Memoirs of a Cigar

Wow! I feel obligated to write about the Partagas Serie D #4 whenever I smoke one. They are that good! A perfectly blended Cuban powerhouse amazingly balanced with a perfect draw.

I used my new “paintbrush lighter”, at least that’s what I call it, because it allows you to flame the end of your cigar with the control and elegance of a paintbrush on a canvass. I seriously have yet to find a better lighter. It’s more an at-home lighter though, as you do get some ‘weirdo’ looks when pulling this out of your pocket at a bar.

I decided to experiment with my PSD4 by trying a bullet punch, as opposed to a typical straight cut. Bad idea. The PSD4 draws so effortlessly, and has so much strength, that it was overwhelmingly harsh through the bullet punch. I quickly “Zikar’d” off the top, and it became a perfect PSD4 again. That was a close one.

The first great smoke from a collection of 15 Certified Vintage Cigars I recently purchased, the Flor De A. Allones was a full bodied masterpiece. Very unexpected, as I had never heard of Flor De A. Allones, I come to find they are made in Honduras by Estelo Padron.

This cigar is full of flavor and taste, and would be well compared to a Padron 80 year, without the amazing balance and intricate flavors of the Padron, but the core flavors and strength are there. As a lover of great full bodied cigars, I would love to get my hands on a few more of these.

My review of the 5 Vegas Classic can be summed up in 1 word: “eh”. Or in keeping with the 5 theme how about “a waste of my time”. As much joy came from looking at it as smoking it. Seriously, are other sites being payed for their positive reviews of this cigar? This cigar sucked. While not harsh or disgusting by any means, it just had no flavor or complexity. A perfectly balanced “eh”. I guess they should get points for balance?

I hear they have another cigar made by El Ray De Los Habanos, and a third that is comparable to the Partagas Black Label, which is of my favorites. So I might be interested in reviewing those if someone wanted to send me them for free. But for now, my opinion is this cigar should have stayed in 5 Vegas.

The Davidoff Diademas Finas 100th Anniversary is, by all accounts, a prestigous cigar. Made to commemorate the 100th birthday of Zino Davidoff, these beautiful cigars come without wrappers, in boxes of 10.

I celebrated a lovely Sunday afternoon with a picnic lunch complete with wine, cigar, fruit and cheese. The wine was a 2007 Italian Vermentino White Wine. The fruit was a Manila Mango. The cheese was a Parrano from Holland, a fantastic cheese. “The Gouda that thinks it’s Italian”, or so the wrapper says.

The Davidoff 100 is an exquisite cigar; mild and balanced, yet sweet and flavorful. It maintained it’s sweet mild tobacco taste from start to finish. Just what you would expect from a limited edition Davidoff.

Fresh baked Croissant’s (my first attempt), Bolivian Coffee and a Nestor Miranda Collection Special Selection Lancero. That’s how I like to start my Sunday mornings.

This cigar was provided to me ‘a-la-Pablo’. He went into a cigar shop in Little Havana, before his recent SF trip, and asked for their best Lancero. Apparently, a New Yorker had called down and purchased their entire stock of Nestor Miranda Lancero’s, which included all they were currently rolling. After some schmoozing and begging, he was able to sneak 1 out of the newly rolled supply. Boy am I glad he did!

This cigar had an amazingly spicy scent, so much so that it threatened any cigar contained within the same humidor. It honestly smelled like a fine musk Cologne. The wrapper was already beginning to plume. Upon lighting, I found it to be remarkably supple, soft and sweet. The smell of it’s smoke was amazing, and I let it surround me in cigar bliss. This is what all Lanceros should be like. The smoke was as luxurious as a perfectly aged Montecristo#2. The taste was soft and sweet, down to the nub. It paired amazingly well with my first cup of Bolivian Coffee, which was brimming with sweet caramel notes. Oh, for where art thou ‘a-la-Pablo’ Lancero’s!

La Flor De Cano Habano is a rare Cuban gem. Hard to procure by any means, this is a small woody smoke with a large price tag attached. In fact the price is so high it ensures a vigorous opinion from all who smoke it, you are bound to either love it or hate it. No fence sitting allowed.

La Flor De Cano was made by one of 3 brothers in his kitchen, who had to hire additional rollers to keep up with it’s popular demand. The other 2 brothers provided book keeping and cheap tobacco prices.

I was lucky enough to have 2 of these petite coronas thrown in with an order of several other rare Cuban smokes. To my surprise, I came to find out they go for $50.00 a piece! At that price I probably would have been bitter, but since they cost me nothing I am proud to say I loved them. A very woody cigar indeed, I’m going to age my 2nd La Flor De Cano for a year or two and see if It mellows out a bit. When smoking a rare Cuban cigar, I sometimes feel as if I’m on a remote Cuban farm, as we have chickens running around the yard. I find they make for an aesthetically pleasing Cuban cigar smoking experience.

Padilla Miami Robusto’s have recently appeared in Cigar Insider, the online e-newsletter of Cigar Aficionado, as a 94 point smoke with a retail value of $9.00 each, making it one of the best cigar values available today. The problem, as with all great cigars, is that they are particularly hard to find, as they sell out quick. I found a box of original Padilla Miami’s at Hemingway’s Smoke Shop in Palo Alto and so I snatched up a few. Another important item to note is that they tend to plug at humidity levels of 70 or above, due to their high Corojo content, so they are best smoked around 65% humidity.

I lit up my first Padilla Miami outside on the patio at La Bodeguita Del Medio in Palo Alto. A perfect place to smoke such a near perfect cigar. As is to be expected from a true Cuban Cigar Bar, the Mojito’s here are absolutely perfect, probably the best in the entire Bay Area!

The Padilla Miami 8&11 is a Nicaraguan Puro made entirely with Cuban Seed Corojo and Cuban Seed Criollo by Ernesto Padilla. The cigar produces a full flavored smoke with a smooth, almost buttery, finish. Spicy at the start, creamy in the middle, and woody and caramel tasting toward the end, this cigar offers a perfectly balanced, complex smoke. Rolled by Don ‘Pepin’ Garcia at the El Rey De Los Habanos Factory on the corner of 8th & 11th in Little Havana, Miami. Don ‘Pepin’ Garcia only employs master rollers in his factory, and so the construction of these cigars, down to the Cuban Triple Seam Cap, is flawless. A wonderful Cuban flavored cigar with a Nicaraguan kick! I’m glad I have 2 more of these in my Humidor.

On Tuesday this week some friends of ours were spending the night at the Ritz Carlton in Half Moon Bay, and had invited us over for the Sunset and Cigars. We took a quick dip in the pool, which was well needed, being that it was one of the first 90+ days of summer. We then grabbed dinner in the Rotunda, where I noticed they had a full Cigar Menu.

I’m happy to report that I have smoked or own every cigar on the Ritz’s Cigar Menu, which is quite extravagant! They even have 2007 Fuete Fuente Opus X’s for $100 a piece!

Also on the menu was the Ashton VSG, which they gave a strength rating of 5. No other cigar on the menu was rated a 5, only the VSG. They also made mention that the Ashton VSG was not for beginners, but for the true Cigar Aficionado. I would have to agree. I smoked my VSG while basking in the stunning pink sunset and enjoying a beautiful day on the coast!

My friend Pablo recently went to El Credito Factory in Miami, where La Gloria Cubana are made. He was there when they opened the store so he was allowed in while they were having their Morning Meeting. He says it was a very cool experience to hear the managers review of the previous days work, and outline the goals of the day.

He made friends with one of the rollers and asked them if they had any Lanceros for his friend? They looked surprised and asked, who do you know that smokes Lanceros? He explained that his friend Bernie in California has a Cigar Blog, loves Lanceros and La Gloria. She rolled him a tiny little Maduro almost 8 inches long. Technically, the ring gauge is too small to be true Lancero, so we will call it a Custom Lancero Leaf.

I recently lit up this tiny little powerhouse on a Sunday afternoon. This little guy packed a punch and tasted wonderful. Basically it was a single wrapper leaf rolled up to smoke. Just as the tasters taste the leafs they use, so do I, thanks to Pablo. As the roller said “Dont let the small size fool you, he may be tiny, but he knows how to use it!”

Today was another 3 cigar day. I think 3 cigars in a 24 hour period is about all I can handle. I had 2 Cuban Romeo y Julieta Pyramid’s, followed by a final before bed smoke, La Riqueza.

La Riqueza aka “The Riches” pleasantly surprised me by being a well balanced deep smoke. I hadn’t really expected too much from this cigar, as the wrapper has an odd faded color, and I thought it might have been damaged by water. It turns out the wrapper, a Connecticut Broadleaf, comes from Oliva Tobacco, and looks very similar to their Angel 100′s. The Angel 100′s also have the same odd, faded looking wrappers.

Made by Pete Johnson of Tatuaje fame, and rolled by Don ‘Pepin’ Garcia, this is another wonderful 90 point collaboration. These guys just don’t make mediocre cigars. There is even a nice Golden Fleur de Lys on the label. A medium to full bodied smoke, which was very toasty and had hints of dark fruit on the palate, resulting in a deep, satisfying cigar. I will smoke a Pete Johnson or a Don ‘Pepin’ Garcia any day of the week. Hell, I might just smoke one everyday off the week.

Sunday morning Chloe & I checked out of our hotel and made our way over to the Marina for Sunday Brunch at Circa, who serves up bottomless Mimosa’s until 3:00PM. Fabulous! It looks like Andrew, Eddy and Pablo enjoyed the unlimited Mimosa’s too!

The Eggs Benedict Sampler was scrumptious as well. I had the Italian & Mexican Benedict’s…since we’re all Mexican eventually.

Afterward, Chloe and I took a stroll down the street to the Marina Green where I proceeded to relish 2 Cuban Cohiba Robusto’s back-to-back. Laying on the grass with our shoes off, while smoking these grassy Cubans was perfect. Absolutely perfect. I would rate these Cubans 93-94 points. A medium bodied Cuban with a hint of citrus and that famous Cohiba grassy taste. A perfect choice for a perfect day.

My friend Serge (co-aficionado) had his 30th birthday party this past Saturday night in the Spanish Sweet at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco. We were all treated to a magical evening of dinner, drinks and cigars! After dinner the party really got jumping out on the balcony overlooking the city. The wind had just died down, the music changed from Cafe Del Mar to Felix Da Housecat, and we broke out our best cigars.

Serge had a Cohiba Limited Edition 2008 Sublime, which had a slew of fresh citrus notes to it.  Dave (pictured holding a cigar) recently back from Thailand had a Cohiba Esplendido.  I had a Montecristo Limited Edition 2003 which smoked beautifully.  It had a velvety texture and a wonderful aroma. Nothing like a 6 year old aged Cuban to celebrate a 30th birthday!

Happy Birthday Serge!!!

Today was a special day in the world of cigars, for today I purchased my first real Cigar Collectors Item. Made in Italy, it is #10 out of only 500 ever to be made.

The 2006 La Gloria Cubana Serie R Limitada Humidor is a piece of cigar history. I have admired these since I first saw them on the internet a few years ago. Out of my budget, and only a dream, I told myself “that’s the type of collectors item I would buy, if I could afford it”. As fate would have it, today I received my tax refund, and today I stumbled across this beauty at Hemingway’s Smoke Shop on University Ave in Palo Alto. Just for kicks I inquired about the price, never believing I would walk out of the store carrying this magnificent work of cigar art. One tax refund, and a temporary moment of insanity later, it was mine…all mine.

Included were 10 2006 La Gloria Cubana Serie R Limitada Gigante Prefierdos Maduro’s. One look and it’s easy for even non-Spanish speakers to translate ‘Gigante’. Just look at this ‘Gigante’ next to a Cohiba Robusto! As soon as I got home, I filled another shelf with some of my best new smokes that needed a proper resting place. I then decided to celebrate with a La Casa Del Habano Bolivar Gold, the most celebratory looking cigar that I own. At $50 a pop, I couldn’t bear to smoke a ‘Gigante’ until they reach the perfect humidity, which will take a few weeks. Until then, I will be on a cigar purchasing freeze, as I now have close to 200 of the best cigars in the world at my smoking disposal. Ah, life is good.

I enjoyed a beautiful La Flor Dominicana Salomon at the Cigar Loft & Lounge in San Mateo today. A exceptional looking cigar, with a sweet smelling wrapper that sends chills down your spine. It was a bit tough lighting, and required some heavy puffing to get past the initial curve, but it then settled into a nice burn and I never had to re-light it.

Meanwhile my co-workers were enjoying their excellent cigar choices too.  Doug choose a Macanudo Vintage 2000 in a glass tube, and liked it so much he bought 2 more as we left the store.  JT choose an Alec Bradley Tempus, which is a 94 point cigar with a fabulous price.

BTW – Alec Bradley will be hosting a Cigar Tasting at Cigar Loft and Lounge on May 5th, of which I will definitely be attending.

Invariably, when you smoke an expensive 95 point cigar, you tend to expect a little too much from it.  This was an excellent cigar, but seemed a bit 1-dimensional for me, in that the taste never really seemed to grow or change from start to finish. The taste was predominately leather, followed by some black cherry and licorice. I think this cigar would have been more enjoyable with more time and a whisky to pair it with. I just dont think my lunch break and a coffee did it justice.  I would love to see a smaller ring gauge cigar with this wrapper though?  Maybe a Lancero is out there….somewhere?

This Easter Sunday Chloe and I enjoyed breakfast at Elite Cafe in San Francisco. Of course I brought along a cigar for after the feast!

The Don Carlos Edición de Aniversario is a magnificent 94 point beauty, and Cigar Aficionados #5 Rated Cigar of 2008!

Intensely hard to find, and extremely expensive, this is no amateur cigar. Just take a look at this cigars clothing and you will find an outfit fit for a king! I guess the waiter at Elite Cafe noticed the Grandeur of my cigar too, as they offered me another Kir Royal (Champagne & Chambord) on the house. I guess that’s to be expected when the ‘Don’ is in the building.

A complex and exciting smoke which I enjoyed up and down Steiner Street, across town to Union Square, and down to the doors of Virgin Megastore’s closing sale. Speaking of which, there is almost no place left in San Francisco where you can actually buy a CD in a store, because its all done online now. Do you think the same fate awaits cigars?