The 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.”

We haven’t heard much from the Tiant Cigar Group of late, but when I came across this El Tiante Habano Rosado I felt it was time to revisit this Pepin-made cigar created for the legendary Cuban pitcher Luis Tiant.  The Robusto (5 x 50) has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler, a classic Pepin combination. The result is classic Pepin too: medium- to full-bodied with spice, woodiness, earth, and hints of clove. It’s well-constructed and nicely balanced. Not particularly unique, but a good cigar nevertheless.

Verdict = Buy.

–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.”

The Recluse blend is the first release from Iconic Leaf, a Florida-based company that launched in 2012. While the Toro (6.25 x 50) impressed me when I first reviewed it, I managed to hang onto one specimen for a little over a year. I fired it up recently and didn’t find age had altered the cigar much—but that isn’t necessary a bad thing since I liked it to begin with. Today, as before, the Brazilian, Dominican, and Cameroonian tobaccos produce a balanced flavor that’s cool and airy with notes of leather, chocolate, creamy nut, and baking spices. And the consutrction is impeccable, particularly the ultra-easy draw that gives off a generous supply of aromatic smoke.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: 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) The third annual Nicaragua Puro Sabor festival is slated for January 15-17 and will be held in Managua and Estelí. The event is organized by the Nicaraguan Cigar Association (NCA), which exists to promote the recognition of cigars produced on Nicaraguan soil. It will “gather personalities, investors, buyers, and aficionados who will share experiences and industry know-how, showcasing the attributes and qualities of our land and our people, while enjoying international award-winning cigars,” said NCA President Nestor Plasencia in a press release. Included will be Nicaraguan cuisine, cigar and rum tastings, and visits to tobacco plantations and cigar factories. Tickets are being sold here for $640-690 apiece until December 15.

2) The Hill reports that the impending FDA regulation of cigars is currently under review at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA). “OIRA routinely hosts meetings with industry groups and other stakeholders while it reviews new regulations,” reads the article. “The events are typically one-sided; representatives from businesses and other organizations make their cases, but rarely do administration officials give clues to reveal the expected contents of the pending regulation.” More details are expected to emerge before the end of the month. StogieGuys.com has been writing about this for years, and considers the FDA regulation of premium cigars to be the single greatest threat facing cigar rights.

3) Inside the Industry: General Cigar Senior Vice President and respected cigar ambassador Benji Menendez is retiring this year. General Cigar will release a new Partagas Benji Homage 62 cigar in two sizes, to commemorate Beji’s 62 years in the cigar industry.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews Don Pepin Garcia 10th Anniversary. Nice Tight Ash checks out Bonita 18th Anniversary Blend. Tiki Bar kicks back with Revere 262 Lancero. Cigar Inspector inspects Tatuaje Havana VI. Stogie Fresh fires up an AKA Respect.

5) Deal of the Week: Emerson’s has a bevy of holiday samplers. You’d especially want to consider the Montecristo four-pack for $20 or the Romeo y Julieta four-pack for just $15.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Nicaragua Puro Sabor

With the holidays cutting into the budget for discretionary spending, it seems a good time to consider some enjoyable cigars that can help you stretch your dollars. Here are three I’ve enjoyed and found consistent through several smokes.

Red Witch: This three-vitola line from Gurkha’s East India Trading Co. is a box-pressed bargain. I prefer the Toro (6 x 54) that runs about $5. It’s a slow-burning, tasty treat with an Ecuadorian Rosado wrapper, Dominican binder, and Nicaraguan filler. It starts with a peppery blast, downshifts to a medium-strength earthy flavor, and picks up some spice in the final half.

Asylum 13: At $5, the Robusto (5 x 50) in this Nicaraguan puro line from Christian Eiroa is a natural for anyone who enjoys a strong, spicy cigar. It’s also more complex than you have a right to expect at that price. And if you’re a fan of big ring gauges, Asylum 13 has you covered with a 6 x 60 and a 7 x 70 at $6 and $7, respectively.

Partagas 1845: A line extension of General Cigar’s standard Partagas cigars, the 1845 sports tobacco from several countries including filler aged in rum barrels and an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper in place of the standard Partagas Cameroon. The Double Corona (7.25 x 54) is under $5, with the Robusto (5.5 x 49) even less. As you’d expect from the cigar giant, these are consistent with first-rate construction. A tasty, medium-strength stick that will likely surprise you if you haven’t had one.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr

Dunhill certainly isn’t the sexiest brand on the market today. Owned by British American Tobacco and made and distributed by General Cigar Co., you could argue Dunhill is somewhat neglected by the online cigar community, gets lost in General’s portfolio of more visible brands, and hasn’t quite lived up to its rich legacy.

That legacy pre-dates the communist takeover of Cuba, when the Dunhill shop in London had exclusive marketing and distribution agreements with various Cuban cigar makers, including Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and Partagas. You can read more about Dunhill’s fascinating history—and its relationship with King George VI and Sir Winston Churchill—in my colleague’s previous review of the Aged Reserva Especial 2003 Robusto Grande.

Since then, Dunhill has bounced around with cigars by Toraño and Altadis, finally settling under the General Cigar umbrella with three lines: Dunhill Aged Reserva Especiale, Dunhill Aged, and Dunhill Signed Range. The latter “is made in Nicaragua with only the best aged tobaccos from its mother country as well as the Dominican Republic and Cameroon,” according to the General Cigar website. “The Signed Range is an aristocratic, medium- to full-bodied cigar that consistently delivers a superior taste, rich in complex, silky flavor.”

Six vitolas are available in the Signed Range lineup: Churchill, Toro, Torpedo, Corona, Robusto, and Petit Corona. The Toro (6 x 50) costs about $200 for a box of 25 or about $9 for a single. It’s a handsome smoke with minimal veins, a nice cap, a consistently firm feel, and a fair amount of oils on its clean surface. Only the slightest pre-light notes of milk chocolate can be found at the foot.

Once underway, a toasty, balanced profile emerges with notes of coffee, chocolate, and oak most apparent. The defining characteristic, however, has to be the red pepper spice that lingers on the aftertaste, particularly on the sides and the tip of the tongue. While the strength is more medium-bodied than full, this spicy finish lends an assertiveness to the Toro—making it, in my opinion, a wonderful cigar to pair with bourbon or your favorite sipping rum.

As the Dunhill Signed Range progresses, a myriad of flavors come and go, including sweet cream, damp earth, and charred steak. The texture is savory and the resting smoke is bready. All the while the physical properties are outstanding. The draw is smooth with each easy puff yielding ample tufts of smoke. The gray ash resists the urge to fall off prematurely. And the burn line is just about as straight as they come.

Dunhill may never be the talk of the town, but cigar enthusiasts who overlook the brand are only doing themselves a disservice. The Signed Range Toro is a very good smoke that delivers on the expectations set by its price range, even if its profile and body are a little more muted than the bold cigars that seem to be favored by most seasoned cigar vets these days. As a morning or mid-afternoon treat, I’ve concluded it’s worthy of an admirable rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Two weeks ago, I gave some recommendations for solid value bourbons. Parker’s Heritage Collection 2013 “Promise of Hope” is a bourbon that’s on the other end of the price spectrum.

In fact, while each of the bourbons on my list cost less than $20, every bottle of Parker’s includes a $20 donation to the Parker Beam Promise of Hope Fund, a charity established through the ALS Association in honor of Heaven Hill Master Distiller Emeritus Parker Beam, who has recently been diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). So while the price might be high (around $90 a bottle), it’s worth knowing the revenue supports a good cause.

As for the single barrel offering, Heaven Hill (best known for Evan Williams and Elijah Craig) has this to say about it: “From among Heaven Hill’s nearly one million barrels in storage, Parker selected approximately 100 barrels of ten-year-old, rye-based bourbon from one of his favorite warehouses, the tiered 80-year-old Rickhouse EE in Deatsville, where they sat in high storage for 40 seasons. Each of the chosen barrels was dumped and bottled, with no chill-filtering, in 750 ml. bottles at Parker’s preferred bottling proof of 96 (48% alcohol/volume).”

The bourbon is a vibrant amber color. The nose features an inviting combination of fruit, clove, and baking spice. On the palate there’s more spice (clove, cinnamon, nutmeg), fruit (apple cider, dried cherries), and wood (dried oak and a hint of char). It’s perfectly balanced with a long finish that has plenty of sweetness and a hint of fresh corn.

I’ve always been a big fan of Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage bourbon, and there are similarities between the two Heaven Hill bourbons, although price isn’t one of them. In many respects, Promise of Hope is a more refined, more balanced, and more focused version of Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage.

On its own merits, it could be tough to justify the price (compared to Evan Williams Single Barrel), but the fact is these limited edition bourbons often get bought up and then resold at a premium on the secondary market. So I’d rather have the extra $20 go towards ALS research.

As for cigars, you’re going to want a balanced, elegant cigar to appreciate everything Parker’s Heritage Collection 2013 “Promise of Hope” has to offer. Think Davidoff Nicaragua, Partagas Benji Menendez Masters Series, or the Cohiba Behike.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Here’s a cigar suggestion you might not have heard: change your toothpaste.

Chances are you’re using a conventional toothpaste in a tube that contains a sodium-based chemical known as a surfactant. It’s the ingredient that makes toothpaste—and a host of other products from detergents to surfboard wax—spread better and helps create toothpaste’s foam.

I don’t know of anything wrong with these chemicals or any potential danger from using them. But they can mess up your taste buds, sometimes reducing the ability to experience sweetness and making bitterness more intense. How intense the disruption is, and how long it lasts, seem to vary among individuals and use.

Let me confess that my knowledge is based mainly on reading and my own experience, and I’m surely no expert. So I need to add a disclaimer. I’m not a dentist or a doctor and have never even played one on TV. So, before you do anything, you might want to consult with your health professional.

Finding a toothpaste or powder without surfactants, the most common of which in toothpaste go by the abbreviations SLS and SLES, is pretty simple. Just do a Google search and by the time you type “toothpaste without” you’ll start to see responses.

I switched a while back to Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Tooth & Gum Powder at the suggestion of my dental hygienist. It’s an all-natural product, and I should note that while I like it, some dislike the taste. Perhaps the most widely known toothpaste without SLS is sold under the Tom’s of Maine label.

I’ve never thought I had a particularly good set of taste buds—or olfactory receptors, for that matter. I think switching to Christopher’s Powder has helped, though I couldn’t say how much. See what switching does for you.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr