The Stogie Guys

An enjoyment of farming, tax laws, and a devotion to the history of cigars are the unique combination that led Jeff Borysiewicz to launch his Florida Sun Grown tobacco endeavor. Up until last year, no long-filler cigar tobacco had been grown in Florida since 1977.

Borysiewicz is owner of the Orlando-area Corona Cigar stores and a partner in the Sindicato cigar company. He also is one of the most dedicated advocates for cigar freedom through his roles as co-founder and board chairman of Cigar Rights of America and the founder of the Puro PAC, a political action committee that supports cigar rights and pro-cigar candidates. Now he can add tobacco farmer to the list.

“I’ve always had a passion for farming,” he told me when we discussed his new project, noting that he was even a state tractor driving champion in his youth. More recently, Borysiewicz purchased land in Clermont (45 miles from Orlando).

Soon after, his tax attorney informed him that unless he grew something on the land, he’d have to pay residential tax rates on the land. So the idea for combining his enjoyment of farming and tobacco came into focus. In 2013, a test crop of 10,000 plants was cultivated, half Corojo seed and half Criollo.

The test proved successful enough that this year 45,000 seedlings were being planted, all of the Corojo variety, and new curing barns were built. The goal is eventually to produce sun-grown leaf that can be used as wrapper that will take on its own unique flavor profile.

While it’s a unique project, growing cigar tobacco in Florida isn’t unprecedented. A considerable amount of cigar tobacco used to be grown in Florida, second only to Connecticut within the U.S., especially in the panhandle region around Quincy.

After the Cuban embargo, such legendary tobacco men as Angel Oliva grew there, at the same time as they planted their first crops in Central America. Eventually, the cost of labor in Florida, and a move towards homogenized wrappers for the Tampa-based factories that had been their main customers, caused production of Florida tobacco to cease in the late 1970s.

I got to examine the tobacco while visiting Drew Estate in Nicaragua last month. While that tobacco isn’t quite ready to be made into cigars, Jonathan Drew and Nick Mellilo of Drew Estate say the results look promising. I can personally attest to its strong, unique aroma.

That first crop yielded roughly 45,000 filer leaves, which, as of last month, was still fermenting in Drew Estate’s DE2 pre-industry facility. The leaf is on the small size, but it could be used as a filler component in a blend (either for 45,000 cigars using one leaf each, or 90,000 cigars with a half leaf in each).

That crop was allowed to grow mostly wild (without priming), which produced only filler. But the hope is that wrapper-quality leaf will soon follow. Borysiewiz has been friends with Jonathan Drew since they both were getting into the cigar industry in the 1990s, so it was a natural pairing, especially now that Drew Estate has the capacity with its new facility.

What project exactly the “Florida Sun Grown” (a name Jeff Borysiewicz has trademarked) will be part of is yet to be seen. But even with the larger crop this year it will always be a limited, unique product.

In the meantime, the project gives Borysiewicz another talking point when telling politicians about the need to protect cigars from federal bureaucrats. Florida Sun Grown tobacco is another example of American jobs being created by the premium cigar industry. If the FDA makes projects like this not financially viable, however, those jobs will no longer exist.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

These days, many of you probably have one eye on the rising thermometer and the other on those Churchills and 60-ring gauge behemoths that have been resting in your humidor through the frigid winter months. What, after all, is more pleasant than a long, sunny afternoon relaxing with a fine, good-sized smoke?

But that doesn’t mean you should forget all about smaller cigars. The need for a quicker smoke can crop up any time. Be prepared. So here are three suggestions for cigars that offer smoking satisfaction in small packages. They’re a testament to the fact that smaller smokes don’t have to be lesser creations. Each of these lines is consistent, excellently constructed, widely available, and reasonably priced.

Partagas 1845 Corona Extra. A 4.5-inch beauty that showcases an oily, reddish Ecuadorian Habano wrapper that’s highlighted by a 46-ring gauge. The Dominican and Nicaraguan filler is aged in rum barrels. It’s power-packed and not quite as smooth as its larger brethren.

Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story: Everyone’s favorite diminutive perfecto. Whether you’re smoking the sweet and spicy Cameroon wrapper version or the more difficult-to-find maduro, the 4-inch Short Story is a guaranteed pleaser. If you have a little more time, try the Between the Lines or Best Seller vitolas.

Aging Room F55 Stretto: The 4.5-inch, 46-ring gauge stick’s big brother was Cigar Aficionado’s top non-Cuban of 2013. This one’s nearly as good, though it can become a bit harsh if not smoked very slowly. As you might expect from a vitola with a musical name, this is one harmonious blend, setting off the aged Indonesian Sumatra wrapper and Dominican filler.

So, select your favorites and keep a supply on hand. Don’t get caught up short. And let us know what some of your preferred short smokes are in the comments.

–George E

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.”

Felix Assouline’s Limited Reserve Something Special comes with a price tag of $4.50 that ensures it isn’t limited to special occasions. The box-pressed line features an oily, reddish-brown Habano Criollo wrapper, Indonesian binder, and a combination of Nicaraguan and Honduran filler tobacco. It’s a medium-bodied smoke with powdered cocoa, earth, and slight tea flavors. For the price, the flavors are enjoyable and balanced, although the sample I smoked had an unfortunately tight draw.

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.”

Five dollars doesn’t go as far as it used to. Someone needs to tell this to Abe Flores, head of Pinar del Rio Cigars, who has built a portfolio of tasty, consistent smokes that don’t break the bank. Light up a dark, Brazilian Arapiraca-wrapped 1878 Capa Madura Robusto (5 x 52) and you’ll have a hard time imagining how a cigar this good can cost little more than $5. This medium-bodied treat is packed with Criollo ’98 tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, and it boasts a balanced profile of creamy nut, cocoa, black pepper, and dry wood. What’s more, construction is perfect. And the easy draw—thanks to the entubado bunching technique—produces tons of flavorful smoke.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

When the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) announced a willingness to exempt premium cigars from forthcoming regulations, it seemed the multi-year campaign to educate regulators about the differences between handmade cigars and most other tobacco products had paid off. Then it became evident that attached to the potential exemption was a devastating definition of premium cigars, including a $10 minimum retail price.

As explained previously, an exemption that includes a $10 minimum price would exclude 85% or more of handmade cigars. The 85% figure comes from numbers put together by Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars using a sample of 26 stores, but I strongly suspect the real percentage is even higher. For example, $1-2 bundle cigars and factory seconds, which are made with the same techniques as higher cost cigars, are sold in higher numbers through the internet and catalogs. These aren’t fully represented in the 85% figure.

Without the exemption, new cigars (and those introduced since February 15, 2007) would need approval from an FDA that has shown no willingness or ability to do so. The agency has only approved 17 of 4,000 applications in the previous few years (2 were cigarettes, the other 15 applications were for things like wrapping papers). Effectively, there would be no new cigars introduced under an FDA-defined price floor for premium cigars.

The simplest way to look at the $10 figure is as follows: Whoever proposed it is completely ignorant of the handmade cigar market. Not only is there no scientific basis for such a cutoff (nobody can logically claim that a cigar that sells for $10 has public health implications different from one that sells for $9.99 or even $3), but it doesn’t reflect the reality of the handmade cigar market either.

The idea that the very agency authorized to regulate cigars proposed such an unsupported, arbitrary, and even ignorant rule is a scary thought. But as scary as it is, the alternative might be even worse. After all, you can at least educate the ignorant.

While I fully expect that FDA regulators don’t “get it” when it comes to why we enjoy cigars (the experience, the ritual, the camaraderie… the flavor being important and not the nicotine), I doubt they are so ignorant as to genuinely think that $10 is a reasonable line between “premium” and non-premium cigars given the current state of the cigar market.

This is politics—that’s why you hire lobbyists, not scientists, when you’re facing a rule-making process—and the FDA’s proposal is a classic political position: the ultimate threat paired with an offer to “negotiate” for something less devastating.

I’ve heard throughout the FDA process representatives of the cigar industry have been pressured to adopt a definition that included a minimum price. They’ve correctly resisted, because there is no scientific or public health reason to create an arbitrary price. Supposedly the FDA is still interested in truth and health.

Fans of the Game of Thrones HBO series will instantly recognize the image above. (If you haven’t read the first book or seen the show, I’m about to spoil the ending of the first season.) It’s the moment just before hero Eddard Stark is beheaded, after confessing to a crime he didn’t commit in order to protect his daughters and have his life spared.

If the FDA’s proposal is as calculated as I’m afraid it might be, then the handmade cigar industry shares many similarities to Stark’s dilemma. In its deeming document, the FDA pointedly left open “Option 1,” which would regulate all cigars, effectively killing the development of all new cigars.

“Option 2” is an exemption for some “premium” cigars, but the FDA is signaling that that it might be merciful, especially if the industry agrees to embrace an arbitrary, artificial, and unscientific price floor. In other words: If your false confession doesn’t sufficiently please us, we’ll just cut off your head. It didn’t work out well for Stark.

The cigar blog Halfwheel made the point yesterday that the $10 rule seems unlikely to survive, and it’s certainly true that a definition that uses “retail price (after any discounts or coupons)” is impractical. But that’s not necessarily a reason to rejoice.

In fact, it’s likely part of the set-up. A common negotiating tactic is a wildly low-ball opening offer, so the person you’re negotiating with feels they’ve won something when they agree to the real price you had in mind all along.

That may be what’s really going on here. If I told you a week ago that the final exemption would only apply to cigars with a wholesale price above $3 (roughly $6 at retail), you might have responded: That’s crazy! There are tons of handmade cigars that cost less than that and no public health reason to treat them differently than a cigar that costs more. Now, with the sword hovering over all cigars, some might think $3 a reasonable compromise to embrace.

The fact is, without an artificial price in the rule, there’s still a natural limit to how inexpensive a handmade cigar can be and still meet the rest of the requirements in “Option 2” of the proposed rule (some of which have their own problems that can be addressed in a future article). A completely handmade cigar, made primarily with long-filler tobacco, will have to cost a certain amount or it won’t be economically viable, and those looking just for nicotine will still find that pre-2007 cigarettes or other non-handmade cigars do a more efficient, cheaper job of delivering that. Further, even if unforeseeable developments prove this to be wrong, then the FDA can always do more rule-making to deal with any remaining issues.

Maybe I’m just jaded and the $10 requirement was born out of ignorance, and a thorough effort to educate the FDA will make the final rule reality-based. We should be so lucky, but I’m not sure I’d bet on it.

More likely I’m afraid we’re being set up to accept, perhaps even advocate for, drawing a line that doesn’t exist. And then feeling like we’ve won something when we get an arbitrary line that isn’t as bad as it could have been.

The FDA’s regulation of tobacco is supposed to be a fact-based process. By acknowledging the fact that premium cigars are different, the agency has implied that a reality-based line should be drawn, and I expect the handmade cigar industry will respond with comments showing why an arbitrary price definition is not based in science.

If the FDA ignores those comments and demonstrates that it is just playing politics, the result will be terrible. Not only would it destroy a thriving industry that caters exclusively to adults and provides thousands of American jobs, but it would betray the mandate that Congress gave the FDA to create reasonable regulations based in science and logic.

–Patrick S

photo credits: Stogie Guys / Game of Thrones

If you peruse Joya de Nicaragua’s website, you’ll see pages dedicated to Antaño 1970, Antaño Dark Corojo, Cabinetta, CyB, and the company’s other core blends. What you won’t find is any information about Celebración.

Nicaragua’s oldest cigar maker launched Celebración in 2004 as a less powerful version of Antaño 1970. It was crafted by Manuel Quesada (known for the Quesada and Fonseca brands), who toned down the ligero to achieve the intended result. Today it’s still made in Estelí at Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua.

Celebración is marketed as a more approachable alternative to the strong smokes Joya de Nicaragua is known for—as well as a way to get Nicaraguan depth without the full body that some smokers find too power-forward. Remember that ten years ago not only did Cabinetta and CyB not yet exist, but there were far fewer Nicaraguan-made cigars in the American market. These days it’s a much different story, witnessed by the latest figures suggesting Nicaragua will soon surpass the Dominican Republic as the top source of cigars to the U.S.

The Celebración recipe includes a Habano Criollo wrapper around Nicaraguan Habano-seed binder and filler tobaccos. The puro comes in six sizes: Churchill (6.9 x 48), Consul (4.5 x 52), Corona (5.5 x 42), Gordo (5.5 x 60), Toro (6 x 50), and Torpedo (5 x 52). Prices range from $5 to $8 per cigar.

With a moderately oily, clean wrapper and a well-executed cap, the Toro is a handsome smoke. It’s firm to the touch except at the foot, which shows a cross-section of lightly packed tobaccos. The pre-light aroma is sweet and the cold draw is moderate in resistance.

While definitively more subdued than Antaño 1970, this cigar isn’t necessarily mild. It trends toward the medium-bodied spectrum with a fair amount of dry, woody spice. Interestingly, more than any other smoke I can remember, the spice tends to creep up in the aftertaste, creating an intensity on the top of the tongue only after the smoke has been released from the mouth.

Background flavors include syrupy sweetness, earth, cream, and peanut. While a little flat at first, they build into the second third. The finale of the Toro (the part I like the best) is characterized by increases in heat and spice. All the while the construction is top-notch. The burn stays even, the draw smooth, the ash holds firm, and each puff yields ample smoke.

With an MSRP below $7, this is a good—albeit less-than-memorable—cigar that serves as somewhat of a bridge between the Cabinetta and Antaño 1970 lines in the Joya de Nicaragua portfolio. Given a choice between the two, I’ll take CyB every time (I really like that blend). But the Celebración Toro is a nice bargain and worthy of three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys