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Garden is done, darn old man winter knocking

Last night... LGC from our host... Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Took this very nice Rafael Gonzalez PC with me to flyfish a NorCal bay

Here is a bookmark I made with cardboard, Elmer's glue, and cigar bands.

JL 2 and coffee first time cigar and gin tonic, influence of foh.tv reviews )))

PSP Genios MOL SEP 17 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

PSD4

2014 Illusione Singulare

Montecristo No.1 ESL Dic 2017 If there was a poll conducted to seek out the most under-rated Montecristo cigar I wonder if the Montecristo No.1 would top it. I would think the top prize would go to the often neglected and unheralded coronas-sized Montecristo No.3, but I would hasten to add that the Lonsdale-sized Montecristo No.1 wouldn't be too far behind. I smoked this soon after I enjoyed a superlative Montecristo Especiales No.2 and honestly I have to admit that this Montecristo No.1 wasn't too far behind in terms of quality and satisfaction. So what were the similarities and differences? Both cigars had that Montecristo renowned milk coffee and cocoa and a hint of citrus twang. This Montecristo No.1 however was more towards mild-medium in strength, it wasn't as cream-textured and it had more of a toasted tobacco and leather combined flavour to it which wasn't present in the Montecristo Especiales No.2. It's a pity the Montecristo No.1 doesn't get more attention from cigar enthusiasts. After all, it's only 10 millimetres (or two-fifths of an inch) longer than a Cohiba Siglo III but a lot better value in terms of price in comparison.

This long weekend (in my part of the world) saw an opportunity to celebrate for my family. My sister-in-law is a seamstress by trade and she was excited to go to a nearby Retail shopping centre (at Birkenhead Point in Sydney) and assist and advise me on the best deals for updating my wardrobe for jeans. We went to the Calvin Klein store and got three pairs on sale (they were a bargain) and then she found some out-of-season (because winter is over) mohair wool pullovers seriously cheap so she suggested I get a couple of them too. I felt so thankful that whilst she went with my wife (her sister) to do some personal shopping, and since we were being hosted for lunch later, I should get something so I popped into the local LiquorLand Retail store and got a bottle of Moet and Chandon Champagne to celebrate over lunch. My brother-in-law (i.e. my wife's younger brother) was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia in February this year. If he was over 60 he would have minimal chance to beat it but he is 53. Most patients require a bone marrow transplant after initial chemotherapy. The outlook for five-year survival is 27% to 35%. Incredibly, he came over for lunch and told us that his doctor told him that there's no detectable traces of this aggressive blood cancer, he won't need a bone marrow transplant and he is fit to resume work next week. That Moet Champagne really went down well over lunch!

I got these today in a very generous prize pack! 2 I've been wanting to try and 1 I'd never have the opportunity unless in a pack like this. Thanks FoH!

The wrapper is a deep chestnut hue. Makes me miss the old tobacco strains. The colour is just incredible. Flawless construction. Firm throughout the cigar with a slight give when squeezed. The rounded triple cap looks good and the foot is packed. Aromas of fresh ground expresso beans, grassy notes, barnyard and earth emanate from the wrapper. A quick twist from my Siglo multi punch and we are ready to go. The draw is perfect. Eucalyptus, expresso, grassy notes and a hint of citrus come from the cold draw. First Third Man. What’s a start. Cocoa, eucalyptus, earth, leather, grassy notes, and a touch of citrus and cinnamon start is on our journey. Perfect balance between medium bodied strength and flavour profile. The retrohale is delicate and supple. Eucalyptus, cocoa, leather, grassy notes and a hint of light cedar move elegantly through the nasal passages. The after finish is hypnotizing. Gentle layers of eucalyptus, cocoa, leather, and light cedar dance on the palate beautifully. Touches of citrus, lavender and spice form the back end. Alluring and expansive due to the medium bodied strength level. Just gorgeous... Second Third There is a saying in golf. One great shot keeps you coming back for more. That one perfect swing, the beautiful ball flight after coming off the club, that mesmerizing arching trajectory into the green and the easy roll to the cup. It’s where everything comes together so you can easily twirl the club through your fingers after the shot. This is a similar experience. Everything is in perfect order. The retrohale is seductive. Gentle layers of eucalyptus, cocoa, grassy notes and light cedar move luxuriously through the nasal passages. The after finish is so relaxing. Eucalyptus, grassy notes, cocoa and light cedar lead the way. Citrus, lavender, spice and a touch of oolong tea on the back end. Rich in complexity and nuance. Sublime on the palate. Very tranquil. Final Third Cocoa and grassy notes move to the forefront with earth, leather and eucalyptus act as accents in the retrohale. Rich and soothing as it moves through the nasal passages. The after finish is just mesmerizing. Gentle layers of cocoa, grassy notes and earth lead the way. Leather and eucalyptus follow suit and gives way to citrus, lavender and spice. The oolong tea note has decided to leave the party early. Subtle and delicate on the palate. Wonderful complexity. So many layers and nice interplay within the flavour profile. An amazing experience. Final Impressions Hard to describe how good this was. Everything was perfect. Wonderful complexity, excellent balance between flavours and strength, with great depth and nuance within the flavour profile. One for the ages. Just like that one perfect shot on the golf course that keeps you coming back for more.. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Love the Rodolfo format. 54x180mm. While fairly gordo, the Piramides point cut tight makes it a reasonable < 50RG on the jaws. These have an exquisite wrapper. Silky, smooth, dead on Colorado. Clipped to a perfect draw. Cashew, honey, balsam at cold. Perfect air flow. Fired it up to some luscious graham cracker and cream notes. Review may be a bit biased as I've found these again and again to be phenomenal cigars. Burning the house down! Spicy and richly full bodied. Cashew, cedar and hay. A sweet caramel backdrop. Nice progression, evolution and complexity. Great ash! This goes down as a top cigar for me so far this year. 96/100 Smoke one if you've got them!

PSD4 LMB OCT 18. I am starting to detect some fine flavors underneath a woody bitter edge here. Very promising and smokeable but staying down for more rest.

My Seahawks got the W this morning. Now that the kiddos are down for their naps I’m kicking back with a ‘19 BBF while watching the Raiders-Bills game.

Punch Short de Punch TPO Sep 19 I wouldn't be exaggerating in stating how genuinely surprised I am at how good these Punch Short de Punch cigars are smoking right now, for me. Despite being less than a year old this box has more than delivered in regards to quality and satisfaction. Put it this way, I have an unopened box of Punch Punch from 2016 and it is my solemn hope that they turn out to smoke like this box has, when I get around to 'cracking' open that box! It's not as if the Punch Short de Punch is overly complex because it's not. It's a simple cigar that exemplifies how honestly good Punch can be. The flavours I consistently get are a combination of sour cream, cedar, leather and a Cuban twang 'tart' citrus which is simply so pleasant to smoke. I should move on to a plethora of other Habanos options and give this box some more time to develop but the truth is I won't. There's only 2 left from this 10-count box and I envisage I will be done with them before the end of the year. Thankfully I have another box ready to replace this one when that happens!

Montecristo Leyenda

Punch petit corona very flavorful

Afternoon coffee break. PLPC, LEP-NOV-16 Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk

It's a freebie afternoon for me, gifted Monte 2 from @Plato sitting on top of my new personalized cigar rest courtesy of @BeerPimp. Great BOTL here on the forum! Cheers!

Finally broke down and cracked open the Habanos Combinaciones Estuche X Festival del Habano from 2008. Grabbed the Cohiba Genios Maduro 5 - 52x144mm, a Robusto Extra. A selection of 10 cigars released over the past years: Siglo VI - 2002 Partagas P2 - 2005 Edmundos - 2004 Genios - 2007 HU Mag 50 - 2008 RyJ Short Churchill - 2006 HdM Epicure Especial - 2008 SCDLH Mercaderes - 2006 Cuaba Generosos - 1996 Trinidad Robustos Extra - 2004 Went through a ton of the M5 Secretos on release. That was a great size! Haven't had one of these in quite a while. Richly flavored dark chocolate, espresso, earth and a strong cedar note from being in the chest for 12 years. Medium-full bodied. Perfect draw though the burn was a little wonky. Really smoked well, very enjoyable. Well done, a 93 for me.

Beautiful 2015 Siglo VI from our host (by way of a wonderful BOTL [mention]inter4alia [/mention]here in Chicago) Makes for a wonderful Sunday afternoon at Biggs. Thanks gents! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Haven't had one of these in a while, figured it was time to revisit. Punch Preferidos ER 5ta Avenida 2018 REG ENE 19 and some iced White Rock Coffee Lady of the Lake blend. Coming along nicely.

Bolivar Libertador MSU NOV 18

American Automatic Machine Co. produced this machine in 1893. Works perfectly and comes with one key.

From a ULA JUN 15 box which is in a sweet spot.

Bolivar PC MSU JUL 19. These are smoking great right now.

SCdLH El Principe from ‘08. Love these!

Connie 1 Sp Beli Reynaldo pc

Lusi 2016

This was the last cigar from a half a fifty cabinet I had. It had a knot in the foot and after I cut it and checked the draw I gave it a short ream with my draw poker and lit up. DCs can be tricksters because they are long and fat. Yes, 50 RG is a fat cigar in my book. It take times for the cigar to warm up and really get going and once this one hit it's stride it was pretty damn good. Smooth as silk like one would expect from a ten year old cigar it hd that lovely Partagas spice. It may have been a bit muted because I had it in my desk top for years intending to smoke it but never finding the opportunity. I retrohaled this one right to the nub. The burn was straight for the first half and needed a few touch ups at the end. I put it down after about two hours and 15 minutes and though that for such a smooth cigar I had a pretty good cigar buzz going. This cigar would have benefited from better storage. Being in the desk top humidor exposed to fresh air three or four times a week for years probably diminished the overall smoking experience. I store my cigars in the boxes they come in and often put the last few in tubes or other boxes when I get down to the last few. I find that most Cuban cigars suit me at about the five year mark on and wether they benefit from more age is a toss up. This one was in decline. I'll give it 3 stars.233B6DF3-60C6-42C9-85CD-003992C26818.heic

My all time favourite band is the PL Sultano. what an absolute stunner

Available in both original and Vertuo formats. Get them before they're gone!

Trinidad Vigia UAO ABR 18, really coming along nicely. Paired with some sparkling water.

HOYO DE MONTERREY Epicure No.2 where I got a 1/4 box UBR ABR 19 on 24:24 back in Jun I've had an average one before this ROTT and it was fine but nothing spectacular, was hoping this one would be better since it's had about 60 days rest from their trip over. Plus I think I've gotten more into cigars and have more of a palette to identify flavors, although from my bad experience with a RyJ short churchill before...I'm not sure lol. Aroma off the bat was medium strength so I have high hopes! Went for the straight cut and the draw was pretty good - little but enough pull. Smoke volume was big. I've had a visually appealing HdM Epi2 before from the same batch, but it had a pretty bad burn and didn't have a ton of flavor. 1/3 Had a nice sweet floral taste and aroma. It was a good change from what I've smoked these days and was an enjoyable smoke so far! Weird thing was it left a waxy coat over my teeth which reminded me when I eat spinach, odd and a slight negative but it's not a big deal. Through the first third, taste went from the sweet floral taste to a creaminess to leather to grass/hay and then back to cream. Lighter flavor profiles as it progressed, but found the flavors. 2/3 As it progressed from the 2/3 got some dark cherry flavor/stone fruit that I've heard the Prez say. Got hints here and there, but otherwise a nice rich tobacco flavor that I enjoyed. 3/3 The latter part of the cigar, I got more of the rich tobacco flavor as well as a woody flavor. I got a little bitter harshness, but in general I think maybe another year it will be ready. Still delicious to the end and I had to break out the nub tool! Overall I'd give it a 7.5/10 and honestly I'm surprised it turned out so well after maybe an average 5/10 ROTT I had earlier. Burn was still a little wonky but not too bad! I think I've had bad luck with the previous review cigars, so if you've been following with my reviews you may think I'm a negative nelly lol. But this was a delight and I really enjoyed it! I still have 4 left and I think the next one...if it is similar to this I'll have to buy a box!

Love the old labels! A dear departed friend sent me a few from his collection before he passed.

This was a single, so I don’t know the year or box code. Construction seems good; draw is easy without veering into wind tunnel territory. Straight from the off it’s pure Montecristo with cocoa the dominant flavour. The first third is a mixture of cocoa, sweet spice, and chocolate powder. On the retrohale there is a bitter dark chocolate and more sweet spice. In the second third there are lashings of milk chocolate, a slight citrus note appears and disappears, and there are intermittent and mild fruit notes. The retrohale is still dark chocolate and sweet spice. The final third is more of the same on the palate: it’s all milk chocolate, and the body - which has hitherto been medium full - ramps up to full. There’s a touch of cream and citrus on the retrohale. In the final inch or so the cigar gets slightly bitter and hot. The burn needed touching up throughout, but humidity here is about 85, so that’s to be expected. There is also a surprising strength in terms of nicotine, which I don’t often get in a Cuban, but it’s nothing too overpowering. This is a pleasant cigar; I suspect it would be better if I’d let it rest for a while. It isn’t complex, but the flavours were very enjoyable. I give it 90 but suspect it has potential to be much better.

My last of a 1/4 box purchased last year through the PCC Aged Program. Wish I had bought a whole box! Beautiful rosado wrappers. Construction is excellent. Fill and roll are right on. Draw is great, perhaps a tad open, but very good nonetheless. Used a punch cut on this one. BERRIES!!! CHERRIES!!! These little firecrackers do not waste any time getting going, first puffs have been such berry bombs, they taste like the fruit snacks that I always steal from my kids snack cabinet!! Just enough of a cedar undertone to balance things out. Not much transition, but it’s berry/cherry/cedar repeat. And it’s delicious. I wish they were longer (that’s what she said). A short and sweet review for a short and sweet cigar. 50 minutes of pure enjoyment while I watched my son’s roller hockey game. Rating: 91/100 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is the 3rd cigar that I’ve plucked from this box of 10. The first 2 were really flavorful, but seemed very strong bodied in the second half, to the point where the nic hit got to me. Unusual for me and for Cubans. So it’s been 4 months since my last sample, figured I’d give it another shot and see where they are at. As with the previous samples, construction is great. Beautiful looking wrapper, well applied cap, even fill. Draw is right on the money. Toasts up evenly and gets off to a great start. 1/3 - starts off with familiar stone fruit notes, however not as sweet or fruit-forward as the previous examples. More of a capuccino/espresso on the finish. A nice balance of flavors to start. Body and strength both under medium. 2/3 - a continuation of the 1/3 with the stone fruit eventually falling off and the cappuccino/espresso being dominant with some generic wood in the background. Flavors are not nearly as full as the other 2 I’ve sampled. Body and strength are still under medium. 3/3 - no ramp up in flavor, strength, or body. Kind of a flat line in the flavor department. Tasty? Sure. But not anything that’s blowing me away. In conclusion, a disappointing development from where these were 6 months - 1 year ago. Maybe just a dud too, who knows. I’ll give these another 4-6 months before I pull another one. I’m looking for the full flavors from previous examples without the strong nicotine that they had. This one dropped the strength but also fell off in the flavor department. Overall: 87/88 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

1997 El Rey Del Mundo Choix Supreme today... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Finally broke down and cracked open the Habanos Combinaciones Estuche X Festival del Habano from 2008. A selection of 10 cigars released over the past years: Siglo VI - 2002 Partagas P2 - 2005 Edmundos - 2004 Genios - 2007 HU Mag 50 - 2008 RyJ Short Churchill - 2006 HdM Epicure Especial - 2008 SCDLH Mercaderes - 2006 Cuaba Generosos - 1996 Trinidad Robustos Extra - 2004 For today's selection I chose the Cohiba Genios. Haven't had one in quite a while. Richly flavored dark chocolate, espresso, earth and a strong cedar note from being in the chest for 12 years. Medium-full bodied. Perfect draw though the burn was a little wonky. Well done, a 93 for me.

Amen. I have changed my workout routine since the initial post. Work out every day. 50 minutes to 70 minutes. Focus on muscle group each day (m-Legs T- Chest + Shoulders W- Abs and Arms T- Back) The rest of the week are Freestyle sessions be it at home or gym. Low carb and 12/8 fasting window. 4-5 days booze free a week. introduced protein/casein powders to minimise muscle loss during the calorie deficit phase. It's been 12 months and going well. Hit target weight and all other muscle and fat indicators are heading in the right direction. Mentally it has been a God send