The Stogie Guys

With the holidays cutting into the budget for discretionary spending, it seems a good time to consider some enjoyable cigars that can help you stretch your dollars. Here are three I’ve enjoyed and found consistent through several smokes.

Red Witch: This three-vitola line from Gurkha’s East India Trading Co. is a box-pressed bargain. I prefer the Toro (6 x 54) that runs about $5. It’s a slow-burning, tasty treat with an Ecuadorian Rosado wrapper, Dominican binder, and Nicaraguan filler. It starts with a peppery blast, downshifts to a medium-strength earthy flavor, and picks up some spice in the final half.

Asylum 13: At $5, the Robusto (5 x 50) in this Nicaraguan puro line from Christian Eiroa is a natural for anyone who enjoys a strong, spicy cigar. It’s also more complex than you have a right to expect at that price. And if you’re a fan of big ring gauges, Asylum 13 has you covered with a 6 x 60 and a 7 x 70 at $6 and $7, respectively.

Partagas 1845: A line extension of General Cigar’s standard Partagas cigars, the 1845 sports tobacco from several countries including filler aged in rum barrels and an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper in place of the standard Partagas Cameroon. The Double Corona (7.25 x 54) is under $5, with the Robusto (5.5 x 49) even less. As you’d expect from the cigar giant, these are consistent with first-rate construction. A tasty, medium-strength stick that will likely surprise you if you haven’t had one.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr

Dunhill certainly isn’t the sexiest brand on the market today. Owned by British American Tobacco and made and distributed by General Cigar Co., you could argue Dunhill is somewhat neglected by the online cigar community, gets lost in General’s portfolio of more visible brands, and hasn’t quite lived up to its rich legacy.

That legacy pre-dates the communist takeover of Cuba, when the Dunhill shop in London had exclusive marketing and distribution agreements with various Cuban cigar makers, including Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and Partagas. You can read more about Dunhill’s fascinating history—and its relationship with King George VI and Sir Winston Churchill—in my colleague’s previous review of the Aged Reserva Especial 2003 Robusto Grande.

Since then, Dunhill has bounced around with cigars by Toraño and Altadis, finally settling under the General Cigar umbrella with three lines: Dunhill Aged Reserva Especiale, Dunhill Aged, and Dunhill Signed Range. The latter “is made in Nicaragua with only the best aged tobaccos from its mother country as well as the Dominican Republic and Cameroon,” according to the General Cigar website. “The Signed Range is an aristocratic, medium- to full-bodied cigar that consistently delivers a superior taste, rich in complex, silky flavor.”

Six vitolas are available in the Signed Range lineup: Churchill, Toro, Torpedo, Corona, Robusto, and Petit Corona. The Toro (6 x 50) costs about $200 for a box of 25 or about $9 for a single. It’s a handsome smoke with minimal veins, a nice cap, a consistently firm feel, and a fair amount of oils on its clean surface. Only the slightest pre-light notes of milk chocolate can be found at the foot.

Once underway, a toasty, balanced profile emerges with notes of coffee, chocolate, and oak most apparent. The defining characteristic, however, has to be the red pepper spice that lingers on the aftertaste, particularly on the sides and the tip of the tongue. While the strength is more medium-bodied than full, this spicy finish lends an assertiveness to the Toro—making it, in my opinion, a wonderful cigar to pair with bourbon or your favorite sipping rum.

As the Dunhill Signed Range progresses, a myriad of flavors come and go, including sweet cream, damp earth, and charred steak. The texture is savory and the resting smoke is bready. All the while the physical properties are outstanding. The draw is smooth with each easy puff yielding ample tufts of smoke. The gray ash resists the urge to fall off prematurely. And the burn line is just about as straight as they come.

Dunhill may never be the talk of the town, but cigar enthusiasts who overlook the brand are only doing themselves a disservice. The Signed Range Toro is a very good smoke that delivers on the expectations set by its price range, even if its profile and body are a little more muted than the bold cigars that seem to be favored by most seasoned cigar vets these days. As a morning or mid-afternoon treat, I’ve concluded it’s worthy of an admirable rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Two weeks ago, I gave some recommendations for solid value bourbons. Parker’s Heritage Collection 2013 “Promise of Hope” is a bourbon that’s on the other end of the price spectrum.

In fact, while each of the bourbons on my list cost less than $20, every bottle of Parker’s includes a $20 donation to the Parker Beam Promise of Hope Fund, a charity established through the ALS Association in honor of Heaven Hill Master Distiller Emeritus Parker Beam, who has recently been diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). So while the price might be high (around $90 a bottle), it’s worth knowing the revenue supports a good cause.

As for the single barrel offering, Heaven Hill (best known for Evan Williams and Elijah Craig) has this to say about it: “From among Heaven Hill’s nearly one million barrels in storage, Parker selected approximately 100 barrels of ten-year-old, rye-based bourbon from one of his favorite warehouses, the tiered 80-year-old Rickhouse EE in Deatsville, where they sat in high storage for 40 seasons. Each of the chosen barrels was dumped and bottled, with no chill-filtering, in 750 ml. bottles at Parker’s preferred bottling proof of 96 (48% alcohol/volume).”

The bourbon is a vibrant amber color. The nose features an inviting combination of fruit, clove, and baking spice. On the palate there’s more spice (clove, cinnamon, nutmeg), fruit (apple cider, dried cherries), and wood (dried oak and a hint of char). It’s perfectly balanced with a long finish that has plenty of sweetness and a hint of fresh corn.

I’ve always been a big fan of Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage bourbon, and there are similarities between the two Heaven Hill bourbons, although price isn’t one of them. In many respects, Promise of Hope is a more refined, more balanced, and more focused version of Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage.

On its own merits, it could be tough to justify the price (compared to Evan Williams Single Barrel), but the fact is these limited edition bourbons often get bought up and then resold at a premium on the secondary market. So I’d rather have the extra $20 go towards ALS research.

As for cigars, you’re going to want a balanced, elegant cigar to appreciate everything Parker’s Heritage Collection 2013 “Promise of Hope” has to offer. Think Davidoff Nicaragua, Partagas Benji Menendez Masters Series, or the Cohiba Behike.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Here’s a cigar suggestion you might not have heard: change your toothpaste.

Chances are you’re using a conventional toothpaste in a tube that contains a sodium-based chemical known as a surfactant. It’s the ingredient that makes toothpaste—and a host of other products from detergents to surfboard wax—spread better and helps create toothpaste’s foam.

I don’t know of anything wrong with these chemicals or any potential danger from using them. But they can mess up your taste buds, sometimes reducing the ability to experience sweetness and making bitterness more intense. How intense the disruption is, and how long it lasts, seem to vary among individuals and use.

Let me confess that my knowledge is based mainly on reading and my own experience, and I’m surely no expert. So I need to add a disclaimer. I’m not a dentist or a doctor and have never even played one on TV. So, before you do anything, you might want to consult with your health professional.

Finding a toothpaste or powder without surfactants, the most common of which in toothpaste go by the abbreviations SLS and SLES, is pretty simple. Just do a Google search and by the time you type “toothpaste without” you’ll start to see responses.

I switched a while back to Dr. Christopher’s Herbal Tooth & Gum Powder at the suggestion of my dental hygienist. It’s an all-natural product, and I should note that while I like it, some dislike the taste. Perhaps the most widely known toothpaste without SLS is sold under the Tom’s of Maine label.

I’ve never thought I had a particularly good set of taste buds—or olfactory receptors, for that matter. I think switching to Christopher’s Powder has helped, though I couldn’t say how much. See what switching does for you.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr

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 found it interesting that Camacho included a limited edition (100,000 cigars in 5 sizes) as part of its revamp of the line. The Toro is a 50-ring gauge, 6-inch cigar with an international mix of tobacco: Honduran wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and filler from Nicaragua, Honduras, and Brazil. Costing about $10, it’s a bit expensive, and for me the strength came too close to overpowering the flavor.

Verdict = Hold.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

With football on the TV, turkey in your stomach, and family gathered, Thanksgiving is a great day to enjoy a fine cigar (or several). So, as we have for the previous six years, today the StogieGuys.com team tells you what cigars we’ll be firing up after our big meals.

Patrick A: In year’s past, my Thanksgiving selection has often been a cigar that came out in the same year—and 2013 is no exception. Tomorrow, my plan is to fire up a Leccia Tobacco White 650 and a cup of black coffee after the big meal. Hopefully that combination will rescue me from what’s sure to be an epic food coma. The toro (6 x 50) should cap off the afternoon nicely with a plethora of medium-bodied holiday flavors, including coffee, nuts, milk chocolate, and cream.

Patrick S: Like my colleague, I’m a fan of the new Joya de Nicaragua Cuatro Cinco. Created to celebrate 45 years of Joya Cigars, the large box-pressed toro is a hearty, full-flavored cigar, which is just what I’ll want after a large Thanksgiving meal. It has plenty of flavorful ligero, but also a balanced, rounded profile with sweetness and complexity. It will go great with a strong cup of coffee.

George E: I’ve smoked several more Eiroa Toros since I first tried the blend in October, and thoroughly enjoyed each one. A full-bodied, beautiful smoke, this Honduran puro is guaranteed to cut through the most extravagant Thanksgiving meal. At about $10, the 6-inch, 54-ring gauge stick might seem a little pricey, but it’s worth every penny, especially for a holiday treat.

Previous cigars the StogieGuys.com team designated as Thanksgiving smokes include:

Not a bad list, eh? If you’re so inclined, feel free to let us know what you’ll be smoking tomorrow in the comments below. And be sure to have a safe and joyous Thanksgiving.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: N/A

Why does the Obama White House refuse to answer a petition regarding the forthcoming Food & Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of cigars, when it has answered numerous other petitions that were filed more recently and had fewer signers?

In 2011, the Obama White House announced We The People. The concept was simple. “Individuals will be able to create and sign petitions seeking action from the federal government on a range of issues. If a petition gathers enough signatures, White House staff will review it, ensure it is sent to the appropriate policy experts, and issue an official response.”

Originally the threshold for an official response was 5,000 signatures within 30 days, but later it was raised to 25,000 signers, and more recently to 100,000. For the most part it worked as intended. According to WHPetitions.info, which tracks the 235 petitions that have reached the required threshold, 209 (88%) have received the promised response, with an average wait time of just 69 days.

But not all petitions have been answered in a timely fashion, including one about cigars. On April 11, 2012, Jeff Borysiewicz, owner of Corona Cigar Co. in Orlando, filed the petition asking the President to order the FDA to not use its discretion to regulate handmade cigars:

Dear Mr. President:

The FDA is considering the creation of regulations for the premium cigar industry. These regulations will jeopardize over 85,000 American jobs, destroy America’s “mom and pop” premium cigar retailers and manufacturers, and risk over 250,000 jobs in Latin America that produce cigars, impacting the economic/political stability in the region.

We hope you will stand up for small businesses that dot Main Street America and recognize that premium cigars are enjoyed by adults, are not addictive, and therefore do not conform to the Congressional intent of the Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act.

Tell the FDA to leave our premium cigars alone. With this nation’s more pressing issues, harming my simple ability to enjoy a cigar should not be a priority of the government.

Cigar consumers, grassroots activists, websites, cigar sellers, and manufacturers soon banded together to promote the petition. By April 25, it reached the 25,000 signatures needed to qualify for an official response from the administration. Before the 30-day deadline ended, the petition collected nearly 39,000 signatures.

While the average response has taken just over two months, 19 months have passed and the Administration has not yet issued any answer to the 39,000 people who signed in favor of protecting cigars. Only one other petition has been pending longer.

–Patrick S

photo credit: White House