The Stogie Guys

Coming to a shelf near you is Bulleit 10, an older expression of Bulleit. I’ve always found the original Bulleit to be a tasty, spicy spirit that provides good value, while the company’s rye is one of my favorite presentations of the popular “LDI” 95% rye recipe.

Needless to say, I was pleased to try a pre-release sample offered by Bulleit’s marketing people. Bulleit 10 (featuring a white label) is made at Four Roses Distillery, maker to some of my other go-to bourbons. It sells for $45 per bottle, a significant increase from original (orange label) which can be found for around $25.

While the original doesn’t have a formal age statement except for being “straight Kentucky bourbon” (which denotes an age of at least four years unless otherwise specified), it generally contains bourbon aged between five and eight years. The whiskey in the Bulleit 10 bottle is at least 10 years old and, possibly (or at least theoretically), a bit older.

Light amber in color, it isn’t any darker in color than the younger Bulleit, which is a bit surprising given the extra age. However, on the nose the extra years become apparent with vanilla, oak, dried fruit, and floral notes.

The Bulleit 10 features dry spice, toast, marzipan, and dried fruit flavors. It’s definitely got a bit more complexity than the regular orange label version, but it maintains its spicy core. The finish is long, with still more woody spice and burnt vanilla.

All that wood and spice begs for a similarly bold cigar. Earthy and full-bodied cigars like the La Aroma Mi Amor or Padrón Family Reserve No. 45 Maduro are my recommendations.

This is a very nice bourbon and certainly even better than the already good original Bulleit, although people will have to decide for themselves if it’s really worth paying nearly twice as much. Still, it’s definitely a welcome addition to the ever-increasing number of quality bourbons on the market. It competes well with similarly-priced bourbons and is notable for its complex woodiness and spice.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Bulleit

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.”

Made at the prolific Raices Cubanas factory with oversight and blending assistance from Alec Bradley’s Alan Rubin, El Diario is a full-bodied blend with a Honduran wrapper, double binders, and filler from Honduras and Nicaragua. KB is short for “Kill Bill,” because of how full-bodied La Palina founder Bill Paley found the cigar. It’s not the most full-bodied cigar you’ll smoke, but it’s no lightweight; lots of dark chocolate, earth, and spice. At $35 for a four-pack, it’s pretty expensive for such a small cigar (4.25 x 40), but it’s also plenty tasty.

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.”

If you’re the kind of cigar enthusiast who enjoys tons and tons of smoke production with each puff (I’m looking at you, Drew Estate fans), make sure to try the V32 Khilla Corona (4.9 x 50). It’s made by Berger & Argenti in the painstaking entubado fashion, which yields excellent combustion and enormous volumes of smoke. A Nicaraguan puro, it has a dark Jalapa wrapper around tobaccos from the Estelí, Condega, Jalapa, and Jinotega regions. Flavors of nougat, espresso, chocolate, and cedar abound. The cost is about $11 for a single, and it’s worth every penny. You can’t miss this smoke, what with its attention-grabbing bands and fuse-like core of ligero filler that extends beyond the foot.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Haven’t heard of J. Grotto? Don’t feel bad. Until recently, I knew nothing about the line made by the Rhode Island-based Ocean State Cigars.

Fortunately, the company doesn’t make its cigars in the Ocean State, but at the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras, one of the hottest and most prolific factories around. Raices also rolls cigars for Illusione, Alec Bradley, Viaje, and a number of other brands.

The J. Grotto Reserve has Honduran ligero and Nicaraguan Jalapa filler surrounded by a Honduran Criollo ’98 binder and a Criollo ’99 wrapper. The Lancero (7.5 x 41) is a new addition to a line that also includes a Gran Corona (5.6 X 46), Gran Robusto (5 X 52), Gran Toro (6 x 52), and Gordo (6 x 60).

According to a press release from the company, production of the limited release Lancero was delayed three months due to demand-driven production delays at Raices Cubanas. Even when the delay was overcome, only 1,000 total cigars were made with 100 boxes of 10 being reserved for stores hosting J. Grotto events. (I received three cigars to sample directly from Ocean State.)

It’s a good-looking Lancero with a reddish wrapper that features a bit of oil. It’s a bit spongy but, when it comes to the lancero size, this doesn’t bother me; an overly tight draw is a far more common problem on long, thin vitolas.

Once lit, I find a flavor profile dominated by clove and nutmeg. There’s also earth and roast cashew, with just a hint of cedary spice on the finish, the only spice the cigar demonstrates. Construction is excellent, with no ill effects from the seemingly loose draw.

The cigar is medium-bodied and mostly balanced, though it adds some grittiness towards the final third. It’s smooth, flavorful, and highly enjoyable. The smoothness comes, I suspect, from the fact that the cigar is made of tobacco that has been aged three full years.

At $7.95 per cigar, this is an impressive smoke worth seeking out, even if finding it may be difficult (retailers that do get it will only be getting four boxes each). With smooth, medium-bodied flavors and excellent construction, the J. Grotto Reserve Lancero Limitado earns an impressive four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Most of us are all too familiar with the many cigar-related gadgets on the market. From cigar holders for the golf course to unique and expensive lighters, cutters, and humidor accessories, the manufacturers and retailers of these products would have us believe that no cigar enthusiast is complete without gadgets. Nothing could be further from the truth.

But I’m willing to consider utilitarian products that I can envision being helpful on a routine basis—especially if they’re inexpensive. The new Screwpop Cigar Punch falls into this category. I’ve been using one for the past couple of weeks (provided to me by Screwpop, in the interest of full disclosure), and I’ve found it to be a decent addition to my keychain.

The Screwpop Cigar Punch is a bottle opener/punch cutter that securely clamps around a keychain (or pretty much anything else—like a clip on a golf bag, a belt loop, or the eyelet of a zipper). It has a rust-resistant body comprised of aluminum so, while it will add bulk to your keychain, it certainly won’t weigh you down.

As a bottle opener, it works perfectly. To reveal the cigar punch, simply unscrew the aluminum cap. The punch itself is sharp and functions just as you’d expect. I’ve tried it on a number of cigars of varying size and wrapper type and found no problems. Just like any other punch, though, you wouldn’t want to use it on torpedos.

My only concern with the product is the possibility of losing the screw cap that protects the punch. Once separated, there’s nowhere to affix the cap as you’re punching the cigar. Obviously, if you were to lose the cap, you may not want to keep Screwpop on your keychain or elsewhere since the sharp cutter will be exposed. Accidents happen.

That said, I can recommend this product to cigar enthusiasts who prefer punch cuts and also have an affinity for beer. And at only $7.95 from Cigars International, you won’t have to break the bank to give it a try.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I enjoyed Hooker’s House Bourbon—bottled by Prohibition Spirits—when I tried it last summer. Enough so that when I saw they were adding a rye, I felt it was well worth a try.

I’ve become skeptical of bourbon (or rye) bottled by companies that don’t distill their own whiskey, many of which just seem to slap their label on spirit they had no role in making. Hooker’s House, on the other hand, doesn’t hide the fact that they didn’t make the whiskey, but they do finish it in wine barrels that create a distinct spirit.

Plus, I have a strong suspicion that I know who makes the rye that Prohibition Spirits finishes in used California Zinfandel barrels. The number of places that make rye is limited, and the places that sell aged stock is even smaller. Between the lack of Kentucky in the marketing material and the extremely high rye content of 95%, it all points to the Indiana-based Lawrenceburg Distillers Indiana (LDI), the former Seagrams distillery that provides 95% rye for Bulleit, George Dickel, Templeton, High West, and others.

Each of those ryes is its own twist on LDI’s recipe (againg, barrels, filtration, etc…) and Hooker’s House is a “Sonoma-style American rye” because it places the rye in used Sonoma Zinfandel barrels. They don’t give a specific age statement for this 94-proof spirit, but the fact that it is described as “straight rye whiskey” means all the rye has at least 4 years of time in new charred oak barrels.

The result is a rye with a deep copper color and a spicy, woody nose with citrus and cassis. The taste has lots of rye spice—wood and pepper—plenty of heat, and hints of cherry, mint, and vanilla. The finish is long and hot, with more oak and mint.

While the Hooker’s House rye is pleasant enough, it has a rough and unbalanced edge, especially compared to their bourbon. It does, however, make a great Manhattan.

Straight up, or in a cocktail, Hooker’s House Rye calls for a full-bodied cigar. Either an earthy Nicaraguan smoke (like the Fausto) or a woody, spicy Dominican (like the Opus X).

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

These days, when you think of Joya de Nicaragua, you might think of CyB, the company’s newest line, or José Blanco, its popular and prolific senior vice president. You may even think of Drew Estate, which distributes Joya de Nicaragua cigars in the U.S.

Just a few years ago, though, I’d bet the first thing to come to mind would be Antaño, Joya de Nicaragua’s strong line of rich cigars that was introduced in 2002. The aptly-named Antaño blend (which translates to “yesteryear”) was crafted, according to Joya’s website, “as a tribute to recapture the power and essence of the puro that made this legendary brand the most sought-after cigar in the U.S. in the post-Cuban Embargo 1970s.”

Ten Antaño vitolas are available, including Consul (4.5 x 52), which retails in the affordable $5-6 range. It is handmade in Estelí—at a factory I’ve personally had the privilege to tour with Blanco and Jonathan Drew—and is intended to be “an ultra-robust, spicy smoke with unbridled body and aroma.”

This stout, old-school cigar is firm with a dense packing of tobaccos. The Habano-seed wrapper is moderately oily with only the thinnest veins, and the rough cap cuts to reveal a smooth pre-light draw. The fragrance at the foot is of cocoa, earth, and hay.

After establishing an even light, a profile of cedar and black pepper hits hard, followed by a solid nicotine kick. The aroma is sweet and almost creamy—a nice contrast to the powerful taste of the smoke. The texture is thick and leathery. Halfway through, a dried fruit flavor emerges. Nothing terribly complex going on here, just traditional, tasty, and straightforward.

As with most cigars, smoking the Antaño 1970 Consul slowly and through the nose pays great dividends, putting all the flavors on full display and keeping the bold smoke from becoming hot or harsh. I never like to rush a cigar, especially one that smokes so well. The Consul has a wonderful burn line, an easy draw that produces ample smoke, and a solid ash that holds firm.

This creation stands as a great example that a cigar doesn’t have to be new or trendy to be good. A classic-tasting, full-bodied, after-dinner smoke at a reasonable price, the Antaño 1970 Consul 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