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My first smoke of the warm weather season after a brutal winter and no better way to kick off the Memorial Day holiday weekend than some fine Irish whisky and an SLR DC’05...have a great Memorial Day weekend all! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I waited anxiously for my wife to arrive home. She closes her pharmacy a couple of hours after I leave my office. Normally, this is “me time”. Today, it was spent running what I was going to say through my mind over and over. I can’t take the strong arm approach with my wife. As she told me 9 years ago, “I don’t take shit from anyone.” Still, there had to be some way to navigate the impending storm without getting put into the doghouse or being browbeaten into submission. The paper towel dispenser she bought a month ago was a first place piece of crap. I’ve struggled trying to understand why someone as intelligent as she is continues to buy “As seen on TV” quality items. They’re cheap, cheaply made, and are always bound for the garbage only a short while after being used for the first time. This paper towel dispenser came with detachable Velcro strips- so you don’t have to mount it with screws. Worse, it was some kind of proprietary knockoff of real Velcro. Instead of having a “hook” side and a “fuzzy” side, it had what seemed to be two “hook” sides. After the tenth time it fell down I told her I thought it was a manufacturing mistake. I clearly, articulately, and logically explained the inner workings of Velcro. Naturally, she told me it was “the way you’re tearing off the paper towels.” Later, it was that the high quality (Viva) paper towels I was using didn’t lend themselves to being ripped off from the dispenser properly. She adamantly refused to allow me to mount it with screws because she didn’t want to put any holes in the wall. The boy started throwing a tanrum when I took away his tricycle. He didn’t understand that it was dangerous to ride it on top of the couch. I told him once, he thought I was playing, and when he tried it a second time- well, Daddy had no choice but to put the trike out of sight. The tantrum ensued. In his favor, it’d been a while since his last bottle so I went and heated up some milk. One cannot fill a small-mouthed milk bottle from a newly opened gallon of milk without spilling some. No need to cry, just grab a paper towel and wipe it up. As the paper towel dispenser came falling down for the umpteenth time this month, I realized I needed to take action. I snapped it in half over my knee. The most noteworthy thing about this dispenser was that the plastic was rigid enough that it snapped cleanly when I brought it down over my knee. I chucked it in the trash. It felt good. But how to explain this? I knew in her heart of hearts she didn’t care for it either. I gathered this when I’d watch her hold it against the wall with one hand while pulling off a paper towel with the other. The dogs went apeshit as the garage door opened. “Hey Boy, Mama’s home. Go say hi to Mama.” She picked him up and gave him a big hug. “Hi Hun. How was your day?” Fine, she replied. She wanted to walk the dogs while it was still daylight and decided to have a quick sandwich for dinner. She looked for the paper towels after she made her sandwich. “What happened to the paper towel thing?” Necessity is the mother of invention and also language it appears. Just pretend I’m testifying in a trial. Keep my answers short. “Oh, it broke.” Cool as a cucumber. ”It broke? Oh.” She smiled slightly. “I hope that red t-shirt of yours doesn’t break.” Said red t-shirt was acquired from Target for $4.99 ten years ago. It has a couple of small holes here and there. It has some curious bleach stains which, if I were a paranoid man, would say someone intentionally placed as a way to compel me to get rid of it. But everyone knows how it’s difficult to part with a comfortable t-shirt. I said nothing in reply. I just shrugged and wore a confused look upon my face. We talked some more about this and that then she was off with the dogs and I went to put the boy down for the night. At worst, my t-shirt comes up missing and I chalk it up as a good compromise. At best, I give up nothing. Either way, the feeling is one of being victorious and it pairs well with a Boli Royal Corona ETP Oct 15.

Out for a stroll and cigar, and Who did I find.

Ok I took the plunge and tried my first ever LE and wow I love it! The draw started very tight but after a few puffs better! The flavors are so nice and strong. I had a few burn issues I agree with others with the fireproof wrappers but worth the extra attention my opinion. Also my locals had sourced a few boxes of ramon allones club allones 2015 anyone tried them worth picking up one or more boxes? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

A little before and after... C&C time with Fonseca No 1 while I put together my newbie/vet box pass post. UME Sep 16 punch punch courtesy of @Markspring1978via the PIF. This is my first one more than two years old. Makes a big difference to my taste. Really enjoying this one.

C&C Time! (MEG JUN16) - 24:24 Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk Next.. Siglo II (2016) - 24:24

FOH La Puntilla by Alex. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great start to the long weekend!

A very oily Trinidad....

HDM Palmas Extra (BUP NOV 17) Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

SANCHOS

Started off with a 2014 La Fuerza, a stick I haven’t touched in years. This cigar was excellent, but not to my taste. Life too short, so I lit up ‘ol reliable.

2018 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It was a Monte kind of day...

Cohiba Siglio IV TOR NOV 16 Sat by the fire, under cover in the rain, on a glorious first night in my beloved Lake District. Actually it's not rain, it's "Lakeland Mist"[emoji2398] (Cumbria Tourist Board). This came from@FatPete in the UK Box Pass and it's rather good. All lemony and kitchen sweetness. I don't generally smoke Cohibas and this is probably the first one I've had that I've really really enjoyed so thanks Pete! [emoji207][emoji942][emoji558][emoji554] Sent from 47171 Lempo

a few years back, one of my best mates rang me. "time you got married". i was very surprised as the fact that i was not married had never bothered him in the slightest. "why would i want to do that?" i asked. the response - "why the hell should you be the only one of us happy".

Forum favorite Medio Siglo

H. Upmann Connoisseur No.1 PLM May 2011 There was a time a few years ago when PLM May 2011 H.Upmann Connoisseur No.1's used to sell like 'crazy' on 24:24 listings when they invariably came up. After sampling this last one from the box, it's easy to understand why...they are both simple and simply satisfying in general. The Connoisseur No.1 is almost a Robusto. It's a Hermosos No.4 size, 48 ring gauge x 127 mm or 5 inches in length. This Connie 1 had typical Upmann flavours...shortbread, coffee, a little cedar and dashings of white pepper which, for me, perfectly counter-balanced the other flavours and kept the cigar interesting for me all the way. This was a 'no-brainer' to nub. What a pity I have none left! Oh well, c'est la vie!

I've had a few encounters with cool birds. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk

UME ABR 15 Fonseca No. 1

Missed getting the HN ashtray in the pic!

Always a little cigar tear when I smoke a dodo bird? Beautiful silky smooth claro wrapper and very well filled at 7.2gr 1/2 Starts like a middle eastern mocha, cardamom, coffee and cocoa. The bittersweet cocoa ramps up with a buttery sweetness and a tannic dry finish. Medium bodied with a perfect draw. 2/2 The tannic finish disappears and it’s buttery all the way thru. All the flavors have turned into 1 exotic cigar. I feel like I should be in Instanbul having Turkish coffee in a cafe. A lovely 50 minutes!

Some nightwalk photos from earlier this week, trying to figure out the best settings for my camera in low light environments.

A day of strong smokes. Started with the CR from Milagros at the Hotel Nacional (below) and continued with the deceptively slim powerhouses from La Escepcion. A day of good smoking?

It’s hard to describe a petit corona in thirds but this is my first review and that was how I tried to focus on the flavors. I’m very new to this so tell me to bugger off if this is way off base. It could easily be described as two halves if one wanted to. 1st 3rd - Woody and nuts with an underlying sweetness. The subtle sweetness is fruity but I can’t pin it on any specific fruit...cherry if I had to guess. Burn is a little wonky but that’s likely due to the youth and having not rested as long as it should have. I had a hint of mushroom/fungi at the end of the 1st 3rd but it was gone as quickly as it appeared. The burnt gray ash hung in there for the entirety of the first 3rd. 2nd 3rd - heavier pepper and woody tobacco. Burn issues remain but after the second touch up it burned evenly. There are elements of cocoa and coffee but they are secondary to the wood and pepper. It is a light spice with a pleasant pepper tingle on the back of my tongue. The fruity sweetness sporadically shows itself only to vanish again. Final 3rd - Woody (cedar) and light pepper is the overarching theme of this stick now. The espresso taste weaves in and out. It was more full bodied at the very end but also got hot. There was floral scent in the smoke but I never tasted it. It had a steady flavor profile from start to finish with various flavors having their moment to shine. Unfortunately I smoked this one a little too young as a slight taste of ammonia crept up at the end. I smoked it a little slower after that and never tasted the ammonia again. Extinguished it just ahead of the impending thunder storm. I’m going to let the others rest for some time before tasting again. Pleasantly surprised by the initial flavors of this petit corona and overall pleasant cigar from start to finish. Peg it at a medium body (but I may not know what I’m talking about). Burn time 40 minutes. I look forward to revisiting this one again in the future. 6/10. This cigar should improve with time

Thanks @Monterey!! I dont know which ones to smoke first!

This evening was entitled “Let’s See how these are doing...”. My buddy got a recent bundle of Alex’s Puntillas and he wanted to see how they are before a long nap. And I had been wanting to try my first Upmann PC from a box split awhile back. I was excited as I love this cigar. First thoughts. This box has a really interesting mottled wrapper. Never seen anything quite like it. Cold draw is perfect. Great resistance. First half. This thing is a HAMMER. It’s the most un-Upmann cigar. Voluminous smoke production and quite strong. After the first 3/4” it calmed down a bit and became focused. Didn’t have the vegetal quality of a young cigar (it’s already 3+ years old) but it had a lot of green and pine notes. Second half and conclusion This cigar never hit “elegant” which is to some extent the way that I have described these in the past. I have a TOS 16 box that completely embodies that term. Figgy and complex. This was not that. By the end, we all agreed that the prevailing note was “ashy.” To be fair, while this review sounds overly negative and harsh, it wasn’t a wholly unpleasant experience. It’s true I did go in with certain flavor expectations - as would anyone who has some experience with a product. This one was just soo... different. Perhaps the other 11 will be different.

Setting off the weekend

well constructed, smooth with minimum veins. V cut and go. 1st third blasts me with shortbread and tobacco. anytime i smoke upmann, i get wafts of bakery which is one of the primary reasons it's my favorite marca other than HdM. 2nd third continues with fresh baked bread and the tobacco builds into a richness that is hitting the spot. last third is more of the same flavors but the richness of the tobacco has roinded itself out and a a couple of draws of espresso come into play. Overall, not a lot of different flavors at play but the ones that came through were dense and rich. The PC is an old faithful when u want that upmann hit but dont want to commit too much time. Of course they're discontinued which is sad, but I'm not one to dwell on things past. for the ones who hoarded, there's a good reason they did and my hats off to u all. Sent from my SM-G955N using Tapatalk

Pres started a thread not long ago about MMC vs. HUHC vs. RYJPR, and what I took as rather strong response for the RYJ convinced me to order up. This is one of those boxes that has lived up to the hype. ROTT they felt crispy and ready to go, so I gambled, and it was great. Now barely a month later and a third of the way through the box, they are just getting better. In the spirit of the weekend comp, some pontificating on the half corona format. I have come to love them. Much of it is psychological. With young kids etc., I rarely have more than an hour to burn. On the occasional weekday where I get home a little before the circus, it is exactly what I reach for. These royales aren’t significantly cheaper than a beloved BBF or RASS, and I am tempted to reach for one of those. But I tend to smoke them faster because I feel rushed, and then I feel bad when life intervenes and I have to scuttle it after 30 mins. For whatever reason I feel more satisfied if I only get 30 minutes with a half corona. And if I do happen to get the full hour, nice and slow, these will go the distance. Full disclosure, the first one I clipped today was plugged solid. Not even hint of air through it. I was surprised, because every other one has been flawless. I set it aside and grabbed another, which was as expected, perfect. Poured a healthy Diplomatico, with a few ice cubes, cuz I’m classy like that. First puffs are crisp aromatic cedar, and light toasted tobacco. The finish has a little twang, that melds with the sweet rum. Those flavors don’t change much at all for the first half, continue to get better. Halfway, the finish develops a wonderful rawhide thing, like a big suede jacket. I also get some dry tobacco leaf. I think I’m imagining things, I’ve never held a raw tobacco leaf. Then, ah yes, we did occasionally use them for other purposes, many, many years ago. In the last half, there is some sour/bitterness, but nothing offensive. Nothing I would call elbows or youth. Only at the very end does it start to get hot. And hey, the thing was only three and a half inches to start with. I change my mind on the best scale to rate cigars just about as often as I smoke them. But I’ll say this was a 90. Or a 9. Or very good. Here’s to hoping two more boxes from a recent 24:24 deal-o-rama continue the hype

Construction: Top notch! The wrapper was covered in oil and also darker than the pictures show. Pre-Light: Dark tobacco, barnyard, and sweetness. The draw is spot on. First Half: Mostly toasted tobacco and chocolate and of course the "cuban twang" which i don't understand because a twang is a noise, but that's another conversation. Second Half: The toasted tobacco has eased off and the chocolate has remained. A tart dark fruit note has emerged to the foreground and it is wonderful! It's almost like a gastrique made from ripe dark fruit. The cigar did turn bitter a little quicker that i would have liked but i'm sure time will correct this issue. Score:91

Partagás Serie D No.4 OPA Mar 2010 In case you didn't know it, modern consensus in the Habanos community suggests that the number one selling Cuban vitola in the world is no longer the Montecristo No.4, rather it has been surpassed by the Partagas Serie D No.4. That's not bad for a cigar that because of its size (50 ring gauge x 124 mm or 4.9 inches) sold only 5000 boxes annually when it was first released in the 1960s. This Partagas Serie D No.4 was gifted to me by an anonymous benefactor (yes, you know who you are...and thank you!) a number of years ago, I decided today it was time to see how it was coming along, before I could change my mind and let it age into its tenth year! It was completely different to my MEG Abr 2016 Partagas Serie D No.4, which because of its 'toastiness' and pepper/spice prompted me to rest the remainders in the box until the sourdough started to peak through in the blend. This nine-year-old Party D4 was very mild, replete of sourdough, leather and cream and capped off with some black coffee. There was no pepper or spice as such and it satisfied in every way, this is pretty much how I prefer my Partagas cigars. Luckily I have one more from the same box to be thankful for at sometime before or around its tenth birthday!

Celebrated baby Hunter's 1st bday over the weekend. Definitely was a great time. All 4 daughters cooperated for pictures too lol.

My wife and I are both first generation college graduates. She holds a bachelor's in finance and shortly after completing that... Lit a fire under me! I did part time school until graduating with a bachelor's in computer science. She just completed her masters in accounting this past fall and had commencement yesterday. Very proud of her and her many accomplishments. You can see the big smiles below to confirm the rest of the family is just as proud. I don't have immediate plans to go for a masters yet, but living life with a person who raises your level and allows you to raise hers... It's where it's at kids. I'm proud of you Mrs. Vazquez!

This turned out to be a celebratory review, as my son took his first steps today!? Had one of these beauties for this review weekend. I have quite the assortment of wrapper shades for the No. 4 and picked a Colorado Claro out purposefully for this review. I think a lot of people go for dark oily wrappers in Montes, but have really been digging lighter shades lately. @JohnS made a mini review on FoH daily smoke also pointing towards this preference recently. For me, It comes down to, do i want to enhance the already present coffee chocolate of monte, or do I want to add some complexity by putting some cream in that coffee, and enhancing the citrus nutty flavors? Recently, been leaning towards the latter. Cold draw showed this will be a little open. Flavors are milk chocolate and hay. First-third: spices, milk chocolate and the citrus hits right out the gate. The citrus and spices give it a sort of ginger feeling on the tongue and I love that. Second-third: Milk chocolate coffee notes coming through. Way more chocolate than coffee. Citrus over taken spices. It remind me of those orange infused chocolate candy that were in the shape of an orange, that when you smashed it, the candy spread open into orange slices. Anyone know what I'm saying? Final-third: went a little fast and is now slowing down, but I still got it a tad hot, so I'm down to a puff a minute just trying to keep her lit. Bitter like irish stout beer also with the barley flavor. Milk Chocolate gave way to cooking chocolate, but citrus still there. Creamy mouthfeel with some nutty after taste. Yeah, no regrets on this lighter shade wrapper decision. I nub this while watching a baseball game. Score: 91 91 everyday. Peoples past problems with inconsistent Montes should give the marque another try for recent production, imho. Smoke time: 73 minutes Edit: Found picture of the candy I was talking about, it's this.

This is my first H Upmann Coronas Major it was purchased locally and given to me last year for a Birthday present. I did not have high hopes wrapper looked a little poor had started to separate near the band felt crispy and dry . I thought it must have been sitting in the cupboard of the tobacco shop for years. Ugly green Tubo and green wrapper to top it of I took it out of the Tubo and stuck it in a Tupperdore at 62RH for 11 months felt better after that Used a punch on it has a nice smooth cold draw lucky I was smoking this in the pool I was that shocked on the first few draws how good it tasted could have fallen over . First third Cedar cacao honey herbs and mild tobacco. Better flavour than the H Upmann petit coronas and half coronas I have Second third burning very evenly flavours intensify with some cream coming in very impressed and surprised. Thinking too myself how old is this how does it taste so great for something that was so dry. Final third wrapper starts to unravel still burning evenly flavours stay the same draw is perfect all the way through lots of lovely smoke I am thinking this is great I don't want it to end start to feel some heat slight bitterness at the nub This cigar was so beautiful I got out of the pool dripped water through the house to get a pipe to smoke the last of it ,once I was finished I wished I had another was a great birthday present and far exceeded what I expected it to be would give it a 9.5 out of 10

After waiting on orders to rest and watching the weekend reviews without being able to participate, this weekend finally presented an opportunity to jump in with a Monte 5. I smoked one 30 days ago ROTT and while it was good, I felt I needed to wait at least 30 days to begin to accurately assess the quality of the box. Rough edges, a wonky burn, and less than favorable conditions led to that first one being a bit of a waste. I'm glad to say that this experience was much better. I've never transcribed a review in quite this manner - more than just a few words on a Google sheet for my personal reference - so forgive my inexperience. Being a short cigar, I don't know if thirds are the most effective method of delineation so I'll take a different approach. Draw - perfect. Smoked it slow at about an hour from start to finish. Construction - small example, but maybe the best I've had for a CC. Flavors - from 24:24... "Up there with Siglo I when they are like this. Powerful cocoa/coffee hit." This was incredibly accurate as these 2 flavors were the most dominant. Some others, but these 2 were prevalent and delivered with a mid full body. I'll just make this taste centric.... Coffee - I got a dark roast espresso flavor. As an almost exclusive espresso drinker, I prefer a medium roast. Cocoa - in spades, with a dark chocolate mousse cake being the closest thing I could compare it to. The rest - Cream, some sort of buttery, baked good type flavor I couldn't hone in on - almost Nutella cheese croissant - if that makes sense. Barnyard on the nose. Nutty. Overall, a few more months may help as it had some rough edges so I'll check back in around August at the 18 month mark but wouldn't hesitate to grab another sooner if the situation warrants. Score: 88/100

CHICAGO North Side ??Jersey ??????

A 2015 La Fuerza to start my weekend. Paired with a nice Sancere. Cheers boys and girls!

Kicking off long weekend by shortening my Friday and working Saturday. Monday Stanley Cup Finals Game 1 BLUES V BRUINS. Really pulling for Blues here. The defense has to sort out the Marchand line that ate up Carolina. Low scoring defensive games maybe. Great goaltending both sides of ice as usual at this level. It will be a special CC day. This young RASS EOS DIC 18 smoking great only 30+ days in Humi at 65%RH. Cheers

My yearly Memorial Day Weekend ritual: After the 3 hour drive from NJ to my beach house, I put my stuff down inside the house, and before I even unpack, I go out on the deck and smoke a Siglo VI. Happy Summer everyone! Followed by a BBF And finishing up the day with a CoRo.

Tasting tobacco individually before going into a blend Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Raching temp and RH controlled humidor. Spanish cedar wood body. Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

HDM EE with an interesting STD themed box code HDM San Juan Tubos packs from an impulse duty free buy

Nope. does no harm. I take cigar box out of freezer and just set it on the kitchen counter for 30 minutes to come up to room temp, then into the cabinet it goes. Have not seen one crack on any cigar resulting from my process. YMMV