The Stogie Guys

Dunhill is a historic name in cigars, but you could argue the name hasn’t fully lived up to its rich legacy recently. Prior to the communist takeover of Cuba, the Dunhill shop in London had exclusive marketing and distribution agreements with various Cuban cigar makers, including Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and Partagas. (I smoked a 70-year-old one here.)

The cigars were popular with such legendary smokers as King George VI and Sir Winston Churchill, who reportedly got a call from Dunhill shop employees immediately after a German air raid hit the store to reassure the prime minister that his cigars in storage had been relocated prior to the raid. After the Cuban revolution, Dunhill retained a number of “Dunhill Selección” exclusive sizes and also had its own Don Alfredo line produced at the H. Upmann factory in Havana.

Later, in the early 1980s, Dunhill worked out a deal with Cubatbaco to produce cigars under the Dunhill name. Those cigars, whose main competition was Cuban-made Davidoffs, were produced until 1991, but they are still among the most prized cigars today.

Since then the name, under the control of the British American Tobacco company and separate from the London shop, has bounced around with cigars by Toraño and Altadis being sold under the Dunhill name. The new Dunhill Aged Reserva Especial 2003, introduced at the 2012 IPCPR Trade Show, is now made at the Dominican factory of General Cigar, which has taken over distribution.

The Dunhill Aged Reserva blend features a Connecticut shade-grown wrapper, Connecticut broadleaf binder, and Dominican filler from the 2003 crop. It comes in one size, a Robusto Grande (5.5 x 54), that sells for $15 each in ornate boxes of 10.

The attractive cigar features double bands around a slightly shiny wrapper. It’s the kid of classic styling you’d expect from a cigar bearing the Dunhill name. Construction was excellent on two of the three samples I smoked, but on one the wrapper cracked badly. I’m wiling to write that off as a function of some temperature changes, but you should be aware that the wrapper is quite fragile.

The Robusto Grande features light honey, cedar, straw, slight leather, and a dampness reminiscent of Davidoff. It’s a pretty mild cigar that starts out mild and refined and occasionally touches on bland. Still, throughout, it’s well-balanced, and never harsh or even a little bitter. A friend described the Dunhill Aged Reserva Especial 2003 as a “leathery Davidoff” and I don’t think that’s far off. And it’s probably not a bad thing for Dunhill, since it’s competing for the same part of the market as the Dominican-made Davidoffs.

If you enjoy full-bodied Nicaraguan smokes, this isn’t the cigar for you. If you’re looking for a balanced, refined, mild cigar with a little more complexity than your normal beginner’s smoke, however, it’s worth a try, even if the price is a little steep. That earns the Dunhill Aged Reserva Especial 2003 a rating of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

“Put a chill in your whisky without diluting the dram of your dreams.” That’s the clever tagline for, and the concept behind, Whisky Stones, a product distributed by Teroforma.

Some of us, myself included, prefer our whisky colder than room temperature. Others like to add a splash of water to round the edges and open up the flavors. And still others are looking for both.

For folks in the latter category, ice is the preferred solution. But what if you want to chill your whisky without adding any water? Or what if you want to carefully control how much water gets added? That’s where Whisky Stones come in. They chill liquid without melting or adding flavors. And they definitely spark conversation if you’re entertaining.

Whiskey Stones ($25 for 9 cubes) are made from soapstone in Vermont. “The stones are non-porous and will impart neither flavor nor odor,” reads the package. “More gentle than ice, Whisky Stones can be used to cool down your favorite spirits just enough to take the edge off without ‘closing down’ the flavors.”

Before use, Whisky Stones are supposed to be placed in a freezer for at least four hours. After use, they can be rinsed, dried, and returned to the freezer. The talc-based soapstone is “particularly effective at retaining temperature for extended periods of time.”

Three stones are recommended for each serving of whisky, with the liquid height barely exceeding the height of the stones (as seen in my picture). In my experience, after about five minutes this makes the whisky noticeably colder—but not as cold as a similar volume of ice would have made the drink. If you are impatient and drink the whisky in less than five minutes, you may not experience much change in temperature at all. But if you take your time, and if you’ve ever accidentally killed your drink with excess melted ice, Whisky Stones are worth looking into.

Truthfully, I enjoy having them in the house, and especially like them when I have friends over for a cigar and some whisky or rum. Hopefully the effectiveness of the stones doesn’t wear off over time. I’m not fond of the name, though; I don’t like to be reminded of the existence of kidney stones—especially when I’m relaxing with a drink.

–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.”

You don’t necessarily hear a ton about it, but I think the CAO Concert was one of the better new releases from last year’s IPCPR Trade Show. The Amp (5.5 x 46) features excellent construction and medium- to full-bodied flavors. The blend, an Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrapper with Nicaraguan and Honduran filler, produces cedar, cream, coffee, and pepper flavors. Particularly noteworthy is the reasonable $5.75 pricetag.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

When I reviewed the Grimalkin Toro by Emilio Cigars back in 2011, I liked everything about the cigar. Everything, that is, except for the name and the creepy band.

Gary Griffith must have gotten similar feedback pretty regularly, or perhaps he just had a change of heart about the best way to market this stellar creation. Whatever the case, he decided to re-brand the line as La Musa Mοῦσα, which—as Cigar Fan eloquently describes—may be a nod to the first line of Homer’s The Odyssey.

La Musa Mοῦσα features a Habano Rosado wrapper and is handmade in Estelí with production “based on harvest conditions,” according to the Emilio website. It is available in a limited Lancero vitola, along with traditional Robusto, Torpedo, Corona, and Toro formats.

The latter retails for $8-9 apiece and measures six inches long with a ring gauge of 50. It boasts an oily, reddish wrapper with nary an imperfection and wonderful notes of milk chocolate and nut off the foot. Moderately firm throughout, the Toro is downright beautiful with (what I think is) a significant improvement in the band.

La Musa Mοῦσα is “designed for the refined palate with an appreciation of subtle nuance in texture and flavor of the smoke.” Fittingly, the initial profile is neither monolithic nor overbearing—even though many have speculated this smoke is made by Don Pepin Garica, a cigar maker with a knack for powerful, peppery introductions. Flavors of almond, caramel, cocoa, and cream emerge in a balanced, medium-bodied taste.

And that’s pretty much how the Toro smokes from light to nub, save for some increases in spice down the stretch. Not surprisingly since the blend is the same, I’ll agree with my previous assessment of the Grimalkin Toro that the “balance and syrupy texture stand out as the most memorable characteristics of the smoke, imparting a uniqueness that’s lacking from other cigars that take on a more predictable profile.”

Also not surprisingly, the combustion qualities are the same as the Grimalkin—an excellent draw with large volumes of smoke, a straight burn line, and a solid ash.

When Grimalkin was introduced, I nodded in agreement as I read positive review after positive review. The quality, subtlety, and balance of the blend cannot be denied. And so is the case with La Musa Mοῦσα Toro, my favorite of Gary Griffith’s creations to date. It’s worthy 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.”

For whatever reason I’ve waited until now to smoke this pre-release edition (hence the unofficial band) of the new La Hermandad by Sean Williams’ El Primer Mundo. The cigar is produced at Abe Flores’ Pinar del Rio factory in the Dominican Republic (as opposed to El Titan de Bronze in Miami where previous Primer Mundo cigars have been made). The robusto-sized Caballito utilizes a dark, oily Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler. The result is a rich, spicy smoke with a tasty combination of charred oak, black coffee, and mole spice.

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.”

Billed as an “old-world, medium-bodied, Cuban-style” cigar by Tatuaje’s Pete Johnson, La Riqueza (Spanish for “riches”) is a unique and wonderful smoke. The No. 4 (5 x 48) delivers a sweet aroma with a balanced, powdery flavor of dry wood, cocoa, and leather. The finish is spicy. The robusto-sized smoke also boasts a dark Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos, a slight box press, and excellent construction. Pick one up for about $8 and I doubt you’ll be disappointed.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Before working on this review, I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I fired up a Gurkha. And that’s saying a lot for a guy who needs to smoke a wide variety of cigars.

It’s also saying a lot because of the excessive number of unique blends Gurkha produces. On its website, Gurkha lists no less than 13 “core brands,” 10 “limited edition” blends, and 2 lines under its “East India Trading Company” umbrella. And these listings apparently aren’t even comprehensive. The blend I’m reviewing today, for example, is nowhere to be found on the website. I’m sure it isn’t the only one missing.

No matter. The Gurkha Legend is pretty easy to come across. It features an aged Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper, a Cameroon binder, and eight-year-old Dominican filler tobaccos. The Robusto (6 x 50) retails for about $10 (and can sometimes be found for considerably less when on sale or thrown into a sampler pack).

I found a couple Robustos at the bottom of one of my humidors. No telling how long they had been buried there, but the cellophane on each had started to yellow. Once exposed, the cigars gave off potent pre-light notes of cocoa and hay. Each felt very firm in some spots and soft in others, inconsistencies that often foretell construction issues.

After torching the foot, a profile of dry wood, musty earth, and coffee emerges. Cinnamon and syrup add spice and sweetness, respectively. The texture is coarse and the body is on the lighter end of medium. Each puff leaves a long finish on the palate with a spicy tingle on the tongue.

Moving into the midway point, the flavor stays consistent but the aroma of the resting smoke becomes decidedly sweeter. The final third witnesses a slight increase in intensity with occasional bitter notes. All the while the Robusto’s combustion performs better than I imagined. The draw is smooth, the smoke production is solid, the burn is straight, and the gray ash holds well.

True, the Gurkha Legend Robusto can hold its own. But it’s also a far cry from memorable. While I won’t be forking over $10 for one of these in the future, I won’t mind picking up a few at bargain prices, or as inclusions in sampler packs. This cigar earns three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys