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A little smoke in honor of Nino along with a pour of HC. Break out something special or memorable if you knew him or not.

Flawless 898 while watching the people fishing . Nice night for a CoRo.

No5 ASU DEC 2017

Today's smokes H Upmann Regalias and Partagas Petite Corona Especial

Deep dive got me motivated to break out a Rio Seco - lovely smoke that builds in body and flavor throughout. Pavillion stain and seal is done and the official naming has finally been attached. Smoking a 2010 SW to launch the Cigarden officially.

Trinidad Vigia tubo. Date unknown. These really do have a donut mouthfeel. Definitely a nice treat.

C&C time. Medio Siglo (2018) from our gracious host. HDM Du Depute (2015) from our gracious host to start off the weekend.

Quai d’Orsay No. 50 (REM DIC21).

08 epicure No 1. Last of the box, they have all been great. I remember smoking one from this box 11 years ago and it was a transcendental experience. Sad to see the box go, but nice to reflect on the intervening decade. Have a great weekend everyone!

Short Sent from my SM-G996U1 using Tapatalk

Beautiful 90 minutes of life... VR UNICOS

2015 La Escepcion. Been a couple years since I last smoked one. Still a flavor bomb (at least through the first third). Smoothing out quite nicely.

Smoking a Club Allones as I always do on my daughter’s 7th birthday (2015) This cigar is excellent and has really smoothed out. Will have enough to smoke until she is 22. [emoji2] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Siglo IV i think. Circa 2020. From C/P offering here. Definitely a nice smoke.

Siglo IV BTE JUN06. My first born is headed off to college next week so there was a reason to celebrate. Starting off beautifully Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

With Nino passing I was thinking about Mike as well and this thread. I will likely post a separate review, but today was a great day to try this SLR DC AEP MAR 07 that I traded with @Chibearsv for some other DCs some time ago. Daughter finished first week of her dream first job and I thought I should stop and celebrate while also contemplating some of our brothers.

Montecristo Double Edmundo Alex custom Prince with with a shaggy foot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Going against the grain. E.P Carrillo Pledge. Let's see how it goes.

@Rhinoww I was thinking similarly today. Good idea to revive this thread. 2015 CPE RIP Mike and Nino. Like this cigar, you were both a class act

Another Devastating Loss. What a terrible 6 months it's been. I only knew Nino well for the last 5 years or so, but we became fast friends. He taught me so much about Cigars, Cuba and how to Live Life. I'm going to miss him very much. He could be very direct, which is probably a big part of why we got along so well. He and my Father became fast friends as well. We definitely need to have some sort of gathering in his Honor next time we're all in Havana. I knew he had been sick for a while, but this still came as a surprise. I hope he's enjoying a cigar and couple fingers of Rum in the sky. A few photos of him in his element, as I'll remember him. Andy Ryan Cracking everyone up at the old Partagas Shop: At Espacios with Javi and Habana Mike: A handful from a few Long Lunches at Santy: He and My Dad, enjoying Mojitos at Hotel Raquel and accidently matching at El Laguito: Out at the Farm: Tocamadera:

Taking a Friday afternoon off to contemplate a few meaty topics. One was a bit of a celebration of my daughter’s first week down at first out of college job ( which also happens to be her dream first job). I needed a worthy stick - why not an AEP MAR 07 SLR DC that I traded some other DC with @Chibearsv before things got really nutty. Beautiful 75 degree day. Low humidity. Seemed like a perfect day to finally light this one up. I should note this is the oldest aged stick I have smoked to date at 15 years and so far no disappointments. Straight cut. Firm but not stiff draw. A delightful start with a touch of sweetness and a light lingering mint aftertaste long after the draw. The most interesting thing about this stick at the start are the lingering and developing flavors well after the smoke is gone. Starts w a creaminess akin to Hoyo then jumps around. Eventually things settle towards a toasted mint with a hint of chocolate. Second third continues and intensifies these flavors. While the flavors are delicate the cigar is no shrinking violet when it comes to strength. I can’t imagine what it was like 15 years ago when fresh. Cigar was kept at 65 rh but interestingly needed a few relight. With the successive draws the flavors are nicely intense, but I am preferring a slower draw and smoke. Chocolate and crème emerge. This is turning into an outstanding cigar both as to flavors and complexity and I’m not halfway done yet but fearing this trip ending already. At the midway point I’m thinking I don’t want this cigar to end. The only other SLR I have had is the Regios. They do share a dna of what is that a hint of raspberry. I had to hide my remaining stash of those to keep me from smoking through all of them, like the ERDM choix. My only complaint is that I have had to relight twice in the middle third. Perhaps a bit of dry boxing on my other remaining stick before I smoke that, whenever that is. It will be a special event as this cigar is a memorable one. Wait is that licorice is showing up. This cigar is keeping me engaged that’s for sure. Not much time to think of my daughter’s new gig in the (kids) toy industry other than to want more toys like this cigar. Her job is basically to find the next toy(s) that kids will go feral over. I’m feeling this way about the SLR DC. It’s simply that good. Hope it’s just not the weather on a glorious Friday afternoon. Final third. Let’s just say I got lost in the cigar and stopped taking notes. A minty delight powers through at the end. This cigar is a solid 97. Only getting points deducted for the relights and touch ups - which some dry boxing would have resolved. This stick is all class. I want more. A perfect cigar for a memorable smoke. 2.5 hours of pure pleasure.

OG Nudie from 2019. I wish all cigars were rolled this well.

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I heard the news yesterday morning. Very sad. I knew he was recovering from an operation in January and I was concerned that I hadn't heard from him since then. On contacting friends of his, I was told that he was recovering and taking a break. His death was unexpected. I first came across his blog in about 2007. He was one of the pioneers in sharing cigar information and locations with FlyingCigar.de, before social media became popular. I got to know him online in ICC and a couple of the old forums. He had a wealth of knowledge on cigars, travel and Cuba and happy to share it all with anyone. He did have a certain "Teutonic formality" to him, which I found quite endearing after getting used to it, and very little time for people who annoyed him. He did an untold amount of good work, without seeking reward, in promoting cigar brands, personalities, locations, Cuba generally (not politically), and cigar retailers, not least JJ Fox, FoH and BondRoberts. I could never speak highly enough of how happy and willing he was to help promote an idea or a launch of a cigar product or accessory once it passed muster with him. He would be insulted if offered so much as a lunch in return. He will be missed. I hope his wife is managing as well as can be. Next time we are in Havana, whoever can make it, we should have a dinner and raise a glass. He always liked Santy's, but Restaurante Destino was the place he always recommended and the place he wanted to have a quiet cigar on the patio after dinner. I'm not sure if Destino survived the pandemic. My first time meeting Nino in person. At my first event in Havana, the 2010 Habanos Festival Welcome night in the Gran Teatro. I have to say, it was really exciting meeting him for the first time. This was on the following Saturday, I had picked up some injuries in the meantime. I shared a quiet cigar with Nino in the Melia Habana before going on to Rob Ayala's party in the Atlántico building. Nic Wing's birthday dinner in La Moraleja, Havana, Feb 2012 Partagas Festival Gala dinner 2011, when smoking was allowed in the lobby of the Habana Libre. At, and after, a visit to El Laguito in 2012 A tasting of Fox Centenary 1981 cigars in La Moraleja again. With David Savona, Valerio Cornale, Punch Joe and couple of other louche cigar smokers. Lunch in El Palenque, Nov 2011. Punch Joe, myself and Nino. I think my last time meeting Santos at the Comodoro. With Nino, Punch Joe and Rob Fox, the same day as above. I think this is the last footage I took of Nino. Not sure how it will upload/download. An evening with some friends at the casa in Jaimanitas, November 2019. Quite a few FoH members in this one. Fond memories in that house. IMG_4956.MOV

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Romeo y Julieta Dianas (BST FEB21). Superb cigar.

Sad to hear. We were chatting last summer during the floods in Germany as he was not far from old stomping grounds from where I was stationed in the early 90's. He got brought back a lot of great memories of the area and I so wanted to plan a visit back tot he area and pop in for a visit. R.I.P. Nino, you were such an inspiration.

Plpc 2018

After dinner BPC 2018 - classy

@Bijan has a good overview. For some cities, it would be best to divulge over PM. Montreal has Stogies, Alexandres, Whiskey Club and several more. These are all Grandfathered lounges. Cigars only. No cigarettes. Cigar Societe' in Quebec City is a great lounge with fully stocked bar. Alberta has recently allowed cigar lounges to exist through a loophole. I'll ping @Cigar Surgeon to fill in the details. Toronto in the summer has some great outdoor spots (weather permitting). There are some "speakeasy" indoor lounges which I won't reveal here nor over PM if I don't know you. Windsor Ontario has one too. Not sure if it has reopened. Winnipeg MB has one. Thomas Hinds. You have to book a session and you MUST buy from them. Their gig is that it is a "sampling room" which I believe you can sit in for 3 hours per session. That's how this is allowed. As for BC. I've heard there is a very nice private lounge in either Vancouver or Victoria. BUT. Getting in is next to impossible. It's all based on members who know each other well and vouch for new ones. If you dont know someone in the circle,you're out of luck. So, to the traveler. If they're heading over this month, they'll enjoy some decent weather throughout the country up to the end of September. Come October, the outdoor smoking isn't as pleasant.

I only knew Nino thru his Flying Cigar Blog and his posts on The Water Hole. But from those encounters alone, one could discern his love for life and his belief of enjoying life to its fullest - on his terms. To those giants of our community that we’ve lost this year, men such as Habana Mike and Nino Munoz, there can be no greater honor than to emulate their example of a life well-lived. Rest In Peace brother.

Beautiful boxes… really love these tiny cigars. Got a few Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Descansa en paz Nino! He along with Matteo and couple of others I can think of were the first to introduce me to others from different places that loved and had a passion for Habanos like I do through his blog. Became friends with him a long time ago and always through the phone, text or emails until 2016 when we met at a dinner party we hosted in Miramar face to face. Great conversations and stories and a little bit of a temper when he got riled up. He will be missed by all and my condolences to Inge and family as well to his close friends.

I only knew of Nino through his posts on this forum, and only had the pleasure of one brief message exchange with him via PM. In December of 2021, I believe in the CC latest acquisition thread, Nino and I posted dalias from HLPs farm that were identical. Having read many insightful posts from him on the forum, I messaged him with a brief inquiry about these farm rolled cigars. I just looked back to this exchange, and it strikes me how energetically and gracefully he gave of his knowledge and insight in our brief discussion, including videos of him and his friends in Cuba. The information he gave in these brief messages was not only useful to me personally, but educated me on how it is proper to bring medicine and supplies to Cuba when going there for these purposes. His absence has been noticeable, and his posts on the forum forum have been missed. My deepest condolences to his friends and family.

Criollo and Corojo are in use in many areas. It's not hard to find. In different areas with different climates and use of pesticides there aren't the issues there are in Cuba. But strains don't make the tobacco--the growing area does. Use of Corojo and Criollo for NCs is more of a marketing gimmick.

Other than a box of JLS1s that were super tight, underfilling is a chronic problem. Probably half my cigars have to get pinched down in the 2nd half.

I think a lot of it is personal tolerance. It is the only way to explain polling variability no matter how many times it is done. Pre lighting cigars on the deck I will have a guy say the draw is tight. I take the cigar off him and draw through the foot. it is fine. Ken is notorious. He has lungs like a 95 year old woman with a lifetime habit of 50 fags a day. If he says a cigar is "tight" it is absolutely perfect. I don't like tight cigars. I have no issue cutting away the offending section (90% of them are at the foot or band/below) as i would rather have a 50 minute enjoyable experience than a 70 minute struggle. Having said that. Out of every 10 cigars.......at most two are "uncomfortably" tight requiring attention. Cigar surgery fixed them. I can't recall the last true plug. Cut early....cut hard

In dedication to Mike Lindsey, choice #3 should include "Send them to @Bijan" How many plugged cigars did he send him? Damn plugs. I go thru like 15 boxes of a cubans a year, and in all that time I ONCE had a cuban with a loose draw. In 20+ years. And it was a KSA cigar! So I don't get the issue with loose draws. Cubans are the kings of plugs. But I seem to get more plugs than others. It's not my humidity settings or other issue, it is just my bad luck.

[almost] anything can be insured. Lloyds of London will insure anything. Deductibles are high for these types of goods. Often $10K or so. But if you have $100K+ valued collection (cars, cigars, etc), a $10K deductible may not mean much.

While supply is still abominable, managed to find these lovely looking BPC’s

Feels like a nudie kinda night. If Rob and Hamlet could get their hands on some quality cuban leaf, those two would be dangerous. Excellent burn and construction. Hats off to whomever rolled this one.

Awful news. In the cigar solar system, Nino was his own planet. Such a personality who impacted all in the Cuba/Cuban cigar community. You can't replace people like Nino. You simply give thanks for the opportunity of sharing time with them, be it in person or print. Thank you Nino. Safe travels. Sincere condolences to his family.