MPS Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 The Connoisseur's Book of the Cigar by Zino Davidoff. A must read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDowse Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Sorry Cap, you and I often sing from the same hymn sheet but i have to agree with Martin, I think you are wrong here. You're speaking in sweeping generalisations. As an ex Nottinghamshire miner i wear my working class credentials with pride but i don't ever feel, or have I been made to feel uncomfortable going into 'fancy' venues in London, be they hotels with cigar terraces or otherwise (and i am certainly not a rich man). I have lived in London since 1997 and in my experience the only thing most of these places are interested in is separating you from your hard-earned and they usually do it with a smile. The service is generally impeccable - it's just bill that brings tears to your eyes! I would say you need to drop your preconceptions a little bit before you walk in. Not everyone in a three-piece suit is an arrogant toff, in the same way not every guy in ripped jeans and a t-shirt is a working class hero... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQuintero Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Yep, not saying you're wrong I can only go off my experience and by speaking with others. When I do have to leave God's county for London I head to the little oasis spots like Fox until I start to miss green grass and real beer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orion21 Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Pomp and tradition are part of what make Britain a unique and wonderful place. If you are made to feel uncomfortable then that is unfortunate. Eliza Doolittle would be out of place at a Ritz Carlton or the Savoy. The class divide is very pronounced when money is required to participate. It shows the insecurities on both sides of the spectrum, but belittling either because you are looking down on someone or being looked down upon is equally as off putting. This hobby is meant to bring people together not further seperate us. There will always be cliques who choose to exclude those who don't fit in on both side, but I think far more of us are accepting of everyone. Cheers and smoke in good health! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrDowse Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Yep, not saying you're wrong I can only go off my experience and by speaking with others. When I do have to leave God's county for London I head to the little oasis spots like Fox until I start to miss green grass and real beer Of course mate, I understand that Just trying to point out that snobbery is not exclusive to London. I just came back from a few days in Marrakech with The Mrs. I paid a visit to the walk in humi at the airport duty free on the way home and asked the assistant to open up a cab of siglo iv so could have a look. I was umming and ahhing as you do, and she proceeded to imply that maybe I couldn't afford them : Obviously i told her where to get off and i scaled my purchase back to a fiver of Monte 4s! If I'm spending that kind of coin i expect good service. When in doubt vote with your wallet 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQuintero Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Of course mate, I understand that Just trying to point out that snobbery is not exclusive to London. I just came back from a few days in Marrakech with The Mrs. I paid a visit to the walk in humi at the airport duty free on the way home and asked the assistant to open up a cab of siglo iv so could have a look. I was umming and ahhing as you do, and she proceeded to imply that maybe I couldn't afford them : Obviously i told her where to get off and i scaled my purchase back to a fiver of Monte 4s! If I'm spending that kind of coin i expect good service. When in doubt vote with your wallet tried to like this but I'm out of quota for the day! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramon_cojones Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Some great posts in here, nino made several excellent points. Myself I do bite gently on the end when i draw, I will nub it if it's good, will stick a toothpick or use a roachclip, use index and thumb at times but I will always respect the cigar by not overheating it when lighting, smash it in the ashtray or drop it in an empty drink glass to extinguish. I love cigars, they treat me well. They give me tons of enjoyment and therapy in times I need it most, are always there for me, always put a smile on my face. I'm so fortunate to have found this hobby and I've no idea what I would be doing if i wasn't indulging in so many great cigars with great friends or gathering thoughts to myself. They are very dear to me, I take care of them because they always take care of me. I've gifted cigars to strangers who have been blown away by shorts! We don't gift away anything we wouldn't smoke ourselves. Just a few days ago my buddy gave a plpc to a stranger who wanted to buy a cigar off of him. We do not exchange cigars for money, the gent was astounded by the fact he accidentally inhaled the smoke and it was so smooth he didn't cough (cigarette smoker). If I give you a cigar you don't have to pretend to enjoy it but please respect it. If you disrespect it, you are disrespecting me. Sorry to get philosophical. And captain you'd love the culture here, I've smoked with blokes from all walks of life. Guys you'd never expect to even be cigar smokers are smoking 86 cces and 92 rass. The millionaire was passing around a 1492 and a nectar I foget what number and I had no idea. All super nice top shelf guys absolutely love herfing with the lot of them. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQuintero Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Some great posts in here, nino made several excellent points. Myself I do bite gently on the end when i draw, I will nub it if it's good, will stick a toothpick or use a roachclip, use index and thumb at times but I will always respect the cigar by not overheating it when lighting, smash it in the ashtray or drop it in an empty drink glass to extinguish. I love cigars, they treat me well. They give me tons of enjoyment and therapy in times I need it most, are always there for me, always put a smile on my face. I'm so fortunate to have found this hobby and I've no idea what I would be doing if i wasn't indulging in so many great cigars with great friends or gathering thoughts to myself. They are very dear to me, I take care of them because they always take care of me. I've gifted cigars to strangers who have been blown away by shorts! We don't gift away anything we wouldn't smoke ourselves. Just a few days ago my buddy gave a plpc to a stranger who wanted to buy a cigar off of him. We do not exchange cigars for money, the gent was astounded by the fact he accidentally inhaled the smoke and it was so smooth he didn't cough (cigarette smoker). If I give you a cigar you don't have to pretend to enjoy it but please respect it. If you disrespect it, you are disrespecting me. Sorry to get philosophical. And captain you'd love the culture here, I've smoked with blokes from all walks of life. Guys you'd never expect to even be cigar smokers are smoking 86 cces and 92 rass. The millionaire was passing around a 1492 and a nectar I foget what number and I had no idea. All super nice top shelf guys absolutely love herfing with the lot of them. lol I like this! Damn like quota! See that type of herfing is what smoking should be about, Polarbear's cigar review of a cigar bar in NYC (Or on the outskirts I think) summed up what the perfect cigar culture should be: http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=116249 That is impossible to happen here due to the much maligned views posted earlier. You can get the friendship but it has to be with a small core group of long established smoking buddies, which don't get me wrong is great but there is a relativity zero chance of the story above happening here because you simply can't walk into a laid back cigar bar with average guys and have that type of experience with a stranger (careful now ). I just realised that I should point out none of my points were about money/paycheck it's attitudes. Very jealous of you Ramon, I hope you guys can keep that culture alive and well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramon_cojones Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 A good doctor buddy of mine who pushed me down the slippery slope of CCs four years ago is notorious for walking up to people smoking NCs and asking "could i interest you in a habano?" They of course have absolutely no clue what he is referring to but he will brandish a fine cigar and offer it to them so they put out whatever it is they are smoking. I can't count how many times he's done this and we sit back and laugh from a distance. We'll walk into our regular venues, two restaurants that we frequent with cigar patios, see a bunch of stodgy old guys smoking cigars and we'll ask "do you guys know if cigar smoking is permitted here?" to get a chuckle. Within 10 minutes we're all talking. Of course our travel humidors are always an ice breaker especially the zero halliburtons. The sommelier never charges us corkage and we always pour him a glass. We've given him cigars for his birthday, trip to hawaii, etc so he can have something to smoke and he frequently waives our drinks or desert. The customer servicer there is outstanding no matter your look, they'll even empty the cigar ashtrays every twenty minutes, almost obsessively. One time I sat down and ordered food while I waited for the guys to show up. There was an older gentlemen there watching the basketaball game smoking a cigar from the restaurant humidor, NC of course. When I was finished eating I sparked up my stick. He glanced over and we started talking about the game. One by one my friends showed up, each with their travel humis. Soon there were eight of us and the doctor came with wine. The guys were passing out sticks and thought he was a new guy in our group so he got bombed with sticks and the doctor poured him some wine. The guy was speechless and just plain dumbfounded at what just transpired. We now smoke with him as he is a regular of the restaurant as well but our paths hadn't crossed prior to that. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainQuintero Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 Now you're just showing off Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramon_cojones Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 Just showing off our kindness and sharing stories my man! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nino Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 I remember seeing a b/w picture of the bonfire somewhere years ago, but can't find any. Thought the biography of Zino by Wirtz that Michel refers to would include one. Will ask my friend Mr Portmann in Switzerland, he might know or remember as he was a business partner of Zino. Received this information from Davidoff HQ via my friend Mr Portmann : Leider existieren keine Fotos der Verbrennung der Davidoff Cigarren ex Cuba. Als Herr Wirz das Buch über Zino Davidoff schrieb hatten wir diese Anfrage auch schon. according to Corporate Communications at Davidoff HQ no photographs of the public burning of Davidoff Cigars exist and they already had enquiries when the Wirtz book was published. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottierm Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Thanks for the research and the asking Nino. In his book Wirtz specifies that the 131,000 cigars were incinerated in the municipal waste plant of Hagenau Street in Basel (p. 32). This would prevent any picture being taken from the cigars in the process of burning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallclub Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Thanks for the research and the asking Nino. +1. I still find odd that an event that has been so much advertised, would not have been photographed or filmed, not even for archive purpose… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaDisco Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 what are you willing to bet that not all 131,000 cigars made it into the incinerator? Somewhere in Basel there's a municipal worker with one helluva full humidor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cottierm Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Alas, no PapaDisco. According to Wirtz (pp. 32-3), two delegates of Cubatabaco were present to make sure that the bonfire did happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrunkenMonkey Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Alas, no PapaDisco. According to Wirtz (pp. 32-3), two delegates of Cubatabaco were present to make sure that the bonfire did happen. Two delegates of Cubatabaco? Well, then we can all be absolutely sure that it did happen. Totally unimpeachable witnesses, right? But no pictures or film. Hmm 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nino Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Thanks for the research and the asking Nino. In his book Wirtz specifies that the 131,000 cigars were incinerated in the municipal waste plant of Hagenau Street in Basel (p. 32). This would prevent any picture being taken from the cigars in the process of burning. My pleasure Michel. Why do I keep thinking that, in wise anticipation of future events, sometimes it's better not to burn bridges .... and that, if you burn bridges, you would conveniently delete/forget/claim Alzheimer etc about the fact in order to be able to walk upon that bridge again one day when it's been rebuilt ... Just my musings. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PapaDisco Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Alas, no PapaDisco. According to Wirtz (pp. 32-3), two delegates of Cubatabaco were present to make sure that the bonfire did happen. Oh I'm not saying the bonfire did or didn't happen . . . just pointing out the enormous temptation presented to the poor lads who had to schlepp all 131,000 cigars to the incinerator. You just KNOW more than a handful ended up in a few lucky pockets! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puros Y Vino Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 Oh I'm not saying the bonfire did or didn't happen . . . just pointing out the enormous temptation presented to the poor lads who had to schlepp all 131,000 cigars to the incinerator. You just KNOW more than a handful ended up in a few lucky pockets! It's also possible that empty boxes could have been burned. Zino could show his displeasure with the Cubans by burning empty boxes and keeping the contents socked away in a humidor somewhere. I don't know what the cigars sold for at the time but 131,000 of them surely represents a huge amount of money. Let's assume all boxes were 25 counts. That divides nicely into 5240 boxes of Davidoffs. Let's say each box sold at $250 for the sake of argument. 5240 * $250 = $1,310,000. I seriously doubt Zino would burn >$1 million of stock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dangolf18 Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 It's also possible that empty boxes could have been burned. Zino could show his displeasure with the Cubans by burning empty boxes and keeping the contents socked away in a humidor somewhere. I don't know what the cigars sold for at the time but 131,000 of them surely represents a huge amount of money. Let's assume all boxes were 25 counts. That divides nicely into 5240 boxes of Davidoffs. Let's say each box sold at $250 for the sake of argument. 5240 * $250 = $1,310,000. I seriously doubt Zino would burn >$1 million of stock. If that's the case, where did they all go? There must be some really fugly and awful Davidoff cubans in circulation somewhere I guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Puros Y Vino Posted February 13, 2014 Share Posted February 13, 2014 If that's the case, where did they all go? There must be some really fugly and awful Davidoff cubans in circulation somewhere I guess... Somewhere in Davidoff's Geneva offices? Just speculation. I doubt they're "fugly". I'll take them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nino Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Continuing on the Davidoff theme, here 2 videos, one from Swiss tv with Zino offering cigars to Jacques Dutronc the french singer : http://www.rts.ch/archives/tv/varietes/profil/4817345-fumeur-de-havane.html And a highly interesting video biography of Zino Davidoff : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kslJ1kC_MsQ#t=49 Found today on Cigar Blog/Switzerland - Thanks Manuel ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlohaStyle Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 Reminds me of the sad times in November 2010 when US Customs in Chicago confiscated over 100,000 cuban cigars... and "destroyed" them. Right, as in some jackoff customs agents taking the cigars home and smoking them. Just like Rob's buddy telling about going through LAX customs on his way home to Oz from Cuba and the 2 customs agents took his cigars, gave each other high five and said it will be a great holiday. http://www.cigaraficionado.com/webfeatures/show/id/15712 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallclub Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 … what's the relation? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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