The Stogie Guys

Not being a Led Zeppelin fan, I wouldn’t know the drums in “When the Levee Breaks” from “Moby Dick.” Not that it really matters. We are, after all, smoking, not beating out a rhythm.

After a successful, but limited, debut in 2012, Headley Grange went on to become Crowned Heads’ second regular line. It is available in five regular vitolas and a limited edition drumstick, released earlier this year. The corona gorda is 5.6 inches long with a ring gauge of 46. I paid about $8 each for the most recent sticks.

The blend comprises a familiar combination: Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper with binder and filler from Nicaragua. Headley Grange, like Four Kicks, is rolled at Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s Tabacalera La Alianza factory in the Dominican Republic. I consider that the cigar world’s equivalent to the Good Housekeeping Seal when it comes to quality and consistency, and it surely is in this case.

From appearance to draw, burn line to ash, Headley Grange is first-rate. My initial smoking impression was that this cigar is a bit milder than Four Kicks and that held up throughout. The predominant flavor is deep, rich tobacco with a light layer of spice at the back of the throat.

About halfway down, Headley Grange ramps up a bit, becoming, in fact, a bit sharp. That quickly dissipates, though, and by the final third, it’s again smooth with just a little spice.

This cigar is well worth trying. Descriptive words that come quickly to mind are satisfying, rich, and deep. What I don’t think you’ll find are much complexity or surprises.

I give the Crowned Heads Headley Grange a paradiddle and a rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Crowned Heads

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 been consistently impressed with the smokes from Aging Room/Boutique Blends. The company produces quality, interesting sticks for a fair price. Which is why I was looking forward to trying their new Swag S Maduro, introduced in Las Vegas last summer. The Infamous vitola (6 x 54) features an attractive, toothy, oily maduro Nicaraguan wrapper around Dominican binder and filler. It has roasted flavors, coffee, unsweetened chocolate, and toasted oak, all paired with fantastic construction and medium-bodied notes that go excellently with either coffee or rum.

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.”

With a name like Straight Jacket, you’d expect a cigar strong enough to wrestle you to the ground and wrap you around the throat. Couple it with Christian Eiroa, one of the fathers of modern full-strength cigars, and it would seem an even better bet. Surprisingly, I didn’t find it that way. Oh, the six-inch Toro is powerful, a spicy $9 smoke with a bit of pepper and a long, satisfying finish. But if it’s strength you crave, I’d recommend Eiroa’s eponymous line. Just don’t ignore Straight Jacket. Or you’ll miss an immensely enjoyable smoke.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

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) Our friends at Cigar Rights of America—the national advocacy organization dedicated to protecting the rights of the consumer, retail tobacconist, and manufacturers of premium cigars—are hitting the road with four upcoming events. These events are a great opportunity to join CRA, renew your membership, become more involved, or just share a smoke with like-minded cigar enthusiasts. On November 23, CRA will be at the Tampa Cigar Festival. On December 5, the organization will be at Cigar Aficionado’s Big Smoke in New York City. And on December 7 and 14, CRA will be in Miami at Smoke This! and Cigar Extravaganza, respectively. StogieGuys.com encourages all cigar smokers to join CRA and take a stand against tobacco taxes, smoking bans, and harmful regulations.

2) It may soon be illegal to smoke cigars on outdoor bar and restaurant patios in Toronto. That’s because officials in Ontario are considering a proposal that would criminalize those activities, and also ban smoking on playgrounds and sports fields. The Health Minister also “announced a ban on sales of tobacco on college and university campuses and the doubling of fines for stores that sell cigarettes to minors,” according to CTV News.

3) Site News: Regular visitors may have noticed that the site has been a little sluggish over the past few weeks, especially during peak hours. To fix the problem, we’ve upgraded servers once again and you should now be able to access all the great StogieGuys.com content quicker than ever.

4) Inside the Industry: Toraño has started shipping its new Vault D-042. “Vault Red,” as Toraño has nicknamed it, features an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan filler, along with a Pennsylvania filler leaf. The cigar comes in four sizes: Robusto (5 x 52), Toro (6 x 50), Torpedo (6.1 x 52), and BFC (6 x 60).

5) Deal of the Week: This “Black and White” sampler features 10 cigars for just $30. You get five Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ Natural Robustos
and five CAO MX2 Robustos.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: CRA

Michter’s is special name in American whiskey because the Michter’s Distillery in Pennsylvania made some great whiskey back in the day. The distillery closed in 1988, though there is still a tiny amount of bourbon from that distillery available for sale in the form of A.H. Hirsch—which cost around $100 a bottle when I wrote about it in 2008, and now will cost you around ten times as much because it is so rare.

Like the Hirsch Reserve bourbon my colleague wrote about earlier this year, this Michter’s whiskey has nothing to do with the Michter’s Distillery except the name. The new Michter’s is planning on opening a distillery in Kentucky but, for now, it sources its whiskey from others and doesn’t disclose its providers.

Sour mash refers to the process, rather than the specific mashbill like rye or bourbon. (In fact, both rye and bourbon can, and are, made with a sour mash style, with the most famous being Jack Daniel’s.) Sour Mash simply means that each batch uses part of the fermented mash from the previous batch.

While details are hard to come by, reportedly Michter’s Sour Mash uses the same recipe as an old product from the Pennsylvanian distillery: 50% rye, 38% corn, and 12% barley. That recipe (with only 50% corn, as opposed to 51%) would make it neither bourbon nor rye. Contrary to what some think, Sour Mash doesn’t mean a sour flavor.

Michter’s Sour Mash shows a dark amber color when poured straight. The nose features muted candied fruit, yeasty bread, and a bit of ripe red apple.

On the palate it’s a very unique profile with muted apple, bread, red fruit, tea, oak  and—remarkably for the 50% rye in the mashbill—only a subtle hint of spice. The finish is very clean with more fresh oak and subtle fruit.

At $40 a bottle, there are better values in American whiskey, but Michter’s Sour Mash earns points for it’s unique, enjoyable taste.

It lacks the intensity to pair with a full-bodied cigar, so stick with medium-bodied or mild smokes. I particularly enjoyed La Palina Classic, Aging Room M21, and a 15-year-old P.G. Gourmet with this unique American whiskey.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

One could make the argument that Nicaragua has become, or is quickly becoming, the nucleus of premium cigar production. The Central American nation is closing the gap on the Dominican Republic, currently the largest exporter of cigars to the U.S., and a list of the world’s hottest brands is likely to have as many Nicaraguans as any other country.

This is a relatively new trend. Ten years ago, few would have predicted Nicaragua would be where it is today, competing with the likes of the Dominican Republic and Cuba for quality, attention, and prestige. And going back even further to 1968, there was only one cigar manufacturer in Nicaragua: Joya de Nicaragua.

This year is Joya’s 45th anniversary, and the company is celebrating by doing something it hardly ever does: releasing a limited edition. “With this cigar we are capturing the true Nicaraguan Spirit, rich in the tradition that embodies our cigars and that defines us as the archetypal Nicaraguan cigar maker, because before Joya, there was no Nicaraguan cigar,” said Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca, head of Joya de Nicaragua. “While this cigar promotes our heritage, it is also a celebration of the future and the many years we still have ahead of us.”

Called Cuatro Cinco, the cigar is a Nicaraguan puro with tobaccos from Estelí and Jalapa. The filler is of particular interest; it’s aged Ligero that had been resting in oak barrels. Only 4,500 boxes of 10 have been made, and only one vitola is available: a large, semi-box-pressed smoke that measures 6 inches long with a ring gauge of 54.

With a smooth, reddish wrapper, pre-light notes of cocoa and dried fruit, and a well-executed cap, Cuatro Cinco is aesthetically pleasing. It clips easily with a double guillotine to reveal a smooth cold draw that leaves a little mustiness on the lips.

Once lit, the cigar opens with a complex, balanced profile that tastes a little leathery and a little sweet, with a base of earth and moderate spice. Espresso and cashew enter the equation around the midway point. In the final portion, there’s an increase in spice and dry wood. All the while the combustion qualities are befitting a cigar of the Joya de Nicaragua name: great draw, straight burn, solid ash, and above average smoke production.

For my personal taste, the asking price of $13 is more than fair. Cuatro Cinco hits all the right notes. It’s traditional in flavor yet somehow also unique. It’s powerful yet nuanced. And, perhaps above all, it leaves a lasting impression. That results in the 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

I once tried smoking my way through a large number of La Flor Dominicanas. Of course, with so many lines, new releases, and limited editions, there was no way I’d get them all.

With Crowned Heads, it’s a much different story, although I still may not make a sweep. That’s because of special editions, such as Mule Kick and Drumstick, that aren’t easy to find. But I can certainly get through the standard lines: Four Kicks, Headley Grange, and J.D. Howard Reserve.

Four Kicks is rolled in the Dominican Republic by Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and was Crowned Heads’ debut production after Jon Huber left CAO and formed the new company.

The Corona Gorda measures 5.6 inches long with a ring gauge of 46. Retail is about $7 individually and $150 for a box of 24. The binder and filler are Nicaraguan and the wrapper is an Ecuadorian Habano.

As with much of Crowned Heads, there’s an interesting mix of old and new. For example, the name comes from a Kings of Leon song, while the intricate red and gold embossed band wouldn’t look out of place on a mid-century Cuban.

I smoked a couple of Four Kicks not long after they came out a couple of years ago—check out the 4.5-stogie review by Patrick S. from that time—but only recently devoted the care and attention necessary to do a review. As you’d expect, the basics are well covered: construction, draw, burn, and smoke production are first-rate. Every one I’ve smoked has performed the same.

When it comes to taste, Four Kicks is a bit different. There’s a range of spices but little of the pepper often associated with Nicaraguan tobacco. While some elements, such as a sweetness, appear and disappear, complexity is achieved more by a variation of the intensity of the spices as you smoke. The finish is light and smooth. I found lighting with a cedar spill successful as the woody flavor mixes well with the spices.

The best compliment I can give Four Kicks is the more of them I smoke, the more I enjoy them. For me, the Crowned Heads Four Kicks Corona Gorda earns four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys