I had another busy week, as will be the common theme for the next few weeks, I fear. This has resulted in coming home and defaulting to known good cigars, cigars I love and know will hit the spot. Often times I’ll find myself thinking of a cigar during the day and I have to smoke one that evening. This was the case this week a couple of times, most notably with the Partagas Legend. To recap, this was the Toro Leyenda, the 6 ¼” x 54 size. This cigar has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, a Honduran OSA binder and Dominican Piloto Cubano filler. I’ve likened this to the Partagas Limited Reserve in the past, I didn’t think of that on this go around, I think this cigar is best smoked in warmer weather or indoors, my 40something degree back porch while not too uncomfortable wasn’t ideal for the proper enjoyment of this particular cigar. It was still enjoyable, but the nuance was missing. This isn’t your typical heavy broadleaf offering, and if you’re looking for that kind of cigar, try the Partagas Black.
For some reason I’ve seen this come up a lot recently in discussions, and it continues to cause some dissenting opinions. Since I haven’t really got a lot of cigars to talk about this week, I thought I’d share my thoughts on the debate over whether it’s ok to bring outside cigars into a shop or lounge. I think the biggest problem with the argument is the definition of the establishment in question. If it’s a cigar shop with a lounge, I say it’s common sense to leave your personal cigars at home and buy cigars at the store. I admit that I used to be guilty of bringing my cigars to the shop and buying a few and smoking my own, but in the last several years I’ve abandoned that completely and always buy from the place I visit and smoke what I buy there, I think it’s the right thing to do. Let me tell you, as a cheap SOB, and someone who has a significant stockpile of cigars at home, I don’t need to buy more cigars, but I still do the right thing! There is also a twinge of CAD (Cigar Acquisition Disorder, a topic for another post) at play. There are other kinds of establishments where it’s OK to bring your own cigars though, places that may sell cigars, but that isn’t their bread and butter. This, it think, is where the confusion lies. These establishments are more bars or restaurants than cigar stores, and, many times, their cigar menu pricing is highly inflated. Some places might have a “cutting fee” depending on how much that is, it might be better to just buy one of their cigars anyway, but if your buying drinks or food many times it’s overlooked. I’ve personally been to places like Club Macanudo in NYC, which has ridiculous cigar prices, and never bought a cigar there, and never had a problem smoking outside cigars, the same with Mahogany in Philadelphia when it was where Ashton Cigar Bar is now. I would argue that those who vehemently argue one side of this debate or the other need to have all the facts, as there are many variables. It depends a great deal on what percentage of income a business depends upon cigar sales, versus liquor or food. Is it just a cigar store or a bar that allows cigar smoking and has a humidor? is it a cigar lounge with a bar? I think the best course of action is to ask the proprietor or manager first before being presumptuous, and if it looks like a cigar store, be prepared to make a purchase and smoke what you buy. No store owner wants a patron asking another patron what he’s smoking and having that person told that it’s something that the store doesn’t carry! who does that help? these stores aren’t cheap to operate, and if we don’t pay the rent on those seats in the lounge through our purchases, those seats aren’t going to be there for us the next time we are looking for a warm, dry place to relax with a cigar and the camaraderie that goes with it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Now that I got that off my chest, back to the cigars. Last night I got home late from work, watched the end of one of my very favorite things, which is the Flyers beating the Penguins in Pittsburgh, then when to the porch with a Cornelius and Anthony Meridian Robusto. I wrote a rare review of this cigar a year and a half ago (here). Some things remain the same, it’s still made at La Zona, it still has a rosado Ecuador wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican republic. It still comes in four sizes, the Robusto at 5″ x 50, Corona Gorda at 5½” x 46, a Toro at 6″ x 50 and a Gordo at 6″ x 60. At the time I said it was the strongest in the range, that, my friends, has changed. It still has some strength, and, admittedly, judging by the fact that I didn’t finish it until around 11pm and it was well after 1 am until I could get to sleep, then I had weird-ass dreams all night, it wasn’t the best choice for a nightcap. The Mistress has eclipsed the Meridian (and 90% of all other cigars) in the strength category. It’s still a very enjoyable cigar, and is solidly in my top five C&A offerings. It’s a satisfying cigar, if it weren’t for cigars like the Cornelius, Señor Esugars and the Gent, it might be my favorite in the line!
That’s all from me for today, Until the next time,
CigarCraig
