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.”

In 2012, General Cigar expanded the La Traviata Maduro line by adding the Luminoso format (4.5 x 50). This particular specimen had been resting in one of my humidors for nearly five years. It sports a thick, dark, toothy Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper around a Cameroon binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Once lit, pre-light notes of cocoa and musty earth transition to a medium-bodied, well-balanced profile of black coffee, oak, pepper, and cherry sweetness. Construction is excellent. The CAO La Traviata Maduro Luminoso is a solid choice if you seek classic maduro flavors but are short on time.

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.”

So here’s a cigar you’ll never smoke (since only one was ever made). One of the best parts of the many factory trips I’ve been on is experimenting with blends. Generally, a dozen or more types of tobacco are laid out. You pick out a combination and hopefully a skilled roller is there to turn your concept into a smokable fuma. It’s a humbling experience that gives you real appreciation for the difficulty of creating an enjoyable blend. A few months ago, I did this on a visit to General Cigar’s Dominican factory, which has some of the largest tobacco stocks in the world. One fuma I created used two types of rum barrel-aged tobacco (Dominican Piloto Cubano and Estelí ligero), which I combined with Seco (ASP and Estelí) and Viso tobaccos from Nicaragua. I had the blend draped in an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. The some of the tobaccos from the rum barrels were a little too wet at the time, so I decided to wait to smoke it until now. I’m not going to say the experiment turned out amazing, but with a little sweetness and lots of wood spice, I actually would smoke this again. That’s the low bar against which I judge this experiment a success.

Verdict = Hold.

–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.”

The first 1888 line—Villiger’s introductory hand-made long-filler cigar—was a limited edition that hit U.S. shelves in 2009. This incarnation is made in the Dominican Republic and sports an Ecuadorian leaf over a Mexican binder and filler from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. The Robusto (4.9 x 50) is a mild- to medium-bodied, papery-tasting smoke with sweet cream, butter, almond, and hints of Davidoff-esque mustiness. Construction is exquisite. The asking price of about $6 is more than fair. That said, the cigar’s lack of complexity and depth renders it unworthy of a full recommendation.

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 limited offering from Perdomo features a dark Nicaraguan wrapper along with Nicaraguan filler comprised of Seco from Condega, Viso from Jalapa, and Ligero from Estelí (those details are helpfully written right on the band). The cigar is made with 10-year-old tobaccos, after which the finished cigar is aged for two more years in charred oak barrels. Pre-light, there is an inviting aroma full of rum and raisins. Once lit, the core flavors are dark, rich, and earthy with a very slight sweetness and black coffee notes. Classic maduro in taste; not at all harsh or spicy. Considering this cigar takes over a decade to produce, the $10 price tag is almost remarkably inexpensive.

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.”

When I’m asked about cigars that provide bang for the buck, I frequently cite Buenaventura by Curivari, a Nicaraguan puro that can be picked up for around $40 for a box of 10. That approachable price would seem to make the blend an unlikely candidate for a mixed-filler version, but here it is: Buenaventura Picadores, featuring the same blend and selling for $30 or less a box. The flavors are similar to the original long-filler version: medium-bodied with coffee, woody spice, and light earth. There are some indications of the use of picadura (scrap cuttings) tobaccos in the construction, including lumpiness under the wrapper, a flaky ash, a wavy burn line, and a little bit of loose tobacco after clipping the head. Given the reasonably-priced original version, I’d probably save the Picadores version for the golf course or mowing the lawn (if I had one). But its hard to argue with the solid flavors this cigar produces for the price.

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.”

This Mayimbe Robusto had been resting in one of my humidors for about three years before I fired it up the other night. It’s the same vitola my colleague reviewed in 2014 and I later took for a test drive in 2015. It was impressive then, and I think it’s even better today. This Nicaraguan is from A.J. Fernandez—a fixture of the industry who rode a wave of catalog/online sales to cigar stardom. It originally ran about $14 but today can be found in the $10 to $12 range, perhaps less, especially if bought by the box of 10. That makes the Mayimbe Robusto (5 x 56) an easy recommendation. It sports exquisite construction with notes ranging from coffee and cayenne to cinnamon and dry wood. Age has added delightful flavors of sweet cream and roasted nuts. The satisfying, complex profile is the product of a blend that includes a Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper around tobaccos from Nicaragua and Honduras. Reacquaint yourself with Mayimbe if, like me, you haven’t had one in a while.

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.”

One of my favorite cigars of all time is the original Illusione Singulare, the Phantom. It was not only excellent when it first came out; it got better and better overtime. Along those lines, I wanted to see how another impressive Singular evolved with age. The Illusione Singulare 2014 earned a rare five-stogie rating when released and has scored well since. The 5.5-inch, 54-ring gauge Nicaraguan puro continues to exhibit excellent combustion qualities. Flavors include sour dough bread, cappuccino, and light cedar. While Anunnaki remains a very good cigar, aging is not improving it. So, if you have this cigar, don’t hesitate to smoke it now, especially since, along with several other popular Singulare editions, it is being re-released.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys