StogieCast.com a cigar Blog for cigar enthusiasts! » 2007

In my never ending quest to out review the site admin, I submit for you tis gem.

Cigar name: Arturo Fuente Añejo #77 (Original Maduro Variety)
A.K.A.: “Shark”
Vitola: 5 5/8″ x 54
Wrapper: Connecticut broadleaf maduro (aged approximately 3 years)(aged/cured in cognac barrels for 6-8 months)
Binder: ?? unknown
Filler: Añejo blend

How fortunate that I get to smoke a Classic #77 while close enough that I still have the Cameroon version still fresh in my head. I already knew I loved these bad boys, so I can dispense with the formalities right away. Anyway, on to the review.

Construction: That beautiful dark wrapper. Dont you just wanna tear it off and eat it? NowI know that that would probably be gross, judging by looks alone, wouldnt you want to? This one was smooth and veinless and firmly wrapped in that fabulous characteristic half box pressed pyramid shape. Just a joy to behold.

Pre-Light: Clipped easily and as is my want with pyramid style cigars, drew quite easlit with a rather small hole, better to concentrate the flavors on my palate. Pre light was chocolate and cedar, and a little of that almost imperceptable note that I get from Añejos.

Burn/Flavor: Amazing as always. I will say you could tell that this was an ‘06 Shark, it was a little young, and maybe a tad vegetal tasting (raw), but that in no way detracted from the flavor experience for me. The cigar drew like a dream, with billows of flavorful fragrant smoke wafting all around me, and enveoping me in an intoxicating haze. Burn was fabulous, long (at least 95 minutes in duration), slow, cool, and razor straight, not need ing a touch up till the very very end, as I was trying to milk it to a nub. Flavor wise it was more ASSERTIVE than the Cameroon version, lots of cocoa and leather at first, the cocoa staying and cedar and that toungue lingering tobacco flavor wafting in and out. This one built a decent heat of steam, more so than I remember (though its been more than I year since I have had one, and the ones I had were aged), and reached a fabulous Mocha Esspresso white pepper crescendo about two third of the way through (rounded off on the toungue with that note that I still insist must be from the special aging Añejos get). The tang I experience in the Cameroon version must have been from said wrapper, because that was not present here. An experience to be sure.

Overall a command performance. The hype is real with these bad boys too. I was lucky to acquire another one with the stick I burned, and I plan to sit on it for a while to see how it develops. GOOD STUFF!

Diamond Crown Maximus Robusto #5

A friend came down to visit this past weekend.
It was supposed to a low key time for alcohol, and cigars at a local pub.

Having posted an embarrassingly low number of cigar reviews, I thought I would take the opportunity to do one.
Now, I knew going into this that it wasn’t going to be an ideal review situation.
I wasn’t going to be able to take notes or anything.
So I grabbed a cigar I had some familiarity with hoping that would make remembering the details a little easier.

Additionally it was a cigar I had enjoyed in the past.
The Diamond Crown Maximus.
(this was the Robusto #5)

Things didn’t work out exactly as I had planned.
I had a less than stellar experience with this cigar. I just didn’t enjoy it as much as I had previous times.
I didn’t enjoy it much at all to be quite frank.

Being a huge fan of the Fuente line up in General, and a relatively recent admirer of the Oliva family products… the Diamond Crown Maximus is a no brainier.

The Diamond Crown Maximus is made in extremely limited quantities and is only available to a handful of suppliers throughout the US. The secret to this fuller-bodied blend is its El Bajo Sun Grown wrapper that packs a robust flavor. This wrapper is grown in Ecuador by the Famous Oliva tobacco family, growers of the worlds finest tobacco. This leaf in conjunction with the expert rollers at the Fuente factory in the Dominican Republic have turned the Diamond Crown Maximus into a legend.

- Source: Cigar.com

Since I was previously very impressed with the cigar I found myself wondering… what went wrong?
I mean this is a cigar whose name is often spoken in the same breath as OpusX!

(aff)

1) I was at a bar.
Try as you might you just can’t give a cigar the attention it deserves while socializing at a bar.
You may thoroughly enjoy it, but you’re not likely to retain much to build a solid review.

2) I’ve had some trouble with my humidor’s RH% recently.
This really stinks, and I only have myself to blame. Several times I have walked past the humi to see percentages approaching the lower 50s. (and once even lower!). I just haven’t been as diligent as I should. It is entirely possible that the cigar was adversely affected by this.

3) I had a less than stellar cut.
I think it may actually be time to send the ol’ Xicar (aff) in for sharpening. The cutting of this cigar was awful. It took THREE attempts to get a nice clean cut.

5) I was drinking a Bass beer.
While I like Bass beer I don’t know what I was thinking when I ordered it for a cigar session.
t’s a very strong, bitter beer and it really isn’t the type of drink that like to take a back seat to anything on the palette.

6) Had to resort to matches. The icky kind.
Forgot my butane. Damn!
Had to use matches.
They yucky kind.

I took all the precautions one can take in such a situation but it was still less than perfect.
Even the burn was a bit off thanks to my lack of skill with match lighting.

7) The Nintendo NES.
Yes you heard right. The Nintendo NES.
Old school. This bar had a TV setup with a NES and my buddy and I sat there all night playing Mario Brothers, Blades of steel. and Excite Bike. While this little bit of nostalgia was FUN… I let the cigar go out a couple of times. But what was I supposed to do? When you’re marching through levels on Galaga you just don’t put the controller down!

Given all of that I can’t in good conscious give this cigar a good review.
But please take this with a grain of salt. More than once I can remember sitting down with one of these and thinking “Damn that’s a good cigar!”

Winter + Cigars = More Work.

As we draw to the close of another winter (I hope) here in the Midwest I thought I’d share another good “common sense” Blog over at Cigar101.

The premise of their post is the effects of cold weather on your cigars.
And what could happen to cigars that are shipped (and perhaps left on the porch) during the winter.

But I think the best little tidbit there talks about what happens once you get them inside. It’s a reminder we all need to hear more often. In the winter you must be more vigilant with regard to maintaining your humidor’s RH%

I shamefully admit I have had a hard time keeping up with this battle.
I bought a cigar oasis some time ago because I thought it would help.
And to be fair it did. But even with the mighty oasis I must refill the reservoir much more often in the winter. (thankfully not as much as I did BEFORE I got the oasis)

The only part of the article I didn’t agree with was the standard advice of 70/70 humidor conditions.

I personally like to keep my RH% at 65-68.

Re-emerging cigar brands.

Cigar Insider recently had an interesting article about re-emerging cigar brands.
The gist of it all is that the fact that cigar companies are bringing back brands that were introduced in, but did not survive, the cigar boom is a good indicator for the cigar market.

I tend to agree.
And in one of my previous posts I made mention of organic growth the industry has had that seems to rival the “good ol’ days” of the boom.
The fact that demand makes more brands viable is a good sign.
And that the growth has been happening gradually is also good. This means that cigar manufactures have had time to recognize, and plan for the increased demand.
Hopefully that will help curb the quality issues that we saw in the late 1990s.

The Cigar Insider article focused on the VegaFina brand.
I’m not sure though that THIS particular brand is a wise choice.

“…a bargain-priced brand from the cigar boom.”

“…according to Altadis, is the top selling
non-Cuban brand in Spain, which is the biggest
importer of Cuban cigars in the world.”

If the cigar is THAT good… does it make sense to bring it here under a brand that has a perception in the USA as a FAILED “bargain-priced brand”??

I realize making a whole new brand for a separate market is a big and expensive task.
But so is producing, importing, and selling a cigar that isn’t given a fair shake.

H.Upmann Vintage Cameroon Robusto

Wrapper: Well Aged Vintage Cameroon
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan, & Peruvian

Pre-Light - A medium mocha brown, kinda toothy wrapper, whrapped nicely around a evenly packed nice looking stogie. No blemishes to speak of. Clipped easy and yielded a prelight draw that was cedary (from the wrap perhaps?) and sweet tobacco. Draw seems good.

Burn - even and medium, producing just enough smoke to feel round and robust in the mouth. Burned razor straight, and the ash held for quite a long time, which helped promote this experience from average to better than. The long ash helped provide a cramy smooth (cool) richness to the smoke I doubt would have been there otherwise. An example of how stellar construction can help elevate and average smoke.

Taste - A pretty simple straightforward cigar, starts off with a burst of black pepper, with notes of spice and cedar in the beginning and a honey like undertone, the cedar stay as it settles in at the halfway point to more pepper, and the tang that I am learning must be associated with Cameroon wrapper. A pretty average tasting cigar.

Overall - This is an above avergae cigar. The pedestrian flavors were clearly helped by the good construction of this stogie, in the first concrete example I can show of form helping function in handade cigars. Because the ash held for so long, the cigar burned cool and smooth giving the smoke a more fufilling body. It also helped me appreciate the flavors of this cigar more, heightening the experience. If all the cigars of this line are constructed this well, I can happily reccomend it.

PSSSSST, lady - you want cigars?

I stumbled upon a great editorial piece from an Australian news site, and I thought you may enjoy it.

It details a trip to Cuba… something we U.S. residents can only do vicariously.
Here’s a taste of the article:

“Intrigued by the offer and eager to bypass the expensive state-run cigar shops, we follow our little salesman and a boisterous woman who appears to have joined the negotiation down a bustling cobbled street.

When we reach a blue wooden door, the woman darts inside and I am directed to follow her.

Her arm yanks me into the alcove behind the door, where she pushes a varnished wooden box of 25 fat Cohiba cigars into my hands.”

It’s a very nice read if you happen to have your PC or laptop on while you smoke tonight. The full story is here.

Cigars Vs. Pipes Vs. Cigarettes

Brandon told a very nice story about his grandfather, a special pipe, and his journey to learn of and smoke the heir loom.
It really is a touching story, and very similar to the stories one often hears when a cigar or pipe lover describes how they came to the “hobby”.

My grandfather was also a pipe smoker.
I loved that smell. And being a novice pipe lover myself I truly enjoyed the article.

Brandon even quotes one of the studies out there that indicates the “second hand smoke” issue is less a health issue than a political one.

The article ends questioning the wisdom of blanket smoking bans that go so far as to outlaw smoking… in tobacco shops.
I’m 100% with you Brandon.

But Brandon gets a bit off course when he starts comparing the risks associated with various tobacco products.

“Cigarettes are especially dangerous and, due to their addictive nature, are best not to be smoked by anyone - ever. Perhaps cigars are less threatening because they are smoked less often, but even they, if smoked at all, should be used as a treat on rare occasions. In my opinion, pipes are the least harmful form of tobacco use because the pipe smoke is not inhaled and the pipe acts as a filter.”

Brandon you’re right about cigarettes.
What makes them REALLY dangerous are all the additives that are added. Far from pure tobacco there’s all sorts of chemicals and evil things put in there.
That’s one of the reasons cigarettes need no humidification unlike cigars and pipe tobacco.

But from there I think I have to raise my hand a bit.
For instance did you know that Cigars are generally NOT inhaled?!

It is very rare that a cigar aficionado inhales the smoke. The cigar smoke is meant to be rolled around and tasted.. not inhaled.
Much like the pipe you are learning about. In fact I’d say the percentage of “inhalers” is probably about the same for pipe and cigar smokers.

I’m curious… as an admitted new comer to pipes, and with no experience with cigars… how many cigar smokers did you talk to before writing this? I’m not trying to denounce your process at all but as a writer with an audience I can’t help but feel there was a missed opportunity to address a wider set of misconceptions.

I mean putting cigars any closer to cigarettes than pipes is a disservice to anyone who appreciates tobacco as a hobby vs. a habit.
To us cigars, and pipes, are like a fine wine.
Cigarettes would be…. Malt liquor… or… Mad Dog 20/20… or anything available in a “forty”.

My only other criticism (and I mean all of this as constructive criticism) is that MOST of the time pipes do NOT act as a filter. I’m the first to admit that I am a novice when it comes to pipes, but my “teachers” in this arena as well as my own experience indicates that while it is true filters are available for some pipes… most of the time the shaft of the pipe doesn’t have one. It’s not any more filtered than a straw.

I’m not sure if his article accepts trackbacks but if not I’ll email Brandon and ask him to chime in here.
I think he wrote a great article, and it’s not at all surprising that he had some misconceptions about cigars as a new comer to the world of fine tobacco. But I think it’s important that anyone making a “hey this is different than all those other things!” type statement take a moment to understand those other things.

And Brandon if you do read this…
Enjoy that pipe it sounds like one of those rare and special heir looms that is meant to be used, and loved.
Sitting down with a nice blend and thinking of your Grandfather sounds like a much better tribute than looking at a pipe under glass.

Montana Senate to hold hearing on prohibiting the sale of cigars.

On Friday Feb 16th, 2007 the Montana Senate will conduct a Legislative Hearing on bill SB336 wich would prohibit sale of flavored cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco

If you are in Montana you may want to attend this hearing and make your voice heard.

Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety, Room 317AAAA, 3 p.m.
Again that’s on Feb 16th, 2007

The Cigar battle rages on in Harrisburg, PA.

The Morning Call out of Harrisburg, PA reports that Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell may be up against familiar faces this spring when he tries to create new taxes on cigars and smokeless tobacco products.

Democrat and Former House Minority Whip Mike Veon has accepted a position as a lobbyist for Smokeless Tobacco.
(the guys who produce Skoal, Copenhagen snuff, and other products)

While I generally don’t root for lobbyists… or give two hoots about Smokeless Tobacco and snuff… I hope Mr. Veon is wildly successful in his new job.

10 ways cigars solve global warming

Ok well maybe SOLVE is a bit strong.
But certainly they can help us along the way and help us keep the important things in perspective.

1 ) They’re plants.
Plants eat carbon dioxide, one of leading bad guy gases of global warming.
Yep, if we only plant more tobacco we’d be much better off.
(oh and we should probably stop destroying that rain forest thing too)

2 ) They slow people down
Cigars manage two feats that seem very hard to do these days.
They draw people together, and keep them there for an hour or more.
You just can’t rush a good cigar. The longer people sit together and smoke - the less they are in their cars spewing more carbon dioxide into the air.
And… as the folks get to know each other stogies also facilitate car pooling.

3 ) They make people talk… patiently
Goes back to the “They slow people down” idea.
People get together and they know they are gonna be there for a little while.
It’s amazing how civil and patient people can be when they know they are not going to get up and leave at a moments notice.
Sitting, listening, learning, and then talking.
Something a great many politician could stand to learn.

4 ) They form personal relationships.
There are a good number of folks in my area that I ONLY know from and because of the local cigar shop. But now these people and I exchange friendly greetings, and ask “how’d that deal work out for you?” type questions.
They are barely more than strangers - but the brotherhood of the cigar has elevated them to much more. Even the ones with DRASTICALLY different views on politics and/or religion.
We debate things once and a while (which I try to avoid when smoking) and each time I honestly believe we each walk away with more understanding. We may not change the other’s mind… but we better understand and respect their view.
Today it seems dissenting opinions are quickly and violently put down… makes me want to give everybody a stogie.

5 ) Their quality is equally dependant on Man and Nature.
Extremist views on any topic are rarely the right ones.
The environment is no different.
We can not all revert back to dung huts and clothes lines.
But we are ALL still very much dependant on our planet.
You’d think we’d be able to find a middle ground in there somewhere.

6 ) There is no rushing truly great cigars
It seems people are wary if not out right afraid of the time and effort involved in changing the way we use resources and treat the planet.
But folks… it’s gonna be an iterative process.
You can’t rush these things … but you MUST get the process started.
A great cigar and take many years. But still they are made.
Because they are worth it.

7 ) Often, but not always, you get what you pay for.
Another hurdle that is always brought up is the expense of turning global warming around.
Cost prohibitive my ass. Tell that to Florida when it disappears.
Or Kentucky when they have millions of refuges streaming in.
It may take money… but it is certainly money well spent.
The “ROI” is hard to see sometimes - but picture the COSTS of doing nothing.

And remember folks… in life, as in cigars, there are often gems to be found for a pittance.
Sure there are things that are going to be expensive.
But there are MANY MANY things that could be done today that are relatively cheap and already available.

8 ) They require constant care
Buying a cigar is just the start.
You must store them correctly.
Transport them carefully.
Light them correctly.
And give them the attention they deserve.
Any solution to Global Warming will also require a continuous effort.

9 ) To be happy cigars need to exist in their natural environment.
And so do we.
I certainly don’t want to experience an early ice age just because we’re advanced enough to “probably” survive.

10 ) Life’s too short to smoke bad cigars
And the environment is to fragile and rare to ruin.
Life’s too short to do nothing.
If we don’t who will?
Our kids? They’ll be too busy trying to find a space for a tent in Kentucky.