Are we there yet?

There is nothing like a long wait for an expected event. Weddings, births, and graduations all seem to be fueled expectations. The time brings great hope. Those times are well marked with a fine stogie. Usually we are not waiting for the stogie. The CAO Vision was one of those cigars that was trumped up and we waited for, and it turned to disappointment. Now we have the Casa Magna Colorado Robusto 5 1/2 x 52. It was the best cigar of 2008 (that no one had ever smoked, except the Cigar Aficionado experts). My box came via Spec's and was the first I have seen, it was nice . It is a cigar made by two of my favorite Cigar makers, Nestor Plascencia and Manuel Quesada. It has a nice oily Colorado wrapper. It is a Nicaraguan puro. I have read several reviews and found different descriptions of the taste. The construction reviews have been good, mine was good..with the perfect draw. The density was firm, but with the nice draw I found that it made for a good smoke. There is something attractive about a quality cigar band. It really adds to our sense of expectation in a cigar. The cigar was good, and only a bit peppery - with an earthy taste. Some hints of mild coffee and dark chocolate- all of these flavors were mild with the earthy giving way to the mildly sharper flavors. I would say that it is and was a good cigar. Was it the best of 2008? I think not- but despite all the ratings, 2008 does not strike me as a banner year.

Waiting reminds me of my mother's favorite Bible verse:
Isaiah 40:31
"They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint..."

This verse for some reason reminds me of the smoke wafting up from a fine long leaf hand-rolled cigar, maybe its the "eagles" part. Waiting must be a virtue, haven't learned it yet- but it's nice to enjoy a cigar while I wait...

tobacco crops defending themselves?

Well, it's the heat of summer and the grass is withering on the ground. I use the discarded cigar butts for mulch in my plants, but am not sure if it is good for them. It holds moisture in the ground and pots for potted plants. Could it be that it scares my plants to sense their demise? as they are sacrificed for pleasure? This one will really mess up the PETA folks! I found this article and also wondered if the Cuban tobacco can sense the danger of communism. Maybe that's asking too much....

UC Davis Department of Entomology june 19 2009

Plant Communication: Sagebrush Engage in Self-Recognition and Warn of Danger


I needed a cigar for the heat and stumbled upon another good summer cigar- the Cabaiguan Guapos 46 Maduro . It is a 5 5/8 x 46 dense corona gorda. It has a sweet tasty dark natural thick and oily Ecuadorian sun grown Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. I love thick wrappers that don't crack or peel, and are worthy of a good chew. This was one, and it even tasted good when chewed a bit. Filler is Nicaraguan and has medium spiciness. It is made by Pete Johnson and Tatuaje. The cigar reminded me of a nice iced coffee via Starbucks, with that spicy sweetness. The burn, draw, and construction were exceptional; the fine slightly warped burn edge chased down the oily wrapper- such a delight! I smoked it to the nub, and found the flavors to hold up well. There was a hint of dark chocolate as well, but I could only taste after I read a review from a retail dealer. My first taste was on a hot summer afternoon in a cigar shop in Houston (Santa Barbara Cigars), with the outside temperature setting records at 105.

father's day late posting

Life is different the last few years as my oldest daughter has become an adult. Father's Day seems to mean more. My Father is several hours away, and he always seems to enjoy the contact. The role is that of both being appreciated and yet showing appreciation. Those are great times for a fine cigar.
This year I dedicate a Davidoff Robusto Maduro 5x52 to my father. Even though it is a well-made pricey smoke, it is very tasty. It is medium bodied and dense and smoked with a thick aromatically pleasant smoke (my oldest daughter and dad would appreciate this). The taste was sweet and vanilla/woody with a earthy appeal. I found the the flavor was homogenously fragrant thoughout the cigar. The construction lived up to the Davidoff name. I would rate this as one of my late favorites.

The article to go with this special cigar is one referred via Ann Coulter, from the Phoenix Conservative Examiner. I would say that this is a "rich guy" cigar- even though I don't put myself in that class. Maybe that class is not such a bad thing after all. This cigar reminds me that a good cigar is often worth the expenditure. The richness of the taste of this cigar models that of fine liquor and or gourmet chocolates.

Rich Gov, Poor Guv: What Obama doesn't understand about the economy

by Scott Martin -----june 15 2009

happy Juneteenth...a texas localism

Another holiday, another cigar to celebrate with! I chose a particularly dark CBLM wrapped stogie as the cigar of choice, and to be politically correct: I chose a white label. The Nestor Vintage 747 (series II Vintage 1989) by Nestor Plascencia is the winner. It is a wonderful long 7.62x47 churchill. These cigars come in cedar boxes of 50, which endears them to aging and ease of storage. They are very tasty (even in the natural wrapper) and I would rate them as medium bodied. This would also be my pick for all around good cigar for any situation, especially when the pallet tires of spicy cigars. They have a leathery almond taste and a sweetness, which is appreciated initially. In the longer smoke, the flavor does change a bit and tends to the woody flavors. Construction was excellent, and my stogie did well and did not canoe, even in 20 mph winds!

Juneteenth is a Texas holiday which started in my beloved Galveston. It was celebration of the day slavery was proclaimed ended by Union forces. Thank God for all the freedom we enjoy! May we live as bondservants to The Mighty Creator of Heaven and Earth!

blog update: twitter

For those thousands of readers, I have added twitter, and will twitter when a new post is up. When searching on twitter the alias is megadwarf.

http://twitter.com/megadwarf

out of production old and unpopular cigars

I stumbled onto several boxes of Don Juan Platinum 7x48 churchills several years ago. They are no longer in production. The sticker on the box is marked 2005. When I looked them up in Perelman's I couldn't find them in the 2004 edition, but found them in the 1999 edition. They have been Dominican - then Nicaraguan filled, depending on the year (?). Mine seem to have the natural Connecticut wrapper, and not my favorite CBLM- but very tasty. The "barnyard" aroma was present and appreciated when they aged cellophane was removed. My batch did not have the aged patina or plume yet, maybe due to the cellophane?
They were very tasty nonetheless and had a sweet leathery flavor when chewed and smoked. I would consider it to be a mild bodied cigar. The construction was also excellent. The finish was medium.

I wouldn't say that older is always better, but find great consolation in the aging of inexpensive cigars and improving their taste and value.

Ran into a study suggesting that cognitive decline is faster in aging "smokers" than the general population. How much? What type? cigarettes only? Exercise and educational attainment also appear to play a role. What about those of us who maintain intellectual function with good conversation while enjoying a stogie?

Staying sharp: New study uncovers how people maintain cognitive function in old age author not listed

pretend to be cuban, too?

I found a very tasty cigar, mostly by chance. The name was intriguing and the Salomon perfecto style fit my taste in a larger and longer smoke. The La Herencia Cubana Salomon 7x58 is a good cigar. The construction held up well, even in the Texas heat. The remarkable thing about this cigar is the Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and the Nicaraguan fillers. The filler may possibly have been Cuban seed (?)- they didn't say that it was, and it didn't seem to have much Cuban Heritage. The retailers touted it as a "fitting name" because of the taste. I would dispute that Cuban cigars have this taste, or that they are even the gold standard in taste. No doubt the Cubans are good, and no doubt that they have their own flavors. Why not call an excellent Nicaraguan an excellent Nicaraguan? This cigar can stand alone, and it is mildly peppery, leathery and flavorful - but not overwhelmingly so. I don't need a Cuban Heritage.
It also was a bargain, and one cannot say that of Cuban cigars.

Found and article about narrative dissonance and another about "truth and fiction" and thought of these concepts in reference to naming and marketing cigars.

The New Republic
Narrative Dissonance by Martin Peretz
What the Cairo speech got wrong.
Post Date Wednesday, July 01, 2009

National Review Online NRO
Just Make Stuff Up
President Obama’s war on the truth.
By Victor Davis Hanson
June 12, 2009

These articles may be stretching the analogy too far, as the assumption that "Cubans are better" seems to be the group think. One should challenge our misconceptions and our twisted rhetoric, even when it comes to naming and comparing cigars. What's wrong with Sumatran Heritage? oops! Which Cuban is it compared to? The best of the Cubans? The worst?

strong cigars- or fellow cigar smoker bites the dust

The tastiest cigars can be "strong", but strength of taste and strength of nicotine effect are not necessarily congruent. The novice often uses this terminology, but the more appropriate word is "full bodied". Often times a spicy cigar is confused with a "strong cigar". The spiciness can either be in the wrapper taste, the ligero filler, or the finish. Cigars with a long finish can be easily confused with "strong" cigars.
A "strong" nicotine cigar provides the smoker with a slight euphoric effect, and one can often sense it. One of the side effects of nicotine is hiccups. That is a dreaded symptom if I am enjoying a fine stogie. Nicotine can also cause lightheadedness and/or dizziness. My most memorable recollection of this was while seated on the upstairs porch in a rocking chair with the wind blowing while enjoying a "strong" vitola. I could hardly walk, and would have easily stumbled into a pool.

My favorite "full bodied" cigar is the Henry Clay Brevas Finas 6 1/2x 48 double corona. The flavor and strength are medium, as would be expected in a full bodied maduro. They are sweet and leathery and turn peppery. The wrapper is sweet CBLM and filler includes Dominican ligero tobacco. They are roughly box-pressed as they are bundeled into a box, and can have irregular shapes as a result. It has been described as having a long finish, but my experience has suggested a medium finish. The last box I purchased was from Famous Smoke Shop.

This guy must have had a strong cigar, but his biggest problem was his inability to swim.

Google mentor drowns in swimming pool

Brin remembers Rajeev Motwani

By Cade Metz in San Francisco

Posted in Music and Media, 9th June 2009 00:03 GMT

bitter deal

The Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro is such a oily tasty wrapper, although it is often very thick, course, and frequently filled with veins. It is my favorite. The thickness is a plus - if you chew the end while you smoke, and the oily wrapper is better to chew. The other thinner Connecticut wrappers just melts with saliva and teeth. The cigars are often sturdier due to the wrapper, and are also sturdy when it is used as a binder. It makes a terrific binder! A sturdy cigar is a must for a smoke while working around the yard, or other active times. The CBLM wrapper is also sweet, and that is a fine addition to most cigars. The Habano wrapper and the Corojo are also denser that others, but not as dense as the CBLM. They are often a bit spicy/tart, and that doesn't serve as well if they are chewed. I am partial to the Connecticut grown CBLM. Some are actually grown in Ecuador now, but haven't found them to be as dense and tasty as the American grown ones.

Trinidad is an interesting name for a cigar. Habanos (Cuban) has a line by this name, so does Altadis. The Altadis had a natural (Dominican) wrapper, then they added the CBLM line, which has Domincan, Nicaraguan, and Peruvian fillers. The Trinidad Maduro Churchill is a 7x58 behemoth, imbued with the CBLM wrapper.

The box I selected from had at least 1 year of aging in the humidor. I found it to be spongy in terms of construction, and really burned too fast for the size. The construction was otherwise good and burned well, except for the decreased density.The taste was pleasant, but hard to appreciate due to the rapid burn (probably due to too fast a draw!). One could call it medium strength. It was smooth, and not bitter!

I purchased mine on clearance, but wouldn't buy another box at regular price (due to the density). I will have to try another size... would expect more density in the smaller cigars. That seems to be my enduring complaint against Churchills, as I have been gradually evolving to smaller cigars (i.e. the denser toro/belicoso/torpedo or robusto sizes). It is hard to find a good dense Churchill with a good draw, as they seem to be too spongy or too dense.


Remarkable News! Walter Kendall and Gwendolyn Myers have been caught in their bitterness spying for the Cubans. Maybe they were trying to steal seeds from this CBLM leaf for the Cubans? As this cigar has a Cuban alternative, I dedicate it in honor of their criminal prosecutors! The CBLM is not bitter!

story:
Bitterness on U.S. drove Cuba spy suspect
Fidel Castro says he admires couple for 'courageous conduct'
By DEL QUENTIN WILBER Washington Post
June 7, 2009, 12:41AM

interesting cigar post on facebook

Just finished a Gran Habano GH2 robusto from Famous cigars, it was was wonderful moderately spicy dense cigar which was a short but enduring stogie, and generated significant thick rich smoke. I wouldn't want to comment on the subtle sweet nuances, although there were many thoughout. My hat comes off to George Rico of El Rico Habano. It was an excellent cigar for the price, less than $1.50. It tasted like a 5 dollar smoke. It lit well, burned well, and had a long finish. I would highly recommend it. The GAR is a great smoke, too.

Shortly thereafter I received this unrelated post on facebook and wanted to record it here.

BuckHead Cigar Christian may be stopping by tomorrow night round 10:00pm so for the rest of the week buy 4 CAMACHO #Cigars get 1 CAMACHO #cigar free

35 minutes ago· via Tweetdeck · Comment · LikeUnlike

You like this.

Michael Klein at 8:52pm June 1

if Jesus stops by, do I buy one...get four free? sounds like the principle of grace to me...

A good cigar on a cool day, what more could we ask for? I get that and everything else free, by just accepting it. God actually asks us to accept his grace, we don't even have to buy a cigar. Always astounded by God's Grace...