The Stogie Guys

At this point there isn’t much doubt that we are seeing a new era in relations between Cuba and the United States. I was reminded of this when I received the latest issue of Cigar Aficionado featuring “Welcome to Cuba” on the cover, and a nearly 40-page guide (not including the over 20 pages of ads) written for Americans visiting Cuba.

After President Obama’s recent executive order making legal travel to Cuba easier (and making it legal for visitors to import $100 worth of Cuban cigars), he attended the Organization of American States meeting last week and even had a photo-op and chat with Raúl Castro. Obama’s handshake meeting with the head of the Cuban regime was followed up this week with a recommendation to Congress that Cuba be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism.

Despite Cuban cigars not being legal in the United States for half a century, Cuba’s influence on American cigar culture is indisputable. It is impossible to smoke a premium cigar today sold in the United States that doesn’t have a direct or indirect connection to a Cuban.

Make no mistake, much of that influence is because many Cubans had to flee the brutal communist revolution during and after which many lost virtually all of what they had and found themselves having to start over in a foreign country. Out of that, the premium cigar industry began to grow independent of Cuba, but under the deep influence of Cubans living abroad.

So how do we reconcile that history with an evolving relationship with an island country just 90 miles from Florida?

My own view is there is nothing wrong with embracing a new era of Cuban-American relations. The embargo hasn’t succeeded in toppling the most repressive aspects of the Castro regime. Maybe a new policy can have better results.

But we should not move forward with a blind spot about the deep flaws of the Cuban government. Nor should we pretend those flaws are just a thing of the past. (Read this article from last year for a picture of what Cuba is like for most Cubans.)

It may be time to normalize relations with Cuba, just like we have with many other governments that have poor records when it comes to human rights, and we should hope more interactions with Americans will lead to more freedom for the Cuban people. We just shouldn’t do so naively thinking that the new era has come because the Cuban government has fundamentally changed, but rather with hope that someday soon change will come to Cuba.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Whitehouse.gov

So far this year I’ve reviewed three smokes from United Cigar: Atabey Ritos, an expensive cigar that’s complex and nuanced; Garofalo Robusto, a mild-mannered stick that’s affordable, flavorful, and satisfying; and Byron Serie Siglo XX Londinenses, a $30 specimen that’s memorable (it should be at that price) and harmonious.

Today my sights are set on Fleur de la Reine, a line that’s intended to be “rich and bold in flavor and strength.” The recipe includes a Dominican binder and filler tobaccos from Honduras and Nicaragua. Two wrapper varieties are available: Natural (Ecuadorian Sumatra) and Maduro (Connecticut Broadleaf). Both iterations are crafted in four sizes: Quatre (4.875 x 52), Cinq (5.5 x 54), Six (5.875 x 60), and Sept (7 x 58).

The Fleur de la Reine Maduro Cinq retails for about $6.50. At first glance, the band colors and design make it hard to not think of La Gloria Cubana (I can’t say for sure if this was done intentionally). Beneath the band, it’s a rough-looking cigar with abundant imperfections on the wrapper, plenty of lumps, and some garish seams. The feel is incredibly firm, and the foot shows a pretty tight cross-section of tobaccos. The pre-light notes are reminiscent of dark chocolate and coffee.

The initial flavor is sweet with loads of cocoa, caramel, and cream, all offset by a gentle black pepper spice and some earthiness. I can also taste black cherry and roasted cashew. Leather comes and goes, and is most prevalent on the finish.

Surprisingly, after about an inch, the flavor really mellows out, leaving behind a soft, sweet profile that reminds me of marshmallow. The cigar is still enjoyable, though not as much as the kickoff. Then, at the midway point, the flavor fortunately ramps up again, and the finish is characterized by a slight increase in spice, though the overall effect is still sweet.

Construction is good throughout. The burn line requires a few touch-ups here and there, but is otherwise well-behaved. The draw is clear, the ash solid, and the smoke production average.

Fleur de la Reine Maduro Cinq is a good choice if you’re looking for an experience that’s high on sweetness and low on strength, and the asking price is fair. In my book it earns three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Who among us hasn’t, at least at some point, worried about humidity and their cigars?

Some become obsessive about maintaining conditions, some opt to simply gauge it by feel and instinct, and many fall somewhere in the middle.

I confess I probably am closer to the first category, though more by necessity than temperament.

Florida’s extreme heat makes a cooled humidor almost a necessity. And extraordinarily high humidity levels also can play havoc with humidor conditions. I’m sure many of you in other parts of the country have dramatic weather conditions to contend with as well.

For me, this has meant lots of futzing through the years with ways and means to keep my cigars in shape. The latest: the Xikar PuroTemp Wireless Hygrometer System.

Here are the basics:

There’s a base unit, with stand, that displays the time and, from up to three remote sensors, temperature and relative humidity readings from inside the humidor. The base can also be programmed to beep a warning when temperatures or humidity levels rise or fall to selected points. A button allows you to select displays from each remote unit. The package comes with one sensor, and sensors also are sold individually.

Unlike most better thermometer/hygrometer units, there’s no way to adjust the readings on these. According to Xikar, the company opted instead to invest the time and attention necessary in the factory to get the temperature and humidity settings correct from the start.

It is important to recognize that the wireless technology isn’t WiFi. You can’t interface with a smartphone or computer, so there’s no way to automatically chart the readings over time.

I’ve been using and evaluating my PuroTemp system for about three months and, overall, I’ve found it to perform as advertised. The one caveat occurred about a week or so after I got it home. That was when the connections between the base and the remotes began to drop frequently and then fail to reconnect for a long time, if ever.

I contacted Xikar, and they had no qualms about honoring the lifetime warranty and had me ship the components to Kansas City, Mo. About a week later, I heard from Xikar’s Ken Dolinger, who’d supplied me with information earlier as I prepared this review.

“It was tested by our head engineer, he found that your sensors are working great but something was wrong with your base unit,” Dolinger emailed. “So I will be sending your sensors back and a new base unit.”

Since getting the new base, I’ve experienced no problems.

I tested the unit in numerous ways, including remotes side-by-side in my filled Avallo Cooled 1200 cabinet humidor; remotes individually and together in a sealed container with a 69% Boveda pack; and remotes together and individually in a desktop humidor without cigars and several 69% Boveda packs.

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In November 2012, Don José “Pepín” Garcia, his son Jaime, his daughter Janny, and Pete Johnson of Tatuaje descended upon Illinois for an event at Casa de Montecristo.

This wasn’t just any event, as you can probably imagine from the attendees. The quartet was helping introduce the My Father Limited Edition 2012, the single-vitola, ultra-premium follow-up to the 2011 and 2010 Limited Edition cigars. (Each of the 24,000 Limited Edition 2010 cigars were actually personally rolled and bunched by Don Pepín and Jaime; but that’s not the case for the 2011 or 2012 iterations.)

Only 30,000 Limited Edition 2012 cigars were made, all of them packaged in boxes of 12 that sold for $240 (or $20 per cigar). Crafted at My Father Cigars S.A. in Nicaragua, the blend features an Ecuadorian Habano Criollo wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. There’s some Pelo de Oro tobacco present, which has a reputation for being incredibly hard to grow given its vulnerability to disease.

The Limited Edition 2012 is a stately-looking cigar with two ornate bands, each adorned with plenty of shiny gold coloring and intricate fonts. Measuring 6.5 inches long with a ring gauge of 52, the toro has a considerably oily exterior with a few thin veins and a clean, well-executed cap. The foot exudes pre-light notes of milk chocolate, coffee, and dried fruit.

After taking note of the smooth cold draw and establishing an even light, I find a balanced, medium-bodied profile of espresso, cream, bread, green raisin, and vanilla. The smoke is dry and woody with a slightly chalky texture. As it progresses, I anticipate more intensity and fuller flavors, but the only major change is the introduction of an earthy note that reminds me of mushroom.

Construction is absolutely flawless (and, frankly, it should be; a $20 cigar with anything less than perfect combustion qualities would be a crime). Both of the toros I smoked for this review exhibited clear draws, good smoke production, straight burns, and solid gray ashes. Also, fortunately, both of the large bands can be removed easily without damaging the wrapper.

The My Father Limited Edition 2012 is a complex, enjoyable—albeit restrained—specimen that I’d fire up again if given the chance. Whether or not it’s worth $20 is a completely different (and personal) question. I can’t help but think of all the outstanding smokes that cost half as much, many of which have more of a wow factor in the flavor department. With this particular cigar I feel like you’re really paying for the My Father name and the decorative packaging. If you’re a Pepín fan, though, and if you’re looking for something with subtlety and an aura of elegance, this is the cigar for you. I award it three and a half 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.”

 

I’ve had this small format (4.375 x 40) Cuban cigar in my humidor for at least five years. Cubans often require extended aging before they show their best, so my hope was this was ready to shine. Once lit, I found a subtle, mild cigar. Hay, honey, and light cedar are the primary flavors, but there’s also a slight creaminess and some spice. Cubans are also known for construction issues, but there were none to be found here with an easy draw and a sturdy stack-of-dimes ash. While I find myself often underwhelmed by non-super premium Cuban lines, this well-aged Trinidad Reyes hit the spot.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

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.”

As the name suggests, the Short Run line from Ernesto Perez-Carrillo is an annual release of a one-time, limited production run (see here for our reviews of the 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013 Short Run editions). The 2015 release is just hitting retailer shelves now, sold in three sizes—Imperios (6 x 60), Napoleon (5 x 50), and Vencedores (6 x 52)—of which only 1,500 cigars each will be made. The blend includes a Criollo Jalapa ’98 wrapper around Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos. I picked up a Vencedores single for $9 and found it to have a dark, rich profile of black coffee, pepper, dried fruit, and cinnamon spice. In my honest opinion, this is an OK cigar now, but it has some great aging potential.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As we have since July 2006, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. Below is our latest Friday Sampler.

1) In two weeks, New Orleans’ smoking ban will take effect—an event that’s notable since the Louisiana city is set to host this summer’s International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show (you’ll still be able to smoke on the convention floor). An effort by Harrah’s Casino to have a smoking section on its gambling floor seems to have “fallen on deaf ears,” according to The Times-Picayune. But there are other tweaks to the law that are still under consideration. They include an exemption for cigar bars (defined as establishments with 10% of revenue from cigar sales and humidor rentals) and whether bars, casinos, and restaurants can have outdoor smoking areas. It will be interesting to see how this shapes up, especially since Harrah’s, and the bars and restaurants surrounding the convention center, were popular hangouts among the IPCPR crowd the last time the Trade Show was in New Orleans in 2010.

2) Davidoff is building a new factory in Honduras to support its Camacho, Room 101, and Baccarat brands, and has also purchased tobacco fields in Condega, Nicaragua, and Jamastran, Honduras. “The new Camacho factory in Danlí, Honduras, will sit on almost 450,000 square feet of land, and in its initial phase, operate over an area of 185,000 square feet,” according to Cigar Aficionado. “The new factory will be located near the Pan-American Highway, less than half a mile from the company’s existing box factory.”

3) Many people will tune in to the Masters Golf Tournament this weekend. Look hard and you might see cigar smokers in the gallery, although according to a local paper fewer than you used to. One patron told the paper: “Golf and cigars, they just blend… It’s in the outside, the open air… but you don’t see as many of them anymore.”

4) Inside the Industry: Maya Selva Cigars, producer of Flor de Selva, Cumpay, and Villa Zamorano, is celebrating its 20th anniversary in premium cigars. As a part of what it calls the “20 Años” celebration, the company, which has a strong following in Europe, will be releasing new cigars, including a limited edition “20 Años” Lancero to the Flor de Selva brand, and adding a Toro (6 x 52) to both its Connecticut and Maduro lines.

5) Deal of the Week: Only $25 (shipping included) lands you this five-cigar sampler. Included are the Room 101 Connecticut 808, Macanudo 1968 Toro, Quesada Q40 Toro Box Press, Alec Bradley The Lineage Robusto, and Rocky Patel Edge Maduro Missle.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Flickr