When we left off I was enjoying Father’s Day with my kids and granddaughter.  After they went home I lit up the Esperanza para los Niños Churchill. This was my last Churchill, from a handful generously gifted to me by a friend who won a box in the mid ‘00s. A few of these examples had an odd burn problem around the three quarter mark, and a hint of ammonia, which was odd for a 10 (at the time) year old cigar. This one was perhaps the best example I’ve smoked in a long time.  It was rich and delicious and satisfying. This cigar was made Christian Eiroa at Rancho Jamastran in Honduras in 1999 to benefit the children that were orphaned by hurricane Mitch in 1998.  Do you know that he had trouble giving the proceeds of the sales to orphanages because the money came from tobacco?  Unbelievable. Anyway, he finally was able to put the funds to good use and get it through peoples heads that the kids needed food and clothes, not some moral judgements. Anyway, the good news is that where I thought I was left with two Esperanzas after this one, I actually have three!  There was another torpedo in the humidor that I didn’t know about! So for the next two Father’s Days I’ll smoke torpedos, then in 2016 I’ll smoke the toro from the box I purchased in 2000.
Monday rolled around and my daughter gave birth to our second granddaughter, another beautiful little girl who they named Calla Violet.  My wife and I kept our two year old granddaughter, Willow, overnight and know why we finished having kids when we were thirty!  I’m only speaking for myself, but I’m now too old to keep up with a two year old for very long!  Pop’s celebratory cigar would have to wait. Tuesday after visiting mom and baby in the afternoon, I managed to light up a Drew Estate Liga Privada Dirty Rat from 2009, before they released them commercially, which was dynamite.  Age may not really improve this cigar, but it didn’t hurt it too much, it was a tasty smoke.
Shops
While we were coming home from the hospital we noticed an odd shop in one of the strip malls along Germantown Pike in East Norriton, PA.  Then we passed the Black Cat Cigar Shop, then we saw SmoKings, all within about a one mile stretch.  Tuesday, after visiting momma and baby and surrendering granddaughter no.1 to her daddy, we stopped at these three shops.  The first was called Hillcrest Tobacco and Dollar Store, an unlikely combination!  Of course, we had to visit. This store was kind of a mess.  The majority of the store was typical Dollar Store junk, with various cabinet humidors lining one wall.  Saying that the stock could have been merchandised better is understating, but they did have a fairly large selection that was well priced and in good shape. This would be a fine place to grab a few sticks.  I picked up a pair of the new H. 
Upmann Legacy robustos for $4.99.  Next we stopped at Black Cat, which is a very nice place. I last visited this store when it was in Philadelphia on Sansom Street in a little place that was packed solid with cigars and stuff.  This stand-alone store had a very nice lounge area and a large walk-in humidor. The selection was very good with a generous selection of boutiques.  I hate to admit it, but I walked out of there with an Asylum 13 Ogre, just because I figured I had to smoke one eventually and I couldn’t make myself purchase the 6 x 80 (even though it was cheaper!).  This is a nice place to stop in, buy some cigars and sit and enjoy one or two. Note: H. Upmann Legacy Robustos – $6.60. The last place we happened to notice right after Black Cat was 
SmoKings, located within 25 feet of a Starbucks, oddly enough! This is another little smokeshop with cabinets down one wall, reasonably neatly merchandised, although my CDO (that’s OCD in alphabetical order as it should be) would have me either alphabetize it or group it by manufacturer or something that made sense.  I did find some Cain F tubed lanceros for $6 and change that are awesome and scarce.  The young man at the counter was enthusiastic and beginning to sample cigars.  I cautioned him on the Cain F. Another nice place to stop to pick some sticks up. They actually had a SmoKings branded cigar that looked like it was either wrapped in a leaf instead of cello, or had the world’s ugliest wrapper. It was priced at $7.99 and the clerk didn’t know anything about it, so I passed. My wallet has moths flying out of it by this third stop on the Germantown Pike impromptu cigar crawl. H.Upmann Legacy Robusto – $5.75.  It was my first real foray up that particular road in Montgomery County, PA and I was surprised to find three shops with properly kept cigars in a one mile stretch, and of course I had to stop at them all and buy cigars, as if I needed more…
As you can tell, it’s been an exciting week! Â I’ll leave you with this press release about the upcoming Cigarnival Event hosted by Famous Smoke Shop up the road from me in Easton, PA.
Famous Smoke Shop Hosts Cigarnival 2013 – The Nation’s Premier Cigar Event
Famous Smoke Shop is hosting their annual cigar festival, featuring leader cigar makers meeting with guests and distributing a wide variety of their premium cigars. Attendees will also enjoy gourmet food, live music, craft beer, wine, spirits, raffles, and a casino with prizes sponsored by Drew Estate.
Easton, pa – June 19, 2013 – Smoking premium cigars has become more popular than ever. It’s also one of ways men (and women) of all stripes can bond and share their affinity for, as cigar smokers call it, “the leaf.” For this reason alone, the Cigar Expo “Cigarnival,” held annually at Leaf Cigar Bar & Restaurant on the premises of Famous Smoke Shop in Easton, PA, is one of the most highly-anticipated cigar smoking events of the year for cigar smokers near and far. This year’s event will begin Friday, June 28th at 12:00 PM with a pre-vent party sponsored by Gurkha Cigars, and continue through Saturday, June 29th.
