The Stogie Guys

A couple times each week 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 5.5-inch, 54-ring gauge cigar ($9) is made at the TABSA factory in Nicaragua with 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos. (The blend reportedly differs from the original Viaje Exclusivo, which was made at Raices Cubanas in Honduras, although exactly how is unclear.) The cigar is well-constructed with a reddish-brown wrapper with a little sheen. Medium- to full-bodied flavors include black coffee, leather, and light char with oak and pepper spice. It’s a tasty, well-made cigar.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A couple times each week we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Regular StogieGuys.com readers know I’m a long-time fan of Aging Room cigars. As such, I approach any new release from Rafael Nodal and company with high expectations. Pura Cepa, released this year, is a Nicaraguan puro that begins with sweetness rather than the more-common pepper, which is present in the background. As the toro-sized Mezzo (6 x 54) progresses, the pepper moves forward at some points, and I also get spice and notes of coffee and wood, all smoothly blended for a satisfying smoke. Burn, draw, and smoke production are excellent. All in all, Pura Cepa is another winner from Aging Room.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Quai d’Orsay occupies a unique little corner in the landscape of post-nationalized Cuban cigar offerings. The line is named for the street that runs along the left bank of the Seine in Paris, where both the French Foreign Ministry and the headquarters of former state-owned tobacco monopoly SEITA are located.

Quai d’Orsay was created to appeal to French tastes, which was believed to favor milder cigars. The line was reportedly created by Cubatabaco in 1973 at the request of SEITA. SEITA managed the brand outside of the purview of Cuban cigar distribution company Habanos S.A., until SEITA merged with Spanish tobacco company Altadis, which later purchased a 50% stake in Habanos.

The brand has featured a resurgence in recent years. After years of neglect, Habanos revamped the line and elevated it from a purely regional brand to a global one. (It doesn’t hurt that, unlike so many other brands, there isn’t a competing non-Cuban version in the U.S. market, which means it wouldn’t face the same trademark hurdles if the Cuban trade embargo is ever completely lifted.)

Given the historical connection, it’s no surprise when Quai d’Orsay is featured as a regional exclusive for the French market. In 2016, another RE was released called Secreto (4.3 x 40). The three small coronas I sampled featured golden brown wrappers and were slightly spongy to the touch.

Pre-light notes included bread and cedar. Once lit, the cigar quickly shows off notes of hay, cedar, and white pepper. The profile is mild- to medium-bodied and evolves to include hints of cumin, pine, sourdough bread, and light roast coffee.

Secreto exhibited excellent combustion, with a perfectly even draw and a sturdy black and gray ash. At around $8 per cigar, and packaged in boxes of ten, it’s one of the more affordable Cuban cigars our there.

I’ll admit this cigar surprised me, in a good way. Despite its small size, it provided nearly an hour of enjoyable, interesting, complex flavors. That earns the Quai d’Orsay Secreto Cubano Exclusivo Francia RE 2016 a rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Caldwell Cigar Co. was launched in 2014 by Robert Caldwell with a lineup of Dominican blends. The company seemingly came out of nowhere; its cigars debuted only about eight months after Caldwell walked away from Wynwood Cigars, a co-venture with Christian Eiroa, formerly of Camacho. Most people will tell you eight months isn’t nearly enough time to create and execute a vision for a new brand, but Robert Caldwell isn’t most people.

Long Live the King was one of Caldwell’s original lines. It sports a Dominican Corojo wrapper and binder, along with filler tobaccos from Nicaragua (Habana Ligero) and Peru (Pelo de Oro). It is marketed as a full-bodied, small-batch cigar made from grade-A tobaccos.

Two years later, in 2016, Caldwell released an offshoot of Long Live the King called Savages. This limited-edition line is said to be “creamier and nuttier” than its predecessor. It employs a Habano wrapper, Dominican binder, and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.

There are five Savages vitolas, each packaged in 10-count boxes: Corona Larga (8 x 45), Piramide (6 x 50), Super Rothschild (4.75 x 52), Toro (6 x 54), and Corona Extra (6 x 46). The latter retails for about $11. It makes a strong first impression with a flattened pigtail cap, pre-light notes of sweet hay and earth, and interesting double bands of cream, gold, and silver (Caldwell deserves credit for its marketing and graphics). The oily exterior leaf has thin veins and a chameleon-like color that seems to change in the light from light brown to reddish to dark brown.

The Corona Extra is consistently dense from head to foot. Consequently, the cold draw has a bit more resistance than I would like. It isn’t, however, what I would call tight.

Once an even light is established, the draw opens almost instantly. What follows is a bready, medium-bodied profile of white pepper, cocoa powder, oak, and soft cayenne heat. There’s also a damp mustiness that reminds me of cigars from Davidoff or PG.

Around the midway point, the draw opens once again. Here, it’s virtually effortless and the smoke production is voluminous. The result is a taste that’s simultaneously more intense and creamier. Individual flavors include peanut and coffee with milk and sugar.

The damp mustiness—a note that’s more delicious than it looks on paper—remains a central feature until the end. The final third is decidedly more chocolaty, however.

Throughout, the physical properties include a solid ash and a burn line that, while imperfect, does not seriously hinder the enjoyment of the wonderful flavors. A couple torch touch-ups are enough to keep things on track.

Perhaps the defining characteristic of the Savages Corona Extra is its rich, balanced complexity—as well as the density of the oily smoke, and the damp, earthy, mushroom-like mustiness. This is, by far, the best cigar I’ve had from Caldwell. It’s worthy of an excellent rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A couple times each week 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 has been resting in my humidor for more than a few years. The 7 inch by 38 ring gauge lancero features excellent construction. The Brazilian Mata Fina wrapper surrounds Honduran binder and filler from Colombia and Nicaragua. Flavors include rich earth, dark chocolate, light wood spice and cafe-au-lait. The medium-bodied cigar is a well-balanced, highly enjoyable smoke.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A couple times each week we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

The CroMagnon line from RoMa Craft Tobac sports a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper around a Cameroon binder with Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. The petite salomon-sized Venus (6.5 x 56) retails for about $11 and sports a full-bodied profile with flavors ranging from black pepper and espresso to peanut and dark chocolate. Attentive smokers will also notice hickory, cream, and char, as well as subtle differences in taste as the perfecto’s ring gauge widens then narrows. The texture is leathery and the outstanding combustion properties live up to the high expectations set by the Fabrica de Tabacos NicaSueño S.A. factory in Estelí. You should buy this cigar. You should smoke this cigar.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Last month my colleague wrote an article that (among other things) sought input on what cigars our readers would like to see us review. I was somewhat surprised by one comment that noted we’ve only reviewed two blends from Curivari’s many offerings.

I’ve long appreciated Curivari’s offerings for the value they provide and, frankly, I expected that in our hundreds of reviews we would have visited the Curivari line more than just twice. But apparently we haven’t. So today we look at another Curivari blend: the Curivari Seleccion Privada Coronation.

Curivari Seleccion Privada Coronation comes in three formats: a lonsdale called Cazadores (6.1 x 44), a Petite Corona (4.4 x 42), and a Corona (5.1 x 44). I smoked three of the latter vitola for this review. Each of the sizes comes in boxes of ten (I wish more cigars were sold this way), which can be found for just $40-50 if you shop around.

The Curivari Seleccion Privada Coronation isn’t listed on the dated Curivari website, but apparently the difference between the Coronation blend and the regular Curivari Seleccion Privada blend is the wrapper and size. The standard blend is frequently cited as using a Habano wrapper and it comes in sizes that are 50 ring gauge or wider, while the Coronation employs a Corojo wrapper and comes in the aforementioned thin sizes. Both blends, like most of the Curivari offerings, are Nicaraguan puros.

The Curivari Seleccion Privada Coronation Corona features pre-light notes of oat bread, hay, and cardamom. Once lit, notes of leather, tannins, and toast dominate the medium-bodied smoke. As it progresses, more cedar, black coffee, and cinnamon spice develop. The finish is long and woodsy.

The band looks like a Cuban Partagas from a distance and, while the cigar won’t be mistaken for Cuban Partagas when smoked, it does have a Cuban-esque element. Construction is excellent with an easy draw and sturdy ash.

Like the Curivari Buenaventura, this is a cigar that offers a lot of flavor for the price (both can be found for around $4 per cigar). With complex flavors and excellent construction, the Curivari Seleccion Privada Coronation Corona earns a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys