Love for Sail

If anyone enjoys the simple pleasure of cruising and smoking fine cigars, then this promo should not be missed.
Romeo Y Julieta has just announced a Caribbean Cruise Sweepstakes entitled “Love for Sail”.
You can enter online here, or simply visit your local cigar retailer to sign up.
The sweepstakes winner, along with their local retailer, will each receive a Caribbean cruise for two including round-trip airfare and a stop at La Romana, Dominican Republic, where Altadis U.S.A. Master Blender Jose Seijas will take them on a personal tour of Tabacalera de Garcia, the world’s largest cigar factory. He will also treat the winners to a private dinner at one of La Romana’s finest restaurants. For more information, visit www.ryjlove4sail.com.

Big news for General (and a lazy link)

I feel lazy today, so this is just an interesting article regardng Swedish Match:

http://www.cigarwise.com/artman/publish/article_282.shtml

Mold or Plume...

There seems to be some confusion circulating regarding “good” and “bad” molds that develop on the surface of a cigar. Basically, the growth that is seen on the surface of cigars can be broken down into two categories: Mold and Plume. One is discouraged and the other is welcomed.
The plume takes the form of small layer of “fuzz” that is white in color. If you see this, don’t be alarmed, for you are doing everything right to store your cigars. This is a sign of proper aging and levels in the humidor. The older the cigars get in the proper conditions, the more plume you’ll find. Mold, on the other hand, takes a different form entirely.
Mold is something you never want to see in your humidor, or at your local cigar shop for that matter. It’s noticeably different than plume, for it’s bluish tint is very distinguishable. It also develops in spots, rather than evenly across the cigar surface, as plume will do.Should you not be able to distinguish between the two, you can simply use the “finger test”. Run your finger across the cigar surface. If the substance flakes off, it’s plume, if it doesn’t, you’ve got mold.

Anti-Smoking Campaigners attack 007

It turns out that anti-smoking campaigners had lobbied the British Board of Film Classification, and more precisely the James Bond film Die Another Day over the “glamorization of smoking”.
During the film, James lights up a stick, and it was thought by the campaigners that this would influence young people to start smoking. If young people were to take influence from everything that Bond is known for, we’d have a young society full of Beretta toting, martini drinking, reckless driving, casino gambling, one-night-stand chasing and cigarette (with the occasional cigar) smoking teenagers.
Luckily the BBFC stepped in and presented clips of the film containing cigar smoking to focus groups, and the response was favorable; “They were quite happy with it and thought a junior audience were unlikely to take it up.”
This isn’t the first time that Bond has come under fire for his bad habits. In the film The World is not Enough, you can see a “No Smoking” sign on the dashboard of his BMW. So all-in-all, it’s a good thing that Bond has kicked the cigarette habit and moved onto cigars, however lets hope that he wont age to the point of pipe smoking.

http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4111094


Have a Cigar Mr. Bond!!

Arturo Fuente Hemingway: Short Story

The Arturo Fuente Hemingway line of cigars brings the smoking enthusiast back to the days of Cuban Perfectos. The Perfecto has a distinctive shape dating back to the old world way of rolling cigars from the 1920’s, 30’s and 40’s. Most of the cigar makers rolling Perfectos were older, retired and eventually passed away, leaving this tradition behind. The Fuente family had re-introduced this unique style with their signature Hemingway.
I’ve had the distinct pleasure of smoking the Arturo Fuente Hemingway line of cigars for some time now, and my favorite happens to be the Short Story. As the name denotes, this is a quick smoke. With a size of 4&1/2” X 46/49, this can be enjoyed at any time of the day without burning too much of the time away. Generally this cigar lasts anywhere from 20-40 minutes, and is often referred to the “under 30” smoke. Intense flavors immediately cover the palette with earthy and nutty tones. As you quickly work the way down, the flavors turn more towards spice and pepper, bringing out the flavors most associated with a Maduro wrap. This one does tend to burn a bit hot past the band, however should you season these properly in the humidor, you’ll be able to enjoy them down to the base. For a tightly packed cigar of this nature, the draw tends to be incredibly smooth. You will not find the razor sharp burn such like the 1926 Padron (which you can read the review for here), however you will find it to be even throughout.
The distinctive Perfecto shape is well know throughout the Fuente family, having been passed down from the Grandfather, to the Father and now to the Fuente family’s Master Roller. The molds happened to be a challenge to find, for the gentleman who created them had passed away before sharing the secret of creating them. There was no longer a demand for the Perfecto shape over the years and it was a style that was lost over time. As fate would have it, Carlos Fuente Sr. had found the original molds in their Ybor City factory and started the Hemingway line back in 1983 with the introduction of the Hemingway Signature. Since then, the demand has grown, and by 1988 they introduced the Classic and Masterpiece. From there, Carlos Sr. had wanted something virtually unseen in the cigar world at that time by creating a very short cigar for the family’s own personal use. This eventually came to be known as the Short Story. There are also a few very limited shapes such as the Work of Art, Best Seller, Untold Story along with a few others.
The entire Hemingway line is fairly difficult to come by. It’s been rumored that they are only released around the holidays after accumulating the limited production in the aging rooms. Should you be fortunate enough to come across the Short Story in particular, do yourself a favor and grab a few for the holidays; you wont be disappointed.

Carlos Torano Exodus 1959

If you’re looking for passion through family history in cigar production, there are many families to take note of such as Arturo Fuente, Padron, Avo and Carlos Torano. When it comes to Torano family history, cigar production dates back to 1916, and it shows in the 1959 Exodus series cigars.
Upon the initial draw of this fine smoke, I was knocked sideways by strong elements of leather and cedar. The seasoned smoker will immediately take notice of the clean oily box-pressed wrapper that encapsulates this cigar. While drawing through this cigar, I was impressed by such a clean burn and an attractive marble ash. This is a stick to savor, for it refuses to burn quickly and is perfect for a lazy weekend afternoon.
Carlos Torano states that the 1959 “commemorates the Exodus of expert cigar families and their impact on the cigar industry after the nationalization of all tobacco farms and cigar factories by the Cuban government in 1959”. It turns out that the Toranos were one of those families, and I felt as though I was actually smoking a Cuban crafted cigar. It shows that they’ve kept production rich in tradition.Consistently rated above average from both Smoke and Cigar Aficionado, this is a cigar not to be missed.

Torano 

Holy Smoke and a Rainy Afternoon

So here we are on a saturated afternoon, pleasantly burning the day away. Weekends are made for unwinding, relaxing and enjoying the finer things. On a day like this, I can think of nothing more than enjoying a great cigar with the rain gently falling from the rooftop.
The smell of Spanish Cedar fills the air with the aroma of a fine smoke shop as I crack the humidor open to make my selection. It takes me back to my first cigar shop experience in Old Town Chicago just off the corner of Wells & North Avenue; for those familiar with the area, you know exactly where I mean, however that's a story for another time.
Padron, Partagas, Avo, CAO, Macanudo, Fuente... So many choices and not a single one would be wrong on a day like this, however the selection needs to be just right. Will an Arturo Fuente Short Story do the trick, or perhaps a classic such as a 1926 Padron Anniversary?
As you can see, I'd like to dedicate this and future posts to one of my true passions, cigar smoking. My future writings will be intended for those seeking thoughtful insight to cigar smoking, techniques, humidor maintenance, reviews, newsletters and general news filtering throughout the cigar world. Should you not enjoy the world of cigars, please don't be discouraged from reading on, you may be able to find insight on what makes life more enjoyable. For me, cigars are just one of the pleasures in life.
So I encourage you to read on, come back, give me your thoughts, tell me your stories and most importantly, don't burn the day away.