The Stogie Guys

“Professional smokers only. Smoke while sitting down.” That’s the somewhat laughable caution adorning Rocky Patel’s Edge line. But after recently smoking about five EO 601 Serie “Green” cigars, I can’t help but think how these Nicaraguan puros are infinitely more deserving of the warning.

Introduced at this year’s RTDA trade show, the Green Label is the youngest, strongest brother in the 601 family. The series – which also includes the habano maduro Blue, Ecuador Connecticut Black, and habano natural Red – is made exclusively for United Tobacco by stogie legend Don “Pepin” Garcia.

The company is headed by Erik Espinoza and Eddie Ortega (thus the “EO” brand name). Keepers of the Flame was nice enough to point out in April that the line name signifies “the date that Eddie and Erik first went to visit Pepin’s factory in Nicaragua.”

Handmade in Estelí, the La Fuerza (loosely translated as “the force”) is five and ½ inches with a ring gauge of 54. This is one fantastic-looking stick. The habano oscuro wrapper is dark and oily with few large veins. For some reason I find the highly detailed green and gold band to be mesmerizing.

A heavy black pepper spice dominates the outset of this smoke with accompanying notes of coffee and roasted nuts – very full and balanced on the palate. That strong flavor settles down after an inch or so into tastes reminiscent of leather, clove, and cocoa bean.

Down the stretch the taste turns slightly bitter. Surprisingly, though, the cigar does not fall into the trap that befalls so many full-bodied sticks by becoming harsh or overpowering at the nub.

The physical properties are exactly what you’d expect from a Pepin-blended stogie: outstanding. The burn is good, the ash holds firm, and the draw is smooth and clear.

When it’s all said and done, this is one of the most full-bodied smokes I’ve ever had the pleasure to enjoy. For about $7 you get 80 minutes of hearty, complex flavors that pair well with anything from black coffee to dark rum.

Not an everyday smoke, but clearly a real treat for special occasions, the EO 601 Serie “Green” La Fuerza is worthy of four and ½ out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Back in June, Nat Sherman Cigars closed the doors of its midtown store on 5th Avenue and 42nd Street, in the heart of New York City. It was moving to its new store only a hundred or so feet away on 42nd Street between 5th Avenue and Madison, but that’s easier said than done.

Nat Sherman’s stock of 800,000 cigars moved to storage in North Carolina, where they waited for the new store to open. Eventually, on October 8, Joel Sherman cut the ribbon opening the new three-story space.

Over the Thanksgiving holiday I was able to visit the new space myself and sample some of the company’s famous cigars. Upon entering the store – which still has construction scaffolding covering Nat Sherman’s iconic clock – one notices the spacious 30 foot ceilings rimmed by a balcony and surrounded by decorative doors (below). Upstairs is Joel Sherman’s personal office and a conference room.

The main room features four areas of approximately equal size for pipe tobacco, premium cigarettes, smoking accessories and, of course, cigars. Above the main cash register is the same neon cigar sign (right) that was in the old Nat Sherman store on 5th Avenue.

In the back of the store, next to cigar orders from John Wayne, Frank Sinatra, and other world-famous stogie smokers, is a large walk-in humidor (pictured below), complete with personal lockers and an off-limits area in the back for the most expensive sticks.

Downstairs is the future home of the the new Nat Sherman cigar lounge. The manager tells me they hope it will be open by mid-December, and that Joel Sherman will make certain that it will be a fantastic space. As is increasingly the norm, the lounge will be members only, with a limited number dues-paying spots available.

Overall, it is a small oasis for cigar smokers in a city that is increasingly unfriendly to cigars. When the cigar lounge opens and the remaining construction is complete, Nat Sherman Cigars will once again be a must see for cigar smokers visiting the Big Apple.

–Patrick S

View all the photos below:

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Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

This five inch by 50 ring gauge cigar is almost too easygoing – even for a smoker like me who’s not afraid to say he likes mild sticks. With a Connecticut Shade wrapper and Dominican filler tobaccos, the only discernible flavors from the Pioneer Valley Especiales line are paper and butterscotch. The physical properties are good, especially for a stogie that retails for just over $4, but you won’t find anything too exciting here.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In our ongoing effort to make StogieGuys.com as entertaining and reader-friendly as possible, each Friday we’ll post a selection of quick cigar news and stogie-related snippets. We call ‘em Friday Samplers. Enjoy.

1) According to reports, the new Padrón Serie 1926 cigars are finally hitting stores. The “Padrón 80” – which we initially reported on in September – is the first ever perfecto released by the company. If you’re fortunate enough to find them, they will cost you $30 each.

2) Remember that sad case of eminent domain we told you about in September? You know, the one where the city of San Diego seized and destroyed the Gran Havana cigar lounge to make way for a Marriott? Well the Union-Tribune reported yesterday that city officials are “now voicing regret over using eminent domain powers in the first place,” and the hotel’s developer is trying to short the former owner of the lounge by almost $3 million for his land.

3) Around the Blogs: Cigar Jack smokes a Camacho SLR Maduro. Leafy Times smokes three Macanudos. Velvet Cigar puffs a 5 Vegas Miami. Cigar Beat tries the Olde Word Reserve Maduro. Cigar Monkey reviews the Ashton VSG. And finally, on a sad note, the cigar blog community loses one of the good guys as Jerry from The Stogie Review steps down.

4) Deal of the Week: This “World Famous Sampler” from Tinderbox.com includes ten cigars from the biggest names like Cohiba, Montecristo, Macanudo, La Aurora, Don Tomás, La Gloria Cubana, and Arturo Fuente. And at just just $34, you get all ten for what it would normally cost for any five of these. Grab yours here.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Photobucket

The next time you snicker at someone recounting some exotic taste he encountered in a cigar, consider this: There are apples that taste like roses. Others are reminiscent of popcorn or fennel, while some gave forth the aroma of tin or cat urine. And there were lots of other flavors recounted by food writer Harold McGee, who recently was able to munch a vast array of fruit.

McGee, in a New York Times column, described many of the apples he tried at a U.S. Agriculture Department facility that maintains “the world’s most extensive collection of apple varieties and relatives.” He also spoke to scientists involved in experiments on apples for new tastes.

Now I like apples as much as the next guy, but it was the varied flavors McGee described that really grabbed my attention. He explained that some apples contain the cis-rose that creates the smell of roses, while other chemicals created different aromas in others.

So, is it really a stretch that some cigars may have a taste of, say, licorice? If apples can contain anise, there’s no reason to think it couldn’t be found in some tobacco strains. They’re all plants.

My point is the next time you’re rolling a mouthful of smoke around your tongue and you think you detect something new, don’t be surprised. Just keep your fingers crossed that it isn’t cat urine.

–George E

photo credit: Flickr

From Drew Estate, purveyor of the Acid, Sauza, and Kahlúa lines, comes Château Real, a real old-school Havana that the manufacturer calls “the new standard by which all other mild, traditional cigars will be judged.”

The building blocks of the series include an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper, a Mexican San Andreas Negro Oscuro binder, and Nicaraguan Criollo and Dominican Piloto Cubano long-fillers.

The Belicoso Favorita is six inches with a 50 ring gauge, and it retails in the $6 to $8 range. It is a golden, almost candela-tinted brown with a few wrinkles at the seams that provide some nostalgia and whimsy. The red and gold double band is simple and understated, but there’s more than meets the eye.

On the flip side of the top band you’ll find an inscription that directs smokers to the Drew Estate website under the heading of “The Rebirth of Cigars.” I find this advertising technique to be creative, and I’m surprised more manufacturers haven’t adopted the approach.

As I toasted the foot with a few wooden matches, I found a wonderful aroma of toast and hay. Thereafter, the first few puffs set the tone with a warm, buttery flavor. The creamy smoke reminds me of one of my favorite bargain cigars: the Ybor City Handmade.

Another familiar taste is also present, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. It’s dry, hollow, and a little spicy. Contrary to my predictions, the spice doesn’t pick up into the final third, keeping the Château Real soft and mild for the full hour.

Doughy to the touch, this stogie sports a fairly even burn and a clear draw. The ash, while holding firm at times, can fall off unexpectedly.

I don’t think I’m going out on a limb when I call this a real fine morning to mid-afternoon smoke. It successfully accomplishes what many cigars attempt: taste and complexity in a mild format. Still, it’s a bit overpriced, so I’m giving the Château Real Belicoso Favorita three out of five stogies.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As the 2008 Presidential election gears up, some candidates are weighing in on an issue that could affect cigar smokers in a big way: a national smoking ban.

Leading Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, along with a majority of their Democratic peers, have already pledged to sign a national smoking ban for “public places” (by which they mean any space where the public is welcome, even if it is actually owned by a private citizen). Republican candidate Mike Huckabee, known for increasing tobacco taxes as governor of Arkansas, has also pledged to sign and push for a national ban.

But other than Huckabee, we haven’t seen much from the Republican candidates about smoking bans. It isn’t hard to imagine that Congressman Ron Paul – known as “Dr. No” for his votes against any federal law not explicitly authorized by the Constitution – is a strong opponent of smoking bans.

Talk on this important issue has been lacking so far in the campaign, but we’re hoping that changes tomorrow night at the CNN/YouTube debate where questions are submitted by anyone with a webcam.

Ultimately, while I’d like to see more in-depth talk about these senseless bans, the following question, submitted by a YouTuber from Minnesota, would be a good start:

–Patrick S