The Stogie Guys

I’ve hesitated to call myself a fan of the 7-20-4 brand. Not because I don’t like them—I actually enjoy the Dog Walker and Robusto—but those are the only two cigars I’ve tried. Since K.A Kendall has numerous lines, I wanted to smoke a few more before I called myself a real fan. Well, with the Hustler, I’m ready to jump on the bandwagon.

I smoked the Hustler Robusto Barber Pole (5.5 x 54) for this review, which has a Brazilian Mata Fina base with a strip of Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapped tightly around to form a barber pole. The construction is great, and the barber pole has a nice tight wrapping around it that looks really beautiful.

Let me insult this cigar in just one aspect quickly: I hate the band. The red and blue color scheme represents the Hustler magazine theme, I suppose, but to me it just looks garish and cheap. Anyway, the rest of the pre-light experience is immaculate. Pre-draw is a little tight, but not in a bad way, and there are some faint chocolate notes.

The flavor on this smoke is very balanced, and it is a really nice effect. As a general rule, I don’t care for barber poles, as I feel like they don’t really reach their goal too often. The goal would be to have both wrappers complement each other and blend together smoothly. In my experience, though, I’ve had two types of barber pole cigars: (1) one wrapper, normally a maduro, completely overwhelms the other wrapper, or (2) both of the wrappers have a really light flavor and they’re just underwhelming.

Like I said, though, the Hustler is in a different class. All of the flavors are blended together perfectly. The Mata Fina gives some nice chocolate notes with a bit of earth, and the Ecuadorian Connecticut lends a creamy texture and the eventual pepper. There is not much differentiation for me between thirds, but each puff has its own unique flavor. Some highlight the chocolate smoothness of the cigar, while others have some leather notes with pepper.

The only other complaint I’d have is the price point, which is around $9. The inclusion of Mata Fina and the barber pole craftsmanship mean this cigar is going to be pricier, but frankly it’s got some hot competition in the $9 to $10 range. If this were a few bucks cheaper I’d rate it even higher but, still, due to its smooth balance, this cigar is able to achieve four stogies out of five.

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

–Joey J

photo credit: Smoke Inn

This summer, Iconic Leaf will go after some of the milder premium cigar market with a new Recluse offshoot called Amadeus. Select retailers will soon receive shipments of the product, but the full release won’t take place until the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association Trade Show in Las Vegas in July.

Since the company was established in 2012, Iconic Leaf has erred on the side of secrecy. At its inception, the identities of its principals were left a mystery, and we were only told the operation was founded by two “well-respected legends in the cigar industry” who have “chosen to keep their identities private in a pursuit to make the very best premium boutique cigars that can be found anywhere in the world without the influence of their names.”

In addition to secrecy, innovation seems to be another Iconic Leaf theme. The Doral, Florida-based company has pioneered the “Sidewinder” cigar shape—a flattened oval with a slight box press and a bit of a taper at the cap—as well as the “Kanu,” which has a head-turning kayak-like shape. In a sense, Iconic Leaf has taken a page out of the book of Litto Gomez, who created the “Chisel” shape for La Flor Dominicana.

So far, Iconic Leaf’s core blends—Recluse and Recluse Draconian, respectively—have sported darker wrappers (Brazilian Maduro for the former, Ecuadorian Maduro for the latter). Recluse Amadeus will help diversify the company’s portfolio with a light Connecticut Ecuadorian Shade wrapper surrounding a proprietary binder and a filler blend of Dominican and Connecticut tobaccos.

Six Recluse Amadeus sizes will be available ranging in price from $7.50 to $10.50: three box-pressed, and three of the Sidewinder variety. The Toro (6.25 x 50) is spongy and box-pressed with a golden wrapper and faint notes of honey and hay. The cold draw is smooth, as one would expect from an entubar-crafted cigar.

Once lit, a traditional Connecticut profile of cream, soft cedar spice, almond, and coffee emerges. The texture is silky and the body is decidedly mild to mild-medium. The Toro becomes more interesting around the midway point as spice and roasted nut flavors build in intensity. In fact, while I typically pride myself on smoking cigars slowly to guard against heat and harshness, with the Recluse Amadeus I find myself smoking a little quicker to drive home the flavor with more force.

I smoked two pre-release samples for this review, both provided by Iconic Leaf, and found them each to have excellent construction. The Toro smokes as well as you’d expect from any cigar. The burn is straight with a thick, black mascara, the ash holds well off the foot, the draw is easy, and the smoke production is above average.

If, like me, you enjoy mild Connecticut Shade cigars, you’ll want to give the Recluse Amadeus a try when it becomes more widely available. Try it with a cup of black coffee in the morning and let the flavors grow on you (as they most assuredly will after the first inch). This new release is worthy of four 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 early 2013, Miami Cigar & Co. released two limited edition lanceros to celebrate company head Nestor Miranda’s 70th birthday. This Nicaragua edition was made at the My Father Cigars factory, while the Dominican edition was made at La Aurora. The cigar is a Nicaraguan puro with a dark, oily Habano wrapper. The result is a dark, rich cigar full of earth, peppery spice, syrupy sweetness, and powdery cocoa. Construction is perfect throughout the hour-plus smoke. At $14 it isn’t cheap, but it’s an exceptional cigar, and if you’re lucky enough to come across one, I’d highly recommend picking one up.

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.”

Every time I light up this Abe Flores creation I find myself wondering why I took so long to come back to it. I may not light up a Cubano Especial Capa Natural Robusto (5 x 52) very often but, when I do, this Ecuadorian Connecticut-wrapped smoke never disappoints. It has a tremendous flavor of dry oak, vanilla, nuts, and cream that’s complemented by some floral notes. And the construction is outstanding. For its $5 retail price, this is a steal.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This cigar kicks off like a winner. The Dominican tobaccos create a spicy mix that’s complex and intriguing. The flavors are layered, from fiery peppers to bright clove. It’s a high-flying delight. Only later does it deflate a bit.

In the final third, most of the spice is gone and some burn issues become mildly irritating. But those issues didn’t spoil this smoke, just kept it shy of the pinnacle. Along the way there were numerous other flavors, including cedar, leather, and coffee.

Introduced at last year’s International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Trade Show by La Hoja Cigar Co., I only recently encountered the brand at a local shop. I was a bit hesitant to try it, partly because I’m not a big maduro fan and partly because of Patrick S’s hesitation about an earlier stick from La Hoja. But an enthusiastic recommendation won the day.

My first concern was quickly dispatched. Frankly, I’d never have guessed this cigar was a maduro. I think it’s also considerably different than the line my colleague tried.

The Auténtico Maduro Double Toro, with a price tag of about $12, is a 6.25-inch stick with a ring gauge of 54. It sports a soft box-press with a nice Corojo 2006 maduro wrapper and a “blend of original piloto, ligero, and seco Dominican fillers,” according to the company.

The occasional burn problems were the only construction problems I encountered. It generated a lot of smoke. Strength was in the medium to full range.

This is a cigar well worth picking up, especially if you haven’t tried some of the “new” Dominicans lately. I rate it three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: La Hoja Cigars Instagram

Today I’d like to introduce you to a new cigar accessory that I found recently, which has really revolutionized my smoking experience. I was in the lounge the other day when our local Pinar del Rio representative made an unexpected stop-in. As an employee of the store (and since I’m known there for writing reviews) I was invited to sit in on the chat with our rep, and try some of the PDRs he was handing out. Side note: Those sticks were all winners, and I’ll be posting some info about them in the near future.

After we had smoked a few cigars, the rep let slip that he manufactures his own cigar accessories on the side. Of course, the owner and I were interested in trying them out, and a few minutes later I was using Joseph Gangemi’s The Cigar Clip, the tool that will be the focus of this article. It’s a really simple-looking accessory, but when I used it, it kind of blew my mind. The clip is rounded at the end, with a coating so it does not slip in your fingers, and then the ends create a pincer, almost like pliers or salad tongs.

The idea is this: Instead of using a nubbing tool that stabs into your cigar, this one wraps around it. That has a few benefits. First, you do not need to actually puncture the cigar and risk breaking it. Secondly, the clip fits around two fingers really comfortably, so you can hold it just like you would any other cigar you’re smoking. I found this really great for driving, as I can have both hands on the wheel, except for when I’m actually taking a puff. The clip adjusts for down to a 37 ring gauge, and up to a 60 easily, but it should be able to hold just about any cigar on the market. I was also worried that the cigar might slip out, but this was not a problem on any of the three that I’ve used this on.

Let’s talk about a few flaws really quickly. Since the prongs on the end of the Cigar Clip are metal, they can get a little hot when the cigar is really close down to the end, and if your lips touch them, you’ll notice. Now, they aren’t going to burn you, but it’s not exactly comfortable when this happens. Also, when I first received mine I needed to spend about three minutes working the metal. What I mean by this is making the adjustable portion less rigid, so that it can go down to the 37 and up to the 60.

Those are really my only complaints, and for the price (just $10), I can’t be too unhappy. I believe we’re going to start carrying this is in the store, and I think it’d be a fantastic gift to give any cigar smoker. I can tell you that I’ve already considered purchasing a few this Christmas to throw in the gifts I give to the cigar smokers I know. While nubbing is a nice feature of this accessory, and the main one, there are a few other uses Joe pointed out to me that I figured I’d throw in here. The driving one is a big plus for me, and the other feature is that if you’re doing an activity that might cause your hands to be dirty, you can use this to not have to touch the cigar (the example he gave was using this while fishing so that you can touch your bait and fish without having to worry about touching the smoke).

Overall, I was really impressed with Joe’s clip, and I’d recommend you all try to find one in a store near you to add to your accessory collection. If you can’t find a store, they can be ordered off of The Cigar Clip website. If you guys have any cigar tools you regularly use, or if you’ve used this one before, let me know in the comments.

Full disclosure: This accessory was given to me for free by the creator of The Cigar Clip as a sample. In no way does this affect my review, and I want you all to know I was completely honest in my opinion here.

–Joey J

photo credit: The Cigar Clip