The Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

This six inch by 54 ring gauge torpedo is a product of the Tesa Cigar Co., a Chicago-based boutique that harvests tobacco from the fertile fields of Estelí. It features top-notch combustion qualities and a pleasantly mild taste of creamy cashew and toasty clove. Those attributes make the Connecticut shade-wrapped Series Finos F500 a wonderful morning or mid-afternoon smoke. And even if you’re a bit reluctant to pay $7.55 for a mild, relatively unknown cigar, you can take comfort in the fact that Tesa gives 10% of its profits to benefit the housing, education, and sustenance of the Nicaraguan people.

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 take on a single cigar.

This Robusto (5 x 50) is made by Rocky Patel—though you wouldn’t know it from the simple orange band that doesn’t bear his name. It has an attractive, vein-free Cameroon wrapper that surrounds binder and filler tobaccos of unknown origin. Once lit, I find a mild- to medium-bodied taste with plenty of the sweet spice and cedar that is often associated with Cameroon tobacco. It doesn’t provide much in terms of complexity but, for a bundle cigar that sells for $2 per stick, it offers a lot of bang for your buck.

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 take on a single cigar.

This ultra oily, habano oscuro-wrapped stick was outstanding when I reviewed it back in December 2007, but 15 months of humidor time improved the La Fuerza considerably. Gone are the occasional bitter notes that once stalked this cigar’s powerful flavor. Instead, the flavors of coffee, roasted nuts, and cocoa bean blend more harmoniously to yield more balance and slightly less strength. So while this five and ½ inch by 54 ring gauge stick remains full-bodied, age seems to have imparted a noble maturity—a big payoff for a $7 investment.

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 take on a single cigar.

While this torpedo-sized vitola (6 x 52) from CAO’s Black line isn’t as oily or complex as the Bengal, it still offers above average construction and a mild- to medium-bodied flavor profile of pepper, clove, and creamy butter. That’s ultimately why this toasty creation—complete with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and filler tobaccos from Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua—is easy to recommend. Expect to pay around $5-6 for a cedar-wrapped single at your local B&M.

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 take on a single cigar.

This mixed filler cheapie is a Famous house brand that runs a good deal under $2, even by the five-pack. Made by Nestor Plasencia with a natural wrapper and Honduran and Nicaraguan filler, it’s one of the lumpiest cigars I’ve ever held. For the first half inch or so, this “Cuban sandwich” was an OK mild cigar. But before the halfway point it had turned so sour it was unsmokable. I’ve had only one (part of a bonus when I ordered something else) and won’t be having more.

Verdict = Sell.

–George E

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

This little cigar (4 x44) features a rustic Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper around Nicaraguan and “proprietary” filler. It starts mild-bodied with cocoa and grass flavors and had a noticeably dry finish throughout. As the smoke progressed it settled into a mild-medium profile with a nutty flavor overtaking the grassiness. While the draw was a touch firm, the rest of the construction was flawless. All around, this is a solid smoke 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 take on a single cigar.

This five inch by 52 ring gauge Robusto, which had been aging in my humidor since I reviewed it last May, was every bit as good as I had remembered. In that time the rich espresso flavor maintained its black pepper spice, cashew cream, and maduro sweetness, and the combustion qualities were likewise impressive. This Connecticut broadleaf-wrapped beauty, which sells for about $146 per box of 25, reaffirmed my belief that Darryl Lieser’s Isla de Cuba is one of the best boutiques.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys