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Crazy day. I've only once ever had a morning cigar, but today (Friday in the U.S.) we began with two: a Cohiba Panatela (AUM Aug 2014) followed by a Cohiba Maduro 5 "Secreto" (ABR Apr 2008; obtained thanks to FOH). I shared those pairs of cigars with friends met at the Arturo Fuente event about which I'd posted some months ago (along with a delicious, long espresso and an egg sandwich). What a great start to the day. (I wouldn't want such a start too often, but once in a great while, ...it's well worth the fun ) (To clarify, followed that with a bit of work plus a long bike ride, which took up the amperage from the day's start. Not all craziness ...Now, having been a bit spoiled by flavor, decided to enjoy a Juan Lopez Malecon (BOA Sep 2015). (Have to return to earth tomorrow. ) All of that said, of the whole day, I believe the petite panetela was truly the standout. The aged Secreto, while wonderful, seemed a bit mild in comparison, and now the Malecon (in all of its girth) is having a hard time keeping up with the memories of the savory, subtle little changes in flavor from that skinny-but-intensely delicious little panatela. (Another reminder to not judge a book by its cover, ...or size.) Best to all for a great weekend, ...And seek out the skinnys!

2019 JL2

Always enjoy these Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

18 Rio Outstanding So good! RAT MAR 20 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Im going to need another humidor…

Had a Monte especiales 2 before this that had a few moments of greatness between averageness, and now a 2019 BPC that keeps hitting above its weight!

2019 Siglo II

Late night Boli PC… and smoking very well so far.

Partagas Shorts. Should be in Greece by this time tomorrow.

Received these yesterday blind. Giggled when I saw the box code. Very happy!

ASR AGO 19. Truly remarkable and performing like a champ in gusting winds. Perfect pre game with some Diplomatico on the rocks before me and my buddy in from Brasil do up some ramen. Have a great weekend All!

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07 EMA SEP 07 Dip 2 yep from the box at auction a few weeks back. Sensational !

C&C time. Mag 50 (2018) from our gracious host. Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

Punch DC

Bolivar Bellicoso Fino January 21. Lovely at the start and end, went out in the middle but only needed one relight.

UPE Sep 13 Royal Robusto and Big Shoulders pour over. Crisp fall morning. Doesn't get much better.

My second ( and last ) NC this year. A Perdomo 20th Anniv. Barrel Aged I received a few months back. While spicier than the Fuente Opus X yesterday, again very flat and one-dimensional. Lots of smoke and a beautiful band but that's about it. Happy to have burned my NC stock and be back on Cubans ...

From our host. One of the nicest looking boxes of Siglo VI I have gotten. Like. Ever. Thank you!

2017 Dip 2. Had a monte 2 yesterday so the battle of the 2s continues. For me, I think the diplomaticos has the upper hand. There’s a nice twangy breadiness that I get out of these which is slightly sweet - I think that description of partagas sweet bell pepper does it justice. Good cigar, 4.15/5

Finished up a 12hr night shift so bcj and a Cuba libre

Probably jinxing it. But he fell asleep shortly after takeoff.

My first NC this year. Fuente Opus X 20 Years. Received it at a cigar event 2 months ago. Perfect construction and draw as to be expected. Very mild and slightly sweet-ish. Good cigar but kind of one-dimensional with no defined changes or progession. For the price - 42€ in Germany - I'd rather have 3 Partagas P2's....

C&C time. PSDP (2020) from our gracious host. Sent from my SM-G986B using Tapatalk

My first Club Allones from the box, terrific from start to finish, didn't require the perfect draw until my fingers got hot! I'm fairly new-ish to cigars (huge hiatus after first getting into them) and this was stunning. First day of our holiday, sat on the balcony listening to the sea, it surely doesn't get much better.

Espinosa Mi Barrio Churchill (I think?) - picked up a 5er of these and I'm glad I did because it's excellent. Malted vanilla, white pepper and cream for days. I initially read that these were by DPG I believe? But now Espinosa is rolling them I think. Not surprised DPG had a hand in them at one point because I definitely taste DPG influence in there.

I’ve been hitting the Reyes fairly hard the last month. So great with morning coffee!

Trinidad Topes Edicion Limitada. El ultimo......😪

Change of pace this AM for the Ryder Cup No 2 for the day. 2015 short Wrapping the day up with this HU 2. Last one from box was one of the worst cigars I’ve ever had, convinced me I had covid because the rest of the box has been so nice.

QdO Corona Claro from MSU OCT 18. Very consistent box with excellent construction. This was very mild in body for the first two thirds, with milky coffee just sweetened slightly by a plain biscuit edge. Then the last third ramped up to the nub, but no bitterness at all. I’m not gaga for this marca - it’s quite a simple profile with limited depth. But a very good cigar for the morning, or for a light smoke more generally. And good construction does hugely increase the pleasure in a smoke… After dinner short smoke: El Principe LGR JUN 17. This box a little fuller, and more tightly rolled - but still reliably good. Raisiny rich sweetness, gentle spice, a creeping kick in the ass… fine with a sneaky dram of Glendronach 15.

I saw Rob mention rum earlier and got me thinking… time for a tasting. Belicoso is a MSA DIC 17 Digging into the singles box for final round of Ryder Cup. I have a couple of these mid 2000s No 2’s left. As good a day as any to smoke one.

Friday night beer and cuban time. Let the good times roll.

19 R&J Ex #4 - love these cigars, I wish they made a larger vitola for this blend!

Gonna see what this fat daddy is all about.

@Kaptain Karl… A.) Remove lid, remove insert(s), B.) hold the outer paper together pointing up pinched between fingers, C.) lift up gently and it will slide the whole bundle up and out. If no bundle paper, then perform “A” only, invert the cab onto table/desk top while holding the bundle inside with a finger or two, slide fingers out with inverted cab now resting on flat surface, now gently lift cab off bundle. Use the side of the cab to line up the bundle so it will slide back in without damaging the feet. Reverse steps to re-insert. Easy

AF Hemingway Classic Happy Fuente Friday! Excellent taste and perfect draw,burn and construction as always. Tied with the Signature as my favorite Hemingway vitola. Full hour of smoking bliss Por Larranaga Montecarlos Pretty tasty, though not as good as others I have had for some reason. Cold draw was extremely tight as usual, but a run through each end with the PerfecDraw and it was excellent when smoking. Burn was perfect, as was construction other than the tight roll mentioned. Overall a pretty good smoke. Have half a box of 2016's that should be excellent, as the 1 I sampled certainly was. Chateau Fuente Cuban Belicoso Sun Grown Extremely tasty and perfect draw,burn and construction as usual One of my favorite Fuentes Excellent, solid hour long smoke

I’d been holding out for an SLB of Sig IVs from here…..but came across these elsewhere and couldn’t pass em up.

Also a Shorts for me tonight - SOR DIC 19

Partagás Shorts RAE FEB 15. Cohiba/HUSW beginning with graham cracker and honey. Tunneled like a SOB after a few minutes and was a pain in the @ss afterwards. Overall flavor was good. But construction was terrible.

This is my third stick from this box. After the first two I was pretty convinced that this blend was just too light for my taste. Its been a couple months since I’ve tried them, and I wanted a nice Friday night cigar, so I decided to give them another shot. I dry boxed this stick for two days. Immediately after I got a nice light going, this was way, way better than the last two. Don’t get me wrong— it didn’t magically turn into a Mag 46, but the flavors were on. Lots of floral notes. Honey, baking spices, stone fruit, and something resembling jasmine tea at times. Burn was razor sharp until the final third, where it required a couple touch ups. 160mm would normally be a bit more than I need, but I nubbed it. This box is still really young, so I can only imagine it will get better with time. Im excited to let these rest until the end of the year and try another. Happy Friday everyone!

Interesting thread to which I can only contribute some pictures of the La Corona Policromia - gifted to me some 10 years ago by @Ryan and smoked exactly 9 years ago at the Pharmacy with some Yellow Spot. Cheers.

Two boxes of Cohiba Sublimes I sold to help fund a 68 Princeton Reverb. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Smoking some tri tips on the KJ tonight with some friends while our kids are at their first middle school dance of the year…soccer and a birthday party tomorrow, then celebrating my abuelita’s 92nd on Sunday. Watching the Raiders continue their DOMINANCE as I can…cigars sprinkled throughout, starting with this Medio Siglo poolside while the KJ warms up. Cheers to the weekend, FOH!!!

Headed to Athens Greece for a wedding. At the airport with my wife and son. Trying to tire out the 2 year old before the 9 hour flight.

2019 punch punch

Heading out to to do finish the Orbit irrigation system. So far so good, bluetooth hookup working and talking to the central control hub. This is my third orbit bhyve system connected to this hub. If they were lasers Di's backyard would be the Deathstar. Gorgeous early morning. Perfect blue sky day. Heleconia in full bloom. Last weekend was a bust due to the robbery so today is replaying what we would have done then. Taking mum and dad out to lunch at Happy Boy. Great restaurant....funky asian and damn tasty. Gym seeion sometime before we leave, back home to read papers and prep for the Rugby feast (league and Union) accompanied by cigars, rum and wine. Light dinner of home made hamburgers with beef/pork patties, egg, cheese, grilled pineapple etc. Tomorrow is not so much fun. Furniture removal, dump runs and work. Have a great weekend!

Just had two boxes of Monte 5s from the same factory with the same date code. One box had way darker tone of wrappers. The darker box showed more cocoa with sweeter finish, the bright box had brighter tone of flavors(freshly cut grass) and slight sharp and bitter finish. Both were pleasant but preferred the darker box(cocoa and sweet finish) box. I might be in the minority, but from the Monte 4s i've compared similarly(but with different factory/date code. mostly 2019/2020 though), I get more earthy taste and bitter finish from brighter wrappers and cocoa and sweetness from darker wrappers for some reason. I built a preference for darker shaded montes for the time being, but might change after more experience.

I got a date with my couch and the Ryder Cup. It’s been a long couple weeks at work so a down weekend is needed. Smoked some chicken legs tonight, beef ribs tomorrow and pork shoulder for Sunday. Smoked a CoLa this evening. Gonna dig into the ‘special drawer’ for the rest of the weekend. Sunday would have been my best friends 40th birthday so I’m gonna smoke something nice in his honor.

Bah. Like owning a classic car without driving it.