The Stogie Guys

Father’s Day is less than a month out, and chances are you’re still looking for a gift for pops. If your father happens to enjoy his cigars (or whiskey), here are some suggestions you can have ready for dad to open on June 19th:

Cigars

Giving the gift of cigars is not as easy as it sounds. Personal preferences can be finicky and there are so many cigars to choose from. Ideally, you’re giving him a cigar he wouldn’t usually buy for himself. (Think a Padrón Anniversary or a Fuente Opus X if he usually smokes standard-issue Padróns or Fuentes, respectively.) For more ideas, read our Guide to Giving the Gift of Cigars. One specific suggestion always worth considering is a Cigar Rights of America (CRA) sampler, which includes ten high-end cigars plus a free membership in CRA.

Cigar Accessories

Every cigar enthusiast needs a great table lighter, travel lighter, cutter, ashtray, travel case, humidor, etc. Instead of buying cigars, think about giving the gift of a cigar accessory that can last a lifetime. Many regular cigar smokers I know won’t spring for a nice case or lighter, so it makes the perfect gift. Lately, I’ve really been appreciating this Lotus triple-flame lighter and my Stingray Skin Tampa Fuego case.

Whiskey

There are lots of good bourbons being made these days, but some old standbys are becoming harder and harder to find. Sure, who wouldn’t want a bottle of Pappy as a gift? But the increasingly exorbitant prices you’d pay ($1,000+ for a 20 Year Pappy) make it hard to justify. One good bourbon you can still find with relative ease is the nine-year-old Knob Creek Small Batch (~$32). Full of caramel, oak, and a little spice, it is a bourbon novices and connoisseurs alike can enjoy. For rye fans, the new Pikesville Six Year Rye is a full 110-proof flavor bomb. Any single malt fan would appreciate Glendronach 15 which, although it has been discontinued, can still be found and is the closest thing to Macallan 18 available for under $100.

A Good Book

A good book is always appreciated. If you are looking for a specific recommendation, you could do worse than The Cigar: Moments of Pleasure, an informative and visually appealing coffee table book. In his recent review of the book, my colleague wrote: “Spectacular. That is the only word I can think of to adequately describe this large-format, colorful book that explores every imaginable facet of cigars.”

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A little over a year ago, it was announced Casa de Montecristo (CDM)—a successful three-location tobacconist in Chicago—would be receiving two exclusive sizes of Quesada’s Selección España blend. These vitolas joined eight other Selección España frontmarks, some of which are regular production, others limited to as few as 600 total cigars.

The two CDM sizes are Fabulosos (7 x 54, $12) and the subject of today’s review, a cross between a belicoso and a lancero called Beli-Lance (7 x 40, $12). CDM received 3,000 of each size from Quesada. Each comes complete with an Ecuadorian Arapiraca wrapper, a Dominican Broadleaf binder, and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

“The Spanish Market has always been dominated by Cuban cigars, but lately high unemployment and the high cost of Cuban cigars has driven the Spanish to search out alternatives,” reads an un-dated explanation on the Quesada website about the origins of the blend’s name, which was likely written around 2010. “To address this new demand, the Quesada family brought Spanish tobacconists to the Dominican Republic to work a cigar exclusively for Spain, and after a week of blending the Quesada España was born.”

Clearly, Selección España is not exclusive to Spain. Quesada’s retailers in the U.S. got a hold of some samples when the cigar was being introduced in 2010, liked them, and ultimately got approval to bring the blend to the American market.

The Beli-Lance from CDM sports a lancero frame topped by a sharply pointed cap. The cap clips uneventfully to yield a clear cold draw, which is somewhat surprising given the thin ring gauge and firm feel. The unique wrapper (Arapiraca is typically grown in Brazil, not Ecuador) is moderately textured and reddish with a few large veins and tight seams.

Once lit, pre-light notes of molasses and hay transition to a woody, meaty profile with hints of oak, char, peppery spice, clove, and leather. The body is medium and the smoke texture is thick and chewy. After a quarter-inch, the spice increases, but traces of sweet cream and roasted nuts fade in and out for some balance. At times, the resting smoke is incredibly aromatic and mouth-watering.

As the Beli-Lance progresses, the draw tends to tighten and the flavors take a turn towards a bitter, somewhat stale, version of their former selves. From the midway point on, I find myself in a struggle to keep the cigar lit while preventing the taste from becoming too hot or too harsh as the foot heats up from my frequent puffs and touch-ups. I was rarely able to regain the pleasant, balanced profile that characterized the beginning.

Notwithstanding the high regard in which many hold Quesada Selección España, I did not have a satisfactory experience with the Beli-Lance, a size I thought I was destined to thoroughly enjoy. All things considered, this cigar earns a disappointing rating of two stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

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.”

As a longtime fan of La Palina, I was looking forward to trying the Red Label, a line introduced in 2015. I knew it was a lighter complement to the fuller-strength Black Label. It wasn’t the lack of strength that made the biggest impression, though. It was the lack of flavor. For the Toro’s full six inches, about the only thing I experienced was an overwhelming hot, dry, grassy rawness. The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Ecuadorian binder, and Nicaraguan and Dominican filler blend just didn’t suit my palate. Construction, burn, and draw were fine. Overall, however, I found the Red Label to be more of a red flag.

Verdict = Sell.

–George E

photo credit: La Palina

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) The Bianco Boxer is coming to Omar de Frais’ Fratello Cigars. The cigar will start with a soft launch at ten retailers, then roll out nationally in conjunction with the IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas this summer. It will retail for $10 and be offered in a single box-pressed, torpedo-shaped format (6.25 x 52). “Similar to the Fratello Boxer, we modified the filler blend in the Bianco Boxer to highlight a different flavor profile from its Father, the Fratello Bianco,” said de Frias. “One of our goals with The Boxer line is to show our consumers how modifying the ratio of filler tobacco can change the profile in a cigar.” The Bianco Boxer will feature a San Andrés Negro wrapper, Dominican binder, and filler tobaccos from Pennsylvania, Nicaragua, and Peru.

2) Fred Rewey’s Nomad Cigar Co. has released the SA-17, a sister blend to the C-276. It is the seventh full-production Nomad cigar from Tobacalera A.J. Fernandez in Estelí. “I love working with tobacco at A.J. Fernandez’s factory,” said Rewey. “Ask anyone around, he has amassed some of the best-aged, most diverse, quality tobacco. For me, blending is a creative process. It is nice to have that home in Estelí to blend and experiment.” The SA-17 comes complete with a San Andrés wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. Prices on the four vitolas—Robusto (5 x 50), Coronita (5.5 x 46), Toro (6 x 50), and Shorty (4 x 56)—range from $8.50 to $9.75.

3) Inside the Industry: Davidoff is adding a second blend to its successful AVO Syncro brand, which was released last year. The AVO Syncro Fogota will ship next month. The four-size line (MSRP $8.90-$11.90) sports an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 Clara wrapper, San Andrés binder, and fillers tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

4) From the Archives: In light of the recently announced FDA regulations cracking down on cigars, readers might want to revisit a 2010 interview we conducted with Ted King, author of The War on Smokers and the Rise of the Nanny State, which economist and syndicated columnist Walter E. Williams described as “not only a story about the attack on tobacco users, but a story about how decent Americans can be frightened, perhaps duped, into accepting phony science, attacks on private property rights, and rule of law. One need not be a smoker to be alarmed by the underlying hideousness of the anti-tobacco movement.”

5) Deal of the Week: Kiss My Ash Radio and Smoke Inn have unveiled a line of anti-FDA T-shirts so cigar smokers can wear their displeasure with the FDA’s oppressive regulations. The shirts sell for just $12.50 each. Proceeds benefit Cigar Rights of America’s efforts to defend cigar freedom.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Fratello Cigars

Uncertainty. Apprehension. Determination.

These seem to sum up the feelings of some of the smaller players in the cigar world. Small players whose business will be greatly impacted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s new tobacco regulations. In statements both on and off the record, those who create and market boutique cigar expressed both anger and resolve to StogieGuys.com.

“You have to play the hand the best you can with what you have,” said Jeff Haugen, co-owner of Crux Cigars. “We’re going to have to adapt.”

While some were reluctant to openly discuss the potential impact or their plans, others were blunt.

“It’s a mess,” said Sandra Cobas, owner of the highly regarded cigar manufacturer El Titan de Bronze, located in Miami’s Little Havana since 1997. Cobas is confident she’ll be able to remain in business, but “it won’t be the same.”

Particularly troubling for her is the Feb. 15, 2007, grandfather date on which cigars had to be on the market to qualify for an exemption from regulation. While El Titan’s four lines should qualify, many of the smokes she produces for other brands will not. And that means her current level of eight to twelve employees will almost certainly shrink. “These are working people,” she said. “It’s very upsetting. Very upsetting.”

The economic impact will be widespread, she added, ticking off those impacted, from tobacco growers to box makers, cigar band lithographers to glue manufacturers.

“How about in Estelí? How about in the Dominican?” where cigar-making has boomed in recent years, she said. “They think they’ve got an immigration problem now? They don’t know what they’ll have.”

Mel Shah realizes his MBombay cigars will also face the full thrust of the regulations because they came to market only a couple years ago. Just what the FDA’s approval process will be, or how much it will cost, however, remains uncertain.

“Everything that we hear right now… it’s all speculation,” said Shah. “They’re going to charge this, they’re not going to charge this. The whole nine yards. There is nothing… in black and white as to how much it’s going to cost us. Once we have that, then it will be a more definitive strategy.”

Shah’s position as owner of both a cigar brand and a cigar shop (Fame Wine & Cigar Lounge in Palm Springs, California) provides a well-rounded perspective.

As a measure of what lies ahead, he noted that about 70 percent of the cigars on retailers’ shelves these days were introduced after 2007.

The FDA regulations, scheduled to go into effect this summer, offer a small window for cigars that aren’t grandfathered. Those on the market before Aug. 8 can remain on sale until Aug. 8, 2018, before having to apply for approval.

That’s led to conjecture that brand owners will rush cigars to market in order to take advantage. But Haugen, and others, said that’s not their plan.

“We’re certainly not going to knee-jerk any reactions of which way we’re going to move,” Haugen said, noting that all Crux lines are post-2007. “I’m not interested in just jamming a bunch of brands out there to get something going.”

One point of agreement was that, while it’s too soon to know the full impact, they will survive.

Most, in fact, echoed the sentiment of Ernesto Perez Carrillo in his response to the FDA: “We are here to stay.”

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Whether by design or coincidence, Nica Rustica feels like a discount version of the immensely popular Liga Privada No. 9. Both feature Connecticut Broadleaf wrappers (Liga uses “Broadleaf #1 Darks” while the Nica Rustica uses a “Broadleaf Medium”), and both debuted in just one size—a toro—before later growing to multiple vitolas.

Continuing to follow in Liga’s footsteps, last year Drew Estate expanded Nica Rustica with two new sizes: the immense Belly (7.5 x 54) and the Short Robusto (4.5 x 50). They join the original El Brujito vitola (6 x 52), which is named for an ancient image found on a rock in Estelí. The image depicts a Pre-Columbian shaman—thought to be one of the earliest users of tobacco for “ceremonial and medicinal rituals,” according to the Drew Estate website.

In addition to the Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, each Nica Rustica format includes a Mexican San Andrés Negro binder (which is also the wrapper on Undercrown) with Nicaraguan filler tobaccos from the Estelí and Jalapa growing regions. Intended to be “medium- to full-bodied,” “rustic,” and “un-polished and unrefined,” Jonathan Drew calls the blend a tribute to the people of Nicaragua.

With its dark, oily, toothy, slightly reddish wrapper and generous proportions, Belly is an intimidating cigar. Before the first puff, you can sense the flavors are going to be rich and heavy, and the pre-light notes of leather, cocoa, and earth seem to validate those expectations. The imperfect cap clips easily enough to reveal an ultra-easy cold draw.

After setting an even light to the closed foot, the first thing you’ll notice is the voluminous smoke production. The thick, dense smoke seems to ooze from the foot virtually effortlessly, which helps you dive head-first into the bold tastes of dark chocolate, roasted nuts, white pepper, and espresso. The texture is chalky. A fleeting vegetal note is particularly noticeable on the retrohale—a sensation that should be familiar to fans of both Liga Privada No. 9 and Undercrown.

There are few profile changes throughout, rendering the beginning, middle, and end of this huge cigar all very similar, save for an increase in intensity at the finale. If you’re a fan of how the Belly tastes at the outset, chances are you’ll be fine with the consistency; that said—especially for such a large cigar that takes at least two and a half hours to burn from light to nub—a shift in flavor or texture would have been welcome.

In terms of construction, the Nica Rustica Belly doesn’t live up to the high standards set by Drew Estate. While the ash is solid, the draw smooth, and the smoke output extremely high, the burn leaves much to be desired. Frequent touch-ups are necessary to keep the cigar burning evenly.

Even so, this is still a good bang-for-the-buck at around $8, especially considering the size and big flavors. Add this to your list if you’re looking for a large time-filler with bold, dense flavors. In my book, the Belly earns three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

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.”

Earlier this year, Tatuaje’s Pete Johnson announced the Black line would be expanded to five sizes, all in similar 20-count flip-top boxes. One of the new sizes is Cazadores (6.4 x 43), which is one of my favorite sizes in the original Brown line, so I was interested how it smoked with the Black blend. I found a pleasant combination of bread and cedar, along with a honey sweetness and just a hint of pepper. The cigar starts off medium-bodied but bumps up to medium-full as it progresses. The new sizes of Tatuaje Black are just hitting stores this month. If you enjoyed the original offerings, the Cazadores is well worth seeking out.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys