The Stogie Guys

Dion Giolito has made a splash over the past few years with bold yet balanced smokes marketed with a flare for the mysterious and sometimes conspiratorial. Unlike his earlier Illusione and Cruzado lines, the Epernay blend takes its inspiration from a more traditional source: the Epernay region of France known around the world for the Champagne it produces.

Epernay debuted in 2008 as the ECCJ 15th limited release (in honor of the 15th anniversary of the European Cigar Cult Journal). It was eventually rolled out in 2009 as a full line with four sizes. For this review I tasted the panatela-sized “Le Elegance” (5.75 x 40).

According to Illusione’s website, this Nicaraguan puro features “a combination of criollo and corojo tobaccos…[and] is finished with a superior-grade cafe rosado coverleaf.” It’s well constructed with a Cuban-style triple cap and framed by a white and gold band.

Pre-light, the panatela draws with sweet cedar notes. I find a mild, creamy smoke after lighting with a single wooden match.

Despite its distinctly mild to medium body, the cigar has an intense mix of apple, roast nuts, and cedar. In the final third, a very subtle hint of cedar spiciness emerges along with delicate floral notes.

Construction is excellent, which is particularly impressive considering the small ring gauge. The ash holds for over half an inch and the draw provides no resistance.

It is said that the Epernay is blended to be paired with champagne, but I’ll admit I had my doubts. With a healthy skepticism, I lit my last one up paired with a fine Cava (which, for my money, is as good as a champagne three times the price), and I found that the crisp, lively bubbly was an excellent accompaniment.

I’ve written before in appreciation of fine mild smokes, and this cigar hits all the characteristics of such a cigar. Delicate and subtle, Le Elegance is tasty and without a bit of the bitterness that tarnishes so many otherwise excellent mild cigars.

Ultimately, at $7.70, this Epernay lives up to its name: elegant. Because of that, the Illusione Epernay Le Elegance earns the rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Drew Estate is best known for its line of infused cigars called Acid. But it is the traditional Nicaraguan puro Liga Privada that is winning over seasoned smokers.

The Liga Privada No. 9, which means private blend number nine, was originally created for Drew Estate President Steve Saka. It features a seven-tobacco blend with a Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper and is aged for a full year before being shipped for sale.

Building on the success of the No. 9, Drew Estate extended the line in 2009 with the release of the Liga Privada T-52, which is a different blend and features a stalk-cut habano wrapper. The Flying Pig, a four-inch by 60 ring gauge perfecto, is a limited release vitola under the original No. 9 line with a production run of 24,000 cigars.

The unique shape was chosen by Steve Saka from a picture of an 1895 cigar salesman’s size selection case. The Flying Pig features more ligero than the No. 9 but the same Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. The changes in the blend give the Flying Pig more strength than the No. 9, and a slightly sweeter flavor profile.

The construction is excellent with a firm feel and no visible defects in the oily wrapper. It smells of earth and leather with just a hint of pepper. Because the Flying Pig is a perfecto, I was a little worried about the draw being tight in the beginning, but the initial draw is good and opens up slightly once you pass the first half inch.

The cigar yields plenty of creamy smoke with initial flavors of leather, earth, and some sweetness. As it progresses, the leather fades and cedar and a nice spice join the mix. A sweetness reminiscent of cocoa also picks up. The burn is consistent with a bit of wavering, but it never requires a touch-up. The Flying Pig burns slowly with an average smoke time of around and hour and a half.

Overall, I am very impressed with the Flying Pig. The flavors are interesting and blended well. Construction and combustion qualities are excellent as well, which you would expect from a cigar with an MSRP of $12 per stick.

My only small complaint is that on one of my two samples the cap came off half way through the cigar. While this was bit disconcerting at the time, it did not affect the draw or the flavor at all. All of these factors combine to earn the Liga Privada Flying Pig four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick M

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Cigar maker Rolando Reyes, Sr. is known throughout the industry for his dedication to quality control. Prior to his retirement in 2007, at the age of 83, his work habits included toiling at his Honduran factory long after hours and inspecting individual cigars up to seven times before they hit the shipping crates.

Today his grandson, Carlos E. Diez, is president of Reyes Family Cigars (formerly Cuba Aliados). He oversees production of all the brands in the company’s portfolio, including Cuba Aliados, Puros Indios, and Cienfuegos.

The latter was unveiled in 2003 as the boldest smoke in the Reyes catalogue. “We wanted to make the strongest cigar we could without compromising the taste and the aroma,” Diez told Cigar Aficionado.

Diez certainly picked a good name for the line. Aside from being a Cuban city, “Cienfuegos” means “one hundred fires” in Spanish. The colorful painting on the band depicts three Cubans in a 19th century tobacco field with a wall of flames on the horizon. And the six vitolas all have fire-inspired names like “Hot Shot” and “Blaze.”

The robusto-sized “Engine #5” (5 x 50) comes dressed in a reddish Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with a Nicaraguan binder and Dominican filler. While soft to the touch and rough around the edges, it nonetheless imparts an overall feel of quality.

Touching fire to the foot, pre-light notes of coffee beans give way to a powerful taste of espresso with a sweet cedar finish. The profile, lacking in complexity, is strong but not nearly as spicy or peppery as most other full-bodied cigars.

This smoothness carries over to the midway point. Here, though, the finish is decidedly meatier with an earthy quality that’s slightly stale. All the while the physical properties are decent with an uneventful burn, a sandy white ash, and a clear draw.

The Engine #5 sells for as low as $4 and as high as $9. It’s a decent buy at the lower end of that spectrum if you’re looking for something authoritative yet smooth, but it doesn’t quite have enough balance to merit a price above $5. That earns it a rating of three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In our December interview, when we asked Pete Johnson to tell us what would surprise even his biggest fan, he said something we weren’t expecting: “I know my way around a sewing machine.”

He seems to know quite a bit about making cigars, too. A former buyer for the Grand Havana Room in Beverly Hills, Johnson launched his own cigar brand in 2003 called Tatuaje (Spanish for “tattoo”). The rest, as you probably know, is history. Tatuaje is now a sought-after fixture in the industry with too many rave reviews to mention.

Many of Johnson’s creations—from the Black and the Havana VI Verocu to the L’esprit de La Verite and the Reserva—command prices in excess of $10 apiece. Hoards of cigar enthusiasts are more than willing to fork over the requisite cash. But, recognizing the economic downturn, Johnson launched a cheaper-priced Tatuaje offshoot called Ambos Mundos in early 2009. This long-filler blend of Nicaraguan tobacco makes use of grade B and C leaves—whereas Tatuaje uses grade A. Its two sizes are offered in two different wrappers: an Ecuadorian Sumatra (red label) or a Nicaraguan Habano (white label.)

I smoked two Sumatra Robustos for this review. Measuring five inches long with a ring gauge of 50, this cigar doesn’t make a particularly good first impression. The wrinkled wrapper has numerous splotches of discoloration, the pre-light notes are extremely faint, and the feel is inconsistent with several soft spots.

While I hope for more from a cigar that retails for about $5, the true test is in taste. And the Ambos Mundos gets off to a fair start with a subdued flavor of leather and dry wood with hints of sweetness. There may be some peppery spice on the finish, but the intensity is half of what you’d find in the average Tatuaje. Maybe that’s an unfair comparison.

Still, it’s appropriate to note how the Sumatra Robusto leaves a sour taste in the mouth, especially down the stretch. The sensation isn’t necessarily unpleasant; some may even find it a welcome uniqueness.

All, however, should be impressed with the Ambos Mundos’ construction. Both of my Robustos exhibited superb burns, effortless draws, and quality ashes.

So I’m torn on a final verdict. On the one hand, this cigar offers decent flavor and excellent combustion qualities for a fair price. On the other, I can think of many sticks that I’d rather purchase in this price range. That ultimately leaves the Sumatra Robusto with a rating of three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

For smokers who enjoy full-flavored smokes, the Oliva Serie V needs no introduction. The highly-rated smoke has appeared on Cigar Aficionado‘s Top 25 list every year since its release, including two top 5 showings.

Building on that success, Oliva released a maduro version of the Serie V in 2008 and 2009. Produced in only one size—a Torpedo (6.5 x 52)—only 5,000 boxes of 10 were made each year.

The Nicaraguan Habano wrapper is flawless and mouthwatering, reminiscent of a bar of dark chocolate. Inside, the Nicaraguan puro is made of “specially fermented Jalapa Valley ligero” filler tobacco. The torpedo has an extremely firm construction.

Once lit, I find a full-bodied combination of earth, chocolate, and espresso. There’s also a hint of pepper, particularly in the first third of the smoke. The finish is long with dry cocoa notes.

As it evolves, a rich and chewy roasted nut flavor evolves that reminds me of cashew. In the final third more leather emerges, occasionally showing some rare bitterness.

Construction is impressive with a solid gray ash and an even burn. Despite the tight feel, there is no resistance on the draw.

I realize this may put me in the minority, but I happen to think the Maduro is even better than the highly acclaimed original Oliva Serie V. While smoking samples for this review, I found myself comparing the Maduro Especial to another favorite maduro of mine, the Padrón Serie 1964 Maduro.

That makes the price of $10 per cigar or $90 for a box of 10 eminently fair. It also earns the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2009 an impressive rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Every cigar has a story. This one is no exception, and it starts way back in 1935.

That was the year Alonso Menéndez founded Montecristo at the Particulares Factory in Havana. A quarter century later, like so many outstanding cigar makers who resented his government’s takeover of the industry, he fled the island to take his popular brand beyond the reach of the Cuban Revolution.

His first stop was the Canary Islands. But Habanos SA, Cuba’s state-owned tobacco monopoly, slammed him with copyright litigation. Cuba had, of course, confiscated Menéndez’s trademark and continued production under the Montecristo name to capitalize on its reputation. So he moved again in the mid-1970s, this time to La Romana in the Dominican Republic. This new location would enable him to sell directly to the U.S. market—where Cuba’s rights to the brand aren’t recognized.

Now owned by Altadis, Montecristo is celebrating 75 years since it was established in Cuba. This occasion, of course, calls for a special Aniversario blend, which was introduced at the IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans last summer.

The new Montecristo 75th Aniversario line is handmade at the Tabacalera de García factory under the watchful eye of master blender José Seijas. Available in five vitolas with suggested retail prices ranging from $10 to $18.50 apiece, this “super-premium” features a dark Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and a filler blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos.

The Lancero (7.5 x 40) starts with a heavy, chalky flavor that’s both spicy and abrasive. Quickly, however, it transitions into a smoother, earthier profile of cocoa and dark chocolate. This is a nice, albeit familiar, taste that’s satisfying on the palate.

Moving past the first inch, the biggest surprise from the 75th Aniversario is that there aren’t any surprises. This 100-minute smoke is amazingly straightforward and consistent in flavor all the way to the nub. If you’re really into the way it tastes, you’ll love it; if you aren’t enthralled, you’ll likely find the Lancero a bit monotonous—even towards the end when it becomes meatier and the finish takes on a peppery spice.

What you won’t find are any problems in construction. The slow burn is perfectly straight, the gray ash holds well, and the draw has just a bit of resistance. This is exactly the way you’d expect a cigar that sells for $15 apiece to smoke.

I remain unconvinced, however, that the flavor profile is worth the cost. At $7, yeah, I could make an easy recommendation. But this price level requires more complexity and development. So, while I enjoyed the two Lanceros I smoked for this review, I can’t give them a rating higher than three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

United Tobacco’s 601 line is a favorite of mine and my colleagues here at StogieGuys.com. Two of the four, Red and Blue, scored four stogies in reviews, while the powerhouse Green garnered four and a half.

It seemed only right that we round out the series with a look at the Black. It may not be Don Pepin’s most discussed creation, but it continues to rank among his best.

Covered by a light brown Connecticut leaf grown in Ecuador, some smokers might fall for the oft-repeated fiction that such a wrapper is the mark of a mild smoke. They’d be just as wrong as those who assume dark cigars are powerful. In this case, I think most smokers will find the Black more powerful than its darker sibling, the Blue.

But it is taste, not simply strength, that makes the 601 line outstanding. And the Black doesn’t disappoint. The 5 inch by 50 ring gauge Robustos I’ve smoked are a delight to the senses. It begins with a luscious pre-light aroma of nuts, adds a bit of pepper to that flavor in the initial third, and then mixes in hints of clove and rich tobacco sweetness.

I’ve probably smoked a dozen or so and have had no construction problems. The draw is consistently excellent and the cigars produce copious amounts of smoke. The only real drawback I could name is that they tend to burn a little fast.

Bought individually, these sticks run around $7 or $7.50, though they’re often considerably cheaper in 5-pack or box deals.

Just like its brethren, this stick from Erik Espinoza and Eddie Ortega is worthy of a strong recommendation and a high rating. It earns four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Wikipedia