The Stogie Guys

I’ve never explicitly put it this way before but, for me, a good cigar is definitely a panacea: a virtual cure-all. I’m guessing many of you would share that sentiment. And there’s no denying that Paul Bush, owner of the Flatbed Cigar Co., would agree that premium tobacco can be a remedy for ills or difficulties.

That passion inspired Paul to found Flatbed, which released its first cigar—the Panacea Black—to mid-Atlantic retailers in October 2007. “Selling from the trunk of my car, I enjoyed the company of hundreds of cigar enthusiasts, shop owners, and patrons alike, as I made my way from DC to Boston,” he wrote in Stogie Fresh’s Cigar Journal. “Panacea is now in 42 stores and growing steadily.”

Although Flatbed distributes out of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, the company’s operations center on its factory in the Dominican Republic. There, experienced rollers turn out two different Panacea blends, both of which include Dominican binders and filler composed of Cuban-seed seco, ligero, olor Dominicano, and Nicaraguan tobaccos.

The Natural line is finished with a clean, nearly flawless Connecticut Ecuadorian wrapper that features a bumpy terrain and a soft touch from head to foot. I smoked two Toros (6 x 50) for this review. Both took a clean cut and produced a pre-light nose of sweet hay and dry foliage.

The initial taste, which shines through in the voluminous smoke, exhibits traits similar to other Connecticut-wrapped smokes—cream, butter, nuts, and paper. But there’s more going on here. A tiny hint of what I’d call nutmeg spice, for example, keeps the flavor plenty interesting.

Not much changes in the well-balanced profile from beginning to end, save for a slight increase in spice down the home stretch. That isn’t necessarily a criticism, though; I enjoyed the Toro for its crisp consistency.

Adding to this cigar’s value are superb combustion qualities, including a razor-sharp burn, a clear draw, and a sturdy gray ash.

That’s why, when it’s all said and done, I can heartily recommend the Panacea Black Natural Toro as a great morning to mid-afternoon selection for everyday smoking. Keep your eyes open for this vitola in B&Ms in the eastern half of the country, or buy a four-pack from Flatbed’s online shop for $24. While this cigar may not cure all of life’s problems, its smooth taste and great construction earns it three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

When I think of things that are barrel aged I think of wine, bourbon, beer, and rum. But, thanks to José Blanco and the oldest cigar company in the Dominican Republic, now I think of stogies too. And for that I am grateful.

This blend, which debuted in August 2007 at the IPCPR Trade Show, features tobacco aged in oak barrels that were once home to Dominican rum. The process doesn’t necessarily infuse the leaves with a rum taste; rather, it speeds up the fermentation process. And while this idea isn’t new to the people over at La Aurora, the Barrel Aged blend is the first cigar they’ve made with 100 percent barrel aged tobacco.

They seem to have found a winning concept. The Belicoso (6.25 x 52), one of four vitolas in the line, was named the 14th best cigar of 2008 by Cigar Aficionado. The magazine imparted a rating of 92, writing the stick is “one of the company’s top cigars since its landmark 100 Años.”

With a dark, russet-colored corojo wrapper and a pre-light aroma of sweet chocolate and nuts, this cigar is downright appealing right out of the cellophane. The oily texture and hardened veins impart a feeling of age, even though the tobacco is likely only a few years old at this point.

The initial flavor is spicy with dominant hints of coffee beans, clove, and that straightforward tobacco taste that’s typical of corojo tobacco. The Dominican and Nicaraguan binder and filler leaves produce plenty of complexity yet zero harshness.

Sweet, woody, earthy…there’s a lot going on here. A touch of bite on the finish joins in the fray down the home stretch, and there it remains until you’re forced to set the nub down for good.

Fortunately, the physical properties mostly live up to this cigar’s $6.50-9 price tag. The draw is easy and smooth and the white, finely layered ash holds strong until tapped. I only wish the burn didn’t require as many touch-ups to stay even.

That aside, this is an outstanding choice for someone who enjoys the raw taste of a well-balanced, nicely constructed cigar. I applaud José Blanco and his colleagues for experimenting with the barrel aged concept. And I give the La Aurora Barrel Aged Belicoso a solid rating of four stogies out of five.

[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 take on a single cigar.

While I originaly reviewed this little fireplug of flavor last November, I recently found myself smoking another with a good cup of coffee on a warm, sunny day. The wrapper seems to have gotten even more oily in those six months. The smoke was a pleasing mix of chocolate, earth, nut, and some cedary spice—similar but not exactly as I had remembered it. With that flavor and no construction issues, I can continue to heartily recommend this cigar for an abundance of flavors when you’re short on time.

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 take on a single cigar. The following is a Guest Quick Smoke, submitted by a StogieGuys.com reader. If you’d like to submit your own for publication, please contact us.

This long stick (6.1 x 42) is quite the trickster. I was tempted to give this a “sell” rating despite its $5 price tag—something I expected out of a cigar from 2000 when Cuba experienced quality control issues. The first half included notes of hay and nothingness. The second half, however, was well worth the wait with lush buttery tones and a period of intense floral flavors. The final quarter brought forward some typical Cuban spice and the very end features an intense salty taste. Although this vitola was discontinued in 2002, many dealers have backlogs from this period, on which they still charge standard prices because of the inherent construction risks. If you’re lucky enough to avoid plugs and uneven burns, the cigar is well worth the $5.

Verdict = Buy.

–Submitted by Chris Verhoeven of Hilton Head, SC

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and informative as possible, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Ron White, famous for his part in the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, may face charges in North Dakota for smoking a cigar onstage. A nosy Bismark resident reportedly informed police that White was violating the state’s smoking ban during one of his standup routines. No charges have yet been filed against the cigar- and scotch-toting comedian.

2) If you haven’t done so already, please sign up for StogieGuys.com’s new email newsletter. This free service is a great way to get exclusive content like aging reports, cigar rankings, tips, and more. Best of all, we’re giving away some amazing cigar prizes just for signing up.

3) Thanks to the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the highest profile member of the Smoke-Free Texas coalition, the Lone Star State may be closer than ever to a statewide smoking ban. All that stands in the way of a pivotal vote is State Sen. Jane Nelson, chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. She pledged her support for the ban in February and, when asked why she hasn’t allowed a vote to date, vaguely said she has “an agreement” with her colleague who is sponsoring the legislation.

4) Inside the Industry: Cigar Expo was destined to a good time with tons of cigars, superstar cigar makers in attendance, and plenty of food and drink—all of which makes it an unexpected place for a fight to break out. But according to a press release from Famous Smoke Shop, which hosts the event, the VIP dinner on Friday night will also feature a heavyweight (at least figuratively speaking) boxing fight between Tatuaje owner Pete Johnson and Famous’ retail store manager Tim Carr. Evidently, the pair have been sparring with their words lately and are aiming to end the feud with their fists. StogieGuys.com will be there to see it all go down, and you can join us by grabbing your ticket to the event.

5) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review smokes a Gurkha Warlord. Keepers of the Flame lights up an Isabela Miami. Nice Tight Ash fires up a Camacho 10th Anniversary. Cigar Command samples a Panacea Black. A Cigar Smoker reviews the Cabaiguan.

6) Deal of the Week: This sampler is a great way to try four different Don Pepin Garcia cigars at a reasonable price. You get two each from the EO 601 Red line, plus Pepin’s own Blue, Black, and JJ blends, all for under $45. Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: PeakRadar.com

Spokane, Washington ran into some resistance recently when it’s public officials attempted to expand the city’s already expansive outdoor smoking ban to include municipal golf courses. Only after “an outcry from players and smoking rights advocates” did the city council back off on its attempt to ban cigar smoking on the city golf course. At least for now.

Ban advocates on the city council said they’d “wait for people to calm down” before trying to pass the bill again, possibly in a year or so. Apparently they see no connection between the lack of “calm” and their action to sever the longstanding link between golf and cigars.

Many professional golfers, including Rocco Mediate, Davis Love III, and Darren Clarke, are cigar smokers who will take their stogies on the course with them. Spanish golfer Miguel Ángel Jiménez (pictured), winner of 18 professional tournaments, is often seen playing tournaments with a Cohiba.

Amateur golfers are even more likely to light up a cigar, given that, for them, the golf course is simply a place to relax and have fun, not a job. In fact, with it’s open spaces and generally smoke-friendly attitude, the golf course may be the ideal place to smoke a cigar. But that doesn’t mean anti-tobacco advocates aren’t trying to ban smoking on the golf course, and even with some success.

While the Spokane golf course ban failed, such a ban would hardly be unique. Jurisdictions in Hawaii, California, Colorado, Indiana, Texas, and Minnesota have already pushed smoking bans to include the greens, fairways, tee boxes, and bunkers of local golf courses. A public smoking ban that covered Torrey Pines, host to last year’s U.S. Open, meant that spectators were banned from smoking, although golfers were still permitted to smoke.

Patrick Reynolds, the turncoat heir to the R.J. Reynolds tobacco fortune who is now a spokesman for the Foundation for a Smokefree America, stated that the golf course smoking ban was “cutting edge” but “reasonable.” He also told a local reporter that the law would combat litter.

With statements like that, it seems that there is likely to be many more fights over outdoor golf course smoking bans in the coming months and years.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Timeinc.net

This month marks StogieGuys.com’s three-year anniversary. We’re celebrating this milestone by launching a new free service for our readers and giving away a whole bunch of amazing cigar prizes.

Way back in May 2006, the site—now one of the world’s most popular online cigar magazines—started when to two coworkers and friends decided to share their hobby and passion with interested cigar enthusiasts. Since then, we’ve grown from a handful of visitors to hundreds of thousands. We’ve broken news, interviewed leaders in the cigar industry, reviewed hundreds of stogies, and been fortunate enough to add other writers who are as passionate about cigars as we are.

As we approach three years of daily publishing (over 1,000 articles to date), we’re launching a new free email newsletter for our loyal readers. Think of it as the StogieGuys.com companion reader.

We’ll be using this exciting new vehicle to provide occasional email newsletters (we promise not to bombard your inbox) with exclusive content. We’ll be including aging reports, cigar rankings, tips, answering readers’ questions, and more.

And, just for signing up, we’ll be giving away cigars…lots of amazing cigars!

Over the next few months we’ve got the following prizes lined up to celebrate our third anniversary (Special thanks to all of the generous manufacturers who are making this incredible giveaway possible):

• A Savoy humidor signed by baseball legend Luis Tiant, filled with 23 El Tiante Corojo cigars (provided by El Tiante Cigars)

• A box of Mi Barrio Acere Cigars (provided by EO Brands)

• A box of CAO LX2 Lanceros (provided by CAO Cigars)

• A box of Cuban Crafters Miami Medina 1959 Cigars (provided by Cuban Crafters)

• A box of Carlos Toraño Tribute 2008 Robustos (provided by Toraño Cigars)

• A box of Cubao No. 3 Lanceros (provided by EO Brands)

• A box of Cuban Crafters Tuxedo Churchills (provided by Cuban Crafters)

• A box of EO 601 Red Toros (provided by EO Brands)

• A Toraño Exodus Seleccion Exclusiva Sampler (provided by Toraño Cigars)

• A CAO black “O” ashtray and a Lotus T3 table lighter (provided by CAO Cigars)

Starting May 15, the the third anniversary of our official launch, we’ll be giving away one prize a week for a month. After that, we’ll pick one winner each month. For a chance to win, all you have to do is sign up for our email newsletter by providing your email and first name (because we consider our readers our friends and we want to call you by your name):

After you sign up, you’ll need to confirm your subscription before you are automatically entered to win these great prizes. (See the full contest fine print here.) Please note that we’ll never share your email with anyone else and, if for some reason you want to stop receiving emails from us, you’ll find an unsubscribe link in every email (you just won’t be eligible to win any of the great prizes).

Good luck and thanks for being part of the first three years of StogieGuys.com. We plan to make the next three years even better, but we know we can’t do that without you, our fantastic readers. So please sign up and, if there’s something you’d like to see in our upcoming newsletters, leave us a comment below.

–Patrick A and Patrick S