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.”

This cigar burst on the scene a few years ago, as Oliva was establishing itself as a creator of full-bodied, premium cigars. Most of the company’s previous blends had been milder and toward the value end of the price spectrum. Years later, it’s still an excellent, consistently well-made cigar, even if it doesn’t have all of the buzz it once did. With cocoa, leather, espresso, and earth, along with excellent construction, it’s a cigar I turn to often. Although I think I slightly prefer the new Serie V Melanio blend, I can heartily recommend this cigar.

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.”

Made at Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia under the direction of Carlito Fuente, Angelenos is a six-size line offered by God of Fire. The Robusto measures 5.25 inches long with a ring gauge of 50. Its golden Ecuadorian wrapper combines with Dominican binder and filler tobaccos to yield a mild flavor of cream, ginger, spice, dried fruit, and peanut. The result is a bready, satisfying smoke with excellent construction. With a price of $9.50, this is a nice morning to mid-afternoon cigar, and a great accompaniment to a cup of coffee.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

With football on the TV, turkey in your stomach, and family gathered, Thanksgiving is a great day to enjoy a fine cigar (or several). So, as we have for the previous five years, today the StogieGuys.com team tells you what cigars we’ll be firing up after our big meals.

Patrick A: One cigar I’ve been enjoying lately is the Emilio Cigars Series H Maduro Robusto. Its profile of dark coffee, creamy nut, and cocoa will pair well a little bourbon outside on what should be an unseasonably warm day in Chicago. And since the cigar only costs $7, I won’t mind handing it out to interested family members for a post-meal celebration. I won’t feel guilty, either, since it’s a fantastic smoke.

Patrick S: It may be Thanksgiving, but my choice is equally inspired by Halloween: the Tatuaje Mummy (Halloween 2012). I picked up a 10-count box of these without trying one first, and I’m glad I did. The large Churchill (7.75 x 47) with a closed foot utilizes a Nicaraguan sun-grown criollo wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The result is a nuanced, medium- to full-bodied cigar with coffee, cedar, cream, and just a bit of clove and pepper spice. With a cup of coffee and maybe some bourbon, it seems like the perfect way to digest a heavy turkey dinner.

George E: I didn’t really have to think twice about what I’ll light up on Thanksgiving. I haven’t had an Aging Room F55 for several weeks, and I’m looking forward to what I’ve found to be a truly great cigar. As a vegetarian, I won’t be full of turkey and ham, but I’m sure I’ll be plenty full nonetheless. The Concerto (7 x 50), with its bold flavors and nice burn, will go perfectly with an after-dinner cut of coffee and easily last for the first half of the Patriots-Jets game.

Previous cigars the StogieGuys.com team designated as Thanksgiving smokes include:

Not a bad list, eh? If you’re so inclined, feel free to let us know what you’ll be smoking tomorrow in the comments below. And be sure to have a safe and joyous Thanksgiving.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: N/A

The next step in the conflict over the FDA’s plan to regulate premium cigars is likely to come from the agency rather than Congress. An FDA spokeswoman told me that there’s no date set for issuing a proposed rule, which it first broached in the spring of 2011. “Sometime in the future,” was as close as she said she could come on the timing.

When the rule is published in the Federal Register, there will be a period for public comment, likely at least 45 days. To make sure you know what’s going on and have an opportunity to register your view when the FDA begins action, sign up for an email subscription to “This Week in CTP.”

Recent elections had an impact on the legislative efforts to stop the FDA, which we touched on earlier this month. The effects were stronger in the House of Representatives, where the bill to protect cigars (HR 1639) had bipartisan support from more than half the members. The bill’s author, Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL), won re-election and remains committed to it. I talked to George Cecala in his office, and he told me they’re continuing to educate members and to build support.

I have a call in to Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) who introduced the Senate version, and I’ll let you know what I hear from them.

