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One of my more coveted cigars. A Hamlet Flying Pig I picked up from Hamlet in Havana in 2015. Used to be a powerhouse but has lost some of its edge.

I've waited long enough to crack this bottle open. I'm glad I did 👍 Super sweet and Fruity. Used a pair of port tongs to take the top off. Worked great. Decanted and lit up a Quai D'Orsay No.50 July 23. Very lovely. Going to have a Plasencia 149 later this evening with the Porto.

CoRo today Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Monster month Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

RASS

JL1 from ‘15 courtesy of @Capn_Jackson. Man is it tasty. Bonus that it’s my favorite vitola. Thanks Cap!

The new JJ Fox house blend robusto - coupled with two pints of stout. Enjoyed every second of it. Notes at link below for those interested. I found some similarities to the nudie line (probably a given with team involved) but they are definitely different blends and gave me quite different experiences. Still not 100% sure which I’d prefer, but both are up there with my most enjoyable NC smokes... https://www.fohcigars.com/forum/topic/157083-jjf-hb-robusto-frw-oct23/

Pulled this from the depths of my humi. Not sure where it came from, but must be well over 10 years old. Was fabulous! Wouldn’t be so disappointed with the state of the cc market if all nc’s were this good. —-sam

ABO SEP 18

Siglo VI

Had a good fall steelhead trip recently. Went 13 for 13 on steelhead in 2 and a half days. Excellent weather! The young angler James was successful as well!

Getting rid of these singles.

MTS ‘21 1.5+ hour 💨

Weekend smoking RJ EX4 HU No 2 MC PE

It was a long week, but it was a great tournament. It was the most attended WKU world championships with over 3000 starts - team Germany alone accounted for over 400 athletes. My daughter fought well, but didn't place in her kids point sparring division. She held her own against a black belt despite her own martial arts journey being all of 14 months. She ended up with a bronze in the kids continuous sparring division! She's at the front of the podium in one of the pics, and the other pic is her and her teammate Sophia. They were 1st and 2nd in the nation, and 1st and 3rd in the world. Both from the same dojo. I'm so proud of my daughter, team Canada, and all of the WKU members for some amazing sportsmanship over the week. Next year is the island of Rhodes, Greece 😁 Cheers!

Trinidad Esmeralda was disappointing. Hopefully the rest of the box is better Af magnum 58. Good, classic af flavors but linear in taste.

CoRo OBM NOV 16

Boli Petit Corona TUA JUL ‘20

Rare occasion that sun was out, zero wind and my youngest is having a nap. So treated myself to the new JJ Fox house blend robusto. I went to their launch during the week but could only stay for the Canonazo. Notes I scribbled are below. General: Silky wrapper Amazing aroma on light Opening half inch is memorable Complex - different on almost every puff Tons of smoke Draw slightly looser than typical Cuban Razor sharp burn - zero touch ups 1/3 Cream, honey, croissant, homemade hot chocolate. Mild. 2/3 pain au chocolat, Lindt Lindor (the wee choc balls), coffee, showing of some earthiness that I can’t define better. Moving toward medium / plus. 3/3 Sweetness much less prominent, maybe a sweet bitterness at most (?), leather, more intense earthiness, touch of partagas, has legs… Slightly above medium. Nabbed a second pint of stout toward end. Clouds stayed away. Bliss.

Quai d’Orsay Coronas Claro Claro (Clarisimo) Discontinued in 1995 box date unknown from around 1994/95 Wrapper - slightly dark and mottled. Oily appearance, but feels a little rough. Pre-light draw - light herbal/grass, but spicy. Pre-draw indicates that it may be a little dry. Dry resistance is good though. Maybe a little cereal plain cereal. Still spicy though. 1/3 Draw is perfect. Smoke output is perfect. Smooth plain cereal on the first couple of draws. Light, turning bready. A hint of red pepper flake spice on the finish. A little meaty. Intensity is picking up 1/2” in. Light grey ash, burn is a bit crooked, but not bad. 2/3 Heavy smoke is absolutely bellowing out of this cigar! The bread note it still there, but now a woody element is coming through. Not expected, but the same spice is still there, and rather pronounced on the retro. 3/3 It’s heating up fast…More wood, more spice, along with a roasted nut thing happening.

BUM APR 15

Last two night's smoke.. All from our gracious host. Now smoking a beautiful Leyenda, also from our host.

‘19 Salomones from our host, hittin’ it out of the park with big bold flavors. Aloha Friday!

A solid Coloniales.

My latest additions to help make it through the winter.

A week ago on October 14th my son and I set up our solar eclipse viewing spot. I brought the sticks, my son brought the cool viewing glasses. He asked for something on the lighter side so I offered one of my QDOCC that was gifted to me sometime back (thank you @Shrimpchips, it was wonderful!) I broke out my first Punch 898 RE from a 24:24 purchase, what a truly wonderful smoke. Shot this through the viewing glasses, so not the best photo at all. Zoom in to see the moon’s silhouette partially blocking the sun. it was a wonderful morning with my son!

Have to say Vega Fina hit the mark for me yesterday. Smoked the 1998 VF54 (bought it in June last year and left it in the humidor for a year and a bit). For me all the flavours you get from the RA Gigantes in a sweeter format mixed with what I got from the LFD Andalusian Bull. I'll be grabbing a couple of boxes.

Love a white deep fried snapper done properly

Mine arrived 8 days ago and I smoked the first one today. Because of the many lukewarm comments I was wondering if I should bring another stick out with me in case I was very disappointed. I wasn't disappointed at all. My favorite cigars are this size, i.e. H Upmann Mag46, Partagas Lusitanias, and I suspect this cigar may become a main cigar for me. The construction was flawless, draw perfect, and the burn perfect. I rarely smoke this size of cigar without a few relights and this one needed no attention. Because of its youth there was some slight bitterness. A black coffee and occasional tiny bits of chocolate helped the slight bitterness and actually made the cigar quite a lovely experience. I am optimistic about the benefit of a little humidor down time and I suspect that the quality will be consistent. They seem to be identical...very well rolled! spada.mp4

On the way home from the main island

HDM Epi No 1

Recents.. best Bolivar RC I’ve had in a while, maybe ever.

Some unsolicited advice: go with RyJ Mille Fleurs or Partagas Shorts.

Cañonazo VI. Beautiful. Getting ready to hopefully watch the Rangers claw back and take another game of this series.

‘23 N3 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Excellent looking box and cigars. BRM box code😉 Nice start to a new week.

These Amantes hit my humidor on 06/15/23 with a production date of 4/1/23 (according to @El Presidente's posts). They were initially stored naked on the bottom shelf of the humi at 63% Rh. After ~ 2 months, I’d finished a box of Warped Cloud Hopper 53’s and the Amante Cananazo’s fit perfectly - so, now they’re stored in a wooden cabinet on the bottom of the humi. Smoked on a beautiful Florida morning - 75 deg’s F and 68% humidity. Drinking “Funky Chicken” whole bean coffee from Red Rooster Roasters in Virginia. It’s one of my wife's and my favorites - it’s a medium roast proprietary blend that’s chocolate torte, bergamot citrus and slightly nutty. A proper tasting would have stuck with water but it’s early and I need my coffee! Colorado wrapper, very small veins and well rolled. First inch very light bodied and light strength. Very firm feel to the roll yet, easy draw and light, floral smoke output. White bread flavor with a slight sweetness on the initial puffs. Perfect burn. Smoking it slowly with slightly smaller draws than I might typically take on a larger ring gauge cigar. Swirling the smoke around my tongue gives me a light hickory flavor with slight sweetness. I’m surprised how light the flavors are for a NC - I have to focus to determine the flavors. Much more like a CC than your typical NC that is in your face flavors. First 1” takes 25 minutes - wow! At the end of the first third the sweetness leaves and the strength ramps up to medium, but still light bodied. Flavors are now a woody light oak a little spicy paprika and light tobacco. It’s a nice transition, the first 1+ inch I was wondering how come no tobacco taste which is really pretty impressive for a NC. I’m at 45 minutes at the end of the first third and I knock the ash off. After I knock the ash off, I regulate my puffs to just when the smoke stops at the end of the cigar. About every 30 the 40 seconds until the ash rebuilds. It’s a pleasure to smoke slowly this morning. Have a plane to catch at ~ 4:00 for a duck hunting trip this weekend in Illinois and I’m already packed. It’s opening day tomorrow and my son is a big duck hunter - going to bring 3 of these Amantes for us to smoke around the backyard fire pit - see what he thinks! This third the wood fades replaced by the cookie-dough flavor I’ve gotten on my last one (yes, I smoked one at less than 90 days - couldn't wait). I’m also getting a little of the “Davidoff mustiness” that those are famous for. Might be the aged tobacco used or the fact that I need to double puff a few times. I find purging and double puffing in the last half common on young cigars until the ash returns to keep in the heat while I’m smoking slowly. A hit from the single flame lighter around the edges of the cone helps as well. Last third I’m watching some local fisherman at the dock - snook fishing is good right now as we’re at the tail end of the mullet run. I slow down on the coffee to focus on the flavors. Pretty much the same as the middle. Light tobacco, a very slight baking spices at the back of the tongue with a long finish similar to a young Party Short. Surprisingly I’m at an hour and 15 minutes at the start of this last third - the Amante’s smoking superbly - a credit to the roller. Unfortunately, I’m not going to finish this cigar. I’m getting hungry after the second cup of coffee with no breakfast. I’m grateful for the light strength as no brain fog or nicotine hit on an empty stomach. The first third was a solid 93 point cigar. Pretty typical that the first third to about half is awesome at > 90 days of rest. Also, that the back half will continue developing with more time. I’ll bet the back half gets better in the cool, dry, fall air of Illinois in October. We’ll see in just a day or two. The first third was a solid 93 point cigar. Pretty typical that the first third to half is awesome at > 90 days of acclimating. Also, typical that the back half will continue developing with more down time. I’ll bet the back half gets better in the cool dry air of Illinois in October. We’ll see in just a day or two.

First time up at the T since 2021. It felt good to get out in excellent weather. The first day the young James and I hooked and landed more salmon than we could count,mostly dark fish as these have a long journey from the mouth of the Klamath to the upper Trinity,through falls,canyons,anglers,seals and sea lions. They are survivors . First morning we both caught steelhead early. The salmon were thick and they tend to bully the steelies around and put them off the bite. I had a perfect record this trip. Never lost a fish once hooked. James got 8 . I got 13. James hooked a little brown trout,pretty fish. Second day I went 4 for 4. James went 2 for 4. Last morning it got showery. The fish were on the bite. I landed 5 right off the bat in one hole. Got a smallish 20 incher in another. Water level dropped and so did my presentation. James went 1 for 2. It was an epic morning! I want to go back. It gets cold up there with each passing week. May just wait and fish coastal kings this November in Oregon . It was good to clear the cobwebs and put a bend in the rod! The cigars in that photo: me,Monte Wide Edmundo. James,backwoods and weed 😆 The fish I killed went to the motel owners . Good people .

Already had the "lady boy " talk with him

Tell your son to beware of adam's apples if he doesn't want an unwanted surprise 🍆 hahaha....he will have a blast! Thailand moon parties and drinking buckets are what you should be doing in your 20s.

If he is going to ride a motor scooter/vespa type bike make sure he knows how dangerous those things can be. Thailand is full of motor scooters and tourists get hurt and worse riding them all the time there. No joke. ‘nuff said, I hope the kid has a great time.

Not quite as fancy today

Reason no.1 would be because I've never heard of this before, but reason 2 is that CCW only really catalogues official Habanos SA releases. There are a handful of exceptions, all added before my time, I think mostly because the lines between "official" and "unofficial" were a bit more blurry and the remit of the site wasn't as firm back when Trev first adding things. I don't delete them because it seems like a step backward to be deleting things, even if they don't technically belong. Very cool jar, anyway!

I will be there with Di come New Years eve. Love the place. Your son will be fine.....normal common sense applying....but he is 22.....which is where my mental age lies.

Well, I'd definitely use protection.

Just received this nice 2014 SLR Regios partial box (ELG JUN 14) from Bond Roberts. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Small haul. 2012 Sig VI and a Tubos No. 2

Just received in the post Mar 23 for the Partagas May 23 for QdO

Picked up a deuce of the San Cristóbal de La Habana El Princípe (BRM OCT 22). Nice and oily.

Bit rough? I’m excited either way