Sunday, August 30, 2009

Cigar Butts

Gotta get a laugh out of this one: despite the over-priced Habanos cigars, they cannot afford toilet paper. Of course they blame it on the embargo, coupled with the fact that other parts of the world don't even use toilet paper. Maybe if the lowered the price and opened up their economy, then they would have toilet paper. But I forgot...they have Universal Healthcare (Obamacare), they just cannot afford toilet paper. Maybe they will have to use communist newspaper (???) - but if not...I acknowledge this quote from Sir Winston Churchill

Via The Miami Herald
Cuba faces toilet paper shortage
BY JUAN O. TAMAYO
mailto:jtamayo@MiamiHerald.com


I dedicate this post to the fake Habanos Cohiba Esplendidos - you know, the ones that come in the glass topped box- the ones that are purchased on the streets of Havana and other Latin American countries and in Laredo, Mexico - with no humidity in them. The ones that need lots of aging. The ones that sell for less than $200.00 per box. The veiny thin irregular wrappered ones with a bad draw. They may or may not be cuban tobacco. No need to review them, as many didn't draw well and didn't burn well - but they might make good tp?

Maybe they can use cigar butts...

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Teddy, the bear or the lion

Cuba seems like a nice place, as does most of the Caribbean. Reminds me of the charge up San Juan Hill. Reminds me of the fierce communistic regime heralded by Danny Glover. Reminds me of Yuri Andropov and the USSR support of oil for sugar cane. That reminds me of the letter sent by Teddy to Yuri in a betrayal of America - and related to our Beloved Ronald Reagan. Reminds me of JFK's betrayal of the Cuban invaders in refusing air support for The Bay of Pigs massacre. Two incredible Families one with deep New York roots, the other with Massachusetts roots, that ended up representing NY in the Senate. One full of betrayal and death, the other beloved memories of accomplishment. The bear was the cuddly one, although some seem to give that persona to the lion. Both were born into relative wealth, one saw a herd of cattle freeze to death in the west, one ran away while Mary Jo suffocated in a Cadillac. The bear saw real battle, and took on crime in New York, the lion took on water and loved sailing in Martha's Vineyard. Seem's like we should have a memorial service for Mary Jo, Judge Bork, or all the aborted fetuses. One Teddy opposed abortion, but change to be for it when it was politically liberal to be so. Seems like voters let the little guy down....

Friday, August 28, 2009 Orange County Register
Mark Steyn: Things only a Kennedy could get away with
And by not calling his bluff on Chappaquiddick, Americans became complicit in it


Still both remind me we all face death, and will all give an account some day, no matter what we or someone else writes posthumously. Even Castro will have to stand before God...


The cigar I would like to review is the H Upmann Connoisseur No.1 - Cuban Habanos robusto 2006. It comes in a sliding lid wooden box without cellophane. The cigars are rough looking and veiny with a bit of sponginess. They did not have any plume developing yet. The smell was slightly woody with the pre-light taste being sweeter than previous cigars of the same type. It lit and drew well after punch cutting the triple cap, although it cracked a bit at the cap. It was exceptionally cedar-woody and very tasty for at least the first half, then developed a slight coffee spiciness. It burned well and I would say it was an Saturday morning cigar.


I celebrate the Teddy who led us up San Juan Hill, and am not very sad at the other Teddy's passing- maybe should be. We all must pass some day...

Monday, August 24, 2009

Signs along the road

Life is a long winding country road and seldom is straight. We often encounter hills and valleys and rivers and creeks as we meander through. Time is linear, but our journey doesn't seem to be. The signs along the road - they guide and help us on our way. Many signs are helpful, although some are outright impractical. If we wander off the road- while walking, we tend to run in circles. Not circling seems to depend on fixing our eyes on a set mark, or continually re-correcting with a sign, a landmark, or a compass.

Walking in circles august 20, 2009
Max-Planck-scientists show that people really walk in circles when lost


Traveling along an asphalted country road, I noticed that the "road bend" sign seemed to be filled with large holes. As I neared it, it was obvious that they were large caliber bullet holes. It was a "right turn road bend" sign, more specifically. I looked around, but couldn't see the President, but wondered if it was he or his proxies who shot holes in the sign. Looks like his policies may have made the right turn even more imperative. To drive straight would be to end up in my neighbor's cow pasture, or even farther into his creek.

My other thought was that the holes in the sign would be good as a cigar holder, except for the burn ban. The country has been so dry with drought-like conditions, and the county has put a burn ban in place, with a sign at the county line. Lighting a stogie can be a dangerous thing in that environment. The safe cigar for ranch work is one which comes in a cedar lined aluminum tube. The H Upmann Monarch tubos are the cigar for the long haul of life, and probably be in production as they lay our bodies to rest. The Dominican and Brazilian filler is wrapped in an Indonesian shade grown wrapper. For my smoke, the construction was excellent, and the cedar lined tube added flavor and helped maintain the cigar earthiness and moisture without imparting any aluminum or metallic flavor. The smoke was generous and the flavor was that of woody leather and earthy flavor. The body was medium with a moderate finish. These are a great country go-to ranch cigar, and by far my favorite in that setting.

Mark Steyn has an interesting article in NRO about the stimulus signs that he saw in New Hampshire.
Why the Stimulus Flopped
Under Obama, nothing is certain but death panels and taxes
By Mark Steyn


I would say to the President that a cigar stimulus would be in order- to cheer the national mood. A sign announcing a cigar rest area would also be a sight for weary eyes, especially a rest from the teleprompter...

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

nurture alters nature

We, as humans, are quite an eclectic combination of timing, genetic code, selectively transcribed proteins, and related chemicals which are influenced and respond to our environment and nurturing, not to mention our nutrition and learning/habituating responses. Soul (mind and self consciousness, etc), and spirituality (the spirit- if alive) are imposed on the framework and is influenced by the framework. In the face of that hodgepodge we are bound by Newton's Laws, and the clock of life seems to be our enemy. Gray hair, hearing and vision loss are only glimpses of the deeper degenerative processes that are distressing our insides daily.

In contrast - there is nothing quite as tasty as a well-aged plume-covered stogie. The flavors blend and meld into a flavorful stogie. Everything ages, it is nice when the age adds taste and character, rather than degenerative loss. Cigars, as well as some wines and liquors do well with aging. Spanish Cedar seems to add flavor to the cigars as well as preserve them. The best cigars age in the preferred setting of 70% humidity and 7o degrees F. The location and melding with other cigars and other odors will also occur. Location of origin of the cigar and construction quality are important as are the strength of the binder and wrapper- and the type of box storage. Do we need Cuban Seed Tobacco? is it really better? or is that just a marketing technique? Do we need shade grown? Sun grown? One can easily see the variation that can contribute to the cigars complexity, then one adds the aging factors. Good care can affect the long term quality of one's cigar stash, much like nurture can affect nature.

Honey-bee aggression study suggests nurture alters nature august 17,2009 From Professor Gene Robinson University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

My attempts at aging cigars had been unsuccessful until I was able to find appropriate space, and to lose a box of cigars into that humid environment, to sit and age unabetted. The best are the ones that are found after forgotten. Like an old familiar novel, or the smell of rain on a wet concrete sidewalk.

The cigar found in the back of my humidor was the Drew Estate Juicy Lucy, it was small (small panatela or petite corona) and only 3x38 in size - with a pigtail head. The cigar was at least 5 years old, and covered with plume. The wrapper, a Cameroon, was in fine shape, and the taste was exquisite. It was a sweet tabacco mild leathery vanilla caramel. The draw was good. It was good when purchased, but really excelled with age. Hence, another highly recommended cigar...

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Perseid reminders

Seems that the earth is a patterned place, with everything in it's time. The Perseid showers of the remnants of the Swift-Tuttle comet are pleasant to behold, but fleeting - coming once a year with the Earth's orbit around the Sun. "To everything there is a season". Some of the mundane routine things we do in life are the most consoling. In this world of change (and hope) it's nice to always be able to come home. Technology seems to have made things obsolete before they have worn out, as we long for the nostalgic. Even the old programs seem attractive "i.e. DOS 3.0 or Windows 95", with the simple-to-load floppy discs. The familiar and comfortable (like a well worn set of shoes) can be our strong ally during the storms of life. The Good Lord seems to leave such things as a reminder of His faithfulness and never-ending lovingkindness.

from The New Scientist
Perseid shower to produce 'shooting stars'
by Rachel Courtland August 10, 2009


Regular "go-to" cigars are always there as a nice backup, especially after a round of new boutique cigars. The first cigar I was exposed to was a Baccarat Churchill. I have found it to be consistently good - over the last 15 years. It was my daily smoke for many years. I still keep several boxes in stock for that reminder. I would still tend to rate them highly, even though they are a mild smoke. The cigar is made by Caribe for Camacho, which has been purchased by Davidoff...so it's in good company. It is a Honduran made with a Honduran wrapper and Havana-seed Honduran filler and a Mexican binder. This is an very old brand (back to 1871) and was once owned by C. Upmann (brother of H. Upmann) it was re-introduced in 1978.

My Baccarat Churchill Maduro cigar was a very light mildly oily maduro, almost a dark natural with slight mottling. It was sweet to the taste with a sugary cap. The construction was medium to firm, and consistent. The smooth leathery taste with coffee hints predominated. The burn was fair, although it tended to burn faster than would be expected for the density. It had a short finish. Those meteors seemed to have a short finish and were gone almost as soon as they were spotted...but there was a comfort in their yearly appearance.


ps. this cigar also comes in a Cameroon wrapper and a natural Connecticut wrapper

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Three Worlds or Three Hundred Million...

Looking up at the star-lit sky I am always drawn to meditate on The Creator. Thoughts of other civilizations also feast our fancy. CS Lewis has a wonderful, lesser heard of, star trilogy. The starter book is "Out of the Silent Planet". Trilogy's and series such as Narnia Chronicles seem to be a forte of his, as well as his peer JRR Tolkien. "The Lord of The Rings" is also a wonderful window to Middle Earth. Makes me dizzy watching the clouds roll across the stars, but a fine stogie tends to calm my angst. There is nothing like fine Fantasy reading and a fine cigar.

The Fermi paradox focuses on the possible existence of advanced civilizations elsewhere in the galaxy, and the fact that we have not encountered them. This article from Technology Review is interesting.

Fermi Paradox Points to Fewer Than 10 Extraterrestrial Civilizations

from Thursday, July 30th 2009

The cigar to go with this discussion is the Gran Habano 3 Siglos Churchill by George Rico. I was lead to these by an astute cigar salesman several years ago (3)- they are no longer in production. They are made in 3 countries (Columbia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua), and with 3 different ligero tobaccos. The wrapper is a shade grown rosado Nicaraguan beauty. Mine has 3 years of personal aging. The wrapper was shiny, yet traces of plume were evident. The cap of the cigar is flat, as opposed to the traditional rounded cap. The sweet mild spiciness was evident even in the pre-light stage, and dominated the taste profile. The mild vanilla coffee almond and cherry notes came though and made for a very pleasant experience. The construction and burn were excellent, and was a prime example of a good Churchill cigar. I have tasted the other sizes as well and have found them to be comparable in taste. It was creamy with a thick and hearty smoke which added to the mystique.

Over the years I would say that this is one of my higher rated cigars for taste. Makes me wonder why it has been discontinued. But..."All good things must come to an end"...

I know of Human Civilization, and the Ethereal world...the only person who can bridge that gap is The Creator Himself...