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When I am smoking a cigar at a bar and someone smoking cigarettes complains about cigar smoke.....

Smokin a Connie, eh

What a great cigar, Encantos.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

'14 Siglo II. Jung, Wild, Elegant, Classy, Fantastic.

Another first--a Por Larranaga Montecarlos.

An aged Cohiba party. Siglo I's from 1993 Cohiba Corona Especial from 1996

So what is the "Trickiest" situation (funniest/saddest) situation you have got yourself into while in Cuba? I have to say that over the years I could write a book on such situations! One of my favourite stories occurred only 300 meters from the Nacional hotel where i an 5 mates were staying. In the space of 300 meters at 4am I had to pay bribes 3 times in order to get my troupe of Aussies mates home and away from a night at the local lock up. This is how it went down We had had a great night out at a nightclub just outside of Old Havana. There was me, PJ, Matty, Hutley, Macho and Sal. The nightlub was Closing and so we naturally thought it best to get a cab and another drink near the Nacional hotel in order that we could walk home. There is a bar down the hill from the Nacional near the intersection (heading in the direction of Old Havana). That was quite a notorious corner back in those days as late at night it was known as the corner where Mute Jinteras (prostitutes) plied their trade. The bar/nightlcub itself is nondescript but a rocking place for the last drinks of the night. Close to 4am I called to finish last drinks as the next day was a packed one. I am the sensible one on tour leaving the bar/nightlcub, the corner was buzzing with tourists trying to negotiate pricing with the mute jinteras. It was a sad sight. Sadder still was a rather rotund tourist trying to negotiate nocturnal pursuits for $5 USD. The young woman was in tears, she turned away, he grabbed her arm, it got heated......one of my party stepped in.....it got heated, and then my mate goes and clocks the grub on the chin knocking him to his knees. Local police patrolling the street were there in seconds. My mate appeared to be a few minutes from being arrested but I managed to talk some sense with the policeman to the tune of 25 USD. I am th only one in our group who actually spoke Spanish. Most profess to after midnight. I gave my mate a dressing down and we crossed the intersection. The Nacional grounds were only across the road and up the hill...we are sweet ....or so I thought. As we crossed the intersection the two of my other Jibbering mates who are also electricians (Sparky's) were working on the light post trying to take a close look at the "unique" Cuban wiring. They were halfway up the pole. Two Police were at the bottom of the pole. I managed to explain that they were drunk (not hard to convince), harmless and that i was taking them home. I offered to pay their fine there and then and promised no more trouble. The "fines were $20 USD per copper. My sense of humour was quickly diminishing While I was paying the coppers, the others had started walking up the road to the nacional......only that two of them had stopped to urinate in a garden. The police got there just before I did. It was Pj, Matty and Sal. The police told them in Spanish to Stop immediately. They persisted. The police asked them to stop again ...this time more forcibly. Now prudence suggests that they would stop, they would apologise and we would finally get home......but No! Matty yelled first " RUN TO THE NACIONAL FOR DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY!" He and Sal bolted up the street. PJ continued to urinate. He turned his head to police officer and said "mate, I don't speak Spanish but you obviously have never seen such a big cock on a white man before" . To put PJ in perspective, he is a great mate of mine with all the physical attributes of an Umpa Lumpa. I talked it through with the officers and agreed to pay $50 USD in fines and got back to the Nacional to meet up with the other geniuses having mojitos in the courtyard. 400 meters .....1 hour.....$105 USD.

Trinni Robusto....excellent way to end a stress-filled day!

My first one of these. PL secretos, fantastic little cigar. Wonderful winter smoke

Bit late to the party... But this was a thing:

JUN 14 Serie A.....really good for a freshie UPE Petit Monte 2

Quick Party Short in between setting up for Halloween.

A stranger asking can they try my Cigar.

BBF from May/11. So good!

Almost passed out when they won. Grabbed the first stick I could see when I got home! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

There is only 1 thing keeping me from jumping on the LFTW, and it's these. I don't need bands when these shaggy feet taste so damn good!

Received this from our host today. How wonderful!

Our leading Aussie property developer giving Don Alejandro Robaina his business card and telling the good Don to look up his website if he is in the market for a unit. TRUE The same property developer who I convinced that "Yo soy un maricon" was a very special way of saying thank you....but to be used sparingly. He dropped it in his speech after a days fishing to a half dozen Cuban fisherman we had been drinking rum with at a beach shack in Zapatta (Bay of Pigs). You could hear a pin drop. For those that don't know...it means "I am a sodomiser". TRUE and the funniest thing anywhere, on any trip. After a night out, Hamlet using a power pole to stop his car. We were stopping to pick up more wine. BETTER IS HAMLET PRETENDING TO RUN OUT OF PETROL AS AN EXCUSE TO HIS WIFE AS TO WHY HE DIDN'T GET HOME TILL 4AM AND SO SYPHONING PETROL OUT OF HIS CAR WITH A PIECE OFF HOSE. NO ONE HAD TOLD HIM NOT TO SWALLOW. ALL DAY THROWING UP AND HS WIFE HAD NOT NOTICED HIM MISSING. Graeme throwing a chair at the rent a car operator after waiting 2 hours for two cars. I was negotiating a payment to make it run smoothly. Graeme found the necessary shortcut. TRUE BUT IF YOU RECALL, THE PROBLEM WAS WE'D GOT THE FIRST CAR AND WE COULD HAVE THE SECOND, ONLY IF WE GAVE BACK THE FIRST - EVEN THOUGH WE'D ORDERED AND PAID FOR TWO. Graeme driving out in the middle of nowhere while we were fishing to pick up some cases of beer. Came back with beer and two stunning ladies. They stripped off and started swimming in the turquoise waters around us. We all dropped rods. All except ken who got up Graeme and the lasses for disturbing the fish. TRUE BUT ALSO NOT TRUE. I WAS PISSED AT MANUEL CONNING US (FOR US, READ YOU) AND WASTING 3 DAYS. THO HE WAS GOOD FUN. Dinner with the local drug dealer king pin. We didn't know at the time. Strangest night of my life. HOW IS THE FAMILY? ken trying to impress his friend by buying her son "Fernando" (her 5 year old son) a gift. It would be more impressive if he took the time to realise his name was Federico. SERIOUSLY? THAT IS THE FIRST TIME YOU'VE EVEN MADE THAT ONE UP. COMPLETE FABRICATION. being stalked by a woman with a full mustache at an ex KGB resort in Giron.She was a member of staff. Eveytime I thought I was safe, Ken would seek her out and let her know where I was. It resembled the chase scenes of the Benny Hill Show. OKAY, THAT MIGHT BE TRUE. Being pulled over on a long trip out of Havana by a copper who wanted a lift home to matanzas. we tried to make conversation in the car. He reached over from the backseat of the car, gave us a cassette to play and told us to shut up for the rest of the trip. TRUE Setting up a mate with a transvestite when he couldn't get a date for one of our parties. DO YOU HAVE NO SHAME? THE BROTHERS GRIMM COULD NOT MAKE UP CRAP LIKE YOU DO. AND MAY I POINT OUT, I HAVE PHOTOS. PHOTOS YOU DO NOT WANT ON ANY SITE. AND YES, I KNOW YOU DON'T REMEMBER ME TAKING THEM BUT AT THE TIME, YOU COULD NOT REMEMBER YOUR OWN NAME.

Our leading Aussie property developer at the time giving Don Alejandro Robaina his business card and telling the good Don to look up his website if he is in the market for a unit. The same property developer who I convinced that "Yo soy un maricon" was a very special way of saying thank you....but to be used sparingly. He dropped it in his speech after a days fishing to a half dozen Cuban fisherman we had been drinking rum with at a beach shack in Zapatta (Bay of Pigs). You could hear a pin drop. For those that don't know...it means "I am a sodomiser". After a night out, Hamlet using a power pole to stop his car. We were stopping to pick up more wine. Graeme throwing a chair at the rent a car operator after waiting 2 hours for two cars. I was negotiating a payment to make it run smoothly. Graeme found the necessary shortcut. Graeme driving out in the middle of nowhere while we were fishing to pick up some cases of beer. Came back with beer and two stunning ladies. They stripped off and started swimming in the turquoise waters around us. We all dropped rods. All except ken who got up Graeme and the lasses for disturbing the fish. Dinner with the local drug dealer king pin. We didn't know at the time. Strangest night of my life. ken trying to impress his friend by buying her son "Fernando" (her 5 year old son) a gift. It would be more impressive if he took the time to realise his name was Federico. being stalked by a woman with a full mustache at an ex KGB resort in Giron.She was a member of staff. Eveytime I thought I was safe, Ken would seek her out and let her know where I was. It resembled the chase scenes of the Benny Hill Show. Being pulled over on a long trip out of Havana by a copper who wanted a lift home to matanzas. we tried to make conversation in the car. He reached over from the backseat of the car, gave us a cassette to play and told us to shut up for the rest of the trip. Setting up a mate with a transvestite when he couldn't get a date for one of our parties. There are a hundred more! ACDC's lyrics are appropriate Ridin' down the highway Goin' to a show Stop in all the byways Playin' rock 'n' roll Gettin' robbed Gettin' stoned Gettin' beat up Broken boned Gettin' had Gettin' took I tell you folks It's harder than it looks

I liked this undercrown.

Here's a weird one: SMWS bottling of Highland Park, 24 yr. cask strength single cask. One of 213.

Glad i could get my paws on these babies.

Not a good day for me, cigar wise. Monte Petit No. 2. Total ****. Bad draw, bad burn, the only flavors I got were cedar, corn, and ash. Diplo 4. Wind tunnel. Smoking really slow to try to get something out of it...barely any flavor. Turned out to be a decent smoke given the circumstances. Just a little underfilled....

is grapes and asparagus simply code for sauv blanc?

You and your friend

Great win for the Giants. I think Bruce Bochy is the common denominator. He is a very good manager. Hall of famer for sure.

Friend of mine hooked me up with these. Can't wait to have one

Ashes falling onto my clothes cuz i was trying to see how long my ash could hold...always feel like a big noob when it happens

Sorry to be that guy, but I just checked every single one of those Barcodes on the HSA website and 3 of them are fake. Unfortunately I spilled coffee on my notes and can't tell you which ones.

Great stories so far. I have a few from over the years. Luckily I've already added a few of them here. Getting my phone stolen then spending 5 hours the next day, on Hamlet's advice, in an interrogation room in a police station being convinced that my phone wasn't stolen but 'lost' My favourite part, on coming to 'an agreement' with the police officer that he would write a report stating 'stolen', suddenly he had near perfect english He says, "I've done you a favour, now I need you to do me a favour.." Not wanting to obviously bribe I say, “Oh please let me buy something for your kids!” “No, I do not want you to buy anything for my kids, I want you..to give me..money..now”. That's how we came to agree his fee. Of course the report said 'lost' anyway.. Full story http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=114091&hl=%22iphone+5%22 The year before, at the Wednesday night event of the Festival, realising that I happened to be wearing the same gear as the dancers in the final show. I knew what I had to do. With, it has to be said, a little "encouragement" from Stuart Fox. I think a sum of 5 cucs was mentioned, which I have yet to receive. http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=109775&hl=belushi Last year, staying with Hector Luis, I saw his neighbour weeding the rows of a field of tobacco seedlings with an ox and plough. Of course I had to have a go. I've ploughed before, but not since I was a kid and that was with a tractor. I thought I was going fine until Hector's neighbour starts screaming and Jose is waving his arms at me to stop. I was ploughing fine but, walking behind, I was destroying the tobacco row on each side with each foot, I should have walked in the plough line but I must have been thinking that I didn't want to damage my nice neat work so I should walk feet apart instead! Made sense while I was doing it, but there may have been rum involved. It was OK, I only destroyed about 80 yards of two rows of tobacco.. Ploughing Jose inspecting my damage I have more stories, some I can even share. Very few places have I had more fun than Cuba. So sorry not to be going in November..

Putting the lit end in my mouth.

Here goes: Cigarette smokers lighting up in a cigar bar Cigarette smokers lighting up in a cigar bar and complaining about cigar smokers Cigarette smokers who come over and say "Hey I don't mean to offend anyone but..." (As if starting out their compliant session this way some how prevents any form of repercussion for their need to open their mouth.) People who I converse with while smoking but for some reason they find their phone testing more important. People mash their cigar in the ash tray People who remove the band right away on a nice cigar you gave them causing damage to the wrapper and wind up putting it out way early because they cant keep it lit let alone get good smoke out of it. People who bite a cigar open rather than use a cutter and in the process damage it bad enough that they wind up putting it out early. Winter- Just limits where and when I can smoke You save a great smoke for a nice occasion and when you lit it up the dang thing starts to split, burn poorly, plugged or it just plain sucks.

Just got my box from the same code. Couldn't help myself and burned one. Holy ! I cannot believe how much woof is left in these guys! The first half was about the best Upmann I've had and the second half was a full-bodied, full-strength tour de force! Gonna have to let the rest settle some before going back, but I could tell I'm dealing with something special.

you might have added that the only sane member of that trip had left the lot of you idiots to your own fate. the language 'barrier' has been fun. especially when your 'mate' lets you down by scoffing truckloads of sleeping pills and rum, thinking they were anti-biotics and is not available to translate because he is slumped in the front seat gaga. and you can blame the wife all you like, for 'allegedly' putting sleeping pills in the wrong container but seriously? matty in the lift with the asian women who were going to bean him with a baseball bat. matty at the restaurant trying to order no ice. pretty much matty anywhere. macho taking three trips to catch a bonefish and then insisting on a casting competition in the grounds of the hotel nacional only to come up against the one good cast i made in about four years. and the whinging that followed. macho losing his wallet on day one with all his wads of cash. macho losing his gear at the airport. macho losing his tickets. macho losing everything any time. solo, sitting with a cuban family and trying to be so polite as i was under the impression they were serving me dog. long story. pulling a camera out in the carpark of a hidden cockfight way outside of havana - they had told me i would be able to take photos but they had not told me that everyone from dodgy ex russian guards to huge cuban bouncers would descend on me if i did in the car park. their logic being that there were "official cars" from government officials in that car park and they may be traced back and then those blokes were in serious crap. the fact that i might take photos of those actual officials in the crowd around the ring seemed to escape them. non cuba, the run in with the KGB off red square and being hauled off a truck in zaire - i thought because the soldiers had wisely recognised me as the most responsible person blah blah etc who could help with documentation and answering questions etc. i was soon to find out it was because they wanted to check me against the photos in their book of wanted criminals.

There are 2 or 3 people in this industry that I trust much more than HSA. As a matter of fact, the french Bolivar Libertadore was a completely different Bolivar, the PL Magnificos was a different PL, obviously made from much better material than usual, and there are others examples…

This opinion is wrong as far as I know. Many regions have to work within the marcas general theme, but do have leaway with the blend up to a point. Creating a sweet, chocolatey Bolivar is not something that can work, but creating a Bolivar with more pronounced hits of tea or citrus or leather would be fine. I know there are many regionals that have incredibly rich flavours (within marca ranges) but much more so than many regular production cigars. A Bolivar Simones from Canada, while very similar in vitola to the RC, tastes much richer and far more elegant than any RC I have ever had. The vitola change did not produce that much different flavours. Clearly the blend for the Simones and the blend for the RC are not the same. Just one example.

El principe

RASS, can remind me a bit of burning leaves in the fall.

H. Upmann Petit Corona PSP box from last LFTH Bolivar Petit Corona PSP box from last LFTH

Received this from our host today.

Damn...that seems like a lot of drunken behavior for only $105

Freezing is everything but "imperative". Vigilance and monitoring are. I've never frozen anything; out of hundreds of boxes, I have had a total of 2 cases of holes in wrapper, black dust, and a dead adult… Cigars coming directly from Cuba should never be mixed with those from the export channel, that's a basic rule.

If there are any issues here, please let me know. We can move things around, but that is just the draw I managed to set up

Hopefully that means more money for the farmer. They can use every penny they can get.

i agree with this. i just get impressions of being in the deep woods during the fall and taking a deep smell of my surroundings. i love cigars like that because it reminds me of my childhood in the woods hiking, camping, fishing, and hunting.

RASCC, a nutty symphony.

Time to celebrate like its 1994....

Don't ask me to explain it, but Ramon Allones has an autumnal taste for me.

PLM May 11. H Upmann Connie #1. I have heard awesome things about this code. Pumped!

Anyone have a line on a store that would ship this beer out of state? I've been ISO this beer for going on two years now to no avail. I've had most every other epic IPA in existence....save for this one. Any info on a hookup would be beyond appreciated. PM if you are able to lend a hand & thanks in advance for any help.