The Stogie Guys

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) For the first time in his career, famed cigar maker A.J. Fernandez is teaming up with his father, Ismael Fernandez, to unveil a new cigar. Called “New World,” it is expected to debut at the upcoming IPCPR Trade Show. “The New World cigar relates to expanding one’s knowledge and questioning the status quo by discovering our personal New Worlds as we go through life,” said A.J. in a press release. “The team at A.J. Fernandez Cigars is grateful for the amazing support we have received from the consumer and therefore will offer the New World cigar at a value price as we invite everyone to join us on our New World journey.” New World will retail for $6 and be offered in four sizes: robusto, belicoso, toro, and gordo. It will feature a Nicaraguan wrapper around a Jalapa binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua.

2) According to a Cigar Insider poll of tobacconists across the U.S., Padrón is the country’s best-selling brand for the seventh year in a row. Padrón was followed by Arturo Fuente, Davidoff, and Romeo y Julieta. The survey also found two-thirds of shops reported higher overall sales than the previous year.

3) Inside the Industry: In what is a cigar industry first, the Meerapfel family, long known for their Cameroon wrappers, is combining Nicaraguan and Cuban tobacco in the same cigar. According to Cigar Aficionado, the new brand, La Estancia, is made with a Nicaraguan wrapper and binder, and equal parts Nicaraguan and Cuban filler. The cigars are made at an undisclosed Honduran factory in two sizes: Robusto (4.9 x 50) and Corona (5.1 x 42).

4) Contest Update: New Jersey lawyer Steven Jayson is the latest StogieGuys.com contest winner, getting a copy of the beautiful book, Tobacco Sheds: Vanishing Treasures in the Connecticut River Valley. A cigar smoker for about four years, Steven says the Onyx Reserve Mini Belicoso “got me through studying for the bar.” Congrats, Steven.

5) Deal of the Week: This Silver Tray Sampler has five top-notch cigars for $26. Included are one each of the following: Crowned Heads Four Kicks Selección No. 5, RyJ 1875 Romeo’s Court, My Father El Centurion Belicoso, Tatuaje Regios, and Kristoff Sumatra Corona.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: A.J. Fernandez

Tatuaje recently shipped it’s Pudgy Monster sampler, a follow-up to it’s Little Monster sampler, which was comprised of smaller versions the Monsters Series Halloween cigars.

The $95 Pudgy Monster sampler features 10 cigars, six being smaller versions of the prior Monsters, with the remaining four cigars comprised of two each of two new blends. The two new cigars are both based on the Child’s Play villains: “Chuck,” after the main character Chucky; and “Tiff,” after his bride, Tiffany.

Tiff has a golden Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. (Sounds similar to another Tatuaje blend… more on that below.) It’s a petit robusto size at four inches long with a ring gauge of 50.

The cigar has a smooth, complex, mild- to medium-bodied profile. It’s dominated by sweet creaminess, along with roasted nut and woodiness, and hints of paper, graham, and spice.

There have been some questions about just how different, if at all, Tiff is from the standard Cabaiguan blend (which also has an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper around Nicarauan binder and fillers). Tatuaje owner and blender Pete Johnson said Tiff is “blended fairly stronger” than Cabaiguan, and I’d certainly agree, though the profile is very similar.

Over the course of smoking three samples for this review, I also smoked a couple Cabaiguans, and the difference is clear. Is it stronger than the Cabiguan WCD 120 (which is known to be a ramped-up Cabaiguan blend)? Maybe, although I sadly don’t have any samples to compare it too.

Exactly where it ranks strength-wise in the Cabaiguan-esque blends is up for debate, but I don’t think there’s much debate about Tiff being a fantastic cigar. It’s everything I look for in a Connecticut smoke—subtle, smooth, complex—and it earns four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

About one year ago, Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars and House of Emilio—his umbrella of the “best of the boutiques”—announced a new partnership with Bodega Premium Blends (BPB). “BPB offers cigars that embody the company’s passion and commitment to the ‘cigar experience,’” reads the BPB website. “Our philosophy is to capture how and when people enjoy cigars and reflect this essence in our blends.”

BPB has four founders headed by Gino Domanico, who serves as president and social media guru (@Cigar_G). The founders do not hide from the fact they weren’t born of cigar lineage. “Their blending pedigree stems from passion and vision, not birth right,” says their website. “Maybe it’s their busy family lives, or the harshness of their northern climate, but the guys at BPB understand the value of time and the relevance of the cigar experience.”

BPB’s cigars include Reunión Aperitivo—a Habano Claro-wrapped, three-vitola line that’s intended to be smoked before a meal—and Reunión Digestivo. The latter, as you’ve likely guessed, is intended to be a bolder, post-meal smoke. Also offered in three sizes, it has a Mexican wrapper around a proprietary binder and fillers of Nicaraguan origin.

The Reunión Digestivo Toro (6 x 52) costs about $10 per single. It’s a heavy, oily cigar with rich pre-light notes of raisin and a firm packing of tobaccos. The exterior is dark and silky, and the cap is applied neatly. The cold draw is moderately firm with some spice on the lips.

Once underway, a spicy, leathery profile of black pepper, espresso, and dry wood emerges. The texture is thick and meaty, and the spice-centric aftertaste lingers on the tip of the tongue. As the Toro progresses, background notes of raisin, dried apricot, and sweet earth come and go. The body is medium to medium-full with a moderate nicotine kick. Down the stretch, a sour meatiness becomes more apparent. A background sweetness—which BPB attributes to a longer fermentation process—keeps things interesting.

The Toro’s physical properties do not detract from the flavor it offers. The gray ash holds well off the foot, and the burn is straight and true. At times, though, the draw can be a little stiff, and the smoke production can be a little stingy.

In all, the BPB Reunión Digestivo Toro is a nice smoke that, frankly, I’d be more excited about in the $6-8 range. I think $10 is asking a lot when you consider the many outstanding smokes that can be had at that cost. That said, this is a respectable after-dinner companion that isn’t so spicy or strong it would drown out a full-bodied red like a Cabernet or Bordeaux. For that, I award it three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In many ways, Don Pepín García’s latest cigar reflects the inverse of many of the trends driving today’s smokes: no hipster lingo or ironic twist to the name, no urban graphics for the band, a box that’s just, well, a box.

The artwork is Old World. Even the cigar’s name—Spanish for antiquity or old age—harkens to another era.

But La Antiguedad doesn’t dwell totally in the past. This lightly box-pressed new line from My Father Cigars includes a trendy 60-ring gauge Toro Gordo among its five vitolas. And the Robustos smoked for this review—5.25 inches long with a 52 ring gauge—are larger than the more common robusto dimensions.

The Ecuadorian Habano Rosado Oscuro wrapper is lovely, an oily rich brown leaf over a double binder of Nicaraguan Criollo and Corojo leaves. The filler is from the García’s Nicaraguan farms in different regions of the country. According to the My Father Cigars website, the filler tobacco undergoes “a very strict and rigorous curing process of no less than three and a half years,” and it shows in the smooth, balanced blend.

What you’ll experience with the first puff should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with Don Pepín’s creations: a blast of pepper. But there’s a darker, richer undertone that stands out as the pepper quickly backs off. The overall strength moves down a notch or two through the first half as well.

A full tobacco sweetness, along with dark fruit and cocoa, braid through the cigar almost from the start, changing depth along the way.

Construction is what you’d expect from My Father Cigars: first-rate. Draw, burn, and smoke production were excellent in each of the examples I tried. The single stick price is a little under $8 and they’re 20 to a box.

This is a fine cigar, one that an experienced smoker is likely to appreciate and enjoy. I rate it four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Corona Cigar

Recently I’ve been on a bit of a Tatuaje kick. Reviewing the Tatuaje Black Corona Gorda made me want to try the different Pete Johnson blends I had been aging, and seek out some of the cigars I hadn’t tried yet. I make it no secret that I’m a big fan of Johnson’s cigars, my only problem is the pricing. Most cigars are in the $9 to $12 range, and while that’s not ridiculous, it is out of my comfort zone for a “daily smoke.” Enter the Tattoo.

This cigar has been released before in a lancero, but this year Tatuaje released the blend in a robusto (5 x 50) called the Caballero. I’ve heard there are more vitolas coming, reportedly three, but until the IPCPR Trade Show later this month, this Robusto is the only size. Not many details have come out about the smoke. It is rolled by a Don Pepín García-related factory, and features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with some Nicaraguan filler.

The pre-light experience had me wary, to be honest. While I like the banding of the cigar, the wrapper did not have much oil, and there were large veins on all three samples I smoked for this review. None of them had any burn issues regardless, but they definitely do not compare to the flawless construction I’ve come to expect from Tatuaje. The foot of the cigar contains a light earthy aroma, with a bit of citrus in the back, and the pre-light draw was very similar.

Luckily, my actual smoking experience was better than I thought it would be. All of the samples had a perfect burn line. The draw was a little loose for my preference, but not problematic. The flavor from the Tattoo is simple and enjoyable. What starts out as a profile dominated by cedar and citrus gradually develops into a more earthy core as the stick burns down. By the second third, there were notes of coffee and cocoa present as well. I have often heard these described as tasting like a mocha, which makes a lot of sense to me.

I would also like to note that while I was expecting a peppery retrohale, there was actually very little black pepper present. While certainly some pepper could be noticed at times, this cigar did not start nor develop into a pepper bomb, like many Tatuajes or other smokes made by García.

Overall, I did enjoy the Tattoo Caballero, but it is not something that blew me away. The price point is really what makes this smoke appealing, as it’s cheap enough to work into most tobacco budgets. Before I give this cigar a final score, I’d like to also provide a small tip: Smoke these slowly. Any time I wasn’t paying attention and starting puffing too fast, they became a little harsh. With that said, the Tattoo Caballero is a cigar many will enjoy, and it would make a good lunch break smoke with a nice strong coffee. On that basis, I’m awarding it three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Joey J

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.”

This limited edition line represents a departure for Crowned Heads: only 3,000 boxes, and production by My Father Cigars rather than Ernesto Perez-Carrillo. But it certainly fits right in with other Crowned Heads offerings with top quality and great taste. An oily Ecuador Habano Oscuro wrapper blends with Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos for a rich, complex cigar. The robusto (5 x 50, $8.95) burns slowly, produces lots of smoke, and has a great finish. Planned as an annual release, Las Calaveras is one not to be missed.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Crowned Heads

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.”.

If you are searching for a tasty, mild-to-medium strength cigar that performs like a thoroughbred yet sells for glue-factory prices, look no further. With a little searching, you can find La Aurora Corojos for under $2.50 a stick by the box. The appearance isn’t great, but it has a mouth-watering pre-light aroma and excellent construction. There’s a little spice, some citrus, and a bit of toast, which is fairly consistent throughout. You won’t be blown away, but at these prices La Aurora Corojo will perfectly fit many smoking situations.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys