The Borons Cigar Blog

I know many cigar smokers think the bigger ring gauges are better.  There is a myth that the bigger the ring gauge the cooler the smoke.  Nonsense.  A well made lancero smokes just as well as a monster.  Be that as it may, Ernesto Perez Carrillo—the father of La Gloria Cubana who pioneered big ring gauges with the monster Sobriano at 8” x 52 and then the Serie R which boasts a 60 ring gauge in one of its sizes— is back on his own with EP Carrillo cigars and at this year’s trade show is coming out with “The INCH”.  Ring gauges are measured in 1/64^th of an inch and Ernesto  putting out 3 new cigar sizes — a 5.875” x 60,  a 5” x62 and a 6.125 X 64.  Yup, it is an inch in diameter.  The cigars will retail between $7.75 and $10. They will be available in Natural with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper or in Maduro with Connecticut Broadleaf over Nicaraguan binder and Dominican filler along with a little Nicaraguan viso. They are tasty,  but the 64 ring gauge is waaaaaay too big for me to even try to smoke.

Sour Grapes

This ain’t some new flavor from Swisher.  It seems some of the Kalifornia people who backed and lost on Prop 29 which would have raised tobacco taxes are now trying for a recount.  But not everywhere, just certain LA precincts.  It is estimated that the recount would cost California about $5,700 per day and would take more than a week and those asking for the recount must pay for it (unless it changes the election).  See they never give up and neither should we.

What’s Next

Smoking bans are not new.  They have been around for over 400 years.  The first published smoking ban came from the Roman Catholic Church in  1575 when it banned the use of tobacco throughout any place of worship in the Spanish Colonies. About 100 years later Ottoman Sultan Murad IV banned smoking and executed as many as 18 people per day for violating his decree.  (The fines don’t seem so bad now do they?)

The modern incarnation goes to the Nazis who tried (unsuccessfully) to ban smoking.  (See there really were Smoke Nazis.)  In 1975, Minnesota became the first state to ban smoking in most public places and to require restaurants to have non smoking sections.  The other side said it was to give non smokers the right to not have someone light up right next to them.  Smokers being rather accommodating folks said that doesn’t seem so bad…so sure.

Incrementalism is the way the other side operates.  Start with non smoking sections…then in 1985 Aspen Colorado banned smoking from all restaurants. Just one more step.  But how could the anti’s spread the ban further?  They needed something more and in the 90s Second Hand Smoke was born.  The EPA lied in claiming it was a carcinogen, even Dr. Michael Crichton—the author and not a smoking fan –  agreed that the science was not there. (If you haven’t seen his logic watch it.)

Then came the New York City smoking ban.  In 2002, Nanny Bloomberg banned smoking in all bars, restaurants, offices –pretty much everywhere inside.  In 2011, because all of New York’s other problems were solved and unicorns were roaming Broadway, he expanded the ban to outside places as well.

Just yesterday, the Atlanta city council voted to ban smoking and tobacco use in parks.  Violators will be subject to fines of up to $1,000, six months in jail or community service and the penalties would be up to the discretion of judges.  Yeah that works.  The ONLY vote against this crap came from councilman Howard Shook.

“I am concerned about turning our city code into a guide for preferred manners and lifestyle tips,” Shook said.

Finally, there is Santa Monica, CA.  Not to be outdone, the whackos in California have decided to trample on the constitutional right of private property.  The city morons last week passed an ordinance to ban smoking inside private residences!  Apartments and Condos are covered by this ban. (Hang on home owners…you are next.)  The one accommodation they made to smokers was that you could designate by a certain date whether your condo was smoking or not.  Once designated non smoking it would forever be that way.  However, as we know once a law is passed it doesn’t necessarily stay that way.   Nearby Pasadena plans to make all apartments, condos and townhouses smoke free next year and Santa Monica is thinking about that as well.   Forget private property.

What you MUST understand is that the other side will never give up and CANNOT be worked with on a compromise.  They take a little here and there with their ultimate goal of banning smoking EVERYWHERE.

This is why we must combat apathy and fight back.  The International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association and the Cigar Rights of America are two organizations helping us to have a voice.  We are totally outgunned in terms of money by the other side, but with enough support we can make a difference.  The other side will overreach and eventually we will pick up more support. But we MUST stay active.

The Heartland Institute, a free-market group based in Chicago,  concluded in a 2008 article on the history of smoking bans:

Placed in historical context, today’s anti-smoking restrictions appear to be neither progressive nor permanent. Like past bans, they are based on prejudices and conventional wisdom that are likely to be falsified by new scientific and health discoveries or, if you like, new prejudices and conventional wisdoms.

Also like past bans, today’s prohibitions are leading to civil disobedience, black markets, and heavy social and economic costs.

With the anti-smoking message backed by billions of dollars from government, foundations, and drug companies, it is easy to overlook the backlash that is already occurring and has been growing stronger. Business owners have been fighting back against smoking restrictions, and prohibitions are being more widely flouted in places such as Italy, Spain, Turkey, and, yes, to some degree even in California.

In addition, governments need the revenue that smokers provide in taxes and in revenue to hospitality establishments that cater to a smoking clientele.

Though the anti-smoking movement looks formidable, if history is any indication we will not have to wait long for current smoking bans to unravel.

It cannot come soon enough.

Thanks goes out to Matt from CigarPorn.com, who sent me a couple of cigars to try. Up for review today is a product of RoMa Craft Tobac. I have wanted to try these smokes since their introduction, but I was too lazy to order online. Well, my chance to sample their product came, so let’s see how it went…

Wrapper: Brazil Arapiraca

Binder & Filler: “Primarily Nicaraguan?”

Size: Intrigue Petito 4 x 46

Price: $5.00

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The dark wrapper had a shiny, almost oily appearance. I could not find any flaws whatsoever. The smell of the wrapper was sweet cedar, with a touch of earthiness. The foot had almost no aroma at all. I could only pick up a mild natural tobacco. The cigar was solid, I mean rock solid, and evenly packed. The draw was a little snug, and it was almost out of my comfort zone. The pre-light draw tasted earthy, and reminded me of rich soil.

As soon as I lit up, the draw wasn’t an issue. It seemed intentional, and it just fit, if that makes sense.

The ash held for about one inch, and the burn required no corrections.

Flavor:

The first few puffs had a simple, dark earthiness. The flavor profile ramped up with dry cocoa, sweet spice, coffee, and pepper. The pepper had a moderate amount of kick, and was most noticeable in the nose, and on the back of the mouth.

The second half took on a thick, creamy, sweet smoke feel. The peppery, sweet spice had a tingle, and clung to the palate long after exhaling. In the background were notes of earthiness. Cocoa and coffee were mixed evenly, and rounded things out.

Conclusion:

This was a good, solid, full bodied smoke. It packed just the right amount of power, body, and flavor. Construction, burn, and ash were perfect. I could smoke this after lunch, or even after dinner. My only complaint is, the price may seem a bit high for some people. On the upside, it does burn slow, and if you take your time, you can get 30-45 minutes of relaxation. I think the Intemperance BA XXI is worth a try.

Triskaidekaphobia (from Greek tris meaning “3″, kai meaning “and”, deka meaning “10″ and phobia meaning “fear” or “morbid fear”) is fear of the number 13; it is a superstition and related to a specific fear of Friday the 13th, called paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia.

Okay, that was the Wikipedia definition of the official term used for Friday the 13^th, which is the day this blog is being posted. I know that some of you overly superstitious nerds are freaking out, “Zman, why couldn’t you post yesterday on the 12^th or tomorrow on the 14^th?!” Well, first of all, that’s not up to me as I am just a hired scribe who gets paid to write and post this smoke-laden drivel when they tell me to. And secondly, get over yourselves fer crisskaes, lots of people will be enjoying a very productive day today and I advise that you become one of them. No use shutting yourself in the house with the lights off while eating rationed canned food like Hormel chili because: a. It’s just plain friggin stupid-ass ridiculous, and b. You’ll be farting like a sick dog for three days straight and just think of your family, man.

If you look on the web, there are all kinds of wacky explanations for how this all started – Some Christian traditions claim that while at the Last Supper, Judas, the disciple who betrayed Jesus, was the 13th to sit at the table. And while Judas Priest was a real idiot, he did start a great metal band. Then there is English folklore about the Knights, and even stuff dating back to the Ancient Persians and the Vikings. And, the fact that the Vikings have lost all four Super Bowls that they have appeared in almost has me believing, but… nah.

So I was thinking, “What should I do to celebrate this Friday the 13^th in style… Work underneath a ladder all day, take in a family of stray black cats, continuously throw salt over my shoulder where it looks like it’s snowing in my living room? Hey… I know!… What if I smoke THIRTEEN CIGARS TODAY! Whoa… that is just an awesome idea… thirteen premium hand rolled good lucky-sticks whose smoke will ward off any and all demons (including my wife.) Now THIS is a seriously good idea and I’d better start now figuring I’ll be done some time just before midnight! Does anybody know the story of when I won a wedding party bet by smoking ten Cuban cigars in one day? Well this beats that one and then some! Hey, guys like Mark Twain and Sigmund Freud smoked 20 a day, so this should be a piece of cake! (Just make sure that somebody brings over a tankard of FeBreeze and a barrel of Tic Tacs when I’m done.)

Okay, now its time to pick my smokes because they’ve gotta be good – I mean, I’m not gonna smell like a tire fire and develop black lung all for some crappy dog-rockety smokes, right? (Come on, amuse me, just say, “Yeah, right.”) So here’s my line-up card of 13 cigars for today’s wild n’wacky festivities…

ARTURO FUENTE HEMMINGWAY, AVO CLASSIC, CAMACHO-CONNECTICUT, CAO-OSA-SOL, DON-TOMAS-CLASICO, EL-REY-DEL-MUNDO-REAL, H.-UPMANN-SUN-GROWN, JR-EDICION-LIMITADA-ALTERNATIVE, LA-AURORA-107, PUNCH-RARE-COROJO, MY-FATHER-LE-BIJOU-1922, WARLOCK, PARTAGAS-1845.

So that’s my plan for destroying all superstitions for today. Anyone who cares to join me will have no problem finding my house – it’s the one up the road with Smokey the Bear out front in a lawn chair enjoying some of my personal stash.

DON’T MISS – The NEW JR•Cigar Catalog is out and you can read my regular column on page 98: What Really Roasts My Robusto! This issue’s story is entitled: The Ultimate Answer to saving the World (and if you love cigars, you’re gonna love where I’m headed with this one!)

VERY IMPORTANT: I urge you to PLEASE SUPPORT Cigar Rights of America as they continue to deal with congress, the senate, and all US legislators who need to be made aware that our cigars are the best friends we know of and we will fight like hell to keep them in our lives! >>http://cigarrrights.org

JR Cigars Blog with the Zman

CLICK HERE to Check out this week’s J•R CIGARS Weekly Special!

This post will be stuck at the top of the site, until the contest is over. Reviews will be uninterrupted.

Cigars, lots of cigars need to be given away!

First, a huge thanks to Victoria McKee, of General Cigar, for sponsoring this contest.

Up for grabs is the Hoyo De Monterrey Reposado en Cedros. You read it right. Free smokes!

These cigars are aged in a proprietary “Inmersion Process.” As shown in the display below, the cigars are stacked on cedar shelves, and packed in cedar shavings for several months.

On to the cigar giveaway!

Eight winners will receive a three pack of the Reposado en Cedros.

Each pack has one of each size.

To sweeten the deal a little more, a couple of you will get sampler packs containing other offerings from General Cigar. The selection of cigars is yet to be determined!

Entering is simple enough. Leave one comment, any comment will do. The winners will be picked at random in a couple weeks or so.

Entry rules are as follows.

1 – You must be 18 years or older.

2 – Live in the United States of America.

3 – Leave a comment, any comment, here on this post.

4 – Please leave a valid email address, or I won’t be able to contact you.

5 – You can enter only once.

I will treat your contact information as I would want mine to be treated, confidentially. No spam, no signing up for newsletters, no strings attached, nothing.

ENTER NOW!

Ed and I joined Mike, of Mikes Stogies and Stogie411, for a video cigar review. This time around, I tried recording our Skype call, as opposed to splicing together two video feeds. Because of this, the video is a little rough around the edges, but not bad at all. With any luck, in time, I can tweak things for a better end result.

In this video, we pick apart the La Palina El Diario. While it isn’t the most complex of cigars, it is by no means bad. It is clean on the palate, straight forward, and fairly consistent from beginning to end. Perhaps the pickiest of cigar smokers would get bored. As for the three of us, we enjoyed it. We covered all the pros and cons of this smoke.

Ed also talks a bit about his cigar tasting method. Being a tobacconist, Ed has schooled many, including Mike, and myself. In the review, I reference a video I made about this topic. You can check that out by clicking HERE.

Time for some shameless plugging:

Don’t forget to visit Mike’s Stogies, and Stogie 411. Mike’s Stogies is more of a traditional cigar blog. On the other hand, Stogie 411 has taken things up a notch. Aaand finally, if you’re ever in the St. Petersburg, FL area, you owe it to yourself to visit my pal Ed at St. Pete Cigar.

Video run time – 22 minutes.

MP3 Audio Only <—Right Click, Save As

As we get closer to the industry trade show, we are hearing about more cigars that are being rolled out.  Cigar Aficionado announced that the JC Newman company (owner of Cuesta Rey ) is coming out with a value priced Nicaraguan called Perla del Mar.  It is expected to retail around $5.

Cien y nueve anos?

(Yes I know anos should have the tilde over it, but for the life of me I can’t figure it out in Word Press.)

In 2003, to commemorate it’s 100^th year in business La Aurora released a a special cigar line — the Cien Anos.  It was limited to 400-thousand cigars or 100-thousand each of the Corona, Churchill, Belicoso and Robusto with every cigar having an individual number.  The Cien Anos used aged wrapper that had been put away for this special project in the 90s.  The cigar contained 8 year old  Piloto Cubano and 5 year old Dominican Corojo fillers with an aged Corojo wrapper.  In 2004, the Belicoso made Cigar Aficionado’s top list at number 2.  After the initial run, there were special occasion Cien Anos cigars made and then generally released in the Preferido shape and lastly in the Lancero.  This year the company is bringing the Cien Anos back albeit in a very limited way.  La Aurora says it is making 20,000 per size of the Belicoso, Churchill and Robusto.  (Pity, I always preferred the Corona. The last one smoked was #004670.  By the way, to mark the company’s 107th year in operation La Aurora released its 107 line.)

In addition to the original Cien Anos blend, La Aurora is making an ultra limited release of just 7,000 cigars using a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. It will be part of a package and available only to certain retailers.  The prices for the new Cien Anos will be $12 for the Robusto, $14 for the Churchill and $16.80 for the Belicoso.  No word on the price for the Broadleaf package.

New La Palinas

La Palina—the company that originally founded CBS – is announcing two new entries for this year’s trade show.  The first will be the La Palina Maduro which features the tasty San Andres Mexican Maduro wrapper over a Honduran binder and Nicaraguan fillers.   The Honduran-made cigars  will come in 4 sizes a 7” x 56. 6” x 60, 6” x 50 and  a 5”x52.   These will run between $9 and 10.50. The second cigar will be the La Palina Classic which promises to be a medium-bodied cigar made in the Dominican Republic.  It uses a Brazilian-grown Habano wrapper over an Ecuadoran binder and fillers from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua.  Again 4 sizes 6.125” x 52 Torpedo, 6”x60 Gordo, 6”x 50 Toro and a 5”x52 Robusto. Suggested retail $7.50-8.50.

Tobacco Jobs Lost

With a stroke of the pen, President Obama and both houses of Congress over the weekend wiped out small mom and pop tobacco operations.  They were the Roll Your Own shops, which had sprung up across the US since 2009 in response to the SCHIP high cigarette taxes.

You may not remember, but that was when federal cigarette  excise taxes went from $3.90 to just over 10 bucks a carton.  Cigars went up from 4.9 cents each to  52.75% of the manufacturers price up to a cap of 40.26 cents. (Something Congress could ALWAYS change.)  Still a whopping increase.  But the RYO people really got screwed.  Their tax rate went from just over a buck to an mind blowing $24.78 per pound.  Needless to say Altria wanted to kill the RYO business and thought it had done so, but the people adapted and started using pipe tobacco for the RYO cigarettes.  Pipe tobacco’s excise tax went from just over a buck to $2.83 a pound.

Well now RYO MAY be over.

Hidden inside a federal highway measure –because as we know Highways have to do with tobacco—remember Tobacco Road?—was an amendment to finally destroy the RYO business.  The RYO stores were little operations with machines about the size of a small ATM. You dumped your tobacco into them and in about 10 minutes you’d get the equivalent of a carton of smokes.  These machines ran at about 1,000 times slower than what the big boys used.  The idea was that it provided affordable smokes  to people.  Well Altria—maker of cigarettes from Marlboro to Benson and Hedges to Basic – didn’t like the competition.  Altria (which used to be known as Philip Morris) does not like giving up any of its market share, no matter how small.  It combined with the National Association of Convenience Stores (NACS) — which sells a lot of Altria’s smokes— to lobby Congress to kill the RYO business by equating the small stores to that of Altria.  The RYO operations became manufacturers thanks to the amendment, meaning they had to pay hefty taxes and abide by tons of new regulations.

How big is the industry? Not very.   The largest maker of the RYO machines according to the Wall Street Journal has sold about  two thousand of them. In Wisconsin, it is estimated that in 84 outlets about 300-400 people are employed. But now those machines and employees will be idle as most all RYO operations have changed their business over the weekend  as the new law went into effect.

“Robert Weissen, with his brothers and other partners, own nine Sin City Cigarette Factory locations in Southern Nevada, including six in Las Vegas, and one in Hawaii. He said when the bill is signed their only choice is to turn off their 20 RYO Filling Station machines and lay off more than 40 employees.

“We’ll stay open for about another week to sell tubes and tobacco just to get through our inventory, but without the use of the RYO machines, we won’t be staying open,” he said.

About 14 hundred RYO stores have hired a law firm in hopes of reversing the legislation or at least getting an injunction to allow them to remain open.

This is why it is important to continue to fight against the FDA.  That regulation in the cigar industry would shut us down.  And it could come as quickly as the RYO amendment did.  No big hearings on it, just quietly tucked into the highway bill.  That bill passed June 29^th and then signed by the President a week later becoming law  that night.  Help the Cigar Rights of America and the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers Association’s fight on Capitol Hill.  Support HR 1639 and S 1461 to exempt premium cigars from the FDA’s clutches.

Thanks goes out to my friends, Todd and Julia from JuliaLightsUp. Included in my unprovoked cigar bomb was three Viaje Zombies.

This cigar is of very limited production and distribution. Should you require more information, the Google machine can help you. A unique feature with this cigar is, the head and foot are triple capped, with a only a pin hole at the foot. I’m not sure what that’s about, but it worked, so why not. As always, I paired this cigar with water. Let’s see how it went.

Here is a picture of the foot.

Wrapper: Nicaragua

Binder & Filler: Nicaragua

Size: 4 3/4 x 52

Price: $10.50

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

A visual inspection of the wrapper revealed a nice, oily sheen, and no flaws. The smell of the wrapper was earth and barnyard. Overall, the cigar was solidly packed, with only minor variances in consistency. The draw was on the tight side, which opened up shortly after lighting. The pre-light flavor had cedar, earth, and a note of sweetness.

The burn required some small corrections, and the ash held for around an inch. I have heard that these have notoriously bad burns, but the three I smoked were fine. I “Dry boxed” them for a bit, so maybe that helped?

Flavor:

The first third came out of the gate with a blast of pepper and earthiness. It didn’t take long for a fairly strong espresso to join in, and it overtook the earthy flavor. After about 3/4 of an inch, the flavor profile settled into peppery spice, espresso, cedar, and bitter cocoa. The aftertaste was clean and easy on the palate.

Things smoothed out in the second third. Espresso and bitter chocolate mixed together nicely. Think of cooking, or dark chocolate. The dominant flavor switched between espresso and chocolate. The spicy pepper didn’t go anywhere, and packed some punch.

The last third kept its smoothness, but increased in strength. I found myself with a decent nicotine buzz, but it wasn’t over the top. Like before, flavor profile flip flopped between dominant flavors. The peppery spice demanded my attention, and a sweet tingle was left on the lips and tongue.

Conclusion:

This was a good, satisfying, full bodied cigar. Gimmicks aside, the Zombie held its own. This slow burner hit the spot for me, and I can see it appealing to the full bodied smoker. My flavor descriptions may lean towards bitter, but everything was balanced and pleasant. As for the price, I’m on the fence. It may be a little high, but it’s worth trying.

The Summer Olympics are coming and some of you will be glued to the screen nightly, and some don’t give a rat’s ash if it happens or not. But I have a sure fire way to get the entire stogie loving world interested in the games, and that is to make it the Cigar Olympics.

Yes, while the Cigar Olympics would cause great controversy, lovers of the leaf would tune in for an entire day’s worth puro-burning competition. As the participants march into the stadium, every cigarthelete will have the stogie of his or her choice dangling their lips while the official flag displays the five smoke rings, signifying cigar smoker unity across the globe. Then when the gigantic torch lighter is lit, the games have officially begun.

How I envision it (in my warped and fertile brain) is that every athlete that participates in every real sport that competes must have a lit cigar in their mouth. The soccer and basketball players are running around while puffing away as the equestrian folks ride and enjoy their sticks. The sprinters and hurdlers chomp down, while the pole vault and high jumpers clench for dear life because as the rules state, that cigar has got to stay lit in your mouth at all times. You might imagine, it’s going to be a bitch for the swimmers, hence the term, “keeping your head above water.”

Fencing will be a tough one as the goal is no longer to hit the target on the chest, but rather stab the cigar that protrudes from the swashbuckler’s face. Boxing: knock the stoag from your opponent’s puss and it’s a CKO. Weightlifting: the bar has to clear your cigar, as you are given a longer length stick thru each successful round. Archery: fire a lancero into the distant ashtray. Javelin toss: hurl the Double Corona as far as you can. High beam, long jump, floor exercises, and rowing… just hang on to those fiery figurados as you go for the gold. Diving: well, that’s just not going to work.

Now the Decathlon could be cool as the participants actually have to smoke ten different cigars in different sizes and lengths from a variety of cigar producing nations. While I’m not exactly sure how you crown the gold medal winner, I know that I’m going to the trials with all intention of smoking my brains out for my country. I am one patriotic son of a bitch when it comes to this kind of stuff and I will do what I have to, to get my smoke filled face on the front of every god damned Wheaties box in the United States of America! (Losing is not an option for me when it comes to cigar smoking.) And of course, the grand finally event of the entire games would be the Herfathon – with smokers from every nation proudly puffing their Punch Partagas, and Perdomo for as long as their ashes can last! Wow… yeah, those are genuine tears of euphoria welling up in my eyes, people.

Okay, so the entire concept is a tad silly you say? Well, I don’t think so… you see, I’m a dreamer and I always have been. The cigar Olympics is something that could bring the world together and just could put an end to all conflict and strife. Yeah, like I said, I’m a dreamer, but I think it’s a pretty good one…

DON’T MISS – The NEW JR•Cigar Catalog is out and you can read my regular column on page 98: What Really Roasts My Robusto! This issue’s story is entitled: The Ultimate Answer to saving the World (and if you love cigars, you’re gonna love where I’m headed with this one!)

VERY IMPORTANT: I urge you to PLEASE SUPPORT Cigar Rights of America as they continue to deal with congress, the senate, and all US legislators who need to be made aware that our cigars are the best friends we know of and we will fight like hell to keep them in our lives! >>http://cigarrrights.org

JR Cigars Blog with the Zman

CLICK HERE to Check out this week’s J•R CIGARS Weekly Special!

As we near the annual IPCPR trade show, more details are coming out about new cigars.  First up from MATASA is the Quesada Jalapa.  The name comes from the Jalapa valley of Nicaragua and it was there that Nestor Plasencia grew an experimental hybrid wrapper in 2002.  There were only a few hundred bales of the wrapper and Manolo Quesada (maybe best known for his Fonseca line) bought the bulk of them.. This special wrapper is going over what is known as the Quesada Espana (a cigar made primarily for the Spanish market. Because of the rarity of the Espana wrapper,  it has made production for the U-S market damn near impossible. Which is a shame because the corona is terrific.)

This one time limited release will replace the Ecuadoran Arapiraca wrapper  on the Espana with this special hybrid.  The release will be 1,000 ten count boxes in three sizes—Robusto, Prominente and Belicoso — with suggested retail prices running from $7.75 to $8.75. The cigars are still being made but expect a medium-bodied smoke with lots of flavor and as they put it, “a change of pace from the spice bombs.”

The Quesadas also are partnering with My Father Cigars on another limited cigar.  It will be called Tres Reynas, or three queens.  It commemorates the special friendship between  Patricia and Raquel Quesada and Janny Garcia.  The cigar is being made at the My Father Cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragua and will come in three sizes – Robusto, Belicoso and a Toro Grande.

The highly popular Oktoberfest cigar also is making a limited comeback in the Bavarian (5.5” x 52) and Uber (6”x65) sizes along with Das Boot (a 6” x 52 Belicoso or torpedo…get it?), Kurz a 4’x 50 and a Kaiser Ludwg (6”x49).  They will come out in the fall.

Smoking Bans for Three, But Not Me.

We’ve always known that the politicos have ways of exempting themselves from the rules meant for the little people.  That is, us.  Here is a classic example.  In St. Louis, a smoking ban went into effect Jan 1 2011.  It was to protect the workers, of course.  The only exemptions were private residences ( how nice), casino gaming floors, tobacco shops, small bars that only serve “incidental” food and private clubs with no employees.  Yeah well  in downtown St. Louis there is the Missouri Athletic Club.  This is a well-heeled and well-connected club that is frequented by judges, attorneys and politicians.  Membership is by invitation only.  The MAC as it is called was  fined and cited by the city two times for violations of the smoking ban.  It seems that the club has thmbed its nose at the law  by:

“openly leaving ashtrays in the lounge, hosting hazy boxing matches and allowing men in suits to gather weekly at the bar with tumblers in one hand, cigars in the other.”

Sounds pretty good to me.  Anyway the city went to Municipal court to try to enforce the citations.  That was when attorneys jumped in to work out a deal.  The city health director  said the MAC is a “special” club and basically should have exemptions.  In order to get them, the club will ban smoking in the employees’ lounge but not for the members.  If you are elite, you can get exceptions, for the rest of us…tough.

“This is the whole problem with government,” said Joe Finn, owner of Pat’s Bar & Grill in the city’s Dogtown neighborhood, adding that the ban is killing his business. “All things are equal, but some things are more equal than others. “I don’t have the money — I don’t have the clout — to make these backroom deals.”

“I’m not against the MAC, but I think what they’re doing is illegal,” said Keep St. Louis Free Director Bill Hannegan, who lobbied against the smoking ban. The state constitution, he said, bars ordinances that single out businesses. “We’d like to see the MAC fight the law, not get themselves an exemption.”

There is no word on if the deal has been put into effect.

Meet Elektro

And on this Fourth of July week, here is a palate cleanser to give you an idea of how much New York has changed.  At the 1939 World’s Fair in New York, Westinghouse built a robot.  His name was Elektro.  He was a “smart fellow” with a “fine brain”.  The brain actually was a bunch of telephone relays.  But besides speaking and walking Elektro has one other novelty—he smoked.  Gasp the horrors!  A smoking robot.   Anyway Elektro toured the country and eventually faded from sight.  Then the Mansfield Memorial Museum in Ohio found him and put him on display as the oldest surviving American robot.  The museum’s curator spent three painstaking months putting building a replica which will tour museums this year.

You can actually watch Elektro do his stuff here on You Tube.

Imagine what Mayor Bloomberg would do if he saw this in his city.

I picked up a few cigars at the La Habana Cigar Club the other week. Included was the cigar up for review today. Cigar Aficionado rated this a 91! No, I don’t care either, and I don’t even know what that means. As you would expect, I have no information or story on the GC Signature Series. As always, I paired with fine Florida tap water (filtered), and got a pen and paper.

Wrapper: Brazilian Maduro

Binder: Cuban Seed Honduran

Filler: Cuban Seed Dominican, Honduran, Nicaragua

Size: 6 x 60

Price: Around $9.00

Pre-Smoke & Construction:

The wrapper was very oily, and it glistened as if it were wet. It was seamless looking, and had small to medium sized veins.  The smell of the wrapper reminded me of a chocolate candy bar. Since the wrapper overlaps the foot, obviously it was the same. The draw had resistance, but fell within my tolerance. The pre-light draw was dark coffee, mixed with earthiness.

The burn required three minor corrections, and ash held for about 1.5 inches.

Flavor:

The first third started out earthy, and it took some time for the flavor profile to develop. Coffee slowly ramped up, along with an easy, sweet, peppery spice. As I moved out of this third, wispy notes of cedar appeared. The smoke feel was dry, but it didn’t leave me with cotton mouth.

The second third kept my attention. The dominant flavor rotated, which kept things interesting. Mocha, earthiness, coffee, cedar, and spicy pepper. Each had their turn at the front of the line. At times, it was an even mixture of everything. The smoke feel became crisp, with a sweet spicy tingle.

The cedar from before changed in the last third. I can’t describe what kind of wood it reminded me of, since my palate wasn’t up to the task. The changing flavor profile went away. A spicy, sweet pepper stood out over the woody flavor. Coffee was up next, but it faded into the background. The smoke feel remained dry and crisp, but didn’t leave me parched.

Conclusion:

This was a good medium to full bodied cigar. From beginning to end, the changing flavor profile held my interest. I think it is worth the asking price as well. In the end, I can’t think of anything bad to say. I will revisit the Kristoff GC Signature Series again.