The 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. The Beverly Hills City Council on Tuesday unanimously gave preliminary approval for a Draconian smoking ban on outdoor sections of bars and restaurants. The city has already been covered by California’s indoor ban since 1998, but apparently even that’s too much freedom for posh Hollywood elitists. No word yet on what role Rob Reiner played to advance the outrageous regulation.

2. Those freedom-hating bureaucrats at the World Health Organization are calling for a worldwide ban on indoor smoking. As our friends at To The People note, despite the WHO’s current claims, this is just a step towards their ultimate goal: total global tobacco prohibition.

3. Around the Blogs: Cigar Jack reviews an elusive Fuente Anejo. Stogie Fresh reviews the Toraño Tribute 2003. Stogie Review got a face lift. Keepers of the Flame had a Saint Luis Rey Series G. StogieCast tries the CAO Gold. Terry smokes a La Aroma de Cuba. Velvet Cigar reviews a Gurkha Warlord. [Editor’s note: Around the Blogs is our new weekly recap of other cigar blogs.]

4. Cigar Aficionado has a video on the proper way to cut a cigar. Of course, you already know that.

5. Deal of the Week: If you haven’t taken care of you Father’s Day gift yet, you’ll want to scoop this up. For $29.95 you get 12 premium smokes (including Padrón, Hoyo, Cusano, Perdomo, Puros Indios, Toraño, Felipe Gregoria, Partagas, La Gloria Cubana, and Rocky Patel), a travel case, and hat. Buy yours here today!

–The 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) In a bi-partisan show of stogie pride, former Congressman Tom Delay (who’s been known to enjoy a Cuban) was spotted smoking a cigar at a Capitol Hill bar, while Democratic presidential hopeful Bill Richardson declared his appreciation of a fine cigar. When asked what they would bring to a desert island, other White House wannabes chose their wife, a good book, or even a boat, but Richardson said he’d bring his “blackberry and a Davidoff cigar.”

2) Be on the lookout for these two new cigars. Altadis is releasing another line of Montecristos. The Serie C features a Cameroon wrapper grown not in Cameroon, but in the Central African Republic. Meanwhile, Habanos S.A. is releasing the H. Upmann Tacos Imperialés in limited edition humidors.

3) Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore recently found himself in some hot water with the US Treasury Department for a trip to Cuba for his latest movie. Perhaps if he had read our tip on visiting Cuba, such much trouble could have been avoided. Of course we’re pretty certain he was there for the communism, not for the cigars.

4) Deal of the Week: We thought this deal was sold out, but fortunately it isn’t. For just $10 you get eight cigars including a CAO Criollo, a Padron, a La Gloria Cubana, a Gurkha, a Cusano, and a Toraño Silver (plus 2 Thompson house brands). Grab yours today (limit two per person) by clicking here.

–The Stogie Guys

With Florida’s 84-75 win over the Buckeyes in last night’s national championship game, the StogieGuys.com NCAA Final Four Challenge has come to a close. And oh what a March Madness it was!

Aside from the fact that I’m getting a little sick of the Gators winning it all in everything, this year’s college basketball tournament was not without its fair share of exciting moments. From VCU upsetting Duke in the first round to Ohio State narrowly escaping Xavier, from Georgetown squeaking past Vanderbilt at the last second to North Carolina blowing it against the Hoyas in overtime, our brackets kept us all on the edge of our seats.

But, in the end, only one StogieGuys.com reader can be crowned champion of our first annual Final Four Challenge. This year it’s Dave Manikowski of Oil City, Pennsylvania. Dave amazingly picked all Elite Eight teams correctly and had Florida defeating Ohio State in the championship.

As promised, Dave will receive these Final Four smokes: a Montecristo Classic Robusto, a Cohiba (Dominican) Robusto, a Gurkha Class Regent Torpedo, and a rare Dona Flor Robusto. Some excellent smokes for an excellent bracket!

And we couldn’t be shipping these out to a better guy. According to Dave, he is a “personal care attendant for [his] friend Troy, who was in a diving accident when he was 15 and is now a quadriplegic and confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.”

Avid stogie fans, they started their own cigar placements business called 2 Fogies Stogies Cigar Co. Of Troy, Dave says that “nothing is better than spending some time smoking a fine stogie with him and talking about business plans for the future.”

We’re sure Dave will share some of his winnings with Troy, but we also hope he hangs onto at least one of the cigars until July 23, the date he and his girlfriend Leslie expect their first child.

Congrats, Dave!

–Patrick A

Tags: cigars

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) Since Editor in Chief Patrick Ashby is a native Chicagoan, how could we pass up sharing this story with you? Cigar Aficionado recently named The Windy City the “the most elegant city in the United States in which to smoke cigars.” With its abundance of stogie-friendly hotels, bars, restaurants, cigar shops (including the oldest one in the nation), and blues and jazz joints, how could one argue? In some locales, like Mike Ditka’s Restaurant, you can be ridiculed for not smoking. Heck, you might even be lucky enough to get chewed out by Da Coach himself. If you’re looking for an excuse to visit “the city with the most beautiful urban center in this country,” click here to order tickets to the Big Smoke (coming up on April 10).

2) In case you missed it, cigar-smoking politicos Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rush Limbaugh duked it out on Rush’s syndicated radio show last week. After some childish name-calling from both sides (including “closet liberal” and “irrelevant”), the Governator sent Limbaugh an autographed humidor featuring the governor’s seal on the lid.

3) In our last Friday Sampler, we opened the door to Quick Smoke submissions. After all, the more reader feedback on StogieGuys.com, the better. (Besides, this should also help lighten the workload for our seven-days-a-week cigar website.) We’ve already received a decent number of great submissions, and we look forward to sharing them with you over the next few weekends. If you haven’t already done so, please consider sending one in today.

4) Deal of the Week: In previous Friday Samplers, we told you about a deal that includes 12 premium handmades, all from names you recognize: Rocky Patel, Gurkha, Macanudo, Partagas, La Gloria Cubana, Hoyo, Punch, and more – plus a hat and travel case. Now they’ve got the same deal, with the same great price (only $29.95), but they’re also throwing in a 13th cigar. The deal now includes two CAOs (the Brazilia and the new Gold Maduro). To grab one today, click here: Baker’s Dozen Deluxe Sampler.

–The 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) New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson this week signed into law a statewide smoking ban over the “Land of Enchantment.” The Democrat, a long-shot presidential candidate in 2008, occasionally smokes cigars, but apparently doesn’t think the adult citizens of his state are smart enough to make their own decisions. The prohibition – which goes into effect on June 15 – bans smoking in restaurants, bars, most workplaces, and even near the entrances of buildings. In order to justify this draconian legislation, Richardson cited a bunch of inflated statistics from self-serving groups like the AFL-CIO and the American Cancer Society.

2) Handmade cigars are a pleasure with hundreds of years of tradition. But that doesn’t mean a little high technology can’t make them even better. That’s what BLH Industries is doing. By using identical plastic molds, as opposed to the traditional wodden molds that get worn down with time, they make it easier for cigar manufacturers to create perfectly constructed cigars every time.

3) Over at BlogCritics.org (where we are regular contributors) JJ sings the praises of cigar bars: “They are havens for cigars. Ashton Classics can go where everybody knows their name. Cigar bars are ideal places for both cigars and cigar lovers.”

4) Finally, here’s our deal of the week: Over at Thompson they’ve still got their “Ultimate Cigar Sampler” deal going – which includes 12 premium cigars (Rocky Patel, La Gloria Cubana, Gurkha, Hoyo, and too many more to name), a cigar case, and a hat for just $29.95. We don’t know how much longer this “holiday special” will run, so you may want to act quickly.

–The Stogie Guys

Wanna have some fun and go up against fellow StogieGuys.com readers in an NCAA March Madness pool? Wanna win some free cigars? If you answered is “Yes” and “Hell yeah!” then the 2007 Stogie Guys NCAA Final Four Challenge is for you.

The winner gets a “Final Four” pack of premium and super-premium smokes that will include a Montecristo Classic, a Cohiba (Dominican), a Gurkha Regent, and a mystery cigar to be named at a later date.

To sign up for free, click this link and select “Join a Group” (you’ll need a Yahoo ID). Our league number is 112474, and the password is “stogie.” Also, be sure not to hide your email so we can contact you if you win.

Contest fine print: To be eligible to win the cigars, you must be 21 or older and must live in the Continental U.S. (sorry Hawaii, Alaska, and foreigners). Proof of age may be required. One entry per person, not per email. The winner will be contacted via email the week following the Championship game. Scoring is determined by Yahoo.

Sign up is closed by Yahoo just before the first game starts on Thursday, so get your entry in ASAP.

Feel free to discuss your Final Four picks below. And for some information on Basketball’s greatest cigar smoker, see this article on the passing of “Red” Auerbach, the inventor of the victory cigar.

–The Stogie Guys

Tags: cigars

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) Since September, we’ve published a number of stories in the wake of Colorado’s deplorable statewide smoking ban. We told you about Orios – a bar in Durango, Colorado – and how it became the first establishment to be charged with violating the regulation. And we reported how just eight weeks into the ban, many bars had been devastated, losing up to 80 percent of their income. Now, many Colorado bar owners are taking a stand by paying government fines to allow their customers to smoke. The justification? The fines – which range from $200 to $500 and up – are much easier to take for a small business than a significant drop in revenue caused by government-enforced prohibition on smoking.

2) Good news for Stogie Guys in the UK: There could be a permanent 50 percent off sale on premium Cuban smokes in the country as a result of a court ruling in favor of Mastercigars Direct. That company can continue importing Fidel’s hand-rolled sticks, even though it’s not an official importer. Experts say the ruling, if upheld, will open the floodgates for other cigar importers, and cigar prices could drop to half of their current value.

3) Capitalizing on the success of our last event, we’re proud to announce the second DC-area Stogie Guys Smoke Out will be held on Thursday, March 22 at Carpool in Arlington, Virginia. Just like our first, we’ll be playing pool, throwing darts, drinking, and smoking cigars from 6:30 p.m. until whenever. Come on out and get in on the fun.

4) Finally, here’s a great deal we just had to share: 16 premium cigars for just $29.95! And that includes just about every big name in the business: Macanudo, Gurkha, CAO, Partagas, Padron, Punch, Rocky Patel, Arturo Fuente, and more. Just click on the photo to snag yours today.

–The Stogie Guys