An Early Christmas Present

The Brown Truck o' Happiness just pulled away from the curb after the nice gentleman in the brown suit put a big-ass box in my hot lil hands... the contents o' which, this:

That would be a box o' Drew Estate Acid Kuba Kubas, a nice lil five-stick travel humidor full o' some seriously good cigars, and a spiffy Bugatti butane lighter... all o' which were part o' the Black Friday Box Bedlam.

We are NOT immune to the joys o' shopping, especially when we don't even have to leave the house.  I'm gonna have too much choice for After Dinner Whiskey Hour this evening.

Yet Still Even More Cigar Art, Already

This is actually episode 21 of the ongoing series and we'll eventually get back to numbering these posts once we run out o' suitable modifiers.  In today's mail:

That's a box o' Oliva Serie O Habana Maduros in the torpedo size, if you're keeping score at home.  The box may look plain at first glance (it isn't) but it was the opening of this well-crafted beauty that amazed and mystified us.  Put another way, opening up this box o' beauties was the equivalent of an old reprobate's Christmas.  It's the little details... the stiff tissue liner, the shiny gold ribbon, and the interior cedar top piece... that all add up up to impressive packaging, yet again.  Art, in other words.

I think it's time to adjourn to the verandah with one of these puppies and a State Pen porter.  Dark begets dark.

Yet Even More Cigar Art

In today's mail... the red and the black.

That would be a box of Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real short belicosos... in both Connecticut and maduro wrappers.  Once again, it's all about the box, which, as usual for premium cigars, is of all wood construction and is very well finished. I also like the way the RyJ logo... or crest, you choose... is done up in gold line art on both the exterior and interior of the box (click the images to embiggen).  Very well conceived and executed.

Seein' as how the days are getting shorter, it only follows that my cigars should get shorter, too.  We'll be firing one of these puppies up during After Dinner Whiskey Hour this evening.

Cigar Art XIX

In today's mail... wait, that's not right... delivered by a uniformed driver o' the Brown Truck o' Happiness is the reality o' the situation.  These:

That's a box o' Acid Opulence 3s from Drew Estate, one of my go-to sticks.  Once again, the art is mostly about the packaging, which is a well-constructed solid wood box with a clever three-piece lid.  It almost seems a shame to take these cigars out o' the box and put 'em in the humidor.

Herewith a brief review o' the cigar:



What do I think?  As I said before: the O3 is one of my go-to sticks.  I love this cigar.

Cigar Art XVIII

In today's mail...

That would be a box of 3 Reynas in the 6x60 gordo size and those puppies are indeed fat.  The box is made entirely of wood except for the brass clasp/hinges and is finished in a very deep reddish-brown that's quite pleasing to the eye.  I also like the 3 Reynas logo... simple and elegant.  Kinda like me, with the emphasis on "simple."

It's a good thing our weather broke today and we're about ten degrees cooler than we were for the past day or six.  And why does that matter?  Mainly coz we'll be on the verandah this afternoon for a lil bit longer than usual.  I think one of these puppies is gonna last a loooong time, mebbe even three beers' worth.  We'll be out to the verandah just as soon as we hit "post."

Apropos o' not much... I need to buy me a flash attachment, one that I can angle up or down as required to eliminate that unsightly flash glare.  Yet another First World Problem, eh?

Cigar Art XVII

In today's mail and in the "beautiful packaging" division, this:

Click to embiggen to readable size.

That would be a box of Xikar HC Habano² sticks in the Grande size (6x60).  As you can see, the box is a well-crafted wooden affair that seals VERY tightly, as in I almost needed a pry bar to get the damned box open.  There's a nice little brass clasp on the box that's a run-o'-the-mill affair but the inside labeling is quite nice.  I found the marketing blurb on the interior label to be quite interesting, especially the tongue-in-cheek bits about "work, work, work."  I suppose every profession or line o' work has its drawbacks, but these guys seem to bearing up under the pressure quite well.

OTOH, a LOT of the tobaccos used in the cigars I smoke originates in Nicaragua.  I'm not so sure I'd want to be visiting that part o' the world on a regular basis right now.

And now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to fire one o' these puppies up, pour a Left Hand Milk Stout and head out to the verandah.

We Did Our Civic Duty

The frickin' gub'mint is sticky its nasty little fingers into MY pie so today we did what must be done, to wit, this:

I may have overstated my case by describing myself as a "responsible adult," but what does the FDA know about anything, anyway?

Today and tomorrow are the last two days available for public comment on the FDA's proposed regulations affecting the tobacco industry.  The FDA's latest effort is yet another example of the nanny state run amok and is wrong on any number of levels.  You can submit comments on these regulations here, if'n you have a mind to do so.  You don't have to be a cigar smoker to help stop this, all you need to be is a supporter of personal freedom... or what remains of that freedom.

Cigar Art XVI

We haven't done one o' these cigar art postings since April o' this year and that's coz we've been sticking to the tried and true when it comes to the sticks making their way through El Casa Inmóvil De Pennington.  That said, we've sampled a few new-to-us offerings these past three and a half months and here are the bands from four of those cigars:

The "Java" offering from Drew Estate is the only cigar that might make it into our normal rotation.  I really like the coffee/chocolate infusion in this stick; it's a damned near perfect after dinner smoke when paired with three fingers of single malt or bourbon.  The other three sticks fall into the "good enough" category, but I prolly won't go there again.  All four have very attractive bands, especially the Oliva "Master Blend" at the top.  I remain amazed at the thought and execution put into cigar bands.  Lovely.

Today's Happy Hour Soundtrack: More Hippie Music

The Moody Blues, c. 1970...

Ride along the winds of time and see where we have been,
The glorious age of Camelot, when Guinevere was Queen.
It all unfolds before your eyes
As Merlin casts his spell.

Ah, yes... Former Happy Days and all that.  That was then and this is now; all that's similar is the fact we ARE sitting comfortably today, wrapped in the warm embrace of sweet memory and brilliant weather (it's 91 big-ass degrees, as we speak... with a gentle breeze).

In other news... we could have put up a "Broadening" post, seein' as how we're smoking a new-to-me stick on this Happy Hour.  The stick is a fat "My Uzi Weighs a Ton" robusto (srsly... see the cigar band illustration at right) and by "fat" I mean a 60 ring gauge... which is fat, indeed.  The cigar is brilliant, the name much less so.  I got this stick as part of a sampler which my good buddy Tim at cigar.com included in my latest shipment and I really, rilly enjoyed it.  That said, I find the name to be sumthin' of an embarrassment.  I'd hate to have to answer this question while burnin' one of these sticks, which might could go sumthin' like this:

Q: What are ya smokin', Buck?
A: Ummm... ahh... never mind.  It's good, and let's just leave it at that.

Yeah... it's like that.  It's a perfectly good... if not great... cigar, which is to say it's an almost perfectly balanced blend, good construction, and knock-yer-socks-off flavor.  Too bad about the name.

In Today's Mail

A box of Partagas 1845s in the Double Corona size, along with a freebie... two Partagas-branded "old fashioned" glasses of a rather unique design.  Like this:

I'll burn one of these during After Dinner Whiskey Hour this evening and I shall take said whiskey in one of these most-interesting vessels.  The glasses have round bottoms (as you can plainly see) and they're billed as being able to facilitate the swirling of your beverage of choice, all the better to bring out the "nose" in your libation.  We'll see how that plays out.

Added, somewhat later:  I didn't realize how unique the packaging was on these sticks until I unloaded them into the humidor.  The box is very well done, like this:

There's a bright white exterior box emblazoned with the Partagas logo which contains a glass and wood interior box.  The glass top is two-thirds frosted glass... with the logo worked into the frosted bits... and one-third plain glass; the top slides off to allow access to the cigars themselves.  Overall?  Big points for presentation value; I hope the cigars smoke as well as they look.

Added, 2000 hrs:  Salud!

We've only just begun with the cigar but the initial draw or three were quite lovely.  That's a couple o' fingers of 15 year old Glenlivet in the glass, which works as advertised.

Cigar Art XV

That count is apropos of cigar art posts as near as I can determine, based on a search of EIP for "cigar art."  So, plus or minus a post or two, our latest:

No need to embiggen; this is the original size, i.e., "larger than life," which is to say twice normal size.

That Ave Maria band might could be a re-post, but the band is a favorite of mine because it's oh-so-lovely.  What I can't quite figure out is what a knight wearing the cross of St. George has to do with "reconquista" in the current sense of the term.  But historically?  Yeah, I get that.   Oh, well... poetic license, I suppose.

Further... that Ashton label is beautiful for the exquisite detail, finely rendered in miniature, of the landscapes.  I like that a lot.

And those Camacho labels?  I've been infamous for at least that long.

Yet Even More Cigar Art, Packaging Division

We're running out of ways to describe the various and sundry iterations on this subject, which makes me think I shoulda done the Roman numeral thing like I did with the "Broadening" series.  Oh, well... too late now.

So, today's subject: the Ave Maria Reconquista, which comes in its very own individual wooden coffin box.  Like this:

I got two of these in today's mail along with a few other lovelies... so the humidor is restocked.  All I need now is some decent weather.  Tomorrow!

Added:  Forgot to mention that our beer is a perfectly-poured Left Hand Milk Stout.  We loves that beer.

Unusual Packaging, AKA More Cigar Art

We're in receipt of another one of those wonderful cigar samplers from cigar.com, wherein we broaden our horizons in the cigar department.  This sampler... billed as My Buddy Tim's "Best-Ever Sampler"... looks like this:

OpusX Lost City Robusto (5.25"x50)
Ashton ESG 20-Yr Salute Churchill (7"x49)
Montecristo White Toro (6"x54)
Don Carlos Edicion de Anniv. Robusto (5.25"x50)
Padron '64 ANNIV.Exclusivo Natural (5.5"x50)
Ashton VSG Robusto (5.5"x50)
Camacho Triple Maduro Robusto (5"x50)
Casa Magna Domus Magnus II Optimus (5.75"x52)
Oliva Master Blends III Robusto (5"x50)
Romeo by Romeo y Julieta Piramides (6.1"x52)
Camacho Corojo Robusto (5"x50)
Montecristo Media Noche Churchill (7"x58)
Cohiba eXtra Vigoroso 652 (6"x52)
Camacho Criollo Robusto (5"x50)
Diamond Crown Julius Caeser Toro (6"x52)
Graycliff Crystal (White Band) PG robusto (5.25"x50)
Partagas Benji Homage Toro (6.5"x54)
Camacho Connecticut Robusto (5"x50)

Once we're done with all 18 of these sticks we'll have fodder for another cigar band post... but that's at least a week or more away.  What we're on about now is the rather unique packaging on that Partagas Benji Homage.  Like this:

The cigar came wrapped in a single layer of thin tissue paper and was banded on both the outside and inside of the tissue wrapper.  Interesting, eh?  One wonders if the individual sticks come wrapped like this when you buy 'em by the box.  Or mebbe the sticks aren't sold "by the box," mebbe they're only available individually.  That wouldn't surprise me, as Partagas bills this cigar as a special release.

We only took a couple o' draws on this cigar while taking the accompanying photos, so now it's out to the verandah to continue as we've begun... with beer!

Update, 45 minutes later... We are disappointed; our example of the Benji Homage was a bust.  It's my habit to smoke my cigars in a leisurely fashion and by that I mean I take a draw every three-to-four-to-five minutes and let the stick idle in the ashtray in between draws.  A good cigar will allow you to do just that and such was NOT the case with this Benji Homage.  This cigar required constant touch-ups with a lighter just to keep it burning and further required constant  draws to keep it burning... which resulted in a way-too-hot smoke.  I gave up halfway through the stick and let it die in the ashtray.  What a pity.

Stoopid Human Tricks

So, there I was... lying back comfortably in my dental hygienist's chair yesterday while she went on about her bid'niz when she remarked "that's quite the cold sore you've got on your upper lip," or words to that effect.  "It's not a cold sore," sez I, "it's a self-inflicted wound," adding "I'll tell ya the story if you swear this will go no further..."  "My lips are sealed," sez she.

You long time Gentle Readers know two things: (a) I loves me my cigars and (b) I've been on full-time oxygen for about a year now.  Cigars are unlike cigarettes in that you can smoke the things right down to the point where they're short enough to burn your fingers.  Like about an inch or less in length, is what we're talking about.  A couple o' nights ago we were watching the hockey game and trying our best to get down to that very last drop of cigar goodness when I literally set myself on fire.  The reason?  I got a little TOO blasé about smoking my cigars while hooked up to the oxygen machine and the resulting fireball that enveloped my head when I took that last draw got my attention RIGHT quick.  The damage was slight... just a superficial burn on my upper lip and a small hole right in the center of my mustache, which combed right out and looked none the worse for wear.  It coulda been worse, as they say.  A lot worse.

So.  Lesson learned, the hard way.  You'd THINK a guy my age would be smart enough to know better but you'd be wrong.  We do now, though.

So now it's out to the verandah for a brew and a cigar.  Without the oxygen, thank ya.

More Cigar Art, Packaging Division

These came in the mail yesterday but I didn't retrieve them until today... a scant few minutes ago, actually:

Beautimous, eh?  This is a box I'll save even though I've got cigar boxes coming outta my ears.  It's just so PRETTY!

So.  We shall now put fire to one of these sticks, retire to the verandah and do today's third beer... while enjoying the extra verandah time, by virtue of Daylight Savings Time.  Which is the silver lining behind that particular dark cloud.  Sometimes ya gotta look to find virtue in any given situation.

Looking a Gift Horse In the Mouth

We received a re-supply o' cigars in the mail late yesterday afternoon.  I had ordered a box o' one o' my favorite sticks... the Partagas Spanish Rosado, in the Familia (6x54) size... so we proceeded to open the box and were disappointed to find four plastic baggies containing 26 loose cigars, only ten of which were Spanish Rosados with the remaining 16 being Padron Serie 1926 sticks.  The loose cigar thing isn't unusual but the substitution thing WAS.  I was not pleased.

Fast forward a couple o' hours and we lit off one o' those Padrons to enjoy during the hockey game, along with usual, customary and quite reasonable three fingers o' Glenlivet, repeated twice.  Or thrice... who's counting?  I was impressed.  The Padron, at nearly seven inches, lasted for the duration of the entire game and was also quite tasty.  Full-flavored but not harsh, easy drawing, and very robust.  "Not bad," thinks I, "I think I like these things."  And well I SHOULD.

Our curiosity got the best of us after the game (which the Wings won) so I hied myself off on to the inter-tubes and looked up the Padron Serie 1926.  Imagine my surprise:

Gad!  That cigar I so cavalierly smoked last evening costs 20 Yankee Dollars a pop!  I don't ever buy cigars in that price range except for the oh-so-rare occasional one-off and that was mostly in the way-back when I had access to Cuban cigars.  Nope... we smoke cigars in the five-to-eight dollar range (the Spanish Rosados are a hair over six bucks a stick, just as an illustration), buying an occasional ten dollar stick when I'm feeling sporty.

So now I'm gonna have to re-order, mainly coz I refuse to burn cigars that cost 20 Yankee Dollars all by myself during Happy Hour.  Nope, I'm gonna rat-hole the Padrons and only trot 'em out on special occasions.  Cigars like these need to be shared among very good friends and family.

In other (related) news... We made a run out to Cannon Airplane Patch to resupply our meds, the whiskey stock, and also bought food, while we were at it.  In so doing we saw this at the Class VI:

A bad mePhone pic, but you can get my drift.

I'm thinking our troops MIGHT be a bit overpaid if they can afford to buy JW Blue at 200 Yankee Dollars and change.  Just who in the hell... aside from generals/flag officers, and there ain't no generals on Cannon... can afford to buy that?  OTOH, mebbe it's not the active duty guys... mebbe it's retirees who smoke 20-dollar cigars*.

* Full disclosure:  I bought a bottle o' that 12 year old Macallan you see.  Cheaper, but only by comparison.

Cigar Art... In Which We've Completely Lost Track of How Many of These We've Done

I think the last time we posted examples of cigar art was sometime back in early 2013.  That would be cigar art where cigar bands are concerned; I know we've posted pics of the nifty boxes these things come in as recently as last month.  Or mebbe December.  None the less, here are the bands from some of the sticks we've been smokin' of late:

These bands are larger than life... no need to click to embiggen

There's a reason why we've not done one of these posts in a while and that reason is we've been smokin' the Usual Suspects for the last few months... those sticks that please us most... as opposed to broadening our horizons.  We fixed that a couple o' weeks ago when we ordered one o' these:

There wasn't a clinker in the mix; I enjoyed all those sticks.  That said, the only new-to-me cigar in this selection that's likely to make it into the rotation is the Nica Rustica.  I really liked that cigar, which, as noted, doesn't take anything away from the other cigars.

In Today's Mail...

... these:

That's a new Drew Estate pewter ashtray, as well, part o' an introductory offer for a new cigar from Drew Estate, the Kuba Grande.  There aren't any reviews of this stick to be found on these inter-tubes, mainly coz it's so new (and I looked).  That said, you'll note the stick sitting in my ashtray is about half gone and I'm pleased to report the Grande is worthy.  I like the big 6x60 size, the taste is smooth and spicy, and it has a remarkably good draw.  We may see an encore performance o' this cigar once the initial box o' ten has been consumed.  In the meantime it's good to have a fat humidor once again.

We took our first beer and what we've smoked of this cigar on the verandah this afternoon, which is where we'll be headed once we finish up with this post.  It's a lil chilly outdoors as we speak... 53 degrees with light winds out o' the southeast... but it's not all THAT bad.  We'll make do.

Still More Cigar Art

In today's mail:

A very nicely finished wooden box with a two-part top.  I think it's just about time to pop a beer and put fire to the end o' one o' these.

More Cigar Art

In today's mail:

Pretty spiffy packaging, eh?  That's a box o' My Father Corona LEs... a smaller size for winter smoking, or so sez my buddy Tim at Cigar.com.  I put fire to the end o' one of these beauties just before I wrote this post and smoked about half of it while knocking back an Abbey Ale from New Belgium.  (The UCR parenthetical: my go-to guys for beer REALLY like Abbey Ale.  So do I.)

But we're supposed to be on about the cigar and its packaging.  I'm pleased to report the cigar smokes as good as it looks in the box.  You'll note the sticks are rather elaborately packaged, what with the nicely finished wood box, silky ribbons, and brass clasp.  The cigar itself is a very spicy, peppery sorta stick and not sumthin' I would recommend for the inexperienced.  That said, it's a well-built cigar with a smooth draw and very, very tasty flavors and aromas.  There's a better review here, for those who appreciate that sorta thang.  Me?  I just smoke 'em.

And now it's back to continue as we've begun.