Turkey Day and Great Smokes Cometh
Okay. The question is: Why the hell is life whizzing by so fast and how the hell can it be Thanksgiving already? Perhaps most importantly, what smokes will I prepare for my day filled with a conglomerate of calories and flying pigskin?
Thanksgiving is without question America’s favorite holiday as it is centered on eating until your stomach grows three sizes that day. We stuff our faces for hours on end with a smattering of everything from 27 major food groups, forcing that last hunk of coconut custard pie until we go into Mr. Creosote mode, ala Monty Python style. I find now that I’m getting a little older that I don’t eat as much as I used to because I just physically can’t. That’s not to say I don’t chow down like a psycho, it only means I fill my plate to the rafters three times instead of four, and maybe cut it down to only five different desserts. And now father time plays the cruel joke of giving you acid reflux, where sleeping involves being propped up high on a mountain of pillows so the cornucopia you just devoured doesn’t give you a lava scorching hello at 3:30am.
Unless you’re Charlie Brown, turkey day isn’t stressful like Christmas, New Years, or even birthdays for that matter. It’s kind of effortless to show up at a relative’s house (or stay at your own) eat drink, bullshit, and watch the Detroit Lions lose again. And if you’re a cigar loving madman like yours truly, having a couple of stellar smokes picked out to enjoy with friends and relatives makes it all oh so special. I’ll usually do a couple of gars with my dad, one early afternoon, one after appetizers, and one between dinner and dessert. The ritual definitely helps you to relax from the massive physical effort of shoveling chow and lifting your glass.
The men in my family are great lovers of football, and now that a third pro game has been added at night, we can annoy the women even longer. The little ones and the uncles will hit the front lawn for a rousing holiday match of two-hand touch, and every year they ask uncle Z to play, but yours truly has a date with his hand rolled happy stick and a double pour of Macallans 12.
A couple of years ago I found the absolute best way to carve up the bird. Pretty simply get a big-ass sharp knife, chop the legs off first, then surgically remove the breast off of the turkey from each side. Then just drop it on a cutting board and slice it up nicely! Trust me, it is SO MUCH easier than carving it on the damned fowl.
Two things I’ve never tried are deep dried turkey and turducken. People who do the fried bird SWEAR it’s the juiciest thing you’ll ever sink your teeth into. The stories of spilling the damned things and burning down the abode scares a lot of folks away. Also the fact that you’re taking a great low-fat food and soaking it in skin scorching grease seems to be excessive, but what the hell, it’s a holiday and that exempts you from keeping your gall bladder clean and healthy. And then there’s the chicken stuffed in side of a duck that is stuffed inside of a turkey that just takes your meal completely over the handlebars. It sounds pretty awesome, but again, excessive, and it just seems like a whole hell of a lot of work.
Okay, cigars… do you have your smoking regimen prepared? I’ve got a few choices in mind and HEY… how lucky are you that this is a cigar website and you can order ‘em RIGHT HERE!!! Gosh, ain’t that a coincidence? I mean, really!
Early Turkey Day Smoke:
It’s gonna be a mild to medium bodied, smooth and tasty AVO CLASSIC.
Handmade DR
Wrapper: CTSH Binder: DR Filler: DR
Mild-Medium Bodied
A mild yet flavorful cigar fashioned from a blend of Dominican long-leaf filler tobaccos and wrapped in a light Connecticut shade. Avo Cigars are made in the Cibao Valley of the Dominican Republic from premium hand-selected tobaccos, and aged to perfection. The blend of five different tobaccos results in a mild body, rich flavor, and a delightful aroma.
Afternoon Break Smoke:
A medium bodied PUNCH GRAND CRU #2 (One of my all-time faves)
Handmade HON
Wrapper: CTSH/CTBL Binder: CTBL Filler: DR/HON/NIC
Medium Bodied
Made from extra-select vintage three-to-five-year tobaccos, the Punch Grand Cru is a refined version of the classic Punch blend. Wrapped in the silkiest of Connecticut River Valley leaf, this is the smoothest of Honduran cigars.
Post Dinner Smoke:
And then finally, the cigar whose flavor must cut through the turkey, stuffing, taters and gravy, I’m going with the full bodied, Nicaraguan flavor bomb, FRANK LLANEZA 1961
| Handmade NIC |
| Wrapper: ECCR Binder: NIC Filler: DR/NIC |
| Medium-Full Bodied |
Frank Llaneza 1961 cigars are handmade with the darkest Ecuador Criollo wrapper I have ever seen and must have been selected one leaf at a time or fermented over and over and over. You people who know me or have read some of my dribble over the years know that I’ve always said that the difference between a two dollar cigar and a ten dollar cigar is eight dollars… well if there ever was such a thing as a ten dollar cigar – then this is it. These cigars have the Frank Llaneza “Cubanesque” heavier bodied “touch” that made brands like Hoyo, Punch, Excalibur, El Rey del Mundo, and others that he has created such mainstays in today’s premium cigar business. A definite winner in the new chapter of fine cigars for the late great master.
So that’s it my peeps, enjoy the family and friends and we’ll be back for another exciting chapter of JR Cigars Blog with the Zman!
Peace,
