The Stogie Guys

A couple times each week 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 TABSA (Tobaccos Valle de Jalapa) factory in Nicaragua using Aganorsa tobacco, El Güegüense—also known as “The Wise Man”—is the first blend from Foundation Cigar Co., which was launched in 2015 by former Drew Estate employee Nicholas Melillo. The Nicaraguan puro has a beautiful Corojo ’99 wrapper from Jalapa that’s described as “rosado rosado café.” My favorite El Güegüense vitola is the Corona Gorda (5.6 x 46). It boasts a medium-bodied profile with well-balanced flavors of cedar, honey, melon, and subtle sweetness. With excellent combustion properties, ample complexity, and a sub-$10 price tag, I’d revisit this cigar if you haven’t had it in awhile.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I have to admit, I hadn’t heard of Patina before wandering into Casa de Puros, a retail tobacconist and lounge near my home in Forest Park, Illinois. Despite the shop’s well-appointed selection, the Patina Habano caught my eye almost immediately. Something about the beautiful, uniform, milk chocolate-colored wrapper—and the way that wrapper is contrasted by the classic, understated band of white, bronze, and mint—helped differentiate this cigar from its competition.

I used a double-guillotine to neatly clip the head off one of the Patina Habano Bronze specimens I bought for $12.95 apiece and settled into one of the chairs in the lounge. Notwithstanding the cigar’s firmness, the cold draw was fortunately smooth. I took note of the pre-light aroma of green raisin before setting a wooden match to the fragrant foot.

Once fully lit, the combination of the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and Pennsylvania yield a spice-forward, full-bodied profile of leather, macadamia, and black pepper.

There’s a gentle sweetness—especially on the aftertaste—that I’m tempted to call cherry-like, but that’s not quite it. Maybe it’s more like cream soda? It’s a tough flavor to put my finger on. I enjoy it nonetheless. The taste adds balance and complexity to what might otherwise be a somewhat monotone cigar.

As I work my way towards the midway point, I read up on the brand. Mo Maali, currently national sales manager at Mombacho Cigars, partnered with Mombacho to launch Patina back when he was the store manager of Casa de Puros. Patina is handmade at Mombacho’s Casa Favilli factory in Granada, Nicaragua. (The staircase on the band is at Casa Favilli.)

Patina’s two lines, Connecticut and Habano, debuted in May 2017. Both are offered in four sizes. In the case of the Habano line, those formats include Rustic (5 x 52), Copper (6 x 46), Oxidation (6 x 56), and the toro-sized Bronze (6 x 52) I’m smoking for this review.

Around the midway point, the sweetness recedes as earth, hay, and a bready texture emerge. While the smoke production, solid white ash, and draw are all excellent, the burn leaves something to be desired. I had to touch-up and re-light a few times to keep things even.

The Bronze is a slow-burning cigar. It took me two hours and twenty minutes, to be exact. And that marathon comes despite puffing with a greater frequency than usual to ward off the need for more re-lights—a practice that renders the smoke a bit hotter than I would normally like. That probably contributes to the intensification down the home stretch. In the final third, the flavors don’t change much, save for the introduction of cayenne heat and peanut, but they do become spicier.

I don’t regret purchasing a few Patina Habano Bronzes. That said, I can’t see myself going out of the way to buy more in the near future. I will give the Connecticut line a try, though. If you’d like to experience this (or any other) Patina, you don’t have to travel to the Chicago area; a full list of retailers is available here.

In my book, the Patina Habano Bronze earns a rating of three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A couple times each week we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

With its dark, thick, sun-grown Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, this cigar trumpets its maduro nature. The flavors went along as well, presenting mocha, coffee, and chocolate, especially in the second half. I didn’t experience the pepper referenced in other reviews, which was somewhat surprising given the Nicaraguan binder and filler. Strength was on the upper end of medium. The Robusto (5 x 50) is box-pressed and solid; so solid, in fact, that I was immediately concerned about the draw. That turned out to be unnecessary. The draw was fine, as was the overall experience.

Verdict = Buy.

–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.”

In 2013, Joya de Nicaragua released Cuatro Cinco to celebrate its 45th anniversary. Only 4,500 boxes of 10 were made in a single vitola (6 x 54) that sold out in just a few short weeks. I consider that smoke to be my favorite Joya ever made, so I was pleased when the oldest cigar manufacturer in Nicaragua decided to revive Cuatro Cinco as a regular production line in 2015—even if the blend isn’t quite the same. Like the Toro, the Doble Robusto (5 x 56) sports barrel-aged, Grade A fillers from Nicaragua, a Dominican binder, and a shade-grown Habano wrapper from Jalapa. The lightly box-pressed cigar, which retails for $10.50, is rich, full-flavored, and chalky in texture with bold notes of espresso, dark chocolate, black pepper, creamy peanut, and cayenne heat. It’s well-balanced, well-constructed, and well worth your time and money.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

You could spend almost as much time learning about cigar accessories as the cigars themselves. There’s a long history of cigar gadgets, with many of them being mostly useless.

That said, you do need some accessories for a cigar; after all, you won’t get far without a way to cut and light your cigar. To that end, here are five simple, inexpensive accessories worth using.

Djeep Lighter

A lighter is as simple as it gets, and the Djeep is pretty simple. It’s also dependable, has a large capacity, and it’s cheap, especially when you buy in bulk .

Jetlight Torch

Soft flame lighters are great for indoors (or when you’re traveling on a plane), but sometimes, especially outdoors, a butane torch works best. I’ve had a ton of torches over the years, including some very expensive ones, many of which have worked flawlessly. But when it comes to dependability (the key to a good torch), none other than the Ronson JetLite do so much for so less. You can find one for less than $5.

Palio Cutter

There’s nothing worse than a dull cutter that rips a cigar rather than cleanly slicing it. Many fulfill that purpose, though lately I’ve been really enjoying a Palio cutter I managed to pick up for just $10. Not only do the double blades effortlessly and effectively cut my cigar, but the concave design makes it an excellent resting place for a cigar.

Leather Cigar Case

I’ve had this particular case forever. Honestly, I have no idea where I got it. What I like about it is the versatile size (you can fit three coronas just as easily as three Churchills) and the low profile (it fits neatly in the inside pocket of a suit coat). Here’s a similar case on sale for $22.

Travel Case

When it comes to protecting cigars while traveling, nothing works better than a hard plastic case (like one from Xikar or Cigar Caddy). I’m especially a fan of the five-cigar size, which easily slips into a work or golf bag and holds enough cigars to get anyone through a day.

Boveda

Boveda packs aren’t the cheapest way to keep your cigars properly humidified, but they are the easiest. As long as you change them out when they dry out, they will work flawlessly.

Any other accessories you can’t live without?

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

When Fuente introduced this line almost a decade ago it went with one trend and against another.

Cigars at that time were starting to get bigger, and Magnum R included four vitolas with ring gauges above 50, including a then-monstrous cigar (6 x 60).

Many cigar makers were also gravitating toward more powerful blends, seemingly competing to see who could get farthest up the Scoville scale. Not Fuente, at least not with Rosado Sungrown Magnum.

The blend of a thin sun-grown Ecuadorian wrapper and Dominican binder and filler was designed to be a flavorful smoke with medium strength. For my taste, they got it just right.

From the wrapper’s pre-light floral aroma to some light pepper in the final third, Rosado Sungrown Magnum is a most enjoyable smoke. The first note I registered was a sweetness at the start. Within a short time, leather and nuts began to intermingle with the sweetness.

As with many Fuente cigars, flavors in the Rosado Sungrown Magnum are nicely balanced.

Rosado Sungrown Magnum is not a highly complex cigar, and changes along the 6.25-inch frame were fairly subtle. Frankly, though, I wasn’t eager for the profile to morph too much because I found the overall experience so pleasant.

For this review, I smoked four Magnum R 54s. (The number denotes the ring gauge for all but the 44, which is named for the number of smokes per box; it has a 47 ring gauge.) Each burned slowly and evenly. Smoke production was excellent, with a light finish. The draw was near perfect.

At a retail price of around $8.50, I consider it a bargain. For those of you who favor Fuente’s more high-profile cigars such as the various Opus iterations or the elusive Shark, give the Rosado Sungrown Magnum line a try. I think you’ll be pleased.

I rate it four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A couple times each week 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 was very impressed with El Güegüense when I first smoked the debut from Nick Melillo’s Foundation Cigar Co. in the Robusto format, but for my money the Corona Gorda size is the best in the line. Woodsy with roast nut notes, black pepper, and sweet earthiness. Well-constructed with medium- to full-bodied flavors.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys