The Stogie Guys

Sending cigars out for review can pay off for manufacturers. At least in this case it did. Had I not received a couple of Warlock cigars from Altadis, I doubt I’d have ever tried one.

I rarely receive cigars from manufacturers. Lately, though, Altadis has been promoting new smokes, such as the Montecristo New York, by sending them to internet reviewers, including me.

There are several cigar makers whose products I rarely smoke, the two giants (Altadis and General Cigar) among them. It’s not that I think they make bad smokes; it’s just that when I want to try something new I’m much more inclined to explore sticks from other brands. That’s especially true of a cigar with somewhat silly ads and a name that conjures up visions of Darrin, Samantha, and a wiggling nose.

I don’t know why I picked a Warlock from my humidor the other day, though I think remembering that it ranked in Cigar Aficionado’s top 10 list for 2011 probably played a part.

This robusto isn’t a conventional size. It weighs in at 4.75 inches with a 54 ring gauge. Looking online, it seems to run about $6. The blend is a multi-country mix, with the wrapper a not overly attractive Ecuadorian Cubano, the binder from Nicaragua, and the filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

The combination results in a fairly powerful smoke that begins with strong spice, a draw that’s a bit too tight, and what may be the slowest burn I’ve ever experienced. I’ve smoked many a toro that didn’t last nearly as long as this short robusto.

The Warlock isn’t a particularly complex smoke, but it does develop throughout. At the halfway point, for example, a dark, syrupy sweetness overtakes the spice. There are also flavors of wood and leather in spots. If you haven’t tried this cigar for whatever reason, I suggest you give it a chance. This one earns four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

CAO entered a new chapter in its history in 2007 when the family-owned company was purchased by the Scandanavian Tobacco Group (STG).

But bigger changes were still on the horizon. In early 2010, STG merged its premium tobacco division with General Cigar. Then a number of CAO stalwarts left the company—including President Tim Ozgener, Chairman Gary Hyams, and Lifestyle Director Jon Huber—and CAO left Nashville to join General Cigar at its headquarters in Richmond. All these changes left many wondering how CAO’s cigars would be impacted, as well as what direction the brand would head in for new releases. Some of these questions were answered in the interview we did with Ed McKenna, senior brand manager for CAO.

As for new releases, though, the proof is in the pudding. And the first batch of pudding—the first new CAO blend since the General Cigar acquisition—is the OSA Sol. The distinguishing characteristic of the line is its unique sun-grown Honduran wrapper from the San Agustin valley in Olancho (hence “OSA”). This remote area is northeast of Danlí, the epicenter of cigar production in the country. The remainder of the blend is comprised of a Connecticut broadleaf binder and filler tobaccos from Honduras and Nicaragua.

OSA Sol is available in three sizes: Lot 54 (6 x 54), Lot 58 (6.5 x 58), and Lot 50 (5 x 50). The latter retails for $4-6 apiece, depending on where you get it and if you buy in bulk. Its caramel-colored wrapper is a roadmap of veins—some fine, others thick—and there’s a rugged wrinkle to this robusto. While the cap is no work of art, the cigar clips cleanly to reveal a smooth draw.

The Lot 50 starts with a woodsy spice that hits the salty and sour parts of the palate. Individual flavors include cedar, sour cream, black pepper, and some tannins. The finish is long and zesty with a bit of sweetness that adds balance. Smoking slowly keeps the cigar from becoming too bitter. As the spice in the cigar settles at the midway point and beyond, I take note of the physical properties. I have come to expect good construction from both General Cigar and CAO, and the first new CAO line under the General umbrella does not disappoint. The burn is straight, the gray ash holds well off the foot, and the draw is consistent throughout.

So what are my overall impressions of the OSA Sol Lot 50? This cigar has a fair amount to offer if you’re looking for a medium-bodied smoke with a woodsy core. It’s a good buy for around $4 and kind of a stretch at $6. I’ll be interested to see what else comes from the CAO brand under General. For now, the Lot 50 is worthy 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

Sosa’s original line, particularly the Wavell size, was a cigar I used to smoke more regularly. Produced by the Fuentes, it offers excellent mild- to medium-bodied flavors at an affordable price. Remembering my fondness for that cigar, I was looking forward to trying some of the newer Sosa cigars.

Last summer, Antillian Cigar Corp. (owner of the Sosa brand), announced three new lines. Underground, billed as the “hippest of the new brands,” is an all Nicaraguan cigar rolled in Little Havana, Miami. The Sosa Family Selection is a more traditional cigar that’s made in Honduras and available in natural and maduro wrappers.

The third cigar (and the subject of this review) is the Sosa 60, an all 60-ring gauge line that comes in four lengths: four, five, six, and seven inches. Rolled in Honduras at Rolando Reyes’ factory, the Sosa 20 utilizes a light brown Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper around Dominican and Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. I smoked a handful of the 4 by 60 “460 S” size for this review.

Woodiness dominates this medium-bodied cigar. There’s also a bit of cream, some toasty notes, and hints of honey and nutmeg spice. The finish is long and cedary.

The 460 shows excellent construction. The draw is easy while the cigar burns evenly and produces a sturdy light gray ash.

I must confess that this cigar surprised me. Thick smokes aren’t usually my thing, but this cigar worked well in the large format (though I’d still be interested to see how it fares in a thinner size).

Available for $5.50, the stubby little smoke is medium-bodied and surprisingly complex. Combine that enjoyable profile with excellent construction and the Sosa 60 460 S earns four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

If you only pick up cigars from your local shop then you probably haven’t heard of the Surrogates Skull Breaker and Bone Crusher cigars. These cigars are only available from New Havana Cigars (NHC), an online-only shop based in Columbus, Ohio.

Unlike most online retailers, NHC’s selection is limited to a handful of more boutique cigarmakers like Tatuaje, Illusione, Viaje, E.P. Carrillo, and 7-20-4, including many hard to find limited releases. NHC has featured a number of exclusive smokes—including the NHC Selección Limitada (a box-pressed size of the Tatuaje Brown Label) and the My Uzi Weighs a Ton Bait Fish (a corona size of the Drew Estate MUWAT)—but Surrogates is the first truly new brand created by NHC.

Last August, NHC owner Dan Welsh described his thinking about the line this way: “I wanted to create a brand for NHC that would bring new customers and service our loyal customers. Looking at our business over the last four years, it was obvious that our clients demanded something special. One thing that was missing was constant availability… Surrogates was created to solve the problem of choosing whether to save or smoke that special vitola. The answer, is both.”

Beyond saying the cigar is created “utilizing a new source” (implying it isn’t made at any of the factories where the cigars he stocks are produced) Welsh reveals few details about the blend, except that the wrapper is broadleaf and it is “made in Central America.” In its current listing on the site a few more details are revealed, as the description says the cigar’s origin is Nicaragua, as is the wrapper and filler.

Shrouded in a bit of intended mystery, one is left to smoke the cigar and evaluate it on its own terms. Available in two sizes, Skull Breaker is a belicoso that measures 5.25 inches with a ring gauge of 52 and Bone Crusher (the subject of this review) is a parejo that measures 5.25 inches with a ring gauge of 54. The Bone Crusher samples I smoked are clearly well-made. The dark, nearly vein-free wrapper is framed by dual matte black bands. The cigar produces a perfectly even burn and sturdy ash that holds for well over an inch.

Bone Crusher yields heavy smoke with a density that coats the palate. Its extremely full-bodied flavors are dominated by espresso, earth, and leather. There’s a bit of pepper at the start but also some lingering bitterness, especially towards the end. All in all, Bone Crusher seems an appropriate name for this cigar. It’s powerful, flavorful, and one of the most full-bodied cigars available anywhere. But all that power comes with a price, as there’s no subtlety or finesse, and little in the way of balance.

Still, it is a cigar that can be enjoyed under the right circumstances: a full-stomach and a strong drink help. And while it’s a bit too powerful to be a favorite of mine, it’s a cigar I might turn to when I want a true flavor bomb. At $7.50 each and $120 for a box of 20, it’s worth a try if you’re a fan of strong cigars. So even though it lacks finesse, the NHC Surrogates Bone Crusher earns a favorable 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

I remember reading about the Edición Especial from La Aroma de Cuba shortly before it was released in the summer of 2008. Somehow, three and a half years later, I’m just getting around to trying it for the first time.

The seven-size line is part of the Ashton portfolio and one of three La Aroma de Cuba blends mentioned on the Ashton website (the other two being Mi Amor and the original line). It is produced in Nicaragua by the Garcias with an Ecuadorian sun-grown wrapper surrounding Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos.

I finally decided to try this cigar when the toro-sized No. 3 (6 x 50) caught my eye in my tobacconist’s humidor. This is a handsome smoke. The wrapper is smooth with minimal veins, the cap is a work of art, and the seams are virtually invisible. With a firm feel from head to foot, the Edición Especial No. 3 makes a great first impression.

Fortunately, that impression is followed by a very nice introductory taste. A core of warm tobacco is complemented by dry wood, coffee, and some sweetness on the finish. Each puff yields tufts of cool smoke.

Towards the midway point, the taste grows on you until it becomes difficult to pick out individual flavors. Instead of being a contemplative cigar that rewards close attention, I find that the balanced and intermingling flavors lend themselves to conversation or reading. No, this isn’t one of those smokes that will inspire you to study a flavor wheel. But it’s an excellent choice if you’re looking for a medium-bodied, well-rounded profile to complement another activity.

As the Edición Especial No. 3 grows creamier in the final third, I take note of the physical properties. The burn requires a few touch-ups to stay even but is otherwise well-behaved. The draw is smooth and the ash holds very firm off the foot.

I understand you can find this cigar for about $6 when you buy it by the cedar chest of 25 online. In my case, I paid $8.50 at my local shop for each of the samples I examined for this review. The Edición Especial No. 3 is a solid value at $6 and a reach at $8 or more. Either way, it’s a solid smoke with a nicely balanced profile that’s worthy of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Old Virginia Tobacco

Short-filler, mixed-filler, “Cuban sandwich.” There are many names for cigars that don’t use 100% long-filler tobacco (tobacco that runs the entire length of the cigar), but the selling point for such cigars, no matter the name, is always the same: more bang for your buck.

In theory at least, it makes plenty of sense. Cigar factories are always trimming tobacco leaves down to the sizes they need for their premium offerings. If instead of being tossed, those trimmings are used in mixed-filler cigars, the price of the raw materials goes down even though the quality of tobacco is the same as a cigar many times the price.

But I’ve always been skeptical. Are cigar makers really going to make a $3 cigar taste the same as their $8 line? Plus, doesn’t the short-filler (and the looser draw and quicker combustion that goes with it) mean that it isn’t even possible to create the same flavors? With that in mind, I thought it was it was time to try a mixed-filler cigar again. After all, there was a time, back when I was just out of college and my budget was extra tight, when they were regulars in my cigar rotation.

For the task, I chose Don Pepin Garcia’s Tabacos Baez Serie SF, made at the My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua. The green secondary band says “Serie SF” for short-filler, although technically it’s mixed filler with 70% long-filler and 30% short-filler.

The Nicaraguan puro features a Habano wrapper that, while hardly flawless, seems of high grade. The cigar isn’t particularly soft, although once I began smoking it I found a loose, airy draw and an unpredictable ash, both features characteristic of mixed-filler cigars. As for flavor, it’s medium-bodied and dominated by cedar flavors that, while hardly unpleasant, certainly aren’t all that interesting. There’s a hint of pepper at the start, and coffee and nut notes as the cigar progresses.

So is it going to dazzle an experienced smoker? I doubt it. But priced around $2.50 each, it’s at least as good as I’d expect and maybe even better. Sure, the bits of loose tobacco that end up in your mouth are annoying, but using a punch cutter instead of a guillotine helps.

Though it’s been awhile since I most recently had them, I think two of Pepin’s other mixed-filler cigars, the Ashton Benchmade and Tatuaje Series P, are just a bit better, and certainly this smoke doesn’t compare to most of Pepin’s long-filler premium cigars. Still, if you’re on the golf course or mowing your lawn, the Serie SF wouldn’t be a bad choice. That earns the Tabacos Baez Serie SF Robusto a rating of two and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Back in 2009, the folks at Miami Cigar & Co. teamed up with Don Pepin Garcia to create the Nestor Miranda Special Selection, a limited release made by Pepin in Nicaragua. The Rosado version of that series ended up being one of my favorite smokes of that year.

The partnership between Miami Cigar and Garcia is still going strong, as evidenced by the debut of the Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve during the summer. This cigar, available only in a torpedo size (6.1 x 52), is made at the My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua and priced at about $12. When my local tobacconist put it on special for $9.50, I thought it was high time to take it for a test drive, so I bought a handful to review.

The Grand Reserve makes a good first impression with a beautiful cap, an intricate band of emerald and gold, and a clean Connecticut broadleaf wrapper with minimal veins. Underneath, the Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos are packed evenly to produce a firm feel from head to foot with no soft spots. And I would be remiss to forget to mention the delightfully pungent pre-light aroma of milk chocolate and hay.

Clipping the cap yields an easy draw that concentrates each puff to a relatively fine point on the palate. Once lit, this is where the dry woodsy spice is focused. But while the spice is focused on the tip of the tongue, the rest of the palate certainly gets involved quickly as notes of earth, coffee, and caramel round out the flavor.

Smoking through the nose and paying close attention is rewarded with a taste of cashew. Aside from this nuttiness, more creamy notes come into play at the midway point, making this a truly complex and balanced smoke. So many wonderful elements are present, including spice, cream, sweetness, and earthiness.

As you would expect from a super-premium, the physical properties are excellent. Each of my samples exhibited a solid white ash, a smooth and consistent draw, and a straight burn line that stays lit evenly.

Only 10,000 of these torpedos were produced. I really enjoyed the Nestor Miranda Grand Reserve, so I think I’ll be heading over to my tobacconist soon to see if they have more in stock. If they do, I’ll be OK with shelling out $12 for each—and I’ll be really pleased to find them still listed for $9.50. Don’t pass up on your own chance to try this cigar, which 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