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) Avo Uvezian is celebrating his 85th birthday with the launch of the “85th,” the tenth annual limited edition release from Avo Cigars. About 60,000 units will hit select U.S. retailers on March 21, each with an MSRP of $17.50. “The well-balanced combination of the San Vicente and piloto tobaccos enfolded by a Peruvian binder and perfected with a special sun-grown Dominican wrapper as well as the gorgeous Diademas format make it an outstanding cigar,” reads an Avo press release.

2) Paul Garmirian, Inc. is adding two new sizes to its limited edition Symphony 20th. For the first time the Virginia-based boutique cigar maker is offering a Salomones (6.9 x 57) and a Short Robusto (4.5 x 52). They carry suggested retail prices of $210 per box of 10 and $325 per box of 25, respectively.

3) E.P. Carrillo is launching two new blends in late March and early April. The first is called the “Elencos Series” and features the exact same blend as the E.P. Carrillo Edición Limitada 2010. Its three sizes will retail for $9.50-12.50 per cigar. The second, the “New Wave Connecticut Edition,” will sell for $4.50-7.

4) Inside the Industry: General Cigar has designated March 25 as Serie N Day and is hosting the industry’s first-ever national virtual cigar tasting. The grand opening of CXIII Rex is slated for April 4. Illusione has announced that four new sizes—cg4, 88, 888 & mj12—will be released with maduro wrappers in time for the IPCPR Trade Show (in addition to the existing hl maduro).

5) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews the Cain Daytona. Cigar Inspector inspects a Davidoff Special Short Perfecto. Tiki Bar Online kicks back with a Viaje WLP Candela. Cigar Fan fires up a Macanudo Maduro Vintage. Smoking Stogie smokes an Oliva Serie V No. 4. At YourCigarRatings.com, the Guillermo León Gran Corona is currently in the top 10 with a rating of 94.

6) Deal of the Week: The Corona Cigar Co. has a St. Patrick’s Day special featuring two excellent cigars: the green-labeled Toraño 1916 Robusto and the gold-labeled Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne. For $29.95, you get five of each cigar; for $50, you get 10 of each. Make your purchase here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Avo Cigars

For a website with not one, not two, but three Patricks, we just couldn’t let St. Patrick’s Day go unrecognized. It wouldn’t be right.

Today’s the day that everyone can be a Patrick (even George E), have a green beverage or three, and enjoy a fine cigar (maybe even a candela, like the one pictured). It also happens to be the first day of one of our favorite sporting events: the NCAA March Madness tournament.

We’ll be back with our regularly scheduled Friday Sampler tomorrow. In the meantime, let us know in the comments how you plan to celebrate this most Patrick of holidays and, if its not too early to divulge your bracket winner,  which team you think will be crowned the 2011 March Madness champion.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A.J. Fernandez made his mark on the industry by producing top-selling cigars for the likes of Rocky Patel, Padilla, Graycliff, Gurkha, and others. Last year he broke the mold and released his first nationally-distributed solo cigar.

The blend, San Lotano, was once a pre-Castro Cuban line. “Retired for decades, the line is being reintroduced by A.J. Fernandez, whose grandfather first started the brand in San Luis, Cuba,” reads a press release. Fernandez says that “San Lotano has been a project many years in the making for me, and it is made to honor the tradition of cigar making that I learned from my father and my father’s father.”

San Lotano is handmade at the Tabacalera Fernandez factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, which turns out nine million cigars annually. The series is available in three wrapper variations: Habano, Connecticut, and Maduro. The latter features a Mexican outer leaf, a dual binder from the Dominican Republic and Honduras, and a two-country filler blend from Honduras and Nicaragua.

With a soft box press, the Robusto (5 x 52) retails for about $6 apiece. It has the look, feel, and smell of other Mexican cigars—notably Murcielago—with a rich, sun-softened exterior and mouth-watering aromas of cocoa and earth. The cold draw is smooth and easy.

After toasting the foot and establishing an even light, a chalky profile of cayenne spice, espresso, black pepper, and sweet coffee creamer takes center stage. A bitter taste is also present, a pleasant one that reminds me of dark chocolate. The interesting sweet-versus-bitter interplay continues into the midway point, and the finale is characterized by more espresso and intensified spice.

The construction is set-it-and-forget-it kind solid. Although slightly flaky, the ash holds firm for well over an inch, and the burn line requires zero maintenance.

True, there’s much to like about the Maduro Robusto, and the price is more than fair. While it may not be as exceptional as the San Lotano Habano, which boasts impressively complex flavors and loads of body, or the Connecticut, which sports a taste of almond and subtle spice, this savory specimen is worthy of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

One hundred years is a long time in any business, particularly if the business has never left the family. That’s the case for Barclay Rex, a New York tobacco shop founded in 1910 by Vincent Nastri, a pipe maker from Salerno, Italy.

In celebration of this impressive accomplishment, the Nastri family, owner of two of the three Barclay Rex locations (and part owner of the third), asked Pete Johnson to create an exclusive Tatuaje cigar. The result, introduced November 2010, is the first in Tatuaje’s Exclusive Series.

Only 195 boxes of 25 cigars were made, each featuring a band that combines the gold trim front of the La Verite with red, white, and blue sides similar to the Tatuaje RC. I was fortunate enough to pick up the final box of this exclusive smoke over Thanksgiving weekend for $250 (or $10 per cigar).

The cigar is striking with a dark, extraordinarily oily wrapper. It features firm construction with notable details including a closed foot and a pigtail cap. Probably due to the closed foot, the first few draws are knock-you-over powerful. Were the rest of the smoke equally powerful, I don’t think I’d be able to finish it.

Fortunately, it isn’t. Still, the Barclay Rex 100th Anniversary is a powerful, full-bodied cigar. Earth dominates along with plenty of spice, espresso, and dark chocolate. Construction is excellent.

The complexity is deep and long. Near the midway point, a sweeter honey-cinnamon edge develops. Later, in the final third, a red pepper spice dominates, even as the strength falls off slightly.

It’s a wild roller coaster of a ride, and a most enjoyable one, particularly at $10 each when so many limited edition cigars go for considerably more. My only regret is not picking up more of these fine smokes when they were available.

With ample complexity, full-bodied flavor, attractive looks, and a reasonable price, it’s easy to give the Tatuaje Barclay Rex 100th Anniversary a rating of  five stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. A list of other five stogie-rated cigars can be found here.]

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

CAO will never be the same. In the five months since Swedish Match and the Scandinavian Tobacco Group merged to create a new tobacco giant, bringing CAO into the General Cigar fold, four CAO executives stepped down and the company moved from its longtime home of Nashville to Richmond.

Many industry commentators and CAO fans are speculating that these changes will translate into new cigars that bear little resemblance to those once made under the direction of Tim Ozgener. Only time will tell if they’re right. For now, there’s plenty of old CAO inventory stocked at tobacconists across the country and at retailers online—like the three Lx2 Gordos I smoked for this review.

Released at the 2008 industry trade show, the Lx2 blend (“ligero times two”) features a hearty helping of spicy ligero leaves surrounded by a Honduran binder and a sungrown Nicaraguan wrapper. The Gordo (6 x 60) is a relatively new size in the Lx2 lineup. This massive, intimidating vitola seems like a natural fit for a blend that intends to pack a powerful, spicy punch. Dark and oily with thin veins, the Gordo smells of espresso and draws effortlessly in the cold taste.

With a higher filler-to-wrapper ratio than the other Lx2 sizes (and thus with more ligero), I was expecting this cigar to be fuller bodied than, say, the Lancero. Surprisingly, though, it starts more subdued than I remember the other Lx2 vitolas to be. The profile is bready and dry with an aftertaste of black pepper and some sweet notes. The filler tobaccos, a mix of Dominican and Nicaraguan ligero leaves, take a stronger foothold into the second third of the Gordo. Here, rich coffee flavors come to the fore and the spice amplifies. Leather, and a solid nicotine kick, join the fray at the midway point.

That’s also about when the monotonous flavor starts to wear out its welcome. Sure, this is a tasty, well-made cigar with pretty good combustion properties—including a fairly straight burn and a solid gray ash. But the profile just isn’t complex or balanced enough to hold my attention for lengthy amount of time it takes to smoke this beast.

Fortunately, these days you can find the Lx2 Gordo for less than $5 apiece when bought by the box. That’s probably a fair deal for enthusiasts who like hearty, thick cigars. While I don’t see myself making that kind of investment anytime soon, I’m awarding the Gordo three stogies out of five in recognition of what it brings to the table.

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

–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.”

When I first tried this blend several years ago, I found it to be somewhat lacking in flavor. My tastes have changed—or, depending on your perspective, either developed or declined. I say that because, these days, I find myself turning to the Lot 23 Robusto time and again when I need a good coffee companion. Its mild-mannered, classic profile of cream, nut, and spice seems to pair perfectly with a hot cup of Joe in the morning or afternoon. And with solid construction and a price tag of only $4-5, this Perdomo is easy to enjoy and afford.

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.”

One of quite a few private label cigars marketed by Rocky Patel—this one for Famous Smoke Shop— the relatively inexpensive Rosado didn’t do much for me. Said to be a mix of Nicaraguan and Dominican filler with a seven-year-old Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, I found it bland from beginning to end. I won’t miss not smoking it again.

Verdict = Sell.

–George E