The Stogie Guys

All Out Kings has been an extraordinarily anticipated cigar since the initial announcement last year. A collaboration between Caldwell Cigar Co. and Drew Estate, the line began shipping only recently.

Here’s how the blend is described on the website set up for the line: “All Out Kings debuts with tobaccos from La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate in Estelí, Nicaragua, including Connecticut stalk-cut and sun-cured Habano wrapper with an Indonesian Sumatra binder and filler comprised of Jalapa Viso, Estelí Viso, Dominican C-98 Seco, and Connecticut Broadleaf Ligero.” Originally, production was planned to take place at the Joya de Nicaragua factory, but ultimately the blend was rolled at La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate.

Sounds intriguing, doesn’t it?

I thought so before I tried one. But the flavors from this smoke just didn’t line up with what I enjoy in a cigar.

First, there was what I can describe only as a dirty taste that I’m guessing comes from the stalk-cut wrapper, a procedure which can produce heavily earthy notes. Then there was the sharp, back-of-the-throat bite that was particularly intense in the first inch or so and came back in the final third.

Much of the cigar—I smoked three of the robusto-sized Smash (5 x 52), for which I paid $69 for a five-pack—exhibited what I’ve come to think of as a campfire taste with some astringency along the way.

On the other hand, the cigar is an extraordinary performer. The draw and smoke production in all those I smoked were excellent, while the burn was razor sharp. The white ash held on tightly throughout.

I can’t imagine this cigar will engender many middle-of-the-road reactions. If it suits your palate, you’ll likely be a big fan; if not, your reaction will probably be similar to mine. And the only way to find out where you fall on the scale is to try one.

All Out Kings comes in four vitolas. The other three are Gimme Your Lunch Money (5.75 x 46), Foreverlast (6.5 x 54), and The Fourth Pose (6 x 54). All are available in 20-count boxes.

For me, this is a tough cigar to rate. All Out Kings is obviously not a bad cigar. It just doesn’t appeal to me. which is why I give it three stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Caldwell/Stogie Guys

In October, Meier & Dutch, announced Lucious Lyon. If the Meier & Dutch name doesn’t ring a bell, it is the distribution arm affiliated with Cigars International, which is owned by the Scandinavian Tobacco Group, which is also the parent company of General Cigar.

Lucious Lyon is inspired by the FOX television program Empire. I’ve never seen the show, so, employing my crack research skills, I will rely on the following Wikipedia summary of the premise: “Although filmed in Chicago, the show is set in New York and centers on a fictional hip hop music and entertainment company, Empire Entertainment, and the drama among the members of the founders’ family as they fight for control of the company.”

The Lucious Lyon cigar line—certainly not the first cigar venture aiming to capitalize on a TV series (e.g., The Sopranos, Breaking Bad)—is named after Empire’s lead character, portrayed by Terrence Howard. Along with the cigar, Meier & Dutch also released a line of complementary Empire-themed accessories, including a crystal ashtray, a high-gloss humidor, and a cutter and lighter by Xikar.

The cigar is made in Honduras at the STG Danlí factory and features a Connecticut wrapper, dual Connecticut Broadleaf and Mexican binders, and filler from four countries: the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Mexico. Three sizes are available: No. 1 (5.5 x 50, robusto), No. 2 (6 x 54, torpedo), and No. 3 (6 x 52, toro).

I smoked several Lucious Lyon No. 1s for this review. This vitola retails for $12.50 and comes with a large black band that easily slides off the oily Connecticut wrapper. Underneath is a well-rolled cigar with tight seams and soft pre-light notes of hay and molasses. The cap clips easily to reveal a moderate cold draw. Overall, the robusto makes a good first impression and sets the expectation that it is a high-quality mild cigar worth of your attention.

After an even light is established, the initial profile is dry, spicy, and surprisingly potent. The most prominent flavors include oak, cedar, salt, bread, and more black pepper spice than I was anticipating. After about half of an inch, however, the spice subsides a bit, and notes of cream and roasted nuts start to displace the dry bite. Thereafter, the robusto settles considerably into a mild- to medium-bodied experience with a focus on cream, hay, oak, and occasional hints of peanut.

Throughout, the draw is slightly tighter than I would prefer, and the smoke production is a little below average. That said, the burn line is straight and true from light to nub, and the ash holds very well off the foot.

I can’t help the fact that I’ve always been weary of any cigar bearing a celebrity name, an endorsement from a popular athlete, or a tie-in to a TV show. My sense is you often pay dearly for the name and licensing, while more important aspects like tobacco, blending, construction, etc. can be somewhat of an afterthought. In the case of Lucious Lyon No. 1—while I’m sure a portion of the $12.50 price tag represents a licensing fee to FOX—I’m happy to report the cigar is pretty good. Overpriced, but good.

In my book, this robusto would score better if the price more closely matched the quality of the experience. It would be a much better value in the $6-8 range. As it is, though, the Lucious Lyon No. 1 is a good mild- to medium-bodied smoke that gets off to a fast start and quickly settles into a creamy, nutty profile that’s familiar yet enjoyable. That earns it a mark of three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

In 2012, General Cigar expanded the La Traviata Maduro line by adding the Luminoso format (4.5 x 50). This particular specimen had been resting in one of my humidors for nearly five years. It sports a thick, dark, toothy Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper around a Cameroon binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Once lit, pre-light notes of cocoa and musty earth transition to a medium-bodied, well-balanced profile of black coffee, oak, pepper, and cherry sweetness. Construction is excellent. The CAO La Traviata Maduro Luminoso is a solid choice if you seek classic maduro flavors but are short on time.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As we have since July 2006, each Friday we’ll post our sampling of cigar news and other items of interest from the week. Below is our latest, which is the 525th in the series.

1) Support is growing for a smoking ban in Kentucky, one of the nation’s largest tobacco-producing states. More than seven in ten people support a statewide ban, according to recent phone survey of adults. As reported by the Philadelphia Tribune: “Across the country, 27 states plus the District of Columbia have passed workplace smoking bans, with many more local governments also adopting bans. In Kentucky, 25 local governments have some kind of smoking ban, covering nearly 33 percent of the state’s more than 4.3 million residents…” Kentucky is notable in that “more people smoke… per capita than anywhere else in the country.” These statistics probably say more about cigarettes than premium cigars, but they nonetheless weigh heavily in public policy considerations that could impact cigars.

2) This week, Cigar Aficionado’s annual charity cigar dinner, Night to Remember, raised $1.6 million for prostate cancer awareness and research. The event took place at The Pool, a New York City restaurant where smoking is not permitted; however, a post-dinner smoking tent was made available outside on Park Avenue. Guests included Ray Lewis (formerly of the NFL), John Salley (formerly of the NBA), financier Michael Milken, Rudy Giuliani, and Rush Limbaugh. Marvin Shanken—publisher and founder of M. Shanken Communications, which owns Cigar Aficionado—said, “I haven’t added it all up exactly, but over the years, we’ve raised $20 million to $30 million for prostate cancer,” with most of these charitable donations coming from the cigar, wine, spirits, and financial industries.

3) Want to smoke one of Sir Winston Churchill’s cigars? You can, but it will cost you. Also, he smoked half of it already. In May 1947, Sir Winston left half a victory cigar behind at a Paris airport, and now, via an auction, it can be yours. But be prepared to drop £2,500 (at least), according to one report.

4) Inside the Industry: Tabacalera El Artista released details about a limited edition Big Papi by David Ortiz humidor. Each is adorned with David Ortiz’s autograph and filled with Big Papi by David Ortiz cigars, part of the remaining original production run from 2013. The limited edition piece carries a retail price of $2,500. The cigars feature an Ecuadorian Habano claro wrapper, Criollo binder, and Dominican and Nicaraguan filler in a toro vitola.

5) From the Archives: With spring heralding lovely weather, there’s no better time to enjoy a cigar in the park. You’ll find more about enjoying these urban oases here.

6) Deal of the Week: Fans of Mi Querida will want to jump on this deal. Use this link and, with the purchase of a box, you land a free five-pack of the Mi Quirida Short Gordo Grande. Add promo code “GBP20D” to knock $20 off the total for an even better deal.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Wikipedia

If you prefer boutique cigar makers, are you an enlightened cigar smoker, or a cigar snob?

A wine column I read in the Wall Street Journal recently reminded me of this debate. Here’s the key passage:

A wine snob’s philosophy might be summed up in six words: Big is bad, small is good. From winemakers who tout the tininess of their yields to retailers, sommeliers, and collectors who wield the “boutique” word, small is a synonym for quality. Big, on the other hand, is almost automatically assumed to be bad. Any wine produced in large quantities by a large winery must surely be the work of a machine and a marketing team and not a sensitive and caring family.

And yet there are plenty of exceptions to this wine snob rule. There are many good, even world famous, wines made by big wineries and some real dreck turned out in tiny amounts by winemakers who are a one-man or one-woman show. What are the real virtues of small versus large?

I’ve always said there are many parallels between wine and cigars, and this is no exception. The personal connection—forged, perhaps, by meeting a cigar maker at an event, or simply because you can more easily identify the single person most responsible for the cigar you’re smoking—is a large part of the propensity towards boutique makers.

But the analogy between wine and cigars isn’t perfect. The smallest winemakers turn their grapes into wine on their own equipment. (I know someone who buys grapes and uses equipment in their own garage to make wine.) Whether a small vineyard or an even smaller garagiste, they make their product on-premises: crushing, pressing, and fermenting.

For cigar makers, “boutique” brands are mostly rolled at someone else’s larger factory. There are, of course, exceptions—RoMa Craft Tobac owns and operates its own factory, Nica Sueño, for example—but most cigars identified with boutiques are actually made at a larger factory owned by someone else.

Bigger cigar makers are more likely to  be involved in growing their own tobacco than smaller ones, but just about everyone is buying some tobacco, especially highly-valued wrapper leaf. When it comes to wine making, some of the best wines are produced from the grapes of a single vineyard, emphasizing the unique characteristics of the terroir. Meanwhile, the best cigars show off the skills of the blender, combining different types and primings of tobacco, and often using multi-country blends. (Puros—cigars made from tobacco entirely from one country—are the exception, not the rule, today.)

A larger-scale wine maker gets economies of scale from larger fermentation tanks and more automated bottling lines. But whether a cigar factory makes 100,000 cigars a month or 100,000 cigars a day, each handmade cigar is made the exact same way. A skilled bunchero and rollero will pretty much have the same output in a large factory as they will in a small operation. Making each cigar is a labor-intensive process that, so far, no technology has been able to reproduce to the quality that premium cigar consumers expect. Marketing can be done at scale, but advertising can only get a consumer to try a cigar once, not go back for another.

Arguably, the biggest advantage smaller companies have is they don’t need a cigar to be sold in large numbers for it to be a success. A cigar line that sells 20,000 units a year may be relatively insignificant for a company that moves millions and millions of units. For a small operation, though, 20,000 units sold can be a huge success. This lets smaller brands appeal to a more niche audience. (Although, increasingly, large companies are making limited-release cigars that use limited tobacco stocks that might not be available for a larger release.)

What does all this mean? Fundamentally, while you can appreciate craft or boutique cigar companies, yes, there is something snobbish about automatically dismissing a cigar because the company behind it is a multi-national corporation. The truth is, cigar makers of all sizes have their advantages.

Small cigar companies make excellent cigars. So do large ones. Ultimately, each cigar must stand on its own and provide the consumer good value. With so many good cigars out there, there’s little reason to smoke mediocre cigars.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Flickr

I still recall the first La Gloria Cubana Serie R I smoked, lighting it up years ago at the now-shuttered Bethesda Tobacco just outside Washington, D.C. It was undoubtedly the strongest cigar I’d smoked up to that time, and it knocked me for a loop.

Back then, the natural Serie R, with filler from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic, was among the more powerful sticks on the market, as well as a progenitor of the large ring gauge craze.

Ernesto Perez-Carrillo introduced the Serie R in 1999, the same year he sold his El Credito operation to General Cigar.

I suspect the extraordinary success of that original Serie R line is what led General Cigar to introduce numerous variations. The Serie R Black Maduro is one of two that debuted last year. It’s for sale online, with the sibling Serie R Estelí Maduro sold as a brick-and-mortar exclusive.

The Black Maduro comes in three sizes, with the name of each reflecting the ring gauge: No. 60 (6 x 60), No. 64 (6.25 x 64), and No. 58 (6.9 x 58). You’ll find them all online for about $5 apiece by the five-pack—even cheaper by the 18-count box.

No. 58 has a dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with the same Nicaraguan blend of binder and filler found in the original Serie R Estelí line. The colorful band features the familiar updated La Gloria Cubana female image with a secondary red band demoting “Maduro” in silver, as well as a foot covering.

The pre-light aroma of the wrapper is typical of many maduros: rich, warm, and a little sweet. And, after firing the cigar up, the flavors also include those we often associate with a maduro cigar. There’s chocolate and coffee, of course, and a bit of raisin. Mixed in as the cigar progresses is some pepper that tends to remain in the background.

From the start, the burn and draw are excellent, with smoke production first-rate. The burn is fairly slow, and this big vitola lasts a long time.

Coming in at such a low price, this cigar is easy to recommend for smokers who enjoy maduros, or those who haven’t tried them and want to expand their palate. I give the La Gloria Cubana Serie R Black Maduro No. 58 three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: General Cigar Co. / Stogie Guys