The Stogie Guys

One week in July I was meeting friends for dinner in Georgetown and dropped into one of my favorite cigar shops, Georgetown Tobacco. I was told that I had just missed a Perdomo event, but a friendly employee (aren’t all cigar shop employees friendly?) gave me this La Tradicion Perdomo Reserve Cameroon anyway.

The unique shape is the first thing that stands out about this cigar. The small “F”-size figuardo is only four and ¾ inches long, but it goes from a 44 ring gauge at the head to 56 in the middle, before narrowing to 52 at the foot. With its large silver wrapper over its deep brown Cameroon wrapper, it is an attractive – though odd – cigar.

Pre-light, the cigar had a spicy aroma typical of a high-grade African Cameroon wrapper. The stogie lit easily and its figuardo shape funneled an easy draw of white smoke into my mouth.

Right off the bat this one had a kick. The spicy flavor of the wrapper combined with the heavy earthy flavors of the Nicaraguan Cuban seed filler to produce a complex, full-flavored smoke.

The cigar gradually mellowed a little as some of the spice faded and cream and chocolate notes came through. Slight nutty flavors were also apparent.

One disappointment was, soon after lighting up, this cigar began to burn unevenly, and eventually a match was needed to even it out again. But that’s a small negative in an otherwise solid performance, earning this cigar a rating of three and ½ out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick S

After all the wonderful cigars I have smoked in my short lifetime, I couldn’t believe it when I recently realized I had never lit up an Ashton Cabinet Selection. With this sudden and random insight in mind, I dropped everything and headed to the nearest tobacconist to pick up an Aston Aged Cabinet Pyramid.

This six inches by 52 ring gauge stogie is dressed to impress. The cigar’s smooth and creamy Connecticut Shade wrapper, interesting shape (there’s something sharp about a good torpedo), and decorative black and gold band provided an appropriate preview of the remarkable experience that was to come.

Upon initial lighting, I found the flavors to be much spicier than I expected. Deep toasted clove notes were most prevalent, and the taste was mainly a pleasant interaction between the salty and bitter locales of my palate. I should point out, however, the Dominican Republic binder and filler would have been more balanced and harmonious if it wielded some sweet flavors as well.

One of the many favorable and unique characteristics of this cigar is that its does not get overwhelmingly spicy towards the end of the smoke. As our readers will recall, stogies often become very hot and harsh as the foot of the cigar creeps closer and closer to your mouth. But this Ashton’s taste remained cool and smooth until the final puff.

As far as construction is concerned, I have no complaints. The burn was nice and even and the draw was easy and sure throughout the smoke. And – even though I was outside on a fairly windy afternoon – the cigar lit perfectly with one stroke of a wooden match.

At about $7.50 apiece it’s certainly not cheap, but this cigar is worth every penny. I give the Ashton Aged Cabinet Pyramid an enthusiastic four and ½ out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

My bio lists Padron as one of my “dependable favorites,” yet somehow I’ve managed to go five months without reviewing one of these full-flavored cigars. So today I’m reviewing a petit Churchill-sized Padron Delicias Maduro (4 and 7/8 inches by 46 ring gauge).

The wrapper was a bit rough and veiny with a two-tone hue of deep brown with black shadows. Before I lit it, the stogie had a rich earthy aroma with hints of hay.

This smoke started out harsh and then smoothed out, but this is still a very powerful little smoke. While it was most definitely powerful and full-bodied, the flavor remained quite sweet due to the abundance of sugars present in the sun grown maduro wrapper.

The cigar features deep rich earthy flavors with chocolaty tones. Also, as cliche it sounds, there was a slight but distinct saffron flavor present, particularly when smoked through the nose.

And the construction left nothing to be desired: an even burn, an easy draw, and a light gray ash that dropped off an inch at a time.

While not the most aesthetically pleasing cigar, it reminded me why I always consider Padron one of my go-to-brands. Excellent value (available for $3 apiece), dependable construction, and bold flavors earn this cigar three and 1/2 out of five stogies.

–Patrick S

Tags: cigars

The fourth installment in our four part series, Stogie Guys Week in Review, is as delicate in taste as it is in appearance. But the Butera Royal Vintage Mira Bella is no lightweight pushover – it’s an attentive smoker’s delight.

This elegant six and ¾ inches by 38 ring gauge cigar is a slender combination of six inimitable Dominican Republic tobaccos draped in a smooth Connecticut Shade leaf. The cappuccino-colored wrapper sports few noticeable veins, and the caramel-tinted band is a worthy – though untraditional – companion.

After lighting, the first thing I noticed was an extremely mild and airy taste. In fact, the flavor was almost indiscernible without smoking through the nose. But once I did that, creamy almond, milk, and vanilla tones shone through.

While the flavor was light in the first phase, it surprisingly (and fortunately) pleased my entire palate. From bitter to sweet, from acidic to salty, this stogie satisfied all taste buds – a testament to the harmonious blend of tobaccos.

Midway into the smoke, the stogie became a bit spicier, and the flavors – now more nutty than creamy – became pronounced. Notwithstanding this increase in taste, I would still recommend pairing this cigar with wine, not hard alcohol (I chose a savory Robert Mondavi zinfandel).

The construction qualities are the only serious drawback. The stogie requires constant surveillance to maintain an even burn, and it regrettably has a knack for going out at random.

Even so, the Butera Royal Vintage Mira Bella is a pleasurable stick – especially if you’re in the mood for something light. I’d love to give it a higher rating, but considering the poor physical properties for a $7 cigar, I’m forced to give it a respectable – yet disappointing – three and ½ out of five stogies.

–Patrick A

I smoked the third installment in our four part series, Stogie Guys Week in Review, under almost perfect conditions. Sitting on my front porch on a warm September night, I was fortunate enough to have live Latin guitar music from a neighbor’s dinner party as a full moon glowed over the tree tops. With such a great cigar atmosphere, I reached into my humidor and selected an El Rey Del Mundo Robusto Larga that had been hiding there for two months in white tissue paper.

After I removed the paper and the classic yellow and gold band, I inspected the dark Oscuro Ecuadorian wrapper, finding crystals that revealed some aging. This large 6 inch by 54 ring gauge cigar was a bit bumpy. I also found a few spongy areas that worried me a bit, but overall this is a distinguished looking smoke.

Once I lit the cigar, I immediately found it to be flavorful. It produced an abundance of warm white smoke, and chocolate earthy flavors quickly revealed themselves. These flavors were consistent throughout, and never dull.

On a few of occasions, a slight uneven burn began to form, but nothing that would be a problem for an attentive smoker. The stogie produced a long white ash that only dropped off after a full inch and a half.

Overall, this was an excellent cigar. The El Rey del Mundo (King of the World) brand is often overshadowed by its Punch and Hoyo cousins, but I think it stands up with the best of Honduran cigars. I enjoyed this cigar so much I nearly singed my eyebrows off relighting the stub.

So for such an impressive showing, this classic Honduran cigar earns four out of five stogies.

–Patrick S

Welcome back to the Stogie Guys Week in Review. For the second installment in our four part series, I’ve chosen to evaluate a Sancho Panza. No, not Don Quixote’s pot-bellied squire…the Glorioso cigar.

This 6.12 inches by 50 ring gauge box-pressed stick is made from a mixture of Dominican, Honduran, and Nicaraguan fillers, and comes adorned with a smooth, light brown Connecticut Shade wrapper. Impressively, despite keeping this particular stogie in my humidor for well over one year, the cigar had a firmer-than-average feel.

Upon initial lighting, the medium-bodied stogie gave off excellent woody notes – enough to prompt an acquaintance to remark that it smelled better to her than most I have smoked.

As the cigar progressed, I noticed a strong interplay between bitter oak flavors and sweet honey tones. That flavor relationship was very pleasing (albeit enough to keep me interested in the smoke), but this cigar lacks the complexity and balance I’ve come to expect from premium smokes, and I felt as though several key areas of my palate were ignored.

What’s more, in the second and finishing phases, the stogie became aggressively spicy. I love strong flavors just as much as the next cigar enthusiast, but this quick transition from sweet woody flavors to spice was more harsh than pleasing.

Much to my surprise, however, the construction of this cigar was near perfect. The draw was easy (producing a lot of smoke) and the burn was even throughout the hour-long ordeal.

Overall, this was a pleasing smoke – I just wish the flavor was a little more balanced and the transition from light to heavy was a little smoother. For mediocre taste and outstanding physical characteristics, I give the Sancho Panza Glorioso three and ½ out of five stogies.

–Patrick A

On Friday we announced that in order to beef up our newly-created Stogie Reviews Archive, we would launch an entire week of reviews. So, without further ado, here is the first installment of our Stogie Guys Week in Review:

The Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Toro is a nice looking 6 inch by 52 ring gauge stogie with a gritty Costa Rican maduro wrapper. Indian Tabac is Rocky Patel’s company, so I had high expectations for this box-pressed stogie.

I chose to pair it with a white russian (the dude’s favorite cocktail). The coupling is somewhat of an aggressive choice with a dark maduro cigar, but it’s a pairing I have enjoyed in the past.

After lighting up this I cigar, I didn’t notice the super strong flavors (as advertised). And when the “super fuerte” flavor did kick in, it was more harsh than rich.

Instead, I found this cigar very earthy with nutty walnut tones that faded in and out. And I was disappointed by the very bitter notes this cigar had. Some sweet flavors would have balanced out the flavor more.

Fortunately, the cigar had a very easy draw, which was a good thing since the one previous time I tried this cigar it had an impossible plug that forced me to put it out halfway through – something I almost never do. Additionally, this cigar developed a nasty split in the wrapper along one of the edges of the box press, but thankfully that didn’t seem to effect the burn.

Overall, I expected better from the company that makes one of my favorite stogies, the Rocky Patel Sun Grown. This one looked and smelled good before I lit it (and provides good value at only about $2 apiece), but the bitter flavors prevented the cigar from living up to its potential.

I give the Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Toro only two and a 1/2 out of five stogies.

[Also, don’t forget to submit your entries for a chance to represent the Stogie Guys and score free tickets to Cigar Artisans 2006 in Tampa. To learn more about Cigar Artisans 2006, read our September 6 article.]

–Patrick S