The Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief take on a single cigar.

With classic Avo looks, this exclusive cigar—featuring an attractive, delicate, vein-free, light brown wrapper—makes you want to join CRA (if you haven’t already). It has the excellent construction you’d expect from an Avo. Flavor-wise, I found graham cracker, grass, and subtle peanut butter notes. With mild to medium notes and a toasty finish, it’s balanced and complex.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

It’s been almost ten months since the StogieGuys.com team published a new list of Gold Star Smokes. As you might recall, this special designation celebrates cigars that we feel are worthy of strong recommendations. They don’t necessarily have to be five stogie-rated—just commendable smokes we turn to time and again.

In our previous three Gold Star Smokes articles, we highlighted cigars like the Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 Torpedo, El Rey Del Mundo Robisto Larga, Punch Champion, EO 601 Serie “Green” La Fuerza, Montecristo Petit Edmundo, Cuban Crafters Cameroon Robusto, Blend 376 Robusto Extra, Arturo Fuente King B, and La Gloria Cubana’s Medaille d’Or No. 1 Maduro. Today we select four more.

Co-Founder & Editor in Chief Patrick A

The newly released 777 Corojo Robusto by J. Fuego strikes a great chord for me. It certainly wasn’t the most flashy or highly anticipated cigar at the IPCPR Trade Show in August. But, for about $5 apiece, it does offer an oily wrapper, good construction, and an interesting flavor of wood, pepper, citrus, and sour cream. I’ll always have a spot in my humidor for this silky smoke.

Co-Founder & Publisher Patrick S

As a reviewer of cigars, I enjoy regularly trying new and different smokes. But there are only a few that I find myself coming back to again and again. One such blend is Cubao by EO Brands. It’s a rare smoke that truly has balance,  intensity, and complexity—which is particularly impressive at the reasonable price of around $6 each by the box. Having sampled all the sizes, I’ve found the  Cubao No. 4 (4.9 x 50) best showcases all this blend has to offer.

Tampa Bureau Chief George E

The more I smoke the Camacho Connecticut Churchill, the more I like it. Great flavor, smooth, nicely constructed—and weighing in at only $6. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a more satisfying medium- to full-strength cigar at such a reasonable price. Light one up, grab a drink, switch on the TV, and enjoy the game. (Here’s a review of the robusto-sized Monarca).

Contributing Reviewer Patrick M

I don’t always have two or more hours to dedicate to smoking. When I’m pressed for time, I often turn to Arturo Fuente’s Hemingway Short Story. It can be had for around $5 and offers all the wonderful balance, spice, and sweetness you’d expect from a Cameroon-wrapped cigar. Light one up when you’re short on time but looking for a quality experience.

–The Stogie Guys

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Two months after the 77th annual International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show in New Orleans, the industry remains focused on the newest additions to the market. But many of us still have some catching up to do. The Mi Dominicana, introduced at last year’s IPCPR event in Las Vegas, is one blend that, until recently, never made it into my humidor.

Mi Dominicana is the first Dominican puro made by tobacco giant Altadis. It is crafted by José Seijas, general manager of Tabacalera de Garcia, Ltd.—one of the biggest cigar factories in the world—and the man behind the Dominican versions of Montecristo, H. Upmann, and Romeo y Julieta.

Born in Santo Domingo, Seijas created this eight-vitola blend to honor his Dominican heritage. “Everything that is beautiful about the Dominican Republic has gone into this cigar,” he says on Altadis’ website. “Mi Dominicana is my personal tribute to our nation and our people…[It] truly captures the pride of my country.”

That pride is evident in the Corona’s promising appearance. This five and a half inch by 44 ring gauge cigar includes a carefully applied cap, a firm feel, and a toothy, oily wrapper. The sole aesthetic drawback is the network of thick veins that crisscross the cigar’s surface.

Pre-light, sweet floral notes shine though. A cold taste reveals honey on the lips and a slightly stiff draw, then the first lighted puff produces notes of sage, coconut, almond, and toast. The profile is fairly balanced and medium-bodied, and the aftertaste reminds me of yellow cake.

These flavors remain largely unaltered at the midway point. The only change, unfortunately, is a bitterness on the finish. That, and I find myself growing a bit bored of the once interesting taste—a boredom that carries through to the end of this 90-minute smoke.

While the flavor is neither completely dull nor utterly inspiring, Mi Dominicana’s physical properties are above average. The draw opens nicely, the white ash behaves well, and the burn only requires minimal touch-ups to stay even. These characteristics were apparent in both Corona’s that I smoked for this review.

Still, for a cigar that commands a price tag of about $7-8 apiece, José Seijas’ Mi Dominicana falls a bit short. I was left hoping for more from a highly anticipated blend that is intended to espouse the attributes of a great tobacco-growing nation. Ultimately, the Corona earns three 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 take on a single cigar.

This 7 inch by 38 ring gauge Lancero features an attractive, light brown wrapper, a precise pigtail cap, and bready flavors with a subtle graham cracker spice. It’s a pretty mild smoke, which is a stark contrast to the Nestor Miranda Ruky and Danno. As the cigar progresses, it becomes more medium-bodied with a woody core. Construction is excellent—an impressive attribute for a tricky vitola.

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 take on a single cigar.

This long-filler value cigar, made from seconds from the Villazon factories in Cofradia and Danlí, includes Honduran, Dominican, and Nicaraguan tobacco. Construction on the No. 574 (4.5 x 36) is predictably unpredictable. And while the price of about $1 per stick is friendly, the bland, bitter flavor is not.

Verdict = Sell.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Tubed cigars are common in the cigar industry but, until the “King T,” Fuente hadn’t released one except for the limited God of Fire line. The King T has been in production for some time. Delays in creating the tube up to Fuente’s standards, though, reportedly held the cigar off the market until late September, when the cigars started appearing on B&M shelves.

Made by Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia. in the Dominican Republic, the King T is a seven inch by 49 ring gauge Churchill featuring a Connecticut shade wrapper around Dominican binder and filler tobaccos.

Despite the name, the King T bears little in common with the King B, the big, tube-less, rosado-wrapped torpedo which was released in 2005. Check out the new Queen B (small belicoso) next to the King T if you’re looking for the latest Fuente rosado smoke.

The King T retails for around $10 per cigar, a price that no doubt reflects its special packaging. But you have to hand it to Fuente. When they make a tubo, they create an impressively ornate one.

The tube isn’t the only visually pleasing characteristic of the King T. The Connecticut wrapper is shiny, smooth, and vein-free. And as with most Fuente cigars, this Churchill is impressively firm.

The King T starts out with a combination of papery and peppery flavors. After it settles into a medium-bodied smoke with an oaky woodiness and bread flavors, the finish is long with a hint of cedar spice.

In both looks and flavor, the King T reminds me of the Fuente Double Chateau—but with a bit  more body and spice. Still, even with the spice, it’s well-balanced and mild- to medium-bodied.

The other main difference is that the King T costs nearly twice as much, which is really my biggest complaint. At $10 each, you feel like you’re paying quite a premium for the tubo.

That makes the King T a great gift, but not a cigar I’m likely to buy on a regular basis. With complex flavors, good looks, and flawless construction, though, the Arturo Fuente King T earns a rating of four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

What do the Vintage Especial Rothchild and Gran Cru No. 2 have in common? Well, other than being produced by Tesa, they both rank among the best cigars I’ve reviewed in 2009. So it’s high time I check out “Havanitas,” another one of nine blends produced by this Chicago-based boutique manufacturer.

As you may recall from my previous reviews, Tesa is headquartered in a shop on the Near North Side of the Windy City. Their cigars are, according to the company’s website, “meticulously blended by Chicago area resident Chris Kelly and crafted in the Tesa Cigar factory in Estelí.” Tesa’s naked, tiger-endorsed blends make use of a variety of wrappers and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua.

The Havanitas line, available with a Connecticut shade or criollo ’98 maduro wrapper, comes in two slender sizes: No. 1 (7 x 36) and No. 2 (5.5 x 36). Only 90,000 per vitola are made annually.

With a sharp pigtail cap, a smooth and silky wrapper, and faint pre-light notes of honey and sawdust, the Connecticut No. 1 is as gorgeous as it is elegant. The only imperfection is a harmless “frog eyes” spot near the head.

The narrow foot is easy to light with a single wooden match. As the white ash begins to build, a crisp and satisfying profile develops that includes notes of dry wine, potato, toast, and cream. Mild, yet with plenty of flavor and some spice on the finish.

Warm honey, clove, and tea join in at the midway point to add depth. With each puff producing tons of aromatic smoke, it’s here where I start to appreciate this cigar’s easy draw—especially for a lancero—and razor-sharp burn. The last two inches are characterized by increased spice and notes of  meat and cereals.

As with the others in the Tesa lineup, this cigar’s main drawback is its limited availability and high cost. The only way to get your hands on one of these is to either visit the shop in person or purchase it from Tesa’s online store for $12.15 per single.

Notwithstanding those barriers, I still hope you decide to try at least one Havanitas Connecticut No. 1. You won’t be disappointed. For its complex flavor and high-quality physical properties, it earns four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys