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.”

Named after Pete Johnson’s middle name, Hassell is one of the exclusive blends that came in the initial welcome pack for Saints & Sinners, an online club for Tatuaje fans that includes access to some rare blends. Hassell takes the binder and filler from the 2008 L’Esprit de Vérité (100% Habano criollo tobacco from Pepin’s La Estrella farm in Nicaragua). But instead of the same criollo wrapper, Hassell uses a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. The result of the change is a cigar that’s very distinct from the 2008 L’Esprit de Vérité. The broadleaf wrapper adds earth and chocolate notes to oak, cedar, and dry spice. It’s a tasty, well-constructed blend worth smoking if you ever have the chance.

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 there’s ever an oily-wrapper contest, enter this cigar. The Nicaraguan corojo Habano wrapper glistens so well that you might be afraid it will slide through your fingers. Unfortunately, I didn’t find the rest of this Kristoff offering nearly as enchanting. The touted spice barely made an appearance, and a wavering burn required numerous touch-ups. While by no means a bad cigar, there wasn’t enough complexity or subtleness for a smoke this long to hold my interest.

Verdict = Hold.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

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) Oklahoma currently outlaws smoking in most indoor workplaces unless there is a separate air ventilation system. Exceptions to this regulation include bars, private clubs, and tobacco shops. But anti-tobacco zealots in the Sooner State are pressing for more restrictions on private business owners and consenting adults, pressing for a law that would enable cities within the state to pass stricter smoking laws than those already imposed by the state. A bill that would have accomplished just that passed the House but has since been killed by Senator Brian Crain, who chairs the Health and Human Services Committee. He told an Oklahoma news outlet that he’s “concerned we’re slowly taking away the rights of smokers.”

2) The spring launch of Lit Lifestyle for Women, which bills itself as “the first independent magazine whose editorial is proudly focused on the interests of the New Aficionada,” can be seen at Joomag. Features range from a spread on cigar smoking in London, a Q&A with athlete Milani Malik, and an article on the influences and style of Cuban culture.

3) The latest winner at StogieGuys.com is Scott M. from Rancho Santa Margarita, south of Los Angeles. Scott, 48, has been smoking cigars for about three years. He does most of his herfing on his backyard patio, enjoying that great Southern California weather and such favorites as the CAO La Traviata and My Father Le Bijou 1922. Scott’s email was chosen at random from among the entrants in our recent contest encouraging purchases at B&Ms. He’ll receive a five-pack of Di Fazio Picoso Torpedos. Stay tuned for our next giveaway.

4) Inside the Industry: Rocky Patel has announced the “re-release” of the Decade Limited Edition 2012. Camacho is now packaging its Corojo and Connecticut lines in handsome four-pack boxes. The Señor Solomon Cigar Company recently announced an industry first, a certified Kosher cigar, made by Kiki Berger.

5) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews the Fugitive. Cigar Explorer explores the Tatuaje Mini Mum. Cigar Brief smokes the Avo LE 2012 La Trompeta. Cigar Obsession looks at the Alec Bradley American Classic. Cigar Inspector inspects a La Aurora Sublimes.

6) Deal of the Week: This “King of the Jungle” sampler scores you 10 robustos for just $2.50 a stick. You get five La Aurora 107s and five Red Lions by Heavenly Cigars.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr

Recently, Empire Cigars in Raleigh, North Carolina, held an auction for some rare, old, non-Cuban cigars. Billed as “the Holy Grail” of cigar auctions, it got me thinking about what smokes were my “Holy Grail cigars.”

Frankly, many of the cigars available in Empire’s auction were cigars that I don’t think necessarily benefit from more age. (High-end Fuente-made smokes like the Opus X, Añejo, and Ashton VSG often lose flavor after a few years, in my opinion, because the tobacco is already extensively aged.) But that doesn’t mean there aren’t old, hard-to-find cigars that I wouldn’t snap up in a second.

I’ve had the privilege of smoking hundreds (probably thousands) of different blends, from cheap bundles to pre-embargo Cubans over half a century old. Still, there are plenty of cigars I’d still like to try.

A quick list of my “Holy Grail” cigars would have to include these four cigars, two of which I’ve smoked before and two of which I haven’t ever come across (at least not at a price I could justify purchasing them at):

Cuban Davidoffs – Until they pulled out of Cuba in 1991 because of sub-standard tobacco (which Zino Davidoff symbolically burned to show that it wasn’t up to his standards), Davidoff Cubans were the perfect combination of capitalist production standards and the ideal climate of Cuban tobacco. Ironically, my father, who isn’t much of a cigar smoker, tells me he used to come across, and occasionally enjoy, a Cuban Davidoff cigar regularly in the 80s and early 90s while in Europe. I always wished he had picked up a few extra cigars for me (though I was quite a few years from cigar smoking at that point) since early and mid-80s Cuban Davidoffs were considered some of the finest cigars ever made.

Pepin-made Padilla 1932 – The current version of the Padilla 1932 is a good cigar, but the original 1932 was one that made me appreciate just how complex, balanced, and exquisite a cigar really could be. In 2008 Pepin stopped making cigars for Padilla, but for a while I could still find Pepin-made Padillas, which had a different band from the post-Pepin variety. I still regret not having scooped up more than I did.

Tatuaje Black Corona Gordo “Ceramic Jar” – Here’s another cigar I wish I had scooped up when I had the chance. Only 1,000 jars of 19 were made. From the dozen or so I have smoked, no other Tatuaje quite compares (high praise when you look at all the high ratings Tatuaje has received). I’ve smoked nearly all of the Tatuaje Blacks, including those exclusive to the Saints & Sinners package, and while all are excellent, none have the perfect balance, sweetness, and smooth flavor of the Ceramic Jar.

Pre-Sandinista Joya de Nicaragua – After the Cuban embargo, Joya de Nicaragua was widely considered to be one of the finest cigars legally available in the U.S. Then, in the late 1970s, all that was destroyed when the Sandinista regime took over. Today, Joya de Nicaragua makes some tasty cigars, but none that compare to what I’ve heard about the original Joya de Nicaraguas, which were the inspiration for Illusione.

So those are my “Holy Grail” cigars. Let us know yours in the comments.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Fans of Abe Flores and his highly acclaimed boutique cigar outfit, Pinar del Rio, were excited in January when it was announced that Flores would be introducing a new line.

That line, Small Batch Reserve, was due out some time ago, but it is only now hitting tobacconist shelves. And while you won’t find any information about the cigar on the PDR website, the online cigar community has been abuzz, and PDR’s Facebook page is starting to rack up wall posts about the line.

As it has been documented thus far, Small Batch Reserve employs the entubar bunching technique to combine corojo-seed viso, seco, and ligero tobaccos from Estelí and the Dominican Republic as the filler. The binder is a Dominican criollo ’98 leaf. Three sizes are available: Gran Toro (6 x 54), Robusto (5 x 52), and Torpedo (6.5 x 52). Each comes in two different wrapper varieties. The first is Maduro, which features a dark Brazilian ligero leaf. The second is Habano, which sports an oily, reddish Brazilian Habano leaf.

I sampled several Gran Toro Habanos for this review. Each came complete with a beautiful cap, a silky wrapper with a roadmap of thin veins, and a tight cross-section of tobaccos at the foot. The faint pre-light aroma smelled of milk chocolate and caramel, and the cold draw was easy with hardly any spice on the lips.

After setting an even light with a few wooden matches, flavors of sweet wood, coriander, and just a touch of leather emerge. I often find that leather, when present, can be the dominant taste, many times to a fault. But this profile relegates leather to a secondary, complimentary role, which contributes balance and allows the other flavors to shine.

As the slow-burning cigar enters the midway point, notes of chocolate and cream join in to add depth. All the while, the interplay between sweetness and spice and leather and cream makes for an enjoyable experience. Even though I would characterize the body as decidedly medium, the strength of the cigar—specifically the nicotine kick—is more intense, particularly as a few meaty notes come in the final third.

The Gran Toro Habano sells for $6 to $8, depending on if you buy a single cigar or a 24-count box (I hear the boxes are ribbon-tied and gorgeous). That’s a fair price, especially since the construction qualities are excellent. I think Pinar del Rio fans will be pleased with this new addition to the brand’s portfolio, and I look forward to trying the Maduro in the near future. For now, the Small Batch Reserve Habano Gran Toro is worthy of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

The First Amendment of the Constitution guarantees “the right of the people…to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” Cigar smokers are now utilizing an online site set up by the White House to do just that and, if enough people sign, they’ll get an official response from the Obama Administration. The petition, which can be found here, asks the president to instruct the Food & Drug Administration not to regulate cigars. It reads:

“The FDA is considering the creation of regulations for the premium cigar industry. These regulations will jeopardize over 85,000 American jobs, destroy America’s “mom & pop” premium cigar retailers & manufacturers, and risk over 250,000 jobs in Latin America that produce cigars, impacting the economic/political stability in the region. We hope you will stand up for small businesses that dot Main Street America & recognize that premium cigars are enjoyed by adults, are not addictive, and therefore do not conform to the Congressional intent of the Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act. Tell the FDA to leave our premium cigars alone. With this nation’s more pressing issues, harming my simple ability to enjoy a cigar should not be a priority of the government.”

Ever since June 2009 when President Obama signed the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act,” handmade cigars have been a potential target of the FDA. That bill instructed the FDA to regulate cigarettes but left the agency with the unilateral power to expand its jurisdiction to include premium handmade cigars. And only a year after the signing of the bill, the FDA took the first step towards regulating cigars by asking for comments on a proposed rule on implementing regulations.

The petition will need to collect 25,000 signatures in 30 days to get an official response. So far, since it was launched 6 days ago, the petition has over 12,000 signatures, leaving until May 11 to collect an additional 12,900 signatures.

Ultimately, given that Obama was a supporter of the FDA bill as a senator and later signed the bill into law as president, it’s unlikely that he’ll come out and announce that the FDA will no longer consider regulating cigars. Still, getting an official response from the Obama Administration can be a good thing, putting the president on record and drawing attention to all the jobs that would be destroyed by the FDA regulation of cigars. A response may even lead to more attention to the “Traditional Cigar Manufacturing and Small Business Jobs Preservation Act,” the joint name for two bills in Congress that would protect handmade cigars from the FDA once and for all.

If you haven’t already, sign here.

–Patrick S

photo credit: FDA

In this segment of Random Thoughts from the Humidor, I look at a rousing success, a continuing failure, and the burning of something other than tobacco.

A True Cigar King

First, some good news. In a recent essay in The Tampa Tribune, King Corona Cigars owner Don Barco explored the comeback in the city’s one-time cigar manufacturing hub, Ybor City. For cigar lovers, the most telling parts came when Barco talked about recent trends at his restaurant/bar/café/cigar shop situated on East Seventh Avenue, the district’s main drag. Barco wrote that 2010 was his best since opening 14 years ago, even better than during the ’90s boom. Then, 2011 beat it in sales, “and as the year ended we had our best week of business since the Super Bowl of 2009.” I’ve never met Barco, but I’m sure I’d enjoy having a cigar with him. His shop is my favorite place to enjoy a smoke in Ybor, and StogieGuys.com has sung the praises of one of his house brands, Ybor City Handmades. It’s great to salute a cigar success.

Cuba: Good and Bad

Last year Cigar Aficionado published a colorful report of Havana’s top tourist spots. For a view of life on the island for those who live there, check the March 24-30 issue of The Economist. Its 10-page report has such startling revelations as the fact that while state farms hold 75% of Cuba’s agricultural land, 45% of it was idle and weed-choked as of 2007; the post office sells email access for $1.50 a minute; and Cuba is the only Latin American country with a declining population, a population whose percentage of those under 15 and those over 60 is about equal.

Where There’s This Smoke, There’s Definitely Fire

If you’re involved in fighting smoking restrictions, you can likely find some interesting facts in an InvestigateWest report on the health dangers of wood smoke. For example, Washington state’s “Ecology Department estimates that sooty pollution from sources including wood smoke and diesel exhaust contributes to 1,100 deaths and $190 million in health costs annually.” And among the hazardous chemicals released by burning wood are the carcinogen benzene and carbon monoxide, linked to heart damage. But not a lot is being done because of the high costs and potential punitive impact on poor people who rely on wood for heat. My point isn’t to argue for more restrictions. I think this kind of information can be used to point out to lawmakers that there are many risks and to question whether it’s fair to focus on tobacco simply because it’s an easy target. If air quality is such a vital concern, shouldn’t it be dealt with in a comprehensive fashion? It might well be asked, when do they plan to take action on fireplaces and wood stoves?

–George E

photo credit: Flickr