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.”

Named after Pete Johnson’s middle name, Hassell is one of the exclusive blends that came in the initial welcome pack for Saints & Sinners, an online club for Tatuaje fans that includes access to some rare blends. Hassell takes the binder and filler from the 2008 L’Esprit de Vérité (100% Habano criollo tobacco from Pepin’s La Estrella farm in Nicaragua). But instead of the same criollo wrapper, Hassell uses a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. The result of the change is a cigar that’s very distinct from the 2008 L’Esprit de Vérité. The broadleaf wrapper adds earth and chocolate notes to oak, cedar, and dry spice. It’s a tasty, well-constructed blend worth smoking if you ever have the chance.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Fans of Abe Flores and his highly acclaimed boutique cigar outfit, Pinar del Rio, were excited in January when it was announced that Flores would be introducing a new line.

That line, Small Batch Reserve, was due out some time ago, but it is only now hitting tobacconist shelves. And while you won’t find any information about the cigar on the PDR website, the online cigar community has been abuzz, and PDR’s Facebook page is starting to rack up wall posts about the line.

As it has been documented thus far, Small Batch Reserve employs the entubar bunching technique to combine corojo-seed viso, seco, and ligero tobaccos from Estelí and the Dominican Republic as the filler. The binder is a Dominican criollo ’98 leaf. Three sizes are available: Gran Toro (6 x 54), Robusto (5 x 52), and Torpedo (6.5 x 52). Each comes in two different wrapper varieties. The first is Maduro, which features a dark Brazilian ligero leaf. The second is Habano, which sports an oily, reddish Brazilian Habano leaf.

I sampled several Gran Toro Habanos for this review. Each came complete with a beautiful cap, a silky wrapper with a roadmap of thin veins, and a tight cross-section of tobaccos at the foot. The faint pre-light aroma smelled of milk chocolate and caramel, and the cold draw was easy with hardly any spice on the lips.

After setting an even light with a few wooden matches, flavors of sweet wood, coriander, and just a touch of leather emerge. I often find that leather, when present, can be the dominant taste, many times to a fault. But this profile relegates leather to a secondary, complimentary role, which contributes balance and allows the other flavors to shine.

As the slow-burning cigar enters the midway point, notes of chocolate and cream join in to add depth. All the while, the interplay between sweetness and spice and leather and cream makes for an enjoyable experience. Even though I would characterize the body as decidedly medium, the strength of the cigar—specifically the nicotine kick—is more intense, particularly as a few meaty notes come in the final third.

The Gran Toro Habano sells for $6 to $8, depending on if you buy a single cigar or a 24-count box (I hear the boxes are ribbon-tied and gorgeous). That’s a fair price, especially since the construction qualities are excellent. I think Pinar del Rio fans will be pleased with this new addition to the brand’s portfolio, and I look forward to trying the Maduro in the near future. For now, the Small Batch Reserve Habano Gran Toro is worthy 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 Cameroon-wrapped Robusto from La Caya is one of those cigars I only rarely light up, but every time I do I wonder why I don’t pick up this smoke more frequently. For a Cameroon fan like myself, it has everything you’d hope for in an everyday smoke. The price is very affordable at around $5 apiece. The physical properties are outstanding, including a straight burn line and a solid ash. And the flavor profile has plenty of sweetness complimented by pine and clove. Give this cigar a try the next time you have a chance.

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.”

CAO’s “Last Stick Standing” promotion will let cigar smokers help choose the next CAO blend. Three blends—“C”, “A”, and “O”—are offered for participants to rate without knowing anything specific about each blend. I received a tin of the three cigars in the mail and decided to light up the “C” blend the next day. The well-constructed smoke starts out with dry spice, wood, and buttery flavors. It’s medium-bodied (maybe medium-full) with good balance and a clean finish. After smoking it, I looked on the Last Stick Standing website and saw that it’s currently in third place, though only slightly. I can see why. While it’s a pleasant cigar with excellent construction, it’s not particularly complex (though I should note that it might not be completely fair to smoke it just a day after multiple days in the mail).

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Like my colleagues, I’m an unabashed fan of Paul Gamirian’s cigars. I can’t think of one I’ve smoked I didn’t find to be excellent, and I’d heartily agree with Patrick A’s five-stogie review of the Symphony 20th. That cigar would be on my desert island list.

But until recently I’d not only never smoked anything from the PG Artisan’s Passion line, I‘d never seen them. And even though Patrick S reviewed it in 2011, I wanted to sing its praises as well.

This three-cigar line stands out for quite a few reasons. Perhaps most noticeable is the price. The short robusto is $7.60 and each of the others rises by 60 cents. For a manufacturer who specializes in finely crafted, aged cigars blended from top-grade tobaccos, that’s a good price.

Another noticeable factor is a powerful, full-bodied smoke that’s composed of all Dominican tobaccos, still unusual this many years after the introduction of Opus X.

The 52-ring gauge cigar starts with pepper that recedes quickly, overtaken by a pleasant taste of grass and hay. It produces tons of smoke from the start and burns evenly from beginning to end.

At the halfway point of the six-inch stick, there’s a terrific mix of spice and sweetness that carries through for another inch or so. The blend is incredibly smooth and the finish is great.

If you’re lucky enough to find this cigar, light it up. I think you’ll agree that it earns four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A few weeks back I reviewed the new Viaje Skull and Bones FOAB (Father of All Bombs), and shortly after took a look at the 2012 MOAB (Mother of All Bombs). Today I review the third (and final) variation from the 2012 class of Viaje Skull and Bones: the “Red” Skull and Bones WMD (Weapon of Mass Destruction).

The short, stout cigar is just 3.75 inches long with a ring gauge of 54. Only 7,500 cigars were made, coming in 300 boxes of 25 and selling for $9 each (around $225 per box). Fortunately, I picked up a five-pack just as they were released because they sold out days later.

The blend is 100% Nicaraguan tobacco with a criollo wrapper around unspecified Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. The cigar is firm to the touch and the wrapper has a bit of sheen and a few veins.

Once lit, I found a full-bodied cigar with bready and warm tobacco favors. Surprisingly—for a “nuclear” cigar with a “be warned” notice—it was not spicy at all, and frankly not even overly full-bodied. In the second half of the short smoke, it revealed a slight sourness.

Ultimately, it tastes a little young, making me wonder if more time might bring out more subtleties in this blend. On the positive side, the hour-long smoke demonstrated excellent construction from start to finish with an even burn, solid ash, and perfect draw.

Making the obvious comparison to Viaje’s other Skull and Bones releases, it’s easy to conclude that this is my least favorite of this year’s batch. It’s not a bad cigar, but it is underwhelming, especially for the steep price considering the small size. It’s also, somewhat surprisingly (given the nuclear vs. non-nuclear designations), not as full-bodied as the MOAB or FOAB.

When I lit up my first 2012 WMD, I expected a nuclear bomb of flavor, but instead got a fairly nondescript, though full-bodied and full-flavored smoke. Maybe it’s a victim of its own hype, but the Viaje Skull and Bones WMD 2012 is a classic case of good but not great, earning it 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

This year’s industry trade show is still months away, but that doesn’t mean new cigars aren’t debuting in the interim. Case in point is Inferno, made by Oliva.

Inferno is available from Famous Smoke Shop, an online retailer based in Pennsylvania. “Inferno cigars are one of the newest additions to Oliva’s stable of fine Nicaraguan cigars,” reads the Famous website. “Despite its potency, the smoke is velvety smooth with a complexity that will delight you even more than the affordable price.”

The price certainly is attractive, with the Robusto (5 x 50) sold for $4.50 for a single or $72 for a box of 20. The other two sizes in the blend—Churchill (7 x 50) and Toro (6 x 50)—are similarly priced.

I sampled three Robustos for this review, each provided to me free of charge by Famous Smoke Shop. The Robusto is a handsome smoke with a dark, reddish Nicaraguan Habano wrapper. You won’t find any soft spots, or any difficulties with draw, but you will encounter some harmless lumps and a few dark splotches. A nice aroma of dark chocolate emanates off the foot. For what it’s worth, the fire-themed red and gold band makes no mention of Oliva.

Quickly showcasing its filler tobaccos of Nicaraguan ligero, the Inferno Robusto kicks off with a full-bodied blast of heavy-handed espresso and black pepper spice. After a few puffs, though, it settles into medium-bodied mode, pulling back the reins on the espresso and pepper. What’s left is a muted core of cocoa sweetness and coffee.

At the midway point and into the final third, I start to appreciate the resting smoke more as I grow a little less interested in the Robusto’s actual taste. I guess that’s bound to happen. A cigar like this isn’t oozing with complexity or displaying a harmonious balance that begs to be appreciated. Instead, it’s delivering an honest profile at a fair price.

I think most of us are expecting (or hoping) for exactly that when we buy a box of cigars and the per-cigar price is less than $4. Here you get a nice golf course stick with excellent construction that won’t blow you away, but also won’t disappoint. That’s what makes the Oliva Inferno Robusto worthy of three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys