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) StogieGuys.com is pleased to announce Bruce Dyk of Bismarck, North Dakota, as the winner of our most recent contest giveaway. Bruce was chosen at random from among the many Cigar Rights of America (CRA) members who left comments on our October 4 post. Contest sponsor Prometheus will be sending Bruce a fantastic prize: a Prometheus 20th Anniversary Edition God of Fire Serie B five-cigar assortment box (pictured) and a Prometheus Retro 20th Anniversary Lighter (combined MSRP $198). Please join us in congratulating Bruce. We would also like to thank CRA and all of its members for everything they do to support cigar rights, as well as Keith Park of Prometheus for graciously donating the outstanding prize. And remember: Even if you didn’t win this contest, it always pays to be a CRA member.

2) Arturo Fuente is planning an invitation-only event at the refurbished 110-year-old cigar factory in Tampa that will become the company’s headquarters. The building, located at 22nd Street and 3rd Ave. in the historic Ybor City district, was constructed in 1902 and bought by Arturo Fuente a few years later. The restoration has been underway for years and is likely to not be complete until 2014, as the Fox affiliate in Tampa reports. But in November the Fuentes are holding an event to celebrate the building as “a lasting piece of history and a tribute to the city where the company was formed.”

3) Following the dangerous trend of government-imposed outdoor smoking bans, officials in Orange County, North Carolina, are mulling regulations that would criminalize smoking “at bus stops, sidewalks, parks, shopping malls, and any other public domain,” according to the Daily Tar Heel. The regulations will be voted on by the county’s board at a November 20 meeting. If passed, they would apply to the entire county, which includes the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the town of Hillsborough.

4) Around the Blogs: Cigar Fan fires up a Cuban Stock Royal Selection. Cigar Coop checks out a CAO Concert. Cigar Inspector inspects a Romeo y Julieta Petit Pirámides LE 2005. Tiki Bar samples a La Palina Classic. Stogie Review reviews the Dona Flor Puro Mata Fina.

5) Deal of the Week: This Midnight Madness sampler features ten premium maduros for $30. Included are five La Gloria Cubanas and five Romeo y Julieta Vintage Maduros.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Prometheus

Bourbon often gets more costly (and usually also better) as you go from large production, to small batch bourbons, to single barrel expressions. Saint George Spirits—a small “artisan distiller” in Alameda, California, that’s been in operation for 30 years—took a different approach when it created its Breaking & Entering bourbon whiskey.

Dubbed a “super-bourbon,” B&E is the result of blending approximately 80 different barrels of bourbons from different sources all ranging from five to eight years in age. Through what they call “barrel thieving,” Saint George selects their favorite barrels from various Kentucky distilleries, then blends them together.

The result, according to their website, is “greater than the sum of [its] parts…a criminally delicious bourbon whiskey shaped by a Kentucky pedigree and California ingenuity.” At around $40 a bottle, I figured it was worth a try.

The first striking element of B&E is its deep bronze color. Even more notable is the nose: sweet fruit and lacking in spice, it has an almost cherry cola aspect to it.

When you finally get down to the business of tasting this “super-bourbon,” you find a chewy combination of corn, moonshine, fig, oak, toast, and caramel. It’s nicely balanced and very complex. The finish is bright and clean.

While it’s different from many other bourbons being made these days, it’s a winner in my book. Dink it neat and you’ll find a sweet, complex whiskey that goes down smooth.

It pairs very well with both the Honduran puro Camacho Corojo or the multi-country blend (super-cigar?) E.P. Carrillo Short Run 2010. But I think you’d be hard-pressed to find many good cigars that don’t go well with this versatile bourbon.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Following a disturbing trend, officials in Toronto are considering measures that would criminalize smoking in certain outdoor areas of the fifth largest city in North America.

“Toronto’s board of health will launch a series of public consultations on a proposed expansion of the city’s smoking ban,” writes CTV News. “The board came to the decision after reviewing a report calling for an expansion of the city’s anti-smoking by-laws at their meeting Monday afternoon…Under the proposed expansion, smokers would be prohibited from smoking on hospital property, public fields, restaurant patios, and the entrances and exits of most city buildings.”

Before Toronto officials vote on the expansion of the city’s smoking regulations, a period of “public consultations” will be held. Shortly thereafter, in 2013, Toronto’s chief physician, Dr. David McKeown, will present the findings of the consultations to members of the city council, who will then vote on the smoking ban expansions. Some indication of the council’s leaning on this matter may be gleaned from the fact that members voted unanimously this week to launch the consultations.

Outdoor Smoking Bans on the Rise

Once thought laughable, outdoor smoking bans are quickly becoming more commonplace, rendering the harmless act of enjoying a cigar in a city park a criminal activity. When New York City banned smoking in parks, plazas (including Times Square), and beaches, it was perhaps the most notable example, but certainly not the first.

“New York follows in the footsteps of 105 municipalities (in states including California, Hawaii, Massachusetts, and New Jersey) that have banned smoking on public beaches,” wrote CNN back in 2011. “Major cities include Los Angeles, Minneapolis, and Seattle. In states including California, Texas, Illinois, Minnesota, and New Jersey, 507 municipalities impose laws that prohibit city parks, or specifically named city parks, to allow smoking. Major cities include Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City.”

More recently, London appears poised to join the ranks of cities that ban outdoor smoking.

If this trend continues, it may not be long before the only place to legally enjoy a cigar is inside your own home or on your own property. This is no time to be complacent. Anti-tobacco zealots will not rest until smoking is outlawed completely. Many thanks to those of you who have donated your time, money, and voices to the noble cause of cigar rights.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Flickr

Yesterday, my colleague reviewed the J.P.G. Little Havana Overruns Corona, a budget-priced cigar by super-blender Jose Pepin Garcia made for retailer Holt’s. Today, I look at a cigar with a similar pedigree and value-oriented price: L’Atelier Trocadéro Cambon.

L’Atelier is a new company headed by Pete Johnson of Tatuaje fame. While Tatuaje (and all of Pete’s other brands up until this summer) fall under the “Pete Johnson Havana Cellars” umbrella, L’Atelier is a new company, with a new lineup of cigars at various price points ranging from the Behike-esque L’Atelier to the value-priced Trocadéro and El Suelo.

Trocadéro’s biggest selling point is it’s price, which is around $3 per cigar when bought by the 20-count bundle, and only fifty cents or so more individually. The cigar is blended by Jaime Garcia for Pete Johnson and made at Garcia’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. It features an Ecuadorian Habano rosado wrapper, a Connecticut broadleaf binder, and Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos.

Trocadéro comes in three sizes:  Honore (5.75 x 56), Montaigne (6.25 x 60), and Cambon (5.25 x 52). I smoked three of the Cambon format for this review, each from a five-pack I purchased online for $16.

The cigar is medium-bodied with simplistic damp earth and roasted nut flavors. Towards the end, there’s some coffee and cinnamon notes, but the damp flavor holds the cigar back. Construction is excellent, and shows none of the pitfalls that $3 cigars sometimes suffer from. The burn was even, the ash stable, and the draw easy.

So is this the magical cigar that costs $3 but tastes like a cigar two or three times the price? Unfortunately not. In fact, when it comes to $3-4 budget cigars made by the Garcias, I prefer Ambos Mundos, Tatuaje Serie P, or Benchmade. Ultimately the L’Atelier Trocadéro is what it says it is: a medium-bodied, value-priced, well-made cigar that’s pleasant enough, but hardly complex or distinguished. That earns the L’Atelier Trocadéro Cambon a rating of three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This bargain basement bundle cigar from Holt’s Cigar Co. is sometimes the subject of speculation on cigar forums. Its origins offer a lot for those drawn to intrigue.

First, they’re produced by Jose “Pepin” Garcia (the J.P.G. in the title), the master blender behind quite a few of Holt’s/Ashton big name cigars, such as La Aroma de Cuba and San Cristobal. Second, the Overruns are said to be rolled “in the heart of Little Havana” where Pepin established his reputation—this despite the fact that Don Pepin’s operation moved from Miami to Doral, Florida, sometime back.) And finally, the Overruns name lends itself to the belief that the cigars are somehow related to one of Garcia’s high-priced, more famous cigars.

Sorry, but I’m not buying it.

I picked up a bundle of the 5.5-inch, 44-ring gauge Coronas for $44.95 out of curiosity. And they turned out to be about what I’d expect for such an inexpensive cigar from a quality shop. That is a well-made, relatively OK stick that tastes to me like it is composed of lower quality, less finely prepared tobaccos.

I found a little of Don Pepin’s signature pepper, but the degree of harshness is far more than you’ll experience in any of his high-quality productions. It’s the kind of cigar I would smoke but would never miss if I didn’t ever light it up again.

If you’re looking for a cigar to hand out to semi-smoking friends at poker games or on the golf course, use as a yard ‘gar, or light up as a fishing companion, this is not a bad choice. If you think you’ve discovered some Tatuajes or Blue Labels going for under $3 apiece, I think you’ll be disappointed.

This cigar rates three stogies out of five.

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

–George

photo credit: Holt’s 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.”

Recently introduced, this new Nicaraguan puro is made for 262 Cigars at Plasencia’s factory in Estelí. According to a press release, the cigar features “a wrapper from the Jalapa Valley, a double binder of both Jalapa and Estelí tobaccos, and a rare combination of Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa seco, viso, and ligero for the filler.” The resulting cigar costs about $8 and  is earthy with coffee, chocolate, and roasted flavors. It’s full-bodied and well-made.

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.”

Early this year, my colleague gave the Toro in this line a sterling four-stogie rating. The 5-inch, 50-ring gauge Robusto is right there with it. Blended by Don Pepin Garcia, this smoke has some of his familiar touches, such as spice and pepper. But it’s no one-dimensional cigar; the array of flavors and changes create a terrific smoke. El Tiante cigars aren’t available everywhere, so don’t miss the chance to try one when you get it.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys