Archive for the ‘tommy zman cigars’ Category

Pig-Skinning-Out on Premium Hand Rolled Cigars! by Tommy Zman

Friday, January 20th, 2012

Last week we talked about ANY excuse to smoke a cigar, but there’s one HUMUNGOUS excuse I’ll always have, and that’s NFL Playoff football. Cigars and football… damn guys, it’s like mac n’ cheese… Starsky n’ Hutch… mashed taters n’ gravy… beer nuts and… well, um… beer. Now being a lifelong New York Giants fan, you can only imagine how I’ve been enjoying the gridiron action so far. With the reaming of Atlanta and the pummeling of the 15 – 1, heavily favored Green Bay Packers, I have admittedly been a horror for anyone to be around who doesn’t bleed blue.

Men with cigars and a football, and a woman with football pads.Now I always break out the premium smokes when there’s hot playoff action on the telly, but when it’s my team winning, I will pass the good stuff around like a proud papa celebrating the birth of a child! And these past two weeks I’ve been like Santa on a month-late run handing out the likes of the Camacho Triple Maduro, Jaime Garcia Reserva Especiale, Montecristo Red, El Rey Del Mundo Real, and some Oliva Cain Daytonas! What am I nuts? No, just a generous BOTL who is enjoying the pigskin madness that only the National Football League can provide.

The unfortunate problem we will forever have up here in northern New Jersey is that it is just frigid outside this time of year, and even heading to the garage for a halftime shortie will undoubtedly freeze some important parts of the anatomical structure. Now come on guys, we’ve been thru this crap for over four years now, and you KNOW that I don’t smoke in the house. Yeah, go on tough guy, call me a wuss, girlie-man, or any kind of insult you’d like, but it’s not gonna change things for me. And I tried getting a really good heater for the garage, but I still freeze my little bag of onions off so I can only really go to a friend’s house where smoking is accepted, or a local cigar shop – and thank God, there are a few by me that I frequent for just these kind of occasions.

So this weekend we have two stellar match-ups: the NFC has My New York Football Giants on the road to take on the defensively tough San Fransisco 49ers, and the AFC has the Baltimore Ravens trying to take down the Patriots Brady Bunch in Foxborough, Massachusetts. If you’re a football hound anything like me, you’ll be glued to the flat screen, tossing epithets at opposing players, coaches, and referees, all while noshing an assorted mix of man-food goodness. (I’ve got a rootbeer pulled pork recipe that’ll knock your taste buds off into another stratosphere. Let me know if you want me to send it.)

tyreeNow these match ups are going to call for some special play selections direct from the JR CIGARS humidor. For the AFC game, your friendly neighborhood Polack is taking the New England Patriots along with a the Alec Bradley American Blend Classic with its Connecticut-seed Honduran wrapper intermingled with a flavorful binder and hearty blend of long fillers from the town of Condega, located in the province of Estelí, Nicaragua, to create a mild-to-medium-bodied, smooth, and creamy smoke with great balance and a sweet cedar finish. As for the NFC, well, you KNOW I’m picking the road dog Giants paired up with a Macanudo Cru Royale GIGANTE! Don’t let the Macanudo name fool you because this dark stick is packed with with a long-filler blend of Brazilian, Nicaraguan, and Dominican Mata Fina tobaccos, a smooth La Vega Especial binder, and a deep, dark, oily Ecuador Habano-seed wrapper. Plus the Blue band goes perfect with a Big Blue victory. (Sorry, dude, I told you I was an obnoxious snob.)

So, I guess what I’m saying is that it’s gonna be a rematch of the 2008 Super Bowl, Patriots vs Giants and I’ll be looking for a repeat of that amazing game. (Can anybody see where that David Tyree fella is at?) Hey, don’t let me get ahead of myself, because it’s only Friday and we’ll see on Monday if the Zman is a champ or a chump. But no matter what happens, I’m gonna be smoking up some serious premium goodness, courtesy of our friends at JR CIGARS! Ahhhh… football and cigars… say, it’s just a hunch, but I bet some ice cold beer would work with this whole shindig, whaddya think?

Stay Smoky My Friends,

TZ.Sig.2

JR Cigars Blog with the Zman

ANY Excuse to Smoke a Cigar… by Tommy Zman

Friday, January 13th, 2012

If you’re anything like me (whoa that’s a scary friggin thought, you’ll have to agree) then you will basically make any excuse whatsoever, anytime, any place, to smoke a good cigar.

Z.BBQ“Hey honey, I’ll be barbequing for 20 minutes,” and that’s all I need to break out a shorty and herf away while I’m grilling up the mid-section of some four-legged carcass. Gonna be in the garage for a little bit? I don’t care what the chore is because my leafy buddy is there by my side, stinkin’ up the joint and keeping me good company. An hour ride in the car alone is excuse enough to grab a big burly stick from the humidor and use it as my navigational device! Any ride of an hour or more requires a kettle sized mug o’ java, some rockin’ tunes on the radio, and a smoldering double corona to signify the passing of every single yard marker.

A few neighbors of mine smoke cigars and what a great excuse to partake while they walk their dogs. When I see one of my buds strolling by their pooch, I quickly throw on my shoes and coat and join in on the festivities. I’ve actually lobbied for a dog for this very reason, but the reality of taking bowzer out and picking up his steaming pile in two feet of snow is not my idea of enjoyment… but at least a good cigar would make it somewhat more enjoyable.

Z.SD_2If my son wants to have a catch or pitch to me, that’s good enough reason to have a stellar stoag hanging from my face. If my neighbor or pal is returning a tool he borrowed, well, I will ALWAYS coax him into kicking back with a single malt and a tasty hand rolled treat from a variety of Latin American countries. Twenty minutes later his nagging wife will be screaming out the door, wanting to know where he mysteriously disappeared to, and unfortunately for him, all the lies in the world can’t cover up the luscious scent of premium aged tobacco lingering from every fiber of his being.

Then there are the blatant made up stories I use, and no matter how much bullshit I toss out as a smoke screen, the wife will always know the real deal. “Hey honey, Jim needs me to help fix his mower, so I’m heading over there for a little bit.” “FIX HIS MOWER?” she’ll yell out in a ‘you’re completely full of Shinola’ voice. “You don’t know how to change a god damned battery in a flash light! You’re going over there to smoke cigars so don’t even try to pull one over on me!” Busted… like every single time. Of course I’ll then get pummeled for being a lazy-ass who just wants to smoke cigars and escape from performing any of my household chores, which is basically true, but why the hell does she have to make me feel so bad about my love for the aged leaf?

photoNow nothing is more enjoyable than a celebration smoke, like when your team wins a big game. The past few weeks I’ve been celebrating the New York Giants latest victories including their decimation of the Atlanta Falcons in round one of the NFL playoffs. Of course this weekend is a MONSTER challenge for my G-men as they take on the Cheese Heads of the Frozen Tundra, but I believe in my team and I’m about to choose some major league celebratory smokes like the Alec Bradley Tempus, Camacho Corojo, or the Bolivar Cofradia. Yeah, I know, decisions, decisions. And if by chance my team doesn’t happen to win, well, you can bet your sweet ash I’ll find some kind of an excuse… ANY kind of an excuse to smoke them anyway!

So hey, share in the comments section here and let me in on YOUR favorite excuse to smoke a cigar! We’re all Brothers (and Sisters) of the Leaf, and your favorite cigar is ALWAYS the one you’re smoking at that very moment. Okay, I can’t take credit for that last one, but it was good enough to repeat!

Til’ net time, Stay Smoky My Friends,

TZ.Sig.2

JR Cigars Blog with the Zman

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

A Smoky Goodbye to 2011 by Tommy Zman

Friday, December 30th, 2011

First off, wish me a happy birthday, ya slugs! Yeah, it’s today, December 30 and I don’t smell a day over 40.

Okay, I seriously ask you guys, how can it possibly be the end of another year? I remember celebrating the new millennium like it was yesterday and now that’s a dozen years ago? This is crazy! And now we’re facing a glitch in the Mayan calendar, hoping and praying that these ancient knuckleheads simply ran out of paper.

goodbye_2011-saidaonlineA hell of a lot of crap happened during the course of 2011, way too much to talk about in detail, so I might as well just stick with the cigar happenings. First off, the good people here at JR Cigars gave Steve Nathan and I our own YouTube show where we get to entertain and spread the cigar knowledge to the world. The feeling of power is somewhat overwhelming, and gratifying all-the-same. Of course when you mix a ranting, psycho Polack with a chemically imbalanced Debbie Downer of a cigar training manager, you’re going to create a chemistry that is horribly unpleasant, yet for some unexplainable reason, you just can’t stop looking at it. I’ll take that as a compliment, thank you.

As far as cigars go, JR went completely bonkers bringing in a plethora of new brands to the company, the brands you’ve been asking for, ie; Rocky Patel, My Father, Don Pepin, Jaime Garcia, NUB, La Flor Dominicana, Alec Bradley, Oliva, VegaFina, EP Carillo, CAO OSA Sol, Macanudo Cru Royale! Yeah, the list is long and deep and I personally couldn’t be happier. I am definitely gonna celebrate the new year in JR style with more smokes than I could have ever imagined enjoying. Sweet!

cra-logo-colorNow, while the good stuff was certainly good, the bad stuff was incredibly annoying. The Food and Drug Administration decided they wanted to regulate the cigar industry, treating our precious smokes in the same way that they scrutinize cigarettes. If these politico nightmares get their way, an entire industry that employs some 85,000 people will be in for the fight of their lives – so it’s up to us to fight these clueless numbskulls with every last ounce of smoke that we’ve got! January 19 is now the date that the FDA will stop taking feedback from the public on this matter and it’s up to us to make as much noise as we possibly can until then!

And now you’ve got these stooges on the Orange Bowl committee who have been bamboozled by the ancient and out of touch Frank Louseyburg of NJ and his smoke Nazi cronies. Our good friends at Camacho Cigars had a 3-year deal with the Orange Bowl to be an official sponsor of the game which included outdoor smoking lounges at the event. But three holier than thou senators stirred up a bunch of health organizations and bullied the Orange Bowl Committee and the NCAA, getting Camacho tossed out as a sponsor! Of course the Bowl organizers used the lame and shameless excuse of what a poor message a cigar company would send to kids, but somehow it’s okay for collegiate sports to advertise alcohol, fast food, and the pill that makes you call the doctor after 4 hours. From what I understand, a rum company is an official sponsor of the game, which is a hypocrisy that has us all shaking our heads. What kind of message does consuming alcohol send to our children? The message is simple: when enjoyed responsibly by adults in moderation, all of these grown-up products should be allowed to do business under the name of freedom in these here United States of America.

So what’s up for 2012? Well this FDA thing is looming and we need to educate, get the word out, and fight these fascist legislators with everything we’ve got. And while the crap keeps hitting the proverbial fan with new anti-smoking laws and continual tax hikes on our cigars, new brands will continue to come out this year as our industry will stick together like never before.

So, that’s it from the great state of Jersey, guys. You and I will be talking again next year for sure!

TZ.Sig.2

JR Cigars Blog with the Zman

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