Memoirs of a Cigar

Happy Thanksgiving from Memoirs of a Cigar!!!

I am thankful for my loving girlfriend Chloe, our wonderful new home, and our well behaved dog Maggie. I am also thankful to be able to spend this holiday at my wonderful Godparents house with friends and family.

My Godfather Dave (pictured) cooks the most amazing Ham & Turkey! Honestly, I could search all year and never find a more tasty bite of food than the first bite of Dave’s warm Thanksgiving Ham! My Godmother Nelly is so wonderful, and does such an amazing job cooking, setting up everything, and welcoming everyone into her home. I feel truely blessed to have such wonderful Godparents! The only thing missing this holiday was my Godbrother Eric (pictured), who was working a triple time shift at Genentech, but he showed up before the night was over, making Thanksgiving complete.

As for the cigars, pre-dinner I smoked my last Habanero’s Lancero. A nice light smoke to prepare the palate for the smorgsborg of entrees to come. After dinner I had an Irish Coffee, a slice of pumpkin pie, and a Montecristo #2. A perfect way to end another perfect Thansgiving at Dave & Nelly’s!!!

This past Sunday, Chloe and I drove down to San Juan to visit her godmother Linda, and her cat Midnight. Midnight used to live in Spain and had been in several cat food comercials.

We had a lovely lunch at Los Jardines, which is Mexican resturant where you sit in their beautiful gardens while eating. Really amazing atmosphere, and the food is excellent. Their refried beans were 5 star, and by far the best I have ever had. Afterwards we went back to Linda’s place and out in the back yard where Chico and I blazed up a pair of Cubans.

I had brought my favorite Cuban Cigar, the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial. Always a treat, the Epicure Especial is really starting to reveal it’s floral flavors, with it’s Hoyo Tanginess. Chico said it was the best Cigar he has ever had, and I have to agree. I also left him a Monte #2 as a gift, so we will see what he thinks of that too.

I always enjoy smoking and reviewing a new cigar before Cigar Aficionado has rated them. This time it’s the beautiful new boxed pressed Serie Limitada Quesada 35th Anniversary. Quesada are the makers behind the Casa Magna Cigars, as well as Fonseca and other cigars by MATSA. This cigar was blended by the 5th generation of Quessada’s to celebrate 35 years in the business, and the first to bare their family name.

I recently picked this cigar up from Mission Cigar and Pipes in San Jose, which has the best selection of cigars in the south bay. Being a limited edition cigar, it was not cheap…about $35.00 if I remember correctly, but they assured me I wanted to buy one of these, and i have to say, they were right.

Smelling the foot of this cigar pre-light is intoxicating. Chocolate, coffee and raisins give it an amazing scent. My dog Maggie even came back for a second sniff. When your dog comes back for seconds, you know you’ve got a winner.

The cigar itself tasted smooth and elegant from the first puff. Along with the chocolate, coffee and raisins developed flavors of cream, nuts and cedar wood. This tasty cigar did burn a little unevenly, and left a dry mouth aftertaste, but it’s flavors more than made up for that in my opinion. All in all, the Quesada 35th Anniversary was a very unique and flavorful cigar that I am thankful to have tried.

The first cigar lighter I ever had was a Xikar. It was given to me as a gift in snowy Lake Tahoe. By cigar lighter I mean a butane lighter, which is oderless and tasteless, and the preferred lighter for cigars. It was a Black Xikar EX Lighter, and looked really nice.

Since then I picked up a few Habanos branded lighters in Guatemala which have died. I also bought 2 long handheld lighters that I nicknamed paintbrushes for their elegent control, but both of them have also died. I most recently bought a nice looking wood grain and chrome lighter with 2 punch cuts on the bottom for $18.00, which has also prematurely died. Along the way I also picked up a Zippo Blu, which I still think was a great choice, however it is flakey. It still works, but you get about 3 lights from the flint, then you have to give it about 10 minutes for it to work again.

After all these years my Xikar lighter, which I have had the longest and used the most, is still in mint condition. It still works perfect, and blazes up a huge flame whenever needed.

Lighters are all wonderful when they are new, but eventually they all go through harsh conditions, rain, snow and humidity. Looking back I now realize that my Xikar lighter is a superior quality lighter that can last a lifetime.

Thank you Xikar for making such excellent, long-lasting, quality products! In my experience, Xikar Lighters are the Best!

After the final box was carried in and the long weekend of moving was finally complete, I sat down with Andrew and Dave on my new Waterfront Terrace and popped a bottle of Champagne! I wanted my first cigar here at my new home to be a memorable one. I also wanted something that would be new and unique for my 2 best friends, and so I pulled out a Habanero’s Culebra that I had purchased at Lost City Cigars in Palm Beach a few months earlier.

Culebra means “Snake” in Spanish, and is named for the twisted snake like cigar it produces. It is actually 3 cigars rolled and then twisted together while still moist. The Culebra is then tied with a ribbon on each end, and can then be carried to it’s final destination. It requires a high level of cigar rolling skill to make, which Habanero Cigars definately has plenty of. The cigar was a typical Habanero’s masterpiece. Light and fragrent, with floral notes, and a perfect draw.

Andrew and Dave both thought their snake like cigar was hillarious. Dave even pointed out that it’s not the type of cigar you would pull out and smoke in a club. But it was a perfect cigar to share amongst 3 good friends celebrating a job well done!

Did you know that it’s ok for you to smoke in your rented Uhaul? They ought to call it a USmoke. So there I was at 7:30AM driving my USmoke over Highway 92 with a coffee and a Cohiba. The Cohiba Siglo VI was as always, fabulous. Rich tastes of coffee, spice and earth with deep fruits and a flawless draw. I had no problems navigating my USmoke with my Cohiba lighting the way.

The main reason I was smoking such a big flashy cigar, is that I wanted everyone in my new neighborood to know the Duke had arrived. Formerly the ‘Duke of Half Moon Bay’, I had gathered the troops and invaded my new territory, and shall be known from this point forth, as the ‘Duke of Foster City’!

Cigars are not only for moments of relaxation or celebration, but can also be used during a time of crisis.

Michael Jordan used to smoke a cigar while driving through Chicago on the way to a basketball game. Sometimes traffic would be so bad, he would have anxiety about getting to te stadium on time, and so smoking a cigar was his way to remain calm until game time.

I too try to keep an asortment of cigars with me in my car for emergencies. If traffic is really horrible one day, I just light up a cigar and relax.

Earlier this week I had to rush home and help Chloe replace a dead battery in her car. I pulled out a Rocky Patel Decade Forty Six (named for it’s ring gauge) to take full advantage of the opportunity. A great little smoke which offered the full range of flavor as the Decade Torpedo. Not only did we fix her car, but I got to enjoy a great smoke while doing it. There is something about smoking a cigar while working on a car that just feels right.

We just got our new place in Foster City with a waterfront view patio!!! Stepping outside our front door, we walk along the canals lined with grass and trees to our car. Hopefully this will make going to work on Monday morning’s a little more bearable. We also have a clubhouse with poolside pool tables. Very nice!

To celebrate our new home, I lit up a Rocky Patel Autumn Collection 2009 Torpedo. A Nicaraguan blend with an Ecuadorian Habano Wrapper. I enjoyed this cigar, sitting on the grass under a tree, watching the boats row by. My Autumn RPC had a toasty tobacco flavor, with a hint of sweetness, and a roasted chestnut aftertaste. This was my first of Rocky’s Seasonal Blends, and not my last. These are good cigars, and not just marketing fluff. I especially want to try his new Winter Blend, as it is supposed to be a dark maduro reminicent of the CAO LX2.

The Montecristo Open Regata is the highest rated of the new Open Series from Montecristo, released in 2009. It recieved a 93 point rating in Cigar Aficionado. The Regata is the smallest of the line being a short torpedo with a 46 inch ring gauge, and is definately full flavored.

The first Montecristo Open Series Cigar I smoked was the Open Eagle, the largest of the line, and I would say my favorite. It had such a wonderful draw and a nice, light and refreshing taste.

The Montecristo Open Regata in contrast, tastes like a completely different cigar. So much so in fact that it took me three or four Regata’s to realize that this is what they are supposed to taste like. I had thought they might need more time to mellow out, but I now come to realize that this is how they are supposed to taste…strong! They have a very heavy tobacco feel to them, with spicy wood througout. A good strong after dinner smoke, nothing like the light clean taste of the Open Eagle. The new Montecristo Open Series offers a wide range of flavor dynamics, in several different sizes.

I met up with my friend Dave in SF today and went and checked out his new Condo he just bought in SOMA. Very nice! He moves in later this month so we then went back to his old place, poped a bottle of Gloria Ferrer Blanc de Blancs, and smoked a couple of Padron Family Reserves.

This is the third Padron Family Reserve I have smoked, and I’m liking it more each time I smoke one. A full flavored powerhouse of a cigar that satisfies the palate like a roasted turkey on thanksgiving. It really is like a meal all on it’s own.

We also watched a DVD by the pool that came with the brand new Luciano CD. Luciano is one of the top DJ’s in the world right now. Born in Chile, raised in Switzerland, and blew up in Germany with the Cocoon Techno Sound, Luciano now plays clubs around the world! His music is like Iberian / German Techno with deep South American baselines and percussions. His music is very unique, authentic and almost indescribable. Luciano is probably my favorite DJ currently. When I finally get to see him perform live I will offer him a Padron Family Reserve and see what he thinks of it.