Cigars Are Not Big Fans of Winter
Every winter I bitch and moan about the grotesque winter cold, and I write several blogs that clearly display my disdain for the frigidness of the north east in January. And every time I write one, you guys in the north commiserate with me as we swap our cold weather war stories – while you in the south ask us if we want some cheese with out whine and tell us how it’s 72 and you just played 18.
Wow, how I loved winter as a kid growing up in the mountain regions of north Jersey. Tons of snow would cover the landscape meaning a day off from school that was packed with sledding, skating, snowball fights, and pb&j for lunch with a gallon of hot chocolate to wash it all down. As a nostalgia freak, “the memories are so thick you’d have to wash them away with a brush” (James Earl Jones in field of Dreams.)
When you lived where I grew up, being off from school for a snow day was commonplace and we were given up to ten snow days – once we hit 11 we had to make up days at the end of the year, and that actually did happen several times. My brother and I would wake up around 5am to look out the window as flakes the size of garbage can lids littered the sky and piled up in the streets. But it wasn’t until the phone rang – the phone call on the snow chain, that we knew a day of frosty, school-free bliss was ahead!
It’s amazing how growing older makes you despise the long days of winter (unless you ski or snowmobile.) Just walking from my car into the store yesterday was dreadful as the arctic winds howled in my face and crept up my shorts. A most uncomfortable moment as visions of palm trees danced in my head.
As always, the worst part of the icy coldness is the inability to smoke cigars. Yeah, once a week I’ll make the pilgrimage to the JR Store in Whippany, NJ, but it’s 35 minutes from the house and one time a week is really all I can do. And yeah, I bought a good heater and set up a little cave in the garage, but it still starts getting cold at around the 20 minute mark as my feet begin to turn into popsicles. Okay, sure, I can smoke in the car, but since I work from home, I don’t really drive long enough distances to enjoy a good smoke. An NO, I can’t smoke in the house – and just let me say that NO ONE I know can – before you so-called tough guys brand me a whipped wuss.
Last Friday when It snowed, I went out to shovel and decided to light up a big-ass CAO Brazillia Amazon, going into the garage for a good puff every couple of minutes or so. Nothing like exercising and smoking to get the heart pumping. Oh yeah, beer helps a lot, too. But other than that, I’m not enjoying my favorite pastime and I am losing my mind.
Okay, so I promised not to bitch, gripe, and moan any longer, and I just can’t seem to help myself. Maybe I have to get like five monster infared heaters and a few fake palm trees to make the garage a cozy and swank little man pit. But them I’ve got to leave the garage door open a bit or the place will stink to the high heavens as I croak from lack of fresh air. But if I open the door, then all the heat pours out. Holy crap this is an awful dilemma. You know there’s a lot of winter left and it’s way to early to be joensing for the warm, but I swear every year I’m yearning for springtime earlier and earlier. I’m either gonna have to tough it out, or move to the south, and that just ain’t in the plans right now.
Okay, I’ll kindly STFU and dream about great cigars… hey… just like the ones below!!!
Til next week, pray for warm and smoke ‘em if ya can, my bruthas and sistas.
Tommy Z.
JR Cigars Blog With the Zman
ARTURO FUENTE SUN GROWN CIGARS |
| Handmade DR |
| Wrapper: ECCT Binder: DR Filler: DR |
| Medium-Full Bodied |
This Sun Grown version of the well-known favorite, Arturo Fuente Gran Reserva, is crafted with the Fuentes classic blend of the finest, aged Dominican filler tobaccos, topped off with rich, robust Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper leaves. The addition of the highly sought after wrapper leaves creates a fuller bodied, more flavorful smoke with increased hints of natural sweetness. These “limited availability” beauties are hard to come by, but are definitely worth the wait.
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