The Stogie Guys

In case you haven’t noticed, there’s been a bit of an explosive theme in cigar names in recent years: Tatuaje Thermonuclear, 601 La Bomba, Don Pepin Garcia Firecracker, Viaje WMD, Viaje MOAB (Mother of all bombs)… you get the idea. Berger & Argenti’s Entubar V32 isn’t exactly of the same vein, but there’s something a little fuse-like about the entubar foot.

And the caution tape “advisory” tells you exactly how to light the fuse: “Thoroughly toast entire cigar foot before smoking.” Normally that’s obvious, but with the protruding entubaro scroll, the same as the original Berger & Argenti Entubar and Quad Maduro, it is actually good advice. I’d recommend a torch, as matches are quite a bit of work.

This Entubar cigar takes the V32 name because the center tube is thicker than the other lines (32 ring gauge to be specific). Essentially, it’s a small cigar of ligero in the middle of a larger cigar. The Nicaraguan puro features a Jalapa Valley wrapper around binder and filler tobaccos from the Estelí, Condega, Jalapa, and Jinotega regions.

The result is a full-bodied, balanced cigar with tons of chocolate and earth. The flavor is like a really good cup of hot chocolate (not that instant junk). With saltiness and wood notes that emerge towards the second half of the cigar, it is a very savory smoke.

Like all of Berger & Argenti’s collaborations that I’ve tried, construction is excellent. The cigar produces tons of smoke, draws easy, and burns evenly—a testament to the time-consuming entubaro bunching method. I smoked two of the “Rogue Rothschild” size (5.6 x 54), one of the four sizes available. Only 1,000 boxes of 20 of each size are being made (80,000 total). Between the limited run and time-consuming construction, the V32 is a pricey cigar, with prices ranging from $11 to $14 each.

Despite the high price, I found this to be a very impressive cigar. Savory, flavorful, and balanced, the V32 will appeal to almost all cigar smokers and is a must-try for maduro fans. Its flavors aren’t quite explosive, but they are well-rounded, deep, and complex. Personally, I liked it even more than the box-pressed Quad Maduro, which is no slouch of a cigar. That’s enough to earn the Berger & Argenti Entubar V32 Rogue Rothschild our highest 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 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 “Mother of All Bombs” (the 2012 edition) is a slightly smaller version of the Father of All Bombs I reviewed earlier this week. The MOAB (4.5 x 52) also has an all Nicaraguan blend with a dark, ebony-colored, sun-grown criollo wrapper. The cigar features the same dark flavors as the FOAB, with charred oak, dark coffee, and damp earth, paired with some bready flavors. While not particularly different from it’s slightly larger Father, the MOAB was strong but not off-balance, with excellent construction. Even at $9 a stick, like the FOAB, this is an enjoyable cigar worth picking up if you can find one of just 7,500 that were made.

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.”

Those who were lucky enough to get their hands on the Cohiba Behike—perhaps the most expensive, rare, and highly anticipated cigar of all time—probably smoked their stash last summer, shortly after the cigar became available. And who can blame them? But I managed to tuck away one BHK 54 (5.7 x 54) for seven months just to see how some modest aging would impact this prized smoke. I’m not sure it changed all that much. I found excellent construction with medium-bodied notes of molasses, honey, coffee, earth, cream, and cinnamon. I still don’t think the Behike is worth the $50 it commands on the market, but I can’t deny that this is an exquisite, finely balanced smoke.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Viaje has made a name for itself creating extremely limited production cigars. In fact, Viaje’s cigars are made in such limited quantities that they often sell out in mere days.

Since chances are the Viaje cigar you have your eye on will be sold before you have a chance to sample one, purchasing many is pretty much an act of faith. Maybe Viaje’s small batches are a brilliant marketing strategy (some might call it a gimmick) but the incredibly small size of the release drives demand for these rare cigars.

That is certainly the case with the Skull and Bones series, of which the three new editions of only 300 boxes of 25 (7,500 total cigars) were released. Two of those were a second edition of a cigar released a year ago: the WMD “Weapon of Mass Destruction” (3.75 x 54) and the MOAB “Mother of All Bombs” (4.5 x 52). A third, the FOAB “Father of All Bombs,” was a new addition to the Skull and Bones line.

FOAB is slightly fatter than the MOAB with a 56 ring gauge and the same 4.5 inches in length. Like all Viaje cigars, it is made at the Raices Cubana factory in Honduras, which also produces cigars for Illusione, Padilla, Alec Bradley, La Palina, and others. The Viaje FOAB is an all Nicaraguan blend with a dark sun-grown criollo wrapper. The cigar sells for $9.20 each ($230 for a box of 25), a substantial price for a cigar you might call a petite robusto.

With a name like Father of All Bombs, you’d expect a full-bodied a bomb of a cigar, and while FOAB is definitely full-bodied (no matter what your definition is), it isn’t overwhelmingly so. Perhaps that’s why Viaje owner Andre Farkas says he doesn’t include the FOAB (or MOAB) in the Skull and Bones red line, because MOAB and FOAB aren’t nuclear but conventional weapons.

The cigar features charred oak, chocolate, and dark coffee. There’s also bready and roasted nuts present, notes you wouldn’t usually identify with a full-bodied smoke. It’s surprisingly well-balanced, though the flavors don’t change much throughout.

Construction was excellent for each of the three cigars I sampled with a solid gray ash, firm-but-not-difficult draw, and straight burn. Given that this little cigar costs almost $10 each, it would have been very disappointing if it weren’t well-constructed.

I only picked up a five-pack (it cost me $46), and there are very few left so I look forward to seeing how my remaining cigars deal with a bit of age (and I should note that I smoked these within days of receiving them). Ultimately, though, I really did enjoy the FOAB. I was pleasantly surprised to find this cigar not overwhelmingly strong. It may not be a cigar for beginners, but it has enough balance to be enjoyed by a seasoned smoker. That earns the Viaje FOAB (“Father of All Bombs”) 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 addition to La Palina’s El Diario line has been anticipated since late last summer. KB, short for “Kill Bill,” is a small corona (4.5 x 40).

The name is a reference to the cigar’s strength and La Palina owner William Paley, who is called Bill or “Little Bill” to his family. As the re-founder of La Palina (his grandfather Samuel Paley founded the brand in 1896 but Bill Paley re-established it a few years ago) explains in this video, it is La Palina’s strongest cigar yet.

Like the other El Diario sizes, the blend is a collaboration between La Palina and Alan Rubin of Alec Bradley. Paley used Rubin as his point man to produce the cigars at the Raices Cubana factory in Honduras, where many Alec Bradley cigars are made, in addition to such highly regarded cigars as Illusione, Viaje, and many of the Padilla lines.

The cigar features Nicaraguan and Honduran tobacco. The wrapper is an oily Honduran corojo ’99 rosado leaf. Underneath are dual Honduran criollo ’98 binders that surround the Nicaraguan filler composed of corojo ’99 and criollo ’98 leaf.

Paley is right about this being the most potent La Palina yet. Even though the blend is the same, the size intensifies the flavors. There’s a spicy dark chocolate flavor that’s reminiscent of Mexican mole. Additionally, there’s a syrupy sweetness, oak, and dark charred notes.

Construction was perfect in each of the two samples I smoked, which you’d expect from a $9 cigar. The KB comes in a four-pack ($35 MSRP) and has just shipped to retailers who will get sleeves of five four-packs (20 cigars each). The sixth size in the El Diario line will be regular production, but is only being made in limited numbers right now.

While not perfectly balanced, KB makes up for it with bountiful flavors and a substantial nicotine kick. This new smoke is my favorite vitola in the El Diario line. That earns the La Palina El Diario KB an impressive rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–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.”

I’ll admit I hadn’t heard of this new Dominican puro until a friend pointed it out to me when I was visiting one of my local cigar shops. The $10 smoke features a a medium brown corojo wrapper with just a bit of shine. I don’t know the exact size but I’d guess it’s about 6 inches long with a ring gauge of 52. It starts off very mild with slightly damp woody notes. I nearly wrote it off as bland and boring when, about a third of the way in, it developed a more interesting edge with cedar and cinnamon spice, and became more medium-bodied. With excellent construction, it was good enough that I’d want to try a few more before rendering a full judgement.

Verdict = Hold

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

As we have since July 2006, each Friday we’ll post a mixed bag of quick cigar news and other items of interest. Below is our latest Friday Sampler.

1) Cigar Rights Alerts: Legislation has been proposed in Kansas that would increase the state tax on cigars by 30%, and proponents concede the move has little to do with increasing revenue and much to do with discouraging the use of tobacco among consenting adults. Meanwhile, in Maryland, the Senate passed a bill that would criminalize smoking in cars that carry passengers younger than the age of eight. And at the College of DuPage, a two-year community college outside Chicago with a student population of 30,000, administrators are considering a campus-wide smoking ban.

2) The Beach Cigar Group has officially changed its name to the Gurkha Cigar Group to reinforce the connection between the company name and its cigars. “This is a natural and progressive move for the company as we link our identity even more with the Gurkha brand,” said Gary Hyams, president of Gurkha Cigar Group. “The new name is also appropriate to further signal the positive direction the company is taking and will be a tremendous help as we position the Gurkha brand internationally.”

3) Inside the Industry: Two Guys Smoke Shop in Nashua is now the 55th Diamond Crown Cigar Lounge in the nation and the first in New Hampshire. The Midwest Smoke Out, an event planned for April 19 at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, announced a partnership with Cigar Rights of America. La Aurora is expanding its popular 107 line with a new Salomon (7.25 x 52) vitola.

4) Around the Blogs: Stogie Review reviews a La Flor Dominicana Double Claro No. 42. Cigar Inspector inspects a Hoyo de Monterrey Petit Robusto. Cigar Explorer explores a Quesada Q D’Etat Molotov. Cigar Fan fires up a Rocky Patel Edicion Unica 2011.

5) Deal of the Week: This weekly special features ten top Dominican smokes for just $3 per cigar. In addition to five Montecristo Platinums, you get five Hammer & Sickle cigars, which are made by Davidoff master blender Henke Kelner.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys