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) Swisher International, a Jacksonville-based company that manufactures Swisher Sweets and other machine-made cigars, yesterday announced its intention to start making premium cigars. The new premium division of Swisher will be called Royal Gold Cigars after Alex Goldman, a 20-year veteran of the industry. “As a fourth-generation tobacconist, I have cemented relationships that will enable Royal Gold Cigars to develop, source, and market an array of premium products that customers will enjoy at competitive price points,” Goldman told CSN. The inaugural lineup from Royal Gold Cigars is expected to debut at this summer’s IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas.

2) Governor Steve Beshear is calling for a smoking ban in certain public places in Kentucky, the state with the highest percentage of smokers. “Our addiction hurts productivity, jacks up health care costs, and kills our people,” he said in a public address on Wednesday. “Yet we’ve never instituted a statewide law to protect Kentuckians from second-hand smoke.”

3) Around the Blogs: Nice Tight Ash checks out the Elogio Habano Crescent City Cigars Exclusivo, and so does Stogie Review. Cigar Inspector inspects a Vegas Robaina XV Aniversario. Tiki Bar kicks back with My Uzi Weighs a Ton +11. Cigar Brief smokes a Foundry Talbot while Cigar Fan fires up the Foundry Wells.

4) Deal of the Week: Pinar del Rio makes some nice cigars, and if you’re in the market you might want to take advantage of this special offer. Purchase any box and you get this sampler of six Pinar del Rio smokes for free.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Royal Gold Cigars

I recently received an email offer touting a bargain price on a “94-rated” cigar. If you’ve ever purchased cigars online, you probably get similar offers emphasizing high ratings all the time.

Curious about this high rating on a cigar that I haven’t seen reviewed in years, I did a little digging. Turns out it received that 94 rating from Cigar Aficionado way back in 2001.

It’s also been rated more modestly three times since, and not at all since 2005. The “94” review said it was “rich and flavorful” while subsequent ratings describe “one-dimensional” and “sour” flavors. And that’s just how the description changed between 2001 and 2005.

I don’t mean to pick on this particular cigar (I’m not even going to mention it because I think many cigars are marketed in similar fashion), but it does raise a larger question: How much can any rating that old really tell someone trying to decide if they want throw down hard-earned cash? Even if you think the number “94” is noteworthy (personally, I’d be more interested in the description than the numerical rating) you can’t really think that it’s meaningful well over a decade later. Cigars change with time, and I don’t just mean due to years sitting quietly in the humidor.

The fact is, even with the most attentive cigar makers, blends can evolve with time. Changes in tobacco sources, quality control, palates, and just time mean that except for the band, there may only be a general resemblance between the “same” cigar rolled in 2000 and in 2012.

Much of the language and number system that cigar ratings are built on come from wine, but wine is made in (mostly) vintages and cigars overwhelmingly aren’t. Unfortunately, even box dates are still quite rare when it comes to non-Cuban cigars (but then Cuban cigars have box dates in part because most need a few years of aging before they are ready to be smoked).

That doesn’t mean cigar ratings don’t serve a purpose (we wouldn’t do them if we didn’t think they were useful), but don’t let a number be the be all and end all.

And remember: (1) Your palate is the final arbiter of whether or not you enjoy a particular cigar; (2) A review is just an evaluation of a certain cigar at a certain point in time by one particular person; and (3) A little skepticism of sales pitches never hurt anyone… especially when the pitch involves a review as old as a 7th-grader.

–Patrick S

photo credit: flickr

Before working on this review, I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I fired up a Gurkha. And that’s saying a lot for a guy who needs to smoke a wide variety of cigars.

It’s also saying a lot because of the excessive number of unique blends Gurkha produces. On its website, Gurkha lists no less than 13 “core brands,” 10 “limited edition” blends, and 2 lines under its “East India Trading Company” umbrella. And these listings apparently aren’t even comprehensive. The blend I’m reviewing today, for example, is nowhere to be found on the website. I’m sure it isn’t the only one missing.

No matter. The Gurkha Legend is pretty easy to come across. It features an aged Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper, a Cameroon binder, and eight-year-old Dominican filler tobaccos. The Robusto (6 x 50) retails for about $10 (and can sometimes be found for considerably less when on sale or thrown into a sampler pack).

I found a couple Robustos at the bottom of one of my humidors. No telling how long they had been buried there, but the cellophane on each had started to yellow. Once exposed, the cigars gave off potent pre-light notes of cocoa and hay. Each felt very firm in some spots and soft in others, inconsistencies that often foretell construction issues.

After torching the foot, a profile of dry wood, musty earth, and coffee emerges. Cinnamon and syrup add spice and sweetness, respectively. The texture is coarse and the body is on the lighter end of medium. Each puff leaves a long finish on the palate with a spicy tingle on the tongue.

Moving into the midway point, the flavor stays consistent but the aroma of the resting smoke becomes decidedly sweeter. The final third witnesses a slight increase in intensity with occasional bitter notes. All the while the Robusto’s combustion performs better than I imagined. The draw is smooth, the smoke production is solid, the burn is straight, and the gray ash holds well.

True, the Gurkha Legend Robusto can hold its own. But it’s also a far cry from memorable. While I won’t be forking over $10 for one of these in the future, I won’t mind picking up a few at bargain prices, or as inclusions in sampler packs. This cigar earns three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Coming to a shelf near you is Bulleit 10, an older expression of Bulleit. I’ve always found the original Bulleit to be a tasty, spicy spirit that provides good value, while the company’s rye is one of my favorite presentations of the popular “LDI” 95% rye recipe.

Needless to say, I was pleased to try a pre-release sample offered by Bulleit’s marketing people. Bulleit 10 (featuring a white label) is made at Four Roses Distillery, maker to some of my other go-to bourbons. It sells for $45 per bottle, a significant increase from original (orange label) which can be found for around $25.

While the original doesn’t have a formal age statement except for being “straight Kentucky bourbon” (which denotes an age of at least four years unless otherwise specified), it generally contains bourbon aged between five and eight years. The whiskey in the Bulleit 10 bottle is at least 10 years old and, possibly (or at least theoretically), a bit older.

Light amber in color, it isn’t any darker in color than the younger Bulleit, which is a bit surprising given the extra age. However, on the nose the extra years become apparent with vanilla, oak, dried fruit, and floral notes.

The Bulleit 10 features dry spice, toast, marzipan, and dried fruit flavors. It’s definitely got a bit more complexity than the regular orange label version, but it maintains its spicy core. The finish is long, with still more woody spice and burnt vanilla.

All that wood and spice begs for a similarly bold cigar. Earthy and full-bodied cigars like the La Aroma Mi Amor or Padrón Family Reserve No. 45 Maduro are my recommendations.

This is a very nice bourbon and certainly even better than the already good original Bulleit, although people will have to decide for themselves if it’s really worth paying nearly twice as much. Still, it’s definitely a welcome addition to the ever-increasing number of quality bourbons on the market. It competes well with similarly-priced bourbons and is notable for its complex woodiness and spice.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Bulleit

I’ve seen it time and again in cigar shops, cigar bars, or at other cigar-friendly locales: misinformed smokers who hastily tap, smash, or smear their cigars in an ashtray after almost every puff. They know not the damage they cause.

Cigar smoking is all about taste, relaxation, and enjoyment. So while I’m all for the “to each his own” mentality, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the danger of over-ashing.

First, let’s remember that smoking a cigar is a lot like cooking dinner. You need the right amount of time and the right temperature to achieve the optimal flavor. In order to properly “cook” tobacco (i.e., in order to properly caramelize its sugars), I’m told the target is 494˚F at the foot.

No need to crack out that thermometer, though. Smoking cigars is more of an art than a science. Just remember that taking time between puffs and allowing the ash to build up will help maintain the proper temperature. You want cool, flavorful smoke. Over-ashing may increase a cigar’s heat and harshness by exposing the foot to excess oxygen.

Now I’m aware that some occasions call for more frequent ashing than is otherwise optimal. For instance, if you’re wearing new pants and don’t want to run the risk of a lapful. Or if you’re indoors and want to avoid spillage. Or if you’re trying a new stick and aren’t sure of its ash threshold.

No occasion, however, calls for the sort of over-ashing that I often observe. Likewise, it’s hard to imagine a scenario that merits stubbing out a finished premium cigar like a cigarette. Doing so results in a mass of foul odors and unpleasant smoke. An artisan craft like a handmade cigar deserves a respectful death—extinguishing in the ashtray peacefully on its own.

All this said, I’ve never considered myself one of those cigar enthusiasts who obsesses over achieving ashes of great length. Ashes that were featured by Nub in an ad campaign several years ago (pictured) are too intense for my liking. Cigars, after all, aren’t about competition. But any smoking method that produces the intended flavor profile and enhances enjoyment is worth practicing and promulgating.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Nub Cigar

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.”

Made at the prolific Raices Cubanas factory with oversight and blending assistance from Alec Bradley’s Alan Rubin, El Diario is a full-bodied blend with a Honduran wrapper, double binders, and filler from Honduras and Nicaragua. KB is short for “Kill Bill,” because of how full-bodied La Palina founder Bill Paley found the cigar. It’s not the most full-bodied cigar you’ll smoke, but it’s no lightweight; lots of dark chocolate, earth, and spice. At $35 for a four-pack, it’s pretty expensive for such a small cigar (4.25 x 40), but it’s also plenty tasty.

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.”

If you’re the kind of cigar enthusiast who enjoys tons and tons of smoke production with each puff (I’m looking at you, Drew Estate fans), make sure to try the V32 Khilla Corona (4.9 x 50). It’s made by Berger & Argenti in the painstaking entubado fashion, which yields excellent combustion and enormous volumes of smoke. A Nicaraguan puro, it has a dark Jalapa wrapper around tobaccos from the Estelí, Condega, Jalapa, and Jinotega regions. Flavors of nougat, espresso, chocolate, and cedar abound. The cost is about $11 for a single, and it’s worth every penny. You can’t miss this smoke, what with its attention-grabbing bands and fuse-like core of ligero filler that extends beyond the foot.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys