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Great trip, both immensely enjoyable and successful Rob Fox, Hamlet Paredes, Alexander Groom and myself landed into Kuwait for 5 days. Only Alex had been there before but Alex is a Rock Star of the Habanos world these days and there are few places he hasn't been. Mohammed Al Mansour and his Kuwait team are one of the most professional groups I have ever had the pleasure to witness. From the LCDH to the Cabinet Club to Cohiba Atmosphere, they effectively control the Kuwait cigar community. The Kuwait cigar community is vibrant, educated, welcoming and progressive. Progressive in terms of their CC and NC cigar portfolio, their mastery of events and modern media, their blending of Kuwaiti hospitality with the traditional cigar ethos of sharing, friendship, engagement. CC and NC are sold and smoked side by side. I have never witnessed any cigar snobbery. Our Bond Roberts events showcased the the new Dalia Linea b Number 3 and the Fenomenos Linea E Number one. Both were very well received but the Fenomenos was the one that shined brightest at the events. Our final event was Foxy presenting the Nectares Irish Regional at a casual tasting at the LCDH. Great night where we decided to wear traditional garb. Of course, from memory, we were the only ones Hamlet and Alex groom rocked it! If you find yourself in Kuwait, you will have a great time hanging out with the Kuwait crew. They are 10/10. From Kuwait we headed to Cyprus on the Wednesday leading up to the gala Phoenicia launch on the Saturday of the new Punch Princesas Regional. 3:40 am flight out of Kuwait on the Wednesday, no sleep, took the wind out of our sails for that day. No problem as we had the Bond Roberts launches at a local taverna in Limassol on the Thursday evening with 30 people. This was my second visit to Limassol and I have a love of the local Cypriot cigar community. Our local mates Marios and Haris are leaders of the local cigar community and two of the most decent people I have ever met. They picked the Taverna which we booked out and the night was pure brilliance! The guest list was a mix of local cigar lovers and global cigar identities. The mood was relaxed and the event full of laughter, great endless local cuisine and of course the two new BR cigars which smoked exceptionally well. Foxy and I wanted a night that was relaxed. A night where everyone would have the opportunity to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. Mission accomplished. The Saturday gala event was simply the most glamorous cigar event I have ever been part of. Walid Saleh, CEO at Phoenicia + his team put on an event for 550 people that will go down in Cuban cigar folklore. I believe there is indeed a time and a place for such events and we had a ball. Hamlet got to catch up with folk he had not seen for 10-20 years. Foxy and Alex are cigar royalty. I was humbled at the level of knowledge and respect for BR and FOH. You couldn't spend 5 minutes alone without being approached for a discussion and a laugh. The location (City of Dreams), music/singers, presentations, cigars, the detail!, the food/drinks, table settings, the dancing/entertainment all set new benchmarks that I doubt any other distributor could hope to match. The card has certainly been played. Takeaways. The rumours that HSA shareholding has/is changing hands (fully or partially) to the middle east was turbocharged. The rumours have been around for 12 months but the final detail/confirmation is still missing. If you were allowed to bet on the outcome, this is a case where bookmakers would have closed all bets on the subject. Good or a bad thing? Given all the shenanigans over the past couple of years, one could only see it as a positive should it come to pass. CC V NC Wow, from NC not having a foothold pre-Covid, everywhere I went in Kuwait/Limassol from stores to hotels to airports, NC had a minimum 50% footprint. Often 60%. The impressive thing is that they are selling well. Speaking with retailers/sub distributors from the Middle East region, there appears to be less resistance in trying NC within the region that still lingers elsewhere. The three issues that were hammered home to me is that pricing, availability, and quality control have opened the eyes of traditional CC purchasers. There is no going back. Overview. The region largely controlled by Phoenicia is immense and a cigar culture powerhouse. The cigar world is booming within the region with new clubs and cigar lovers flocking to the hobby from east to west, north to south. The cigar smoking laws vary from country to country but generally they are far more lenient than most places in the West and Asia. The region competes now with Asia for dominance of the Cuban cigar world and is a beacon for well positioned Non Cuban brands.

20' Partagas Legados Edicion Limitada Dark Chocolate, Espresso, Molasses 1/2 22' Diplomaticos Coleccion Privada II Edicion Regional Espana Cinnamon, Cocoa, Nutmeg 1/2 19' La Flor de Cano Robusto Edición Regional Países Bajos Strawberry, Cinnamon cookies, Cake 19' La Gloria Cubana Invictos Edición Regional Italia Cream, Custard, Fruit 1/2 (O' my) 07' Cohiba Genios Mexican Hot Chocolate, Mocha, Molasses 1/2 , 18' Bolivar Silver Jubilee Edicion Regional Hong Kong Gingerbread, Floral, Clove 07' Bolivar Simones Edicion Regional Canada Chocolate milk, Roasted nuts, Brown sugar

H.Upmann Petit Coronas - MEG Oct 2015...

I love this time of the year It's Christmas season and for this part of the world that means it is hot and humid and thoughts turn to the beach, BBQs, Christmas catchups, long lunches, family reunions. Most of Oz will shut down this Friday and some will turn up again the week of the 5th of Jan with many more stringing it out until Australia Day on the 26th. It is our holiday period, our "special time". Aussies feel lucky. We know we are privileged to live in this great brown land surrounded by beautiful beaches/sea. It is why Sundays news of the Bondi beach massacre has shocked this nation to its core. We are a country of immigrants. No one ever came to this country because they had a lot of mates. We have taken immense pride to be a land of opportunity and largely peaceful co-existence. It's not perfect but in the main, you honour your past traditions, you park your issues at the door and you adopt the Australian ethos of tolerance. You "dig in" to make your mark to the best of your ability. What a difference 48 hours makes. Today in Oz, there appears to be one demographic, the Jewish community, who can no longer feel safe in enjoying what the rest of us take for granted. A day at the beach, a celebration, a BBQ, a laugh with friends and family, all held in an environment of safety. What occured Sunday was terrorism on our sacred sands. 16 dead, 40 injured. My heart goes out to all impacted by this tragedy. It has stunned the entire country and should cause all Aussies to contemplate what it means to be an Aussie. I hope that on the other side of that contemplation we all decide to be Ahmed al-Ahmed, that Aussie of Syrian descent who said "no, F*ck that", ran toward the firing terrorist, tackled him, disarmed him and saved countless innocents in the process. Ahmed al-Ahmed took a few bullets and recovers in hospital. Through his actions, Ahmed al-Ahmed has given Australia the greatest Christmas gift of all. He has defined courage, he has defined what being an Aussie should be. Without concern for personal safety, he protected the innocent, the vulnerable. Thank you Ahmed al-Ahmed for the reminder. Thank you for the greatest Christmas gift of all. Merry Christmas mate and a quick recovery.

Sancho Panza Belicosos - UTL May 2018...

A rare and delicious sample with the classic RA profile.

'24 Siglo IV. Tasty, but will be much better in time.

Yesterday's meeting of the local cigar club...

JL1 24

UAO OCT 18 For @Ford2112. Happy Thanksgiving! Love the avatar!

Another delicious Reyes JL S1 from 2018 Smells heavenly and taste fantastic

From Oct 2017 Happy weekend FOH!

San Cristóbal de la Habana El Príncipe - AME NOV 2012 (thanks @loose_axle!)...

P2 - XLB MAY 05

Yes...well...the plastic covered sheets were indeed a concern No need to worry however as we were whisked away for a series of cigar and catchups on a beautiful Kuwait day, before heading off to a farm for a traditional cigar, meal and magnificent evening. There is something magical about sitting under the night sky in such a traditional setting. The conversation was entertaining and engaging, the cigars magnificent. The standout was the sheer generosity and kindness of the entire Kuwait cigar community. Bloody brilliant! In

Partagás Serie C No.3 Edición Limitada 2012.

Siglo IV - ESM JUN 24

Sir Winston

ALO Mar 2016 50 cab of Punch Punch...

Someone at my club just gave me this 20 year old Dominican Fonseca. Not bad, but they definitely don't age like Cubans do. It is very musky.

A few recents.

Desayuno Especial. Buen dia a tod@s!

Trinidad Media Luna. Amazing cigars. The leather, the spice, mature, refined and distinguished. Had a Coloniales last week but this is in a class of its own.

TEB AGO 08 Fantastic cigar😙💨

Outdoor Sancho Belicoso by myself. Indoor Pol Roger with the wife! Happy Thanksgiving FOH!

These Adamastors are SMOKIN'.

I wish all my fellow Americans and anyone else who observes, a happy and meaningful Thanksgiving! RAG NOV ‘17

Cuaba Exclusivos, I hear I may be the only one who likes em 👀

Siglo VI Some custom roll from my humidor

18 Lusi to begin our Thanksgiving Week.

Monte No. 2 - PTE NOV 23

So. Much. Cherry. BAO ABR 24

Missed my Thanksgiving smoke so enjoying this RA Gigantes from 2018 and listening to some Freddie Hubbard.

Ambar - ETA ENE 24

Anejados

Petite 109. All class.

Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US. Morning smoke.

Enjoying a fire. Smoking a good cigar Cohiba Siglo IV, and drinking some loud mouth soup (Balvinie 12 doublewood)! Happy Thanksgiving!

Partagas-Aristocrats Mar21. Fruity, coffee, caramel, cedar 10-10

A BOTL sent me a wonderful holiday pack of cigars and I couldn’t be patient on this one. Fantastic smoke! Cheers Brother!

Coro-2018

Cohiba Siglo I - ROM Nov 2015...

JL2