As you’re no doubt aware by now, the likelihood of FDA regulation devastating the cigar industry is very real. I believe the efforts of cigar smokers helped build support for the legislation, and if you haven’t gotten in touch with your elected officials, there’s no time like now. Just search “1639” on Stogie Guys and you’ll find everything you need to know.

This is no time to let up. Every cigar smoker needs to stay involved and help win this fight.

–George E

photo credit: FDA

I was stunned when I learned about North Dakota voting for an extremely restrictive smoking ban. I lived for a couple of years in the Great Plains, and it isn’t the area I think would take such action. In fact, an oft-repeated joke was, “People say Midwesterners don’t question things. But that’s not true. They question everything. The question they ask is, ‘Why would we want to do that?’”

If you’re not familiar with North Dakota, here are a few random facts from my research to provide a little prospective. The population is under 700,000, putting it above only Vermont and Wyoming. Republicans have a near-lock on statewide political offices. It has the lowest state unemployment rate (3%), ranks 24th in percentage of cigarette smokers, is home to three of the nation’s 100 poorest counties, and ranks 41st in per capita income. Among its attractions are Salem Sue, the world’s largest cow (six tons of fiberglass); the geographic center of North America in Rugby; the Roger Maris Baseball Museum; and numerous wildlife refuges and parks.

Other November referendums were to repeal a poll tax on the books for more than 100 years (approved) and to strengthen what have been described as extraordinarily lax animal cruelty laws (defeated).

“I thought we would be one of the last places this would happen,” said Todd Pryor in Minot, North Dakota, home to a noted Air Force base. “You know, cowboys…” For Pryor, with whom I spoke by phone, this isn’t a philosophical discussion. It’s business, pure and simple. Or, perhaps more accurately, lack of business.

Pryor is the owner of the Great Plains Smoke Shop in Minot, one of the few traditional tobacco shops in the state. His shop is also coupled with a cigar bar, where smoking had been permitted. Under the new law, that’s forbidden. And Pryor can’t simply open a smoking lounge in the shop portion because the law bans that, too.

Before the election, Pryor said, there was little, if any, opposition activity from tobacco companies, smoking rights groups, or even electronic cigarette organizations, whose non-tobacco devices fall under the law as well. The only news coverage I could find on the potential impact focused exclusively on cigarette smoking, and a reporter who covered the issue in Fargo, North Dakota’s largest city, told me she hadn’t written about cigars.

When the law goes into effect, probably next month, Pryor’s only smoking option will be to set up a patio area at least 20 feet from the shop’s door, with just a roof or fence allowed as structures. Even with heaters and thermal underwear, outdoor smoking in Minot—where the average high doesn’t even hit 60 degrees seven months of the year and rests below freezing in December, January, and February—is at best a sometimes thing.

Pryor said he doesn’t know yet what the impact of the ban will be on his seven-year-old shop. He’s not sure he’ll be able to keep the bar going. And how do his customers feel about all this? “They’re pissed as hell,” Pryor said.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr

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.”

I’ve had this little $4 Cuban (5 x 37) for a few years. Age hasn’t changed this cigar much, for better or worse. It’s balanced, mild, and smooth featuring nutty flavors and slight notes of wood and cream. The burn, ash, and draw present no problems. For a few dollars, it’s simplistic yet enjoyable, especially early in the day.

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.”

This new line from Joya de Nicaragua, originally named Cuenca y Blanco, marks the debut blend from José Blanco after he left La Aurora. He’s the B; Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca is the C. They’ve put together a cigar that boasts a wide range of tobaccos: filler from Nicaragua and Peru, a Dominican binder, and an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper with a marvelous pre-light aroma. It’s a tasty, balanced cigar that isn’t as high-powered as the typical Joya de Nicaragua production. Weighing in at 6.25 inches long with a ring gauge of 52, the Torpedo Especial has a sharp head and excellent construction. At about $10, it’s a bit expensive, but well worth a try.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys