The Stogie Guys

We’ve written about Paul Garmirian cigars in the past, but the cigar that is the subject of this review can’t be found in even the limited number of stores that carry PGs. As Paul and Kevork Garmirian told us during our video Cigar Insider, they often make specially aged cigars only available in limited quantities at their headquarters in McLean, Virginia.

By providing the same cigar with varying amounts of aging, PG gives smokers the rare opportunity to truly examine to effects of time.  To encourage this, they sell the latest cigars at the same price as the ones that have been aging in their warehouse for years—around $8 in the case of this Gourmet Series No. 2 circa 1992.

The wrapper on this little 4 and 3/4 inch by 48 ring gauge No. 2 is dry to the touch. The color is a medium Colorado brown, covered in plenty of plume from 16 years of box aging.

And it’s important to note that although the cigar was originally boxed in 1992, the tobacco is certainly a few years older than that, especially the wrapper. In our discussion with Garmirian, he repeatedly told us how his philosophy of cigar making was never to rush the process. Even before rolling the tobacco is a few years old.

After lighting, one is greeted with a predominantly cedar flavor mixed with leather and a woody spice. It quickly becomes clear that there is something else going on in this mild-medium smoke. It is a flavor we couldn’t quite put our finger on, but it seems to have some herbal or floral notes.

Construction is superb during this 35-minute smoke with an even burn, easy draw, and—most notably—an abundant amount of smoke. The aroma is especially pleasant. After the midway point, the flavor profile changes slightly and becomes more mellow. The cedary spice fades only to be replaced with more pronounced leather flavors.

Overall, this is an impressive smoke: a balanced, complex, and subtle cigar that serves as a testament to the wonderful effects of aging.  Though it’s unlikely to be an everyday cigar due to price and scarcity, we would certainly suggest picking one up if you are fortunate enough to visit the PG headquarters in the suburbs of our nation’s capital. The PG Gourmet Series No. 2 (1992) earns a rating of four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A & Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

While both spirits work well year-round, I tend to think of rum as the supreme summertime drink and whiskey as more suitable for the cold winter months. Maybe that’s why, since November, I’ve been exploring the various blends of my favorite, most reliable Irish whiskey: Jameson.

The 12 Year Old blend is a fine choice if you want to venture away from the traditional recipe but don’t want to break the bank. One of four blends in Jameson’s Reserve line, it has a suggested retail of $35 per 750 ml. bottle—a price that, in my opinion, indicates this whiskey is undervalued.

The 12 Year Old Special Reserve, according to Jameson, is “matured for a minimum of 12 years in oloroso sherry and bourbon casks.” The blend was originally dubbed “1780” to honor the year the Jameson Distillery was established.

After peeling away the burgundy foil from the classic green bottle, I was greeted with a corked top. This nice touch, which you’ll also find on the pricier Gold Reserve, is a simple yet underappreciated pleasure.

The amber pour is strikingly similar to the original blend, if not with a slightly more golden hue. Laying the two whiskeys side-by-side, I also noticed similar legs.

You won’t really discover any significant differences, in fact, until you take in the 12 Year Old’s aroma. There’s less of an alcohol tinge on the nose. And while you’ll find similar notes of honey and oak, there’s also a richer, syrupy scent with traces of fruit and leather.

The balanced, complex flavor profile of warm almond, peach, and oak is simply heavenly as it slowly fades into spice. Full-bodied yet mellow. An ice cube or two will bring out more taste and round off some of the edges. The smooth finish goes on for days. Where the original blend is gentle and sweet, 12 Year Old is savory and comforting.

Unlike Jameson’s traditional recipe, feel free to couple this spirit with more powerful smokes. Particularly good pairings include La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero, Isla de Cuba Aged Maduro, Cubao, and the Montecriso Petit Edmundo.

As you might have guessed, my verdict is this premium sprit serves as an exciting reminder that you don’t have to spend a fortune for a respectable whiskey. But Jameson 12 Year Old is much more than respectable; it’s downright sublime.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

[Updated at 3pm Eastern with a response from Altadis USA.]

In a late addition to our last Friday Sampler, we reported the latest Senate version of SCHIP includes slightly higher cigar taxes than previously reported. Here are some other important updates on the cigar legislation front:

Rocky Patel: SCHIP Divides Handmade, Machine-Made Cigar Makers

This weekend StogieGuys.com spoke with cigar maker Rocky Patel for an interview that will be published in full here in the near future. One thing Rocky made clear is that, when it comes to SCHIP’s tobacco taxes, the different tax rates for premium handmade cigars and inexpensive machine-made cigars make it difficult to tell friend from foe.

According to Patel, some cigar producers that make both handmade and machine-made cigars, including industry giant Altadis, were willing to accept higher taxes on handmade cigars if it meant lower taxes on their cheaper, higher-volume, machine-made cigars. In his exclusive interview, Patel indicated a tax cap of 20 cents per large cigar or less (as opposed to the currently proposed 40.27 cents) would have been possible if not for resistance from those who sell machine-made cigars.

“The problem here is that in raising the revenue that Congress wants, they make 4.7 billion machine-made cigars, we make 300 million handmade premium cigars,” the famed cigar maker told StogieGuys.com. “So every time they pay an extra penny, it saves us a lot of money on the amount of cap that we pay on the handmade side. But they weren’t willing to go up a couple pennies so we could go down to twenty [cents per cigar].”

This issue is part of the reason why Patel strongly supports Cigar Rights of America, which he says will look out exclusively for the interests of premium handmade cigar smokers.

UPDATE: Janelle Rosenfeld, vice president of marketing premium cigars and corp. communications for Altadis USA, took issue with the way her company’s role in fighting taxes on premium cigars was portrayed by Mr. Patel.

“Unlike Mr. Patel, Altadis USA is the largest manufacturer of premium cigars and owns and operates its own cigar factories including the largest hand-made cigar factory in the world. We, in fact, have a much larger vested interest in the tax and cap than Mr. Patel. For him to suggest otherwise is inaccurate,” she said. “Altadis USA takes great pride in our quality premium cigars and is committed to our premium cigar retailers and consumers at every turn.” Rosenfeld also said that Altadis and other tradegroups had been instrumental in lowering the tax cap from its initially proposed amount of $10 to its current form of 40.27 cents.

FDA Regulation Coming with Exemption For Cigars

Likely to soon come up again in Congress—and likely to become law this time—is a proposal to regulate tobacco under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. But the controversial plan hasn’t generated as much opposition in the cigar world as the SCHIP bill. That’s because its fairly far-reaching provisions, from prohibitions on adding flavors to restrictions on advertising and new brands, center almost exclusively on cigarettes.

Chris McCalla, Legislative Director for the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association, recently told StogieGuys.com that cigars and pipe tobacco would not be subject to those sorts of FDA restrictions without further extensive action that isn’t expected any time soon. And while imposition of strict FDA regulation on cigars could be devastating to premium handmade cigars, some say it’s unlikely such action will ever happen.

Pipe Tobacco Versus Roll Your Own

Speaking of pipe tobacco, you may have wondered, as we have, about the SCHIP provision to boost the per pound federal tax on pipe tobacco from $1.0969 to $2.8311, while roll-your-own tobacco is increased from $1.0969 to a staggering $24.78 (creating a tenfold difference between RYO and pipe tobacco). What the heck makes tobacco RYO so different from pipe tobacco? Well, it turns out the answer is not much.

Federal definitions are vague, and right now it doesn’t matter because tax rates are the same. But when there’s change, what’s to stop RYO makers from just labeling their product pipe tobacco? According to a spokesman for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, they don’t have an answer. “This is an issue that we recognize as being problematic should the legislation pass,” he said. When it does, the first thing the bureau will do is study the issue to see about tightening up those definitions.

–Patrick S & George E

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.

I’m not sure how this firm Robusto ended up in my humidor, but I wish I would have left it there. Made by Nestor Plasencia and sold by Thompson, this eye- grabbing Nicaraguan puro includes three different wrapper leaves—Connecticut shade, habana 98, and maduro—around long fillers and sungrown binders. Sure, you can pick up this stick for under $2; I just can’t see why you’d want to given its hollow, bitter taste.

Verdict = Sell.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

From smoking “dawgs” to R&B music, the unique Zino Platinum website makes clear its cigars are for “fashionable and entertainment-driven smokers who are stylishly aware of their heritage and ethnicity.” Famous even uses the word “phat” to describe this Davidoff offshoot’s unique shapes and sizes.

If I focused solely on advertising, I’d quickly conclude that Platinum cigars aren’t for me. Let’s just say I’m not exactly hip or urban. I’m more interested, however, in how these sticks smoke than to whom they are marketed.

So, scrolling past all the graphics and fluff on the website, I was able to determine that the Scepter blend is composed of a one-year-old Ecuadorian wrapper, a four-year-old Connecticut binder, and filler tobaccos from Peru and the Dominican Republic. The other Platinum line, the heartier Crown Series, is made up of ligero tobacco.

I smoked two Scepter Pudges for this review. Stubby with a few soft spots, this four inch by 50 ring gauge cigar is vein-free (yet moderately wrinkled) with a light and sweet prelight fragrance.

After toasting the foot, I found the first few puffs to be hollow, uninviting, and chemically. The taste quickly takes a turn for the better, though, exhibiting mild flavors of creamy butter and sweet hay.

The smoke, which only lasts for about 35 minutes, is at its best in the middle when undertones of spice creep in to provide a salty dynamic. Balance is the name of the game. All of the tastes add up to produce a gentle, soothing aroma that reminds me of the smell of fresh sawdust.

Anytime you have more ash than un-smoked tobacco left on a cigar, you’re likely enjoying supreme construction. Such is the case here. The burn is as straight as possible with a dark, thick mascara. The ash is concrete and finely layered. And each effortless draw yields plenty of smoke.

All told, despite the funky marketing, this is a nice little morning smoke. But as my colleague pointed out in a Quick Smoke, I don’t think the Zino Platinum Scepter Pudge deserves its lofty $7 price tag. It does deserve three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

It wasn’t until I picked up one of these dark, oily sticks that I realized how long it had been since I smoked a maduro. A few years ago, it seemed at least two of every three cigars I lit were maduros.

Maybe all those spicy Pepins and mellow Cameroons I’ve been enjoying have just crowded out most of the rest of the field. If so, I need to reconsider. This maduro reminded me how good they can be.

At five inches and a fat 52 ring gauge, the thick wrapper and a mix of Nicaraguan fillers creates a complex, satisfying smoke. At first, there’s a bit of pepper, but that tends to fade fairly soon, setting up the palate for the taste array to follow. You’ll notice the cocoa and coffee common to maduros, and you’ll also find some wood, leather and nuts. Back in 2007, a guest reviewer did a Quick Smoke on the Toro and was equally enthusiastic, rating it a “Buy.”

I’ve found construction on all the Robustos I’ve smoked to be excellent: good draw, fine burn, lots of smoke, and an extremely tight ash. Another plus is the price, as low as under $4 per stick for a box of 20. About the only complaints I had with the cigar were that the finish can be a bit dry and the two huge bands are overkill.

On the other hand, I did find the Perdomo website less than useful. It’s set up to provide information in PDF files, and every one I downloaded was blank. Maybe that has something to do with my system (a Mac), or maybe it was a temporary glitch. Whatever the reason, it was annoying not to be able to get authoritative information about the cigar easily from Perdomo.

Then again, it’s cigars we smoke, not bits and bytes. And for that the Perdomo Habano Maduro Robusto deserves four stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. Cigars for this review were provided by Cigars Direct. You can purchase Perdomo cigars from Cigars Direct here.]

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Coffee is a favorite beverage of mine to pair with a fine cigar, as is a good flavorful beer. With that in mind I was excited to try the Pipeline Porter, a limited release from the Hawaii-based Kona Brewing Company. As soon as I saw it I quickly scooped up a six-pack for $8.

I’ve previously tried Kona’s flagship beer, the Longboard Lager, a crisp refreshing lager that sometimes makes an appearance at my local grocery store but doesn’t quite have the intensity of flavor to hold up to most cigars. A deep coffee-flavored porter, however, seemed just the ticket for a cigar pairing.

And Kona isn’t kidding when they highlight the Kona coffee that goes into this American-style porter. Apparently the coffee beans are mixed in with the malt during the brewing process, and the result is a beer that has the aroma of sweet Cuban coffee.

On the palate, the Pipeline Porter has classic malty flavors with a roasted taste and a touch of chocolate. Two notable characteristics are a low level of carbonation and a short, crisp finish that quickly melts away. The beer isn’t as thick or heavy as many other porters.

And yes, the Pipeline Porter goes well with a fine cigar. Surprisingly for a beer, I found it pairs quite well with full-bodied smokes. The Alec Bradley Tempus was a winner, as was the EO 601 Green. In fact, most medium- to full-flavored cigars are bound to pair well with Pipeline, provided you like the beer.

And that’s the only caveat. Ultimately, this isn’t a beer for everyone. Porters are an acquired taste (or at least one that not everyone shares), and a porter made with coffee isn’t likely to be a universal hit. However, if you’re like me and enjoy coffee and interesting, flavor-filled beer, the Kona Brewing Company’s Pipeline Porter is definitely worth a try.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys