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Recents - the Nudie Canonazo is a really spot on smoke. Flavourful. Reminiscent of Upmann/Trinidad to my palate and as good as most CCs I’m smoking these days. Very impressive.

Devine C&C time with a Fundie. Have a great weekend all

Plmc

Alex shaggy prince…hittin’ all the notes so far. Cheers gang!

Rugged PLPC to start off the weekend 🎑 Moonlight cigar to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival

La Flor de Cano Siboney Edición Regional Canadá 2014.

A couple from my long weekend. A JL number 2 from 2017 (I think). Every single stick from this box has been a solid 90 pointer and this one was no different. Also a petit pyramid from the Comodoro. Well constructed and a decent smoke but not really anything to shout about

A box of beautiful little gems, from our gracious host. Boli Coronas Jr

C&C time. H. Upmann Connie 2 from our gracious host.

A delicious Quai D’ Orsay.

Cohiba Medio Siglo (SOM NOV16).

Celebrating a 50th still going

1999 Cohiba Lancero- SO FREAKING GOOD!

A few recently including a Reynold custom robusto from 2020.

Por Larrañaga Galanes

GEM April 2020 upmann no.2 Ninfa nudie

FOH Delivery Will rest them for a while

EML MAY 15 CORO.

Monte 3

Got here early, and lit a Fuente Sophisticated H. while waiting for Oteil & Friends to start. Very nice but I’ll allow a couple of years for the next one. (My first of the Rare Pinks that indicates time might be needed for greatness.) Luckily, I also brought some Spada Gordas to share. The 2nd/3rd of which was excellent. Also excellent was the main attraction! Oteil & Friends were just great, and in a nice small venue to boot Tried to upload some video clips, but too big unfortunately

Nudie Carlota watching Rays-Jays

VF year of the rabbit. First time I taste honey in nc. AF queen b was good but nothing better than regular af

Cuaba Salomons ABR 23 from here in the UK. Good to see big cigars coming through Also a box of PL Galanes. I don't go for PL at all but these are excellent Sent from my SM-S908B using Tapatalk

Watching AFL grand final. Cocktails, Cañonazo....and Di out of control 🤣

If money is no hindrance, I wouldn't think twice of about getting a Martin D-28 (it's the same acoustic guitar that John Lennon and Paul McCartney played at the end of the Beatles' tenure as a band). However, for quality and value for money, I would highly recommend a Cole Clark acoustic guitar. They are based out of Melbourne, Australia. Excellent guitars. Maton is another Australian company that make great acoustic guitars, albeit they tend to be more expensive than Cole Clark. If you were able to hunt down an early-80s Takamine 'lawsuit' acoustic guitar then you would've hit the jackpot. Martin sued the Japanese Company, Takamine, in the eighties, because they copied their Martin D-28 acoustic guitar so well that it's practically impossible to tell the difference with the real thing (i.e. the Martin D-28)!

Night night babies. From our host. They smell bangin!!

These arrived from FOH today. Smells like honey glazed donuts.🍩🍯

Some interesting commentary from H&F - dynamics have changed since it was recorded. Got to love the cab of Bolivar CGs.

Went through a similar exercise awhile ago and landed on a Taylor. The playability & tone were big factors for me as well.

Still going....blink and you miss these....savages

I’ve been through many, many over the years and was a high end dealer for about 10 years. I sold one last year that funded a full year of my son’s college tuition, it was a to die for Martin OM45 replica built by a very in demand luthier. To ease the pain of that sale, I bought a Gibson custom shop Historic SJ-200 that I really love at 1/12 the cost of the OM45 replica. I would highly recommend something from the Gibson custom shop Historic line or the Martin Authentic line. I’ve been a hand built solo luthier snob but have really been impressed by guitars from these two lines. Both use traditional build techniques like hot hide glue and have torrefied tops which give the tone a more vintage flavor. Might seem excessive for a casual player but I say you only live once and kicking back with a great guitar is one of life’s great pleasures. If those are too far out of budget, Iris guitars are great bang for the buck instruments. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

My only serious acoustic is my Martin D-42. The thing resonates like a Steinway grand piano. When I bought it about 15 years ago, it was between that, and a "high end" Taylor dreadnought, but it was really no contest. There are people who are obsessed with Taylors though, so you have to pick what's best for you. Takamine makes some great sounding guitars too. Garcia loved his Takamine, which to me, says a lot. You've got to like not only the sound, but the feel of the guitar while playing it, and the only way to do that is by getting your hands on the guitars and playing them. Here is a pic of my D42.

I'm sure he'll appreciate the sentiment. He logged onto our forum in the last 24 hours.

First time trying the mag46, while playing some poker, and to no suprise it was incredible although probably even better with some more age. not many things better than having a game of poker with a nice stick, and hands going in your favour… Nice and smooth start with the end having nice spice and nice power. Will definitely be looking looking for more of these! will rate a solid 91. what are your thought on the mag46? Around what age on the stick is the optimal? have a nice weekend!!

My first legal Redfish in Slidell, Louisiana this past weekend. An epic trip > 30 Redfish with 12+ that we had to let go because they were too big. Over 100 Seatrout between 3 guys in 2.5 days as well. A lot of good eating.

Phenomenal smell to these Exhibicion No.4's

I was pleased to snag these on 24:24 a couple weeks ago, having wanted to try one for a while now. I believe it may have been the only box up that day:

Two ends of the size spectrum here: another good-looking box of PLMC (BRM APR 23) and a tenner of Upmann Mag 54 (BAO APR 23), from our host.

Johnny-o EL Siglo De Oro Year of the Rabbit

Just arrived. Price hike was blessing and curse.. I would have not looked into/researched other brands. I liked the history with Por Larranaga with consistent tobacco blends, they were my first purchase 2 years ago. Still looking for some aged Montecarlos & Panetelas.

Bolívar Tesoro 2016 - Edición Regional 5ta Avenida (circa 2016) I've mentioned in my recent review on the Por Larranaga Coronas Regional Edition that 5ta Avenida (or Quinta Avenida) is the name of the distributor of Regional Edition cigars for Germany, Austria and Poland. This 2016 Bolivar Tesoro was released in February 2017 and came courtesy of @Perla (thank you gain, kindly!). If you are familiar with these releases from this distributor, then you'd know that all four have been reputable - the La Gloria Cubana Glorias (2015), the Bolívar Tesoro (2016), the Por Larrañaga Coronas (2017) and the Punch Preferidos (2018). The Bolivar Tesoro comes in a big Salomon vitola, like the regular production Partagas Salomones and Cuaba Salomon, it's a 57 ring gauge x 184 mm or 7¼ inches in length double perfecto. It was released in six thousand 10-count boxes. Contemporary reviews on this release were especially praiseworthy in 2017. In general, the Bolivar Tesoro was noted as a great cigar. After seven years, what can be deduced retrospectively? In other words, are they still great? Or indeed, how have they developed? Upon lighting the foot with a single-flame cigar lighter, notedly because it was markedly tapered, it took a little bit of effort to draw some smoke, but after a few minutes the cigar started to burn efficiently. Initial notes were cedar and quality leather, in other words, distinctive Bolivar flavours with a sweetness that was beautifully caramel in nature. As the cigar progressed that caramel combined with a marshmallow texture that was simply gorgeous. Honestly, it reminded me of my recent 2015 Bolivar Tubos No.1s in its smoking by the halfway point in how delicious and nuanced it was. In the final third, this aged Bolivar Tesoro became more 'Earthy' and took on the characteristics of a typical Bolivar cigar, in that it became a bit more heavier on the palate, but I nubbed it nonetheless. The cigar took me a close to a whopping three hours to smoke, but what a fantastic journey it was. If you have the Bolivar Tesoro in your humidor, you are indeed fortunate. For me, to have the opportunity to smoke a cigar of this size and quality is indeed rare. This was most definitely a special cigar that I wish was in regular production. As it approaches seven years of age, I have no doubt whatsoever that it is entering its 'peak' period. In my opinion, there is no need to let it develop much further as it is smoking so well right now.

Illusione Epernay Serie 2009 Le Grande The Illusione Epernay line was released in 2009 as a lighter extension of the Illusione ~eccj~ line. The line consists of aged Nicaraguan Criollo and Corojo fillers wrapped with a Rosado Corojo wrapper from Nicaragua. The Le Grande is a 46 ring gauge x 152 mm or 6 inches in length cigar. They are noted for being milder than other Nicaraguan cigars. I would like to acknowledge and thank @Perla for making this review possible, as paradoxically, despite Non-Cuban cigars being relatively easy to acquire in Australia, the Illusione brand is not. This particular Illusione Epernay Serie 2009 Le Grande began with a wondrous hit of cream and spice, combined with a sandalwood one can commonly encounter in a Sancho Panza cigar. There was a lot of smoke per draw and I needed to smoke it bit-by-bit, but the texture of smoke was somewhat 'toasty', which reminded me of the discontinued Partagas Serie du Connaisseur Nos. 1, 2 and 3 in mouthfeel (though not in blend). Despite sipping from the head of the cigar in small increments the cigar didn't take long to smoke down as it was aged and on the 'drier' side, but it smoked really well. The last third continued that sandalwood and cream texture but there was an increase in white pepper in the end, which made for some nice transitions. Upon finishing the cigar I could see for myself why cigar enthusiasts who mainly smoke Habanos cigars speak well of this series. Alongside the Le Grande, the Epernay 2009 line has other vitolas which all carry French monikers; Le Voyage, L'Elegance, Le Ferme, L'Excellence, Le Monde, Le Matin, Le Taureau, La Vie, Le Petite and L'Alphiniste. I can't help but feel that this is an overt reference to the luxury-brand naming of cigars that was common in the Habanos Cigar industry in the 1940s. (For example, the Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo des Dieux et al.). If so, it's a 'nice touch'. So, in summary, if you are looking for a cigar that is lighter in body and creamy in texture, with a semblance of being 'Cubanesque' (although in my opinion, it is quite obviously Non-Cuban in its smoking), the Illusione Epernay Serie 2009 Le Grande is one such cigar.

Finally got a box!