Most of the biggest names in the cigar industry will be represented including Alec Bradley, Altadis U.S.A., Arturo Fuente, Davidoff, Drew Estate, General Cigar, Oliva, Perdomo, Rocky Patel, Tatuaje, Carlos Toraño, Xikar, and over 25 more vendors. Cigarnival guests will get to meet their makers up-close and personal while rubbing elbows with 400 other cigar enthusiasts. Shuttle service will also be provided to take guests to and from their hotels to the event.
“This year’s theme is music,†said Leaf COO, Jeff Brown. “Performances by a variety of bands will run continuously throughout the day and night. Plus, our award-winning restaurant staff will be preparing gourmet dinners for each night, including a grandiose lunch buffet for Saturday afternoon. People can see the entire menu on the Cigarnival website.â€
Guests will also have a wide choice of libations which include a number of craft brews from Founders, Troegs, Goose-Island, Yuengling, and others, as well as plenty of water and soft drinks. Additionally, Miami Cigar & Co. will be sponsoring the “Hooch Hut” where guests can sample a special selection of wines, spirits, and more.
Friday morning, registered guests will play in the 6th Annual Camacho Golf Outing at Whitetail Golf Club in Bath, PA. Golf carts, drinks, a buffet, and Camacho cigars are all included. Prizes for closest to the pin and the longest drive will be awarded, and anyone scoring a hole-in-one will win a trip for two to Camp Camacho in Honduras.
Friday night, Alec Bradley Cigars will host the after party, while Saturday night Perdomo Cigars will close the show with a 20th Anniversary party. Also returning to the main event will be The Drew Estate Casino. Depending on the number of chips they’ve accumulated, players can claim any number of prizes from Drew Estate swag to cigars, including a year’s worth of cigars, or Drew Estate’s Cigar Safari in Nicaragua. Thousands of dollars in raffle prizes will be also given away, plus deals on just about every brand in The Humidor at Leaf Retail Store, and much, much more. For a complete listing of event festivities, visit http://www.cigarnival.com/festivities.cfm.
“We’ve been putting on this event for a while now, and I always look forward to the thank you emails we get every year from so many of our attendees,†said Brown. “For some reason, I have a good feeling that this year my inbox is going to be overflowing.â€
For more information call 610-559-8800 or visit www.cigarnival.com
CIGARNIVAL 2013
Friday, June 28 & Saturday June 29, 2013
Leaf Cigar Bar & Restaurant at Famous Smoke Shop
90 Mort Drive, Easton, PA 18040
Information: 610-559-8800
www.cigarnival.com
That’s it for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig (or “Pop” in some circles!)
of the box I bought in June of 2000. An old friend sent me the better part of a box earlier this year so I could continue the tradition, after taking last year off. For those unfamiliar, this cigar was made by Christian Eiroa with the help of some members of the alt.smokers.cigars Usenet group back in 1999 and sold to benefit children orphaned by hurricane Mitch. It’s a maduro cigar, and the last one’s I smoked had held up well over the 20 years, we’ll see how they’ve continued to mature later today! Thanks Roger Farnsworth! 
Thursday evening we had the great fortune of attending the Red Meat Lover’s Club “meating” on the Battleship New Jersey, which is docked right across the river from Philadelphia in Camden, NJ. I’ve seen it, but never been aboard, one day I would love to go back and take the tour. It’s a big ship, and we dined on the fantail. The event was a benefit for the ship, and it’s my hope that a substantial sum was 
raised, I know that we contributed through the silent auction (my wife purchased a Beatles piece). We arrived early and hung out with Steve Saka (my wife now refers to him as “SquishySquatch”), who was also early, so that was nice. The food was amazing and abundant. Guys were walking around sucking on tomahawk bones, we had cheese steaks, smashburgers, delicious ribeye, and “macaroni and cheese” from an outfit from my wife’s ancestral home of Abruzzo, Italy. I was trying to steer (😉) clear of carbs and stick to proteins at this event, but the pasta was outrageously good. I also got sucked into some rolls, as the cheesesteak and smashburgers seemed to be a bad idea without them. I consumed a satisfying amount, and they had cookies too! I skipped the pig, and there was something salad-like I saw (that’s what food eats!) Evan Darnell, the secretary of steak, the head cheese, the ringleader of this whole thing, put on an amazing event. We even got to hang out with some old and new friends! Kevin and Jessica from CigarProp were there, and I finally got to 
meat and hang out with Lee McClain, LeeMack912 on Youtube. Lee was one of those guys who, even though you’ve never met, you feel like you know, and you’re instant friends, great dude. We also met some other great folks there, and saw other old friends, it was a good time. I highly recommend attending a Red Meat Lovers Club event if one comes to your area. Since Saka was the cigar sponsor, of course the cigars were outstanding, everyone got a bag with a Sobremesa Brulee, a Mi Querida and a Sin Compromiso, all top notch smokes. Casa de Montecristo was there selling Dunbarton Tobacco and Trust cigars as well. Let me tell you, there’s not many things better than a Sin Compromiso after a smorgasbord of meat! Thanks Evan!
