La Sirena Prince (first impressions)

I know what you’re probably thinking right now: “What gives? Another ‘first impressions’ video? Where are my full-length reviews?” I’m sorry! I mean, it’s not like I’m busy, what with the new job, new house, pregnant wife, and everything else. I know I’ve been slacking, but there are only 24 hours in a day. So please bear with me, and don’t everyone throw your computer mice at my head all at once!

The first thing you notice about La Sirena…

Ortega Cigars Serie D No. 10

A couple of months back there was quite the buzz about Eddie Ortega separating himself from Rocky Patel. Not long after I learned that news, I learned that Eddie Ortega was striking out on his own with a line of cigars. I’ve known Eddie for a few years now and he is always a pleasure to talk to. Because of this friendship, and that he has a good reputation among the cigar community for his previous cigars, I was eager …

An Afternoon with Pete Johnson (Part Four)

Part Four, the final chapter. Lots of great discussion here about tasting cigars off the bench and envisioning how they will taste as they age, too many 90 plus ratings? Joya de Nicaragua in the 1970′s, more advice for bloggers and the benefits for manufacturers. Cigar technology, dying of cigars, consumer education, sorting tobacco, seed variety, the decline of Cuban cigars, aging cigars and props to Rolando Reyes Sr. and Dion Giolito.

I hope you all have enjoyed the interview. …

An Afternoon with Pete Johnson (Part Three)

This is Part Three focusing on questions from the audience. Is Pete still having fun? Times of crisis? Experience working with The Garcia Family. Second guessing blends, more info on Little Monsters, and blogger’s responsibility in the industry? Note to self, gotta invest in a third microphone for audience use.

Same format as an An Evening with Benji Menendez and An Afternoon with Ernesto Perez Carrillo. This weekend Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars was in Washington DC and Bethesda …

An Afternoon with Pete Johnson (Part Two)

This is Part Two of Four and has a lot of great content. The story of La Verite, the “romance” in the cigar business, a Tatuaje farm, who is to blame for current pricing, could the cigar industry self regulate itself, the golden age of cigars and an explanation on fermentation.

Same format as an An Evening with Benji Menendez and An Afternoon with Ernesto Perez Carrillo. This weekend Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars was in Washington DC and …

An Afternoon with Pete Johnson (Part One)

Same format as an An Evening with Benji Menendez and An Afternoon with Ernesto Perez Carrillo. This weekend Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars was in Washington DC and Bethesda MD celebrating the start of W.Curtis Draper 125th Anniversary year with the release of the Cabaiguan WCD 120 Redux. Towards the end of the afternoon, Pete and George Brightman (W.Curtis Draper-Bethesda) sat down and talked about Tatuaje Cigars and the cigar industry in general.

The discussion between Pete and …

23 Minutes with Pete Johnson

It’s pretty interesting to note that this celebrates five years of the 20 Minutes with Pete Johnson series of videos here on Stogie Review. So first I want to thank Pete for always being giving with his time. Secondly I want to thank W.Curtis Draper for giving me a home to record for the past five years. This series of videos has turned into a tradition that I hope continues for many more years to come.

In this interview Pete …

Dunhill 100th Anniversary Edition (First Impressions)

With time running short again this week, I searched through my coolidor for some potentially interesting subjects for a first impressions video. I offered a few options to my fellow Stogie Review compadres, and the nearly unanimous choice was the Dunhill 100th Anniversary Edition. I’d never smoked a Dunhill before, let alone this special limited release, and I struggled to find information about this cigar online, so I really had no idea what to expect. All I knew was …

Your Questions, My Answers (YQMA) Episode 2.06

This is an old school episode of Your Questions, My Answers. All the other members were too lazy to make it so Walt and I kicked back just like we did when we first started the YQMA Series some years ago. We’ve nicknamed this episode the “my face hurts” episode as Walt and I have a lot of good laughs…usually at other people’s expense. No worries we tackle cigar related questions as well. Without Brian Hewitt to eat up all …

Maldonado Dynasty Mogul

Back in November, Daniel (aka @Dalamscius) from Casas Fumando held a giveaway contest to raise money for the Movember campaign, which spreads awareness about men’s health issues, particularly prostate cancer. I was happy to make a small donation to help out a pal (who also happens to be active in the Stogie Review Fan Forums), and was thrilled to be chosen to receive a 5-pack of cigars donated by Maldonado Dynasty.

When my 5-pack of the …