The Stogie Guys

Only a select few cigar outfits have impressed me like Tesa, a boutique manufacturer run from a fashionable lounge in Chicago. From the Gran Cru and the Havanitas to the Vintage Especial and the Series Finos, I’m a big fan of these naked, tiger-endorsed blends made by atypical cigar maker Chris Kelly.

“I’m a 24-year-old Irish kid from the South Side of Chicago,” Kelly told me in an interview. “My father bought a building in Nicaragua and offered to let me make cigars. At 18 I said, ‘Hell yes!’ and have been doing it ever since.”

Listening to Kelly talk about the challenges of blending and the difficulties of operating as an outsider in Nicaragua is an eye-opening experience. But no one can doubt that he caught on to the trade quickly. Tesa has grown a loyal following, earned a well-deserved reputation for quality and consistency, and scored very well in our reviews.

The Cabinet 312 blend is no exception. Named for Chicago’s best-known area code, this line sports a criollo ’98 maduro leaf wrapped around Nicaraguan tobaccos from Estelí and Jalapa. It is available in five cifuentes-capped vitolas and one torpedo size called the Series G.

I sampled two Series Rs (4.75 x 52) for this review. Each had a textured, somewhat lumpy surface but was devoid of any real physical imperfections. The tightly packed robusto is firm in the hand and draws well on the cold taste. Pre-light notes of sweet wood are subtle.

In the spring Kelly told me this cigar is one of his favorites and among his best-sellers. It’s easy to see why from the first puff. The Cabinet 312’s full-bodied flavor is of warm spice and dry cocoa with sugary, creamy undertones. While it has characteristics of other criollo-wrapped smokes, the Series R is more refined than others I can recall in terms of balance and complexity.

As the solid gray ash builds off the foot, the burn line tends to wave down the cigar. A few touch-ups are needed here and there to keep things running on schedule, but construction is otherwise top-notch and worthy of a smoke of this depth and flavor.

It goes without saying that criollo fans need to add the Cabinet 312 to their must-try list. Seek out the $10 Series R for a fine example of everything a great criollo cigar should be. For its memorable, complex profile that’s spicy yet smooth, this Tesa creation earns four and a half stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

If you’re a cigar smoker, I can virtually guarantee you’ll be impressed by the wrapper on Casa Gomez. The Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut leaf is a beautiful warm brown with barely a vein visible from head to foot. The pre-light scent is light, reminiscent of outdoors with hints of grasses.

From the first puff, it’s apparent that Casa Gomez is a mild to medium smoke. But that doesn’t mean it’s light on taste. The blend was recently tweaked to add a little more zip, with Nicaraguan tobacco being added to the Dominican filler that’s encased by a Honduran binder. The stick’s first half has a little stronger kick than the second.

The pre-light aroma is reflected in the flavors, which present a little straw and hay, some pleasant grassiness and, in the final third, a touch of sweetness. Nothing is overpowering, creating an overall sense of balance and equilibrium.

The Benjamin, named for the current head of Casa Gomez, Benny Gomez Jr., is a torpedo (6.5 x 54). Others in the four-vitola line also sport family monikers (i.e., “Lorens” and “Junior”). Dominican rolled, the cigars have first-rate construction and produce volumes of thick, creamy smoke.

Casa Gomez isn’t an easy cigar to find. I was given several samples at an event promoting the label recently at my buddy Arnold Serafin’s shop in Spring Hill, Florida. Retail prices for the four sizes range from $5.50 to $6.50.

Gomez and his son, Loren, told me they’re gearing up to get their sticks in more shops and will again have a booth at the upcoming International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers convention. They said they’re also working on the firm’s website and hope to have it more functional soon.

This is a fine cigar, well worth searching for. If you are a fan of milder smokes, it will hit the spot; if you generally prefer stronger sticks, the Casa Gomez will give you a satisfying change of pace. I rate it four stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

“I’ve been able to come up with a good product at a price that people can afford,” said Abe Flores of Pinar del Rio Cigars when he talked to us at the 2010 Cigar Expo. “I wanted to do a premium cigar that wouldn’t hurt the average guy. People still need to be able to buy tobacco…Tobacco has been part of American and Latin American culture for many, many years.”

Aside from his desire to create high-quality, affordable smokes, one thing about Flores became abundantly clear during our interview last weekend: He has a keen enthusiasm for tobacco. “Tobacco is part of my background. My grandfather grew tobacco and coffee,” he says. “It’s probably in my veins. This has always been a passion for me, and people who smoke my cigars they feel the passion and the time I put into this. And the company has been growing every year.”

With a loyal following and a base at the Tabacos Don Leoncio factory in the Dominican Republic, some anticipate that Pinar del Rio is on the verge of becoming the next big thing. But it is still a young company, launching only a few years ago with two inaugural lines: Oscuro and Habano Sun Grown.

The latter is a gorgeous cigar with two intricate bands and a red ribbon across the foot. While these features enhance the cigar’s presentation, the Robusto’s (5 x 50) real beauty lies in its oily, reddish, Dominican-grown wrapper. Impressive, especially for a stick that sells in the $5-6 price range.

After clipping the triple cap and establishing an even burn across the blend of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos, the Habano Sun Grown’s pre-light aroma of pepper and hay transitions into a bold taste of leather, herbal spices, and creamy sweetness. Flores was right when he told me this cigar has “leathery tones to it” and “spice on the nostrils and the tip of the tongue.”

With plenty of balance and subtlety, I don’t count the Robusto’s consistency in flavor as a shortcoming. I find myself interested—and at times captivated—by the full-bodied profile, especially the interplay between spice and sweetness. The only drawbacks of the two Robustos I smoked for this review were wavy burn lines and occasional bitter flavors toward the end. But this is still a very easy cigar to enthusiastically recommend.

I realize I’m arriving late to the Pinar del Rio party, perhaps too late to be fashionable. I suspect many of you are already dedicated fans of Abe Flores’ work. As for the rest of you, consider this review your invitation to join in on the fun. For its charismatic, old school Cuban flavor and approachable price tag, the Habano Sun Grown Robusto earns four stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Cohiba. Montecristo. Romeo y Julieta. Hoyo de Monterrey. These and a few others are the brands most think of as quintessential Cuban cigars. Beyond the familiar names and recognizable logos, however, Castro’s communist isle still has plenty of other cigars to explore.

For instance, it would be a great disservice to your taste buds—and indeed your wallet—to ignore Juan Lopez. This brand continues to fly under the radar despite a loyal following of cigar enthusiasts who appreciate its consistency, quality, and relatively affordable price tag.

Juan Lopez was born when a Spanish businessman named Juan Lopez Diaz established the Flor de Juan Lopez factory in 1876. He was intent to make his fortune in the Cuban tobacco trade. It wasn’t long until he died, however, and his cigar operation passed on to his kin before it was eventually swallowed up by the Cuban government.

Today, Juan Lopez cigars are handmade in the west-central Cuban town of Guira de Melena with Vuelta Abajo tobacco and long-filler leaves. Production is limited. Juan Lopez fans point out that the brand occasionally disappears from the market, supposedly due to high quality control standards.

Those standards were apparent in the physical attributes of the six Juan Lopez cigars I smoked for this review. Sampled in the Selección No. 1 (5.6 x 42) format, they featured well-applied triple caps, a firm feel, and a pre-light scent of graham cracker. Each demonstrated a clear cold draw.

I was pleased to find that the graham cracker aroma carries over to the flavor. Remember eating Golden Grahams for breakfast as a kid? Well, if that General Mills product were a cigar instead of a square-shaped cereal, it would be a Juan Lopez. The rich, fluffy smoke tastes a lot like brown sugar, honey, and maple syrup. Light and delicious.

But there’s more to the Selección No. 1’s profile. Its sweetness is offset by an earthy, woodsy core, and there’s also some creaminess to tie the whole thing together. Sure, while the Juan Lopez isn’t as masterfully balanced as some cigars on the market, I find it to have more than enough nuance and equilibrium to keep me interested without distractions.

That’s why, despite some minor burn issues, I am impressed by this lesser-known Cuban. The Juan Lopez Selección No. 1 is well worth its asking price of $8-10 apiece and definitely worthy of a rating of four stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Oliva has been making good cigars for years, but only recently has the company gotten the credit  it deserves among connoisseurs of fine smokes. Part of that newfound recognition comes from Oliva’s popular (and highly-rated) Serie V.

But the Serie V isn’t the most limited cigar that Oliva makes. That honor belongs to the Master Blends 3, or “Liga Maestra.” This offering is described by Oliva as “specifically blended to deliver the richest characteristics of Nicaraguan ligero fillers and broadleaf sun-grown wrappers.”

The Robusto (5 x 50) is a Nicaraguan puro with a Nicaraguan habano binder. The dark, oily wrapper is nearly vein-free. Box-pressed, the smoke is firm to the touch and, while the wrapper on one (pictured) seemed a bit hastily applied, it certainly didn’t affect the way the cigar smoked.

Once lit, the Master Blends 3 reveals rich coffee, chocolate, and cedary undertones. It features that classic Nicaraguan “zing” that leaves a distinctive flavor on the roof of the mouth.

The Robusto yields thick, lush smoke.  It starts medium- to full-bodied but grows to full strength by the midway point, with a bit of earth joining the complex group of flavors.

It certainly is not hard to see why Oliva touts this as their most luxurious blend. With excellent balance and rich flavors, Master Blends 3 is reminiscent of that other highly touted box-pressed Nicaraguan puro: the Padrón Anniversary.

As for exclusivity, unlike the earlier Master Blends, the third version seems to be widely available, including on a host of internet retailers where it sells for around $12 each, although you can often find it discounted for less.

But even if it isn’t as limited as its predecessors, it’s still a fine smoke. That’s why the Oliva Master Blends 3 Robusto earns a rating of four stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Declaration’s website makes no bones about where its inspiration comes from. “A cigar created with purpose and passion, Declaration embodies our independent spirit and inspires a statement about personal liberty, ‘Smoke to be Free.'”

A creation of the Jameson Cigar Co., this isn’t the only cigar to draw inspiration from the fight for the freedom to smoke. Before Declaration there was Defiance, a project of Xikar and Jesus Fuego, that sent a portion of sales to fight anti-cigar legislation. More recently, Paradigm 262 by Revolution Cigars takes aim at anti-smoking forces with its “262 Manifesto” in defense of the freedom to smoke.

Along those lines, Declaration only comes in one size: the 5 and a half inch by 50 ring gauge “Iniquity.” The name works on two levels. Defined by Websters as “a gross injustice” or a “wicked act,” anti-smoking activists may see smoking as an iniquity, while cigar smokers see iniquities in the smoking bans and tobacco taxes those same activists push.

Whatever the context, Iniquity features a muted brown habano ’98 wrapper with just a bit of oily shine. The Dominican puro uses a criollo ’98 binder and with “select filler tobaccos from the prime growing regions of the Dominican Republic.” It is firm to the touch and, pre-light, reveals coffee flavors.

The long robusto starts with a bit of sweet grass, but evolves quickly to reveal coffee, woody, and toasty flavors. A bit of pepper goes in and out and there’s also a hint of leather.

Throughout the smoke I repeatedly noticed a dominant dark coffee flavor. Occasionally that manifests as  bitter notes of burnt coffee grounds, while at other times it had the richness of a dark french roast.

With ever changing flavors, complexity abounds. It isn’t the most balanced smoke, but deep burnt flavors make it a unique medium- to full-bodied creation. The draw can be a bit tight and the burn needs a few  touch-ups but, on the whole, construction is above average.

I’m a sucker for declarations of liberty, so if I were to rate the Declaration on it’s “Smoke to be Free” concept there’s no doubt this smoke would get a perfect score. But this is a cigar review, not test of one’s devotion to freedom. Fortunately, the Declaration Iniquity has a lot to offer as a cigar too, and it earns a most respectable rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Too many smokes, too little time. With the industry vibrant, creative, and—for better or worse—always in search of the next best thing, one man simply can’t effectively sample everything. I suppose that’s a good problem to have.

I’m never surprised when I completely miss the boat on new cigars, even those produced by tobacco giant Altadis. Such has been the case with the H. Upmann Reserve Maduro. This blend was introduced two years ago to diversify the non-Cuban H. Upmann portfolio.

Called “the darkside of one Upmannship” by Altadis, it is intended to add a “rich and savory maduro to the legendary line of cigars.” The Reserve Maduro recipe includes a Nicaraguan binder, a filler blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos, and a toothy San Andreas morrón wrapper. It is handmade at the La Flor de Copan factory in Honduras.

Six vitolas are available: Belicoso (6.1 x 52), Corona (5 x 44), Robusto (5 x 54), Sir Winston (7 x 50), Titan (6 x 60), and Toro (6 x 54). I recently found a stash of Coronas at the bottom of one of my humidors—probably gifts from my colleagues when they covered the 2008 IPCPR Trade Show.

Each clean cigar boasts an oily, lightly veined appearance with a neat cap. The feel is hard in some places and soft in others, but the overall impression is one of quality and care. I snipped the very edge of the cap to reveal a smooth draw.

Once an even burn is established, soft pre-light notes of cocoa transition into a powerful blast of peppercorn and espresso. Don’t let this bold, spicy intro scare you off. Just as soon as it arrives, it moves over to make way for a much softer profile of dark chocolate, nuts, and sweet wood.

That’s about where the Reserve Maduro stays through the midway point and beyond. Sure, you can pick up other, subtler flavors if you really put your mind to it, but don’t try to over-think this straightforward cigar. If you do so you’ll miss out on its sugary, charming simplicity.

That said, and notwithstanding the Corona’s near-perfect combustion qualities, this $5 cigar smokes like a $5 cigar. It delivers consistent, user-friendly enjoyment with none of the thrills of more complex, more balanced cigars. Somewhere between captivating and disappointing, the H. Upmann Reserve Maduro Corona earns three stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys