Thursday evening I found myself on the phone with Verizon support. I had been fighting with them about the upstairs TVs that we were initially promised would work without a box, only to find that we needed a special box. Not that $4 a month is a lot for the box, but it was the principle of it, and they figured out a way to give me a box for free so we could have more than one TV in the house again. I had to call to get the box activated, and had been looking forward to an evening cigar. After several minutes listening to the planet’s worst hold music, I decided to grab a cigar and wait on the porch for them to pick up. I grabbed an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Best Seller, put the phone on speaker and fired it up. I’ve long been a fan of the Hemingway line, at least from the Signature down, as anything larger just doesn’t do it for me for some reason. I would have preferred a Short Story, since I didn’t know how long I’d have, but I didn’t have any on hand. The Best Seller is a great cigar. I love the “Camerooniness” of the line, that wrapper really really is delicious on these. It’s not too cheap of a cigar, but I had picked a few of these up last year with a Groupon for half off, so they weren’t too bad. I got about half way through before the representative picked up and I went inside to get squared away, which did eventually happen. I went back out and re-lit the cigar, but I didn’t get to smoke as much of it as I’d have liked. Still, a terrific way to temper the frustration of having to deal with phone support. I really think they want you to hang up, but I wasn’t giving them the satisfaction!
Friday evening’s walk called for a good smoke, so I grabbed an Emilio AF2 BMF and my elder son and I hit the bricks (concrete mostly, but actual bricks in a few places…it’s just an expression!). I had picked a few of these up at my local shop a few months back. Needless to say, this is a solid cigar, and sizable at 6″ x 58, truly a big MF! I find this to be milder than the AF1, but loaded with flavor, a little sweet, and delicious. I blame myself for this, but it’s a much better warm weather cigar than cold, but that’s my problem. I wanted to smoke it, and the colder weather wasn’t going to deter me. Still a solid smoke, highly recommended by me for whatever that’s worth!
I had picked up an odd cigar at my local shop, JM Cigars in Exton. It was labeled with the shop owners name, and I was told that it was made by Rocky Patel (but I bought one anyway!). This was a 6½” x 48 cigar, with what looked like a dark Habano wrapper. Unfortunately, it burned a little crappy and was pretty ho-hum in flavor to me. I don’t smoke a lot of RP cigars anyway, as they don’t really suit my palate for whatever reason. Maybe I don’t smoke the right ones, maybe the breadth of his lines confuses me and is a pit of a turn off, I don’t know. I still like to try peoples house or personal blends, and this experience won’t stop me from picking up the occasional oddball cigar when I see one. I was told at the shop that this batch wasn’t as good as the first batch, but just because I didn’t care for it doesn’t mean that it isn’t someones favorite cigar, and for around $4 it was worth trying.
Sunday morning my wife, youngest son and I went out to breakfast with my brother-in-law, who was in town visiting. My son, Christian, recently turned 18 and has been enjoying the occasional cigar, sometimes with me, sometimes with his friends. As can be expected from someone in his demographic, he’s been digging the Acid line, trying a few here and there. So Christian, my Bro-in-law Jeff and I stopped at JM Cigars for a post breakfast digestif. Jeff had asked me to recommend an inexpensive daily smoke a while back and I told him to try the National Brand robustos from Camacho, which he loves (and he’s from New Jersey, so he gets a real good deal purchasing in PA because of the taxes). I wanted something all three of us would appreciate so I grabbed a handful of Camacho Habana Monarcas. I’ve loved this line for years, and haven’t had one in forever. Even though I typically don’t care for Criollo wrapped cigars, this one works really well, I thoroughly enjoyed it from start to finish. The cigar is light enough for the novice and has enough flavor and 
body for someone who has a cigar or two a day or a long-time cigar nut like myself. It was nice to sit in the lounge and chat for a while. Myson and his uncle share the rock climbing gene, so they have a lot in common, and Jeff and I are roughly the same age and have known one another for 26 or so years, so the three of us, despite the disparity of ages, were able to have a nice, relaxing hour or so with a fine cigar and one-another’s company. It also went a long way toward aiding in the digestion of an over-indulgent breakfast!
News
The annual Habanos Festival just ended, and I wasn’t there. I did notice an interesting press release about the lots in the auction that is held every year. Looks like a nice box, but the price is a little steep for me!
Humidor bought by Italian entrepreneur at 14th Habanos Festival in Cuba. The humidor comes with microprocessor controlled adorini humidifiers, 520 Cohiba cigars, and remote-controlled hydraulic system to open the humidor.
Why the heck you’d need to open your humidor from across the room is beyond me, but it sure sounds cool! I guess you have to let those 520 Cohibas living inside get a breath of fresh air once in a while.
Anyway, that’s it for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
