The Stogie Guys

I don’t like to be a complainer. I have way too much to be thankful for than to spend my time griping about this and whining about that. As a writer, reader, and lover of cigars, though, I recognize that sometimes grievances need to be aired. Today is one of those times.

In a previous listing of my top cigar pet peeves, I noted that while I consider cigars to be one of the great joys of my life, there are a number of cigar-related problems that continually irk me. Some are trivial, others not so much. In any event, I list a handful of them here:

Cigars with a Poor Draw

The more cigars I enjoy, the more I realize that I’m an enthusiast who wants the smoke to come free and easy. There’s nothing like a great-tasting stick that smokes like a chimney, emitting bountiful tufts of flavorful, aromatic smoke. I have a low tolerance for cigars that are tight, or cigars that draw inconsistently from stick to stick. A straight burn and a solid ash are important to construction, but these days I’m all about the draw.

The Government

The biggest threats to the cigar industry are the meddling politicians in Washington and in state capitals across the country. Tobacco taxes, smoking bans, and the potential of stifling regulations from the FDA all spell trouble for cigar companies, those who depend on cigar jobs at home and abroad, tobacco shops, and every cigar smoker. I believe many of the best cigars that have ever been made are in production today. Yet our so-called “leaders” are doing everything they can to make cigars too expensive, make smoke-friendly establishments illegal, make limited edition blends impossible to roll out, and make boutique manufacturers a thing of the past.

Shops with Bad Customer Service

Is it too much to ask for a tobacconist to have a basic understanding of his inventory? Or to be attentive to his customer’s needs? Or to act like he actually appreciates your business? Even though many B&Ms are average to excellent in terms of customer service, that still leaves far too many with a lot of room for improvement. It’s crummy to have a bad experience in a shop, especially when you can probably buy the same cigars online for a fraction of the price.

Guys Who Only Smoke Cubans

Every so often I run into a guy who says he only smokes Cubans. I can’t understand this. While Cuba produces some fine cigars, I continue to encounter inconsistency issues with many Cuban smokes, and the prices are often too high for what you get in return. Meanwhile, countries like Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic are turning out awesome blends and leading the industry in quality control. This guy may think he’s better than everyone else, but he’s missing out on the best tobacco in the world.

So those are my gripes for today. Feel free to share your feedback, or your own cigar pet peeves, in the comments below. It’s Wednesday, and today is a good day to complain.

–Patrick A

photo credit: N/A

Back when I first smoked a My Uzi Weighs a Ton I noted that while I found it to be a “nice smoke,” I thought “maybe a smaller ring gauge would better fit my palate.” Back then My Uzi came only in three sizes, all with a 60 ring gauge (5, 6, and 7 inches long).

Since, the team at Drew Estate Subculture Studios and Joya de Nicaragua has obliged with the Bait Fish size. Since late last year, the Bait Fish (4 x 44) was exclusive to online-only New Havana Cigars, but in May it was announced that the line would be going national. And if the sample I smoked during my visit to Nicaragua is any indication, another more traditionally-sized MUWAT is on the way soon (toro-sized, if I recall).

A quick refresher: The Uzi is made at the Joya de Nicaragua factory with leaf mostly from Drew Estate, including a San Andreas maduro wrapper, Connecticut capote binder, and Brazillian mata fina filler, along with Nicaraguan filler from Joya de Nicaragua’s tobacco stocks. It’s rolled at Joya de Nicaragua but was blended by Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate.

The original lines came in brown paper-wrapped 10-pack “bundles” and sold for $8-10 a smoke. The Bait Fish comes in a handy pocket-size five-pack and sells for about $6 per stick. According to New Havana’s site, the blend was tweaked with more ligero to create a blend they call the “EF” for extra fuerte (extra strong).

The cigar’s wrapper is a bit darker and more oily than I remember the original Uzis being. The cigar is well-constructed, firm to the touch, and it produces an easy burn and solid ash.

The Uzi Bait Fish is full-bodied, much more so than the original. It features loads of earth, oak, black coffee, and a bit of milk chocolate, creating a complex, full-flavored smoke.

I certainly like the Bait Fish more than the original Uzi, but I’m kind of curious why. Is it the tweaked (ligero-heavy) blend or the effect of the small size? I, for one, would still like to see a smaller (non-60 ring gauge) version of the original blend, if for no other reason than to see how it compares to the Bait Fish. Still, this is the type of cigar that appeals to me. Focused, intense, flavorful, and well-made. It’s enough to earn Drew Estate’s My Uzi Weighs a Ton Bait Fish a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This new cigar line is made by Oliva for Famous Smoke Shop and highly touted for strength. It’s also getting a public relations push, with samples being sent out by Famous for reviews, which is how I came to smoke these.

“Vindicator by Oliva cigars are an all-Nicaraguan blend of triple-fermented ligero and viso long-fillers in Habano-seed binders and wrappers,” reads the Famous website. “The smoke is full strength and impressively bold up front. Settling into the medium-plus range of body, they become almost deceptively smooth, with dark tobacco flavors balanced by a light sweetness.”

The Robusto (5 x 50) is a nice looking cigar, though the band strikes me as a little cheesy, like something you’d find drawn by a junior high school student on his notebook.

I didn’t detect much aroma from the Habano wrapper or from the foot before lighting. The performance of those I sampled was fine, with an even, steady burn, a strong ash, and good smoke production.

If I hadn’t known in advance, though, I would not have guessed Oliva as the manufacturer. The Vindicator had a harshness and a sharp edge I don’t associate with Oliva cigars. It also lacked the depth of flavor typically found in Oliva’s best.

The Vindicator line comes in two other sizes, a Toro (6 x 50) and a Churchill (7 x 50). Prices for the Robusto range from $5 for a single to $3 each in a box of 20.

The Vindicator is not a bad smoke. It just isn’t a really good one, either. If you’re the sort of cigar smoker who runs through several sticks a day, you might find an occasional spot for this one. Or if you want something while you’re working in the yard or garage, this could be worth a try.

I give it three stogies out of five.

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

–George E

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.”

I first reviewed the Artesanos Retro Especiale Club back in October, only a month after the cigar hit the market. While I liked it then, I remember finding the initial profile a little too salty and some stale notes that occasionally interrupted an otherwise nice flavor of peanut, cedar, cream, black coffee, and citrus. I’m pleased to report several months of age have improved this cigar significantly. Gone is the overt saltiness, and the stale notes are nowhere to be found. What’s left is a cigar that burns perfectly, draws nicely, and has a balanced, nuanced taste and aroma. Purchasing a 25-count box for $175 is a solid investment that will pay dividends after only minimal age.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

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.”

Viaje limited releases usually sell out quickly, so when these went on sale in May I snapped up a five-pack for just under $9 per cigar. Even though I’ve mostly had positive experiences with Viaje, the box of 35 was too many cigars to buy without trying any first. This Nicaraguan puro (6 x 48) features a pigtail cap and an oily, reddish-brown wrapper. The profile has lots of leather and wood, but also a more subtle cafe-au-lait sweetness. It starts out full-bodied but settles into a nice medium-full smoke after the first third. With tasty flavors and excellent construction, it’s a cigar I’m glad I bought.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

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) S. 1461, the U.S. Senate bill that would protect premium cigars from disastrous FDA regulations, is now up to 12 cosponsors as Kelly Ayotte (R-NH, pictured) signed on this week. Meanwhile, H.R. 1639, the sister bill to S. 1461 in the House of Representatives, now has 203 cosponsors, according to the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR). Fifteen more cosponsors would result in a majority in the House. It bears repeating that FDA regulation of premium cigars would be devastating, particularly to boutique brands and new blends. If your Representative or Senators have not yet cosponsored their respective bills, please contact them and urge them to do so. And thank you for your continued vigilance.

2) The Michigan Senate recently approved a bill that would install a 50-cent tax cap on cigars. Currently, Michigan taxes cigars at 32% of the wholesale price. The IPCPR expects the State House to consider this bill when lawmakers return from their summer recess.

3) Inside the Industry: The IPCPR Trade Show is less than two months away, and the show floor plan is online (pdf). Notable is that Cigar Rights of America’s (CRA) booth is right in the front by the IPCPR’s own booth for its political action committee. This is a big difference from last year when, either intentionally or unintentionally, the CRA booth was way in the back, and it’s a good sign of cooperation between two important groups that work to safeguard the rights of cigar smokers.

4) Around the Blogs: Cigar Fan fires up a La Tradicion Cubana Chulo. Cigar Explorer explores the EloGio Serie Habano. Stogie Review reviews an Ortega Serie D Natural. Cigar Brief smokes the Chateau Real. Cigar Inspector inspects a Hoyo de Monterrey Short Hoyo Pyramides LE 2011.

5) Deal of the Week: Having trouble finding the new Tatuaje Little Monsters sampler? Corona Cigar has them available for pre-order with the cigars due to be shipped out later this month. While you’re there, check out the new CRA Sampler featuring ten exclusive cigars from some of the most sought-after lines (and you also get a one-year membership in CRA).

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Wikipedia

No, the title of this article isn’t a reference to some Freudian concept. After all, Freud also said that “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” Instead, I want to explore the way ring gauge size (in other words, a cigar’s thickness) impacts a cigar’s flavors.

The size of a cigar affects many things for sure, and not just the time it takes a cigar to burn. There are two main reasons why, as a general rule of thumb, smaller sized cigars (of the same blend) are more flavorful than their larger counterparts, even though many people seem to believe that a larger cigar will produce more and stronger flavors.

Wrapper/Filler Ratio

The most obvious difference between a smaller ring gauge cigar and a larger one is the amount of filler. Even though the smaller cigar will also use slightly less wrapper, as a little math shows, when the cigar gets fatter, the amount of filler gets (literally) exponentially larger.

Take a 60 ring gauge cigar versus a 40 ring gauge smoke. Using some basic middle school geometry, you can see that while about 50% more wrapper is required to go around the 60 ring gauge cigar, it will also use roughly 125% more filler. (I’ve posted the full table of wrapper and filler for common ring gauges in the comments of this article.)

Because wrapper tobacco is generally the most flavorful (and always the most expensive) component, the smaller cigar will impart more wrapper flavor.

Higher Burn Temperature

The second, possibly more important, and certainly more often overlooked reason that smaller ring gauge cigars are fuller flavored is that they tend to burn hotter and more quickly. If you think about a cigar as a straw through which air is pulled, this makes plenty of sense.

Cigar smokers generally take similarly sized draws no matter the thickness of the cigar. This means that air is drawn through the foot of a smaller cigar at a faster rate than through a larger cigar, creating more air flow, more oxygen, and a higher combustion temperature.

Drew Estate President, and encyclopedia of cigar knowledge, Steve Saka estimates the difference in temperature can be 10 degrees or possibly more between a smaller (40 or 42 ring gauge) cigar and a larger one. That’s a significant difference that effects the flavor and creates a stronger and fuller smoke.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys