The Stogie Guys

A couple times each week we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

In 2015, Ashton introduced a super-premium limited edition extension to its San Cristobal line called Ovation. Presented in a single format (6.5 x 52), only 3,000 boxes of 22 were made for a total run of 66,000 cigars, each selling for about $15. Since, two sizes have been added—Opulence (5 x 50) and a torpedo-shaped Eminence (5.75 x 54)—and the original size was given the name Decadence. I really enjoyed the cigar when I first tried it a few years ago, and I still do today. It boasts a complex, full-bodied taste. The San Andrés wrapper marries well with the Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos to deliver rich flavors of coffee, cayenne heat, cocoa, white pepper, and cream. With good combustion characteristics, I absolutely recommend the Ovation Decadence.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Aging Room has won a swath of awards and high ratings, including here at StogieGuys.com, where the brand has earned two perfect scores and a handful of other elevated ratings. The brand has come a long way as it evolved from Oliveros (known mostly for its flavored cigars) to Boutique Blends/Aging Room (which has done remarkably well in the premium space).

The Quattro Nicaragua was introduced last year at the IPCPR Trade Show as part of an Aging Room brand revamp. Under the Quattro umbrella went the F55 Quattro and F55M (now dubbed the Quattro and Quattro Maduro, respectively), alongside the new Quattro Connecticut and Quattro Nicaragua.

Quattro Nicaragua is a Nicaraguan puro made at A.J. Fernandez’s factory in four box-pressed sizes: Espressivo (5 x 50), Maestro (6 x 52), Vibrato (6 x 54), and Concerto (7 x 50). (All previous Aging Room cigars were made in the Dominican Republic.) I smoked two samples in the $10 Espressivo vitola for this review.

The rich brown, velvety wrapper has a few visible veins. No details on the components of the Nicaraguan tobaccos used in the blend have been released, but the thickness and color indicate a sun-grown wrapper.

Earth, coffee, and chocolate are the dominant flavors in this full-bodied smoke. Pepper and cedar add to the well-balanced profile, with sweet cedar notes especially prominent towards the final third. It’s a harmonious cigar with a great swirling combination of sweetness, spice, and wood notes.

On the combustion front, it’s mostly good news. The ash is sturdy, though the burn occasionally needs a touch-up to keep even. There are no issues with the draw or smoke production.

I started by mentioning the high ratings Aging Room has earned here, and this is no exception. A full-bodied, but not overly strong cigar, the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Espressivo earns an impressive rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

For the first time since it was launched in 2011, Saints & Sinners—the private, members-only Tatuaje club that annually sends participants exclusive cigars and other branded merchandise—is joining forces with Cigar Rights of America (CRA).

“With all the looming regulations that are plaguing our rights to enjoy cigars, we have decided that the only way we are going to make a change is if we, the cigar community, stand up for our rights,” said Sean Casper Johnson, co-founder and co-president of Saints & Sinners, Inc., in a recent email. “That said, Saints & Sinners has decided to partner up with CRA moving forward and will be donating a big portion of our membership dues to CRA so they can continue the fight to protect our rights to enjoy a product that we love.”

Annual membership fees have increased 17% to $175, with presumably the complete $25 increase going to CRA. This marks the first time in the club’s eight-year history that the fees won’t be $150. But it also means the annual smoke kit of exclusive cigars that won’t be commercially available elsewhere will grow from 15 to 17, and that each Saints & Sinners membership will include membership in CRA.

In addition to cigars, Saints & Sinners members are annually shipped Tatuaje-branded merchandise (i.e., hats and shirts) and other ancillary items of interest (i.e., wine openers, poker chips, lighters, ash trays, etc.). Until it arrives, the contents of that year’s shipment is typically a highly anticipated mystery.

Personally, I’ve been a member all eight years and have never been disappointed. The 10 exclusive cigars alone are always worth it; everything else is icing on the cake. And now, if you do the math, and if you value membership in CRA, the club is a better deal. In year’s past, you’d get 15 cigars for $150, or $10 per cigar; now you get 17 cigars for $175, or $10.29 per cigar—plus CRA membership. (The cigars are almost always terrific, even if we don’t write much about them here; I suspect few want to read reviews of cigars that are not commercially available—but let me know if this is an inaccurate assumption!)

Speaking of access to the invitation-only club, if you’re not already a Saints & Sinners member, now is a good time to find someone who is. Membership renewals for 2019 are currently open and will run though June 15. Each member is able to invite one person to join.

Cigar Rights of America is a national advocacy group that works at all levels of government to protect cigar consumers, retailers, manufacturers, and tobacco growers from regulatory threats, including smoking bans and tobacco taxes.

UPDATE: Sean Casper Johnson confirms the entire $25 increase will go towards CRA. And while he prefers to not cite exactly how many Saints & Sinners members there are, he confirms there are over 1,000. Finally, with regards to the 2019 smoke kit, he says, “This year’s kit will be extremely special. Pete [Johnson] and I selected the cigars last week and he is in Nicaragua blend testing them now.”

–Patrick A

photo credit: Saints & Sinners

A couple times each week we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

The storied Henry Clay line started its 2.0 rebrand/relaunch with the 2015 limited Tattoo release, a collaboration with Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars (an admitted longtime admirer of the Henry Clay mark). That was followed up with the 2016 regular production Henry Clay Stalk Cut, featuring a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, Dominican binder, and three filler tobaccos: Dominican Piloto, Dominican Olor, and Nicaraguan Criollo. The box-pressed Robusto produces medium-bodied flavors with notes of roasted cocoa, espresso, almonds, and leather with an earthy finish. It’s an above-average cigar at a not unreasonable price ($8.25). If you’re just getting into Henry Clay, though, try the original (still produced, pre-rebrand) Henry Clay first.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A couple times each week 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 was the first Encore I’ve seen since the robusto-sized Majestic was named Cigar Aficionado’s top cigar of 2018, thus creating a shelf-clearing demand. I hope it won’t be my last. It’s an excellent smoke. The Valientes is a 6.125-inch torpedo with a ring gauge of 52. It is dark, rich, and robust, a treat from first puff to finish. The flavors are balanced and smooth, with one surprise, given that it is a Nicaraguan puro: There’s little of the pepper that’s often common to those tobaccos. Another point worth noting is that the Encore line follows Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s tradition of producing top-flight cigars without sky-high prices. I paid $12.25 for the Valientes. And while the four-vitola line follows La Historia in what’s called the Perez-Carrillo Series, the cigar itself is second to none.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: E.P. Carrillo

The story of Elizabeth Short is a tragic and gruesome one. It need not be repeated here. That said, if you’re interested, you’ll find no shortage of material across all manner of media—including books, films, and the internet—on the 1947 unsolved murder of the young woman who would come to be known as Black Dahlia.

Far be it from me to explain why you’d name a cigar line in honor of a grotesque crime that has persisted in the public consciousness over seven decades. Yet Gran Habano did just that when it launched Black Dahlia in 2017.

Made in Honduras at Gran Habano’s GR Tabaqueras Unidas factory in Danlí, Black Dahlia sports a Nicaraguan Corojo Shade wrapper, dual Habano and Nicaraguan binders, and filler tobaccos that include Habano, Nicaraguan Cubita, Colombian, and Costa Rican leaves. It is offered in three sizes, each packaged in 20-count boxes: Robusto (5 x 52, $9), Corona Gorda (5.6 x 46, $9.50), and Gran Robusto (6 x 54, $10).

The Robusto features a pale, light brown wrapper that’s wrinkled and traversed by a fair number of thin veins. The surface is moderately oily with tooth and some lumps. While the feel is consistently firm throughout with no soft spots, the cold draw is smooth. At the foot, I find gentle pre-light notes of sweet hay and herbal tea.

Black Dahlia might be marketed as a full-bodied smoke but, if the three Robustos I smoked for this review are any indication, it’s a decidedly medium blend. The core profile includes café au lait, white pepper, and a gentle cedar spice. The finish is short with warm spice on the tip of the tongue. At times, there are flashes of roasted peanuts.

As the Robusto progresses, the core flavors remain unchanged but a smooth, sweet creaminess enters the equation. The final third is more of the same, yet slightly more intense. All the while the combustion qualities are solid. Even though the burn might waver a bit here and there, it always self-corrects and almost never requires a touch-up. The draw is easy. The ash holds well off the foot. And the smoke production is generous.

Perhaps, like me, this line escaped your radar when it was introduced a couple years ago. I’m certainly glad I finally gave it a try and recommend you do the same. The S.T.K. Black Dahlia by George Rico Robusto offers balance, nuanced flavors, and good bang for your buck. It’s suitable for a morning smoke with a cup of black coffee, an afternoon round of golf, or a post-dinner treat with some sipping rum. For that, it earns four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Long a major player in the machine-made cigar market, Villiger has for some time worked to raise its profile in the hand-made segment of the industry. For the all-important U.S. customer base, the Swiss company has introduced new cigars and brought some over from Europe.

That’s where La Meridiana comes in. Released in Europe about 20 years ago, the Nicaraguan puro was recently introduced in the United States, albeit with some differences in the sizes.

The U.S. line features five vitolas: Corona (5.5 x 42, $6.50), Robusto (5 x 50, $7.50), Torpedo (6 x 52, $8), Churchill (6.9 x 48, $8.50), and a box-pressed Toro (6 x 54, $10.60). All come in 10-count boxes.

They are rolled in Estelí, Nicaragua, at the Joya de Nicaragua factory. The cigar name itself also celebrates a factory, though it’s a Cuban one that ceased rolling operations years ago.

The wrapper is a smooth, darker brown leaf, highlighted by the prominent orange coloring in both the regular and the foot bands. There’s a mouth-watering pre-light aroma from the filler.

From the start, it is apparent La Meridiana is not a particularly strong cigar, despite its Nicaraguan components. But strength should never be confused with taste. La Meridiana has plenty of the latter.

It starts a little woody, then quickly adds some sweetness and mild spice. The flavors begin with excellent balance and maintain that throughout. Other flavors that crop up include a bit of citrus and some nuttiness.

All of those I smoked performed excellently. The draw was good and smoke production thick and plentiful. The white ash held firmly, and the burn was slow and even.

This cigar would seem to be one of Villiger’s best efforts yet. The prices are competitive, the medium strength makes it accessible, and the flavor profile is one that can appeal to a wide range of smokers. That earns the Villiger La Meridiana Toro four out of five stogies.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys