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.”

El Bigote is proof a cheesy band doesn’t tell you much about a cigar. I picked up this cigar, made by Honduras Caribbean Tobacco, at the IPCPR Trade Show a few years ago. A dark brown wrapper surrounds the well-made torpedo. Rich earth and cedar dominate the medium-bodied and well-balanced cigar. With surprising complexity, this was very enjoyable.

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 verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

My colleague reviewed this new, single-size Drew Estate cigar back in July, but I only recently fired up my first Nica Rustica (6 x 52) to see if this Connecticut Broadleaf-wrapped smoke agrees with my taste buds. I found a stark vegetal flavor with accompanying notes of black pepper and a dry, coarse texture. Bitter black coffee dominates the aftertaste. Construction is excellent, including the trademark Drew Estate draw and bountiful smoke production. The complexity doesn’t match, say, Undercrown, but at $7 it’s a good value and a nice change of pace. Drew Estate fans won’t want to miss Nica Rustica.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Aimed at serving “the new generation of cigar smoker out there,” the California-based Ventura Cigar Co. is taking a less-than-traditional angle with two blends that recently launched at the IPCPR Trade Show: Psyko Seven and Project 805.

The latter, presumably named for the area code where Ventura is located, doesn’t merely employ bold fonts, unique bands, and attention-grabbing marketing to create a “disruption” in the industry. Project 805 brings an entirely new tobacco to the table. Called Andullo, the leaf is exclusive to Ventura and, according to the Ventura website, it has never been used in a cigar before.

Described as “naturally flavored, aromatic, and so utterly different,” Andullo is part of the Project 805 filler, which also includes Dominican tobacco. The rest of the blend features a Dominican Olor binder and a Corojo Shade wrapper. Four sizes are available: Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6 x 50), Figurado (6.25 x 52), and Churchill (7 x 50). Each is crafted at La Aurora’s E. León Jimenes factory and sold in 20-count boxes that are handmade from African Okuome wood.

The Robusto, also known as “805R,” sells for approximately $7. It is a reddish, oily cigar with a rough cap and a surface that’s sparsely populated with thin, winding veins. Two bands partially obstruct the wrapper—one proudly proclaiming the inclusion of Andullo tobacco, the other with Ventura’s trademark red “V” cut out of the back. Ample sweet notes emanate from the foot.

Once the Robusto is burning, a profile of oak, dry red wine, and earth emerges. A mild spice and a slight bitterness characterize aftertaste. The texture is leathery and the palate is most concentrated on the tip of the tongue and the roof of the mouth.

I’ve never tasted Andullo tobacco completely on its own, so I’ll refrain from guessing how this new tobacco is impacting the blend. But the overall effect is quite nice, and I find Project 805 to be enjoyable—particularly the interplay between salty notes and syrupy sweetness. The spice and leather are perhaps a little more muted than what you’d expect from a Corojo-wrapped smoke.

Project 805’s physical properties are solid, a tribute to the fine folks who craft cigars for La Aurora. The burn is straight and low-maintenance, the ash holds well, and the draw is smooth.

Whether Project 805 will be the disruption to the industry Ventura hopes remains to be seen. This is a young cigar with, in my opinion, good potential for improvement in aging. Time may round off the edges a bit and produce a more harmonious balance. For now, though, the Robusto is worthy of a good 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

Knob Creek will always hold a special place on my bourbon shelf, as the first bourbon that got me to appreciate the depth and complexity of flavor that the spirit can offer. Since then, Knob Creek has added single barrel and rye varieties, but Knob Creek will always be associated with three other bourbons to make up the Small Batch Collection.

In addition to Knob, there’s Booker’s, low-proof, cocktail-oriented Basil Hayden’s, and the most under-the-radar of the bunch: Baker’s. Named after Baker Beam, Booker Noe’s cousin and another member of the legendary Beam bourbon family, Baker’s uses the same mashbill (grain recipe) as Booker’s and Knob Creek, which makes the differences between them due to the aging process and how much water is added before bottling.

Baker’s, which sells for around $45, carries an age statement of 7 years and is bottled at 107-proof. That makes it younger but higher proof than 9-year-old Knob Creek. Booker’s, meanwhile, varies in age from 6-8 years and is bottled uncut at whatever the barrel proof is (a bottle I currently have spent 6 years and 2 months in oak and is 128.5-proof).

Baker’s pours a reddish amber color and has a distinctive nose with dried fruit, lacquer, and wood. The flavor features lots of wood and cinnamon spice, with a resiny edge that coats the sides and roof of the mouth. Secondary flavors include green banana, apple, and vanilla. The finish is medium in length with more spice, dried fruit, and tight wood.

Overall, it’s a raw and focused style of bourbon. It lacks the sweetness of both Knob Creek and Booker’s and instead is more like an intensified version of the classic Jim Beam White Label, which also uses the same mashbill as Baker’s. It’s very drinkable neat, though a few drops of water help open up the aroma and flavor.

A full-boded cigar is definitely called for. Among others, I’d suggest: Berger & Argenti Entubar V32 Rogue, CroMagnon, 601 Serie Green, Joya de Nicaragua Antaño, and Surrogates Skull Breaker.

The obvious question is: How does Baker’s stack up to the rest of the Small Batch Collection? For me it’s clearly ahead of Basil Hayden’s. And while I would recommend Baker’s to anyone getting into bourbon, I do prefer both Booker’s and Knob Creek. But that’s not a knock, as those are two exceptional bourbons.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Certain cigar personalities are downright magnetic. When I met Omar de Frias in Las Vegas at this summer’s IPCPR Trade Show, he was certainly giving off an attention-grabing vibe: energetic, optimistic, eager, and incredibly excited about his new brand, Fratello Cigars.

If you were at the Trade Show, you probably encountered Fratello’s booth—or at least heard about the new brand, which has an inventive diagonal band of red, white, and black. If you weren’t, I imagine you’ll soon be encountering Fratello, either via the online cigar community, or finding the brand in your local shop. Omar’s personality and stature (he’s tall) almost guarantees Fratello will at least get a fair shake.

Over two years in the making, the Fratello recipe includes a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra binder, and filler tobaccos from Peru and Nicaragua. “While smoking only filler and binder we found a great balance between our sweet and salty notes,” reads the Fratello website. The wrapper “gives our cigar the creaminess and finish that will take our customer’s taste buds on a ride.”

The name “Fratello” is a whole other story. Why would a man from the Dominican Republic make a cigar in Nicaragua and call it “brother” in Italian? Because “fratello” was a younger Omar de Frias’ nickname. I guess that’s what happens when you take Italian classes in college.

In any event, the Corona (5.5 x 46), one of four sizes, is dark, moderately oily, clean, and soft to the touch. Only a V-cut is needed to yield a smooth draw. Once lit, a flavor of black pepper, bitter espresso, and earth emerges. Notes of cream and dry cedar come to the fore after a half inch of smoking.

Then, about an inch in, the taste undergoes a complete transformation from hot and spicy to smooth and creamy. This creaminess is soon augmented by cinnamon spice and a slight reprise of heat. Throughout, the burn line remains true and the white ash holds firm.

I think a lot of people are going to gravitate to this cigar simply because Omar de Frias is an incredibly likable personality. But that does Fratello a certain injustice. Judging the blend on its own merits, it’s balanced, well-rounded, and interesting. And it doesn’t taste like everything else on the market. That earns the approachable Fratello Corona a solid rating of 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 verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

This is the first cigar from the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show I had a chance to smoke when I got home from Las Vegas. I got two samples of this dark Nicaraguan puro, the 5.5-inch with a 54 ring gauge that retails for bit under $8. I was thoroughly impressed. Cafe Noir is a fine, complex production with rich flavors that morph and shift throughout. Strength is moderate. It’s a cigar that you’ll want to spend time with.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

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.”

Another limited edition from Viaje, Hang Time is a variation of the Late Harvest blend that uses a wrapper from a higher priming, which, according to Viaje, “allows for more time on the stalk resulting in a more intense smoking experience.” The outcome is a less earthy smoke than the Late Harves 648 (2012), which I’ve smoked quite a bit. The medium- to full-bodied profile features cool smoke with hints of black licorice, grass, and a tinge of metallic flavors. It’s well-constructed and interesting for sure, but at the price (about $9) I prefer the regular Late Harvest blend.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys