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.”

This Perfecto (5 x 55) has a lot of the flavor you’d expect from a Nicaraguan puro, including spice and roasted coffee. But it’s the sweet creamy backdrop that makes it memorable. I bought mine at my local tobacconist for about $6. I’ll be more than happy to pay that price again for this sun-grown Habano-wrapped beauty.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

When I interviewed Tatuaje creator Pete Johnson in the summer of 2010, right around the time the 2008 Vérité was set to become available, he told me the line was his “most serious project to date.” This statement resonated with many enthusiasts who already considered Tatuaje to be among the world’s best cigar outfits.

I can understand why Johnson held Vérité (French for “the truth”) in such high regard given the uniqueness of the venture. “La Vérité Vintage,” as he calls it, brings a vintner’s approach to cigar making, employing a wrapper, binder, and filler all grown on the same farm. “Much like a single vineyard wine, La Vérité showcases the soil where the tobacco was grown,” reads the Tatuaje website. “The seed varietal varies from year to year based on the crop planted and the tobacco yielded.” (more…)

This week StogieGuys.com is in Las Vegas covering the 79th annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Association Trade Show—the convention where cigar makers from around the world come to showcase their products and debut new creations. Check back throughout the day for updates, and keep an eye on Twitter for even more.

Early Morning Update: Various cigar makers I spoke with all say that day two of the Trade Show was very successful, and that there was no noticeable drop off in sales from day one to two. It’s hard to say whether this was merely positive spin or actual sales, but it did seem that many more than a few booths were even busier yesterday. Everyone I spoke with was happy to back in Las Vegas (as opposed to New Orleans) and more than a few were a little worried about next year being in Orlando.

Yesterday I also visited with Andre Farkas of Viaje. He said he’ll continue to keep production low even though he has a waiting list of 150 shops who want to get Viaje Cigars in their stores. The next new release he plans is the Late Harvest.

(more…)

This week StogieGuys.com is in Las Vegas covering the 79th annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Association Trade Show—the convention where cigar makers from around the world come to showcase their products and debut new creations. Check back throughout the day for updates, and keep an eye on Twitter for even more.

Early Morning Update: Yesterday was a busy day for me, and it was also a busy one for cigar makers as they took orders from retailers. The real test will be if traffic and sales hold up, or if the strong sales were just a function of people getting their buying done quickly so they can enjoy a few days of vacation in Sin City.

As we reported in our Trade Show preview, Tatuaje has plenty of new releases. Highly anticipated is the Black Petit Lancero, which was displayed next to the recently released La Vérité 2009.

Fausto is based on the T110 blend and, by all accounts, is a real powerhouse. Avion is a box-pressed perfecto that features the same blend but the size makes it less powerful.

La Casita Criolla features a blend made entirely of Connecticut broadleaf tobacco. The 7th Capa Especial is the same blend as the Brown Label but with a Sumatra wrapper.

Every year Tatuaje puts out a special Halloween-themed release like “Boris,” “The Face,” “Frank,” and “Drac.” This year’s will be “The Wolfman,” a box-pressed torpedo with an unfinished foot. A limited number of special boxes will be available. (more…)

This week StogieGuys.com is in Las Vegas covering the 79th annual International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Association Trade Show—the convention where cigar makers from around the world come to showcase their products and debut new creations. Check back throughout the day for updates, and keep an eye on Twitter for even more.

Early Morning Update: Yesterday I attended the IPCPR seminars conducted for members of the association (StogieGuys.com is a Online Media Member of the IPCPR). In the first seminar, IPCPR brought in an expert on social media marketing to help “de-mystify” social media (Twitter, Facebook, etc…). Some cigar makers and cigar shops have completely embraced social media (La Aurora, Tatuaje, and Drew Estate come to mind) and they’ve reaped the benefits, so it’s good to see the IPCPR educating its members on how to reach cigar smokers through social media, though I could have done without the constant sales pitches in the presentation. (I’m not sure whether this seminar was in the works already, but I should note that at one point we had discussed with the IPCPR leading a similar panel on social media and blog outreach, so obviously I thought the seminar topic was a good idea.) The second seminar featured an expert on productivity and increasing job satisfaction. This was also good to see because (as I’ve written) there’s nothing worse than a lazy or apathetic employee ruining what should be a great cigar shop experience.

The final seminar, and my personal favorite, was a tasting seminar lead by José Blanco (who we interviewed here). Last month Blanco announced his retirement from La Aurora after 30 years with the company, but he didn’t leave before leading his famous tasting seminar one last time. Attendees smoked one cigar (pictured above) with five different wrappers. The experience lets smokers experience the impact of each wrapper (Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut, Cameroon,  Ecuadorian-grown Sumatra, Brazilian mata fina, and  Dominican corojo) on the flavor. (more…)

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.”

By the time this is published, I’ll be firmly on the ground in Las Vegas to cover the IPCPR Trade Show for the fourth straight year. But writing (still from Virginia) I figured I’d get a jump on things by smoking a cigar that won’t officially be released until the convention opens Monday morning. I’ve yet to confirm any details about the newest cigar from Sean Williams’ El Primer Mundo, except for the fact that I’m holding this tightly constructed, double-banded robusto in my hands. Epifania (Italian for “epiphany”) features medium-bodied woody flavors and subtle sweet molasses notes. It’s a well-rounded, balanced smoke with significant spice on the finish. It paired well with the spicy notes of an Elijah Craig 18 Year Old bourbon.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credits: 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.”

Released in 2008 to commemorate the year Ramón Cifuentes began producing Macanudo, the 1968 line is blended with a dark Havana-seed Honduran wrapper, a Connecticut binder, and Dominican and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos. The Robusto (5 x 50) commanded a price of about $8.50 when it first debuted, but now it can be found for around $5. That makes this medium-bodied cigar a good buy, especially given its fine combustion and tasty profile of dry wood, licorice, spice, and cashew.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys