Memoirs of a Cigar

I was smoking a La Gloria Cubana #1 Torpedo earlier this week, watching Game 2 of the NBA Playoffs with the  Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the Orlando Magic, where I ‘witnessed’ the NBA’s #1 player sink the game winning shot with only 1 second on the clock!

Down by 2 points with only 1 second left in the game, the Cav’s inbounded the ball to LeBron James at the top, who caught and released the most amazing 3 point shot of his career! Where Amazing Happens! This gave Clevland it’s 1st win of the series against Orlando, in it’s quest for a Kobe vs Lebron NBA Finals matchup.

El Credito Factory, where La Gloria Cubana cigars are made, is where Amazing Happens too! I picked up this #1 Torpedo when I was in Florida this past December, so it has it’s customary 3+ months of aging on it. A phenomenal big ring gauge smoke, with a perfect draw and burn. Flavors of spice, leather, almonds and cream slowly were revealed over the various quarters of the game. By the end of the game, like LeBron, I was at the top, waiting to take the final shot before adding this one to the record books.

I was having lunch in San Carlos today and so I swung by Cigars and More to see if they had any new smokes. They had the Casa Magna Colorado Robusto’s back in stock, so I snatched up a few. I’m going to try aging them in a cabinet selection box and see how good they are after a year.

I also found 2 lancero’s I haven’t tried yet. The first was a Casa Torano Maduro Lancero. The second was a Flor De A. Allones Lancero. I have reviewed the Flor De A. Allones Robusto before, which was excellent, so I decided the Lancero was worth a try.

I also discovered that Cigars and More in San Carlos, will be hosting a Rocky Patel tasting event on 6/11/2009 from 5-9PM. They should be passing out free Rocky Patel ITC cigars, which I have yet to try, so you know I will be there.

Looking for a good place to watch the game, have a drink and smoke a Cigar? Might I suggest the BBC on El Camino in Menlo Park. I stopped by on Saturday to catch the first half of the Cavs vs. Magic game.

The BBC has a wonderful outdoor patio, an excellent drink menu which includes Champagne Mojito’s, and a cigar store next door called Knickerbockers. Knickerbockers has a good selection of cigars, most of which I have already tried. I was able to find a new cigar that peaked my interest however, a Padron Lancero.

The Padron Lancero had a typical Connecticut Broadleaf Wrapper, as you would expect to find on a Padron 2000 or 5000 natural. I could tell right away it wasn’t going to be a big bold Padron 1926, but a smaller lighter cigar. It was only $5.00, and being a Padron Lancero, it was a must try for me. It was actually quite good and flavorful. Picture smoking a Padron Natural 5000, then imagine it in a Lancero format. That is essentially what it was, and it was fabulous.

Fun just arrived in a box that says HABANOS.

A box of 25 H. Upmann Sir Winston’s, and a box of Juan Lopez Seleccion No. 2′s. The #7 and #11 rated cigars of the year respectively.

These top rated cubans look and smell beautiful. I can’t wait to try them. For some reason I dont think they will last very long.

…Reviews coming soon…

This weekend Chloe and I met up with Dave, Viktor and Allison on the Marin side of the Golden Gate Bridge to watch the sunset. I decided to smoke my 1st of 10, 2006 La Gloria Cubana Serie R Maduro Limitada Gigante’s!

The ‘Gigante’ is the largest cigar I have ever smoked at over 7.5 inches with a monsterous 63 mm ring gauge! It lasted from the moment we arrived through the moment we left, which was well over 2 hours. I was worried I might not be able to finish this cigar in one go, as it looks more like a police mag light then a cigar, but it’s large ring gauge offered a perfect draw with a sweet aftertaste. With flavors of strong espresso and dark chocolate, this was an excellent smoke.

A glorious day with a La Gloria Cubana Serie R Maduro Limitada Gigante, and a glorious view of the San Francisco Bay!

There are 5 main things that should be present on all Boxes of Cuban Cigars to verify their authenticity.

1) The “Habanos” band across the top right corner.

2) New “Republica De Cuba” Warranty Seal with Hologram. In fact you can see that my box has both the old seal, and the new seal with the hologram on top. All official Habanos dealers should have added the new seal to their old boxes, or have new boxes with just the new seal with hologram.

3) Seal Placement should be perfect, with the edge of the lid going directly through the shield image.

4) The bottom of the box should be branded with “Habanos s.a. Hecho en Cuba” which is burned deep into the box. Their should also be a date stamp.

5) The Cedar Wood divider inside should have a notch taken out of the top right corner.

These 5 points ensure the box is real, but real boxes can be used for fake cigars too! If the box is sealed then you should be confident they are real, however some vendors open and inspect the cigars prior to shipping. In this case the only way to really know if the cigars are real is to smoke them.

Happy Hunting!

A great way to beat the traffic blues, I smoked a 1999 Montecristo Buena Fortuna on the drive home. An excellent 10 year aged Montecristo Maduro with a Peruvian Wrapper, which offered a complex, balanced, full bodied smoke.

This cigar had no biterness at all, which I attribute to it’s full 10 years of aging. It was full of coffee and cocoa notes, with a pleasent leather undertone. I smoked it to the end with pleasure. Apparently these cigars are not nearly as good when young, so make sure to grab a fully aged one if you can, as mine was absolutely perfect.

One of the newest Lanceros from Don ‘Pepin’ Garcia, the My Father Lancero is a great medium bodied smoke. The beginning was a bit peppery, and the rest of the cigar was mildly sweet, with hints of caramel and spice.

The perfect choice for my Saturday morning, when you just want a nice easy cigar to start the weekend. I sat out in the yard with my My Father Lancero, a cup of Coffee, and what is probably my favorite cd ever. It’s a 1999 Essential Mix from Pete Tong on Radio 1 with Paul Oakenfold Live from Home at Space in Ibiza.

When my friend Serge and I travelled around Europe in 2001 including Monaco, Paris, Barcelona, Valencia, Ibiza, Pamplona, Rome, Corfu and Santorini we blasted this cd on all the trains and boats, and not one person ever complained. This cd is the sound of Europe for me. And in 2006 when Chloe and I went through the South of France, Spain, Milan and Ibiza, we were lucky enough to catch Pete Tong’s Essential Mix Live on the beach at Cafe Mambo in Ibiza.

A beautiful day, an amazing cd, and some great (Euro) memoirs of a cigar.

I have discovered that the Sofitel has an amazing selection of sandwiches for lunch, which you can enjoy outside by the pool. You know what that means. I had their triple decker Chicken Breast Sandwich and an Iced Tea, along with a Cohiba from Habana of course.

The Cohiba Siglo VI is a monster of a Cuban cigar. A big, powerful, prominent Cubano, if ever I saw one. It produces huge volumes of smoke (more Iced Tea please) and proceeds through quite a spectrum of flavors. They certainly are not cheap, not by a long shot, but they are worth every penny.

The begining of the cigar was quite clean and fresh tasting, with a bit of grassy citrus flavor. The middle of the cigar became more powerful with cedar and tea flavors, and was quite heavenly. The smoke also smelled wonderful. The final third of the cigar became very full bodied and strong to the point of almost over-powering. I actually had to put this cigar down just past the band, which is rare for me, as I usually smoke good cigars down close to the end. This cigar was almost a year old, so I expect the end should mellow out with some significant aging time. The Cohiba Siglo VI is definately impressive, and being served outside at the sofitel gave me the impression of dining at a Cuban Estate. Maybe this should be my weekly cigar lunch spot?

The Macanudo Vintage Cigars are different then all other cigars. Every few years, General Cigar Co. will realize they have a superior crop of tobacco leaves on their hands. They will then cure and age that crop for over 5 years. Then a rigorous selection process ensures that only 1 in 10 are deemed worthy of the Macanudo Vintage Selection. The result is a limited one time release, to be repeated again perhaps 5-10 years later.

The Macanudo Vintage 2000 is a superb mild to medium bodied smoke, with the smooth taste of it’s aged Conecticut Broadleaf Wrapper. It’s presentation is flawless, as it comes in a beautiful glass tube. It is without question the best Macanudo available, if it’s available at all, and a great cigar for mild to medium bodied enthusiasts.

I enjoyed a bottle of wine with my Macanudo Vintage 2000, and sat on the porch reading about an FBI ‘Stolen Art’ Sting Operation, in the latest copy of Cigar Aficionado.

Don Pepin Garcia is the primo Lancero roller in the cigar business. Complete with Cuban ‘Pig Tail’ cap, these lanceros are impecably constructed at his El Ray de los Habanos factory in Miami, Florida.

The #8 rated cigar of 2008 by Cigar Aficionado, and the only Lancero in the top 25, this cigar was excellent. A Nicaraguan core covered in a sweet Ecuadorean wrapper, which was sweet and flavorful from start to finish.

Don Pepin Garcia even has a Lancero 10-Pack Sampler available, with 2 of each of his 5 different Lanceros. I’m planning on buying one of the Lancero Samplers as soon as I run out of my current stock of Lanceros; which includes Lanceros by My Father (another Don Pepin Garcia creation), La Gloria Cubana, CAO LX2, and Alec Bradley Tempus.

To be completely honest, the Alex Bradley Cigar Tasting Event at Will’s Cigar Loft this past Thursday was the best cigar tasting I have ever attended.

Maybe it was because the free Alec Bradley Tempus Corona I had was killer! Maybe it’s because so many of my cigar smoking buddies showed up, along with some new ones.

Maybe it’s because of the box of 20 Alex Bradley Lanceros we bought, for 20% off. Maybe its because of the 8 pack of un-released Alex Bradley ‘Family Blend’ Cigars (to be released this Fathers Day), which came free with each box purchase.

Or maybe it’s just because the Cigar Loft and Lounge is such a great place to hang out and smoke cigars. Either way, with all that wonderful Tempus smoke, things tend to get a little mixed up by the end (see bottom picture).

These Bolivar Belicoso Fino’s are consistently rated 92 points by Cigar Aficionado, and are the #22 rated cigar of 2008. I had one yesterday and it was fabulous. The smell of these cigars in the box was intoxicating. Honestly, if I could bottle and sell their scent, I would.

These Cohiba Siglo VI were recently rated 90 points by Cigar Insider, and are pretty much the best new Cohiba’s out. I haven’t tried them yet, but I have 4 with me now, and am planning on smoking them tonight with friends after the Alex Bradley Tempus Cigar Tasting Event. That should be a good Cuban vs. Non-Cuban cigar comparison, which I can blog the results of.

One thing I discovered is that the smell of the cigars in their Cabinet Selection Box, is second to none. These boxes just make for the perfect aging device. I had begun aging some cigars wrapped together, or all on the same shelf, but I am now going to try and age them all in their cabinet selection boxes. It’s the ultimate aging method.

The Tempus (Latin for ‘Time’) by Alec Bradley, is an amazing cigar that I have enjoyed on more than one occasion. Upon discovering a cache of Criollo ’98 Wrappers on a small farm in Honduras back in 2001, Alan Rubin secured the wrappers and began working on a blend that would complement them. After several years of aging and blending i.e. ‘Tempus’, the final line of cigars was created. The entire Tempus line is outstanding, and has received scores of over 90 points each. The Churchill sized Centuria specifically was rated 94 points by Cigar Aficionado’s Newsletter Cigar Insider.

94 point ratings, great taste, great looks and reasonable pricing are some of the reasons this has been one of the hottest cigars of the past year. They continue to impress, and are listed in Cigar Aficionado’s Top Twenty-Five Cigars of 2008.

Try an Alec Bradley Tempus cigar…FOR FREE…this Thursday May 7th at Will’s Cigar Loft www.cigarloft.net located on the corner of 25th Avenue in San Mateo, just 1 block west of El Camino.

The event runs from 5pm to 9pm and includes all of the following:
-Free Alec Bradley Cigars
-Free Food
-Free Drinks
-Free Prizes
-Discounts on Cigar Purchases

My Cigar Collection sure has grown in the past few months. It now includes 4 separate humidors, which I keep in the Stack Position (SWAT tactic), with a 5^th lingering as backup.

My new heavy artillery base, the La Gloria Cubana Serie R Limitada Humidor, has a rooftop covered with nothing but the best Single Sniper Habanos I could find, with Romeo y Julieta Habanos Infriltray, and a team of ’50-Cal’ La Gloria Cubana Serie R Maduro Gigantes being held in the reserves.