The Stogie Guys

Back in June, Miami Cigar & Co. announced it would be revamping and re-launching its series of lines bearing the Nestor Miranda name. The move coincides with the company’s 25th anniversary and honors its founder as Nestor Miranda reduces his workload.

“It has been an honor for me to begin the process of creating a new look and feel which is worthy of what Nestor Miranda and the Miami Cigar & Co. team have accomplished over the last 25 years,” said Jason Wood, Miranda’s son-in-law and vice president of (and presumed heir to) Miami Cigar & Co.

Wood was the driving force behind the overhaul of the Nestor Miranda Collection, providing us with a vision of where he plans to take the company in the future. Evidently, the changes were met with Miranda’s approval. “I am excited about the new vision [Jason Wood] has for our future and the re-branding of the Nestor Miranda Collection… [He has positioned us] to make a lasting impression on the cigar industry for years to come.”

The new Nestor Miranda Collection is made at My Father Cigars and is broken up into three lines: Habano (green band), Maduro (red), and Connecticut (blue). While the former are original blends, the Connecticut has the same recipe as the old Special Selection Connecticut cigar. All come in 4 sizes—Robusto (4.5 x 50), Toro (5.5 x 54), Corona Gorda (6 x 46), and Gordo (6 x 60)—and retail for about $7 to $9 apiece.

The Habano version has a dark wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and a three-country filler blend from Nicaragua, Honduras, and Brazil. It’s a stout, oily specimen with a well-executed cap and a clean surface. The pre-light notes are rich and reminiscent of espresso bean and cocoa. The firmness is moderate (perhaps a little soft at the foot), and the cold draw is tight.

With a cigar like the Habano Robusto—where the large band covers roughly 30% or more of the actual cigar—I always remove the band before lighting. Underneath is an impeccable wrapper with only a few thin veins. Once lit, the cigar produces a medium-bodied profile of oak, coffee, roasted nuts, and some creamy sweetness. The texture is leathery, and the finish leaves some cedary spice on the tip of the tongue.

After the first third, the draw opens considerably and the smoke production increases. The flavor remains consistent throughout, save for some notes of baking spices that surface towards the end. From light to nub, the burn stays straight and the ash holds firm.

I’m looking forward to trying the other new Nestor Miranda Collection lines, and I also want to try some of the larger sizes of the Habano blend. But my first taste of this new twist on the series is a good one. The Habano Robusto packs a lot of flavor and spice into a condensed format, and the sweet creaminess plays well off the coffee notes. For that, 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

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 classic H. Upmann pyramid was the predecessor to the iconic Montecristo No. 2.  Time has treated this cigar well (I’ve had it in my humidor for at least 3 years). It demonstrates classic Cuban flavors of cedar, cocoa, and grass with a mild body. It’s well-constructed with a sturdy ash and even burn. You never know what you’re going to get from a Cuban cigar because of inconsistencies in quality, but this one hit the mark.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Ezra Zion has been around for a while now, but looking through our hundreds of reviews, somehow we’ve never written up one of their cigars. So let’s change that today.

The Tantrum P.A. is a follow-up to the original Tantrum, released last year by the Ezra Zion, which is distributed by House of Emilio. Tantrum comes in a single petit corona size called Prensado Pequeño and sports an all-Nicaraguan blend featuring a seven-year-old wrapper.

The “P.A.” (short for Passive Aggressive, as opposed to the fully aggressive Tantrum) also comes in one size: this time 6.5 inches long with a ring gauge of 44 and a box press. It’s a Nicaraguan puro with a Cuban-seed Corojo ’99 wrapper. The cigar is sold in boxes of 28 with a planned annual production of just 700 cigars. The Tantrum P.A. carries a suggested retail price of $9.95. I smoked two for this review, both provided by Ezra Zion.

Pre-light there is quite a bit of cinnamon and sweetness. Once lit, I find a medium-bodied combination of leather, slight clove, earth, and roasted nuts. The flavors don’t change much over the hour-plus of smoking time, but the cigar has complexity, with a multi-layered profile.

Tantrum P.A. actually reminds me quite a bit of the 2013 Illusione Singulare (which I recently smoked for a Quick Smoke between the samples I smoked for this review), probably in part because it’s from the same factory and a similar size.

Neither of my Tantrum P.A. samples had any construction issues. What really stands out is the copious amount of dense, palate-coating smoke, and a sweet, almost molasses-like, aroma.

I’ll admit I haven’t had many Ezra Zion cigars, but what few I have impressed me. This is no different, and it makes me want to give a better look at some of their other offerings. While the price prevents it from being a great value, it is a thoroughly enjoyable smoke. That earns the Ezra Zion Tantrum P.A. a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I didn’t intend to buy a whole box of cigars. And I wasn’t planning to spend $130. But that’s just what I did when I was lucky enough to come across a 10-count box of The Jekyll, the latest cigar from Tatuaje’s popular Monster Series.

My impromptu purchase speaks to the rarity of Monster Series cigars, the success of Tatuaje’s marketing, and the well-earned reputation Pete Johnson’s company has amassed over the years. I simply could not let the opportunity to buy The Jekyll slip through my fingers. And after smoking a few, I’m glad I didn’t.

Since 2008, Tatuaje has released an annual Monster Series smoke around Halloween, celebrating some of Johnson’s favorite characters from the horror genre, including The Frank, The Drac, The Face, The Wolfman, The Mummy, and The JV13 (Jason). This year it’s The Jekyll, a nod to the 1886 novella Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. Next year, the Monster Series release will be The Hyde.

As is tradition, Johnson only produced 666 “dress boxes” of 13 The Jekyll cigars, with only 13 “unlucky” retailers getting the bulk of the boxes to sell. He also released 4,500 plain 10-count boxes, equating to a total run of just under 54,000 individual sticks. Each The Jekyll features an Ecuadorian Sancti Spíritus wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The single vitola (7 x 49) is made by My Father Cigars.

The Chuchill-sized smoke sports a silky exterior with a few prominent veins. Firm to the touch with a good weight in the hand, the cigar has a belicoso-like cap that’s expertly constructed. A precise guillotine cut at the very tip is all that’s needed to reveal a smooth cold draw. At the foot, the subtle pre-light notes include honey and sawdust.

Right at the outset, there’s a lot going on with the medium-bodied flavor. The profile is balanced with notes of sweet cream, cinnamon, damp wood, and white pepper. The aftertaste is long and characterized by both red pepper and cedar. The texture is bready, and the resting smoke has an incredible creaminess. As The Jekyll progresses, an understated hint of black licorice creeps in and out but never really grabs the spotlight. Throughout the two-hour smoke, the defining trait remains the interplay between spice and a creamy sweetness.

Being the weak man that I am, I couldn’t wait any longer than five days to fire up one of these, even though my box had been shipped and likely suffered through some winter conditions. Even so, the physical properties perform beautifully. The burn line never requires so much as a touch-up, the draw is clear and true, and the smoke production is excellent. It should be noted, however, the white ash is extremely flaky.

Those familiar with the classic tale will recall Mr. Hyde is the sinister split personality of the gentler Dr. Jekyll. So I would expect 2015’s The Hyde to be more intense. Hopefully I can hang on to a few The Jekyll’s to do a side-by-side comparison next year. For now, The Jekyll is an excellent, well-balanced smoke that’s well worth the $13 price and worthy of the Monster Series name. It earns the outstanding rating of four and a half 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.”

With the new 2014 Illusione Singulare now shipping to retailers, I thought it would be a good time to revisit the previous Singulare: the Rose Croix LE 2013 (7 x 46), a Nicaraguan puro made at the Jalapa TABSA factory. Considering how well past Singulares have aged, I wanted to see if 6 months of humidor time made any difference. The answer? Not really. This is still a good, medium-bodied smoke with wood, lots of leather, and hints of crisp vegetable, aluminum, and earth. It’s not that this is definitely not a cigar worth aging, it’s just that six months don’t seem to have made an appreciable difference to this well-made limited offering.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This isn’t a normal Spirits write-up. Four Roses Barrel Strength Private Selection isn’t just one bourbon, but a barrel selection program. More details in a minute. But instead of burying the lead, it’ll come right out with it: If you want some really good bourbon you can actually find at a reasonable price, seek out Four Roses Private Barrel Selections.

The more you get into bourbon, the more you find hype. There are lots of good bourbons (and ryes) out there, but many of the limited offerings are increasingly hard to find. Pappy, Buffalo Trace Antique Collection (Stagg, William Larue Weller, Sazerac 18, Eagle Rare 17, even Handy), rare Willett offerings, A.H. Hirsch… they are all outstanding. They’re also hard to find, and usually wildly expensive (hundreds of dollars or more).

Even American whiskey bottles that weren’t all that hard to find a year or two ago (Old Forester Birthday Bourbon, Weller 12, Weller Antique 107, even Elmer T. Lee) are now becoming difficult to find. That makes a limited and tasty, yet readily available, bourbon a real gem.

Four Roses makes bourbon differently from most other distilleries. While most bourbons use one single recipe (mashbill and yeast combination), Four Roses mixes 10 recipes into its standard Yellow Label bourbon. (The small batch has four of those bourbons in an undisclosed ratio.) This unique approach gives Four Roses a far wider library of aging bourbon barrels than most places.

And thankfully, Four Roses makes those barrels available for its Private Barrel program. Here’s how it works: A retailer, distributor, or even a bar can select a single barrel from ten or so samples they recieve from Four Roses. They might specify the recipe they want, but ultimately they choose the bourbon that is bottled (usually between 9 and 12 years) as their private selection through tasting. That means every Private Barrel Selection was at least selected as the best of a handful of barrels. So if you find a retailer who really knows their stuff, you’ll likely end up with a pretty tasty selection.

I’ve had a half-dozen of these in recent years, selected by stores in Kentucky, Texas, California, and D.C. and each has been excellent. Each recipe has different characteristics, and each barrel is unique. I’ve yet to find a dud. At $50-70 per bottle, it’s a solid value, especially given the ever-increasing prices of rare bourbon.

Each is bottled at barrel-proof without being diluted, which usually means 110-proof or often higher. Each unique barrel has its own character, so suggesting a cigar pairing is difficult, but you’ll definitely want a flavorful, full-bodied cigar.

As for which bottles to pick up, I have two suggestions. First, take a look at the description of each of the ten recipes Four Roses makes and decide which ones sound the best. Second, find a retailer who knows their bourbon and can pick a good barrel. Do that and you’ll end up with some of the best bourbon you can find.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A.J. Fernandez is one of the most respected cigar makers in the world. And deservedly so. He has one of the best résumés you could hope to come across in the industry.

Born in Cuba, Fernandez worked with the late Alejandro Robaina, Cuba’s foremost producer of top wrapper leaves and the namesake of the Vegas Robaina brand. Fernandez quickly gained fame making cigars for other companies including Rocky Patel, Padilla, Graycliff, and Gurkha, as well as crafting exclusive cigars for catalog giant Cigars International (for whom he makes Diesel, Man O’ War, La Herencia, and others.) Then, in 2010, he introduced his first solo national brand, San Lotano, which became a hit.

These days, Fernandez’s portfolio includes Pinolero, Mayimbe, New World, and five different San Lotano blends. He also has a line called Fallen Angel, which features an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper from the highest priming available around Nicaraguan tobaccos.

There are five Fallen Angel vitolas sold in the affordable $6-8 range: Churchill (7 x 48), Double Toro (6 x 60), Toro (6 x 50), Torpedo (6 x 52), and Robusto (5 x 52). The latter—gifted to me by the fine folks at CigarsFor.Me—is box-pressed with a clean, moderately oily wrapper that’s almost vein-free. The cap is executed well, the seams are barely noticeable, and the pre-light notes remind me of dry earth and milk chocolate.

As I set the light, I notice the draw is a little stiff. Still, once the foot is burning evenly, each puff seems to yield ample smoke. Once underway, a medium-bodied profile emerges with notes of oak, black pepper, and a syrupy sweetness. I find the flavor balanced and pleasing, though not terribly complex.

After an inch, a spicy aftertaste of cinnamon and cedar introduces itself—just in time to pique my interest after a start that’s, frankly, a little lackluster. Tastes of cream and pecan join the fray at the midway point. The final third is characterized by more intensity and more spice, though I can’t say the Robusto ever leaves the medium-bodied spectrum.

Throughout, the physical properties are exactly what you’d expect from Tabacalera Fernandez in Estelí: superb. The white ash holds incredibly well, the burn never requires so much as a touch-up, and the draw opens nicely after the first few puffs.

This is not A.J. Fernandez’s finest cigar, and I doubt it will amaze anyone. That said, it’s tasty, well-built, and affordable. You might consider keeping a few on hand for an afternoon complement to coffee, or to share with guests who are infrequent cigar smokers (this is a very approachable smoke). Overall, I rate the Fallen Angel Robusto three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys