The Stogie Guys

One of the most enjoyable aspects of attending the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show is the opportunity to meet new people in the cigar industry and see the fruits of their labor. Their enthusiasm and passion is infectious.

At this summer’s show, I met lots of people I didn’t know. I was, for example, mightily impressed by the men behind Table 36. Listening to them tell their story with so much zest and spirit was amazing.

Sitting down over a cup of coffee with Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars was simply a great experience. You don’t get to meet such a genuine, smart, and engaging person—whatever their field of endeavor—very often.

Another new contact was John Staurulakis of Veritas Cigar Co., a Wilmington-based firm that was introducing three blends at this year’s show. No one talked with more zeal about their cigars than John, the company’s national director of sales. He eagerly handed me one to smoke while we talked.

Sitting at the booth, John explained what the company had been up to in the past year. The first thing they did was decide to drop the cigars they had been offering, he said. “We spent the last year blending three new blends to debut here.”

When they got what they wanted, their new Torch line was born. Offered in five sizes, the cigar comes in three variations.

John laid out the details: One sports a sun-grown Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and Nicaraguan filler from Jalapa and Ometepe; another features an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over an Indonesian binder around Jalapa filler; and the Ecuadorian Habano maduro wrapper on the third is matched with a Nicaraguan Habano binder and Nicaraguan filler from Jalapa and Estelí.

John said he got into cigars in school and spent lots of time at a favorite cigar shop before jumping into the business.

At IPCPR, he added, Veritas signed up about 18 new shops and, he emailed me later, “that number just keeps getting larger every day.”

If you spot a Torch, give it a try. One thing I can guarantee: They’re produced with passion.

–George E

photo credit: Veritas Cigar Co.

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.”

El Bigote is proof a cheesy band doesn’t tell you much about a cigar. I picked up this cigar, made by Honduras Caribbean Tobacco, at the IPCPR Trade Show a few years ago. A dark brown wrapper surrounds the well-made torpedo. Rich earth and cedar dominate the medium-bodied and well-balanced cigar. With surprising complexity, this was very enjoyable.

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.”

My colleague reviewed this new, single-size Drew Estate cigar back in July, but I only recently fired up my first Nica Rustica (6 x 52) to see if this Connecticut Broadleaf-wrapped smoke agrees with my taste buds. I found a stark vegetal flavor with accompanying notes of black pepper and a dry, coarse texture. Bitter black coffee dominates the aftertaste. Construction is excellent, including the trademark Drew Estate draw and bountiful smoke production. The complexity doesn’t match, say, Undercrown, but at $7 it’s a good value and a nice change of pace. Drew Estate fans won’t want to miss Nica Rustica.

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) With Congress in the midst of a five-week vacation, the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) reminds us now is no time to be complacent—especially with the threat of FDA regulation of premium cigars looming large. In fact, with most senators and representatives back in their home districts, the summer recess is a good time to remind them of our rights to enjoy cigars, as well as all the jobs and small businesses endangered by government intrusion in the industry. IPCPR is reminding cigar enthusiasts and retailers that “hosting an event in your store is a memorable and effective way to engage your legislators.” They’ve published a helpful guide (PDF) to such events here. IPCPR is also promoting activism on social media and has even created a Twitter directory (PDF).

2) If you enjoy a glass of wine with your cigar, you’ll no doubt be interested in the American Wine Consumer Coalition’s evaluation of each state’s consumer friendliness. The report grades and ranks each state. Five got an A+, twelve failed. (And a tip of the cap to Wine Julia for pointing us to the study.)

3) Inside the Industry: One of the under-the-radar but more interesting developments from Altadis at the recent IPCPR Trade Show is Cedar Room Selection. According to Altadis, the line consist of “overruns, small batches, and test cigars from production that is leftover in the Tabacalera de Garcia cedar room.” Some have been aging as long as 10 years and limited qualities are being made available to retailers, with price dependent on the blend.

4) Contest Results: Please join me in congratulating David of Palm Bay, Florida, and Matt of St. Charles, Missouri. They were randomly selected to win our latest giveaway. Each will receive a box of La Gloria Cubana Gilded Age Toros, courtesy of Famous Smoke Shop. Thanks again to our friends at Famous. Best of luck to everyone else in our next contest, and be sure you’re registered for our free email newsletter to be eligible to win.

5) Deal of the Week: Corona Cigar has tweaked its Stogie Guys Sampler. $29.95 (normally $55) gets you an Avo Lounge, a Davidoff, plus five house blends from Corona Cigar. Plus you get free shipping on your entire order.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

Christian Eiroa’s Fabricas Unidas has announced this month that it is starting a program to buy back used boxes from retailers. The program is part of the company’s initiative to reduce it’s environmental impact. The following special announcement (addressed to retailers) was published in a recent IPCPR email newsletter:

Beginning August 2013, we will start to buy back our reusable cigar boxes from our retailers. This is consistent with our BAYER Better Manufacturing Practices and Better Growing Practices initiatives to lower our impact on the environment. Our farms are already under these guidelines and the Aladino Factory is currently going through the certification process. This process assures you and your customers that all cigars have been made with tobacco that had zero impact on the environment and that the cigars have all been made under the same strict hygiene standards of food companies like Hershey’s and Heinz. Our next step is to focus on the cigar boxes.

As you can imagine, cigar boxes are one of the biggest offenders to our forests and, although we use woods that are friendlier and from controlled forests, the impact is undeniable. We are asking for your assistance to reduce our impact by 50%. Therefore, we are asking that you sell your boxes back to us for $1.00 per box. We also ask that you not ship us back any less than 20 reusable boxes each time. Reusable boxes can be defined as any box that is whole and it may just need to be repainted. In order to return the boxes, please contact your sales representative and they will get a call tag for you from our office. Once the boxes are received and inspected immediately, the box credit will be applied to your account.

Thank you very much for your cooperation and help us make our industry friendlier and less scrutinized.

Sincerely,

Christian Eiroa

The move is notable for a few reasons. First, it’s a visible action to recycle in an industry where recycling, to the extent it takes place, isn’t visible to consumers. (Unless you count mixed-filler cigars which “recycle” the cuttings from long-filler cigar making.)

Second, I’m interested to see the reaction that Fabricas Unidas gets from retailers who’s help they will need to make this happen, especially considering one dollar per box (credit towards their wholesale account) isn’t a ton considering the work necessary. Still, it has the potential to bring down the price of boxes (which can add quite a bit). The savings can then be passed on to both retailers and ultimately consumers.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Emerson’s Cigars

Aimed at serving “the new generation of cigar smoker out there,” the California-based Ventura Cigar Co. is taking a less-than-traditional angle with two blends that recently launched at the IPCPR Trade Show: Psyko Seven and Project 805.

The latter, presumably named for the area code where Ventura is located, doesn’t merely employ bold fonts, unique bands, and attention-grabbing marketing to create a “disruption” in the industry. Project 805 brings an entirely new tobacco to the table. Called Andullo, the leaf is exclusive to Ventura and, according to the Ventura website, it has never been used in a cigar before.

Described as “naturally flavored, aromatic, and so utterly different,” Andullo is part of the Project 805 filler, which also includes Dominican tobacco. The rest of the blend features a Dominican Olor binder and a Corojo Shade wrapper. Four sizes are available: Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 50), Figurado (6.25 x 52), and Churchill (7 x 50). Each is crafted at La Aurora’s E. León Jimenes factory and sold in 20-count boxes that are handmade from African Okuome wood.

The Robusto, also known as “805R,” sells for approximately $7. It is a reddish, oily cigar with a rough cap and a surface that’s sparsely populated with thin, winding veins. Two bands partially obstruct the wrapper—one proudly proclaiming the inclusion of Andullo tobacco, the other with Ventura’s trademark red “V” cut out of the back. Ample sweet notes emanate from the foot.

Once the Robusto is burning, a profile of oak, dry red wine, and earth emerges. A mild spice and a slight bitterness characterize aftertaste. The texture is leathery and the palate is most concentrated on the tip of the tongue and the roof of the mouth.

I’ve never tasted Andullo tobacco completely on its own, so I’ll refrain from guessing how this new tobacco is impacting the blend. But the overall effect is quite nice, and I find Project 805 to be enjoyable—particularly the interplay between salty notes and syrupy sweetness. The spice and leather are perhaps a little more muted than what you’d expect from a Corojo-wrapped smoke.

Project 805’s physical properties are solid, a tribute to the fine folks who craft cigars for La Aurora. The burn is straight and low-maintenance, the ash holds well, and the draw is smooth.

Whether Project 805 will be the disruption to the industry Ventura hopes remains to be seen. This is a young cigar with, in my opinion, good potential for improvement in aging. Time may round off the edges a bit and produce a more harmonious balance. For now, though, the Robusto is worthy of a good rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Knob Creek will always hold a special place on my bourbon shelf, as the first bourbon that got me to appreciate the depth and complexity of flavor that the spirit can offer. Since then, Knob Creek has added single barrel and rye varieties, but Knob Creek will always be associated with three other bourbons to make up the Small Batch Collection.

In addition to Knob, there’s Booker’s, low-proof, cocktail-oriented Basil Hayden’s, and the most under-the-radar of the bunch: Baker’s. Named after Baker Beam, Booker Noe’s cousin and another member of the legendary Beam bourbon family, Baker’s uses the same mashbill (grain recipe) as Booker’s and Knob Creek, which makes the differences between them due to the aging process and how much water is added before bottling.

Baker’s, which sells for around $45, carries an age statement of 7 years and is bottled at 107-proof. That makes it younger but higher proof than 9-year-old Knob Creek. Booker’s, meanwhile, varies in age from 6-8 years and is bottled uncut at whatever the barrel proof is (a bottle I currently have spent 6 years and 2 months in oak and is 128.5-proof).

Baker’s pours a reddish amber color and has a distinctive nose with dried fruit, lacquer, and wood. The flavor features lots of wood and cinnamon spice, with a resiny edge that coats the sides and roof of the mouth. Secondary flavors include green banana, apple, and vanilla. The finish is medium in length with more spice, dried fruit, and tight wood.

Overall, it’s a raw and focused style of bourbon. It lacks the sweetness of both Knob Creek and Booker’s and instead is more like an intensified version of the classic Jim Beam White Label, which also uses the same mashbill as Baker’s. It’s very drinkable neat, though a few drops of water help open up the aroma and flavor.

A full-boded cigar is definitely called for. Among others, I’d suggest: Berger & Argenti Entubar V32 Rogue, CroMagnon, 601 Serie Green, Joya de Nicaragua Antaño, and Surrogates Skull Breaker.

The obvious question is: How does Baker’s stack up to the rest of the Small Batch Collection? For me it’s clearly ahead of Basil Hayden’s. And while I would recommend Baker’s to anyone getting into bourbon, I do prefer both Booker’s and Knob Creek. But that’s not a knock, as those are two exceptional bourbons.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys