binder.

3. Around the Blogs: Stogie Fresh smokes a Don Pepin Cuban Classic. Stogie Review reviews a Camacho SLR Maduro. Leafy Times tries cigars from Hawaii. Cigar Beat reviews a Cusano 18 Double Connecticut. Keepers of the Flame lights up a La Tradicion Cubana. Cigar Jack is giving away free gear.

4. Deal of the Week: From time to time we come across promotions for free cigars. In the July Robb Report, we found this one for a Free Montecristo. When ours arrived earlier this week, it was a Montecristo Classic Toro. 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 selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Following yesterday’s review of a sub-par, machine-made Cuban, we thought it appropriate to draw your attention to this article by James Suckling, European editor for Cigar Aficionado. Today’s best Cubans, according to Suckling, “cater to the wants and needs we have as lovers of the leaf, and to the modern life we all aspire to” better than any others in the country’s rich history of stogie production.

2) The second batch of Gurkha Estate Select Reserve and Estate Select Vintage Shaggy cigars started to make its way to the U.S. yesterday. The popular “Shaggy” cigar gets its name from the filler tobacco leaves jutting out from its uncut foot.

3) Around the Blogs: Velvet Cigar smokes an Oliva Serie V. Stogie Fresh lights up a Bucanero Canon Cubano. Cigar Jack reviews a Don Pepin Garcia Blue. Leafy Times smokes the CAO Black VR. Keepers of the Flame goes with the Por Larranga Cuban Grade. Stogie Review fires up a Romeo y Julieta Anniversario.

4) Deal of the Week: If you figure that the aluminum case included in this week’s deal runs $4 (and it probably costs four times that much), then that means you get these big name cigars from Fuente, Partagas, Macanudo, La Gloria, CAO, Padrón, and others for just $2 per stick. Included in the 13-cigar sampler is the exclusive CAO Gold Maduro, which you won’t find anywhere else. It is definitely a steal, so grab yours today by clicking 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) In September we told you about one devastating effect of the statewide smoking ban Colorado legislators passed last summer: Many bars lost up to 80 percent of their income. But special interest groups in the Rocky Mountain State are still not satisfied. Now anti-tobacco fascists like the American Cancer Society have the law’s exemption for cigar bars in their sights. If regular bars in Colorado lost four fifths of their revenue, what will happen to the establishments whose primary draw is smoking?

2) If you’re in the market for a new house, you might want to consider the $20 million Tampa Bay area mansion that former NBA player Matt Geiger has up for sale. Forget the helipad he wants to install, or the hot tubs and pizza oven already in the 28,000 square foot home. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Geiger’s place has a cigar room. No word yet on what’s in his humidor.

3) To celebrate Independence Day, CAO is announcing the introduction of the CAO America. These new cigars follow the highly successful Italia and Brazilia lines, and each one features a Connecticut wrapper, a Brazilian binder, and a filler blending Nicaraguan, American, Italian, and Dominican tobaccos.

4) Around the Blogs: Cigar Jack smokes a Oliva Serie V Figurado. Stogie Review reviews the Famous Dominican 2000. Keepers of the Flame lights up a La Aurora Preferidos Robusto. Other cigar bloggers were too busy smoking cigars to review anything.

5) Deal of the Week: July 4 may have come and passed, but Tinderbox’s Independence Day Sampler is still going strong. Featuring 20 cigars for $50, this deal has tough-to-find stogies like the box-pressed 601 Don Pepin Garcia, as well as other fine cigars from Leon Jimenes, La Aurora, and La Fontana. Grab yours 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. We wholeheartedly encourage private property owners to find ways around government-imposed smoking bans, and this has got to be the most creative way yet. A bar in England is transforming itself into an official embassy for a tiny Caribbean island, rendering it immune to many intrusive U.K. laws – including a nationwide smoking ban. But that’s not even the best part. The pub will also be exempt from England’s high taxes on alcoholic beverages, and therefore able to sell drinks at rock-bottom prices.

2. Think Disney World is just for kids? Think again. While the young ones play with Mickey, Goofy, and Donald Duck, now you can enjoy a fine cigar and a cocktail at Sosa Cigars – right in the heart of the park. Now that’s what we call the Magic Kingdom!

3. Around the Blogs: Keepers of the Flame has a Sabor Cubano Petite Torpedo. Stogie Review reviews the Troya X-TRA No. 54. Cigar Jack fires up an Oliva Serie G Maduro Torpedo. Stogie Fresh lights up an Avalon Honeyboy Edwards. The Smoking Lounge smokes a Partagas Lonsdale. Cigar Beat goes with the Cu-Avana Maduro Robusto.

4. Deal of the Week: We’re not gonna say that today’s deal is the best bargain we’ve ever come across (for some of those, check out these samplers), but you’ll have trouble finding a better group of cigars. In fact, some of the smokes in this Padrón sampler are nearly impossible to find at all. With three of the five stogie-rated Serie 1926s, three 1964 Anniversary Series cigars, and two plain Padróns, we’re sure you won’t be disappointed. Click here to get yours in Natural or Maduro.

–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) The entire region of New England is now smoke-free. On June 19, New Hampshire Governor John Lynch signed a bill that will force a smoking ban upon all businesses, bars, and restaurants in the “Live Free or Die” state starting September 17.

2) Maduro fans will be delighted to hear that a maduro version of the Perdomo Lot 23 is now available. Ranging in four sizes from Robusto to Churchill, they run from $4.25 to $5 apiece.

3) Wayne Burkholder has experienced the same problem most golfers have: no place to leave a cigar while swinging. To solve this age-old quandary, Burkholder came up with what seems to be the best solution yet. He invented a cigar holder that attaches to those normally unused snaps near the top of your golf bag.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review fires up a Henry Clay. Cigar Jack tries a Bolivar Coronas Gigantes. Keepers of the Flame reviews the Partagas Black. The Smoking Lounge has a Monte No. 4. Velvet Cigar smokes an Oliva Series S. Matt reviews a Tatuaje RC184.

5) Deal of the Week: Tinderbox.com has come through and is once again home to the week’s best cigar deal. This time it’s their Premium Sampler which features 9 “high end” cigars for $49.95. If bought in a B&M, the price would be almost double. The sticks include Cohiba, Ashton, Don Pepin Garcia Black, 601, Montecristo Classic, and four other top notch smokes. Grab yours 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) Victoria McKee of General Cigar recently let us know about new additions to some of General Cigar’s most popular brands. The Macanudo Gold, Macanudo Maduro, Partagas Black Label, Partagas Spanish Rosado and Cohiba Black lines are all adding new sizes. For the details see this article from Cigar Aficionado.

2) Ohio’s smoking ban may have hurt business in Ohio’s bars, but the outlook is rosier just across the border. Bars in Michigan and Pennsylvania are reporting booms as disenfranchised Ohio smokers cross the border for a place to have a smoke.

3) Around the Blogs: Leafy Times tries the Avalon Juke Blue. Cigar Beat reviews an Opus X. The Smoking Lounge lounges with a Rocky Patel Vintage 1990. Keepers of the Flame smokes a Macanudo Cafe Lords. Stogie Fresh has a Camacho Scorpion. Cigar Jack gives the Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill a try. Stogie Review fires up a La flor Dominicana Factory Press.

4) Deal of the Week: This week’s deal is a little different because it doesn’t just score you some good smokes… it also is charitable. Joining the Cigar Connoisseur Club by J.C. Newman Cigars gets you four great Cuesta-Rey Centro Fino Sungrown cigars and a sharp golf shirt. And in case that isn’t enough, a portion of your membership goes to the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation to build schools and health clinics in the Dominican Republic. (Of course, if you still haven’t got a gift for dad we suggest you check out last Friday’s Deal of the Week.)

–The Stogie Guys