The Stogie Guys

Does “single malt” and “Texas” sound strange to you? It certainly does to me. But with my Texas roots (nearly half of my family lives in the state) I figured it would be worth a shot—even with a price tag just under $70.

Plus, it’s not like Balcones Distillery hasn’t won any awards. In addition to being named “American Craft Distillery of the Year” by Whisky Magazine, their various spirits have racked up accolades including a handful of prizes for this single malt from the Lone Star State.

On their website, Balcones describes their “1” Texas Single Malt, which was first released in 2011, like this: “A unique style of malt whisky, Texas made, Texas proud. This product is born of hundreds of years of distilling tradition transformed by a deep sense of place. Mellow notes of sautéed pears and ripe fruit mixed with a lingering toasty malt character.”

With all that in mind, I got down to business to try this 106-proof creation from the Waco, Texas-based operation. “1” Texas Single Malt is a medium copper color. The nose is surprisingly traditional (scotch-like), with burnt sugar, dried fruit, and a little oak barrel and vanilla.

On the palate, it has a rum-like sweetness (not that unlike the Edradour 10 I recently wrote about), along with roasted pecans, grain, and maltiness. The finish is short and leaves the mouth a bit dry, while anticipating the next sip.

Complex, yet surprisingly classic, the “1” Texas Single Malt is best paired with a mild or medium-bodied cigar. I’d particularly recommend a Connecticut-wrapped Davidoff Grand Cru or E.P. Carrillo New Wave Connecticut.

–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.”

Almost exactly three years ago, when it first came out, I acquired the Julieta size (7 x 47) from El Tiante’s La Leyenda line for $9. The blend celebrates Louis Tiant’s 1968 season with the Cleveland Indians, a year in which he won 21 games. It sports a Sumatra-seed Ecuadorian wrapper and a Nicaraguan Habano binder with three different ligeros from Nicaragua and seco tobaccos from both Nicaragua and Honduras. The result is a lot of red and black pepper spice on the palate with background notes of coffee, sweet cream, and nut. The resting smoke and finish have a mushroom component that reminds me of Davidoff and Paul Garmirian cigars, and the construction is excellent. Time has improved this zesty Nicaraguan; I wish I would have purchased more back in 2009.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I’ve come to believe that Kurt Kendall’s 7-20-4 brand represents the best of the latest variation of cigar entrepreneur. I’d put Gary Griffith of Emilio Cigars in a similar category. Both successfully ran cigar shops before working with first one cigar factory then others to create their own cigars, fueled primarily on their own passion. Both are small business cigar operations that keep the larger operations on their toes.

While the brand has historic roots stretching back to 1874 (once over 50 million cigars were produced in New Hampshire each year), the newest version of 7-20-4 was introduced in 2008. The complex, five-nation blend is rolled in Honduras utilizing Nicaraguan, Honduran, and Mexican long-fillers, a Colombian binder, and a Brazilian mata fina wrapper.

This line has long been a favorite if mine, combining a reasonable price point ($5-7 each) with enjoyable flavors. The smallest size, the Dog Walker (4.25 x 40), is one I’ve particularly enjoyed as a small cigar that provides full flavors.

Given that, I was particularly interested to try the newest size of the 7-20-4 line, the Lancero (7.5 x 38). (Kendall has also introduced a Lancero in his 7-20-4 1874 Series blend.) In many, but certainly not all, cigars, the proportions of the Lancero yield the best representation of the blend with high amounts of wrapper flavor versus binder and filer. Kendall says he made the Lancero for himself, only deciding to make it a full production size after being encouraged by those he shared them with. So far about 500 boxes have been made.

Wrapped in a cedar sleeve, the Brazilian wrapper has a little shine and minimal veins. Once lit, I find a medium- to full-bodied combination of flavors with maple syrup, earth, and hints of coffee and chocolate. As it progresses, balanced yet intense notes emerge. The Lancero has excellent construction start to finish, with a even burn, stable ash, and an easy draw. That’s particularly notable given that some lanceros tend to have tight draws.

While I enjoy the 7-20-4 line in general, I think the smaller ring gauge formats are the best representations of the blend. The Dogwalker is a great small cigar, and the Lancero is an even better cigar, with it’s long and slender proportions. (The Gagger (6 x 60), on the other hand, is my least favorite of the line.) Oozing sweetness and intense flavors, the 7-20-4 Lancero is yet another example of a small ring gauge cigar demonstrating the best of a blend. That’s why it earns four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Back on October 19, after finishing my day job in the Loop, I made the short trek to Tesa, a Chicago shop and lounge that’s home to some of my favorite boutique cigars. But on this particular occasion I wasn’t looking for Tesa’s Series Gran Cru, Vintage Especial, or even the new Limited Edition. I instead came in search of the elusive Velvet Rat.

It was finally the long-awaited day when Drew Estate was to make available 40 pre-release bundles of 10 Dirty Rats, limiting purchases to a handful of smokes per customer. This was, after all, a soft release; the nationwide full release of the Dirty Rat won’t take place until mid-2013.

For this particular night, the cigars were only available at Tesa, a longtime supporter of Jonathan Drew. And enthusiasts from around the entire Chicagoland area came in droves get their hands on a few Dirty Rats, as well as peruse the selection of other Drew Estate and Tesa cigars. But the focus was understandably on the Velvet Rat, which was selling for $14 apiece for its single size (6.25 x 46).

The Velvet Rat is the ninth cigar from Drew Estate to be designated “Único Serie,” the others being Papas Fritas, UF-13, Feral Flying Pig, L40, UF-4, A, Ratzilla, and Dirty Rat. It sports a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, Brazilian mata fina binder, and filler tobaccos from Honduras and Nicaragua. This blend was only finalized at the end of the summer. It is intended to be a lighter, creamier experience than the Liga Privada No. 9.

The mottled cigar is dark and reddish with a handsome pigtail cap and very faint pre-light notes of caramel and nougat. Once lit, the profile is a little spicier than anticipated with black pepper on the finish. This quickly settles, however, into a sweeter, milder flavor that reminds me of coffee, syrup, and caramel. In other words, very nice and expertly balanced.

Even as the cigar progresses into its second and final thirds, the body remains decidedly sweeter and lighter than the Liga 9. The texture is chalky and a little syrupy as flavors of cocoa, nut, and cream come and go. The phrase “moist chocolate cake” comes to mind. All this is paired with the sort of physical properties I’ve come to expect from La Gran Fabrica Drew Estate: perfect burn line, solid white ash, and easy draws that produce large volumes of smoke. You can’t argue with that.

I’ll admit my expectations for this cigar were exceptionally high. But I’m happy to report those expectations were met. The Velvet Rat is a memorable, well-balanced smoke with interesting flavor and (I would argue) more nuance than the Liga 9 or any other Drew Estate cigar that comes to mind. For me, it’s worthy of a very rare rating of five stogies 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.]

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As a whiskey fan and a New Yorker, I’ve always been quick to give New York spirits a shot. Such was the case when I came across this whiskey from Breuckelen Distillery in Brooklyn.

Breukelen is made in Sunset Park, barely a mile from the neighborhood where I grew up. While I hadn’t heard of the operation until I saw it in a Park Slope wine shop, the distillery seems to have cut its teeth making small batch boutique gin and, more recently, moving into whiskey.

They call their whiskeys “77 Whiskey” and they come in two varieties: Black Wax (made from 100% New York wheat) and White Wax, which I picked up for $42 for a bottle. White Wax utilizes local New York grains (90% rye and 10% corn).

The whiskey is relatively young (just 235 days to be exact) and demonstrates surprising complexity for its age. Light and copper-colored, it features a bright nose with sugared dates and cherries. The palate has tropical fruit, oak, and pepper with a gritty mouthfeel and quite a bit of alcoholic heat. The medium-length finish has oak and dried fruit.

It’s an interesting spirit that goes well with a variety of cigars, particularly full-bodied cigars. I tried it with a Tatuaje Halloween Mummy, RoMaCraft Aquitaine, Oliva Serie V, and an Aging Room Quattro, while all of which paired very well.

Essentially a rye whiskey, the youth of the 77 Whiskey leaves quite a bit of grittiness, but it still has plenty of interesting flavors. I suspect Breuckelen Distilling releases this so young in part because the cost of aging it longer would tie up too much capital, and yet if they ever decide to leave this spirit in barrels for a few years I think it could be fantastic. Still, it’s an interesting, artisanal whiskey with lots of character.

–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.”

This cigar burst on the scene a few years ago, as Oliva was establishing itself as a creator of full-bodied, premium cigars. Most of the company’s previous blends had been milder and toward the value end of the price spectrum. Years later, it’s still an excellent, consistently well-made cigar, even if it doesn’t have all of the buzz it once did. With cocoa, leather, espresso, and earth, along with excellent construction, it’s a cigar I turn to often. Although I think I slightly prefer the new Serie V Melanio blend, I can heartily recommend this cigar.

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.”

Made at Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia under the direction of Carlito Fuente, Angelenos is a six-size line offered by God of Fire. The Robusto measures 5.25 inches long with a ring gauge of 50. Its golden Ecuadorian wrapper combines with Dominican binder and filler tobaccos to yield a mild flavor of cream, ginger, spice, dried fruit, and peanut. The result is a bready, satisfying smoke with excellent construction. With a price of $9.50, this is a nice morning to mid-afternoon cigar, and a great accompaniment to a cup of coffee.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys