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 first had a Bolivar at a B&M event when General Cigar introduced the Dominican-made brand. I liked it then, and when I recently lit a six inches by 52 ring gauge Toro that’s been in my humidor for more than a year, I still liked it. The blend has a full, warm taste. It’s not tremendously complex, but does vary with occasional sweetness and touches of leather and nuttiness. My only complaint is that the draw was a little tighter than I prefer. Toros list for $5.95, but you can find them cheaper in five packs or boxes.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

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

1) It is hard to find a better combination than cigars and football. That’s why we’re so pleased to announce the first annual StogieGuys.com Super Bowl Cigar Contest. Here are the rules:

Leave a comment on this article with your prediction of the winner of the Super Bowl XLI, the margin of victory, and the total number of points scored in the game. You should also include your town and state.

The reader who correctly predicts the winner and gets closest to the margin of victory gets a fantastic Stogie Guys selected five-pack of handmade cigars! (The exact five cigars are yet to be determined, but we guarantee it will include a four stogie-rated Gurkha Class Regent Torpedo, a Macanudo Robust, and a 5 Vegas.) In the unlikely event of a tie, we’ll use total points as the tiebreaker.

Details: You must use a valid email address so we can contact you. Only one entry per person (yes, we can tell). The contest is only open to readers over the age of 18 in the Continental 48 states (sorry, Alaska and Hawaii). Entries must be left by 3pm EST Sunday.
Good Luck!

2) And as if announcing the first annual Stogie Guys Super Bowl Contest isn’t enough, today we are also announcing the first Stogie Guys Meetup. On Thursday, February 15, Patrick S and Patrick A will be at cigar-friendly Carpool Bar in Arlington, Virginia (two blocks from the Ballston Metro Station on the DC Metro). We’ll be there from 6:30 to 9 p.m. smoking cigars, eating BBQ, playing pool and darts, and talking stogies. Please join us and your fellow DC-area Stogie Guys. If you’d like to RSVP, send us an email.

3) With all the bad news about smoking bans (including the one that just went into effect in France) we were pleased that one commenter pointed out this article about a successful challenge in Colorado. Now let’s hope others follow suit and challenge these oppressive smoking bans.

4) Since we’re always on the lookout for great deals for you, we are pleased to point you in the direction of this deal from Cuban Crafters. We’ve tried a few of the cigars included in the Cuban Crafters Boutique Sampler, and we are very impressed. At under $20 for 12 handmade cigars (plus a cutter), it’s a bargain you should take advantage of. Click here for the deal.

–The Stogie Guys

This past Saturday, we posted a Quick Smoke of the Romeo y Julieta Reserve Maduro Robusto. George E found the cigar’s diverse tobacco blend created “a smooth, complex stick with a satisfying finish,” and he recommended picking one up.

While I don’t disagree with George, my numerous experiences with this particular cigar keep uncovering one, very prominent flavor: salt. As a result – every time I smoke one of these – a dry, spicy kick leaves me yearning for a cool drink.

Now I’m not saying George is wrong for not pointing this out; as I told him via a friendly email exchange earlier this week, it’s entirely possible for two people to have different experiences with the same cigar. That fact, after all, is one of the reasons we instituted our unique ratings system.

But I think Stogie Guys should be aware of the possibility of encountering a salty cigar that’s not exactly balanced on the flavor profile when they light one of these up. At the very least, make sure you’re within arm’s reach of a beverage.

All things considered, however, I found this five inches by 50 ring gauge Robusto to be a very enjoyable smoke. For starters, its blackened Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper has a nice oily sheen, and I think it’s the kind of stogie that really looks nice through a glass-top humidor.

Once lit, the wrapper combines with Dominican, Nicaraguan, and Peruvian filler to create tasty nut and coffee flavors. Like many Maduros, this is an earthy smoke; unlike many Maduros, it’s light-bodied with a short finish. So, if you’re looking for a powerhouse, this isn’t your cigar.

My experience with Romeo y Julietas had me expecting a well-constructed cigar, and I was not disappointed. The burn remains even, the gorgeous white ash holds firm, and the foot manages to stay lit – even when left unattended for periods of five minutes or more.

I should mention, however, that this is a tightly-packed cigar, and the draw can be a bit difficult.

At about $5.50 apiece, this cigar is a good value. Despite a salty disposition and a firm draw, the Romeo y Julieta Reserve Maduro Robusto has a lot to offer. I give it three and ½ out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

On Friday we mentioned that the Virginia State Senate looked close to passing a state-wide smoking ban. What follows is a closer look at that bill.

The ominously-titled “Virginia Smoke Free Air Act” would repeal the also ominously-titled, but significantly less-restrictive, “Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act.” The Virginia Indoor Clean Air Act only requires restaurants over a certain size to provide a non-smoking section and forbids local governments from passing any ban that is more restrictive.

Currently, the Virginia Smoke Free Air Act has been referred out of the Senate’s Committee on Education and Health. (Curiously these bills never go to a committee on civil liberties or property rights.)

And while the bill purposefully make this clear, it will ban smoking in all bars by defining “bars,” along with almost everything else – including, at times, private clubs – as public places:

“Public place” means any enclosed area to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted, including but not limited to, banks, bars, educational facilities, healthcare facilities, hotel and motel lobbies, laundromats, public transportation facilities, reception areas, retail food production and marketing establishments, retail services establishments, retail stores, shopping malls, sports arenas, theaters, and waiting rooms. “Public place” shall include a private club when being used for a function to which the general public is invited; however, a private residence is not a “public place” unless being used as a child care, adult day care, or healthcare facility.

In short, with the small exceptions of tobacco shops, tobacco factories, labeled “smoking” hotel rooms, and private residences (with caveats on that listed above), this constitutes a complete statewide ban on smoking. A more cynical person might be thankful that a ban on smoking in multi-unit houses wasn’t included, as is being considered in Belmont, California.

Yet enforcing such a draconian ban isn’t easy, and it would surely be expensive to have police officers go bar to bar checking for cigarette butts. But the anti-smoking zealots have “solved” this by forcing proprietors to enforce the ban. So after telling restaurant and bar proprietors that their establishments are “public places,” the bill then goes on to forcibly enlist them to enforce the law against their own customers:

Any proprietor of any establishment, building, or area that is subject to the smoking restrictions provided in this article who fails to comply with such restrictions shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $200 for the first offense and $500 for any subsequent offense.

Overall, the proposed Virginia smoking ban is just like every other smoking ban: a paternalistic infringement on individual liberty and property rights.

It surely makes a mockery of the motto on the state flag: “Thus Always to Tyrants.”

–Patrick S

The Montecristo Peruvian Especial No. 2 Maduro had been in my humidor for about six months. It looked nice, dark, and rugged. Part of the wrapper, a Connecticut broadleaf, was nearly black and gave the stick a partial barber pole appearance. The cap was perfect.

In fact, about the only real problem with this Peruvian was the taste. And even that was nice for about the first inch or so. Woody, sweet, nutty, smooth. A spicy finish, and a pleasing smoke.

And then, well, then there was basically nothing. Nada. Zip. Just smoke. No taste. No aftertaste. No mid-taste. Not so special. I kept smoking mostly out of curiosity: Would it continue this way to the end?

My question was answered with about an inch to go. Nothingness gave way to unpleasant bitterness. Of course, that might simply have been the buildup of tar.

I don’t recall what I paid for the stick, a box-pressed five inches by 40 ring gauge with a cheesy cardboard cover. Whatever it was, it was too much. This cigar was too bland to lump in with some of the truly awful sticks I’ve smoked – Professor Sila, anyone?

Instead, I put this cigar in the category of “Why bother smoking it when you can just as easily sit and breathe.” And that category earns the Montecristo Peruvian Especial No. 2 Maduro the unimpressive rating of just one out of five stogies.

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

–George E

Tags: cigars

CAO International Inc., the Nashville-based stogie manufacturer famous for its Criollo, Brazilia, Italia, and Flavours lines, was acquired by Henri Wintermans Cigars last week.

The Dutch company is affiliated with ST Cigar Group Holdings Inc., which produces over 1.3 billion miniature machine-made stogies each year.

As of last night, neither the CAO website, CAO President Tim Ozgener’s blog, nor the Wintermans Cigars website made any mention of the transaction or the price.

But Mr. Ozgener did tell Cigar Aficionado that CAO is continuing with business as usual and that he will remain president at least until his five-year contract expires.

“Our goal is to be the No. 1 cigar brand in the world, known for quality, distribution, prestige,” he said. “It was in an effort for CAO to become more of a global brand. With this deal, we’ve saved about 20 years.”

According to the article, the deal also seems to make sense for Wintermans Cigars.

Wintermans has very little presence in the United States, and no long-filler cigar assets prior to the acquisition. Of the 1.3 billion cigars it sold in 2006, 1.1 billion were sold in Europe, and only 4 million in the United States. Acquiring CAO nearly quadruples its U.S. business in terms of units – CAO sold about 12 million cigars in 2006, more than 90 percent of them in the United States – and thrusts it into a solid position in the market for premium, handmade cigars.

For now, only time will tell what the acquisition means for CAO fans in America.

–Patrick A

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.

With unseasonably warm temperatures in the nation’s capital yesterday, I found myself outside (sans coat) with a six and 7/8 inches by 36 ring gauge Padrón Panetela Maduro. Despite its elegant size and unassuming band, I found this cigar to be a full-bodied powerhouse of leather and nut. Even though the burn was less than perfect, I see myself picking up a few more of these in the near future.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars