The Stogie Guys

It’s been over nine months since the StogieGuys.com team published a new list of Gold Star Smokes. As you might recall, this special designation celebrates cigars that we feel are worthy of strong recommendations. They don’t necessarily have to be five stogie-rated—just commendable smokes we turn to time and again.

In our previous two Gold Star Smokes articles, we’ve highlighted cigars like the Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 Torpedo, El Rey Del Mundo Robisto Larga, Punch Champion, EO 601 Serie “Green” La Fuerza, Montecristo Petit Edmundo, and the Cuban Crafters Cameroon Robusto. Today we select three more.

Co-Founder & Editor in Chief Patrick A

The Blend 376 Robusto Extra from boutique manufacturer Isla de Cuba is a stunning cigar with an uncanny resemblance to an upscale Padrón. This box-pressed beauty features a full-flavored yet smooth taste of nuts, leather, and coffee and impressive construction. Don’t think twice about picking up this blend of Mexican, Honduran, and Nicaraguan tobaccos for about $7 apiece.

Co-Founder & Publisher Patrick S

Fuente makes some great smokes, including some exceptionally rare ones. My favorite, though, is the King B. This well-proportioned, cedar-wrapped torpedo is the best from Fuente’s impressive, under-appreciated Sun Grown line. With equal parts cedar, sweetness, and spice, it is both full-flavored and exquisitely balanced. And for around $6 each it punches well above its weight class.

Tampa Bureau Chief George E

With a line that seems to encompass an endless array of vitolas, La Gloria Cubana’s Medaille d’Or No. 1 Maduro isn’t the easiest to find. But it’s worth the search. A long, thin cigar, it produces an array of flavors including earth, leather, and coffee. They’re also very reasonably priced; a box of 25 can be found for less than $70.

–The Stogie Guys

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.

I recently had occasion to light up this beauty and was once again stunned by what a magnificently flavorful and balanced cigar this  Cuban is. Its shiny wrapper hides a medium-bodied smoke with coffee, honeycomb, and cedar notes. And like my other experiences with the Short Churchill, the construction was impeccable. Anyway, you probably see where this is going; after all, there is a reason this is one of my all-time favorite cigars.

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.

This assertive Toro had a highly ornate double band wrapped around an oily greenish-brown wrapper. The 6 inch by 52 ring gauge smoke had a predominant flavor of coffee bean and earth with an oaky finish. Unfortunately, it also had a consistent and unpleasant bitterness. Combined with a burn that was uneven and a draw that was a bit too firm, I’m afraid this smoke didn’t make a good first impression with me.

Verdict = Sell.

–Patrick S

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 snippets of interest. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) A cigar wholesaler, several retailers, and a cigar enthusiast are challenging the tobacco ban recently passed in Prince George’s County, Maryland (just outside the District of Columbia). The law bans selling cigars individually and in certain instances even classifies cigars as drug paraphernalia.

2) No surprise to most people, it seems that celebrities like smoking cigars, or at least they like being seen smoking cigars. And from the cigars we can identify from this collection of celebrity stogie pictures, it seems that many enjoy Cuban cigars. The exception being actor Jeremy Piven (right) who appears to be smoking a Padrón 1964 Anniversary.

3) Inside the Industry: Felipe Gregorio has decided to sever ties with Miami Cigar which had signed on to distribute the Dominican company’s cigars only three months ago. The Fuente and Newman families have set the date (July 14-16, 2009) for the 12th Annual Cigar Family Celebration, which features tours of the facilities and of the work done by the Cigar Family Charitable Foundation.

4) Deal of the Week: It’s not too late to take advantage of  these Christmas Specials from Cuban Crafters. Most of our favorites, including J.L. Salazar, La Carolina, Miami Medina, and the CC Cameroon, are on sale. One particularly good deal has a box of the 4.5 stogie-rated Don Kiki Brown Labels available for just $29.99 (down from $90). Get them all here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: TMZ

From all of us at StogieGuys.com, we want to wish you a joyous, safe, and cigar-filled Christmas. We’re taking the next few days off to spend time with our families, but we’ll be right back here on December 26 with more reviews, news, commentaries, and tips from the world of cigars.

If you really can’t wait until Friday when we return with our post-Christmas Friday Sampler, you can always subscribe to our twitter feed to get all the latest from StogieGuys.com.

–The Stogie Guys

I’ve long been familiar with Mount Gay Eclipse Rum. Mixed with some tonic water, the Mount Gay tonic is a summer favorite of mine, or for that matter any other time that I want a refreshing mixed drink. As a former sailing instructor and college sailor, the brand also holds a special meaning to me given Mount Gay’s longstanding support of the sailing community, where its red caps are ubiquitous.

Despite all that, before tasting it for this article I wasn’t all that familiar with the Mount Gay Extra Old, sometimes called Mount Gay Black. Both the Extra Old (XO) and the Eclipse are made in Mount Gay’s Barbados distillery, where rum has been made since at least 1703, making it the longest continually produced brand of rum in the world. While the Eclipse is top notch mixing rum, the Extra Old is more of a sipping rum, best appreciated straight up or on the rocks.

Blended from rums with a range of 12-17 years of age, Mount Gay Extra Old is aged in charred oak barrels, like bourbon. More expensive than the Eclipse, but still quite reasonable compared to the price of other premium spirits, the Mount Gay XO retails for around $35.

The first thing you notice about the Extra Old is its deep copper color. The photo at right (of the newly redesigned bottle and label) doesn’t do justice the brilliant amber hue. Next, I took in the nose, which featured an inviting combination of charred oak (no doubt imparted from the bourbon barrels) and ripe bananas.

The taste starts out with molasses and honeycomb sweetness, lots of oak, a touch of charcoal, and some creamy caramel. But perhaps the most distinguishable feature of the Extra Old was the smooth, long, lingering finish that ends with a peppery burst that creeps up on you. Truly unique, that spicy ending seems to kick in a few seconds after you think the rum’s taste is only a recent memory.

All in all, the XO is a fantastic sipping rum which makes it an excellent choice to pair with a fine cigar. It also strikes me as an extremely versatile spirit to pair with cigars.

A smooth and mild Macanudo gold, a rich Padrón maduro, and a cedary spicy Cameroon-wrapped Fuente Hemingway would all go well. In fact, with perhaps the exception of powerhouse cigars that so overwhelm the palate that the rum’s subtleties will go completely unnoticed, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find bad pairing (unless of course the cigar itself is already unpleasant).

Truth be told, I tend to prefer whiskey to rum when it comes to drinking spirits straight up with cigars. However, the Mount Gay Extra Old is a reminder that fine rum can bring just as much to the table.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This is undoubtedly a popular stick among cigar enthusiasts. While researching the two Belicosos I recently smoked, I came across a slew of positive reviews from the online cigar community—and, perhaps less importantly, an 87 for the Serie JJ Maduro in Cigar Aficionado.

So, in the interest of full disclosure, I have to say I went into this Nicaraguan puro with high hopes. It’s best to start cigar reviews with a clean slate and no preconceptions; the mind, however, can’t easily trick itself. Maybe that’s why I found the 5.7 inch by 52 ring gauge Belicoso pleasurable but slightly disappointing.

This popular blend is the result of the combined efforts of José Don Pepin Garcia and his son Jaime (hence the “JJ”). Also known as the White Label, the Serie JJ Maduro has a clean broadleaf maduro corojo wrapper and attractive, cream-colored double bands. Careful observers may notice some black patches scattered about the already dark wrapper leaf.

After clipping away the rounded point with my double guillotine, I noticed a clear prelight draw and a hearty aroma of clove and dark chocolate. The smoke starts in the traditional Pepin way with full flavors of dry wood, leather, and black pepper spice. No surprise there. As the taste mellows to a more creamy profile after the midway point, the spice fades and a maduro sweetness creeps in before a reprise of pepper completes the journey.

Pepin reportedly has these cigars handmade in Miami to maintain quality control. I found that odd, especially since my two Belicosos required constant torch touch-ups to maintain an even burn and stay lit. The ash is also on the flaky side.

I must conclude, therefore, in spite of its physical flaws, this cigar’s popularity is due to its striking array of full, transforming flavors. Fair enough. But I was expecting a little more from a cigar that commands a price of about $215 per box of 24 or $50 per 5-pack. Conflicted, I give the Don Pepin Garcia Serie JJ Maduro Belicoso three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys