The Stogie Guys

There’s something satisfying about smoking a cigar bearing the name of one of Winston Churchill’s favorites, even if the appellation and the packaging are about all they share.

The current incarnation, introduced in 2002 by Ashton, is made in Honduras with a wrapper and a binder from that country. The filler is a mixture of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos.

They produce a fine cigar. Construction, as with most cigars connected to Ashton, is first-rate. The wrapper is dark, the ash tight, and the draw nearly perfect. The cigar burns slowly and produces volumes of smoke, even a little too much when the stick is resting in the ashtray.

Strength on the Monarch (six inches with a 50 ring gauge) was medium with an abundance of flavor. If you find what I did, you’ll taste coffee, leather, and a bit of toast. Occasionally, spice moves in and out to keep it even more interesting.

The Monarch sells for a little over $100 for a box of 25 and five packs can be had for around $25.

I usually remove a cigar’s band before I light up, but in this case you might want to leave it on. It is a detailed, embossed beauty worthy of continuing admiration.

I feel the same way about the cigar and therefore give it a rating of three and ½ out of five stogies.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. Cigars for this review were provided by CigarsDirect.com, and can be purchased here.]

–George E

photo credit: Ashton Cigars

I smoke plenty of cigars of all shapes and sizes, and I’ve come to a conclusion lately: I really like torpedos, pyramids, belicosos, or what ever else you want to call them.

Some of the classic cigars of all time – including the Montecristo No. 2 – are torpedos, but the vitola has more to offer than just a fantastic heritage.

Belicosos can be a real work of art, making you wonder just how skilled the rollers that create these cigars must be. In many factories, only the most talented torcedores work on the belicoso sizes.

But the benefits of the torpedo aren’t simply aesthetic either. Pyramids focus the flavor on your palate, concentrating it on one spot. If the cigar is good, this means that those good flavors are even more intense.

So if you’re in the mood for a great cigar, consider a torpedo, pyramid, or belicoso. Here are five of my favorites:

• Montecristo No. 2 (Cuban)
• Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No. 2
• Cohiba Edición Limitada 2006 Pirámide (Cuban)
• Davidoff Millenium Blend Piramide
• Padrón Serie 1964 Piramide

So what are your favorite pyramids?

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

The Super Bowl just may be one of the best occasions of the year to smoke cigars. There are hours and hours of football-related television programming, lots of fried foods, plenty of adult beverages, and great gatherings of loved ones and friends.

Yesterday a few of my pals (Patrick S included) and I spent a good six hours at Shelly’s Back Room, pretty much the last cigar-friendly establishment in all of Washington. It is a “civilized cigar parlor” with numerous high-definition TVs, a cozy atmosphere, and an excellent menu. It was here that we witnessed one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history.

I don’t mind saying that we were smoking and drinking virtually nonstop throughout our entire stay. Included in my three-cigar extravaganza was a mild and creamy Ybor City Handmades Torpedo (the last from my November 2006 trip to Tampa) and a full and peppery J.L. Salazar y Hermanos Reserva Especial Robusto (full review forthcoming). Not surprisingly, Makers Mark seemed to go quite well with everything.

But we want to know what you were up to. When you get a chance, please leave a comment and let Stogie Guys Nation know where you watched the big game and what you smoked to celebrate one of the world’s greatest sporting events.

–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.

This cigar has hit the Stogie Guys reverse trifecta: negative reviews from all three of us. Though the other verdicts were rendered on the natural, I didn’t find this darker sibling any better. Despite what sounds like an interesting blend – a Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper, a Brazilian mata fina maduro binder, and Dominican filler tobaccos – the cigar disappoints with bitter and harsh tastes. Perhaps the most amazing attribute is that a cigar with all that maduro tobacco seems to have none of the typical maduro sweetness.

Verdict = Sell.

–George E

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.

At just over four inches with a 40 ring gauge, Cohiba’s Siglo I vitola takes about 40 minutes to burn from light to nub. It packs a full, deceptive spice into a short format that’s perfect for mid-afternoon breaks. The price ($8.60 per stick) is quite steep, though, and the finish is a little hot for my liking. I’d rather take my time with a larger, smoother size from this famed Cohiba line.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Don’t forget to enter our Second Annual Super Bowl Contest for a chance to win six top-notch cigars from eGars.com. All entries are due by 5 p.m. EST Sunday. (Also, remember that you can receive 10% off your first purchase from eGars.com by entering “SGVIP” as the promo code at checkout.)

