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Only working 2 days next week so why not? Pulled a non blind taste test and RL Seales rum definitely wins. For me. A PLMC. Said it before but damn I love these things. I keep a PLMC email loaded. 😂 Im saving my darker/oily wrappers for aging. The lighter ones I’m smoking now because they are AWESOME! Being new to this and to buzzed to search, is there a SIGNIFICANT difference in aging darker vs lighter wrappers? Yea I know. I had a thought.. Scary huh? 😂

TOR Dic 2015 from our host. Everything John said it would be

EOL FEB 20 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Fundie (2018) from our gracious host.

Grumpy with this awful weather yet again!

Have a nice evening everyone ... Punch Punch SOP JUL 21

Hi. Upmann Now. 2.

Just confirming that all Nudies left Europe last Friday. Our team will start sending the tracking details shortly. Let us know when they start landing. Put them away for 30 days

Closed out the weekend strong with my first Dip 2 from our favorite host. Buttery, cake --> bell peppers = 😋

Double Trouble.

Montecristo Doble Edmundo.

2020 punch punch from our host. A sweet creamy smoke with a lot of nuts, cedar, and hints of orange peel?, and ginger. Leaves an odd sweet flavor in the back of my throat, something I've never tasted before.

Enjoying the weekend with an after brunch treat

Obvious fakes. You can tell by the cellophane wrapper! 😀

Like many I was curious about these sticks, having never had a farm roll and not foreseeing any opportunities to procure any from a source I felt 100% confident about. I ended up freezing these for a week and letting them rest for 3 months before finally trying one. The "Siglo II" name is obviously just a reference to the vitola, but I've found that most of the sticks, especially with the bigger vitolas, run a bit fatter and sometimes a bit longer than they're supposed to be. Decided to try out this one first, as the narrow ring gauge probably lends itself to acclimating faster than some of the other much fatter ring gauges. First third: opens with a nice cream, hay, and a touch of grassiness. There's an interesting tartness on the finish, not quite RASS-like but similar. Maybe more inline with a SLR Regio. The flavor slowly becomes richer, taking on a rich tobacco note with a touch of cocoa and creamy coffee. Middle third: twangy sweet cream and a blend of tobacco, cocoa, coffee, and hay. The notes are hard to pull apart. It could probably be described both as balanced or muddled. The cigar is extremely smooth though, no harsh notes or pepper, just a smooth medium body. Last third: flavor profile doesn't change much. It actually reminds me of the notes I get off of Habanos cigars that are a bit underfilled with the hay notes, but lacking the harshness that accompanies underfilling. It's definitely well rolled, no fill or burn issues throughout the smoke. Overall: I feel pretty certain that this is Cuban tobacco (but I also only got 2/5 in the blind tasting so 🤐). As for how good it was... meh. It was pleasant and smooth for sure, but it also seemed to lack any particularly distinct flavors. The Habanos marcas all seem to have their unique characteristics but if their was a generic Habanos flavor profile that they all built off of, I imagine this would be it. I would describe it as Montecristo cream with a touch of coffee meets Romeo y Julieta rich tobacco notes. It has been only 3 months of rest, though, so I'm intrigued to see how these age and how the other vitolas vary. 3 months is only half of the rest time I usually put in before trying something for the first time. 88/100

Tatuaje La Verite 2013

Please can we stop all this talk of "Leaving Europe" it's like salt in the wounds

They did. I loved that place. I got to be very friendly with a couple staff members there before the pandemic hit. They reopened it briefly, for maybe 3 months in late 2020, then shut it down completely. It was slated to be some stupid Bruno Mars "Ultra Lounge" then MGM's REIT sold the Mirage property to the Seminole Indians who are going to turn it into a Hard Rock. MGM is still operating it, but not for long. Again, a huge bummer, I really enjoyed the Mirage. It was like a Mini Bellagio for 1/3rd the price. The Volcano in the front and the area where Rhumbar was are the base of what will be the new Guitar shaped Hotel Tower. So its probably gone forever. I loved being able to smoke outside. Montecristo, in Ceaser's is still a good spot. I've been a loyal MGM player since I was 21, but they recently crushed their rewards/comp system, so I'm excited to check out Resorts World in general. Haha. Exactly. So perfect.

Here's a public service announcement....remind your significant other of March 14th.... Steak and BJ day... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steak_and_Blowjob_Day

....tracking details to come

I was shocked when I received my maduro N1 Lancero bundle yesterday morning. I immediately put the bundle away (minus one) for the recommended 30 day rest. I just had to fire one up ROTT this morning and it was not disappointing. Very very smooth, loads of dark chocolate and a hint of sweet liquorice. Sorry, not meant to be a review but so excited to have them. Great job FOH.

when have blokes ever needed an excuse?

.....I am all for it !!! It needs to be equally matched with a Broentines option however 😁

Five years ago my doctor told me I needed to lose weight and get my sugar down. He wanted me to lose 5 pounds and come back in 6 months for bloodwork. So I went on a diet of 1 boiled egg and a few potato chips for breakfast and the same for lunch. Eat whatever for dinner and drank tons of water. Went back 6 months later and the doctor asked me how did I manage to lose 36 pounds in 6 months? I told him liquor, cocaine and prostitutes will drop 30 pounds off of anyone. He has never again said a word about my weight. But for all you fat bastids looking to drop a few pounds, boiled eggs and water is something that you might consider trying. Really helped me drop weight.

They're called "Australian Battered Potatoes" in the US. You can get them at county/state fairs.... and they are disgusting!! That's ranch and cheese. 🤢 The woman that brought this over to the USA should have her Australian citizenship revoked and barred from returning. Those poor potato scallops!! Oh the humanity!!!

Probably my favourite Montecristo. LMB NOV 18 Leyenda. Such a dense, creamy and rich smoke. Like velvety chocolate mousse with a touch of spice on the finish. Smooth as can be… wow Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

My new favorite sipping rum. RL Seale’s (thanks @nKostyan for the recommendation 👍🏻 ). Along side a 17 Siglo IV I got from some guy in OZ. Forget his name but one of his mates writes some awesome articles. 😎 🤷🍺🤦🏼🤦🏼🤦🏼 😂😂😂😂😂😂👍🏻

Cooler day here in Charleston (50f), so not quite like Karl's afternoon Trinidad Fundi (RMU Oct 2016) and a beauty... Started with a stout as pairing, but it didn't seem right somehow, so made a rum Hot Toddy! Perfect offset to the slight chill, and a great match for the Trini. (The cigar stayed lit after leaving it for the kettle and the hot drink. Hat's off to the torcedor.)

I think it's quite well put-together. https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/02/06/cuba-us-relations-isolation-sanctions/ Not much mention of who the next president will be, Diaz-Canal is 61 now. Constitutionally, the Cuban president must be under 60 at election. I'm hearing strong rumours of Raulito "El Cangrejo" Castro. Who knows.. Not the sharpest tool in the shed by all accounts but a son of Deborah Castro (Daughter of Raul) and a certain Luis Alberto Lopez-Calleja (also too old to run for president but holds a lot of power and influence in Cuba)

Me waiting thirty days more for the Nudies to rest.

just out of curiosity, where else would you vomit?

And here I was thinking this was a thread about an occasion to fire up a PL Galanes…

Awesome. I was wondering if I was going to have to say "I bought 2 bundles of nudies and all I got was this lousy tshirt" (American joke in case it doesn't translate well!)

I bought this last November and decided to light it up after seeing it made haflwheel's Top 25. From the first to last puff there was a very earthy flavor. Intermittent nutty and very mild pepper notes on the tongue waxed and waned. The retrohales were very smooth with no notable pepper or stinging. The draw and burn were pretty good but the ash did not hold much, which is usually my experience with smaller ring gauge cigars. All in all not a bad start to my weekend. 2-3/5

After the mild HdM EE I went for something a little darker for the evening smoke. It took a few cuts to get the draw I wanted and looking at the pictures it got pretty close to the top of the band. Construction was good and no more or less quality than I'd expect. Initial puffs brought out a raisin/dried fruit note that was present for the first third or so. At that point a dark cocoa and earthiness took over and was present for the rest of the cigar. I picked up very little if any pepper which was unexpected but appreciated. Pretty good smoke and a nice juxtaposition to my morning cigar. 2-3/5

HDM Du Depute (2015) great morning.... Now RYJ Short Churchill (2013) simply delish... Both from our gracious host.

Beautiful Sunday morning ... HdM Epicure de Luxe RAT DIC 20 The magic of Sunday afternoon ... HU Royal Robusto GLE MAR 21

In Melbourne we call potato scallops potato cakes. Scallops from the fish shop for us are battered scallops ( the shellfish). Fish and chips were the family business for us. Dad started in 1965 in Lygon St Carlton and finished with his last shop in the suburbs in the late eighties. He made the best fish and chips.. Hardest worker I knew, was my Dad, Fed a generation before Maccas, KFC etc. came to Australia. Back in those days fish and chips were pretty much all there was in terms of take away in Melbourne. Busiest day was always Friday night. I would leave my office job early on Fridays and put on an apron and serve customers in the family business until I was 28. Great memories..

2018 BBF

TUA JUL 20 BBF. The whole box is a 95 score.

Libertador watching Pebble Beach. 15 degrees outside so I love seeing the green grass on TV. Great cigar to go with the great golf and scenery. Cohiba Secretos just tastes muddy to me. Not my kind of cigar

Terrible weather here in the Bay Area 😁

Busy day!

Nice looking box of PSP2's. TUA JUN 21.

Wishing I grabbed another box or 3 of these. FWIW, was from an ABO JUN 2019 box. Was rich and balanced, starting off with graham cracker & caramel evolving into nuts + vanilla + baking spices with sweet, stone fruit teases. Now for the "To smoke or to age?" debate every time I see the box. Definitely a nice pick up 🥂 Tough act to follow, but this BBF performed admirably

H. Upmann Coronas Junior.