The Stogie Guys

The Vintage Especial by Tesa is one of the finest, most complex mild cigars on the market—and currently my favorite Connecticut smoke. Its only drawback is its price.

So I was intrigued when Chris Kelly told me he was bringing a value-priced Connecticut blend to Tesa, a Chicago boutique with a portfolio of fantastic house blends. Picadura King, as the new blend is called, is made with a Connecticut shade wrapper and Nicaraguan long-filler mixed with short-filler scraps (called picadura).

The difference in cost between Vintage Especial and Picadura King is striking: the robusto-sized Vintage Especial Rothchild runs $14, whereas the Picadura King Robusto is about $4-5. Three other Picadura King sizes are available: Churchill (7 x 50), Toro (6 x 50), and Super Toro (6 x 62). Each also comes in a Maduro variety.

I grabbed a handful of Robustos at Tesa in early February, seeing them prominently on display within the shop’s walk-in humidor. Each has a closed foot and a delicate, pale wrapper with a few larger viens. Faint notes of sweet hay are apparent pre-light. The density is consistent from head to foot and stiffer than you might expect a mix-filler cigar to be.

After lighting the Robusto and taking a few introductory puffs, I can’t help but smile. The familiar taste is very reminiscent of the Vintage Especial: oak, sweet hay, cream, and roasted nuts. Mild, harmonious, and well-balanced with an interesting interplay between the sweetness of the smoke and the lingering spice on the finish.

For me—a cigar enthusiast who strives to smoke milder cigars about 30% of the time—the Picadura King Robusto, like the Vintage Especial Rothchild, hits all the right notes. It’s mild enough to be smoked any time of day. It’s flavorful and complex enough to keep my interest. And it never succumbs to the pitfalls of many other Connecticut smokes (namely papery or chemical-like tastes).

Construction is outstanding, which is what I’ve come to expect from Tesa’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. The burn is perfectly straight. The draw is smooth. Each puff releases plenty of smoke. And the ash holds pretty well given the filler mix.

Time will tell if Picadura King can be an outright replacement for Vintage Especial in my rotation. I need to smoke a few back-to-back to see if the former has all the complexity of the latter. I suspect it doesn’t (though maybe I’m just thinking it can’t given the price difference). Either way, the Picadura King Robusto is an excellent mild cigar that can firmly stand on its own legs, one that’s worthy of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Keeping to my goal of smoking more limited edition cigars this year, I recently picked up a box of the Litto Gomez Diez 2009 smokes when I came across them at a serious discount under $200. So far, I’ve smoked about a half dozen and found them extremely consistent, both in their positive and negative characteristics.

The annual line is rolled exclusively with tobacco grown on the Gomez farm in the Dominican Republic. A sheet in the box says the tobacco was harvested in 2005. So, there’s quite a bit of age there.

But time hasn’t overly mellowed them. They are a fine, hearty example of what Gomez has accomplished in breaking the stereotype of Dominican smokes as mild, adding to what Fuente has done with its Opus line.

These 5.5-inch sticks also share the Gomez chisel-head innovation with a number of his other La Flor Dominicana cigars.

After that odd head, the most striking immediate characteristics of the 2009 are the lovely, thick, reddish-brown wrapper (more about that later) and an intoxicating pre-light aroma that’s sweet, nutty, and rich.

Although some reviews I read emphasized spice, I found that to be muted and serve more as an underlying component to other flavors, such as wood, earth, and a deep tobacco sweetness. The cigar, while powerful, is also incredibly smooth from first to last, with a light, pleasant lingering finish.

Now, to the issues I didn’t enjoy. That wrapper looks good, but it also appears to be thick, and it doesn’t burn very well. Every stick I’ve smoked so far has had burn issues and required numerous relights to try to keep the burn line close to even.

And that chisel head. While I applaud Gomez for attempting innovation, I just don’t find this one worthwhile. I’ve tried smoking purely from the opened chisel end, used a punch, a guillotine, and and even a V-cut sideways. Nothing seems to create an opening nearly as good as that on a conventionally finished cigar.

For taste, this limited edition would rate four stogies, perhaps even four and a half. But that’s not enough to overcome the burn and draw issues. So, even though I like these cigars a lot, I can only give them three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Dunhill is a historic name in cigars, but you could argue the name hasn’t fully lived up to its rich legacy recently. Prior to the communist takeover of Cuba, the Dunhill shop in London had exclusive marketing and distribution agreements with various Cuban cigar makers, including Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and Partagas. (I smoked a 70-year-old one here.)

The cigars were popular with such legendary smokers as King George VI and Sir Winston Churchill, who reportedly got a call from Dunhill shop employees immediately after a German air raid hit the store to reassure the prime minister that his cigars in storage had been relocated prior to the raid. After the Cuban revolution, Dunhill retained a number of “Dunhill Selección” exclusive sizes and also had its own Don Alfredo line produced at the H. Upmann factory in Havana.

Later, in the early 1980s, Dunhill worked out a deal with Cubatbaco to produce cigars under the Dunhill name. Those cigars, whose main competition was Cuban-made Davidoffs, were produced until 1991, but they are still among the most prized cigars today.

Since then the name, under the control of the British American Tobacco company and separate from the London shop, has bounced around with cigars by Toraño and Altadis being sold under the Dunhill name. The new Dunhill Aged Reserva Especial 2003, introduced at the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show, is now made at the Dominican factory of General Cigar, which has taken over distribution.

The Dunhill Aged Reserva blend features a Connecticut shade-grown wrapper, Connecticut broadleaf binder, and Dominican filler from the 2003 crop. It comes in one size, a Robusto Grande (5.5 x 54), that sells for $15 each in ornate boxes of 10.

The attractive cigar features double bands around a slightly shiny wrapper. It’s the kid of classic styling you’d expect from a cigar bearing the Dunhill name. Construction was excellent on two of the three samples I smoked, but on one the wrapper cracked badly. I’m wiling to write that off as a function of some temperature changes, but you should be aware that the wrapper is quite fragile.

The Robusto Grande features light honey, cedar, straw, slight leather, and a dampness reminiscent of Davidoff. It’s a pretty mild cigar that starts out mild and refined and occasionally touches on bland. Still, throughout, it’s well-balanced, and never harsh or even a little bitter. A friend described the Dunhill Aged Reserva Especial 2003 as a “leathery Davidoff” and I don’t think that’s far off. And it’s probably not a bad thing for Dunhill, since it’s competing for the same part of the market as the Dominican-made Davidoffs.

If you enjoy full-bodied Nicaraguan smokes, this isn’t the cigar for you. If you’re looking for a balanced, refined, mild cigar with a little more complexity than your normal beginner’s smoke, however, it’s worth a try, even if the price is a little steep. That earns the Dunhill Aged Reserva Especial 2003 a 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

When I reviewed the Grimalkin Toro by Emilio Cigars back in 2011, I liked everything about the cigar. Everything, that is, except for the name and the creepy band.

Gary Griffith must have gotten similar feedback pretty regularly, or perhaps he just had a change of heart about the best way to market this stellar creation. Whatever the case, he decided to re-brand the line as La Musa Mοῦσα, which—as Cigar Fan eloquently describes—may be a nod to the first line of Homer’s The Odyssey.

La Musa Mοῦσα features a Habano Rosado wrapper and is handmade in Estelí with production “based on harvest conditions,” according to the Emilio website. It is available in a limited Lancero vitola, along with traditional Robusto, Torpedo, Corona, and Toro formats.

The latter retails for $8-9 apiece and measures six inches long with a ring gauge of 50. It boasts an oily, reddish wrapper with nary an imperfection and wonderful notes of milk chocolate and nut off the foot. Moderately firm throughout, the Toro is downright beautiful with (what I think is) a significant improvement in the band.

La Musa Mοῦσα is “designed for the refined palate with an appreciation of subtle nuance in texture and flavor of the smoke.” Fittingly, the initial profile is neither monolithic nor overbearing—even though many have speculated this smoke is made by Don Pepin Garica, a cigar maker with a knack for powerful, peppery introductions. Flavors of almond, caramel, cocoa, and cream emerge in a balanced, medium-bodied taste.

And that’s pretty much how the Toro smokes from light to nub, save for some increases in spice down the stretch. Not surprisingly since the blend is the same, I’ll agree with my previous assessment of the Grimalkin Toro that the “balance and syrupy texture stand out as the most memorable characteristics of the smoke, imparting a uniqueness that’s lacking from other cigars that take on a more predictable profile.”

Also not surprisingly, the combustion qualities are the same as the Grimalkin—an excellent draw with large volumes of smoke, a straight burn line, and a solid ash.

When Grimalkin was introduced, I nodded in agreement as I read positive review after positive review. The quality, subtlety, and balance of the blend cannot be denied. And so is the case with La Musa Mοῦσα Toro, my favorite of Gary Griffith’s creations to date. It’s worthy of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Before working on this review, I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I fired up a Gurkha. And that’s saying a lot for a guy who needs to smoke a wide variety of cigars.

It’s also saying a lot because of the excessive number of unique blends Gurkha produces. On its website, Gurkha lists no less than 13 “core brands,” 10 “limited edition” blends, and 2 lines under its “East India Trading Company” umbrella. And these listings apparently aren’t even comprehensive. The blend I’m reviewing today, for example, is nowhere to be found on the website. I’m sure it isn’t the only one missing.

No matter. The Gurkha Legend is pretty easy to come across. It features an aged Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper, a Cameroon binder, and eight-year-old Dominican filler tobaccos. The Robusto (6 x 50) retails for about $10 (and can sometimes be found for considerably less when on sale or thrown into a sampler pack).

I found a couple Robustos at the bottom of one of my humidors. No telling how long they had been buried there, but the cellophane on each had started to yellow. Once exposed, the cigars gave off potent pre-light notes of cocoa and hay. Each felt very firm in some spots and soft in others, inconsistencies that often foretell construction issues.

After torching the foot, a profile of dry wood, musty earth, and coffee emerges. Cinnamon and syrup add spice and sweetness, respectively. The texture is coarse and the body is on the lighter end of medium. Each puff leaves a long finish on the palate with a spicy tingle on the tongue.

Moving into the midway point, the flavor stays consistent but the aroma of the resting smoke becomes decidedly sweeter. The final third witnesses a slight increase in intensity with occasional bitter notes. All the while the Robusto’s combustion performs better than I imagined. The draw is smooth, the smoke production is solid, the burn is straight, and the gray ash holds well.

True, the Gurkha Legend Robusto can hold its own. But it’s also a far cry from memorable. While I won’t be forking over $10 for one of these in the future, I won’t mind picking up a few at bargain prices, or as inclusions in sampler packs. This cigar earns three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Haven’t heard of J. Grotto? Don’t feel bad. Until recently, I knew nothing about the line made by the Rhode Island-based Ocean State Cigars.

Fortunately, the company doesn’t make its cigars in the Ocean State, but at the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras, one of the hottest and most prolific factories around. Raices also rolls cigars for Illusione, Alec Bradley, Viaje, and a number of other brands.

The J. Grotto Reserve has Honduran ligero and Nicaraguan Jalapa filler surrounded by a Honduran Criollo ’98 binder and a Criollo ’99 wrapper. The Lancero (7.5 x 41) is a new addition to a line that also includes a Gran Corona (5.6 X 46), Gran Robusto (5 X 52), Gran Toro (6 x 52), and Gordo (6 x 60).

According to a press release from the company, production of the limited release Lancero was delayed three months due to demand-driven production delays at Raices Cubanas. Even when the delay was overcome, only 1,000 total cigars were made with 100 boxes of 10 being reserved for stores hosting J. Grotto events. (I received three cigars to sample directly from Ocean State.)

It’s a good-looking Lancero with a reddish wrapper that features a bit of oil. It’s a bit spongy but, when it comes to the lancero size, this doesn’t bother me; an overly tight draw is a far more common problem on long, thin vitolas.

Once lit, I find a flavor profile dominated by clove and nutmeg. There’s also earth and roast cashew, with just a hint of cedary spice on the finish, the only spice the cigar demonstrates. Construction is excellent, with no ill effects from the seemingly loose draw.

The cigar is medium-bodied and mostly balanced, though it adds some grittiness towards the final third. It’s smooth, flavorful, and highly enjoyable. The smoothness comes, I suspect, from the fact that the cigar is made of tobacco that has been aged three full years.

At $7.95 per cigar, this is an impressive smoke worth seeking out, even if finding it may be difficult (retailers that do get it will only be getting four boxes each). With smooth, medium-bodied flavors and excellent construction, the J. Grotto Reserve Lancero Limitado earns an impressive four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

These days, when you think of Joya de Nicaragua, you might think of CyB, the company’s newest line, or José Blanco, its popular and prolific senior vice president. You may even think of Drew Estate, which distributes Joya de Nicaragua cigars in the U.S.

Just a few years ago, though, I’d bet the first thing to come to mind would be Antaño, Joya de Nicaragua’s strong line of rich cigars that was introduced in 2002. The aptly-named Antaño blend (which translates to “yesteryear”) was crafted, according to Joya’s website, “as a tribute to recapture the power and essence of the puro that made this legendary brand the most sought-after cigar in the U.S. in the post-Cuban Embargo 1970s.”

Ten Antaño vitolas are available, including Consul (4.5 x 52), which retails in the affordable $5-6 range. It is handmade in Estelí—at a factory I’ve personally had the privilege to tour with Blanco and Jonathan Drew—and is intended to be “an ultra-robust, spicy smoke with unbridled body and aroma.”

This stout, old-school cigar is firm with a dense packing of tobaccos. The Habano-seed wrapper is moderately oily with only the thinnest veins, and the rough cap cuts to reveal a smooth pre-light draw. The fragrance at the foot is of cocoa, earth, and hay.

After establishing an even light, a profile of cedar and black pepper hits hard, followed by a solid nicotine kick. The aroma is sweet and almost creamy—a nice contrast to the powerful taste of the smoke. The texture is thick and leathery. Halfway through, a dried fruit flavor emerges. Nothing terribly complex going on here, just traditional, tasty, and straightforward.

As with most cigars, smoking the Antaño 1970 Consul slowly and through the nose pays great dividends, putting all the flavors on full display and keeping the bold smoke from becoming hot or harsh. I never like to rush a cigar, especially one that smokes so well. The Consul has a wonderful burn line, an easy draw that produces ample smoke, and a solid ash that holds firm.

This creation stands as a great example that a cigar doesn’t have to be new or trendy to be good. A classic-tasting, full-bodied, after-dinner smoke at a reasonable price, the Antaño 1970 Consul earns three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys