The 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.”

Vita Nova is the follow-up cigar to the original Dante line, and this corona (6 x 42), which features a short pigtail cap, is a special edition of the Vita Nova line made in limited quantities for the DC Cigar Tweet-Up event held at cigar shops in the greater Washington area each year with proceeds donated to charity. The cigar has a unique lineup of flavors with sourdough bread, banana peel, slight saltiness, and just a bit of pepper spice. It produces a very heavy, thick smoke that can make the medium-bodied cigar seem more full-bodied than it is. At times, the draw is slightly tight, but it’s not too problematic, and otherwise the cigar has admirable construction. I found it to be heavier than the regular Dante Vita Nova vitolas, which I slightly prefer, but this is an enjoyable and unique smoke.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Arturo Fuente’s Solaris. Tatuaje’s Anarchy and Apocalypse. My Father’s El Hijo. Padrón’s 1964 Anniversary SI-15. Quesada’s Oktoberfest Dunkel. Room 101’s Big Delicious. What do these cigars have in common?

They’re all part of the Microblend Series that’s sold exclusively by Smoke Inn, a Florida-based cigar retailer. The Microblend Series is inspired by the growing popularity of U.S. microbreweries, harnessing how “limited production quantities allow for a greater emphasis to be placed on quality and consistency,” according to the Smoke Inn.

To bring the Microblend Series to fruition, Smoke Inn has partnered with some of the most respected names in the industry to produce one-time limited batches offered in one size each. The eighth—and latest—edition is the 601 La Bomba Bunker Buster (5.5 x 56), a figurado variation of Espinosa Cigar’s 601 La Bomba. It was created, according to the Smoke Inn website, “to honor our courageous troops” and their traits of “strength, honor, grit, and freedom.”

In addition to an “army-green design with ammunition-style boxes and military stripes across the band,” the Bunker Buster features a Habano Claro wrapper around a Criollo binder and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. The milk chocolate-colored exterior is silky and oily, the pre-light notes sweet, and the cold draw smooth despite the tapered head and foot.

With a name like Bunker Buster, and marketing copy like “a full arsenal attack on the senses,” you’d expect this figurado to be powerful. It is. Once the foot is evenly lit with a wooden match, a profile of dry cedar spice, red pepper, espresso, and warm tobacco. The Nicaraguan puro has a meaty, chewy texture with an herbal aftertaste. The nicotine kick is considerable, and the conclusion of the cigar is characterized by heat and even more spice.

Throughout, the construction is solid. The burn line may meander a bit, but it’s nothing a few touch-ups can’t quickly correct. The draw is clear, the smoke production adequate, and the gray ash holds firm off the foot throughout the slow-burning, enjoyable smoke.

The Bunker Buster is $8.95 whether you buy it by the 5-pack or the package of 10. I think that’s a pretty fair price as long as you concede you’re obtaining this smoke for pure power instead of complexity or subtlety. Seasoned cigar vets who crave strength will want to give this full-bodied, military-themed cigar a try. For my own tastes, the 601 La Bomba Bunker Buster is worthy of three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Allow me to take a brief break from writing about rye whiskey to focus on a new staple bourbon in my collection. Rick Hill Farms has been around for a while, but I had never actually tried the spirit until recently (in part because, in my home state of Virginia, it is a “special order” item not regularly stocked by Virginia’s state-owned liquor stores).

Rock Hill Farms is made by Buffalo Trace, which crafts many well-known bourbons, from Blanton’s to Eagle Rare to George T. Stagg. Buffalo Trace makes bourbon with three different mashbills (this chart has the details). Rock Hill Farms Single Barrel is one of five made with the high rye mashbill, which features 10-12% rye and a small amount of malted barley along with a majority of corn. (Blanton’s, Elmer T. Lee, Ancient Age, and Hancock’s all derive from the same mashbill.)

Rock Hill Farms doesn’t have an age statement, but reports list it as 8-10 years before being bottled at 100-proof. A 750 ml. bottle costs $50-60, roughly the same as the 93-proof, more widely available Blanton’s. (The bottle is a square decanter that an imaginative mind will have no trouble finding use for after its contents are gone.)

Rick Hill Farms is a lovely deep amber color. The nose has a rich combination of rock candy, honey, baking spices, and just a bit of oak. On the palate, it’s a velvety combination of caramel, dried fruit, fudge, and creaminess. It has a restrained intensity that’s easy to appreciate and worthy of drinking straight. The finish is long and full of apples and spice.

As far as cigar pairings go, it’s a versatile bourbon that can stand up to all but the spiciest cigars. A rich Nicaraguan cigar like a Tatuaje Brown Label or Drew Estate Liga Privada goes as well as a more subtle cigar like a Cohiba Behike or Davidoff Colorado Claro.

The obvious comparisons for the Rock Hill Farms Single Barrel are Blanton’s and Elmer T. Lee, both of which are single barrel selections made from the same mashbill. For value, it’s hard to beat Elmer T. Lee, which is $20 less than the other two. But compared to Blanton’s, the higher proof Rock Hill Farms Single Barrel is a slight step above, perhaps due to the added intensity of its higher proof. That’s why it recently became a regular on my bourbon shelf and is a must-try for bourbon fans.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Recently, I’ve been talking to a lot of my cigar friends about jars. Whether the pill bottle format of the Viaje Antidote, or the slick black tubing of the Tatuaje Black Corona Gordas, many 2014 best-of lists will include stogies packed in less-than-traditional packaging.

The Corona Gorda was first released in 2007 in jars of 19, and people went wild. Then, around the end of last year, Pete Johnson decided to celebrate his 10th anniversary with the re-release.

This cigar is revered among Tatuaje fans. Since the jars were so limited in their release the first time around, they quickly became impossible to find. Those who had them were posting amazingly positive reviews. And, to add to the hype, the Black label became known as Pete Johnson’s personal blend.

The Black Corona Gorda is a Nicaraguan puro with a sun-grown binder, rolled at the My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua. The presentation of this cigar is perfect. The wrapper has a nice feel to it—just a little sponginess—with a perfectly applied cap and a simple, classy band. The pre-light aroma includes leather and a slight hint of chocolate.

When lit, this cigar really lives up to the expectations the appearance created (as well as the cigar’s reputation). The flavors are intense and varied. Starting with leather and cocoa, the cigar then gains some a nice citrus flavor, and both red and black pepper mix in and out as the smoke progresses. Throughout, there is a solid chocolaty core, but it never becomes the prominent flavor. The Corona Gorda remains cool and full-flavored all the way down to the nub.

Normally, my reviews are longer, but there is really nothing else for me to say or complain about with this smoke. It is well worth the price of a jar, and I’m in the process of hunting one or two jars down for myself currently. Any fan of Tatuaje or Nicaraguan smokes will love this one, and I’d be hesitant to award it anything less than a perfect five out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. A list of other five-stogie rated cigars can be found here.]

–Joey J

photo credit: Smoke Inn

Spurred by a recent article from one of my colleagues, I’ve submitted my comments to the FDA on its proposal to regulate cigars.

I tried to follow Patrick’s excellent advice, especially to be brief and focused. I’d add only one suggestion to his—sign your name. A signed comment is worth dozens of anonymous ones.

I took a somewhat different tack than most filers, focusing on suggestions that I believe could increase the likelihood of getting an exemption with minimal impact on the industry.

Since I shared my recent letter to the FDA’s tobacco czar, I thought I’d do the same with these comments:

I am an adult cigar smoker and fully support an FDA exemption for premium, hand-rolled cigars. I’ll let others enumerate the reasons this should be done. Instead, I’ll focus on three areas that I believe both sides could accept and that would facilitate reaching an agreement on an exemption.

– Enact a federal minimum age of 21 for purchasing premium, hand-rolled cigars. This would both demonstrate the industry’s sincerity that it does not market to underage youth and allay fears of tobacco opponents.

– Require officers and directors of cigar companies whose products are exempted to annually attest, under penalty of perjury, that their companies and products adhere to the requirements of the exemption.

– Ensure that the exemption is clear and unambiguous, and does not, under any circumstances, allow creation of other exempted products, such as lower-cost cigarette alternatives.

I do feel compelled to comment on one specific component of the proposal: the $10 price floor. This would be devastating, leaving an industry so diminished as to require no more regulation than luxury-priced dark chocolate truffles. I urge that rules be enacted without an impractical, ruinous price floor.

Thank you for your consideration.

I hope everyone will file their own comments. Feel free to copy, adapt, or use any portion of mine. Read through our (many) previous articles on the subject for other ideas and sources. But don’t miss the opportunity to register your views here.

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

About one year ago, we reported Hendrik Kelner, Jr.—son of Henke Kelner of Davidoff fame—was releasing his own brand called Smoking Jacket Cigars. The inaugural release was the first cigar created in Kelner, Jr.’s newly opened Kelner Boutique Factory in the Dominican Republic. It was a blend of Dominican, Brazilian, Peruvian, and Nicaraguan tobaccos.

As is popular in the cigar industry, Kelner, Jr. is involved in other projects as well. One example is Cabal Cigars, a brand operated by Chris Arolfo who distributes Cabal out of a base in Houston. Over the past few years, Cabal’s availability has expanded to 24 cigar shops, most of which are in Texas. Other states with Cabal retailers include Alabama, Kansas, Louisiana, Nevada, and Washington.

Cabal—which means a group of like-minded individuals who gather for a common purpose or ideal—took two years to blend at the Kelner Boutique Factory. The result is a lineup of three regular-production sizes in the $6.50 to $8 range that Arolfo hopes many cigar fans will adopt as everyday smokes. (There’s also a single-vitola blend called Cabal Esoteric; Arolfo says this Robusto stood out so much in the blending process that it deserved its own identity).

The core Cabal sizes are Corona Gorda (5.5 x 46), Robusto (5 x 50), and Short Robusto (4 x 52). The latter, as the Cabal website notes, is “distinctly darker than the other Cabal vitolas… [because it] comes from a higher priming of the Dominican Bonao wrapper.” In addition to this dark Bonao wrapper, the Short Robusto sports double binders from Peru and the Dominican Republic surrounding a filler blend of Nicaraguan, Pennsylvanian, and Dominican tobaccos.

The Short Robusto is characterized by a fair amount of tooth, especially around the rough cap, and a heavy weight. The cold draw is smooth and the pre-light notes are earthy with a hay-like sweetness. Once lit, a leathery, medium-bodied profile emerges with background notes of coffee, roasted nut, and a cocoa sweetness. The impact is bold and complex—especially for such a small smoke—and the interplay between leather and sugar will likely be what grabs you. The hot, meaty notes that creep in towards the final third will be more forgettable.

I only smoked a single sample for this review, which is not typical for me, or for StogieGuys.com. So keep that in mind. But if my Short Robusto is any indication, you won’t encounter any construction issues when you try this smoke for yourself. My sample exhibits a straight burn, solid ash, smooth draw, and ample smoke production.

One of the finest compliments I can pay a cigar is writing that smoking one makes me want to fire up another. Clearly, the Short Robusto’s small stature makes it easier to say this because, by the time you’re done with this tiny smoke, you still haven’t tired of the flavors. That said, though, the Cabal Short Robusto is very impressive and affordably priced. That earns it a reputable rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Dale and Darcy Cahill’s interest in tobacco sheds grew naturally, from observation and a simple question. When they began dating some years ago, Dale would drive down from Vermont and, along the way to her home in Connecticut, he passed quite a few big barns.

Having an engineering mind and a history of hands-on work, he was curious and asked Darcy what was in them. “I said, ‘I don’t know. Let’s go look,’” Darcy recalled. “Luckily, it happened to be the end of September, October. We walked into one of those places and… it smelled so good. And it was full of tobacco. It was just beautiful. He said, ‘We’ve got to start taking pictures of these.’”

That was the beginning of what’s become a seeming flood of photographs, calendars, note cards, even tobacco leaves themselves—dried, preserved, and mounted on barn board. You can check it all at their website.

Now, the couple is embarking on a new project, courtesy of a Library of Congress Archie Green Fellowship, recording the oral histories of everyone they can find involved in tobacco in the Connecticut River Valley.

Their second book on the valley’s tobacco sheds just came out. It reflects their efforts to document and preserve New England’s tobacco heritage.

Dale estimates there are currently between 5,000 and 7,000 tobacco sheds still being used, whether for tobacco, vehicle storage, or something else. He’s glad to see that because, he explained, Thomas Visser, a professor of historic preservation who Dale considers a mentor, taught him that the first way to preserve things is to keep them in use. “It’s when you quit using them, they fall apart,” Dale said.

And, Dale added, even a few new sheds have gone up in recent years.

As should be obvious, New England’s agricultural heritage in tobacco is important to Dale and Darcy. It’s easy to understand when they talk lovingly about the structures they’ve toured, the people they’ve met, and the work they’ve done.

Their enthusiasm for the subject seems nearly boundless. Last year, for example, they performed—she plays fiddle, he plays guitar and mandolin—at the Luddy/Taylor Connecticut Valley Tobacco Museum’s annual cigar barbecue, which includes a farm tour and appearances by cigar company reps. “It’s very small scale,” Darcy said of the event. “It’s very sweet.”

With the Cahills keeping their eyes, and cameras, trained on the landscape, there’s no doubt that the tobacco sheds, old and new, have someone watching over them.

Contest: Win a Free Copy of Dale and Darcy’s New Book

One lucky StogieGuys.com reader will win a free copy of Dale and Darcy’s beautiful new book, Tobacco Sheds: Vanishing Treasures in the Connecticut River Valley. Just submit a comment below and we’ll select a winner at random next week. Be sure to include your email address so we can contact you if you win (we will not publish your email address; just make sure you provide it in the space provided when you submit your comment). Here are all the contest rules. Good luck.

–George E

photo credit: TobaccoSheds.com