The Stogie Guys

When it heats up in the summer, a beer can be a tremendous refreshing beverage to enjoy with a cigar. But while I enjoy a Mexican beer with lime as much as the next guy, when it comes to pairing up a cigar with a summer beer, I prefer something more flavorful.

On a recent trip to the store, I browsed the seasonal section in search of summer beers that could be simultaneously refreshing and flavorful. Two distinct styles stood out as possessing both characteristics.

Saisons, light pale ales often bottle conditioned and unfiltered, were first brewed in Belgium so farm workers would have something to drink during the late summer harvest, making them excellent summer beers. Meanwhile, Altbiers are a German beer first brewed in the Rineland area that take on many of the lighter, crisper qualities of a lager but maintain some fruity notes.

I selected three Saisons and two Altbiers by American craft brewers, none of which I had tried before, to see how they paired with cigars:

Brooklyn Sorachi Ace

Made by Brookly Brewery, a favorite beer maker of mine (no doubt in part because of my Brooklyn roots), it’s made with rare Japanese Sorachi Ace hops and sells for $8 a bottle (22 oz.). The pour is a hazy golden color and it features citrus, hops, subtle coriander spice, and grass flavors. It’s lemony, crisp, rich, and refreshing. At 7.6% ABV, it’s no lightweight, but it keeps a dry balance that make it an excellent summer beer to pair with cigars.

New Holland Golden Cap

This Saison ($2 for a 12 oz. bottle) features a hazy appearance, medium carbonation, and almost no head. It is heavier than the Sorachi with more hops to accompany pine, lemon, grapefruit, wheat, and yeast. Less complex and crisp than the other Saisoins, it would be a good choice with a yard gar.

Yards Brewing Saison

Brewed by Yards Brewing Company in Philadelphia, this Saison ($2 for a 12 oz. bottle) pours a yellow straw color and generates a medium amount of foam. From my experiences with Saisons, it’s a pretty traditional rendition of the style. Zesty, citrusy, bready, and spicy. It’s far from the most complex beer I’ve ever tried but I think it’s an excellent candidate for pairing up with a medium-bodied Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapped-smoke.

Lagunitas Lucky 13 Alt

If it didn’t have “alt” in the name I certainly wouldn’t associate this May release ($6 for 22 oz.) with the style. Instead, it’s a classic hoppy brew (8.9% ABV) from Lagunitas, who is known for intense, hop-dominated beer. A powerful aroma is followed by a lively combination of caramel, grapefruit, and malt flavors all in excellent balance. This will be a beer I return to often, most likely with a broadleaf maduro cigar.

Full Sail Phil’s Existential Alt

This member of Full Sail’s Brewer’s Share collection is a far more classic interpretation of the Altbier style than the Lagunitas with a 5.1% ABV and a $5 price. Copper-colored and malty, it’s very balanced with hints of caramel, coffee, toast, and citrus. This would make an excellent introduction to anyone who has never before tried an Altbier. As for cigars, something about this works perfectly with a Ecuadorian Habano-wrapped blend.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Back when I first smoked a My Uzi Weighs a Ton I noted that while I found it to be a “nice smoke,” I thought “maybe a smaller ring gauge would better fit my palate.” Back then My Uzi came only in three sizes, all with a 60 ring gauge (5, 6, and 7 inches long).

Since, the team at Drew Estate Subculture Studios and Joya de Nicaragua has obliged with the Bait Fish size. Since late last year, the Bait Fish (4 x 44) was exclusive to online-only New Havana Cigars, but in May it was announced that the line would be going national. And if the sample I smoked during my visit to Nicaragua is any indication, another more traditionally-sized MUWAT is on the way soon (toro-sized, if I recall).

A quick refresher: The Uzi is made at the Joya de Nicaragua factory with leaf mostly from Drew Estate, including a San Andreas maduro wrapper, Connecticut capote binder, and Brazillian mata fina filler, along with Nicaraguan filler from Joya de Nicaragua’s tobacco stocks. It’s rolled at Joya de Nicaragua but was blended by Jonathan Drew of Drew Estate.

The original lines came in brown paper-wrapped 10-pack “bundles” and sold for $8-10 a smoke. The Bait Fish comes in a handy pocket-size five-pack and sells for about $6 per stick. According to New Havana’s site, the blend was tweaked with more ligero to create a blend they call the “EF” for extra fuerte (extra strong).

The cigar’s wrapper is a bit darker and more oily than I remember the original Uzis being. The cigar is well-constructed, firm to the touch, and it produces an easy burn and solid ash.

The Uzi Bait Fish is full-bodied, much more so than the original. It features loads of earth, oak, black coffee, and a bit of milk chocolate, creating a complex, full-flavored smoke.

I certainly like the Bait Fish more than the original Uzi, but I’m kind of curious why. Is it the tweaked (ligero-heavy) blend or the effect of the small size? I, for one, would still like to see a smaller (non-60 ring gauge) version of the original blend, if for no other reason than to see how it compares to the Bait Fish. Still, this is the type of cigar that appeals to me. Focused, intense, flavorful, and well-made. It’s enough to earn Drew Estate’s My Uzi Weighs a Ton Bait Fish a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This new cigar line is made by Oliva for Famous Smoke Shop and highly touted for strength. It’s also getting a public relations push, with samples being sent out by Famous for reviews, which is how I came to smoke these.

“Vindicator by Oliva cigars are an all-Nicaraguan blend of triple-fermented ligero and viso long-fillers in Habano-seed binders and wrappers,” reads the Famous website. “The smoke is full strength and impressively bold up front. Settling into the medium-plus range of body, they become almost deceptively smooth, with dark tobacco flavors balanced by a light sweetness.”

The Robusto (5 x 50) is a nice looking cigar, though the band strikes me as a little cheesy, like something you’d find drawn by a junior high school student on his notebook.

I didn’t detect much aroma from the Habano wrapper or from the foot before lighting. The performance of those I sampled was fine, with an even, steady burn, a strong ash, and good smoke production.

If I hadn’t known in advance, though, I would not have guessed Oliva as the manufacturer. The Vindicator had a harshness and a sharp edge I don’t associate with Oliva cigars. It also lacked the depth of flavor typically found in Oliva’s best.

The Vindicator line comes in two other sizes, a Toro (6 x 50) and a Churchill (7 x 50). Prices for the Robusto range from $5 for a single to $3 each in a box of 20.

The Vindicator is not a bad smoke. It just isn’t a really good one, either. If you’re the sort of cigar smoker who runs through several sticks a day, you might find an occasional spot for this one. Or if you want something while you’re working in the yard or garage, this could be worth a try.

I give it three stogies out of five.

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

–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.”

I first reviewed the Artesanos Retro Especiale Club back in October, only a month after the cigar hit the market. While I liked it then, I remember finding the initial profile a little too salty and some stale notes that occasionally interrupted an otherwise nice flavor of peanut, cedar, cream, black coffee, and citrus. I’m pleased to report several months of age have improved this cigar significantly. Gone is the overt saltiness, and the stale notes are nowhere to be found. What’s left is a cigar that burns perfectly, draws nicely, and has a balanced, nuanced taste and aroma. Purchasing a 25-count box for $175 is a solid investment that will pay dividends after only minimal age.

Verdict = Buy.

–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.”

Viaje limited releases usually sell out quickly, so when these went on sale in May I snapped up a five-pack for just under $9 per cigar. Even though I’ve mostly had positive experiences with Viaje, the box of 35 was too many cigars to buy without trying any first. This Nicaraguan puro (6 x 48) features a pigtail cap and an oily, reddish-brown wrapper. The profile has lots of leather and wood, but also a more subtle cafe-au-lait sweetness. It starts out full-bodied but settles into a nice medium-full smoke after the first third. With tasty flavors and excellent construction, it’s a cigar I’m glad I bought.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

No, the title of this article isn’t a reference to some Freudian concept. After all, Freud also said that “sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.” Instead, I want to explore the way ring gauge size (in other words, a cigar’s thickness) impacts a cigar’s flavors.

The size of a cigar affects many things for sure, and not just the time it takes a cigar to burn. There are two main reasons why, as a general rule of thumb, smaller sized cigars (of the same blend) are more flavorful than their larger counterparts, even though many people seem to believe that a larger cigar will produce more and stronger flavors.

Wrapper/Filler Ratio

The most obvious difference between a smaller ring gauge cigar and a larger one is the amount of filler. Even though the smaller cigar will also use slightly less wrapper, as a little math shows, when the cigar gets fatter, the amount of filler gets (literally) exponentially larger.

Take a 60 ring gauge cigar versus a 40 ring gauge smoke. Using some basic middle school geometry, you can see that while about 50% more wrapper is required to go around the 60 ring gauge cigar, it will also use roughly 125% more filler. (I’ve posted the full table of wrapper and filler for common ring gauges in the comments of this article.)

Because wrapper tobacco is generally the most flavorful (and always the most expensive) component, the smaller cigar will impart more wrapper flavor.

Higher Burn Temperature

The second, possibly more important, and certainly more often overlooked reason that smaller ring gauge cigars are fuller flavored is that they tend to burn hotter and more quickly. If you think about a cigar as a straw through which air is pulled, this makes plenty of sense.

Cigar smokers generally take similarly sized draws no matter the thickness of the cigar. This means that air is drawn through the foot of a smaller cigar at a faster rate than through a larger cigar, creating more air flow, more oxygen, and a higher combustion temperature.

Drew Estate President, and encyclopedia of cigar knowledge, Steve Saka estimates the difference in temperature can be 10 degrees or possibly more between a smaller (40 or 42 ring gauge) cigar and a larger one. That’s a significant difference that effects the flavor and creates a stronger and fuller smoke.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Dona Flor, a top brand in Brazil for years, was once a darling of StogieGuys.com. The company’s blends earned high praise from my colleagues and I back in 2006 and 2007.

And then a funny thing happened. Dona Flor seemingly dropped off the face of the earth. I stopped seeing Dona Flor cigars in shops. I stopped hearing others talk about Dona Flor. And when my own stash ran out, I stopped smoking Dona Flor altogether. I never investigated why. I guess I just moved on and forgot about the company that introduced me to the notion of a Brazilian puro.

So imagine my surprise when I received a press release on June 5 proclaiming Dona Flor’s re-introduction to the American market. Evidently, shortly after the brand was first introduced to the U.S. in 2005, legal issues arose that blocked domestic distribution. But now, Chris Edge—a Denver-based cigar enthusiast and businessman—is bringing Dona Flor back to North America.

Several new blends have already been announced and are available for your perusal on Dona Flor’s website, along with a description of each of the three main tobaccos used in the company’s creations: Mata Fina, Mata Norte, and Brazilian-grown Cuban-seed. Today I’m taking a look at the Seleção Robusto (5 x 52), which uses a Mata Fina wrapper, a Mata Norte binder, and a filler blend of Mata Fina and Mata Norte tobaccos. This Brazilian puro achieved a 92 rating in Cigar Aficionado. It has a suggested retail price of $8.50.

Now while I’m somewhat of a sucker for Mata Fina, I’ll be the first to admit that the leaf doesn’t make the most attractive wrapper. Like me, most people appreciate this tobacco for its taste and aroma, not its aesthetics. The Seleção Robusto, as expected, is a rugged-looking specimen with a multitude of lumps and several large veins.

One of those veins runs the length of the cigar and contributes to an uneven burn. Veins are more combustible than leaves, and this is evident as the side of the Robusto with the vein burns significantly quicker than the rest of the cigar. But the vein doesn’t produce a canoe and the burn doesn’t require any touch-ups. After an inch, this issue completely resolves itself, and the physical properties are perfect from then on, including a solid, finely layered white ash.

The profile and aroma are the highlights of the Seleção Robusto. The taste is nicely balanced and includes a unique core of sour cream and some tangy notes that remind me of barbeque sauce. Dry wood, sweetness, and a touch of black pepper spice round out the flavor. And, not to be outdone, the resting smoke boasts loads of sweet coffee.

This is the 35th year Dona Flor has been in business and its second foray into the American market. Based on my experience with the Seleção Robusto, I hope Dona Flor will stay in my homeland for good this time. Expect to hear more from this Brazilian company at this summer’s industry trade show. Until then, I’m awarding this cigar four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys