Past Newsletters
Vol. 5 No. 6
Featured Cigar Dimensions
| Brand Name: | Shape | Size |
| A. Puros Indios Especial #2 | Grand Corona | 6 ½ x 46 |
| B. Puros Indios Rothchild | Rothchild | 5 ½ x 44 |
| C. Puros Indios Toro | Toro | 6 x 53 |
| D. Tabu Belicoso | Belicoso | 5 ½ x 54 |
| E. Tabu Churchill | Churchill | 7 x 49 |
Featured Cigars
The Puros Indios Cigars
The Puros Indios Cigar Company is, without a doubt, a family affair. Rolando Reyes, Sr., the living legend behind the Puros Indios brand, has been a master cigar maker for over 60 years. He has owned and operated hand-rolling factories in Havana, the Dominican Republic, Miami, New Jersey, as well as in Honduras. Over the past six decades, his vast experience has included jobs in every phase of cigar making including purchasing and processing tobacco, quality control, production supervision, and shipping and handling. You could say Don Rolando knows a bit about tobacco. As a matter of fact, Reyes is rare among many of today's cigar company owners and factory managers, in that he can actually roll cigars as well!
Don Rolando was born in Cuba and at 14, began a career in the cigar business. His 30 years of experience in the Cuban cigar industry included working at H.Upmann, Partagas, Romeo y Julieta, as well as other major cigar factories. His own Havana factory was producing over 6 million premium cigars before it was confiscated by the Castro government in the early 60's. Reyes has a rather basic philosophy with respect to his business: "Our goal is that every cigar we make be a perfect cigar in its appearance, the way it burns, and in flavor - A true Work of Art."
The Puros Indios brand is rolled at the Reye's plantation in Danli, Honduras. The line has received high praise from numerous trade publications, rating from the high 80's to mid 90's in Cigar Aficionado. The line as a whole offers a very full, rich cigar smoking experience and is available in a myriad of sizes. Our panel enjoyed all of the Puros Indios samples received and was hard pressed to choose just three to feature this month. The vast experience and family tradition truly emerges in these superb cigars. We know you'll enjoy them. For more information about the Puros Indios Cigar Company, call 800-992-4427.
Binder: Ecuadorian
Filler: Dominican, Brazilian, & Nicaraguan
Wrapper: Ecuadorian - Colorado Claro
Strength (Mild 1, Full 10): 7
Panel Rating: 93
Notes from the Panel:
Immediately note a beautifully constructed cigar with an extraordinary oily wrapper. We found the draw to be easy and the burn consistent and even. Look for a full-flavored smoke loaded with sweet earthy flavors including cocoa, coffee bean and some leathery notes also evident. This extremely satisfying smoke ends slightly spicy. Overall, a full, rich, very complex cigar to be savored. Consider pairing this one with a hoppy India Pale Ale or your choice of a full-bodied bourbon.
Binder: Ecuadorian
Filler: Dominican, Brazilian, Jamaican & Nicaraguan
Wrapper: Ecuador - Colorado Claro
Strength (Mild 1, Full 10): 8
Panel Rating: 94
Notes from the Panel:
Wow! We really like these smokes! This is an impeccably well-constructed cigar that smokes as good as it looks. Look for a rich, full flavor consisting of nutty and spicy characteristics. Plenty of smoke and easily two hours of pure pleasure. Overall, our favorite of a consistently solid and satisfying line up. Saddle up to this one with either a Guiness or Murphy's Irish Stout.
Binder: Ecuadorian
Filler: Dominican, Brazilian, Jamaican & Nicaraguan
Wrapper: Ecuador - Claro
Strength (Mild 1, Full 10): 7
Panel Rating: 89
Notes from the Panel:
Another rich, full bodied cigar that starts off with hints of spice, specifically, nutmeg and cinnamon. This cigar is very well crafted, offering an effortless draw, plenty of smoke, and a cool, even burn. Again, another inviting oily wrapper. Look for slight coffee flavors and a long, heavenly earthy finish. Take your time to enjoy this full-bodied, complex smoke and pair it up with a Sauvignon Blanc or your preferred Cognac
The Tabu Cigars
The Tabu Cigar line is manufactured by the Eagle Cigar Company in their facility in Esteli, Nicaragua. Eagle, no stranger to the industry, had been manufacturing cigars for over 7 years as a private-label supplier for some of the world's most prestigious cigar companies, when the decision was made to develop a blend for their own line. Hence, Tabu was born. Each Tabu cigar is constructed using five long filler leaves, hand-selected from the finest tobacco grown exclusively in the Nicaraguan regions of Jalapa and Esteli. The line uses a Sumatran binder and highly sought-after shaded Ecuadorian wrapper leaf. The Tabu Cigars are offered in seven sizes including: Belicoso, corona, churchill, lonsdale, robusto, toro, and torpedo. Tabu has been reviewed in the low 90's in Smoke magazine and was rated consistently in the 90's as well by our panel, with the Belicoso featured this month receiving an unusually high average score of 96. We found it to be an exceptionally smooth and flavorful, yet mild smoke. We really liked this cigar very much and are pleased to be able to bring you a superb contrast two exceptional cigars at opposite ends of the strength spectrum. Enjoy!
For more information about the Eagle Cigar Company, call 949-250-0764 or email them directly at sales@tabucigars.com. In a month or so, you'll be able to visit their website at www.tabucigars.com.
Binder: Indonesian Olor
Filler: Nicaraguan Piloto Cubano
Wrapper: Indonesian -Claro
Strength (Mild 1, Full 10): 5
Panel Rating: 96
Notes from the Panel:
This is a damn nice little cigar. Aesthetically, a beautiful, silky smooth and inviting wrapper. The draw was perfect, not too easy and not too firm. Look for some floral notes with medium tobacco flavor and some mild nut flavors evident as well. Note a mild, pleasant aroma and a hint of spice in the aftertaste. Overall, a great little smoke, perfect after a light meal or after breakfast. We'd suggest pairing it with your favorite Sauvignon Blanc or a crisp, dry pilsner (assuming you didn't enjoy the smoke after breakfast!).
Binder: Indonesian Olor
Filler: Nicaraguan Piloto Cubano
Wrapper: Indonesian -Claro
Strength (Mild 1, Full 10): 5.5
Panel Rating: 92
Notes from the Panel:
Another very well constructed cigar from Tabu. It had a nice touch and felt weighty in your hand. Substantial. Look for a nice draw, even burn and firm ash in this well fermented smoke. We found it to offer light sweet and creamy flavors that build into slight peppery spiciness and hazelnut overtones as you get further into the cigar. We also picked up a trace of coffee in this highly enjoyable smoke. Overall, every bit as satisfying as the Belicoso and perhaps a bit more complex. We'd suggest pairing it with a dry Chardonnay or Sierra Nevada's Pale Bock.
Language and Cigars
For centuries, cigars have been shaping language, and language has been shaping cigars. The materials used to make cigars, the places where cigars are made, and the curious habits formed around smoking cigars have left their mark on our common parlance. And language has done its part to build the mystique of cigars, attaching to them words than imbue power – like torpedo and Lancero. Below you will find some common and not so common words associated with the pastime of smoking and a bit on where they originated and/or mean.
Buckeye: A small tobacco store where cigars are rolled on the premises.
Chaveta: A flat, rounded blade without a handle, used by rollers to trim the wrapper during application to the binder and filler.
El Curtador: The table-sized guillotine that roller use to trim the finished product to the correct size. Also called a tuck cutter.
La Tabla: The small, wooden cutting board-like surface on which the cigars are actually rolled.
Sikar: The Mayan word which means "smoking" became the Spanish word "cigarro," and later the English cigar.
Stogie: Derived from "Conestoga," the name of a town in Pennsylvania where domestic cigars were manufactured in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Torcedor: A skilled cigar roller. A good torcedor can roll up to 150 cigars per day, depending on the cigar's shape and size. Rollers specialize in one or two sizes at a time until they become skilled enough o move on to more demanding shapes and sizes. The most skilled torcedores role the most difficult sizes: torpedoes and pyramids.
Vega: A farm or plantation where tobacco is grown. The term originates from the plains around Tinidad, Cuba, which became the first legally recognized tobacco plantations in Cuba.
Veguero: The tobacco farmer.
Storing Your Smokes
Equally important to evaluating and appreciating the cigars featured each month is the proper storage and sometimes continued aging of them prior to smoking them. Ideally, you should store your cigars in a humidor to maintain them at their peak smokability. Be sure and use only distilled water in your humidor or you will ultimately see mold. As for the cigars, if they've got cellophane on them, as a general rule, leave it on. Cellophane is actually quite porous and the moisture from a humidor will penetrate the wrapper. If in fact, you don't yet own a humidor or prefer not to spend the money for the amount of tobacco you indulge, there are many varied options. In the short term you can put them in a zip lock plastic bag (open) and then place the bag in a Tupperware-like container. Put a dampened ball of paper towel in the container as well, but do not allow the paper towel to touch the cigars. Do not put your cigars in the refrigerator; it's too cold and dry. Be certain to examine your cigars frequently, checking for mold. If you see mold beginning to grow, allow your "Tupper-dor" to dry out somewhat and reduce the amount of moisture its receiving.
Tobacco Bits
Bite Me, Punch Me, Smoke Me - Eighty-five percent of cigar smokers would rather punch than bite the tips of their cigars before lighting, and about 75% smoke between one and five cigars per week.
Deadly Smokin' - In William Le Queux's novel, The Czar's Spy, the Czar's Privy-Councillor meets his untimely end at the tip of a Havana. The Councillor lights the cigar in his office for a moment of thoughtful repose when disaster strikes. The cigar which Oberg had pressed upon him down in the saloon had exploded, and the small missile concealed inside the diabolical contrivance had passed upward into the brain! Some nifty scrolling there, Bill.
Location, Location, Location - The first tobacco plantations in Cuba were developed on the eastern side of the island, in the provinces of Cienfuegos and Oriente, for their accessibility to larger rivers like the Cauto, which allowed for the easy smuggling of tobacco under the watchful eye of the Spanish-ruled monopolies. By 1719, the vegueros had moved to the western side for the superior soil and climate.
Schmokin' Babes - Women are buying 20 times more cigars then they did 10 years ago, and two percent of the nation's cigar smokers are women.
Lets do Bunch - During the bunching process, only parejo sizes are placed in the wooden bunch molds. The parejo sizes are the straight, unshaped sticks, such as lonsdales, churchills, and robustos. The more difficult figurado sizes, such as the piramides, torpedoes, and belicosos, are frequently bunched in paper molds – a painstakingly tedious process which greatly increases the cost of a cigar.
Cuban Exports - While you may think that Cuba's number-one export crop is its prized tobacco, think again. Tobacco is actually Cuba's fourth-largest export, behind sugar, nickel, and citrus fruits.
Ashes to Ashes - Many smokers believe that the lighter the ash on a cigar, the better the quality of the cigar. If this were true, most Cuban cigars would be considered inferior, as many Cubans often leave a dark gray ash. A light ash is usually the result of a high magnesium content in the soil where the tobacco was grown.
Ask Murl
Dear Murl,
I was surfin' the net the other day in one of the cigar forums and read a comment from someone that referred to something called The Age of Sickness and he was talking about the maturation period of cigars. What exactly is The Age of Sickness anyway? On a side note, I think you're cute!
Jackie Yencer
Lake Forest, CA
Yo Jackie!
Okay. You've got my undivided attention. To be blunt, compliments will get your questions answered and more importantly, they might get you invited over for some treats and heavy petting if you know what I mean! Woof! Woof! The age of sickness means different things to different folks. For me, it was pretty much my entire Freshman year in College. Hell, one night, I drank 17 bowls of Barley Wine, smoked 3 Te Amos and woke up naked in chicken coop with a half eaten Snickers Bar in my paw and two French Poodles at my side, but that's a different story. I was pretty ill for at least a week, but earned the nickname, Stud Muffin so I guess it was worth it.
To most cigar manufacturers, however, the age of sickness refers the period just after a cigar has been rolled to anywhere from 3-6 months afterwards when the cigar should be aging/fermenting prior to being smoked. The cigar is considered green or young prior to that period and will produce grassy, unpleasant taste characteristics if smoked prematurely. In recent years, our tasting panel has evaluated quite a few cigars that haven't been properly fermented from some newer manufacturers that take any tobacco they can get their hands on. Those smokes never make it to our members so I can't cite any specific brands that you'd recognize from past month's selections. Hope you're clear, dear. Gotta rawhide chewy that needs some knawin'.
Woof!
Murl.
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