The Stogie Guys

At 80 East 7th Street, in Manhattan’s trendy East Village, you’ll find the Velvet Cigar Lounge, a self-described “comfortable, welcoming place to relax, unwind, and share a story.” It’s also a place to find a house brand called Velvet Cigars.

Launched four years ago, the brand has sold over 50,000 cigars online and in the Lounge. Each blend within the brand—including Tompkins, Astor, and Cooper—is named for locations in the East Village.

Released in September, the Bowery “is named after the New York City thoroughfare of the same name, just a few short blocks from the Velvet Cigar Lounge,” according to a press release. “Once considered New York’s Skid Row, the Bowery has gone through an incredible transformation, becoming a center for culture and nightlife.”

“For our newest release, we wanted to offer something very different and spent ten months on the development of the blend and manufacturing of the cigar,” said Dan Bsharat, managing partner of Velvet Cigars. Dan and his colleagues came up a recipe of four-year-old Nicaraguan and Honduran filler tobaccos beneath a dark Ecuadorian wrapper.

The Bowery is offered in four box-pressed vitolas: Robusto (5 x 50), Toro (6.5 x 52), Torpedo (6 x 52), and Churchill (7 x 52). Boxes of 20 retail for $195 to $230.

The Robusto is a smooth, oily specimen with a soft box press and a slightly spongy feel. It boasts a pre-light aroma of sweet chocolate and a clear cold draw that imparts spice to the lips.

Once lit, powerful notes of dry wood, black cherry, and powdery cocoa emerge. The smoke is voluminous and chalky—the sort of texture that pairs well with coffee, or cabernet sauvignon. Spice is evident in the aftertaste.

Moving into the second third, the profile transitions from medium to full as a bold taste of leather takes the forefront. A nicotine kick surfaces. This segment of the Robusto has undeniable heft, requiring patience between puffs to keep the foot from overheating and becoming harsh.

As it progresses with a near-perfect burn, this cigar rewards patience and punishes eagerness. A delightful flavor of caramelized walnut is only apparent when smoked slowly. Conversely, if smoked too quickly, the taste gets stale.

That makes this a nice cigar if you can give it the time it deserves. After smoking three samples for this review, the Bowery Robusto, which retails a bit out of its league at just under $10, is worthy of three and a half 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.”

These days some seem to have forgotten about the original La Traviata, predecessor to the recently introduced La Traviata Maduro. But this 2009 release has a lot to offer—and it seems to be getting better with age. The Divino (5 x 50) now has a little less pepper than I remember and more pronounced notes of sweet cedar, cream, and roasted nuts. That makes it any easy recommendation, especially with the cigar’s superb construction and $5 price tag.

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.”

One of Dion Giolito’s most recent projects is Singulare. Singulare is a limited edition line that will feature a new blend and size every year. This year’s cigar, the Phantom (6 x 50), is a Nicaraguan puro. The Phantom is on the lighter side of medium-bodied and produces a thick, creamy smoke. The cigar changes frequently, offering up a varying mixture of caramel, cedar, wheat, honey, and some floral notes with a slight spice. Retailing for between $10 and $12 apiece, the Phantom is an excellent smoke and well worth the investment.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick M

photo credit: Stogie Guys

The secret is out. (OK, really it’s been out since we revealed it back in July.) Tatuaje Anarchy is the latest “shop exclusive” from Tatuaje. Anarchy is made exclusively for Abe Dababneh and his six Smoke Inn stores in South Florida.

Abe said he approached Pete Johnson with the idea and Pete ran with it. After several different test blends, they finally settled on the blend that will be offered for pre-sale on Black Friday (November 26) at Smoke Inn. Cigars ordered on the 26th will ship on December 13, just after the launch party on December 10,  which will be attended by both Pete Johnson and Don Pepin Garcia.

Anarchy is being offered in boxes of 15 with a price of $150 per box. The folks at Smoke Inn were kind enough to send me a couple of pre-release samples to review before they go on sale.

The Anarchy is a salomon-shaped cigar (6.125 x 48-52) finished with an unusual flattened pigtail cap. The blend consists of a dark brown Ecuadorian habano wrapper with a Nicaraguan binder and filler.

As you would expect with a Pepin/Pete Johnson cigar, the construction is excellent. The wrapper is moderately oily with few veins and is smooth to the touch with no tooth. Pre-light it smells of leather, cocoa, and a light spice.

After lighting the cigar, the first thing I notice is the lack of the trademark Pepin spice blast. Initially the cigar offers up flavors of leather, chocolate, and a very subtle spice. The thick creamy smoke is smooth through the nose and decently balanced.

As it progresses, the spice increases along with some sweetness and coffee notes. The burn is a little ragged and requires touch-ups along the way. The spice continues to pick up throughout the entire cigar, especially in the nose, but never becomes unbalanced.

The Tatuaje Anarchy is an interesting and well-constructed cigar. I have a feeling the burn issues may be a result of the lack of resting time between my receiving the samples and smoking them. The first sample that I smoked did hit a flat spot with the flavors becoming muted for a period of time, but that didn’t happen with the second sample. Overall, my experience with the Tatuaje Anarchy was very enjoyable, earning it four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick M

photo credit: Stogie Guys

In early 2009, Ernesto Perez-Carrillo ended his tenure with General Cigar to establish his own project. The move left La Gloria Cubana, the brand he built from relative obscurity to industry prominence, without its leader of nine years.

La Gloria is now managed by Yuri Guillen, Benji Menendez, Michael Giannini, and Rick Rodriguez. Collectively known as “Team La Gloria Cubana,” the quartet dreamed up the recently-released “Serie N” line to compliment the popular “Serie R”—an Ecuadoran wrapped blend with full-bodied flavors of black pepper and leather.

“In creating La Gloria Cubana Serie N, our intent was to provide tenured smokers with a flavorful powerhouse of a cigar,” said Debo Mukherjee, vice president of cigars for General Cigar. “We are confident that consumers will respond to the new taste dimension brought forth by the proprietary Nicaraguan tobacco.”

Serie N marries that proprietary tobacco with an Ecuadoran Sumatra wrapper. Four vitolas are available: JSB (5.5 x 54), 46 (6.5 x 46), 49 (5.75 x 49) and 58 (6.5 x 58). They carry suggested retail prices ranging from $6 to $7.10.

The Serie N JSB is very firm to the touch—so much so, in fact, that I expected the draw to be onerously tight. After clipping the head with my double guillotine cutter, however, I found an effortless pre-light draw.

The cigar, a heavy stick with ample oils and several large veins, starts with a charred taste of peppercorn, espresso, and raisin. The first impression is of a powerful, almost overbearing smoke that’s singular and lacking in balance.

As the taste mellows, notes of black cherry, leather, and dry wood emerge. I’d hesitate to call the JSB complex. Still, at least it develops nuance into the midway point, adding some character to its raw force.

While the Serie N JSB displays construction typical of a General Cigar product—including a straight burn and a solid ash—it never really matures out of its charred, meaty base. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing if you’re enamored with this Nicaraguan’s bold framework.

If that sounds up your alley then, by all means, seek this cigar out. I’m sure many seasoned cigar veterans will be pleased with everything the Serie N has to offer. But I was hoping for a little more depth from the three samples I smoked for this review—depth that, if nothing else, would help counteract the high nicotine voltage. That’s ultimately how I arrived at my rating of two and a half 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.”

To be honest, I knew nothing about Cuba Caiman before smoking this Doble Corona (7.5 x 49). According to their website, the cigar features an Ecuadorian habano wrapper, a Honduran binder, and filler from Mexico, Nicaragua, and Honduras. It includes an interesting combination of toasty notes and a marshmallow sweetness, but also suffers from some less enjoyable sawdust flavors. The medium-bodied smoke is well-constructed with an easy draw, even burn, and sturdy ash.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Yesterday, my colleague highlighted four excellent cigars that debuted at this year’s International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show. Today I reveal the second half of our series on the best new cigars of 2010.

Narrowing our list proved difficult, so we’ve focused on new lines (excellent extensions, like the Tatuaje 7th don’t qualify). Below are four more of our favorites from the 2010 IPCPR, listed in no particular order.

Avo Heritage: Avo departed from its previous lines with the four-size Heritage. The brand may be known more for its mild and medium-bodied smokes, but Heritage is a full-bodied tour de force, with plenty of leather, cinnamon, pepper, cocoa, and cream. With excellent construction, it’s a welcome new addition to the Avo family.

E.P. Carrillo Core Line: Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, creator of La Gloria Cubana, burst back on the scene in 2009 with the Edición Inaugural, followed in 2010 by the Short Run.  The highly anticipated, six-size “Core Line” was released at the trade show, utilizing an Ecuadorian wrapper around a Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Its well-balanced, medium-bodied profile of cedar, cream, and earth earned positive reviews.

Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor: Made by Don Pepin Garcia at his My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua, this new member of the Aroma de Cuba family features a dark, oily San Andreas wrapper around Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. With a sharp box press, the $5-8 cigars look like a bar of dark chocolate. And they sort of taste that way, too, with bittersweet chocolate, cream, and nutty notes.

Room 101 Conjura Ltd: Matt Booth, the man behind Room 101, may be known for his flashy style, but his new Conjura blend has plenty of substance. The box-pressed line features a rustic rosado wrapper, a Honduran binder, and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua and the Dominican. It’s a savory smoke, with classic Honduran spice, leather, and a hint of graham sweetness. With excellent construction, fans of complex spice will want to seek out Conjura before the 50,000-cigar run sells out.

So there you have it: our favorite cigars from this year’s IPCPR. Keep in mind that while the StogieGuys.com team has sampled many of this year’s new releases, we haven’t yet had the time to thoroughly examine everything that debuted in 2010. But from what we’ve sampled so far these eight are the top standouts. If you think we’ve missed a new cigar, please let us know in the comments.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys