This is the part where I whine about how hard it is to pick ten cigars I smoked in 2015, rank them and declare them the box-worthiest of all cigars to be box-worthy in that year. The truth is, this year’s list seemed easier to compile. I quickly put together a pool or 25 or […]
Ben’s Top 10 Cigars of the Year
Every year I try to get my top 10 cigars of the year out before Christmas and every year I never seem to make it. Better late than never I guess. This year, I was thinking how easy it would be to come up with 10 cigars because I was thinking there wasn’t much that came […]
Drew Estate Undercrown Shade Gran Toro
Drew Estate released the Undercrown Shade this year, 2015, at IPCPR in New Orleans too much fanfare. Blended by Willy Herrera, it was supposed to be a Connecticut wrapper cigar unlike any other you’ve ever tried before. Willy wanted something with more power and flavor and developed the Shade blend. We caught up with Willy […]
Brian’s The Week In Smoke, Issue 95
It’s once time again for another issue of Brian’s The Week In Smoke. In case this is your first Week in Smoke, be advised that it covers many (though not necessarily all) of the cigars I’ve smoked in the past week (or the past month, or however long it has been since the last issue), […]
A Walk with my Wife and a Hererra Esteli
Last week my wife and I celebrated 8 years of marriage. Our plan was to have our daughter spend a night or two with her grandparents while we went away. Nothing fancy, just a night or two at a bed and breakfast about an hour away. We both filed the necessary requests with our employers […]
Drew Estate MUWAT Kentucky Fire Cured Yard Bird
A big thank you to Sam Morales of Drew Estate (you may know him as @drewestatedata on social media) for sending me this event exclusive Kentucky Fire Cured Yard Bird. It made its first appearance at the second annual Kentucky Barn Smoker in the Hopkinsville, KY on October 3rd. It then made its first appearance […]
Balmoral Añejo XO & Westvleteren 12 Pairing
Drew Estate put Ben and I to work after our tour of the Royal Agio facility. Our job? To smoke a Balmoral Añejo XO while at the same time drinking one of the most sought after beers in the world, Trappist Westvleteren 12. It was tough work, but someone had to do it. Find out […]
Exploring InterTabac 2015
Thanks to the generousity of Royal Agio Cigars and Drew Estate, Ben Lee and I had the opportunity to attend InterTabac 2015 last week. InterTabac posed an interesting challenge for us in terms of coverage for Stogie Review. It’s bigger than IPCPR spread out over five convention center halls. (Yes, five.) It has a greater […]
Brian’s The Week In Smoke, Issue 91
You’ve probably noticed that Stogie Review has been a little quiet since all the IPCPR 2015 interviews went live. Believe it or not, we’re not taking a break, nor are we throwing in the towel. Shortly after returning from the trade show we learned that our current video host, Blip, will be shutting down on […]
IPCPR 2015: Royal Agio
While we were in the Drew Estate booth, we also had a chance to speak with Boris Wintermans of Royal Agio Cigars. Since this is the first time we’ve talked to him, we got the video started with with his background and the history of Agio before discussing Balmoral Royal Selection Añejo 18 and the […]