2) Can’t decide how to celebrate Sunday’s bag game in proper stogie style? David Savona of Cigar Aficionado provides some helpful information on what and where to smoke. When you’re done with that, check out the two short (and somewhat scary) videos related to this article for some offbeat betting tips.

3) A chain of coffee bars for cigar smokers is set to debut in Tampa in February, with plans for 11 more outlets later this year in cities including New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Miami, and Orlando. Acme Sports & Entertainment, which has a cigar operation in Tampa’s Ybor City, announced plans this week to merge “the success of coffee giant, Starbucks Coffee, with a smoker-friendly atmosphere for cigar smokers.”

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews the Arganese CL3. Cigar Jack tries the CAO Black VR. Cigar Inspector inspects the Davidoff 2000. Keepers of the Flame smokes a Padilla 1948. Matt lights up a 5 Vegas A. Velvet Cigar enjoys the Fuente Anejo 55.

5) Deal of the Week: Before winter ends you may want to pick up this “Winter Blast Sampler.” It includes a Montecristo, a Pepin-made 601 Red, two Arturo Fuente Rothschilds, and six other quality sticks…all for just $29.99 with free shipping. Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: NFL.com

After reading my recent review of the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu No. 2 (Exclusivo Zona del Este), a reader asked what other cigars had received a heralded five out of five stogies rating. I directed him to our Stogie Reviews Archive where you can see all the cigars we’ve reviewed and the rating each received.

But I kept thinking about it. And it seemed to me that it might be worthwhile and interesting to list all the other cigars that have been awarded five stogies, the reviewer, and a bit from the review.

First, here’s the definition of what a five-stogie rating means, according to our ratings system: “These cigars are truly an occasion. We recommend you give these babies your full and undivided attention. If not, you’d better be at a wedding or some other significant celebration.” Now, on to the list.

The first cigar to achieve a perfect five was the Davidoff Grand Cru No. 3, which Patrick A called “one of the finest stogies I had ever enjoyed.” He praised it for a symphony of tastes that remained a smooth, graceful, and mild smoke. The only drawback, he wrote, was the price tag of around $13.

I praised another Ashton, the Classic Corona, for its finely mixed flavors, slow burn and creamy smoke.

Three Cubans grace the list. Patrick A found the Cohiba Siglo V to have the prelight aroma of “the subtle perfume of a delicate angel,” while the smoke itself yielded sophisticated floral notes as well as “complex salty and sour flavors complemented by an ever-present dark chocolate sweetness.”

Patrick S sang the praises of the Ramón Allones Specially Selected, a robusto with excellent construction, a sturdy ash, and a lower price than many of its Cuban counterparts. “Immediately after lighting,” he wrote, “I enjoyed an abundant amount of leather flavors paired with pepper, earth, and even caramel.”

The relatively new Montecristo Petit Edmundo was “gorgeous in every way,” according to Patrick A. Praising its complexity, he called it “a well-balanced, full-bodied, complex masterpiece.”

The Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 Torpedo was also praised by Patrick A as a cigar that never disappoints and a bargain at about $8.75 a stick. It is, he wrote, “a slice of heaven.”

He also cited the Padrón Serie 1926 No. 6 as a truly complex cigar whose flavors included a “taste that reminded me of moist chocolate cake.” Noting that at about $12 it isn’t an every day cigar, Patrick A said “this terrific smoke certainly qualifies for any celebration.”

Patrick S recommended slowly smoking the Coronado by La Flor Double Corona to savor “the perfectly balanced medley of flavors.” Costing about $8, he said the “tobacco treat…would stand out when pitted against stogies that cost twice as much.”

In addition to the previously mentioned pair, I awarded five stogies to the Partagas 150. I feel lucky to have gotten one of these very expensive, hard-to-find cigars and greatly enjoyed its subtle, complex flavors.

So, there you have it. The StogieGuys.com top ten (so far). Now, why not leave a comment with your top-notch picks?

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys