The Stogie Guys

In this special segment of Random Thoughts from the Humidor, I look back at 2013, its new cigars, and the lists we’ll use to judge them by.

Best of 2013 Lists

Now is the time for “Top Cigars of the Year” lists. Lots of them. In fact, a “List of the Best Lists” list is probably not far off. (We don’t have plans for one this year, but we reserve the right to change our minds.) They’re fun, but I don’t pay too much attention to them. Probably because I’m fortunate enough to try most new cigar blends that appear on various lists so I can draw my own conclusions. In fact, I’d estimate I’ve tried in excess of 50 new cigars this year (not including multiple vitolas of the same blend). If you feel strongly about whether we should compose a 2013 list or not, please let us know.

New Cigars… Lots of Them

In case you were wondering just how many new cigars there are, our friend Frank Herrera took a look at the number of trademarks that have been filed that include the word “cigar”. Filings have exploded. From early last century through the 1980s, trademark filings never averaged more than 100 a year, even though many more cigars were smoked at the beginning of the 1900s. This decade, they’re on pace for nearly 1,000 a year, a roughly 50% increase over the decade of 2001-2010. Besides being good for trademark lawyers, like Frank, I think it’s largely good for cigar smokers, too. More competition keeps everyone on their toes, and it lets newcomers try and create their own niches in the market with unique cigars that appeal to small subsets of cigar smokers.

About That Top 25 List

It’s hard to miss Cigar Aficionado‘s Top 25 list. It even generated CNBC segments, though curiously I don’t recall CNBC coverage in a year where the winner wasn’t a Cuban cigar. I looked through previous year’s CA lists, and I find that this one resonates with me far more than previous editions. With the exception of the top pick (the Cuban Montecristo No. 2), I’ve smoked all the blends in the top ten this year (and I’ve smoked plenty of Monte #2s in the past). Kudos especially to Aging Room (#2) and Buenaventura (#7), two under-the-radar gems that made the list.

–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.”

Released as part of an exclusive sampler for Bespoke Post, the blend is billed as a “custom-made edition that the family enjoys for their personal use. It’s never been released to the public due to the limited availability of the tobaccos used in the blend.” That blend contains an Ecuadorian wrapper, a Dominican binder, and Nicaraguan filler, and comes in a single size (5.75 x 54). The well-made cigar features a medium-bodied blend with woody notes and a slightly astringent quality. It’s a pleasant enough cigar, but it’s far from my favorite E.P. Carrillo.

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.”

Part of Gary Griffith’s House of Emilio portfolio, the Epicurean Gonzo Vintage 2007 blend, owned by Steven Ysidron, consists of a dark broadleaf wrapper, filler tobaccos from Jalapa and Condega, and two binders (one Mexican San Andres, one Jalapa). The Lancero (6.5 x 38) is a downright wonderful smoke with notes of black licorice, dry wood, espresso, and sweet raisin. Quite complex and well-balanced. The texture is heavy and leathery, and the combustion qualities are excellent. This box-pressed beauty is an easy recommendation at its going rate of about $9.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

The history of Sosa dates back to the early 1900s, when Don Juan Sosa transformed himself from a small-scale tobacco grower into one of the largest tobacco producers in Cuba. Like many others, he and his family were eventually forced off the island during the revolution.

Settling in the Santiago region of the Dominican Republic, the Sosa family continued the tradition of its patriarch. Today, the brand is under the Antillian Cigar Corporation umbrella, alongside Macadi and Imperio Cubano. The Sosa portfolio includes, among others, the Exclusive Series, Family Selection, Super Selection, and Underground.

The newest Sosa offering is called Limitado. Blended by Arby Sosa, it features a three- year-old Nicaragua Habano wrapper from the Puros Indios factory in Honduras, an Indonesian Sumatra binder, and filler tobaccos from Ecuador and Nicaragua. It is made in Miami with production limited to 800 cigars per month. Only one roller is used to make the Sosa Limitado Stout Torpedo.

That Stout Torpedo size (7 x 54) is intimidating; the cigar looks like it could be used as a murder weapon. Once the cyan-colored band sleeve is removed (thankfully, it slides easily off the cigar), you’ll find a dark wrapper with minimal veins and moderate oils. The feel is consistently firm from throughout. Musty, earthy notes can be found at the foot.

While the cigar may look intimidating, the flavor is anything but. Once lit, a soft, approachable profile emerges that’s rounded, balanced, and light on spice or nicotine kick. Identifiable notes include clove, dried fruit, baking spices, wood, and a little sweetness. The texture is billowy and the finish is short. I don’t find a ton of flavor changes throughout the long smoke.

Without question, the individual Sosa has rolling the Stout Torpedo knows what he/she is doing. Across the four samples I smoked for this review—all provided by Sosa—each had a perfect burn line, a solid ash, and a smooth, airy draw that yields ample smoke with little effort.

I really like this cigar. What makes it so difficult to review or rate, however, is the asking price, which is $15. That cost puts the Limitado Stout Torpedo against some stiff competition in the super-premium market. Taking everything into consideration, I’m recommending everyone give this pleasing cigar at least one try and settling on a solid rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Felix Assouline may be a new name in cigars, but the team behind it has a long history in the cigar business. The company had a booth at the IPCPR Trade Show for the first time this year, to show off its four cigar lines, all made in Estelí, Nicaragua. (My colleague reviewed their Havana Sunrise Reserve recently.)

Their cigars can be hard to find—I’ve yet to see them on the shelves of any of my local shops—so the company offered to provide me with some samples from their Ego line. According to their website: “Ego is a full-flavored line of cigars. The careful blending of tobaccos from Jamastran, Jalapa, and Indonesia are brought together to create a full flavor cigar that is further enhanced by ‘pressing’ the tobaccos together and aging them carefully before boxing them and shipping them to their eventual home, your humidor.”

Ego comes in a peculiar selection of seven sizes. Five are 6.5 inches long with ring gauges between 54 and 58, plus there’s a Perfecto (5 x 52) and a Cigarillo (5 x 24). I smoked four cigars in the Trip size (6.5 x 54).

The Habano Criollo ’98 wrapper is a reddish-brown color with a slightly mottled appearance. The cigar has a soft box-press (notably, almost every cigar Felix Assouline makes is box-pressed), that makes the 54 ring gauge seem less over-sized.

The cigar utilizes an Indonesian binder and filler from Jamastran, Honduras, and Jalapa, Nicaragua. It features a solid base of roasted flavors, cashew, hay, and wood.

It’s medium- to full-bodied, but the real character comes from the spice notes, which include both black pepper and cinnamon. The flavors are relatively steady throughout, but there’s enough depth to the flavor that it isn’t dull. Construction is free of any flaws.

All in all, my first experience with Felix Assouline made a good impression. While not the most balanced cigar, Ego Trip is well-made, interesting, unique, and, at $7.50, fairly priced. That earns the Felix Assouline Ego Trip a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

The Altadis-owned Romeo y Julieta brand is strongly associated with its country of origin, the Dominican Republic. That’s where the first non-Cuban Romeo y Julieta line was—and still is—made, featuring Dominican tobaccos around an Indonesian binder.

It’s telling of Nicaragua’s rise to dominance as a cigar- and tobacco-producing country that an iconic Dominican brand like Romeo y Julieta would launch a Nicaraguan offshoot line. That’s exactly what Altadis did when, last month, the company announced the new “RyJ by Romeo y Julieta.” RyJ is a Nicaraguan puro with double binders from Estelí and Jalapa, and filler tobaccos from Jalapa, Estelí, and La Mia. The wrapper is Jalapa Corojo grown exclusively for Altadis in Nicaragua.

Altadis, in keeping with the Nicaraguan theme, calls RyJ “Nicaraguan-made,” even though the country of manufacture is listed as Honduras. It bills RyJ as “full-bodied, rich, and spicy,” and offers the blend in three formats that range from $8 to $8.75 per single: Piramide (6.1 x 52), Bully Grande (5 x 54), and Toro (6 x 52).

The latter is a handsome, light brown, somewhat reddish smoke with a dry exterior and two white bands that make it unmistakably different from the other Romeo y Julieta blends. Firm to the touch, the Toro shows a tight cross-section of tobaccos at the foot despite the smooth cold draw. The pre-light notes are earthy and syrupy.

After establishing an even light, a profile emerges that’s dry, woodsy, and a little spicy. Secondary notes of sweetness and cream help to add balance and complexity. The cedary finish seems to linger on the palate for ages, and the resting smoke is sweet. The fullness of the flavor strikes me as medium-bodied, yet there’s nothing medium about the strength, as each puff seems to inject a hearty dose of nicotine.

On the three Toros I sampled—all of which, in the interest of full disclosure, were provided to me by Altadis—I find myself having to pull hard through the cigar’s stiff draw and puff frequently to keep it lit. This, in turn, increases the temperature at the foot, resulting in a hotter, sourer smoke and masking the core flavors. I think my enjoyment of RyJ would be increased significantly if the cigar smoked more effortlessly. Aside from the draw, the other physical properties are excellent, including a straight burn line and a solid ash.

Last year Altadis added to the Romeo y Julieta portfolio with Romeo, a cigar that, in my opinion, trumps RyJ. But my experience with RyJ is very limited at this point. I’m sure we’ll be seeing many more RyJ Toro reviews in the coming weeks, and I look forward to hearing what others have to say (especially about the draw). In my book, this new cigar clocks in at three 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.”

I picked these up 18 months ago for around $9 per cigar. First a five-pack, then a whole box. It’s a Nicaraguan puro with a pigtail cap and a bright Colorado-brown wrapper. The profile has lots of leather and wood, but it’s restrained and not over-the-top. It’s medium-bodied with balanced flavors, including a little creaminess and cocoa. With excellent construction, I can recommend it, although I think it was better before the aging.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys