The Stogie Guys

Last week I found myself in New Hampshire and had a chance to sit down with Steve Saka. Saka is head of the newly launched Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust (DTT) and former CEO of Drew Estate—where he played a critical role in growing the company into a Nicaraguan juggernaut that makes some of the most sought-after cigars in the world.

We met at Twins Smoke Shop in Londonderry (about 40 minutes from Saka’s home in Dunbarton), an outstanding tobacconist/cigar bar that’s home to Kurt A. Kendall’s 7-20-4 brand. It was a great opportunity to talk tobacco, try the new Sobremesa (it’s outstanding, as you’d expect), and get caught up on all things DTT.

Stogie Guys: It seems like your debut brand, Sobremesa, did well at the IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans this summer. How many inaugural accounts did you open?

Steve Saka: We currently have 108 active accounts, and 126 on an active waiting list. We have inquires by another 19 accounts pending.

SG: What does the current production for Sobremesa look like? Are you planning to ramp up output to meet the high demand?

SS: We are currently slated to produce 1,000 boxes per month. Even though we are grossly oversold, we will not be increasing this production in the near term. The reason is not to limit the brand; I am a capitalist so my intent is to always make and sell more cigars. The reason for the limitation is twofold.

First, I want to ensure we maintain steady production. In my opinion, great cigars are crafted when the torcedors are working on the same liga and same vitola every single day at a steady pace. I personally do not believe in “batch” handmade cigar manufacturing or spiking production to satisfy a short-term demand. Doing so sacrifices quality.

Second, I currently have enough properly fermented and aged materials available to make about 300,000 Sobremesa. I never want production to outpace ready-to-use leaf and force us to cease rolling to wait on leaf. Sometimes things happen beyond your control tobacco-wise that force you to stop production for the integrity of the brand, but in this case, I know what we have and it is critical to me to do my best to plan accordingly. In Feb./Mar. 2016 the second pilon of ECH Grade 1 Dark Rosado capa should be ready to use. If this ends up being the case, we will then begin to increase the production accordingly.

SG: Have you already begun thinking past Sobremesa on other blends?

SS: I have secured tobacco for the second liga DTT intends to release and it will be made with Connecticut Broadleaf capa. I am in the process of working on this blend. There is no release timetable—when it is right we will offer it.

SG: Do you know what this new blend will cost?

SS: There is not currently a pricepoint on this second release. I never think about crafting cigars in the terms of trying to hit a particular market segment. My approach is simple: I start with tobacco I like and an idea of what type of cigar I wish to create: strong, mild, sweet, peppery, nutty, rustic, refined, etc. I then work with the leaf to come up with a blend I find satisfying to me, and sometimes during the course of the blending process the leaf can take me in a totally different direction, but to an unexpected great destination.

This is the reason I never like to talk about what a cigar “will be” or even share the blend with others to taste test during the process. Once the cigar itself is 100% done I then figure out what it costs to make it on an ongoing basis and add reasonable profit, and that is how I come up with the price. Then it is up to consumers to decide whether they feel the experience it delivers is worth its cost. If they do, I am grateful and continue making the cigar. If not, I continue to work hoping they find my next offering worthy of their hard-earned dollars.

I think most new cigars being made today are being made to hit a certain pricepoint, or to appeal to a certain consumer demographic. Way, way too many cigars are being created in conference rooms first these days, rather than by artisans in tobacco and cigar making. I think they are totally missing what makes handmade cigars so magical and, in turn, are unlikely to be successful long-term.

SG: Will this second blend also be made at Joya de Nicaragua?

SS: I am working on this particular blend at the NACSA factory. It is best known for making economy price handmade cigars, however we are working together to create a cigar that I would personally smoke daily. They are very committed to this project and have hired Raúl Disla to join the team and work in the factory with me. Sr. Disla is the former general manager of production at A.J. Fernandez; happens to be the brother of Esteban Disla, the much heralded master cigar maker from RoMa Craft; and is an extremely talented master cigar maker in his own right.

It meant a lot to me to get people to think about Drew Estate as much more than just an infused cigar maker, and I feel the same way about NACSA. I believe this factory is capable of producing something totally unexpected in the premium handmade segment and I am honored to be working with them as we strive toward doing so.

SG: What else does the future hold for DTT?

SS: I am in the process of sourcing tobaccos for a future third liga. I have not formally decided where I will be crafting this blend, however I am so incredibly impressed by the workmanship and dedication to my exacting standards that Joya de Nicaragua has exhibited in the execution of Sobremesa that it is my sincere hope it is with them. Whether they agree, I don’t know because I am, admittedly, a total pain in the ass.

