The Stogie Guys

As part of my goal to smoke more milder cigars, I picked up a box of these Ecuadorian Connecticut-wrapped Churchills when I saw them marked down dramatically by an online shop.

My understanding, from speaking with him at last summer’s IPCPR Trade Show, was that when Erik Espinosa took over the 601 line as part of his new Espinosa Cigars, this line was no longer being made. And Espinosa confirmed yesterday that, indeed, the 601 White has been discontinued.

The box I got has a 2009 date and was sealed with an EO Brands strip down the side. I felt I knew what to expect. I’d smoked quite a few of the White Labels, though I’m not sure I’d had the Churchill (7 x 48). I recalled a tasty, relatively mild, satisfying cigar.

When I cracked open the box and tried one, that was what I got. A little pepper at the front end, woody notes toward the middle, and a depth of tobacco taste from the Nicaraguan filler and binder.

I’ve since smoked several more, and consistency has been a hallmark. Construction has been excellent, as have the burn and draw. I haven’t noticed any significant differences in flavor or texture from the age of these cigars, as opposed to those I smoked out of the box in the past.

If you enjoy a milder smoke, this is one that’s not to be missed. Whatever the production situation, finding them isn’t at all difficult. And finding them at a bargain price isn’t, either. I paid less than $4 per stick. All in all, a fine cigar. I give it four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Cohiba is considered the pinnacle of Cuban cigars, and recent additions to the Cohiba portfolio have succeeded in capturing the attention of cigar enthusiasts the world over.

Most notable among these is the super-expensive Cohiba Behike, which was dubbed “the new standard among smokers worldwide” when it became available in May 2010—albeit in very limited quantities. The Pirámides Extra is another important development, as it was the first addition to the core Cohiba line in 20 years, a line that launched in 1982 (the Siglo line didn’t come around until later).

But perhaps no addition diversified the Cohiba portfolio like the Maduro 5 line, launched in 2007. The first Cohiba cigar to feature a maduro wrapper, it’s made in the Partagas factory in Old Havana and boasts a five-year-old wrapper with thin yet prominent veins and a mottled, reddish hue.

Maduro 5 is available in three sizes: Genios (5.5 x 52), Secretos (4.3 x 40), and Mágicos (4.5 x 52). Secretos earned the number six slot on Cigar Aficionado’s list of the best cigars of 2007 with a 93 rating. The Mágicos cigars I smoked for this review run $23-28 apiece (with a black varnished box of 25 selling for $590).

The pre-light aroma is of cocoa powder and caramel and the cold draw is moderately stiff. Once an even light is established, a profile of coffee, leather, spice, and black licorice emerges. The texture is syrupy. Notes of cream and roasted nut add complexity. The resting smoke is sweet and pleasant.

Sadly, the physical properties leave much to be desired, especially for such an expensive cigar. The burn line is atrocious and will easily canoe without close attention. And while the gray ash holds firm and the draw is smooth, the Mágicos gets exceptionally hot and burns way too quickly—even if smoked slowly and after several months resting in the humidor. Perhaps age will do this cigar well.

All this is a shame, especially since the flavor profile is so agreeable. I wish I could tell you the burn line is straight. I wish I could tell you the Mágicos burns slow enough to savor the flavor. And I wish could say this smoke is worth its high asking price. But the three samples I smoked for this review say otherwise. Torn between the depth of the interesting flavor and the substandard construction, I’m awarding this high-priced Cuban a somewhat disappointing rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

God of Fire is best known for selling high-end accessories and limited Fuente smokes (like God of Fire and Angelenos). Back in 2010, though, the California-based company entered the mid-priced cigar market with Sencillo, its first line not made by the Fuentes.

The latest Sencillo (Spanish for “simple”) is Sencillo Black, which features filler from Nicaragua, Honduras, and San Andreas surrounded by Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. It’s made by the prolific Nestor Plasencia Jr. in Nicaragua and comes in five sizes.

Before Black there was Platinum, made by Christian Eiroa of Camacho Cigars in Honduras (Eiroa has since left Camacho to launch his own cigar brand). Prometheus founder Keith Park tells me Platinum came about when he asked Eiroa to replicate a particular cigar he had given Park back in 2008. It features “Habano de Jamastran tobacco for the wrapper, filler, and binder, with Piloto Cubano tobacco added to the filler to balance out the flavor,” according to the Sencillo website.

Sencillo Platinum is a Honduran puro that’s available in six sizes ranging in price from $6.95 to $8.95. The Pirámide (6.1 x 54) is advertised as “the most visually impressive” of the line with “the most intense aroma.” It is characterized by a beautiful, reddish wrapper, a robust fragrance of cocoa, and a smooth pre-light draw.

Immediately after lighting, the Pirámide is salty with black pepper spice. Before even the quarter-inch mark, though, the profile mellows considerably to display wonderful balance and subtlety. Flavors include buttery oak, coffee, dried fruit, and mushroom—a note that reminds me of some Henke Kelner smokes, including Davidoff and PG.

Cream, caramel, and spice come and go as the cigar progresses. The texture is silky, the nicotine impact is minimal, and the body falls in the mild- to medium-bodied spectrum. The word “harmonious” comes to mind, and the theme seems to be soft yet flavorful. At no point does this cigar taste like a Honduran puro. It performs expertly with a straight burn, fine white ash, and bountiful tufts of thick smoke.

Given its more approachable price point, I don’t think I’m supposed to like the Sencillo Platinum as much as God of Fire’s higher-priced offerings. But I do. The Pirámide is one of those superbly balanced smokes that makes you want to fire up another as soon as you’re done with the first. I don’t say that too often, and that’s ultimately why this cigar is 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

Reinado is a brand to keep your eye on. The original offering is a good cigar (particularly the small Habanito size), but it’s the follow-up that has been getting the buzz.

That follow-up, the Reinado Grand Empire Reserve, is a cigar I remember enjoying when I first smoked it at the IPCPR Trade Show and one I meant to seek out. Still, whether because they are difficult to find locally or just because I’ve had no shortage of new cigars to smoke, I was glad when I got a few samples to try recently.

The Grand Empire Reserve (GER) currently comes in just one size called Elegidos (5 x 55). It has a soft box-press and looks more like a traditional 50 or 52 ring gauge cigar. In addition to this initial size, introduced this summer, multiple additional sizes are in the works for 2013.

Like the original Reinado, the GER is a Nicaraguan puro made in Condega. It utilizes a “select Habano maduro” wrapper that’s dark and shows lots of oils. It retails for $9.95.

The cigar shows loads of earth, a syrupy sweetness, and plenty of oaky wood. There’s black pepper on the finish. It starts out strong, mellows slightly, and then ramps up to the finish.

Flavor-wise, it’s a cigar smoker’s cigar: full-bodied, gritty, with plenty going on and not too similar to anything else available. Construction is excellent with a quality burn, ash, and draw.

It’s the kind of cigar that begs for a fine, dark spirit. Aged rum, malty Scotch, or well-aged oaky bourbon all fit the bill.

All in all, I really enjoy the Elegidos. Unique, flavorful, and spirited, the cigar gets a well-deserved 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

As he told the story on his blog, Gary Griffith mentioned to cigar maker A.J. Fernandez that he needed to add a Connecticut-wrapped smoke to his lineup of Emilio Cigars. This was back in 2011, and this is how the AF Suave blend was born.

“There are plenty of Connecticuts out there, and the one thing I stressed that I didn’t want was a one-dimensional cigar,” wrote Griffith when AF Suave was released in June 2012. “Instead, I said I was playing with the idea of making something that would maintain the interest of the seasoned smoker, yet not overpower novices.”

The result is the third line made by Fernandez for Emilio Cigars (the first and second being the San Andreas-wrapped AF1 and the Habano oscuro-wrapped AF2, respectively).

AF Suave features a golden Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper around Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos (the exact makeup of the binder and filler has not been divulged). It is sold in boxes of 20 and available in five standard sizes: Corona (5.5 x 42), Churchill (7 x 50), Robusto (5 x 50), Torpedo (6 x 52), and Toro (6 x 50). The latter retails for around $7.50 and boasts a sweet pre-light aroma of honey and apricot.

Consistent in feel from head to foot, the Toro’s cap cuts easily to reveal an open, airy draw that imparts spice on the lips. That spice carries over to the flavor of the opening profile, which is characterized by black pepper, coffee, and salty notes. Then, in less than a half inch, the taste mellows considerably, becoming creamy and nutty and dropping most of its stronger tendencies.

At the halfway mark and beyond the Toro is mild- to medium-bodied with a creamy, chalky texture and classic Connecticut flavors—vanilla, cream, and almond—with a backdrop of pepper and espresso. One could say Fernandez and Griffith hit the mark of crafting a blend with “flavor complexity often unattained in a cigar of this strength level.”

With a solid ash, a straight burn that requires no maintenance, and a profile that’s simultaneously restrained yet interesting, the AF Suave will find fans among newer cigar smokers and longtime enthusiasts alike. It nicely diversifies the Emilio Cigars lineup, which is quite robust—especially considering how young the company is. All told, this particular smoke is worthy of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Perusing the shelves of one of my favorite local tobacconists last weekend, I was looking for something new to try, perhaps a cigar that debuted at the 2012 industry trade show but had since managed to escape my clutches.

I almost didn’t notice the section of Mi Amor Reserva cigars. The image on the band was all too familiar to me. Without actually reading the second band, I could have easily mistaken the cigars for one of the other La Aroma de Cuba lines that have long been on the market and graced my humidors. I did a double-take and purchased a few.

I bought three Maximos (5.5 x 54) for $9.25 each. One of four Mi Amor Reserva sizes—the others being Romantico (6.9 x 50), Divino (6.25 x 52), and Beso (5.625 x 48)—it is crafted by Don Pepin Garcia at My Father Cigars.

La Aroma’s distributor, Ashton, calls this blend “the finest, most exclusive La Aroma de Cuba to date.” It is intended to be a stronger version of the original Mi Amor line, which was introduced in 2010. The filler and binder are Nicaraguan and the thick Cuban-seed oscuro wrapper is from San Andreas, Mexico.

It’s hard to comment on the appearance of the slightly box-pressed Maximo without mentioning how the ornate bands of red, gold, and yellow look fantastic against the dark exterior leaf. I’m not the first one to point this out, and I won’t be the last. Beneath the bands is a mottled, textured wrapper dotted with imperfections that are likely a result of the high priming of the leaf.

The pre-light fragrances of cocoa and cayenne spice give way to a bold flavor of black pepper spice and dry cedar. After less than a half inch, though, the profile settles in strength to take on a more balanced taste of dark chocolate, earth, nut, and cream. While the nicotine kick remains low from beginning to nub, the body is full.

With excellent construction, a chalky texture, solid balance, and full body despite low strength, the Mi Amor Reserva Maximo is an outstanding smoke and my new favorite among La Aroma de Cuba’s fine portfolio. It will be interesting to see how this young cigar changes with age. As it stands now, it’s already worthy of a rare rating 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

Last November, when I reviewed the Classic Intrepidus, I was heartily impressed by the blend Willy Herrera created for Walter “Lilo” Santiago’s Crémo Cigars, which was prior to Herrera’s departure to Drew Estate.

So ever since Crémo rolled out its Classic Maduro blend at last summer’s industry trade show, I’ve been keen to take it for a test drive. It, like the original line, is crafted at El Titan de Bronze Cigar Factory on Miami’s Calle Ocho, an outfit Crémo’s website hails for its “old-school Cuban entubado techniques” and “level-nine rollers from Cuba, who have worked for Cohiba, Romeo y Julieta, Corona, and Partagas.”

Whereas the Crémo Classic sports a Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican, the Classic Maduro features a dark San Andreas wrapper around Nicaraguan tobaccos. It is offered in two sizes: Excelsior (5 x 50) and Intrepidus (6 x 52).

The latter retails for $12 and boasts a beautifully executed triple-cap, a toothy exterior leaf with minimal veins, and moderate pre-light notes of nougat and dark chocolate. The black and silver band has “handcrafted in Little Havana” scribed on its side. The cross-section at the foot shows a dense bunching of leaves and the draw is unexpectedly stiff.

This is one of those cigars that imparts an earthy, somewhat spicy aftertaste on the lips and palate. The resting smoke has a decidedly sweeter aroma of candied nuts with a little leather. The smoke itself is dense and velvety, reminding me of espresso, dry wood, marshmallow, and dark chocolate. It becomes creamier at the midway point, then a bit spicier in the final third of the 110-minute smoke.

In line with my expectations as a fan of the Classic Intrepidus, the Classic Maduro Intrepidus likewise has top-notch physical properties. Included are a straight burn line and solid white ash. And the draw, while tighter than what I’m used to, is by no means burdensome, allowing bountiful volumes of smoke with each puff.

While I have to give the edge to its predecessor, the Classic Maduro Intrepidus is a fine smoke in its own right, and one you should keep and eye out for as it starts to become more widely available. In my book, it’s worthy of a very solid rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys