The Stogie Guys

Back in July, StogieGuys.com broke the news that Drew Estate would be releasing Undercrown Shade, a new line based on the original Undercrown blend—but this time with an Ecuadorian-grown, Connecticut-seed wrapper instead of a Mexican San Andrés leaf. I reviewed the Gran Toro here. As I mentioned in my review, Undercrown Shade marked the first release blended by Drew Estate Master Blender Willy Herrera not to fall under the Herrera Estelí brand family.

I’m not sure if the Undercrown Shade line would have come to fruition, or if Herrera would have been named master blender, had it not been for the success of Herrera Estelí. Introduced a few years ago, Herrera Estelí was Herrera’s first cigar since leaving El Titan de Bronze in Miami’s Little Havana and joining Drew Estate in Nicaragua.

When it came out in 2013, Herrera Estelí provided some much-needed diversification for Drew Estate’s non-infused premium cigar business, which had previously focused on dark, full-bodied smokes. Herrera brings a more traditional—some would say “Cubanesque”—sensibility to blending, whereas Drew Estate had been firmly full-throttle Nicaraguan.

Herrera Estelí employs a golden Ecuadorian Habano wrapper around a Honduran binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua. It has a gorgeous triple-cap, a moderately firm feel, and pre-light notes of hay and molasses. The cold draw is clear.

On the palate, the Toro Especial (6.25 x 54, about $9) offers a mild- to medium-bodied taste that’s creamy with hints of spice and sweetness. Think syrup, creamy nut, dry wood, and white pepper, all packaged in a toasty texture. The balance and lack of intensity make the vitola easy to come back to again and again, as long as you have the time for a big toro.

I smoked three Toro Especial cigars in the past few days for this review. The physical properties were top-notch on each, including a straight burn line, solid white ash, and a smooth draw that yields bountiful tufts of thick smoke. Basically, it’s exactly what you’d expect from Drew Estate.

Keep your eyes peeled for Undercrown Shade, but certainly don’t forget how excellent Herrera Estelí can be, especially if you’re looking for subtle complexity and more traditional flavors. The Toro Especial is a good value and a wonderful experience. It earns four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

While a top-notch, limited edition cigar rolled at a major factory with a price tag under $10 isn’t a black swan, it might qualify as a gray one. These days, the $20+ My Father LE and Davidoff’s $30+ Year of the Sheep may seem more the norm.

And with only 30,000 of each of the three Las Calaveras vitolas released, this year’s edition may no longer be easy to find, but it is one smoke worth the hunt. I praised its sibling, LC52, in a Quick Smoke earlier this summer. Picking up a five-pack of the LC46 gave me the opportunity to smoke, and enjoy, more.

This cigar, rolled for Crowned Heads at the My Father Cigars factory, is 5.625 inches long with a ring gauge of 46. The wrapper is an Ecuadorian Habano Oscuro, and the binder and filler are Nicaraguan.

They combine for a complex smoke that began with roasted nuts, dry cocoa, and a little back-of-the-throat spice. By the start of the second third, that spice had mellowed, and I picked up notes of cinnamon, cedar, and leather. Pepper joined in during the final third. Throughout, the flavors were even, smooth, and well-matched.

Construction and burn were excellent, the ash held tight, and the smoke was rich and ample. I did find the draw a bit tight, especially when I used a V-cut. I’d highly recommend opening up the head by using a guillotine cutter instead of the V or a punch.

The first incarnation of Las Calaveras debuted to high praise last year, and Crowned Heads plans to make it an annual release with a different blend each time. In addition, for 2015, Crowned Heads introduced some different sizes. Bands clearly note the year of issue and display some different colors, making it easy to distinguish between 2014 and 2015.

By now, though, noting the difference is likely to be more of a test at home than on the shelves. The Las Calaveras, whose name comes from an image related to Mexico’s Day of the Dead holiday, has been a sales success both years.

I can’t wait to see what 2016 brings. For 2015, I rate the Las Calaveras LC46 four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–George E

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.

Coyol debuted at last year’s IPCPR Trade Show, but this one came in the 10-cigar sampler I received when I renewed my Cigar Rights of America membership. It features wrapper, binder, and filler from a Honduran farm called Coyol, along with a second binder and additional filler from Nicaragua. Once lit, you’ll find toasty notes along with leather, clove, and a slight dried fruit sweetness. It’s a medium-bodied and well-balanced blend, an enjoyable cigar with excellent construction.

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 take on a single cigar.

This recreation of Smoke Inn’s original entry in its limited edition Microblend Series is a winner. It is a lovely cigar, showcasing a bun at the cap, an oily Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, and a figurado shape that runs from a 48 ring gauge to 52 along the 6.25-inch frame. As you’d expect from Pete Johnson and My Father Cigars, Anarchy kicks off with strong pepper notes, then provides plenty of other flavors along the way, from wood and leather to coffee. With production limited to 666 boxes of 15 (about $10 a stick), you’ll need to move quickly.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Like the cigar industry, the whiskey industry isn’t one to let an anniversary go unnoticed. And also like the cigar industry, a limited-edition, super-premium product is usually the result.

Wild Turkey released this bourbon last year to celebrate Master Distiller Jimmy Russell’s 60 years with the company. Russell is one those larger-than-life characters that bourbon seems to produce, and Jimmy’s son and co-Master Distiller Eddie Russell (who has been with Wild Turkey for over half of those 60 years) selected the barrels that made up this tribute to his father.

The Diamond Anniversary Bourbon is a blend of bourbons ranging from 13 to 16 years old. It is bottled at 91-proof and sells for the around $125 dollars.

The copper-colored bourbon has a fantastic nose with notes of pecan pie, vanilla, baking spices, and burnt brown sugar. The palate is rich with buttered pie crust, leather, spice box, wood, and dried fruit. It’s simultaneously rich and flavorful but also surprisingly light and balanced. The finish is relatively short and clean, with a light wood that lingers.

While Wild Turkey has a bit of a rough and aggressive reputation, Diamond Anniversary is an entirely more nuanced type of bird, and the more I sipped it the more I appreciated it. Yes, the price is steep, and I wish they could have offered this in the more traditional 101-proof format, but there is still a lot to like.

As for cigar pairings, the Wild Turkey Diamond is extremely versatile. I enjoyed it with both a full-bodied Drew Estate Liga Privada No. 9 and a more mild- to medium-bodied Illusione Epernay, so basically any good cigar will feel right at home with this celebratory bourbon.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

You could be forgiven for not being familiar with Royal Agio Cigars. But while the Netherlands-based company may not be a major player in the U.S. market (at least not yet), Agio has a huge presence internationally and has recently achieved the milestone of over 800 million cigars sold in a single year. That’s a lot of cigars.

Agio, which was founded in 1904 by Jacques Wintermans, has recently partnered with Drew Estate to bring its cigars to the American market. The Agio portfolio includes the Balmoral Añejo 18, which had a successful launch in 2014, limited by the rarity of the 18-year-old Arapiraca wrapper.

This year, Agio introduced Añejo XO, which is made in the Dominican Republic using well-aged tobaccos. The wrapper is Brazilian sun-grown, the binder Dominican, and the filler is a three-country blend from Brazil, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. The new blend was on display at Drew Estate’s elaborate booth at the IPCPR Trade Show in New Orleans this summer. It is expected to be made available at a couple-hundred tobacconists nationwide.

Añejo XO is offered in three vitolas: Rothschild Masivo ($9.90), Mk52 ($10.95), and Petit Robusto FT ($8.50). The Rothschild Masivo measures 5 inches long with a generous ring gauge of 55. Kudos to Agio for including the name of the vitola on the foot band, though I don’t think there’s any way to confuse the three sizes; the Mk52 is a torpedo, and the “FT” in the Petit Robusto’s name refers to its “flag tail.”

The Rothschild Masivo is an oily specimen with a few prominent veins, a reddish hue, and a nicely applied triple-cap. The foot shows a cross-section of tightly packed tobaccos and exudes pre-light notes of damp wood and leather. The cold draw is stiff with the wrapper imparting a slight sweetness on the lips.

Right from the outset, the Añejo XO boasts a big, bold flavor of earth, raisin, black pepper spice, and rich espresso. The background note reminds me of black cherry. Full-bodied and strong, each puff coats the palate with thick smoke, and the aftertaste is formidable with a considerable concentration of spice on the tip of the tongue. There are few changes in flavor from light to nub.

Construction leaves a little to be desired given the burn line—which requires a few touch-ups along the way to stay even—and the moderately tight draw. But the ash holds firm off the foot and the smoke production is solid.

The Rothschild Masivo is a heavy-handed, blunt-force instrument with plenty of power and an interesting interplay between spice, earthy richness, and fruity sweetness. I’d recommend giving it a try on a full stomach after a large meal with a complementary beverage, preferably a sweet sipping rum. In my book, it earns three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys