Matthew

Excellent job, gents! Love the video format.

Ask and you shall receive:

It is every man's responsibility to embarass his children.

» El Lector I'd love to enter a couple of names with a shot at winning, but there is no way I could beat Fishhound's "El Lector". Perfect name!

Wow. That's very interesting. I'll have to look up the article.

» » I have recently been told that storing cigars over the long term (years) » at » » 72-80% RH helps them age better. » » I try to maintain roughly 63% for short, mid, and long term. 80% sounds » like a mold problem » just waiting to happen. Agreed. The danger of mold at over 75% is far more scary to me than exposure to dryer conditions at 55%. Honestly, my opinion is that you can store at 60% indefinitely; the killer of cigars is frequent and wide fluctuations of temp or humidity. Stability is the most critical factor (IMO).

Fantastic photos - thanks!

» » I can't speak for "The Puck", but I do use a pound of the 65% beads and » I » » love them. » » Mark's a good guy and I wouldn't want to deprive him of business, but for » me, Exquisicat Pearl Fresh cat litter beads are a better bargain by far. "The Puck" isn't simply beads, it's a container that fits in various size humidors and traveldors. No matter how well various beads work, are you going to scatter them through your Halliburton? Or use pantyhose to hold them? I understand your arguement Van, but for most smokers, I believe "The Puck" is an elegant solution to smaller humidification needs.

Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

» Thanks guys, as a Lehman (soon to be ex ) employee my head is spinning. » Wall Street is collapsing before our eyes. Just devasting to thousands of » people who work here. Hang in there. No matter how bleak it may look, you'll eventually land well. Trust me, I've been there.

Had one a few days ago. A bit tight on construction. Quite tannic still. Despite 3 years of age, I don't think these will be really excellent for a few more years.

We should also make cows illegal since their flatulance contributes to global warming.

» You have the opportunity to invest in a non Cuban cigar operation If I'm investing, I couldn't care less about anything but sales volume and profit margins. A lot of that is tied to packaging. Since good quality is a given: I make robustos in 10-ct gold foil-lined boxes. I'd issue culebras in coffins (like the current Partagas Culebras); every non-Cuban smoker I know thinks these are the greatest and think they are worth $50 US per coffin. An aluminum foil wrapped diadema.

» I take it that low temp and high humidity settings are » just there as a warning bc nothing internal can be done to change those. Correct. Just my two cents, but I'd be a lot more tolerant with temp and set it to 70 so that you are not wrecking havoc with humidity swings.

» The Dems currently run the risk of making her Joan of Arc. Very well said.

Excellent reviews, information and photos. Thank you!

» Why not a limited edition commerative to Bill Clinton...:-P I believe they did that when they re-released the Culebras...

» looks like a cologne add Thought that too. "Sport" name is terrible - has no historical value or meaning; heck, it isn't even spanish. Packaging is terrible - unattractive and demotes the value of the standard Monte brand. Aren't Diplomaticos already thought of as Monte-lites? Why not just revitalize a dying Marca?

One red Swedish-made penis enlarger pump...

There is a tendency to call any recently (custom) rolled Salomone a "Partagas Salomone" regardless of source tobacco. I've recently had a La China Salomone posted as a Partagas Salomone.

Looked at a few Sig VI tubes I've had for at least 2 years; they have 8 panels. Wouldn't surprise me if Habanos had contracted more than one tube manufacturer over the past few years. Reminds me of the panic that occurred during the broach incident of '06!!! ("mine are Italian... mine are German... which are fakes?") All I can say is folks need to chill out. Waiting a few days/weeks for more information isn't going to change the nature of the sticks in your humidor. Thanks to Rob for this thread and to Ginseng for all his analytical work.

» » Also depending on time of year there are patios, etc that are smoke » » friendly at some of the hotels and other places. » » The "Ashole Lounge" (aka my house) will now have patio smoking! » Construction starts tomorrow :-D I could probably host a decent event, though I'm not well located...

Chris is an excellent reviewer; congratulations!

True words of wisdom.

Box Code – OSU March ’03 Vitola – Robusto (4-7/8’ x 50 rg) Appearance –Light Natural wrapper; medium wrapper leaf thickness; minor-to-average veins (prominent visually but not to the touch); medium oil sheen. Construction – Firm feel. The cigar has shrunk a little since original purchase and the band slid loosely off the stick. The cigar has been store in the driest part of this particular humidor and crackles a little upon handling; however, the wrapper remains undamaged. Draw/Burn – Perfect draw. Average volume of smoke. Good burn, fairly sharp; better construction than I expected. Solid ash, not flakey. Lasted a full two hours. Overall construction is above average for ’03 Habanos. Taste/Flavor/Strength – Mild pre-light aroma. Initial impression is classic Cohiba flavor. Includes light, dry grass; soft fine leather; light toast; difficult to characterize but mild creamy cocoa and coffee beans. Mild-medium flavor strength. Very smooth; nothing astringent, nothing unpleasant. A bit less strong than I expected. Clearly, five years have allowed this cigar to develop well. As the cigar developed, the grassiness dissipated slightly and the flavor strength moved to medium-full. After the first inch, some of the youthful tannins began to emerge; I detected a hint of metallic essence (which I sometimes describe as a hint of green peppers). Towards the end it became too harsh to enjoy, especially the last inch. Though the second half was not as good as the first, it is still a winner based upon its future potential. Conclusion/Comments – I have been sampling the cigars from this box 3-4 times a year and each experience has been better than the last. For the first three years, I was a little disappointed, but the past year or so has made up for it. Still, this cigar has a few more years of development before it really hits its stride. For those of you with young CoRos, just put them away for a while and don’t sample them too frequently or you won’t have any left by the time they transition to a fully excellent smoke. Overall, I’d rate this “good” with “very good” potential.