The Stogie Guys

Because there is no such thing as too many choices when it comes to selecting hand-rolled cigars, Stogie Guys is pleased to report that Brazil Cigars and Tobacco will be increasing its presence in the Mid-Atlantic region.

The company distributes the Dona Flor, Alonso-Menendez, and Aquarius cigar lines – all made with Brazilian Mata Fina tobacco. The owners of Brazil Cigars, Dana and Dennis Sheldon, received the U.S. distributorship from Menendez-Amerino less than two years ago, and are just now entering the U.S. Mid-Atlantic.

Their push into the region is being headed up by Mid-Atlantic Representative Paul Arneson, who recently ended 30-year career in the Air Force while smoking an estimated 20,000 cigars! “Brazil cigars thought that qualified me to sell theirs,” Arneson told the Stogie Guys.

Arneson will be covering DC, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Pennsylvania. According to the manufacturer’s website, only six stores in the entire region currently carry Brazil Cigars (four in Virginia, one in Maryland, and one in Delaware). Arneson will look to expand that list. One way he is planning on doing that is through events “featuring, among other attractions, young ladies.” Good idea. A past event featured Brazil Cigars owner Dana Sheldon donating 500 cigars to American soldiers at Guantanamo Bay, accompanied by a young lady dressed in Brazilian decor (see photo).

The Stogie Guys have not yet tried Brazil Cigars’ flagship line, Dona Flor, but during a visit to Brazil I did try a few from their Alonso-Menendez line. That was a few years back and my memory might be a bit fuzzy from the caiprinhas I was enjoying at the time. I can say, however, that they were pleasant enough that I went back for more.

For more on Brazil Cigars, look for reviews in future Stogie Guys articles.

–Patrick S

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 to tide you over for the weekend. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) With Philadelphia being the latest metropolis to fall to a freedom-squashing smoking ban, we thought it would be a good time to hear expert Radley Balko explain to the DC city council why banning alcohol is actually more reasonable than banning smoking. Just don’t get us (or Radley) wrong… we like booze and cigars, and will vigorously defend people’s rights from those who would try to ban either! We’re just saying that non-smokers should remember that arguments for smoking bans can just as easily be used to ban drinking.

2) As if we needed another reason to link to hot ladies with cigars, Playboy by Don Diego hosts “The Ultimate Fantasy Party” featuring not one, but two Playboy beauties.

3) Westminster, Maryland is a bit far for us to travel, but if we were closer we’d drop in on their Midnight Madness Cigar Rolling event from 6pm to midnight featuring Cuban food and drink celebrating the start of the college basketball season. Of course those Maryland Terps fans might not be so happy if us Arizona and Illinois fans stopped by.

4) Since this weekend it officially becomes Fall, we thought it would be great time to add a hooded sweatshirt to our official Stogie Guys line. Get yours today!

–The Stogie Guys

After all the wonderful cigars I have smoked in my short lifetime, I couldn’t believe it when I recently realized I had never lit up an Ashton Cabinet Selection. With this sudden and random insight in mind, I dropped everything and headed to the nearest tobacconist to pick up an Aston Aged Cabinet Pyramid.

This six inches by 52 ring gauge stogie is dressed to impress. The cigar’s smooth and creamy Connecticut Shade wrapper, interesting shape (there’s something sharp about a good torpedo), and decorative black and gold band provided an appropriate preview of the remarkable experience that was to come.

Upon initial lighting, I found the flavors to be much spicier than I expected. Deep toasted clove notes were most prevalent, and the taste was mainly a pleasant interaction between the salty and bitter locales of my palate. I should point out, however, the Dominican Republic binder and filler would have been more balanced and harmonious if it wielded some sweet flavors as well.

One of the many favorable and unique characteristics of this cigar is that its does not get overwhelmingly spicy towards the end of the smoke. As our readers will recall, stogies often become very hot and harsh as the foot of the cigar creeps closer and closer to your mouth. But this Ashton’s taste remained cool and smooth until the final puff.

As far as construction is concerned, I have no complaints. The burn was nice and even and the draw was easy and sure throughout the smoke. And – even though I was outside on a fairly windy afternoon – the cigar lit perfectly with one stroke of a wooden match.

At about $7.50 apiece it’s certainly not cheap, but this cigar is worth every penny. I give the Ashton Aged Cabinet Pyramid an enthusiastic four and ½ out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

On Monday night the New York Mets clinched their division for the first time since 1988. There is plenty of news coverage about that in the New York papers and accross the web, but only at StogieGuys.com can you discover which cigars the 2006 National League East Champions were enjoying.

Willie Randolph, Manager

Skipper Willie Randolph had already told reporters that he would be puffing an Arturo Fuente Opus X Forbidden. According to media reports, the cigar was a gift from assistant trainer Mike Herbst. And quite a gift it was…

This rare Dominican cigar retails at around $30 per stick as part of a DVD gift set. The Fuente Opus X line is known as a powerful and often spicy Dominican puro made from the most select tobacco produced by the famous Fuente cigar family. It will be difficult for Willie to find a better cigar should the Mets find themselves winning in the playoffs.

Carlos Delgado, First Baseman

Delgado is a powerful slugger and, judging from pictures, he picked a powerful cigar. While the pictures available make it impossible to know for certain, it appears as though he selected a La Gloria Cubana Series R, probably the monster sized (7 inches by 58 ring gauge) no. 7 with a Maduro wrapper.

La Gloria Cubana was first made in Florida by (and primarily for) Cuban exiles until being “discovered” when they moved their operation to the Dominican Republic to expand production. Unlike their milder original line, the “Series R” returns to La Gloria Cubana’s Cuban roots with a spicy, full-flavored Ecuadorian wrapper surrounding robust Dominican and Nicaraguan filler. These behemoths cost $7 to $10 apiece, a drop in the bucket for Delgado who is pulling in $13.5 million this year.

David Wright, Third Baseman

Mets poster boy David Wright was also spotted enjoying a cigar as he clinched his first appearance in the post season. Again, it is difficult to tell exactly which cigar he chose, but we’re sure it is a La Flor Dominicana, and likely the rare 6 1/4 inches by 54 ring gauge Limitada II.

This special La Flor was limited to only 2,000 boxes back in 2002. It featured a Ecuadorian wrapper with a Dominican binder and filler. Like many of the others made by the company, it is quite strong… but it is doubtful that David ever found out what kind of cigar this was given that it was so thoroughly drenched in champagne.

[Photos appear courtesy of Hot Foot.]

–Patrick S

In our September 7 post, we told you how readers could win two free tickets to Cigar Artisans 2006 at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino on in Tampa, Florida courtesy of StogieGuys.com. To win the prize to the Thompson Cigar-sponsored festival of big names, great smokes, and serious giveaways, all readers had to do was send us an email before September 15 stating why you should be selected as the StogieGuys.com special correspondent for the event.

After sifting through dozens of competitive entries, George Edmonson of Tarpon Springs, Florida came out on top. His sincere enthusiasm for stogies and impressive journalism experience guaranteed a spot for him and his wife on Saturday, September 30 at one of the year’s premier cigar events.

It’s my pleasure to introduce George to Stogie Guys Nation. As per our request, he wrote the following bio for today’s post:

My eyes sure lit up when I read the email from StogieGuys.com telling me I’d won two free tickets to the Cigar Artisans 2006. It’s hard to imagine an event that promises more fun for a cigar smoker.

I’ve been smoking cigars for a few years, enjoying the hobby even more since last year’s move from Maryland to Tarpon Springs, Florida. Even with the Tampa’s rich cigar history, I didn’t know whether there would be as many great places to smoke as I had found in the DC area.

Well, I need never have worried. Within a comfortable drive from my new home there are so many wonderful places to buy cigars and enjoy a smoke. From the extraordinary selections at MJM in Palm Harbor and Cigars & Pars in New Port Richey, to the ambience of Cigar Central in St. Petersburg and the friendly atmosphere at Blue Smoke and Central Cigar – Tampa is a cigar smoker’s paradise. (And I didn’t even mention the rollers on the Tarpon Springs’ Sponge Docks. That’s one of their cigars I’m enjoying in the photo taken in my backyard.)

You asked about my favorite cigars and that’s tough. I’m constantly struck by how many really fine sticks there are these days. Fuente Sun Growns and Hemingways, Don Lino Africa, Toraño’s entire line, Padrons, Bolivar, Excalibur, CAO, Punch…And that’s really just a start off the top of my head. I’m sure I’m leaving many favorites out.

As far as my professional life is concerned, the move to Florida coincided with my retirement after nearly 35 years in newspapers. The last four or five were spent primarily covering the Pentagon for Cox Newspapers, experience I figure should come in handy when I get to talk to the cigar representatives at the event. Before that I was in Atlanta at the Journal-Constitution as an editor in a variety of roles. Earlier stops included about seven years as an editor at USA Today, beginning before the paper launched; the Rocky Mountain News in Denver; and the (late) Baltimore News American.

One of the primary issues I’m hoping to explore with the cigar experts at Cigar Artisans 2006 – and report back on – is the concept of aging cigars and whether manufacturers believe their cigars need time in the smoker’s humidor, or are ready to go as purchased. Another topic I hope to learn more about is how much of a threat cigar beetles really represent and whether manufacturers do the things we’ve heard about, such as flash freezing and irradiation. And, hopefully, I’ll be able to discuss even more.

So congratulations to George on winning the free tickets! We’re sure he will make a great StogieGuys.com correspondent to Cigar Artisans 2006. Be sure to keep it right here to read George’s report and see exclusive photos shortly after the event.

–Patrick A

My bio lists Padron as one of my “dependable favorites,” yet somehow I’ve managed to go five months without reviewing one of these full-flavored cigars. So today I’m reviewing a petit Churchill-sized Padron Delicias Maduro (4 and 7/8 inches by 46 ring gauge).

The wrapper was a bit rough and veiny with a two-tone hue of deep brown with black shadows. Before I lit it, the stogie had a rich earthy aroma with hints of hay.

This smoke started out harsh and then smoothed out, but this is still a very powerful little smoke. While it was most definitely powerful and full-bodied, the flavor remained quite sweet due to the abundance of sugars present in the sun grown maduro wrapper.

The cigar features deep rich earthy flavors with chocolaty tones. Also, as cliche it sounds, there was a slight but distinct saffron flavor present, particularly when smoked through the nose.

And the construction left nothing to be desired: an even burn, an easy draw, and a light gray ash that dropped off an inch at a time.

While not the most aesthetically pleasing cigar, it reminded me why I always consider Padron one of my go-to-brands. Excellent value (available for $3 apiece), dependable construction, and bold flavors earn this cigar three and 1/2 out of five stogies.

–Patrick S

Tags: cigars

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 to tide you over for the weekend. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) Add the City of Brotherly Love to the long list of over 470 municipalities with new Draconian smoking bans. Philadelphia Mayor John Street signed the bill yesterday, effectively imposing the tyranny of the majority on all restaurants and most bars. But that’s not the only bad news out of the Keystone State. The Allegheny County Council recently proposed a smoking ban that would force its anti-smoking agenda on all restaurants, pubs, and cigar bars in Pittsburgh – prompting some intelligent opposition from the nation’s capital.

2) Speaking of Pittsburgh, the Pirates’ PNC Park is where the New York Mets plan to clinch their division title tonight. While not every Stogie Guy is a Mets fan, we can all appreciate how manager Willie Randolph is planning to celebrate: lighting up a Fuente Opus X Forbidden.

3) We can’t personally recommend Quintero cigars (because they’re brand new and we haven’t tried them yet), but we nonetheless thought it was worth sharing this deal with Stogie Guys Nation. At only $2.50 apiece, how can you go wrong?

4) In our last Friday Sampler, we told you about how Colorado’s statewide smoking ban was thrust upon citizens and private businesses by the state government on July 1. Well, Orios – a bar in Durango, Colorado – recently became the first establishment to be charged for violating that law. The crime? Public officials say, despite statutory exemptions for bars with 5 percent sales or more from tobacco, Orios’ lack of an on-site humidor – for whatever reason – does not qualify it to allow smoking. If the Colorado government didn’t plan to grant exemptions, why write them into law in the first place? In fact, why not just ban everybody from smoking anywhere at any time? I’ll tell you this: If I ever find myself in Durango, I’m heading to Orios and lighting up a fat one.

5) Our contest to give away two free tickets to Cigar Artisans 2006 at the Seminole Hard Rock Casino in Tampa, Florida on Saturday, September 30 ends today at 5 p.m. EST…so make sure to get in your submission as soon as possible.

–The Stogie Guys