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.

I don’t know how long I’ve had this aluminum-tubed stick, but it’s probably been a year or more. And, to be honest, I wasn’t sure where it fit in with Montecristo’s seemingly infinite number of lines. With a little research, I think I’ve got that down: Montecristo Platinum La Baie Tubes, a five and 1/2 inch stick with a 44 ring gauge. The Platinum line is promoted as a fuller bodied Montecristo, but it would be difficult to prove with this stogie. The first few draws were great: a warm, thick tobacco taste with no bite and a light finish. Unfortunately, all that disappeared quickly, replaced by a relatively bland taste for about half of the cigar. Some coffee and oak notes played in and out for a bit, but they, too, were brief. Overall, not a bad cigar – but not one to seek out either.

Verdict = Hold.

–George E

Tags: cigars

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) The House passed their version of the SCHIP tax increase on Wednesday, upping the excise tax on cigars by 1,900 percent. They don’t really expect us to praise them for not proposing a 20,000 percent increase like the Senate, do they?

2) We’ve given you our thoughts on this whole crazy tax increase thing. Now watch one of our favorite cigar makers, Rocky Patel, discuss why you need to take action to oppose this legislation.

3) It’s not exactly in the same league as the victory cigars of Red Auerbach or Jack McKeon, but Tampa Bay Bucs defensive line coach Larry Coyer is rarely without his pipe, according to an item in the Tampa Tribune. Coyer, 67, told the paper he was smoking cigars back in 1970 when he was given a corncob pie and, “I haven’t put it down since.” He said he thinks he might be the only pipe smoker left in the NFL.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews the Perdomo Champagne. Cigar Beat lights up the Sancho Panza EF. Brian has an Oliva Serie V. Cigar Jack smokes a Perdomo Reserve Maduro. Keepers of the Flame torches up the Troya Clasico. Velvet Cigar lights up a Gurkha Black Dragon.

5: Deal of the Week: With the Camacho Triple Maduro, Padron 5000, Toraño Signature, Joya de Nicuragua, La Gloria Cubana, 601 Blue, and four other top quality smokes, it’s no surprise that this “money sampler” is often sold out. Fortunately, at least for the moment, it isn’t, and you can pick it up for a very reasonable $19.99. Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

As if massive tobacco tax increases weren’t enough, a Senate panel voted yesterday to subject tobacco products to regulation by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The move would give FDA bureaucrats the ability to regulate tobacco as well as tobacco advertisements, a power both current and former FDA Commissioners don’t even want, citing limited resources and the fact that regulating tobacco as a “drug” the same way it regulates pharmaceutical drugs doesn’t fit into the FDA’s mission – potentially jeopardizing the health of cigarette smokers.

But while the health bureaucrat-types oppose FDA regulation of tobacco, an unlikely coalition supports it. Altria/Philip Morris, the world’s largest tobacco company, and anti-smoking groups teamed up to push FDA oversight. Both want to cut back the ability of tobacco companies to exercise their first amendment right to advertise their legal products, but for different reasons.

Altria/Phillip Morris knows that without the ability to advertise, its competitors can never challenge its dominance of the cigarette market. Meanwhile, anti-tobacco groups see pharmaceutical-style FDA regulation of advertisements a step towards the FDA declaring all tobacco products unsafe and thus prohibited.

In an interesting twist, the law forbids the FDA from certifying that some forms of tobacco are safer than others, despite a mountain of evidence. This means smokeless tobacco or cigar manufacturers cannot tell consumers that their products are safer than cigarettes even if such claims are empirically proven.

So how does this law affect cigar smokers?

Besides being another step down the road to complete tobacco prohibition, FDA regulation may mean substantially limited advertising of cigars in magazines like Cigar Aficionado, Smoke Magazine, and Cigar Magazine, and also potentially on websites such as this one.

In addition to harming publications that rely on advertising, such Draconian rules threaten to stifle the recent streak of innovation that has been seen in the premium cigar market, as introducing new products often requires an advertising campaign to inform potential consumers.

More drastically, future FDA regulation may mean the removal or reduction of certain chemicals – such as nicotine – from tobacco products. For cigar makers that simply roll together leaves with naturally occurring chemicals, the regulation of certain chemicals would spell the end for the entire handmade cigar industry.

–Patrick S

Tags: cigars

Long before the Ozgeners produced such hits as the Brazilia, Vision, Mx2, Criollo, or Italia lines, there was CAO Black. Riding the waves of a perfect ten out of ten rating in Cigar Buyer Magazine, these exclusive, limited production cigars single-handedly transformed the company from a small pipe and humidor outfit to a Nashville-based cigar manufacturing powerhouse.

And that success was pretty much a mistake. As you can read in this 2004 Cigar Aficionado article, a production problem with the Black line led to a recall and, ultimately, CAO’s successful – albeit short-lived – partnership with Douglas Pueringer, owner of Tabacalera Tambor in Costa Rica.

To make a long story short, thanks to a reincarnation of the highly successful line in the late 90s, CAO Black is still readily available in hand-painted, hand-numbered boxes. You won’t find any information on CAO’s website, but they’re out there for those who look hard enough.

The building blocks of these cigars include Connecticut-Ecuador wrappers, Habano-seeed Nicaraguan binders, and three-country filler blends. Each is meticulously sheathed in a cedar strip with a thin black ribbon across the foot.

As I was looking over my six inch by 50 ring gauge Bengal before lighting, I noticed what appeared to be a small notch in the top of the cedar. I naïvely thought to myself, “What care CAO has taken to ensure the entire logo is visible.” As it turns out, the attractive red, gold, and black band is merely affixed over each cedar strip.

Once removed, the strip reveals a gorgeous, almost vein-free, oily wrapper leaf. With two wooden matches, I had an even burn and some spicy notes of pepper and clove. Those tastes quickly mingle with a creamy butter flavor to omit pleasant and distinctive clouds of smoke.

I have to admit, I had a hard time picking up specific flavors from this cigar. I chalk this up to the fact that it’s too well-balanced for any one taste to dominate. My memory is still good enough to recall the sensation is quite similar to the highly acclaimed Davidoff Grand Cru.

The only weakness of the stogie is a flakey white ash that’s prone to falling off at inopportune moments. The draw is clear and true, and the burn is as straight as any cigar I’ve had.

In all, this is a tremendous light- to medium-bodied cigar that’s well worth the price (about $6 for one or $103 for a box of 20). Even though they’re not heavily marketed anymore, make sure you don’t forget to try at least one. I give the CAO Black Bengal four out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

You’d think the world’s cigar manufacturers would be weary to introduce new products in the wake of the Senate’s proposed 20,000 percent tax hike. Thankfully, you’d be wrong.

Last week there were three – count ‘em, three – major announcements of new stogies that will be hitting a local B&M near you soon. What follows is a quick wrap-up of that news.

Rocky Patel Sumatra Edge

Despite carrying a laughable warning cautioning buyers to “smoke while sitting down,” Rocky Patel landed another hit with his newest line, The Edge. The once naked cigars have sold well with both corojo and maduro wrappers. Aparently, Rocky wants the line to live up to its warning, so he’s now making them available in Sumatra wrappers. These promise to be the most full-bodied of the three.

Cabaiguan Guapo

Not unlike Rocky, it seems as though everything Jose “Pepin” Garcia touches these days turns to gold. That bodes well for a new limited edition cigar called the Cabaiguan Guapo. Garcia teamed with Pete Johnson of Tatuaje to create this five and 5/8 inch by 54 ring gauge Nicaraguan that retails for $11. If you want one, I’d start looking now; they only made 50,000, and they won’t be rolling more.

Aurora Corojo Oscuro Barrel Aged

If you’re into rum, you’ll probably want to give Aurora S.A.’s newest offering a try. As Cigar Aficionado reports, the company’s new Corojo Oscuro Barrel Aged stogies are composed of tobacco that was aged in old rum barrels. They debut at the RTDA Trade Show in early August (along with many other new cigars) and will cost $6 to $9 apiece.

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars

The Ashton Aged Maduro No. 10 is a five inch by 50 ring gauge robusto from the only Ashton line of maduro cigars. Featuring a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and a Dominican binder, these dark maduros, like all Ashtons, are handmade under the watchful eyes of the Fuentes in the Dominican Republic.

According to the manufacturer’s website, the line is aged in sherry finished oak barrels. Taking in the flavors prior to lighting, I found a sweet aroma with some floral notes.

This robusto’s maduro wrapper is dark, rustic, and oily with many prominent veins. Despite all the oils, the its taste prior to lighting is almost flavorless.

After clipping the cigar and carefully lighting it, I was greeted with a bitter-sweet chocolate flavor and a dry finish. Additionally there are some nutty notes in this medium- to full-bodied smoke.

The construction is good, with a firm (but not at all difficult) draw, and a fairly even burn. The light gray ash was solid and held for over an inch before it required a light tap and gently fell off.

As I continued smoking, the flavor remained consistent until the two-thirds point when the cigar suddenly upped the amount of smoke it produced. At the same time, some woody cedar notes revealed themselves.

Overall, the No. 10 is an exceptionally well-balanced cigar that retails for around $8 – not an outstanding value, but a reasonable price for special occasions.

For its impressive balance and great flavor, the Ashton Aged Maduro No. 10 earns a rating of four out of five stogies.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. To purchase this cigar from a StogieGuys.com affiliate, click here.]

–Patrick S

Tags: cigars

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

According to Ashton’s website, this blend of Cuban-seed Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos was one of Winston Churchill’s favorites. The six and ¾ inch by 48 ring gauge cigar has many redeemable qualities, including a rich aroma, a beautiful band, and tastes of leather and chocolate. But I can’t fully recommend the La Aroma de Cuba Churchill because of the stogie’s uneven burn, bitter aftertaste, and propensity to go out at will.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars