The Stogie Guys

The Padilla Miami 8 & 11 Lancero combines two of the hottest trends in cigars: the blending expertise of Don “Pepin” Garcia and the lancero shape.

The long and thin Lancero vitola (in the case of the Padilla Miami it is 7.5 inches long with a 42 ring gauge) has been making a comeback of late. The lancero was said to be one of Fidel Castro’s favorite sizes, but lately non-Cuban cigar makers have made the lancero a staple of their new lines, perhaps sensing a backlash by some cigar connoisseurs against the ever widening ring gauges that the cigar industry has been experiencing.

Meanwhile, Don Pepin—formerly a master roller and blender in Cuba—is similarly becoming a staple of the cigar industry. Currently he produces some of the hottest cigars made today including Tatuaje, Ashton’s San Cristobal, EO Brand’s 601 line, and of course his own Don Pepin cigars. Unfortunately as of February he no longer is making cigars for Padilla.

Reportedly, Padilla is to begin producing the Miami (along with the formerly Pepin-made Padilla 1932 and 1948) in a new Miami factory. But for this review I tried a few Pepin-made Padilla Miami lanceros. (Just a note: The “8 & 11” refers to the location of the factory where these cigars are produced: 8th Street and 11th Avenue. Since the cigar will no longer be made there, Padilla is dropping the “8 & 11” from the name and will simply being calling the continued line the “Padilla Miami.”)

As with most of Pepin’s cigars, the Miami lancero has the classic Cuban triple cap but with a twist—literally. The cigar has a pig tail. The wrapper of this Nicaraguan puro is medium brown with a slightly greenish tint and, while the wrapper isn’t particularly oily, it is almost entirely vein-free.

After clipping the fragile cap and lighting up, I was greeted with smooth cedar and earth, with some spice and plenty of honey flavors. The Miami has been hailed by Cigar Aficionado as a “full-bodied masterpiece,” but I didn’t quite find it to be full-bodied. Perhaps because the Lancero, more than the Robusto to which CA was describing, relies on the wrapper so much for its flavor due to its thin ring gauge. I would slot the Miami Lancero in as more of a medium or medium- to full-bodied cigar.

Construction was good but not exceptional. One of the four cigars I smoked developed a nasty crack in the wrapper and the ash was particularly susceptible to falling off after only a quarter inch (once again, I think this can likely be attributed to the lancero format). On the positive side, I found an impressively even burn on every stick I smoked.

The cigar continued to provide its smooth complex notes until about an inch past the midway point when ithad a tendency to turn a little bitter. Given that the lancero is seven inches long, it was as disappointing as it became predicable (after multiple sticks) that it turned bitter and earthy.

Overall, I find the Padilla 8 & 11 Miami to be a mixed bag. On one hand, it started with a very enjoyable, complex, bold yet smooth mix of sweetness and spice. However, for a cigar that retails for around $10 per stick, I found the construction to bit a bit suspect and the tendency to have the smooth flavors sputter out early to be disappointing (especially given the wonderful start). This combination of pros and cons earns the Padilla 8 & 11 Miami a respectable rating of three and 1/2 out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Yesterday, United Tobacco’s EO (Espinosa y Ortega) Brands announced the introduction of the new Cubao cigar. EO Brands is best known for its 601 line of cigars, which comes in four blends featuring the same Nicaraguan filler and binder overlayed with a wrapper leaf of Connecticut (Black Label), Habano (Red Label), Maduro (Blue Label), or Oscuro (Green Label).

Like the 601 line, which has been introduced over the past two years, Cubao will be made by Don “Pepin” Garcia. Pepin’s other cigars include Tatuaje, Don Pepin Garcia, San Cristobal by Ashton and (formerly) the Padilla Miami, 1932 and 1948 lines.

According to EO Brands, “Cu-bao” is the Taino word for “where fertile land is abundant” or “a great place.” The cigar features an Ecuadorian grown Sumatra Oscuro wrapper with filler and binder from the Esteli and Jalapa regions of Nicaragua. It will be made at Garcia’s Tabacalera Cubana S.A. factory.

According to press materials, Cubao will be a full-bodied smoke. The new cigar will be made in six sizes: No. 1 (7-1/8 inch x 49), No. 2 (6-1/8 inch x 52 torpedo), No. 3 (7-1/2 inch x 38), No. 4 (4-7/8 inch x 50), No. 5 (6-1/8 inch x 50), and the No. 6 (5-1/2 inch x 52).

The cigar will come in boxes of 20 cigars, except for the Lancero which comes in a box of 30. Suggested retail price for a box is $130-158 ($204 for the Lancero), or $6.50-$7.50 individually.

The Cubao will be introduced at the IPCPR Trade Show in Las Vegas starting July 13th.

Responding to the possibility that Cubao would compete with EO’s already popular 601 lines, Erik Espinosa says “a true cigar smoker needs variety, and will embrace the new stick, knowing that Pepinand EO can be counted on for the consistency of their product.”

StogieGuys.com will be in Las Vegas to give a firsthand report of the Cubao and other cigars introduced at the cigar trade show.

–Patrick S

photo credit: EO Brands

Ask 100 cigar aficionados to name the deadliest predator known to the hobby, and at least 75 of them will identify the dreaded tobacco beetle. That pinhead-sized critter, with its appetite for destruction and its prodigious reproduction rate, is certainly a nasty pest. And just the thought of finding tiny worms boring through your collection of premium smokes is enough to send shivers down your spine.

But there’s a much more insidious – if a bit more prosaic – enemy that is far more likely to devour your stogies. It’s common mold. And if you’re not careful, an outbreak is not just possible; it’s probable.

So how do we know our enemy when we see it? For one thing, mold is almost always going to be a white, green, black, or even blue substance. It’ll smell like mildew – not unlike a dirty gym sock that’s been sitting in the laundry pile for a few days. It will brush off of the cigar when rubbed, but will leave a stain or discoloration in its wake. It will start as small discolorations here and there, but can grow into a thick, fuzzy substance. If the infestation is particularly severe, there might be some mold coating the sides of bottom of your humidor. Mold can spread through both direct contact with an infected stick, or through airborne spores – so it’s easy to see why an outbreak can gradually become a serious issue. If left unmolested, the mold will eat through your sticks and even the cedar lining inside your box.

What’s to be done? The first, and always the best, solution is prevention. Keeping all traces of mold out of your humidor at all times is impossible in certain climates. But you can prevent major outbreaks by keeping humidity levels at the low end of ideal (say, 65-69 RH) and/or never letting humidity climb too much beyond 70 RH (which is good policy anyway). Also make sure that your sticks are getting some air circulation every now and then. If you’re keeping cigars in an airtight container, such as Tupperware, make sure you open the container at least once a month – and preferably more often – to let some fresh air in. Always used distilled water when filling and refilling your humidification devices. Doing so won’t guarantee an end to mold, but it’ll provide much better odds than tapwater.

If you’ve already got some mold in your humidor, assess the extent of the damage before acting. If the mold seems to be localized to just one or two sticks, and if the spots seem small and easily brushed off, simply take those sticks out and plan to smoke them soon. For good measure, sort through your remaining stash for any additional signs of infection. If the mold is widespread – say, coating large portions of individual cigars, or clinging to the walls and floor of your humidor – you need to take more decisive action. First, remove and dispose of the infected cigars; they’re not smokeable and are of no use to you. Next, quarantine the unaffected sticks while you carefully remove the mold from your cedar with a hand vacuum or cloth.

Once the mold is gone, wet the tip of a cloth or Q-tip with isopropyl alcohol, and lightly rub the interior of your humidor to kill off the remaining (invisible) spores. Too much alcohol can damage the cedar lining, so rub/tap lightly and do not drench the cedar. A proper application should dry almost immediately. When it does, rub down the wood (very lightly) with a bit of warm, distilled water. Dry everything very thoroughly, and allow the humidor a few days to air out. During this time you should keep your cigars quarantined before reintroducing them to the humidor. Once the cigars are back in the humidor, monitor everything very closely for a few weeks to make sure no mold has reappeared.

Note that not every whitish coating in your cigars is mold. In fact, a grayish/whitish coating of dust on the skins of your smokes is probably plume (or bloom), an accretion of oils on the wrapper due to age. It’s considered a sign that everything is in good working order, and that your sticks are maturing nicely. Plume will brush off a cigar easily and will not discolor the wrapper; white mold will leave a mark.

–Jon N

photo credit: Keepers of the Flame

StogieGuys.com will be featured on the Livin’ Large with Geoff Pinkus radio show on WIND 560 AM in Chicago today. The show runs from 5-7 pm Central (6-8 Eastern) and Patrick S is scheduled to be on around 5:35 pm Central (6:35 Eastern).

If you have  a question, you can even call in at 877-560-WIND to ask a question on the air. And if you’re not in the Chicago area, you can listen live here (if you miss it, a podcast will be available here).

–The 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.

If you’ve been smoking cigars for a few years you’ll no doubt remember when Joya de Nicaragua ruled as the king of kick, the sultan of strength, the potentate of power. (OK, OK, I’ll stop. You get the drift.) These days, though, the jewel of Nicaragua rarely gets polished. The Celebración is Joya’s low-end stick, with a criollo wrapper providing less power than the Antaño. The 6 inch, 50 ring gauge Toro runs between $4 and $5. I found it to be an OK smoke with some pepper and an overall medium strength. I wouldn’t want a steady diet of these, but it’s not a bad cigar to occasionally mix into your smoking lineup.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

Flor de Oliva bundles are often among those mentioned when smokers discuss worthwhile inexpensive smokes. I paid only $2.30 for this 6 inch by 50 ring gauge maduro with Nicaraguan filler. Sensing that it might be light in taste, I used a cedar strip to light it, which seemed to impart some nice cedar notes for the first few puffs. After that, though, I was disappointed. The smoke was thin and generally tasteless. What began as a mild cigar quickly became a nearly non-existent one. As an Oliva fan, I’ll likely try others in its low-price line, but not another maduro.

Verdict = Sell.

–George E

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

1) The industry may finally be getting its act together. Cigar Rights of America (CRA), a grassroots nonprofit hell-bent on battling tobacco taxes and smoking bans, was formed early this week. Sponsored by retailers and manufacturers— including Fuente, Davidoff, General, and Rocky—the organization will fight the “overzealous anti-smoking movement.” IPCPR announced plans to establish its own industry advocacy group one day later.

2) Speaking of the overzealous anti-smoking movement, the Ohio State Supreme Court shot down an exemption for private clubs from the state’s oppressive smoking ban. And while Pennsylvania legislators rejected a bill to ban smoking in most workplaces across the Keystone State, the proposed regulation will likely be reconsidered on Monday after some politicians try to make it stronger.

3) Inside the Industry: Don Giolitoo of Illusione cigars is coming out with a milder line to be called the Cruzado. Famous Smoke’s Cigar Expo & BBQ Bash 2008 starts today in Easton, Pennsylvania with with a golf tournament before a weekend filled with stogies and BBQ. The Metropolitan Cigar Society of Fairfield, New Jersey hosted Rocky Patel at a special dinner Wednesday night.

4) Around the Blogs: Keepers of the Flame lights up the Padrón 7000. Stogie Review smokes the Sancho Panza Double Maduro. Cigar Jack reviews a Camacho Corojo Toro. Matt puffs on a Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic Lancero. The Stogie Baby tries a Montecristo Media Noche.

5) Deal of the Week: Need a Fathers’ Day gift? Cuban Crafters has slashed prices on a number of cigars. Included are boxes of Stogie Guys favorites, including the Cuban Crafters Cabinet Selection, J.L. Salazar, and La Carolina lines—each of which is available at deep discount. See all the deals here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: CigarRights.org