The Dominican-made Romeo y Julieta brand has been a longtime staple in the portfolio of industry giant Altadis. But over the years, even as the brand grew to ten blends of varying strength, Romeo y Julieta always seemed to be associated with the milder spectrum.

The newest Romeo y Julieta blend, called simply Romeo, aims to change that. “A manly cigar, bold and robust, Romeo is an awesome smoke, rich in complex flavor sensations,” reads a marketing pamphlet from Altadis. “It is, quite likely, the finest Romeo y Julieta ever.”

Romeo is certainly the most modern-looking, sporting a unique band that breaks from the traditional motifs of its predecessors. The line’s sleek, curved boxes are definitely not traditional. And Romeo also adopts the contemporary mantra of “big and bold” with large ring gauges and a recipe of tobaccos that’s evidently built for power.

That recipe includes a dark Ecuadorian Habano-seed wrapper, a Dominican olor binder, and Dominican filler tobaccos of the piloto and olor varieties. The line is comprised of four vitolas that are crafted at the Tabacalera de Garcia in the Dominican Republic: Churchill (7 x 56), Toro (6 x 54), Robusto (5 x 54), and Piramide (6.1 x 52). I sampled three Toros for this review, each—in the interest of full disclosure—provided to me free of charge by Altadis.

The Toro is a clean-looking smoke with a hearty weight and a firm feel from head to toe. The foot confirms a tight cross-section of tobaccos. The pre-light aroma is musty and earthy and the draw is moderate.

After setting an even light, the introductory taste is bold yet stale. By this I mean there’s tons of strength from the smoke but very little in terms of identifiable flavor beyond pure heat. My strategy on cigars like this is to let them rest un-puffed for a few minutes to see if they settle into a more enjoyable profile as the foot cools.

Fortunately, the Romeo Toro does. Before crossing the half-inch mark, tastes of leather, dry wood, and espresso become dominant with a bit of nougat on the finish to add sweetness and balance. The resting smoke is quite sweet. Later, at the midway point, I find the body settles back toward the medium spectrum and some nutty notes take precedence over the leather. The final third features a reprise of power. All the while the construction is near perfect.

Altadis has made a considerable effort to get samples of Romeo in the hands of many internet reviewers, so I expect you’ll see much written about this cigar in the weeks to come. It will be interesting to read all the reviews. From my perspective, this is a fine smoke that will do well on the golf course. I would recommend picking up a Romeo as the blend hits the shelves of a tobacconist near you. I think cigar enthusiasts who typically stray away from Altadis smokes will be pleasantly surprised by the Toro, which 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

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I didn’t know what to think when Camacho announced a partnership with jewelery maker Matt Booth in 2009. Camacho would be making cigars to be sold under Booth’s Room 101 brand, named after the torture room in George Orwell’s classic dystopian novel, Nineteen Eighty-Four.

Four years later, I’ve enjoyed quite a few of the Camacho-made Room 101 cigars, particularly the Conjura and Namakubi. I found this latest Room 101 San Andres the way I find many cigars, by simply walking into my local cigar shop and asking, “What’s new?” The answer on this particular day was the Room 101 San Andres, which was released last month.

By my count, San Andres is the fifth Room 101 blend, created by Room 101-creator Matt Booth and Camacho Cigars. It’s the third regular release joining the original Room 101 and the Connecticut-wrapped Namakubi, while the OSOK (One Shot One Kill) and the Conjura are limited releases. The result is a more affordable cigar that comes in five sizes selling in the wallet-friendly $5-7 range.

For this review I lit up three of the corona-sized 213s (5.5 x 44) which cost me just under $6 each. The cigar features a San Andres wrapper grown by the Turrent family in Mexico. The largely vein-free, milk-chocolate wrapper surrounds a Honduran corojo binder and corojo and criollo filler from Honduras and the Dominican Republic.

It’s a serious departure from Room 101′s previous releases, but very pleasant with chewy peanut butter, cocoa, and a slightly spicy cedar core. As the cigar evolves, coffee becomes apparent and more spice comes forward towards the second half of this hour-long smoke.

With perfect construction and a reasonable price tag, the 213 is a very enjoyable medium- to full-bodied cigar. That combination earns this Room 101 San Andres vitola an impressive rating of four stogies out of five.

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

-Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

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Last week Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) introduced legislation that would increase federal taxes on premium cigars. Senators Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) are co-sponsoring the bill.

The goal of the legislation, as stated by the senators, is threefold: to bring all tobacco products in line with the relatively higher taxes that are levied on cigarettes, to discourage the use of tobacco products by minors, and to increase government revenue. “The current loopholes in the taxes on tobacco products encourage the use of products like pipe tobacco, smokeless tobacco, and ‘nicotine candies’ as a cheap source of tobacco, particularly among young people,” Durbin said in a statement. “This bill will stop tobacco manufacturers from gaming the system and protect more children and teens from this dangerous habit.”

It is also expected to boost government coffers by $1 billion.

Additionally, the senators aim to make it more costly to purchase premium cigars. Durbin’s so-called “Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2012” would raise the per-cigar tax ceiling on large cigars over 150%, from 40.26 cents to 100.66 cents. It would also establish a per-cigar tax floor at 5.033 cents. This move comes only days after Durbin and Lautenberg publicly encouraged the FDA to regulate cigars and ban “flavored” cigars outright.

Senator Durbin and his cohorts do not have the courage to say that they’d like to regulate and tax cigars out of existence, but that seems to be the outcome they’re shooting for. Cigars are already taxed quite high, especially when you add up the federal, state, and local taxes. And we’ve written before that regulation of cigars by the FDA would be devastating to the industry, which helps provide 85,000 jobs in the U.S. and hundreds of thousands in Latin America. Ingredient disclosure, testing, and marketing restrictions would stifle the development of new cigar blends and eliminate events where cigar makers pass out free samples to cigar shop patrons.

Be sure to take a few moments to effectively contact your senators and urge them to not support the Tobacco Tax Equity Act of 2012.

-Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

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Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

I can’t say I’d read much about the PIO Cigar Company when I lit up this sharply-pressed $8 offering. The wrapper is dark brown with multiple jet-black splotches, which takes away from an otherwise very attractive cigar. An easy draw reveals cedary wood and roasted nut flavors. The wrapper also imparts a slight spice on the lips. The cigar’s medium- to full-bodied flavors don’t vary much from start to finish, yet the construction is excellent and the flavor is enjoyable. Best of all, the Resurrection Robusto makes me want to try more offerings from PIO.

Verdict = Buy.

-Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

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Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

With its unusual name and award-winning pedigree, this cigar is intriguing even before you light up. But when you do, the Toro (6 x 52) really begins to shine. Fairly strong, this Nestor Plascencia blend of all Honduran tobacco performs excellently and produces massive amounts of smoke. The leathery taste I often associate with Honduran tobacco is present, but so are many other flavors in this complex stick. I found pepper, nuts, coffee, and a syrup-sweetness all woven together with silky smoothness. Give it a shot for around $7-9.

Verdict = Buy.

-George E

photo credit: N/A

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As we have since July 2006, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. Below is our latest Friday Sampler.

1) As we mentioned in the latest edition of our free email newsletter yesterday, May marks the six-year anniversary of StogieGuys.com. It has been our privilege and honor to bring you daily content from the world of cigars (over 2,100 unique posts and counting). Loyal readers will recall that we launched a complete site re-design last year at this time in celebration of our fifth anniversary. We think the new layout continues to provide a cleaner look, easier access to our vast archives of articles and reviews, upgraded search capabilities, and more reader interaction. And while we’re not planning another site overhaul anytime soon, we continue to welcome your comments and feedback so we can help make the next six years even better. Feel free to contact us anytime with your comments or suggestions. And thank you for your continuing readership!

2) If you’re attending the PGA’s The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, this weekend, be sure to pick up a copy of Ponte Vedra Life magazine. The latest issue is a guide to watching the tournament, known as “the fifth major,” and it features an article by the Stogie Guys about golf and cigars.

3) Inside the Industry: Litto Gomez has officially trademarked the Chisel, protecting the cigar shape he invented for La Flor Dominicana in 2003. Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is launching a new line called “Inch” that will feature three sizes with ring gauges of 60 or higher. Miami Cigar & Co. is expanding its La Sirena series with a new blend called “Merloin” that will be offered in three sizes and sell in the $9-11 range. Alec Bradley is releasing the American Sun Grown as a bang-for-your-buck smoke that will sell for around $5.

4) Around the Blogs: Cigar Explorer explores a Padron TAA 2012. Nice Tight Ash checks out a PG Reserva Exclusiva. Stogie Review reviews a Room 101 San Andres. Cigar Brief checks out an Ortega Serie D No. 8. Cigar Coop smokes an Avo XO. Cigar Inspector inspects a Viaje Double Edged Sword.

5) Deal of the Week: This mega-sampler includes 20 cigars for just $60. Included are such cigars as a Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve Corona, a La Aurora Preferido Cameroon, a Gran Habano Corojo #5, a Don Pepin JJ Maduro, Carlos Torano 1959, CAO Cameroon, Rocky Patel Vintage 1990, an Entubar Double Corona Natural, an Oliva Series G Churchill Cameroon, Gurkha Raider, a Gurkha Gold, Sungrown, Intensa (from Raices Cubana) and a House Resolution (by JC Newman).

-The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

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Between smoking bans, sky-high taxes, and pending FDA regulation, cigars are seemingly always under siege. But two Massachusetts towns are proposing a new attack  on cigars.

The local health boards of Saugus and Bedford are considering tobacco regulation ordinances that include two provisions that would be specifically devastating to local B&M cigar shops. The proposed regulations would require cigars to be sold in packages of four or more, and would set minimum wholesale and retail prices.

If approved, the tradition of walking into your local shop and buying one cigar to try before buying more would be eliminated. The provisions stem from a Massachusetts law that gives local boards of health power to consider this kind of restriction.

The law would also set minimum prices for cigars. Ironically, if cigar companies got together to establish minimum prices it would be a clear violation of anti-trust laws.

According to research conducted by the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO), while the state of Massachusetts has a minimum cigarette pricing law, there is no similar law in the state setting the minimum price of other tobacco products such as cigars.

NATO is challenging the laws on the basis that the Massachusetts legislature has not passed a statute authorizing local boards of health to set minimum prices for cigars. According to the group, there is no mention of statutory authority for local Massachusetts boards of health having the power to ban the sale of legal cigar products in certain package sizes or set minimum cigar prices.

It’s easy to dismiss this new effort as an isolated incident, but nearly all anti-cigar schemes started in states with anti-tobacco track records, including New York, Massachusetts, and California. Cigar smokers everywhere have good reason to oppose this new attack on cigars and cigar shops before the scheme spreads across the nation.

-Patrick S

photo credit: Wikipedia

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What is it about cigars and music? Or, to be more precise, what is it about cigar makers and making music?

Foremost among the musicians in the cigar world undoubtedly is Avo Uvezian. The pianist, performer, and composer has an eponymous line of top-flight cigars created with master blender Hendrik Kelner and Davidoff. Avo also has created a unique aura with his wide-brimmed hats, white suits, and association with “Strangers In the Night.” Lucky is the smoker who’s able to attend an event where it’s possible to light up an Avo and hear the octogenarian entertain at the keyboard.

Next up is an ex-musician who has been turning out top cigars for years, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. A one-time jazz drummer, he gave up the stage to join his cigar making father in Miami and launched his La Gloria Cubana line that became synonymous with the boom of the ’90s. The former jazz man is still involved with family, as he and his children create cigars that make smokers whistle a happy tune.

Then there’s Pete Johnson. Not only does he share names with an immortal boogie woogie pianist, the younger Pete was a bass player on the Los Angeles music scene before teaming with Don Pepin Garcia to set cigardom on its ear with Tatuaje. Just think how much different today’s cigar world would be if he had kept picking instead of blending.

Charlie Toraño played guitar as a kid and still gets a gleam in his eye when he talks about the pleasure he takes from the instrument. At a recent Toraño event, Charlie spent his down time chatting with the guitarist who was performing at the shop. He seemed to enjoy it as much as talking about his cigars, though no amount of coaxing could get Charlie up on stage.

Rocky Patel, on the other hand, can usually be lured on stage with a simple request, whether it’s to sit in on drums with the Doobie Brothers or tap the bongos at Burn, his club in Naples, Florida. The peripatetic cigar maestro has played percussion since he was a youngster and still loves doing it.

Not all the musical cigar connections involve big names, either. A blender I’ve never met, Alberto J. Medina, writes on the site for his Pio Cigar Co. about selling his bass guitar to get the money to start rolling in Miami’s Little Havana.

And these are just the ones of which that come to mind. There are undoubtedly many others. After all, creativity flows through the cigar industry just as it does through the worlds of music, painting, and other imaginative pursuits. Creating a cigar from many disparate parts and melding a complex operation into a harmonious whole doesn’t seem so much different from conducting a symphony.

So, the next time you light up, listen for—as well as taste—the harmony of the leaf.

-George E

photo credit: Flickr

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It’s hard to think of a cigar maker currently on as long of a streak of widely-praised cigars as Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. Ever since founding the EPC Cigar Co., Ernesto has seemingly produced hit after hit.

The Short Run is no exception. So far, the line has resulted in one release per year, although when it was first introduced we were told there might be two Short Run releases per year. The concept is pretty simple: Make a limited run of a blend utilizing tobacco that isn’t available in enough quantities to become a full blend.

The original Short Run, introduced in 2010, featured an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper around Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos. The 2011 edition featured an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper around similar binder and filler tobaccos. Personally, I preferred the original 2010 edition, but I’ve talked to plenty of people who preferred the 2011 Shot Run.

The 2012 edition is a slightly different animal. It features the Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper from the New Wave Connecticut around binder and filler tobaccos from the Core Line Maduro (Ecuadorian binder with Dominican and Nicaraguan filler). Unlike the others, in theory they should be able to continue making this cigar (if EPC choses to), since all the components come from regular production lines.

The Short Run 2012 comes in three sizes: Exquisitos (4.9 x 50,) Invictos (5.9 x 52), and the Reinados—which apparently also going by the name Nitidos—(6.25 x 60). The cost ranges from $6.30 to $8.60 with only 1,000 boxes of 24 of each vitola made. I smoked three Invictos for this review. The Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper is slightly splotchy, but it has a bit of oily shine. The cigar is well-constructed. It is firm with an even burn, easy draw, and sturdy ash.

The flavors are perfectly balanced. The profile has lots of cedar, graham spice, and hints of straw, cream, and honey. There’s not much variation from start to finish, but the flavors are pleasant. The cigar is very similar to the original regular New Wave Connecticut, which isn’t a bad thing. But it punches up the body just a bit from medium-bodied to medium-full and adds some extra complexity.

It’s a cigar Connecticut fans will love and non-fans will like. The balanced flavors and solid construction earn the Short Run 2012 Invictos a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

-Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

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Abe Flores reinvented Pinar del Rio Cigars (PDR) in 2010 by re-blending his standard lines, dropping his prices by 10%, and introducing some new creations. Prior to this company re-launch, many cigar enthusiasts had not even heard of PDR. After, PDR grew a solid base of loyal fans who appreciated the value and craftsmanship of Flores’ offerings.

I fall into the camp of folks who became PDR fans once I was properly exposed to the company. Smokes like the Cubano Especial Capa Natural, Sun Grown, and Selección have been regular visitors to my humidors for a couple years. And I’m also enjoying newer offerings, like Small Batch Reserve—both Habano and Maduro.

But my exposure to the PDR portfolio has not been comprehensive. The Clasico Exclusivo line, for example, has somehow flown under my radar since it was released about three years ago. This blend has an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, a Dominican criollo ’98 binder, and a filler blend of tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. It is available in nine sizes: Robusto (5 x 50), Corona (5.25 x 44), Corona Gorda (6 x 46), Toro (6 x 52), Torpedo (6.5 x 52), Churchill (7 x 50), Lancero (7.25 x 38), Magnum (5 x 60), and Double Magnum (6 x 60).

The Robusto retails for around $5 per single or $90 for a box of 20. Underneath its double bands and yellow ribbon is a silky wrapper with minimal veins and seams that are barely noticeable. The exterior leaf gives off hardly any aroma but, at the foot, the exposed filler tobaccos smell of sweet hay and honey.

After clipping the cap to reveal an even draw and toasting the foot, the initial flavor is peppery and a bit more intense than traditional Ecuadorian Connecticut-wrapped cigars. Dry spice is concentrated on the tip of the tongue, on the lips, and on the finish. Notes of oak and grass are evident if you smoke through the nose.

As flavors of nuts and cream come to the fore, it becomes clear that this smoke has outstanding physical properties. Light up the Clasico Exclusivo Robusto and, like me, you’ll surely be admiring its perfect burn line, sturdy gray ash, and smooth draw. These attributes aren’t to be overlooked. It’s a lot easier to find a $10 cigar with poor construction than it is to find a $5 cigar with excellent construction.

In the end, while the taste isn’t remarkably complex or astonishingly unique, this Pinar del Rio creation is a fine choice if you’re looking for a morning coffee companion. It goes equally well with a glass of wine in the evening. It seems to forgo my least favorite characteristics of mild smokes—a chemically aftertaste or a papery finish—while exhibiting the best traits of the breed—light on cost and oozing with creamy nuttiness. You can’t complain with that. And I also don’t think you’ll object to my rating of four stogies out of five.

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

-Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

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