StogieGuys.com joins cigar fans throughout the country in eager anticipation of Sobremesa arriving at their local tobacconists. We wish Steve Saka the best and thank him for his time.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

When my colleague reviewed the Neanderthal SGP this past week, it reminded me I had a Neanderthal I’ve been meaning to fire up. I’ve smoked the original HN size before, but not this new petit corona size, which comes only (for now) as part of the El Catador de Las Petite Coronas box, which has two each of RoMa Craft Tobac’s five blends, each in a little (4 x 46) size for $62.50. Much like the larger sizes I’ve smoked, the HoxD trades away nuance and subtlety for power, which manifests itself as damp earth, charred oak, and black pepper. Even more so than the larger sizes, this cigar tastes raw and coarse, which is probably the point. But it’s a little too much in such a small, concentrated size.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

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.”

I visited the Portsmouth location of Federal Cigar earlier this week. Federal, which has four locations in New Hampshire, is known for exclusive offerings from a variety of cigar makers. The Headley Grange Snaredrum, for example, is an exclusive size of the Crowned Heads blend. It’s a “corona especiales” (6 x 38) with the original Headley Grange recipe: Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper around Nicaraguan tobaccos. Only 3,000 Snaredrums were made, and they can be bought online for $9.25 (or, for some reason, $11 at the Portsmouth cigar bar). I found the Snaredrum to be a nice combination of honey, graham, spice, and oak with excellent construction. The fast-burning cigar has a short finish, though, and the profile leaves my palate a little dry. So I’m not fully convinced it’s worth the cost.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Few cigars were as anticipated at this past summer’s IPCPR Trade Show as the Padrón Dámaso. The reason is simple: In an era where many cigar companies compulsively create new cigar lines to debut each year, Padrón rarely expands its portfolio.

Founded in 1964, Padrón only added its first new line (1964 Anniversary) beyond its core line in 1994. A second 1926 line was added in 2002, and the annual Family Reserve line release was the next added in 2008. All are proudly billed as 100% Nicaraguan, with either a maduro or natural wrapper.

That makes a full new line featuring a non-Nicaraguan wrapper a very newsworthy event. That new cigar line is named for Jose Padrón’s grandfather Dámaso who was the first Padrón to arrive in Cuba sometime in the late 1800s from the Canary Islands.

Dámaso comes in four sizes, each of which comes in boxes of 20 cigars and features dual white bands, plus a security band underneath with an individual serial number (a feature Padrón introduced to counter counterfeits). I smoked four of the robusto-sized (5 x 50) No. 12 vitola (one of four sizes) for this review.

Although not prominently identified, the Connecticut-seed wrapper used for the newest Padrón is grown in Ecuador (as opposed to Connecticut). It’s a nice-looking wrapper, with an even khaki color. Pre-light there’s a nice combination of grass, earth, and pepper.

The cigar is slightly salty and bitter immediately after being lit, but very quickly settles into a combination of hay, earth, white pepper, and cedar. Towards the second half there are cashew and cream notes.

While billed as a milder Padrón, especially towards the beginning it has sneaky strength. Even after it smooths out after the initial burst, it maintains more strength than many Connecticut-wrapped cigars, which is pretty much what you’d expect from a Connecticut Padrón. The choice of an Ecuador-grown Connecticut wrapper makes sense here since it tends to stand up to the Nicaraguan binder and filler better than a Connecticut-grown leaf.

Construction is flawless, especially the burn, which features a narrow black line, and was perfectly straight for each of the samples I smoked. I was surprised how quickly the robusto burns, as I finished each sample in well under an hour despite setting a very deliberate pace with the final two.

There’s no question in my mind that this new offering from Padrón is a good cigar. Although the $12.50 price isn’t the most wallet-friendly (this cigar would be be a segment-killer at $8), it is a perfectly constructed, well-executed Connecticut cigar with enough flavor not to let you forget that it’s a Padrón. That earns the Padrón Dámaso No. 12 four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Yesterday both Cigar Rights of America (CRA) and the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) issued email alerts announcing that the pending FDA cigar regulations took another step towards final implementation. As we’ve covered previously, such regulations could be devastating to the thriving handmade premium cigar industry, even though there is no indication that such regulations would have any impact on youth smoking or public health.

According to the reports, the FDA has officially sent the latest version of the deeming rule on cigars to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the White House for economic review. The controversial rules not only would subject cigars and pipes to FDA regulation, but also the growing line up of e-cigarette and vaping products.

OMB has 90 days from receiving the proposed rule to conduct its review before it goes to final implementation. According to CRA, the OMB may have received the rule from FDA up to a month ago, meaning that the 90-day maximum time period could end before 2016.

CRA and IPCPR will both now direct lobbying efforts to OMB, which is charged with examining the economic impact of proposed FDA rules. The groups and their lobbyists will attempt to show the potentially devastating economic impact that the proposed regulations would have on cigars, including costing jobs both in the U.S. and abroad.

In its initial proposed rule, the FDA offered two options for regulating cigars: option 1 (which covers all cigars) and option 2 (which exempts handmade cigars over $10). Although the proposed rules transmitted to the OMB presumably include the agency’s decision on that important issue, it is unlikely the OMB will make public the agency’s intentions on the issue of a possible exemption.

While the OMB review may seem like a formality, those familiar with the creation of the initial proposed rule say the OMB was critical in advancing the option of an exemption for some cigars. If the OMB feels the FDA’s final version insufficiently addressed its previous concerns, it could request further revisions.

Also, although unlikely, with such a hot-button topic, if the modifications requested by OMB are significant enough, they may not go to final review, but could instead be sent back to the FDA. Experts familiar with the federal rule-making process indicate that if the revisions are large enough, it could even trigger a second round of public commenting before returning to the OMB for another final review, which could delay the process significantly.

–Patrick S

photo credits: Stogie Guys

When you think about cigars, the first state that probably comes to mind is Florida. The Sunshine State was—and to a much lesser extent, still is—a place where cigars are made. Cigar culture is inextricably linked to Miami (especially Calle Ocho) and Tampa (especially Ybor City). Many cigar makers live and base their operations there. The absence of a state cigar tax means larger online retailers, and a plethora of brick-and-mortar shops and lounges, call Florida home. And now, for the first time since 1977, a small amount of long-filler cigar tobacco is actually being grown on Florida soil.

Another state that might come to mind is Connecticut. According to a recent article, “tobacco is Connecticut’s fifth largest agriculture product by market value, at $35.7 million… The crop is grown on 49 farms and accounts for 6.5 percent of total agricultural product sales in the state.” Connecticut broadleaf is highly prized and expensive.

Finally, you’d probably also consider Pennsylvania. Again, thanks to zero state cigar tax, the Keystone State is home to some of the country’s largest online retailers, including Famous Smoke Shop, Holts, and Cigars International. In addition, Pennsylvania is also a premium cigar producer. Decades ago, the Amish of Lancaster County supplied a significant amount of premium filler tobacco to the industry. These days, Pennsylvania cigar tobacco is less abundantly used but still important (see yesterday’s review, for example).

The more I travel to New Hampshire, though, the more I think the Granite State is too often overlooked as an important contributor to the premium cigar industry (I fly into Manchester from Chicago about a half-dozen times a year for work). Consider, for instance, the plethora of great cigar shops and lounges in southern New Hampshire alone. David Garofalo’s Two Guys Smoke Shop has three locations and calls itself New England’s largest retailer by volume (did I mention New Hampshire also has no state cigar tax?). The shop is affiliated with the Nashua-based United Cigar Group, as well as cigar media extraordinaire Barry Stein and his new (and excellent) Kilo cigar brand.

Not to be outdone is Twins Smoke Shop with its two locations (one recently remodeled and fantastic). Twins is owned by Kurt A. Kendall, perhaps best known as the purveyor of the 7-20-4 brand. That fine brand, by the way, pays homage to New Hampshire’s cigar history. 7-20-4 was originally produced in Manchester between 1874 and 1963. At one time, over 50 million cigars were made in the state annually.

Last but not least is Steve Saka’s new Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, which is named for, and based in, Dunbarton, New Hampshire. Saka’s first Dunbarton line, Sobremesa, will be appearing at select retailers shortly. To say Sobremesa is highly anticipated would be a gross understatement. Of course, before launching his own company, Saka, a New Hampshire resident, played a critical role in growing Drew Estate from an operation known mostly for its unorthodox infused cigars to a Nicaraguan juggernaut that makes some of the most sought-after non-infused cigars, including Liga Privada.

If all goes according to plan, I should be landing in Manchester today around 4:50 PM. I’ll have no shortage of choice when it comes to selecting what, and where, to smoke. For that I’m grateful.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Wikipedia