The Stogie Guys

[Editors’ Note: NEW ORLEANS — StogieGuys.com co-founders Patrick A and Patrick S are reporting live today from the 77th annual International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show. This convention is where cigar makers from around the world come to showcase their products and debut their new creations. Check back throughout the day for live updates.]

11:00am CDT: First stop this morning was General Cigar, where they are debuting two new brands as well as some interesting line extensions. La Escepción (the name is a Cuban brand that was discontinued 20 years ago) features General’s exclusive Nicaraguan Ometepe tobacco as a binder around Nicaraguan filler surrounded by a Honduran habano Talanga wrapper. It will sell in the $6-7 range and comes in three sizes, including a figuardo (5 x 54). We also heard that General Cigar is  hoping to use the Ometepe tobacco, which comes from a Volcanic island with uniquely rich soil, as a wrapper in a future cigar.

11:15am CDT: Another new General brand is Brioso, which retails at the value price of $3-4. It features a Honduran Jamastran wrapper, a  Connecticut  habano binder, and a blend of Dominican, Nicaraguan,  and four types of Mexican filler. Also of particular interest is “Upper Cut,” an extension of the Punch line based on one of the Punch Election cigars released last year, and new sizes in the La Gloria Cubana Serie R and Macanudo 1968 lines.

11:45am CDT: Sam Leccia, creator of Nub Cigars, told us how he embraces the need to come out with new smokes every year. He showed us the new Nub Maduro, featuring a Brazilian Arapiraca wrapper. He also showed us his new Cain “straight ligero” cigars, which come with either a Nicaraguan habano or maduro wrapper. While Cain does feature three different types of Ligero tobacco, it isn’t 100% ligero because, according to Sam, a small amount of other tobacco is necessary to create a proper burn.

[View all of our shots from the IPCPR Trade Show at the official StogieGuys.com Flickr album.]

–Patrick A & Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

[Editors’ Note: NEW ORLEANS — StogieGuys.com co-founders Patrick A and Patrick S are reporting live today from the 77th annual International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show. This convention is where cigar makers from around the world come to showcase their products and debut their new creations. Check back throughout the day for live updates.]

11:00am CDT: In our search for a cutter, we stopped by the Palío booth where we saw their new sportsman cutter series and also a new Churchill size of the Escencia cigar that they released at last year’s show. We also stopped by the Arganese booth where Gene Arganese gave us the story behind “S-This,” which he figures will save smokers over 40 cents per cigar.

2:30pm CDT: Just met with Jesus Fuego who told us about his new 777 Corojo made with a Brazilian corojo wrapper. His father is growing the corojo wrapper in Brazil and Fuego says he is the only one to have access to it, which will be the focus of some upcoming limited releases.

3:45pm CDT: Got the run down on the new smokes from Altadis. Some of the highlights were a Siglo Limited Reserve Maduro, Montecristo 75th Anniversary, Frank Llaneza 1961, Romeo y Julieta Maduro, and a Bering Puro Nicaragua.

4:30pm CDT: Dropped by the Padrón booth and saw the highly-anticipated Padrón Reserva de Familia 45th Anniversary. Due out in September, the box-pressed smoke will be released only in a maduro wrapper at first, with a natural wrapper possibly to come later this year.

[View all of our shots from the IPCPR Trade Show at the official StogieGuys.com Flickr album.]

–Patrick A & Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

[Editors’ Note: NEW ORLEANS — StogieGuys.com co-founders Patrick A and Patrick S are reporting live today from the 77th annual International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association (IPCPR) Trade Show. This convention is where cigar makers from around the world come to showcase their products and debut their new creations. Check back throughout the day for live updates.]

2:30pm CDT: This afternoon we checked in, collected our passes, and took a brief walk around the trade show floor.  The huge space doesn’t officially open until tomorrow, so currently everyone is scrambling finish setting up the intricate displays designed to show off their wares.  Some of the biggest areas belong to General Cigar, Altadis, Rocky Patel, Oliva, Ashton, Davidoff, and the Cigar Family (seen below). Other booths are smaller and more modest.

3:30pm CDT: While walking the show floor we ran into our good friend Alberto Noguera of Cuban Crafters, who introduced us to Don Kiki Berger. Kiki told us how his father fled Poland during the run up to World War II and eventually settled in Cuba where he learned the tobacco trade. He also told us about his new smoke, Entubar, which is releasing under the Berger & Argenti brand. Pictured below (from left to right) are Patrick A, Kiki, Steve Ashby (Patrick A’s father), Alberto, and Patrick S.

4:00pm CDT: In our preview on Thursday we mentioned Arganese was creating a two-in-one cigar designed to minimize the SCHIP tax. Below is a photo of the cigar, called “S-This.” What might not be clear from the photo is the cigar is really two smokes, connected at their heads with an extra bit of wrapper that can easily be removed by the smoker. So while for tax purposes the consumer is buying five cigars, in reality they get ten smokes. Sneaky.

4:30pm CDT: We overheard that Louisiana’s cigar excise tax is being applied to cigars given away on the floor. If so, it could put a damper on the number of samples that makers will be giving out. We’ll be following up with more details on this story, but rumors are the tax may be as much as $1 per cigar.

[View all of our shots from the IPCPR Trade Show at the official StogieGuys.com Flickr album.]

–Patrick A & Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Starting Sunday, the 77th annual International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) Trade Show will take place in New Orleans. StogieGuys.com will be on location to provide you with live updates as we sample cigars, get the details on new releases, and speak with dozens of cigar makers.

While many of details will be released at the show, here are some of new cigars set to debut this week:

Padrón is set to launch a new line called the “Reserva de Familia.” Featuring well-aged Nicaraguan tobacco, they will be releasing one blend annually in one size every September thereafter.

Don Pepin Garcia is expanding its My Father line and debuting the Tobacco Baez SF, which consists of 70% long-filler and 30% short-filler to provide consumers with a lower price point of $3 per cigar.

CAO recently announced it would debut a new brand called La Traviata, a full-bodied blend complete with an Ecuadorian habano wrapper, a Cameroon binder, and two different ligero filler tobaccos.

Rocky Patel has announced three new cigars. One blend, called “Patel Brothers,” is a collaboration with Rocky’s brother, Nimesh. It will feature a Nicaraguan-grown binder and filler and an unusual Pennsylvania broadleaf wrapper. The other is the “Rocky Patel 1961″—named for the year Rocky Patel was born—which uses a blend of Nicaraguan filler, Honduran binder, and an Ecuadorian-grown wrapper. Also to debut is the Rocky Patel Corojo Especial which, like the Cameroon Especial that debuted last year, will be a bundled smoke.  We also heard rumors that a 12th Anniversary cigar may be on its way.

Oliva is introducing the new White Label Connecticut Reserve and launching Cain, an all-ligero cigar blended by Nub creator Sam Leccia.

Toraño will be announcing the contents of their 50th Anniversary cigar as they roll out the line in a series of normal sizes. The Solomon size, which is featured in the Exodus sampler, won’t be part of the regular line.

Tatuaje will debut the new La Verite cigar lines. La Verite, which means “the truth,” will be a Churchill and available in April 2010. It will be offered in cabinets of 100, broken down into smaller boxes of 10, 25, or 50, and retailing for approximately $25 per stick. The other, L’esprit de La Verite, which means “the spirit of the truth,” will be a robusto and available in December 2009 at a retail price of around $13 apiece. We reviewed a pre-release of the L’esprit de La Verite here.

Camacho recently announced that it has teamed up with LA jeweler Matt Booth to create “Room 101 Cigars,” a Honduran-Dominican blend that will debut at the show.

Padilla is set to release two new cigars in August. Padilla Dominus, made with 2006 corojo tobacco, will be a new premium blend ($8-15). Meanwhile, the Padilla Cazadores, made with an Ecuadorian habano wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos, will be a value-oriented smoke that will cost around $5 each.

Illusione is teaming up with Drew Estate to make a new release called “Nosotros.” It will sell for $8-12 apiece and feature a Nicaraguan corojo ’99 wrapper, a Nicaraguan filler, and a Connecticut habano binder.

Alec Bradley is set to release four new cigars (though some appear to have already begun landing in cigar shops): the SCR, Family Blend, Vice Press, and Mudial.

Nestor Miranda is expanding on the newly re-blended Nestor Miranda Collection including a lancero and a rosado version of the Ruky perfecto. The company will also be releasing reblended versions of its Don lino 1989 blend in three sizes: a torpedo, a robusto, and a Churchill.

EO Brands, makers of the 601 line and Cubao, will be launching new releases. The Cubao Maduro will feature a similar blend to the original Cubao line, this time with an Ecuadorian broadleaf maduro wrapper. The Murcielago contains a blend of Nicaraguan and Mexican tobaccos.

Perdomo Cigars has announced two new smokes.  They will be releasing a tubo version of the 10th Anniversary Champagne smoke and also a new Grand Cru Connecticut.

G.A.R. Cigars is releasing the G.A.R. Vanguard, a Nicaraguan puro with plenty of ligero tobacco. They will also debut a new limited size (6 x 66) of the Gran Habano Corojo No. 5 blend called the “Czar,” and a Gran Habano No. 5 Double Maduro featuring a San Andreas wrapper that is due out in November.

Arganese Cigars will be releasing a CL/ML double-wrap cigar, based on the CL3 and ML3 lines. We’ve also heard rumors they are set to launch a “double cigar” that will be two cigars with one wrapper twisted and connected at the head.  The idea is to help enthusiasts avoid SCHIP and other cigar taxes by selling two cigars in one.

Casa Magna debuted at last year’s trade show and became a big hit when Cigar Aficionado named it the “Cigar of the Year.” This year, the company is adding the Casa Magna Oscuro and a new large vitola to its regular Casa Magna line called the Extraordinario, which measures seven inches with a 58 ring guage.

Some of the biggest names in cigars, including industry giants Altadis and General Cigar, haven’t announced their new releases yet. Be sure to check back with StogieGuys.com for updates.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A rarity among today’s manufacturers, PG Cigars maintains a singular, unwavering mission: to blend and age classic-tasting cigars to meet the most discriminating of palates. That’s what they’ve been doing since the company launched in 1990.

But their dedication to traditionalism and disdain for slick marketing and gimmickry—documented in our Cigar Insider with Paul and Kevork Garmirian—hasn’t prevented this McLean, Virginia-based boutique from launching new lines from time to time. Such was the case when, in 2005, they celebrated their debut with a 15th Anniversary Belicoso Extra. At first they only made 15,000 available to the top 50 authorized PG retailers.

According to their website, however, “the response…was so great that the 15th Anniversary blend is now available in a new PG line composed of ten sizes.” These full-bodied cigars include Nicaraguan wrappers, Dominican binders, and filler leaves from the Dominican farms that grew tobacco for the inaugural PGs.

Back in February, I bought two Robustos (5 x 52) for $14.55 apiece at PG’s headquarters. They have been a sight to behold in my humidor since. The Colorado wrappers are toothy and oily, the feel is very firm from head to toe, and the pre-light aromas include notes of hay, earth, and cocoa.

When lit, according to PG, this blend “represents a kaleidoscopic range of tastes” that are “reminiscent of old style Cuban puros from the mid-1950s.” I may not be lucky enough to know the latter but I can certainly appreciate the former. And the Gourmet 15th Anniversary Robusto certainly features a balanced myriad of flavors.

While some of the tastes are common among cigars—including cedar, pepper, and dark chocolate—this base is augmented by more unusual flavors. Everything comes together in such harmony that it can be difficult to identify these rarer notes. But I was able to put my finger on a few of them, including cherry, melon, cinnamon, and pine.

This tremendous profile is complemented by good construction, which is especially welcome in a complex cigar like this because it enables the smoker to focus on the taste. I only wish the burn required fewer touch-ups.

That aside, this fantastic smoke is built to impress longtime cigar enthusiasts—and it comes through. While its cost is high, so too is the level of enjoyment it delivers. That’s why the Gourmet 15th Anniversary Robusto 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

These days everyone is looking for a value, and one way to find more affordable cigars is to look for ones with mixed filler.  The theory is, because they use the otherwise unusable clippings of premium cigars, you get the top level tobacco in a value price.

If ever there were a cigar to test that theory it would be the Tatuaje Series P, which combines one of the top names in premium, boutique smokes with mixed filler theory. According to reports, the Series P uses the same filler as Tatuaje’s medium-bodied Havana VI line (we’ve reviewed the Verocu No. 1 and No. 2 vitolas) , but at less than half the price—around $3.75 each.

Like all Seris Ps, the Robusto (5 x 50) is a Nicaraguan puro. While the wrapper is similar to the Havana VI line, it is a little more rustic with some water spots and more veins.

Not surprisingly, because it’s a mixed filler smoke (60% medium-filler and 40% long-filler, to be exact) this cigar is softer and more spongy than what you’re use to from Tatuaje.  That manifests itself later with an overly easy, airy draw and an unstable ash.

While the construction is a predictable step down from the Havana VI line, the drop-off was far less pronounced when it came to taste.  Medium-bodied earth and nut flavors combine to produce an enjoyable, if not all that complex, blend.

Everyone will have to make their own decision when it comes to trading the lower price point for lesser construction and complexity, but it isn’t hard to see why this is a popular smoke. After all, how else can you get a box of 31 Tatuajes for under $4 per stick?

Ultimately, everyone needs to try the Series P versus the regular Havana VI line for themselves. However, when judged on it’s own merits, the Tatuaje Series P2 Robusto earns a respectable rating of three 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 take on a single cigar.

This Churchill-sized smoke (7 x 49) remains my favorite vitola in the Centro Fino Sungrown blend. With notes of wood, earth, nuts, and milk chocolate, it is well-suited for a weekend afternoon at home or on the golf course. And its excellent combustion qualities—including a sturdy white ash—only enhance the experience. At $6-8 a pop, I’m always happy to keep a few of these on hand.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys