The Stogie Guys

When I reviewed this bargain smoke shortly after its introduction in 2008, I wondered whether Don Pepin Garcia’s operation would be able to maintain consistency and quality in a mixed-filler cigar. Based on several recent examples, I needn’t have worried.

The latest Benchmade is every bit the cigar its predecessors were and still manages to come in with a price tag under $3. Frankly, I found no more difference in this line over time than in most long-filler cigars that cost two or three times more. Mind-boggling.

For those who haven’t tried this cigar, here are the basics: It’s a Nicaraguan puro made in five sizes by Pepin for Ashton. The Cazadore is 6.5 inches with a ring gauge of 46. All have pigtail caps and are said to utilize some long-filler at the head to minimize tobacco bits on the tongue common to short-filler cigars.

As you’d expect, the burn is fairly quick, the draw is loose, and the ash doesn’t hold particularly well. You’ll need to smoke slower than with a long-filler cigar or you’ll almost certainly overheat the tobacco and spoil the taste. The Benchmade has some of the taste and pepper found in many of Pepin’s sticks, but lacks the complexity, smoothness, and depth of his top lines.

This isn’t the cigar you’ll reach for when you want to sit quietly and luxuriate in a great smoke or celebrate a milestone in your life. But if you’re looking for one to enjoy on the golf course or to get you through watching the fourth quarter, you could hardly do better.

As I did before, I continue to recommend you give it a try, and give the Benchmade Cazadore three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

And there, at the bottom of one of my humidors, were three Palma Real Connecticut Lonsdales, each of which, by my best estimation, had been resting in my possession for at least two years.

I had no idea how they got there. And I knew very little about the brand. To make matters worse, when I started researching for this review, I couldn’t find much information about Palma Real, except for the brief promotional paragraphs published by the likes of Cigars International and other online retailers.

Here’s what I’ve been able to gather after a lot of (mostly fruitless) research: Palma Real is a value line that’s available in six sizes—Lonsdale (6 x 44), Porky (6 x 60), Presidente (7.5 x 50), Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 50), and Torpedo (6.5 x 52). Each comes in either a Connecticut or Maduro wrapper.

The Connecticut Lonsdale features a dry, lumpy exterior leaf, a binder from the Dominican Republic, and Dominican long-filler tobaccos of the Olor variety. It can be purchased for less than $2 apiece when bought by the bundle of 50 online.

This cigar isn’t much to look at, and several of its aesthetic imperfections give me cause for concern. For one, the firmness of the Lonsdale varies depending on where you grip it, foretelling potential construction problems. Second, the lack of oils or pre-light fragrances leads me to believe that the flavor, once lit, will be hot, harsh, and papery.

While it isn’t hot or harsh, the initial taste is definitely papery. The profile, which verges on bland, encompasses notes of cardboard with a cayenne spice on the aftertaste. At best the Lonsdale is uninteresting. At worst it’s downright offensive to the palate. After the first inch, a few of the usual suspects—cedar, nuts, cream—waft in and out. But they never hang around long enough to make the thick, chalky smoke appealing.

Sure, the Palma Real Connecticut Lonsdale has pretty decent construction for a budget cigar. If you decide to purchase this smoke, expect the burn to be fairly even, the draw to be smooth, and the ash to hold well off the foot.

But don’t expect to be wowed by the flavor. I certainly wasn’t. While I never expect much from cigars that cost so little, I also don’t expect them to have a flat, insipid flavor that prompts me to immediately grab a different cigar just to get the taste out of my mouth. Unfortunately, that’s what I found with this stick, which is why I’m rating it one stogie out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Details on the Forbidden X, which isn’t mentioned on Fuente’s website, aren’t easy to come by. But this much is clear: The cigar was released as a “Cigar in a Bottle”—which had a Forbidden X encased in a bottle of Grand Pommier XS Calvados.

The pairing wasn’t a coincidence. The tobacco, which comes from the same Fuente Dominican farms as the tobacco from the Opus X, is aged for five years and finished in Calvados barrels imported from Normandy, France.

The samples I smoked were part of the Cigar Rights of America (CRA) sampler series. I smoked two for this review (one from the second sampler and the other from the holiday sampler).

Both samplers, which include ten cigars and yearlong memberships in CRA, sold for $100, which would be a fair price just for the cigars (it’s an even better deal considering the worthy cause). According to CRA’s website, the holiday sampler is still available.

Even though the tobacco is sourced from the same farms that produce Fuente’s popular Opus X, the Forbidden X offers a distinctive and unique flavor profile. The wrapper is lighter in color (because it is shade-grown) and not nearly as rustic as Opus’ reddish rosado sun-grown wrapper.

The toro-sized Forbidden X is far more balanced than the standard Opus X, lacking the sometimes overpowering spice of the Opus. More medium-bodied (although it ramps up in the final third), it has hints of salt and pepper, with dominant paper and cedar notes. Occasionally, I pick up subtle fruit, oak, and brandy notes, imparted, I suspect, by the Calvados barrels.

As one would expect from a smoke that, if you can find it outside the CRA sampler, will sell for well over $30, the Forbidden X has excellent construction. The burn is razor sharp, the light gray ash easily holds for an inch, and the draw is easy.

Cigars like the Forbidden X are special. Perhaps it isn’t the most complex smoke around, but the flavors are interesting and, most notably, perfectly balanced. That’s why the Forbidden X earns a 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

La Aurora, as far as the (mostly traditional) cigar industry goes, is highly involved in social media. Both company president Guillermo León and director of sales José Blanco are engaged on Twitter.

This involvement in the Twitter community led to the eventual release of the Lancero vitola of the 107, a blend that was released in 2010 to celebrate the 107th anniversary of the oldest cigar maker in the Dominican Republic.

After much discussion and pleading from the masses via the web, La Aurora decided to produce 300 boxes of 107 Lanceros, a cigar that measures 7 inches long with a 40 ring gauge.

The 107 blend features an Ecuadorian wrapper, a Dominican binder, and a two-country filler blend from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Being a fan of the 107 line in general, especially the Corona, I was excited to sit down and smoke the Lancero.

The construction of the Lancero is, not surprisingly, excellent. It has no visible imperfections. Pre-light, the predominate smell is of hay with just a hint of spice detectable.

Once lit, the cigar opens up with a core of cedar and hazelnut. As it progresses, a creaminess is introduced and the hazelnut flavor increases. The ash on the cigar holds for about an inch at a time and the burn wavers but doesn’t require any correcting.

As the cigar nears the end, the creaminess continues to increase, although it is balanced out by flavors reminiscent of kettle-cooked potato chips.

Overall, I am impressed by the 107 Lancero. While I am not, generally speaking, a fan of the lancero format, this cigar is intricate and well-constructed.

And with an MSRP of $7, it is certainly worth a try, especially of you like smaller ring gauges. I think the Corona remains my favorite 107, but the Lancero is a close second, earning four out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick M

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Last year was a big one for Charlie Toraño and his family, as they renamed their company the “Toraño Family Cigar Company” and exercised their option to retake distribution from a deal with CAO. “It belongs in the family,” Charlie told us.

These days the company is getting a lot of attention about its newest creations: Master, a bundle line called Brigade, and Single Region. But the Exodus 50 Years Blend, launched in 2009, still has the cigar community talking. And, as I was told by a Toraño representative last week, it is still selling very well.

This blend is rolled in memory of the Toraño family’s 50-year exile from Cuba. It comes dressed in a Brazilian Arapiraca sun-grown wrapper with a Honduran binder and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos from Estelí and Pueblo Nuevo. The four regular production sizes—Short Churchill, Torpedo, Robusto, and Box Press—are handmade in Nicaragua, retailing for $6-8 apiece.

I picked up three Short Churchills (6 x 48) at a recent Single Region Tour event in Arlington, Virginia. I got them for about $5 each, since they were on special. This firm, slender vitola sports a moderate cold draw, pre-light notes of cocoa, and an exterior leaf as oily as it is dark.

A couple wooden matches gets the foot thoroughly toasted and lit. From there, the flavor displays a profile of black cherry, cinnamon, leather, and pepper. It’s bold, but decidedly medium-bodied and well-balanced. The thick smoke is cool—never hot or harsh—making for a smooth experience.

Despite its length, the Short Churchill’s taste doesn’t change much from light to nub. What you see at the beginning is pretty much what you get throughout, and that’s OK with me. All the while the burn is straight and the gray ash layers evenly and sturdily off the foot.

The Toraños make some excellent cigars, and the Exodus 50 Years Blend may be their finest. Don’t let all of their newest creations prevent you from trying this line if you haven’t already done so. The Short Churchill is an outstanding value and 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

One thing’s for certain about Rocky Patel: He makes a heck of a lot of cigars. Rocky’s flashy website doesn’t even bother to mention many of his blends, be they seasonal, limited editions, retailer exclusives, or what have you.

But you can bet his most popular lines are listed online, including Vintage ’90 and ’92, Decade, 1961, Sun Grown, and Olde World Reserve. The latter was introduced at the 2005 industry trade show (back then the IPCPR was called RTDA), and then re-blended and re-introduced in 2006. Since, both Olde World Reserve versions—the Costa Rican-wrapped Maduro and the Corojo—have garnered praise from the mainstream cigar media and enthusiasts alike.

Some even go so far as to compare Olde World Reserve to the Padrón Anniversary series. Rocky, on the other hand, is more interested in internal comparisons. On his website, he lists the line as “a full-bodied smoking experience that combines the smooth complexity of the Vintage series with the earthy strength of The Edge.”

Three vitolas are available in the Olde World Reserve portfolio, each comprising Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos and sleeved in decorative tissue paper: Robusto (5.5 x 54), Toro (6.5 x 52), and Torpedo (5 x 54). The Torpedo is black—and I mean jet black—with an oily, mottled exterior leaf. It has a firm feel, a clear pre-light draw, and a subtle fragrance of sweet cedar.

That subtle fragrance transitions into a bold, full-bodied aroma as the foot is toasted. So it isn’t surprising that the initial flavor is rich and powerful, encompassing notes of black pepper, moist chocolate cake, espresso, and toffee. Later, cream and roasted nuts develop as the cigar’s thick, dense smoke coats the palate. All the while the Torpedo’s combustion qualities are very good. They include a finely layered gray ash and a fairly straight burn line.

When the Olde World Reserve Maduro first came out, it fetched around $10-11 apiece. These days, you can get a box of 20 Torpedos for $160 ($8 per cigar) at Citizen Cigar. That makes this smoke a much more attractive investment, and one that’s a smart buy if you’re looking for a sweet, complex maduro. It may not be on par with the Padrón Anniversary series—most cigars aren’t—but this Rocky Patel creation is worthy of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

There are a few cigar makers whose products I rarely pick up. Sometimes it’s because they market so many different sticks I can’t remember which ones I like and which ones I don’t; sometimes it’s because I’ve smoked a number of their cigars and didn’t find any appealing, so I gave up.

Alec Bradley falls into the second category. My experience with The Freak was typical: “I certainly wouldn’t call this a bad cigar; it’s just not a cigar I’m particularly interested in smoking again.”

But after reading and hearing good things about the Family Blend, including a rank of 16 in Cigar Aficionado‘s best cigars of 2009, I thought I’d give it a try. According to Alec Bradley’s website, the cigars were created “expressly” for the fathers of the firm’s three top execs. I’ve read also that they were handed out, unbanded, at events. Initially, only a robusto (5.5 x 50) was produced. Now, there are four other sizes (though the website still says it’s only available as a robusto).

The blend combines Honduran and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos with an Indonesian binder and a Honduran wrapper. Purchased as a single, the robusto, known as the VR1, sells for about $6.50. I’ve smoked a couple of robustos, the MR23, and the six-inch BX2.

I found all similar in taste, appearance, and performance. Each experienced minor burn problems along the way, with none burning straight from beginning to end and at least two requiring relights. The sticks also produced fairly thin, light smoke.

Unfortunately, I find myself with thoughts similar to those I had for The Freak: an OK cigar, but not particularly interesting or compelling. I wanted to smoke a few Family Blends before reaching any conclusions, and I feel I have done that. My conclusion: I don’t plan to smoke any more.

Again, this isn’t a bad cigar. Just not one that appeals to me. Obviously, others feel differently and you might, too. For me, though, it fits squarely in the three stogies out of five rating range.

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

–George E

photo credit: Ning