Archive for the ‘Ashton VSG’ Category

CIGARS: Why We Like What We Like by Tommy Zman

Friday, January 6th, 2012

I would imagine you guys know me long enough, where it goes without saying that I freakin’ love cigars. (Gee Zman, what a revelation… did your inner Polack just kick in?) Now I’ve been smoking long enough where I know what I like. I know the blends, the wrappers, the flavor profiles and the strength. But for the life of me I can’t figure out why I like what I like. That may sound a little dopey and your answer may be, “who really cares, just STFU and enjoy your stogies, ya fat bastid.” But I’ve been wondering why I like a certain cigar and another guy thinks it dog shmootz.

4479654741_97b4994b39_zI guess you could wonder this about anything: food, alcohol, taste in women, yada, yada, yada, but this query has led me to think about how personal cigar smoking really is. If a guy tells you that he doesn’t like scotch, or liverwurst, or even red heads, no offense is taken whatsoever. (Let me just say that if you don’t like red heads, you are mentally challenged, but please don’t let me stray from the subject at hand.) You just figure it’s his personal choice and that’s all there really is to it. But offer up say perhaps one of your prized stellar maduros to someone and that knuckle-dragging ingrate tells you that it sucks, well you take great offense as if it were a serious personal affront. I’ve seen this on many an occasion in online cigar forums where a guy says he loves a certain brand and then someone else will reply that it’s a hunk of excrement, and suddenly a war of words begins. I even get mad at my own dad when I give him what I think is a nice stick, and if he tells me he didn’t care for it, I get all pissy and tell him to go buy his own friggin cigars!

So when it comes to cigars, why do we like what we like and why are we SO goddamned particular and uppity about it? Hey I don’t know, I’m asking you! You have any concrete thoughts? Cuz I don’t. I know one guy that smokes the strongest cigars on the planet and eats triple maduro / triple ligero for breakfast. He thinks everyone else is an out an out puss for smoking anything less. Then I know an older dude who’s been smoking for 45 years – mild delicate Connecticut shade wrapped cigars, the kind most newbies start off with. I’ll ask him why he doesn’t try bumping up in flavor to a medium bodied cigar, something with a little more depth, complexity, and flavor. And you know what he says to me? “I like what I like.” I know as a fact that the guy dines on a variety of tasty foods and fine wines, but when it comes time to lighting up, it’s that same golden yellow wrapper cigar every damned time.

Picture 8Now for me, personally, it’s all about flavor. From medium to very full bodied is what I like and if I do smoke a lighter wrapper cigar, it’s usually in the morning or before I’ve eaten. Years ago, like most stogie lovers, I dug the mild stuff, but my palate has changed a lot and I just don’t get the flavor I need from a mild cigar. I’m sure many of you reading this are the same, yet, did you know that the basic Macanudo brand is the best selling premium hand rolled cigar in America? That’s because the casual smokers and newbies who smoke on the golf course, while camping, playing poker, etc., those guys want something mild that’s not going to leave them with Satan’s breath the following morning. Complexity means zilch to those guys, as where it means a lot more to us full time leaf-ionados. (That’s some writer’s license used right there, keep on reading….) Although I will say that complexity is definitely not as important to me as a cigar just having good flavor. There are certain sticks, like take the Cain Habano for instance, that really just has a nice medium to full flavor profile straight through and I’m totally fine with that. But then there’s times I have an expensive scotch or full bodied wine and I’ll reach for maybe an Ashton VSG to compliment the complexity of what I’m drinking.

Hey, I guess when it comes down to it, there really is no right or wrong answer, we really do just “like what we like” when it comes to cigars and I have to say upon final reflection that I’m totally cool with that. But if you tell me you don’t like red heads, I can assure you that you do indeed have some sort of mental blockage.

Happy New Year, Home Boys & Gals,

TZ.Sig.2

JR Cigars Blog with the Zman

Don’t Let the Politicos Mess With Our Cigars!

Monday, July 25th, 2011

If you read this blog, then I have to assume that you love cigars. Now, I said love, not like, but LOVE.  For me personally, cigar smoking is a passion and a hobby like nothing else I have ever experienced during my multiple decades here on earth. It’s hard to explain why there is such a love affair between aged, handrolled leaf and myself, but I am admittedly both intoxicated by romanced by premium cigar tobacco… and something tells me that you are, too.

fda_cigar_sm-250pxOver the past few years I’ve talked a lot about the Smoke Nazis and the anti-smoking zealots who want to eliminate all forms of tobacco from the face of the earth, but I haven’t talked much about the people who wish to regulate it – and I’m referring to none other than the Food & Drug Administration.

This is a frightening thought, my fellow Brothers and Sisters of the Leaf. If the FDA has full reign over handrolled cigars, our smoking world may change like nothing we have ever imagined. Let’s face it – whenever government takes charge of something, it becomes an instant clusterf@#k, and the entire cigar industry is pretty damned worried and rightfully so.

freedom_means_choice_2_tshirt-p235564109691893157q6vb_400First off, the beautiful ornate cigar box packaging that has been around for over a century could be replaced by labels, warning of death and disease, in font sizes larger than your head. And cigars stores won’t be able to have any tobacco products visible within their premises, but instead hidden behind closed doors where you would have to ask for someone to retrieve your smoke for you. (With JR CIGARS being the largest walk-in humidor retail stores in the world, I sure as hell don’t have a clue how that would work.) These are just some of the things that have been discussed and I can’t even imagine how it is possible in a country that is blanketed in a flag that stands for freedom and living a life of personal choices.

jr_ultimateThe good news is, I have read that the cigar industry has pushed our senators and congressmen hard to have premium cigars NOT regulated the way other forms of tobacco are. Let’s face it, so much of this is about keeping tobacco out of the hands of children, and children simply do not walk into cigar stores to purchase Camachos, Pepin Garcias, Gurkhas, and Ashton VSG’s that cost them as much as a coveted XBOX game. Thankfully, there is now talk of premium cigars being exempt from the FDA’s rule, which would be a saving grace to the entire cigar industry. But we can’t sit back and just HOPE everything works out all right. It’s up to all of us to email, phone, or fax our government representatives and let then know that they CANNOT take away our passion – a 100% LEGAL product that employs tens of thousands of people in the U.S. and other smaller nations who depend on this export to survive!

Guys, it’s no secret that powerful lobbies like anti-tobacco groups put a proverbial gun to the politicians heads when it comes election time, and the politicos respond with harsh anti-smoking laws, even though just about every single on of them enjoys the rich, smooth taste of a JR Ultimate, Montecristo, Punch, or Trinidad. It is hypocrisy at the highest level, but that is certainly NOT a surprise when it involves those who are full-time holders of office in our nation’s capital. Let’s continue to fight the good fight, people!

TZ.Sig.2Tommy Z . JR Cigars Blog With the Zman

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DON’T FORGET TO JUMP ON JR’S 99¢ SHIPPING! This deal is only good thru July 31st, so get your cigar orders in NOW!!!

And this week JR has two… that’s right TWO…Weekly Specials

JR has two weekly specials going to give you one last chance to take advantage of the 99¢ shipping.

Villar y Villar Cigars – All Sizes Just $15!

Picture 4Villar y Villar cigars are handcrafted in Estelí, Nicaragua, with a classic medium-bodied blend of tobaccos from three nations finished with Colorado Ecuador Sumatra wrappers that are available in both Natural and EMS. They are solid, no-nonsense cigars, packed with flavor.

This week JR is doing something unheard of and closing out the entire line of Villar y Villar. Every bundle of 25 is now JUST $15 BUCKS. Buy these before July 31st and the 99¢ shipping can get you a bundle delivered to your door for just $15.99!

La Primadora: Laguito & Presidente $10 OFF!

la_primadora_logoMade in Danlí, Honduras, this cigar is a blend of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos with a charcoal-like flavor. The La Primadora is a consistent smoke at an economical price, and has proven to be a time-honored best-seller.

This week JR is closing out 2 sizes at unbelievable prices that make them under $2 bucks a stick! They are both available in natural Ecuador Connecticut and dark Mexican maduro wrappers.

Get ‘em now before they’re gone or before the offer expires on Wednesday, July 27th!

http://www.jrcigars.com/jr/index.cfm/hurl/evt=ws

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