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 got a Romeo y Julieta Reserve Maduro Robusto in an Altadis sampler promotion several months ago. I’ll purchase more, even though it is a little pricey. The diverse blend combine to create a smooth, complex stick with a satisfying finish.

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) In an ugly occurrence that demonstrates the most awful effect of smoking bans – giving more power to the government – Pittsburgh police last week tasered a man who was smoking in a bus terminal. The 50-year-old no doubt crossed the line when he blew smoke in the officer’s face in protest of the law, but that’s what you get when you turn otherwise law-abiding citizens into criminals.

2) Cigar smokers in the Tampa area will get a chance March 3 to meet manufacturers, sample fine stogies, and help fight cerebral palsy. The Achieve Foundation is putting on the sixth annual Cigar City Celebration at the Cuban Center in Tampa’s famed Ybor City district. A $125 ticket includes cigars, food, drinks, and entertainment. Check Achieve’s website for more information on this worthy event.

3) Lately we’ve been spending more time west of the Potomac river since our cigar smoking opportunities in DC have been greatly limited by Washington’s extensive smoking ban. Sadly, Virginia may not be the refuge we had hoped. The State Senate suddenly seems poised to pass an indoor smoking ban of its own. Why are our delegates in Richmond taking the lead from those anti-freedom morons across the river? We have no idea!

4) When your city’s NFL team makes it to the Super Bowl for the first time in over two decades, it usually means a boon for the local sports bars. Unfortunately in Chicago, the Windy City’s fascist smoking ban has meant that business is bad, even though Da Bears have won their way to Super Bowl XLI. The good news? Some surrounding towns have temporarily repealed their smoking bans. Unfortunately, on March 15 a Cook County-wide ban will make any temporary repeals irrelevant.

–The Stogie Guys

I know it’s a cliché, but – let’s face it – there just aren’t enough hours in a day. Especially if you’re a cigar enthusiast.

Between work, commutes, showers, errands, friends and family, chores, three square meals, taxes, and all the other responsibilities us grown-ups shoulder, how exactly is a human supposed to set aside an hour (well, more reasonably, and hour and ½) to enjoy a stogie?

I don’t mean to disappoint, but – unfortunately – I really don’t have an easy answer to that question. I can’t be your personal time manager, and I certainly don’t have the blueprints for a make-time-stand-still machine.

What’s worse, with winter setting in and government-imposed, fascist smoking bans looming over many bars, restaurants, and other public places, these days finding a place to smoke is becoming as difficult as finding the time to do it.

But we must do it. We must smoke cigars. I don’t know about you, but if I don’t park my ass in a chair for awhile and devour some delicious tobacco every now and again, I lose it. Not because I’m addicted to the leaf (cigar smokers rarely are), but because I need to unwind.

And what better way to do that than with a stogie? With the exception of fishing, there’s no other hobby that requires its participant to sit patiently still for so long.

Granted you can always smoke and golf, walk, drive, and – heck – some people even run, but I’ve always found that the best way to get the most out of your cigar is to put the rest of the world on hold and just smoke.

Find the time. If need be, grab some booze and/or company, but just do it.

And while you’re at it, remember to smoke slowly. Cigar enjoyment is not a race, and there’s no prize for finishing first.

Besides, in order to “cook” the tobacco at the right temperature (494˚F at the foot), you should only be taking about one puff per minute. You see, when you puff you’re caramelizing the sugars in the tobacco to bring out the flavors. If you puff too often, the temperature will rise, the tobacco will cook too fast, and the smoke may get harsh.

But enough chemistry. Smoking isn’t a chore; it’s what you and I do to have fun and escape from the rest of the world.

Why? Because we deserve it.

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars

It’s a good thing this Gurkha Class Regent Torpedo sports one of the manufacturer’s typically distinctive bands. Otherwise it might be mistaken for a block of chocolate candy. The dark Habana 2000 wrapper looks nearly good enough to eat.

But this box-pressed beauty is better for smoking.

This particular stick was a gift from Stogie Guy Patrick S, who said he got it from CBid. He generously passed it along when we met last month in Ybor City.

My experiences with Gurkha have been fairly limited, so I had no real preconceptions when I clipped and lit this one. Before even beginning to concentrate on the taste, I was bowled over by the smoke: incredibly thick, rich, and creamy. Few cigars can match the level of smoke produced by the Regent. It really did hang in the air as if you could slice it with a knife.

After blowing a few smoke rings, I began to concentrate on the taste. There was an initial sharpness that smoothed out about a third of the way down, replaced for a short period by a sweetness and then a nuttiness. As the gray ash grew, the tobacco taste began to meld with a warm, earthy tone. In the final third, hints of caramel came and went.

According to Gurkha, the cigar has a Habana 2000 Indonesian binder and Dominican filler. They call it medium to heavy; to me, it was closer to medium on the scale.

The draw was fine, and the heavy smoke continued throughout. A roomful of politicians puffing these Gurkhas could set a new standard for smoke-filled rooms.

The only problem I encountered involved the burn, including a little canoeing about halfway down. But I was able to correct that fairly easily with a touch up light.

All in all, this is a very satisfying cigar and one I plan to smoke again. It also got me interested in exploring more of the Gurkha line. I give this stick four out of five stogies.

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

–George E

Last December – following the passage of ballot initiatives in Nevada and Ohio – over half of all Americans were living in a state, county, or municipality with a smoking ban in place.

Yet within “a few years,” all of America could be smoke-free. That according to Bronson Frick, professional mouthpiece for the anti-smoking group that goes by the Orwellian name “Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights.”

The group, which has previously been known to use false and misleading information to whip its donors into an anti-smoking frenzy, recently trumpeted on their website that 50.2 percent of Americans now live under anti-smoking laws. More recently, in an Associated Press article, Frick said the group has plans to make these bans nationwide:

”The movement for smoke-free air has gone from being a California oddity to the nationwide norm,” said Bronson Frick, the group’s associate director. ”We think 100 percent of Americans will live in smoke-free jurisdictions within a few years.”

But smoking bans haven’t just been spreading from state to state, city to city. They are also becoming increasingly extreme. And much like the anti-smoking movement as a whole, these most extreme bans are gaining traction in California:

The Southern California city of Calabasas broke new ground for the United States in spring 2006 when it banned smoking in all public areas, including sidewalks. As of March 1, Emeryville will have anti-smoking laws almost as tough as Calabasas, with new widespread smoking bans, including in parks and on footpaths.

San Francisco now bans smoking in city parks, golf courses, and public squares, and Belmont made international news in November with its pending proposal to ban smoking citywide, except in detached, single-family homes.

And anti-smoking agitators seem determined to push their agenda into uncharted areas, such as adoption. One such group, ASH, proudly described a distraught couple that were refused an adoption because the husband smokes (though only outdoors):

A heartbroken couple has been told they cannot adopt a child because he smokes, even though he says he never smokes indoors. Indeed, the prohibition stands until he quits smoking for six months and provides medical documentation that he is no longer a smoker.

With bans and other anti-smoking laws on the march all across the country, it is important to remember that historically these trends don’t last. But, still, with so much anti-smoking fervor in the air (pardon the pun), now seems like a good time to review the case against smoker discrimination.

–Patrick S

Without getting into too much history here, there are many cigar brand names that transcend their “country of origin.” Due to an uneasy legal environment and the U.S. trade embargo against Castro’s communist regime, you can find Cuban and non-Cuban versions of, among others, Romeo y Julieta, Montecristo, Hoyo de Monterrey, and – most notably – Cohiba.

In that spirit, U.S.-based General Cigar Co. introduced a premium stogie called “Cohiba” to the American market in the 1990s, despite a precarious feud with Fidel’s state-owned tobacco company, Cubatabaco, over trademark rights.

A few days ago I sat down with a five inches by 49 ring gauge Cohiba Robusto. This handsome cigar, which retails in the expensive $8 to $13 range, sports a Mexican binder, a Dominican filler, and a flawless Cameroon wrapper (like I said, there’s nothing Cuban about it).

One of the most noticeable characteristics of the stick is its tight, firm feel. After clipping the head with my double guillotine cutter, I was barely able to make out the pockets of space between the cramped tobacco leaves.

After the cigar was carefully lit, the first thing I noticed – aside from the perfect burn – were mild notes of creamy coffee and light honey. A shiny mascara indicated the tobacco leaves were fully matured when cultivated.

The flavor remained subtle and airy throughout the hour and ½ smoke, living up to its light- to medium-bodied billing. As such, this is the sort of stogie I would recommend pairing not with hard liquor, but with beer or wine (I chose pinot noir).

Fortunately, the perfect burn I noticed after lighting remained fabulously even right down to the very end. And while the ash held nicely off the foot for up to an inch and ½, the draw was a bit difficult, surely due to the cigar’s tight packing.

Overall, this is a fine cigar – especially if you’re looking for something light – but it doesn’t live up to the expectations it sets in price. So while I wouldn’t rush out to your local B&M to stock up on these, I also think they can be a nice change of pace every now and again.

I give the Cohiba (Dominican) Robusto three and ½ out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

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

When I’m looking for a fairly quick smoke, I often turn to the 4 1/2 inch (by 30/60 ring gauge) Champion. I find the shape — resembling a python swallowing a pig — intriguing. I would call it a medium strength, flavorful cigar. I find hints of cedar, pepper, even vanilla. I have had occasional burn problems with Champions, though this one ran straight and true.

Verdict= Buy.

–George E