The Stogie Guys

Last week CVS (NYSE: CVS) made big news when it announced they would no longer be selling tobacco products in their drug stores. The decision itself doesn’t have direct implications on premium handmade cigars, but it does raise some issues that should be of interest to all smokers.

First off, let’s recognize that this is a very significant decision for a corporation to make. The company sells $1.5 billion worth of tobacco every year (presumably with a healthy profit margin), which probably is why the stock dropped the day of the announcement. Any time a company eliminates over 1% of their total revenue (more when you look at total estimated revenue losses) with nothing to replace it, it’s a big deal.

This isn’t the first time a business has made a decision to go anti-tobacco, but I can’t think of another decision that cuts into the bottom line so obviously. Local bars and restaurants go smoke-free all the time before laws dictate they have to, so have national hotel chains and Starbucks, which now forbids smoking even in outdoor areas.

But none of those decisions so obviously impact the bottom line. Sure, I go to Caribou Coffee now instead of Starbucks when I want to sit outside and smoke a cigar with some coffee, but it’s not nearly as apparent to shareholders that my revenue is lost in the way that cigarette sales at CVS are now gone because, as the CVS CEO puts it, “We came to the decision that cigarettes and providing health care just don’t go together in the same setting.”

First off, let’s recognize that businesses are free to make their own decisions, though a public company does have to answer to shareholders. There’s nothing inherently wrong about CVS deciding not to provide cigarettes in the same way that a government prohibition in allowing smoking smoking does infringe on the rights of a business owner to choose to provide a customer something he or she wants (in this case a place to smoke).

But let’s not glance over the hypocrisy either. CVS still sells plenty of products that contribute to the overall bad health of our society (even before you dig into the overuse of over-the-counter and prescription drugs). Potato chips, candy bars, and soda, not to mention beer and wine, all will presumably keep being sold at CVS.

Take a look at the obesity, diabetes, etc. that this country faces, and it’s clear that CVS has singled out one product among many unhealthy things. People are already noticing this hypocrisy, even if they don’t realize that it’s likely because anti-smoker discrimination is far more acceptable than other types of judgmental discrimination.

Still, perversely, if CVS’s move catches on, it could end up helping the independent cigar shops that often carry, though hardly emphasize, cigarettes. Until CVS’s competitors like other drug stores, grocery stores, and 7-11-style convenience stores take the same approach, it will just hurt CVS’s bottom line to the benefit of those who don’t go along. If it ever does catch on more widely, specialty tobacconists will be there to sell cigarettes to smokers, along with the premium tobacco products they currently focus on selling.

And that’s the beauty of the free market. Paternalistic types can bully businesses around, but as long as some businesses are free to cater to adults who choose to enjoy tobacco products, they only open up more opportunities for those who celebrate, or at least don’t moralize about, the freedom to choose to smoke.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Flickr

One might argue this review is unnecessary. For starters, I reviewed this same cigar (and same vitola) a little more than two years ago. In addition, the My Father line has become ubiquitous among cigar fans, earning it a solid reputation and diminishing the usefulness of yet another review stacked upon longstanding heaps of praise.

However, we should not forget cigars share many similarities with wine. Each growing season in each part of the cigar-producing world brings with it different soil conditions, different rainfall, different sunlight exposure, and different levels of humidity. When you add in the variables associated with cultivation, fermentation, and rolling, it’s a wonder cigar makers have any consistency at all within the same blend across years. So I would argue there’s a fair amount of value in revisiting old reviews. Particularly when—as in this case—several years separate the two creations.

Whereas the robusto-sized My Father No. 1 cigars I acquired for my previous review were purchased in 2011, the five-pack I bought for this review was ordered and received in late 2013. Both have Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos and a Habano/Criollo hybrid wrapper from Ecuador. And both measure 5.5 inches long with a ring gauge of 52 and a price tag of about $10.

In appearance, the recently acquired My Father No. 1 cigars look exactly like all the others I have smoked in this format. They have smooth, oily wrappers, soft pre-light notes with tons of sweetness, and the trademark My Father band of pink, green, red, and gold. The cap clips easily to reveal a smooth cold draw.

Perhaps these newer robustos are somewhat different—or perhaps my tastes have just changed (that’s another variable to consider)—but today My Father No. 1 has a meaty, almost mesquite-like character that I don’t remember. Sure, the core flavors of cedar, coffee, chocolate, dry tannins, and pepper remain. I don’t recall, though, the cigar having such a pronounced char component. I’m not complaining, especially since these bold, smoky tastes are offset by a frequent creaminess that reminds me of nougat.

Throughout, the medium- to full-bodied robusto is a model of construction perfection. The ash holds firm for an above-average length, the burn line is wonderfully straight, and each puff yields ample smoke.

Based on my own recollection, which is admittedly flawed, the My Father No. 1 tastes a little different today than it did a few years ago. Interestingly, however, I don’t find myself liking this cigar any more or any less. I maintain it’s still worthy of a stellar rating of four 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.”

La Aroma de Cuba Edición Especial was the first La Aroma made by the Pepins, who currently make all four La Aroma blends at the My Father factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. (The previous version featured a Plasencia wrapper and was made in Honduras, although later production of that was also switched to Pepin’s factory and reblended.) The blend features an Ecuadorian sun-grown wrapper surrounding Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The No. 55 size is the newest addition to the line and the largest ring gauge (55), with a length of 5.75 inches. It’s a classic, if simplistic, version of Pepin’s signature flavor profile: pepper, wood, and warm tobacco. It’s a pleasant cigar, but far from Pepin’s or La Aroma de Cuba’s best.

Verdict = Hold.

–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.”

This is the latest in Toraño’s series of smokes based on blends created in the past. They twisted the 2004 blend, using an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. The filler is from Jalapa and Estelí, along with what Toraño calls “a rare Pennsylvania leaf” they discovered in 1998. It’s a full-bodied, smooth cigar with some spice and sweetness. The Toro (6 x 52), which runs about $7.50, is an excellent size for the experience.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

If bourbon must be made with a mashbill that’s over 50% corn, and rye must be made with a mashbill that’s over 50% rye, what do you call a spirit that’s a mixture of the two? Wild Turkey calls it a mistake, but a tasty one.

According to Wild Turkey, distillery staff “unwittingly mingled very rare, high-proof rye with perfectly-aged bourbon” (78% 6-year-old bourbon and 22% 4-year-old rye, to be more specific). Given that they named the result “Forgiven,” I guess we can assume the staff that made such a horrible error hasn’t been fired.

Described on the bottle as a “blend of and rye straight whiskies” this unique spirit is bottled at 91-proof, notably lower than the traditional 101-proof for which Wild Turkey is known. It sells for $50 per bottle, which has the same shape as Wild Turkey’s Rare Breed offering.

The result is a light, orange/gold-colored spirit with a largely straightforward nose that features caramel with some melon and oak. The real fun starts on the palate, where the interplay between bourbon and rye emerges.

It’s a tasty combination dominated by resin, caramel, and wood spice, but also with notes of berries, apple, and cinnamon. The finish is long and oily with plenty of wood and dry spice.

It’s not what I look for in a rye or or a bourbon, but still I really enjoyed Forgiven. It’s a lively American whiskey that demands your attention: more rye than bourbon (despite the percentages), Forgiven pulls in a complex combination of sweetness, spice, wood, and fruit.

Even though the proof isn’t all that high, it demands a full-bodied cigar. I’d particularly lean towards a full-bodied Broadleaf Maduro-wrapped cigar like the Liga Privada No. 9, La Riqueza, or RoMa Craft Cromagnon.

If you consider yourself an amateur in the world of bourbon and rye, wait before you pick up a bottle of Forgiven. Instead, try these fine bourbons, or one of these ryes. But if you’re moving into bourbon connoisseur stage, you should definitely seek out Wild Turkey Forgiven.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

The Surrogates line is an effort by brand owner Pete Johnson to release “consumer price conscious” cigars with premium quality.

To increase the appeal, each of the five Surrogates vitolas, rolled at Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua, has a different blend and flavor profile. The idea is to create cigars with something of a limited edition feel in a regular production run.

For the Skull Breaker, a belicoso (5.25 x 52), that means a splotchy Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with few veins and Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. It’s listed at $8 per stick.

I’ve smoked five and generally enjoyed each one. I did encounter some inconsistency between sticks. A few, for example, were rolled a bit tight. And while smoke production was generally good, it was notably thin in one Skull Breaker. Across all samples the burn was excellent, and the ash held on tightly.

Pre-light, the wrapper had a nice, spicy, barnyard aroma while the filler gave off a sweet and chocolatey air. Smoking through it, I was surprised at the relatively mild level of pepper considering where it was rolled and the Nicaraguan filler.

But it did have the strength and body typical of many Nicaraguans, as well as flavors of leather and espresso.

The Skull Breaker isn’t particularly complex, though it did develop a bit, and I generally liked the second half more than the first.

I’d like to try others in the Surrogates line. It’s an interesting concept. Patrick A reviewed the original Skull Breaker when it was introduced at New Havana Cigars and gave it three and a half stogies. A year and a half later, I’d agree.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys