The Stogie Guys

Can’t find Pappy Van Winkle anywhere? Here’s a bourbon that you’ll find on the shelf of virtually every decent liquor store, as well as some less-than-decent shops, in America.

Bulleit Bourbon is in that nice sweet spot in the market, a step or two up from the bottom shelf. Prices vary from state to state, but you’ll likely pay between $20 to $30 for the 90-proof straight Kentucky bourbon.

Owned by liquor giant Diageo, the high rye bourbon (the mashbill is just under 40% rye grain) was distilled for many years at Four Roses distillery. Because of growing demand for its own whiskeys, Four Roses recently stopped supplying Bulleit. Who exactly is making bourbon for Bulleit now is sort of a mystery.

What’s in the bottles on shelves right now probably is still from Four Roses (at least in part) and probably aged at the famed Stitzel Weller distillery. Soon enough, Bulleit’s $115 million new distillery will be up and running and the mini-mystery of where the bourbon is made will go away.

The nose on Bulleit has lots of sweet corn, light caramel, and oak with just the slightest floral aroma. It pours a light copper color and comes in its distinctive old style apothecary bottle.

On the palate, Bulleit features light char, caramel, buttered corn bread, and honey. The finish shows off the rye spice and wood that lingers on the roof of your mouth.

There’s no question in my mind that Bulleit Bourbon is a steal at $20 and it hangs well with the best bourbons under $30. You wouldn’t hesitate to use it in a cocktail, but its perfectly pleasant neat, which is how I prefer it.

For a cigar pairing, Bulleit calls for a medium-bodied cigar with a little spice. I’d particularly recommend the Tatuaje Black, Aging Room F55, La Flor Dominicana, or My Father.

For all the hype of limited edition bourbons like Pappy Van Winkle and the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (which are both outstanding), Bulleit is a reminder of what I like best about bourbon. You can still find excellent bourbons for a reasonable price and Bulleit just another example.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Back in April 2014, I visited the Joya de Nicaragua factory in Estelí as part of Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari. At the outset of the tour, Juan Ignacio Martínez—then 31 years old and recently named executive president as his father, Dr. Alejandro Martínez Cuenca, stepped away from day-to-day operations—gave us an overview of Joya’s fascinating history.

Many know Joya is the oldest cigar maker in Nicaragua. Fewer are aware of how Joya’s legacy is intertwined with the political unrest in Nicaragua in the 20th century. When you think Joya, you probably don’t think of Anastasio Somoza Debayle, President Nixon, or the Sandinista Popular Revolution. You probably think of brands like CyB, Joya Red, Cabinetta, Cuatro Cinco, and Antaño 1970.

The aptly-named Antaño blend (which translates to “yesteryear”) was crafted, according to Joya’s website, “as a tribute to recapture the power and essence of the puro that made this legendary brand the most sought-after cigar in the U.S. in the post-Cuban Embargo 1970s.” The blend is well-known to deliver a consistent, rich, spicy, full-flavored experience.

Ten Antaño vitolas are available, including the toro-sized Alisado (6 x 52), which retails in the affordable $6-7 range and has a slight box press. It is handmade at Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua with 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos, including a dark Criollo wrapper.

Alisado, like its Antaño 1970 brethren, enjoys a fairly dense packing of tobaccos within its mottled, somewhat reddish wrapper. Dry and smooth to the touch with minimal veins, the cigar exhibits pre-light notes of cocoa, earth, and hay, especially at the foot. The cap clips easily to reveal a clear pre-light draw.

Once an even light is established, a moist, mouth-watering profile emerges of chocolate, coffee, cedar, and black pepper. Background notes include cream, raisin, and peanut. The texture is leathery and the body is full. Spice is not yet overtly prevalent, though it does linger on the finish.

Towards the midway point, the pepper spice begins to dominate, complemented by the addition of cayenne heat and sweet prune. The finale exhibits more intensity though, admirably, no harshness or bitterness. The combustion qualities are very good throughout; expect a solid ash, straight burn line, hassle-free draw, and above-par smoke production.

Over the years I’ve always kept some Antaño 1970s on hand. They provide a great deal of flavor, enjoyment, strength, and consistency—especially for such a reasonable price. And the more I smoke the line, the more I think the Alisado is the best vitola of the bunch. Something about the format, or perhaps the ratio of tobaccos in this size, simply hits me the right way. That’s why I’m awarding this excellent cigar from Joya de Nicaragua 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 take on a single cigar.

When my colleague reviewed the Neanderthal SGP this past week, it reminded me I had a Neanderthal I’ve been meaning to fire up. I’ve smoked the original HN size before, but not this new petit corona size, which comes only (for now) as part of the El Catador de Las Petite Coronas box, which has two each of RoMa Craft Tobac’s five blends, each in a little (4 x 46) size for $62.50. Much like the larger sizes I’ve smoked, the HoxD trades away nuance and subtlety for power, which manifests itself as damp earth, charred oak, and black pepper. Even more so than the larger sizes, this cigar tastes raw and coarse, which is probably the point. But it’s a little too much in such a small, concentrated size.

Verdict = Hold.

–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.”

I visited the Portsmouth location of Federal Cigar earlier this week. Federal, which has four locations in New Hampshire, is known for exclusive offerings from a variety of cigar makers. The Headley Grange Snaredrum, for example, is an exclusive size of the Crowned Heads blend. It’s a “corona especiales” (6 x 38) with the original Headley Grange recipe: Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper around Nicaraguan tobaccos. Only 3,000 Snaredrums were made, and they can be bought online for $9.25 (or, for some reason, $11 at the Portsmouth cigar bar). I found the Snaredrum to be a nice combination of honey, graham, spice, and oak with excellent construction. The fast-burning cigar has a short finish, though, and the profile leaves my palate a little dry. So I’m not fully convinced it’s worth the cost.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Few cigars were as anticipated at this past summer’s IPCPR Trade Show as the Padrón Dámaso. The reason is simple: In an era where many cigar companies compulsively create new cigar lines to debut each year, Padrón rarely expands its portfolio.

Founded in 1964, Padrón only added its first new line (1964 Anniversary) beyond its core line in 1994. A second 1926 line was added in 2002, and the annual Family Reserve line release was the next added in 2008. All are proudly billed as 100% Nicaraguan, with either a maduro or natural wrapper.

That makes a full new line featuring a non-Nicaraguan wrapper a very newsworthy event. That new cigar line is named for Jose Padrón’s grandfather Dámaso who was the first Padrón to arrive in Cuba sometime in the late 1800s from the Canary Islands.

Dámaso comes in four sizes, each of which comes in boxes of 20 cigars and features dual white bands, plus a security band underneath with an individual serial number (a feature Padrón introduced to counter counterfeits). I smoked four of the robusto-sized (5 x 50) No. 12 vitola (one of four sizes) for this review.

Although not prominently identified, the Connecticut-seed wrapper used for the newest Padrón is grown in Ecuador (as opposed to Connecticut). It’s a nice-looking wrapper, with an even khaki color. Pre-light there’s a nice combination of grass, earth, and pepper.

The cigar is slightly salty and bitter immediately after being lit, but very quickly settles into a combination of hay, earth, white pepper, and cedar. Towards the second half there are cashew and cream notes.

While billed as a milder Padrón, especially towards the beginning it has sneaky strength. Even after it smooths out after the initial burst, it maintains more strength than many Connecticut-wrapped cigars, which is pretty much what you’d expect from a Connecticut Padrón. The choice of an Ecuador-grown Connecticut wrapper makes sense here since it tends to stand up to the Nicaraguan binder and filler better than a Connecticut-grown leaf.

Construction is flawless, especially the burn, which features a narrow black line, and was perfectly straight for each of the samples I smoked. I was surprised how quickly the robusto burns, as I finished each sample in well under an hour despite setting a very deliberate pace with the final two.

There’s no question in my mind that this new offering from Padrón is a good cigar. Although the $12.50 price isn’t the most wallet-friendly (this cigar would be be a segment-killer at $8), it is a perfectly constructed, well-executed Connecticut cigar with enough flavor not to let you forget that it’s a Padrón. That earns the Padrón Dámaso No. 12 four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Yesterday both Cigar Rights of America (CRA) and the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) issued email alerts announcing that the pending FDA cigar regulations took another step towards final implementation. As we’ve covered previously, such regulations could be devastating to the thriving handmade premium cigar industry, even though there is no indication that such regulations would have any impact on youth smoking or public health.

According to the reports, the FDA has officially sent the latest version of the deeming rule on cigars to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) at the White House for economic review. The controversial rules not only would subject cigars and pipes to FDA regulation, but also the growing line up of e-cigarette and vaping products.

OMB has 90 days from receiving the proposed rule to conduct its review before it goes to final implementation. According to CRA, the OMB may have received the rule from FDA up to a month ago, meaning that the 90-day maximum time period could end before 2016.

CRA and IPCPR will both now direct lobbying efforts to OMB, which is charged with examining the economic impact of proposed FDA rules. The groups and their lobbyists will attempt to show the potentially devastating economic impact that the proposed regulations would have on cigars, including costing jobs both in the U.S. and abroad.

In its initial proposed rule, the FDA offered two options for regulating cigars: option 1 (which covers all cigars) and option 2 (which exempts handmade cigars over $10). Although the proposed rules transmitted to the OMB presumably include the agency’s decision on that important issue, it is unlikely the OMB will make public the agency’s intentions on the issue of a possible exemption.

While the OMB review may seem like a formality, those familiar with the creation of the initial proposed rule say the OMB was critical in advancing the option of an exemption for some cigars. If the OMB feels the FDA’s final version insufficiently addressed its previous concerns, it could request further revisions.

Also, although unlikely, with such a hot-button topic, if the modifications requested by OMB are significant enough, they may not go to final review, but could instead be sent back to the FDA. Experts familiar with the federal rule-making process indicate that if the revisions are large enough, it could even trigger a second round of public commenting before returning to the OMB for another final review, which could delay the process significantly.

–Patrick S

photo credits: Stogie Guys

In 2014, Skip Martin’s RoMa Craft Tobac—the small, Estelí-based operation that has deservedly developed a cult following for its CroMagnon, Aquitaine, and Intemperance boutique lines—came out with its first new blend since 2012: Neanderthal.

Neanderthal was billed as the strongest RoMa Craft to date, which says a lot since CroMagnon is anything but mild. Martin said the recipe fulfills his intent to make a cigar with characteristics similar to La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero or Joya de Nicaragua Antaño.

When it was introduced, Neanderthal was available in a single size called HN: a 5-inch figuardo that has a ring gauge of 56 near the foot and narrows to 52 at the cap. Interestingly, the head of the cigar is completely flat across, and not just from a press; think a bowling pin with the top few inches sawed off.

This summer, a second size was added that’s exclusive to two tobacconists: Riverside Cigar Shop in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and Serious Cigars in Houston, Texas (the former takes orders over the phone, the latter online). Called SGP, it measures 4.25 inches long with a ring gauge of 52 and retails for $10 per single, $48.75 per 5-pack, or $134.95 per box of 15.

Like HN, SGP sports a rustic, oily, dark Mexican San Andrés maduro wrapper, a Connecticut broadleaf binder, and filler tobaccos that include four types of Nicaraguan tobacco. There’s also an aromatic Dominican olor component, and a Pennsylvanian double ligero leaf known as “Green River Sucker One.” The stout cigar is firm to the touch with an attractively understated band of rust orange and white. The flattened cap clips easily to reveal an airy cold draw.

Once lit, rich pre-light notes of leather and dark chocolate transition to a full-bodied profile of espresso, black pepper spice, and dry oak. Yes, you could call this a blunt force instrument given the hearty nicotine kick. Doing so, however, fails to afford the SGP credit for its subtler background notes of nougat and salty nut—background notes that persistently fight through the leathery texture of the smoke. In the same vein, I think many will be surprised by how smoothly the cigar’s flavor and strength is delivered.

Constriction is exquisite, as RoMa Craft fans surely expect. The burn line is sharp and straight, the smoke production voluminous, and the stable ash holds well off the foot.

The Neanderthal SGP is clearly not for everyone. But if you’re a seasoned cigar veteran looking for loads of flavor and strength in a compact (I really like this size, by the way), well-constructed package, this little bomb is for you. Sure, the price point is high—especially considering the dimensions of the cigar—but the quality and craftsmanship is evident. I’m awarding this RoMa Craft creation a very commendable four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys