The Stogie Guys

The 700 percent excise tax increase on “large” cigars that Obama signed into law on February 4 goes into effect today. The tax is part of a series of increased tobacco taxes raised for the controversial State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

Under SCHIP, large cigars will be taxed at 52.75 percent, with a cap of 40.26 cents per cigar. This enormous increase, up from the previous rate of 20.719 percent with a cap of 4.875 cents per cigar, has many worried that it will devastate an industry already under siege due to state tax hikes and smoking bans.

Along with the tax on premium “large” cigars, the following tax increases will take effect on April 1:

• –Cigarettes: $1 per pack (up from 39 cents)
• –Small cigars: $50 per 1,000 (up from $1.80)
• –Snuff: $1.51 per pound (up from 58.5 cents)
• –Pipe tobacco: $2.831 per pound (up from $1. 097)
• –Chewing tobacco: 50.3 cents per pound (up from 19.5 cents)
• –Roll-your-own tobacco: $24.78 per pound (up from $1. 097)
• –Cigarette wrappers: 1.2 cents per 50 (up from 1.2 cents)
• –Cigarette tubes: 12.4 cents per 50 (up from 6.3 cents)

Despite the tax increases, studies show that millions of new smokers will be needed for the SCHIP hike to produce the revenue needed to meet funding requirements.

Industry Braces for Impact

While the exact affect on the industry remains to be seen, retailers and consumers are bracing for the negative impact of the massive tax increase.

In an interview earlier this year, CAO President Tim Ozgener told StogieGuys.com that the SCHIP tax increase had the potential to devastate not only cigar retailers, manufacturers, and consumers, but could also lead to widespread unemployment and crime in the Dominican Republic, Honduras, and Nicaragua—the three main sources of premium handmade cigars. He also told us that taxes, even more so than smoking bans, could devastate retailers since cigars are a “non-addictive luxury item,” which smokers could easily cut back on in response to higher prices.

Ultimately, the fear is that taxes could end the cigar industry as we know it. That’s why Rocky Patel of Rocky Patel Premium Cigars said, “I don’t worry about the competition. Every night I go to bed and I worry about the government putting us out of business.”

Is today the day that the government puts cigars out of business? Or will the industry take a hit but eventually weather this SCHIP storm? Only time will tell.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

If you’re not familiar with this particular stick, maybe you’ll remember the Edición Limitada 2004. That renowned and elusive cigar helped elevate the status of Hoyo de Monterrey, a Cuban brand that generally takes a backseat to more familiar names from the forbidden island.

The Epicure Especial sprung from its predecessor’s popularity and was launched in 2008 at the Festival de los Habanos (along with the H. Upmann Mágnum 50). Specifics are hard to come by but, from what I can tell, it’s supposed to be based on the Edición Limitada 2004 blend.

Now dubbed “the flagship of the Epicure line,” the five and a half inch by 50 ring gauge frame is said to be in line with today’s vitola preferences. The appearance is simply masterful, save for one large vein that resembles a Frankenstein scar on one of the two samples I smoked for this review.

Oily and soft to the touch, the russet-colored wrapper gives off pre-light aromas of sweet hay and coffee. Then, after toasting the foot, the Epicure Especial begins with a graham cracker spice, some honey, and plenty of earth tones—a flavor profile that’s milder than anticipated but not without a pepper-like aftertaste.

As an unexpected bonus, a touch of sweet caramel fades in and out after the midway point. It isn’t hard to notice this Cuban’s complexity. And while balance is also a virtue it captures well, at times (most notably when the frequency of puffs is increased) the taste can run a tad salty. This interplay between the base flavors, the sweet caramel, and the salt continues until the cigar is too small to hold.

If your experience is anything like mine, you’ll likely have to touch up the Epicure Especial’s burn once or twice to keep things even and running smoothly. Don’t expect any trouble from the ash or the draw, though.

Perhaps it’s cliché to say a new cigar “needs some time” before it comes into its own. But even though this is a fine, noble smoke today, something about the flavor leads me to believe it will be slightly better tomorrow. So I plan to patiently age the rest of my stash with hopes that it will gain some of the nuance and floral notes that have made the Epicure No. 2 so outstanding.

Any cigar that sells for $260-280 per box of 25 is worth the wait. I’ll be sure to let you know how my experiment turns out. For now, the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial earns four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

With a strained economy (and that’s probably putting it gently), there seems to be a rush to identify that rare gem of a cigar that delivers great flavor at a price point that won’t break the bank. The Punch Pita EMS, which sells for under $4 per stick and often under $3 each if purchased by the box of 25, is a prime candidate for such a value smoke.

I used to fire up this particular cigar regularly when I hit the golf course, but for some reason I hadn’t had one in years until I smoked a few for this review. Perhaps that’s because, when I’ve reached for a Punch, it has been for one of the brand’s newer (and slightly more expensive) lines, like the Rare Corojo or Gran Puro.

Unlike those blends, this six and 1/8 inch by 50 ring gauge toro features only the simple, classic Punch band that is so instantly recognizable. It surrounds a reddish Colorado brown Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, a Connecticut binder, and a three-country filler with tobacco from the Dominican, Nicaragua, and Honduras.

The wrapper is smooth with only a few light-colered veins. Like just about every stick made by General Cigar, this one is firm and well-constructed. Pre-light the Pita has a sweet cedar aroma.

The flavor starts off earthy with a distinct almond nut taste. There is little of the peppery spice that gives Punch its traditional “punch.” That lack of spice didn’t bother me a bit, but I could have done without the bitterness that drifted in and out, becoming particularly noticeable towards the end.

The draw has just the right amount of resistance and the gray ash is sturdy. Curiously, while one of the samples went out with zero warning only an inch into the smoke, this proved to be an amomoly among the samples I smoked, so I’m willing to discount is as a fluke.

While you’re not going to mistake this cigar for the complexity of some of General’s higher-end offerings like the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami we recently reviewed, it fits the bill for a good, reasonably priced smoke. It has a consistently pleasant flavor, good construction, and classic Punch looks. That combination earns the Punch Pita EMS a 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.

While this torpedo-sized vitola (6 x 52) from CAO’s Black line isn’t as oily or complex as the Bengal, it still offers above average construction and a mild- to medium-bodied flavor profile of pepper, clove, and creamy butter. That’s ultimately why this toasty creation—complete with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and filler tobaccos from Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua—is easy to recommend. Expect to pay around $5-6 for a cedar-wrapped single at your local B&M.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Released a couple of years ago as Drew Estate moved to expand its identification beyond its trademark infused, non-traditional cigars, the Chateâu Real natural line offers a pleasant, mild experience.

Patrick A reviewed this same cigar a year and a half ago, and I’ve recently smoked a few of the various vitolas—though none of the maduros—and found them consistent in taste and construction.

The prelight aroma is grassy, the initial taste a little tangy. After that, it settles into a comfortable mild cigar with thick smoke that’s steady from beginning to the end, where it turned a bit bitter.

There’s something of an odd room aroma I can’t quite put my finger on, but it’s not as strange as the burn. I don’t know if it’s the rolling, tobacco selection, or insufficient filler, but the center of the coal doesn’t appear to combust fully. It’s most apparent in the tapped off ash, where the center is a different shade. On the other hand, it doesn’t seem to affect the overall burn line down the cigar, which is straight and reasonable.

When it comes to information about the cigar, Drew Estate’s website isn’t particularly informative. It refers to the wrapper as simply “Connecticut.” Other sources say it’s grown in Ecuador. The rest of the stick is just called a “balanced blend of well-aged Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos… ” Again, other sources call those two the filler and cite the binder as San Andreas Negro Oscuro from Mexico.

Prices on singles run from roughly $6 to $7. I paid about $6.50 for the Belicoso Favorita, a six inch by 50 ring gauge stick. Not a bargain, but not overpriced either—if you enjoy mild cigars.

For me, the Chateâu Real Belicoso Favorita is an OK cigar for a change. As such, I rate it three and a half out of five stogies.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

While there are no doubt exceptions, seasoned cigar smokers mostly tend to steer clear of Macanudo. America’s top-selling brand is often viewed as a gateway cigar that should be dismissed for heartier, more complex creations as one graduates from occasional smoker status to a full-blown brother of the leaf.

I have to admit my own cigar consumption has been affected by this stigma. So I recently challenged myself to reexamine Macanudo’s Robust line—something I hadn’t done for almost three years before I embarked upon this review.

Advertised as “more flavorful and complex” than the Café blend, Robust was launched in 1998 to “immediate success.” (Then again, what stogie introduction wasn’t successful at the height of the cigar boom?) Today’s eight-vitola version of the Daniel Nuñez-crafted line hit shelves in 2003 with a Connecticut shade wrapper, a Connecticut broadleaf binder, and filler tobaccos from Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic.

The five and a half inch by 42 ring gauge Duke of Devon is a small, slender stick with a dry, coarse appearance. You’ll find plenty of wrinkles, veins, and bumps on the rustic wrapper. Fortunately, while this rugged cigar looks like a value smoke, it also sells like one (under $3.50 apiece when bought by the box of 25).

As the foot lights evenly and easily, the faint pre-light aroma of cedar turns into a taste of birch and paper that’s mild but not without a spicy aftertaste. The tobacco struggles to produce much flavor well into the first inch.

Dry cedar, salt, and cereals are dominant at the midway point, all of which are underscored by a molasses-like taste in the final third. This is where the 50-minute smoke is at its spiciest and best.

The Duke of Devon’s physical properties are excellent, especially for the low price range. I experienced a razor-sharp burn, a sturdy white ash, and a moderate draw across two samples.

All things considered, this cigar has its place. It’s well-constructed companion smoke that won’t get in the way of some other activity (golf, poker, reading, yard work, etc.). You shouldn’t pay much and you shouldn’t expect much either. That’s why the Macanudo Robust Duke of Devon earns two and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Despite missing out on the Hall of Fame this past year, legendary baseball player Luis “El Tiante” Tiant continues his quest to make hall of fame cigars. The former pitcher initially launched his El Tiante Cigars line with two variations, Natural and Maduro, and since has added a corojo-wrapped blend.

The El Tiante Corojo line was introduced at last year’s IPCPR trade show and was described as their most full-flavored release yet. While the company’s website does not yet include the Corojo (I’m told the update is in progress), I got the details of the cigar’s origins directly from Kevin Anderson of El Tiante Cigars.

Via email, he told me “the cigar is made with a Corojo seed fifth priming wrapper leaf, the country of origin is our little secret. The binder is a Sumatra seed grown in Ecuador. The fillers are all Nicaruagan. Half of the filler is all Ligero. Just like our Natural and Maduro, all the cigars are draw tested and aged about 90 days (usually more ) before they leave the factory.”

The “secret” corojo wrapper is medium brown, dry, and relatively vein-free. Pre-light, the Belicoso (6 x 54) has a sweet grass and herbal aroma.

Construction is impressive. The cigar is extremely firm to the touch and the cap is seamlessly applied. An easy snip with my Xikar cutter revealed tightly packed filler with a firm but manageable draw.

After lighting, I find a core of intense dry, woody cedar. The cigar also has the classic corojo flavor of sweet spice, as well as a rare, smooth herbal taste.

The profile is medium-bodied, with a short, slightly salty finish that undoes an otherwise balanced smoke. As it progresses, an earthier flavor settles in with some roasted cashew notes.

Like its Maduro and Natural companions, the El Tiante Corojo sells for the fair price of around $7 per stick—not a must-buy value stick but worth picking up. It’s a tasty cigar with great construction.

Most impressive is that the flavor is a unique combination of woodiness, herbal notes, and spice. It won’t be for everyone, but those who appreciate complexity and subtlety will find this cigar rewarding. For that, the El Tiante Corojo Torpedo earns a rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys