The Stogie Guys

Last week I wrote about Michter’s US 1 Rye. Today, I look at another whiskey from the Michter’s label: the 10-Year-Old Single Barrel Bourbon. Like it’s rye counterpart, this one wasn’t actually made at Michter’s Distillery in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania (which last made A.H. Hirsh 16-Year-Old Bourbon).

Just because this bourbon isn’t made at the historic Pennsylvania distillery doesn’t mean it isn’t a great spirit. But the fact that bourbon was made in Pennsylvania does let me address one common misconception: Contrary to what you might have heard (and what a friendly bartender recently tried to convince me of), bourbon doesn’t need to made in Kentucky.

While the standards for bourbon are quite exacting, there is no requirement as to where it is made, and these days fine bourbon is made in New York, Virginia, Kentucky, and elsewhere—though Bourbon County, Kentucky, remains the center of production.

For a whiskey to be considered bourbon, it must only meet the following standards (laid out in 1964 U.S. law). It must: (1) be made of a grain mixture that is at least 51% corn; (2) be distilled to no more than 160 proof; (3) be natural with nothing other than water added to the grain mixture; (4) be aged in new, charred oak barrels; and (5) not be introduced to the barrel at higher than 125 proof. Additionally, bourbons aged for less than four years must be labeled with thier age, meaning that most bourbons are at least four years old.

Michter’s takes the standards and surpasses them by aging the bourbon 10 years. Additionally, as a single barrel bourbon, each bottle contains whiskey from exactly one oak barrel, and every bottle is individually labeled so that it can be traced back to a specific barrel. (The bottle I tasted was labeled 7K-1.)

With a smokey copper appearance and an intense nose of oak, the taste is dominated by charred oak and malted barley with orange peel and a hint of anise. The finish is cedary and long.

Overall, this is a complex and pleasant bourbon. I find the price of around $60, however, to be a little high. Were it half that I could offer an enthusiastic recommendation. Either way, Michter’s 1o-Year-Old makes a fine pairing for any good medium- to full-bodied cigar. I found the flavorful Cuban Bolivar Royal Corona to be a perfect match.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Dubbed 5 Vegas’ “most elusive” creation, the Miami line is handmade by Don Pepin Garcia’s El Rey de los Habanos company. Five of the sizes, including this Torpedo, are made in Pepin’s Tabacalera Cubana S.A. factory in Estelí, while the sixth shape—a thick Toro with a shaggy foot—is made at the company’s factory in Little Miami. But like my colleague pointed out in his review of the Churchill vitola, 5 Vegas oddly makes no mention of Pepin on their website.

This is curious, obviously, because you’d think 5 Vegas would want to highlight any connection to Pepin given the famed cigar maker’s superstar status in the industry. As it turns out, the Garcia most involved with the production of the Miami is actually Don Pepin’s daughter, Janny.

At any rate, the Miami blend’s six vitolas feature Cuban-seed fillers, Nicaraguan binders, and Nicaraguan corojo wrappers. The flavor is touted as “Cuban-esque” in various marketing materials.

With the arrival of prelight hints of dark chocolate and earth out of the cellophane, the Torpedo (6.1 x 52) has the look, smell, and feel of a real winner. The toothy wrapper’s scant veins and virtually invisible seams showcase craftsmanship and care.

In what has almost become cliché to write, read, and smoke, the taste begins with Pepin’s trademark burst of black pepper spice. Not much nuance; just heavy-handed, simple, and predictable.

The flavor undergoes a welcome transition into notes of coffee, onion, and leather after the first inch. While more balanced and less aggressive than the beginning, this new combination isn’t exactly complex or unique. It is, however, significantly more agreeable than the overly bitter taste that dominates the final third of this $6-8 cigar.

Construction across the two Torpedos I smoked for this review wasn’t a problem. The draw is easy, the cut clean, and the burn never requires any touch-ups. I just wish the ash were a little less flakey.

With or without Pepin’s name, this 90-minute smoke is decent but not memorable. Some distinct flavor characteristics or added complexity would have gone a long way towards improving the 5 Vegas Miami Torpedo’s rating of three stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Back in December, I tasted the rare and expensive A.H. Hirsch 16-Year-Old Bourbon. While writing about that stellar spirit, I noted that A.H. Hirsh is the last of the bourbons made at Michter’s Distillery in Schaefferstown, Pennsylvania. Today, a series of whiskeys are made under the Michter’s name, but none of them come from the original Pennsylvania distillery.

This Stogie Spirit article is of one of those post-Schaefferstown Michter’s whiskeys. It’s called Michter’s US 1 Single Barrel Straight Rye, which is made by an undisclosed Kentucky distillery.

As the name suggests, this is a single barrel straight rye, meaning it’s made with at least 51 percent rye mash (usually mixed with corn or barley) and aged in new charred oak barrels. Each clear bottle is individually numbered (my sample came from 8D-41).

All rye must be 160 proof or less and, like most, Michter’s comes in well below that at 91.4 proof. The color is an impressive shiny copper hue.

After pouring myself a few fingers, I notice an aroma of resin, vanilla, and citrus. The taste consists of  oak, pepper, and cedar that warms the corners of your mouth. The finish is long and smooth with a hint of mint.

This is a favorite rye of mine and, at a cost of $35 per bottle, it isn’t going to break the bank. In fact, that makes it about a quarter of the price of the Hirsh and nearly half of what Michter’s ultra-premium 10-Year Single Barrel Rye costs. The reasonable price also makes it a great candidate for a classic Manhattan.

As for cigar pairings, I’d pick a cigar with a little spice of it’s own to stand up to Michter’s classic peppery flavors. The CAO LX2, Don Pepin Blue Label, or even the Opus X seem well-suited for the task.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

It happens to me from time to time, and I’m sure it has happened to many of you too. You’re sitting at one of the increasingly rare bars that allow smoking, enjoying a cigar, and suddenly you’re being harassed by an anti-tobacco zealot.

Often they flap their hands around, pretending to cough as they wave smoke from their face. On rarer occasions they will confront you to loudly proclaim, “That stinks! Can’t you put it out?” They might even laughably suggest you are killing them or giving them lung cancer by smoking nearby.

I write “laughably,” by the way, because even government studies suggest non-smokers need to live with smokers for decades before any measurable increased risk is detected. So a few seconds, hours, or even days adds virtually zero risk. But I digress.

How to respond to such a person is not an easy question to answer. We cigar smokers are generally considerate people, so while telling them to buzz off with some choice words has its appeal, that’s not the route I usually take. Instead, I often just say sorry it offends you and go on smoking, or recommend a nearby bar that doesn’t allow smoking. If it’s not inconvienent for me I may even move to another part of the bar.

But since the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP ) is about to be funded through massive tax increases on tobacco, including roughly 40 cents per smoke for premium cigars, I’ve got a new reply to this annoying breed of anti-tobacco zealot: “I’m smoking this cigar for the children.”

After all, only with enough smoking will the government be able to pay for the SCHIP program. In fact, it is estimated that 22 million new smokers will be needed to fully fund the egregious scheme.

And that brings me to the final thing to say to the kind of person who would harass a complete stranger engaged in a perfectly legal activity. From now on, I plan on asking: “Why aren’t you smoking? Don’t you care about the children?”

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

I like a cigar with a story. The tale of Black Pearl, launched in 2000, began when founder Doug Wood stumbled across a long forgotten La Perla Habana box label in his travels. Evidently struck by the “romanticism and tradition of the turn-of-the-century Cuban art,” Wood based his cigar company on the stone lithographs he won at auction.

The story of this review isn’t as interesting. Black Pearl is one of those brands I had heard about time and again but, for one reason or another, never got around to trying. I fixed that this weekend by firing up two six inch by 50 ring gauge Rojo Toros.

The Rojo blend, made by La Perla Habana, is a Nicaraguan puro with a carefully applied wrapper, a Colorado-like reddish hue, and a firm feel. The Torpedo was rated 90 by Cigar Aficionado in December 2007 for its rich, cedary flavors and sweet finish.

La Perla sells the Rojo blend as a “smooth and inviting medium- bodied cigar, and an experience you’ll no doubt savor for years to come.” While my encounter with the Toros wasn’t unsatisfactory, I can’t say I completely subscribe to their enthusiasm.

The cigar lights easily to reveal a hearty taste of rustic leather. The draw is smooth and the ash is white, well-layered, and sturdy. The meandering burn, which includes an abnormally large and protruding mascara, straightens into the second third to reveal notes of spice with herbal undertones.

Flavors of clove and tea dominate to the halfway mark until they are overcome by a black coffee bitterness. This adequate yet somewhat lackluster profile dominates the remainder of the 80-minute smoke.

I wouldn’t call the Black Pearl Rojo terribly balanced or complex. It strikes me as the kind of cigar that makes a good companion for the golf course or a barbeque—not an after-dinner joyride that commands your full attention.

But I wouldn’t overlook it either. At $116 per box of 20, the Toros aren’t unreasonably priced. And who knows? Maybe you’ll get caught up in their flavor like Doug Wood was taken with the artwork that inspired them. As for me, I give the Black Pearl Rojo Toro 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.

It has been almost a year since I reviewed this smoke, and thankfully it hasn’t changed much in that time. While not quite as full-bodied as I remembered, the classically-sized toro still has plenty of cedar, leather, clove, and pepper. This makes for an interesting, complex smoke. Despite a burn that at times needs touching up, the physical qualities are above average.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

With Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s recent announcement that he plans to start a new business with his family, the Artesano de Miami blend may be his last creation as an employee of the General Cigar Co. We’re sure the famed cigar maker and longtime head of La Gloria Cubana will be missed—especially since his latest concoction is one of his best.

Before it was introduced at the IPCPR Trade Show last July, it allegedly took six years and 50 different blends to complete Artesanos de Miami. Perez-Carrillo then personally selected ten Cuban expatriates to roll the cigar in the El Credito factory in Little Havana, Miami.

His persistence seems to have paid off; for what it’s worth, the blend was honored with the 9th slot in Cigar Aficionado’s Best Cigars of the Year. That ranking, along with a limited production of only 250,000 cigars, is why several retailers are out of stock of the Elegante vitola, CA’s favorite size.

There are four other vitolas in the Artesanos de Miami catalogue, each of which has never been offered by La Gloria Cubana before. With its rustic habano-seed Nicaraguan wrapper and compact format, we were particularly intrigued by the 5 inch by 46 ring gauge Artesanitos.

This blend of an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan longfillers starts with a powerful woodsy spice. After a quarter inch, several of the Artesanitos we sampled followed with a burst of intense bitterness that prevails for two to three minutes. This slight irregularity leads us to believe the cigar has aging potential. Either way, once the bitterness is gone the taste is more balanced with notes of cedar, nut, and spice.

That classic Nicaraguan flavor mellows at the halfway point. It was about here that we agreed the Artesanos de Miami blend is a cigar smoker’s cigar—plenty of nuance and character.

Between the two of us, we burned through almost half a box of Artesanitos for this review. We’re happy to say the combustion qualities are superb and consistent.

At $180 for a box of 25 or $8 for a single, this little darling is no cheap date. As we’ve explained, however, the return on your investment will be substantial—especially in light of Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s imminent departure from General. We give the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Miami Artesanitos four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A & Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys