The Stogie Guys

Though you might not know it, Tatuaje creator Pete Johnson is a cigar distributor as well as a brand owner. And he doesn’t just distribute his own cigars, which are made in Miami and Nicaragua, but also those from a small cigar factory in the Dominican Republic.

Para Ti is the project of Pete Johnson’s friend, Fred Schrader, maker of some of the most highly-regarded Napa Valley wines. A cigar enthusiast in addition to a vinter, Schrader has created two cigars at his small factory, both distributed exclusively by Pete Johnson’s Havana Cellars.

Says Pete of Para Ti: “I’m only doing the distribution, but it’s a trip for me because it’s a completely different country for me to be working with. This is their blend, I OK’ed it; I told them I’d be happy to sell it because the product is good. I don’t know a lot about the factory except that it’s called Para Ti and it’s very small. This is a way for me to help out a friend in the industry, but also, people have asked me to do this before and I never really wanted to do it and this one just seemed to fit right.”

With Johnson handling distribution, Schrader has created two cigars. Extremely hard to find, limited, and expensive ($25 each) is the Schrader Hispaniola Sparky Doco-Est MMIX, named after Schrader’s most exclusive wine. His other cigar, the subject of this review, is the Para Ti, a Dominican puro available in four sizes: Hermosos (4.5 x 52), Perlas (5 x 40), Prominentes (6 x 60) and Canonazos (6 x 48).

To evaluate the Para Ti, I smoked four of the toro-sized Canonazos, which retail for around $8 each. The cigar has as rough, rustic appearance with a medium brown wrapper that has both an oily sheen and many veins. It is firmly constructed, and produces an even burn and sturdy ash.

Para Ti (“for you” in Spanish) starts with forward and simple woody notes, but soon develops into a more complex medium-bodied cigar. It has a strong flavor of roast cashew that combines with dried fruit for a flavorful, balanced blend. Towards the final third it becomes more woody. It has a clean flavor profile with a soft finish.

Considering that I knew little about this Dominican before I smoked it, I found it to be an impressive creation. It’s one of those rare cigars where after smoking one, you’d consider lighting up another almost immediately. With bold, balanced favors and good construction, it earns a most impressive rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

“Wait until you see the painting of Tom Kelly!” declares the tour guide with a proud smile. We walk down the suite-level corridor at Target Field, home of the Minnesota Twins, and suddenly find ourselves staring at a giant painting of former Twins manager Tom Kelly chomping on a cigar. “This is his official portrait,” says the guide.

Kelly is having his number retired this year. After leading the team to two World Series titles and then sticking around to work in the Twins front office and occasionally moonlight as the color commentator on Twins TV broadcasts, it’s fitting that the franchise would retire #10. After all, he’s exalted in Minnesota baseball, the most successful manager in Twins history, and the only one to lead the Twinkies to a World Series title, which he did not once but twice.

So if one were to visit the suite level of Target Field, you’d see a wall covered with paintings of all the Twins managers. It’s sort of like a baseball hall of presidents, where a portrait of each skipper hangs in chronological order and stretches the length of a hallway. Painted by Max Mason, who used photos selected by Twins management, each painting depicts a Twins manager either in action, or posing for the shot. But none of them—and I mean none of them—stand out like the painting of Tom Kelly. The image of this cigar-chomping, prescription sunglass-clad skipper is already a classic.

“He was a big cigar guy,” says Joe Pohlad, marketing specialist for the Minnesota Twins. Kelly no longer smokes, but back in the day he used to stomp around the field with a cigar dangling from his lips and could sometimes be seen puffing on a stogie during batting practice. “We have some great photographs of TK,” says Pohlad. “This was a very iconic picture, where he has very stern look on his face. Ready to get it done.”

But it’s the cigar that makes this painting great. The Target Field tour guide says Tom Kelly himself chose the photo that would become the iconic painting. When pressed for the story, Pohlad confirmed that Tom Kelly did choose the image, and to the delight of the Twins front office. Says Pohlad: “If he didn’t pick it, we definitely would have picked it.”

Max Mason, the artist, is happy with how the painting turned out. Commissioned to paint portraits of all 13 Twins managers, Mason just completed a panoramic painting of Target Field that the Twins also purchased. View more of his fantastic work at his website.

–Mark M

photo credit: Max Mason

Say hello to the latest StogieGuys.com winner, Carl Lindstrom. He’s a retired Illinois resident and Florida snowbird who enjoys a variety of cigars with what may be the simplest, and best, method of evaluation: “I either like it or I don’t.”

Lindstrom was randomly selected from among those who commented on a January 2 post urging cigar enthusiasts to contact U.S. representatives and Senators to protect premium cigars from Food & Drug Administration regulation. His prize was a pair of Montecristo New York Connoisseur Edition cigars I’d received from Altadis. I must say I was flabbergasted when I saw his address. For when Lindstrom and his wife escape the cold northern clime, they can be found less than an hour north of me.

And that’s not the only close connection. His local shop in Spring Hill is one I’ve visited and written about, Serafin de Cuba, run by Arnold Serafin. (I also reviewed Arnold’s cigars here.)

Commenting on the Montecristo New York, Lindstrom said he found it a little strong, but that it smoked nice and slow. He summed it up as “a very nice cigar.”

Lindstrom, who goes online by his old high school nickname of Swede, sold Chevys for 32 years and worked five more as a grade school custodian before retiring. Like many of us back then, he started smoking cigarettes as a teenager, tried cigars and a pipe along the way, then quit in 1993. He returned to cigars about four years ago and said it took awhile to abandon the habit of smoking them like cigarettes.

Among his favorites are Nick’s Sticks by Perdomo, the Oliva Serie O, and cigars from E.P. Carrillo. “And when I’m in Florida, the Serafin de Cuba Connecticut Robusto,” he added.

As I wrote before, the contest offered us all a chance to be winners. And that’s certainly true for me. I now have another smoking buddy up the road, and I plan to see if we can get together at Arnold’s shop for a smoke before he flees the coming summer heat.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As we reported in early February, Eddie Ortega, co-founder of EO Brands along with Erik Espinosa, announced he was leaving EO to start his own outfit called Ortega Cigars. The news came 20 months after Rocky Patel bought a 50% share in EO Brands.

The blends in the EO Brands portfolio—including 601, Cubao, Murcielago, and Mi Barrio—are all made at Don Pepin Garcia’s My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua. So it comes as no surprise that the first line from the Ortega Cigar Company is also made by Pepin at My Father Cigars. Called “Serie D,” the blend boasts a Mexican maduro leaf from the San Andreas Valley surrounding Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. “We are using some fillers from Jalapa and Estelí that are crazy good and help create a profile that is full-bodied with lots of spice, flavor, and aroma,” Ortega told us via email. “I know the consumer will love this one.”

Serie D is available in five sizes that are just starting to hit select retailers: No. 6 (4.5 x 48), No. 7 (5 x 46), No. 8 (5.5 x 50), No. 10 (6 x 52), and No. 12 (5 x 52). The No. 12 is a dark, oily stick with a firm feel, a slight box press, and pre-light notes of sweet cocoa. It retails for about $7 apiece.

The initial taste is very dry with a burning wood characteristic. It is not nearly as sweet or as chocolaty as you might expect. Instead, the defining trait of the Serie D is its chalky, mouth-coating texture—one that isn’t dissimilar to the Murcielago. Another unique attribute is a sour mustiness on the finish. Throughout the syrupy smoke, flavors of dark chocolate, black coffee, and fig come and go. But the chalky, woodsy core remains consistent from light to nub.

The dark, rich aromas of the cigar are just as enjoyable as the taste. I smoked the No. 12 in my den, allowing the thick smoke to hang heavy in the air. This added to the experience, as did the excellent physical properties. While Eddie Ortega has acknowledged some draw inconsistencies in the first shipment of these cigars, I found no issues in the samples I smoked for this review.

Distribution of Ortega Cigars is done in-house and, for now, is not widespread. Ortega says he is in talks with distributors to bring his cigars to more areas of the country. If you find the Serie D at a shop near you, be sure to pick up a few sticks to try for yourself. The No. 12 is priced appropriately and 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.”

This new version of the Tatuaje Cojonu blend hasn’t been released yet, but I was fortunate enough to get one at a Tatuaje event last month. The new Tatuaje Conoju 2012 will come in three versions: one with a Habano wrapper, one with a Sumatra wrapper (Capa Especial), and one with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper (Reserva). It’s a potent, bold smoke that features earth, dark chocolate, black coffee, and black pepper spice. With flawless construction, this new Tatuaje smoke is certainly a ballsy, full-flavored Nicaraguan cigar.

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.”

Although this stick came out last year, I’ve only recently gotten around to it. Little about the Retro Especiale line, from band and box to wrapper and taste, is common to the traditional La Gloria Cubana. The blend is a complex mixture of several tobacco strains from four countries, including a Connecticut-seed wrapper grown in Honduras and a double binder that includes Mexican leaf. Numerous flavors developed throughout, with strength about medium. The draw felt a little loose and the burn wandered a bit, but it is certainly an interesting cigar worth a try.

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) The price of premium cigars increased by 25 cents per stick in Chicago yesterday. The president of the Cook County Board, Toni Preckwinkle (pictured), had originally proposed a 30-cent tax on cigars in November. When she did, Bill Spann, chief executive officer of the IPCPR, fired back in a press release. “This is wrong on so many levels,” he said. “First of all, Cook County and Chicago residents and consumers are already paying high taxes on all tobacco products. If the County Board or City Council increase those taxes, consumers will take their business elsewhere. In addition, bootlegging of tobacco products will be encouraged, as will their purchase over the internet, neither of which generates taxes.”

2) As the 2012 Habanos Festival rolls on, Cuban officials have released figures that show a 9% increase in sales in Cuban cigars in 2011, adding up to over $400 million. Spain remains the top listed market with emerging markets like China, Russia, Brazil, and the Middle East gaining pace. The U.S. is the world’s consumer of cigars, though it is difficult to tell how much money Americans spent on Cubans last year since the 50-year-old trade embargo relegates those purchases to the black market.

3) Inside the Industry: Only available for a few months, General Cigar is releasing the Punch Rare Corojo and Punch Rare Corojo 10th Anniversary in limited quantities. Tickets to the Midwest Smoke Out, held on April 19 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, are being sold here for $150 apiece.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews a Paul Stulac Angel. Cigar Brief smokes a La Gloria Cubana Retro Especial. Cigar Obsession obsesses over a St. George Sumatra. Cigar Fan fires up a Casa Magnus Domus Magnus Limitada. Cigar Inspector inspects a Juan Lopez Maximo (RE Switzerland).

5) Deal of the Week: This “Petite Elite Sampler” features ten corona-sized cigars for just $25. Included are two-each of the Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve, Punch Elite Natural, Carlos Toraño 1916, Cielo Eros, and Puros Indios.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Examiner