The Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, the man behind E.P. Carrillo Cigars, and before that La Gloria Cubana and El Rico Habano, handed me this cigar when I chatted with him at the IPCPR Trade Show a few weeks back. He said although he wasn’t selling it at the convention, this cigar would be out in September or October. It wasn’t clear the name had been finalized, but he referred to it as the “Red Box” blend (to distinguish it from the black “Core” and white “New Wave Connecticut” blends). I didn’t measure it before I lit this cigar up, but it’s roughly a big robusto size. The taste is notably salty and savory. It is full-bodied with earth, leather, black pepper, and lots going on. While not the most balanced smoke, it offers a full combination of unique flavors and, if the price is similar to its colleagues that come in the black and white boxes, it’ll be well worth picking up.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

With a soft box-press and an old school band, this Nicaraguan puro (introduced at the recent IPCPR Trade Show) has an invitingly dark, oily wrapper. The BV 560 (one of three sizes) is 5.5 inches with a 56 ring gauge, but the box-press makes it seem smaller. It’s smooth, well-balanced, and complex, even though it has very little of the spice characteristic of many Nicaraguan puros. Chocolate, cocoa, chalk, and wood. Medium-bodied. Excellent construction in all aspects. At $5-6 each, it’s a definite buy.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

My picture doesn’t quite do it justice, but believe me when I say you’d be hard-pressed to find a prettier, more noble-looking cigar than the 100 Años Preferidos by La Aurora. This Dominican puro has a beautifully executed perfecto format (6 x 58) and a silky, caramel-colored corojo wrapper. It starts with a ton of dry cedar and then transitions to a creamier profile with plenty of corojo spice. Only 300,000 of these cigars were made, and not many are left. If you find one, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to pick it up, even though the price tag is north of $15.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

This new cigar is the second under Gurkha’s East India Trading Company—a fascinating historical name that has been in use for centuries, but Gurkha was somehow able to register as a trademark. Like so many new cigars from the show, it features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The binder is Dominican while the filler is from Nicaragua. The size (6 x 60) is large, but not as uncomfortable as many similarly sized cigars due to the box press. Medium-bodied, well-balanced with plenty of that distinct Ecuadorian Habano flavor, it’s a cigar I would smoke again, especially since it costs about $6.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Produced at the Pinar del Rio factory in Santiago, Dominican Republic, the Flores y Rodriguez line is the first PDR to bear a different name (it’s instead named for partners Abe Flores and Juan Rodriguez). The Habano Magicos (5 x 52), which also comes in a Maduro variety, starts with a blast of dry spice and pepper along with some sour notes. Meatiness, leather, and a bit of sweetness characterize the profile. Construction is outstanding. This may not be my favorite Pinar del Rio creation, but you can’t argue with the price: about $5 as a single, or as little as $4 when bought by the box of 24.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Viaje, known to my colleague as “the undisputed king of releasing tons of different cigars in difficult-to-find quantities,” introduced the Summerfest, Roman Candle, TNT, and C-4 not too long ago. Each brings unique physical attributes to the table. The C-4’s contribution is a box-press and closed caps on either end of the five-inch smoke. Once lit, the dark Nicaraguan corojo ’99 wrapper combines with the Nicaraguan binder and filler to produce a bold taste of black coffee, pepper, and roasted nuts. The texture is dry yet mouth-coating. I find tons of flavor with hardly any spice, and the construction is good. I’d fully recommend the Viaje C-4 if the price were in the $5-7 range. But for around $11 apiece, I’m not sure I’ll be seeking it out again in the near future.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

This highly-anticipated new release from last year’s IPCPR Trade Show seemed to lose its buzz when the man responsible for blending the cigar, Willy Herrera, left El Titan de Bronze (the Miami factory where the cigar is made) for Drew Estate before the cigar even came to market. Still, the Casa Miranda Robusto has been growing on me of late. The “made in America” cigar features an Ecuadorian wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The flavors are classic, no-frills, and designed (in my opinion) to appeal to cigar aficionados—it’s woody, earthy, and dominated by what can only be described as warm tobacco notes. The medium- to full-bodied Robusto is notable to me in that the more I smoke it the more I enjoy it. Originally selling for an MSRP of $10 per cigar, if you have the chance to pick up a box for half that (as I did), I’d strongly suggest you consider it.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys