El Presidente

Dean, I was with Ken in Havana and saw the Partagas P2's being made in the R&J factory, the Partagas Factory and the Cohiba Factory from memory. I have tried numerous from he R&J Factory and from the Partagas Factory and can not discern a difference. I wil try and source the current R&J & partagas factory codes for you. inconsistency of flavour is going tobe at it's highest at this stage of the cigars development. 12 months will be the real gauge.

habanablue Yes...my wife is always hellishly impressed

!LOL! Let's add another next time around. Damn fine cigar that deserves another chance. :-D

Welcome Chris. Good to have you on board. We do happen to have a significant number of Tennesseeans here...one in particular being completely insane :-D

Chicago. You amateur I flyfish and enjoy a cigar at the same time. Now I can tell you it took some practice to learn how to cast with a cigar in the mouth but I learnt the secret to be mid length panetela's. Partagas Serie De Connaisseur No 2 and 3, HDM Le Hoyo Du Gourmet. The reduction in gauge makes them sit in the corner of the mouth just a little better. For a higher end cheapie....the Vegueros Especialles No 2 has the same feel. I got sick of dropping Robusto's into the drink when a fish would decide to strike. Yes....I have way too much time on my hands :-D

Gentlemen. The cigars leave by courier from our humidor in the am and will be with you Monday latest. I will start a new thread on Friday for the tasting results. For those residing outside the land of OZ, let them rest for a week. Any problems...let me know :-)

Welcome and I look forward to having some fun!

I need to submit the request Friday the 20th of May so spread the word amongst your friends. The more input the better.Just remember it cannot be from the the top 5 Marques ie Cohiba, R&J, HDM, Monte or Partagas.

Yes it is Winston giving the "reverse" victory sign....a nice and tastefull "get rooted" to the Cigar Nazi's. Winston was a natural for our logo. Any man who stood up to Nazism, drank 2 bottles of Pol Roger Champagne a day + seven R&JChurchills and lived to be 91 deserves every accolade. First caps will be out June. I will have a pic of our 1st sample later this week. Next will be a rollout of our FOH Cigar Ashtrays. Clothing will be a little later in the year. All loooking good ! Rob

I have been asked to submit two cigars outside of the 5 major brands (R&J,Partagas, HDM, Montecristo, Cohiba) which have been discontinued and which I would like to be produced for a special limited run. Give it some thought and submit two cigars. I will submit the two which have been most recommended by FOH members (who in turn will be the first to recieve them when produced).

Welcome TR It is not a pretty crew....but a fun one indeed

Let me first explain the addition of heaters to the drying sheds. They have been added specifically to add consistency to teperature within the drying process. It has reduced drying time from 45 days to approximately 31 days. IT IS NOT REVOLUTIONARY I can not see how it will affect long term aging potential of the cigar but I am welcome to be proved wrong. There is certainly no reduction in oil within the leaf that I can detect and from what I can tell. As for what has changed with Habanos over the past 3 years...PLENTY HAS The first change was the 50% ownership and influence of Altadis. Almost immediately there was a whole new emphasis on quality from cultivation to packaging and promotion. The progressive introduction of draw machines to all factories was the most obvious change but as important was the introduction of "carrots" to rollers (ie rewards) alongside the existing sticks. Today the religion of "Quality" is espoused from veguero to roller to packer. There is a new buzz in the factories. There is also the realisation by decision makers that quantities of premium cigars out of Cuba are capped. There has been a focus on trimming lines (sometimes painfull) whil maintaining excitement through the release of Limited Editions each year. This direction has been criticised by many aficionado's but look att he runs on the board: In the last four years we have seen cigars of the calibre of: Cohiba Siglo VI (one of the best cigars of the past 10 years). Cohiba DC LE Sohiba Sublime Partagas Serie D No 3 Partagas Serie P2 Hoyo LE Pirimide Hoyo Epicure Especiales LE ...and these are just my favourites. There are plenty of others who would have others to add. My point is that there have been some tremendous cigars released in the past four years while at the same time they have lifted quality across all the existing range....not too shabby! It has been a remarkable recovery. I almost left the industry after the disaster of 1999 and early 2000. I was depressed with what I saw...30% of stock was unsaleable to private clients and no-one in Habanos gave a flying F@#k. Attitude and pride has made the difference. May the strides made...continue to be made.

Any more fun and it would be illegal I can post bail in four languages.....and have ;-)

Ken I have met your great aunt and her legs are superb. I would give the famoso a solid 89.

I have no idea where that cigar went You will be on this months. Just shoot Lise an e-mail for me ;-)

Meet "Shagga" Bowden (left) and "Megs" Marriot. Two stallwart members of Friends of Habanos and good mates of mine. I took the photo while on the Arnhemland Pig Hunting/Barrmundi Fishing/ Quad Bike./Cigar tour. It was early morning and Shagga was showing Megs how to take a GPS co-ordinate. The two of them are absolute larrikins. On the trip, Shagga was directly responsible for: 1. Breaking the guides rifle as he fell over in the scrup and landed his svelt frame on the scope. 2.Losing the guides Fishing rod when he accidentally cast the rod into the crocodile infested water. I had tears in my eyes from laughing for days 3. While trying to pop a wheelie on a quad bike (ATV), he lost sight of the guys in front and managed to get himself and the two guys behing him (me being one) lost in the middle of no-where. Send in your photo's boys and I will be happy to post!

Well I kept the worst of the 10 for Ken and Myself (hence Ken's incessant whinging about a vein ) Nice box press, the colour of an old fashioned Pig skin Rugby ball....dark tan. The wrapper has a little oil, the foot is open, slight hard spot under the band...could be a problem but the cigar feels light in the hand while not underfilled. Nice smell at cold...all coffee and cream. Cuban clip the end and after a circular roll around the lip,I trial draw...perfect...slight pull required. First 10 minutes is pur Cuban tobacco taste before the cigar cools and opens into a coffee bean and cream profile. Very Similar to a Montecristo who has been working out...stronger, bolder. The Coffee/cream profile stayed for a long tme but disappeared as the cigar warnmed up toward the last third. There were sugary notes trying to come through but never quite made it. Intriguing as you felt you were seeing something out of the corner of your eye which disappeared when you looked or focussed. Last third was all Cuban tobacco and a sprinkle of white pepper. The burn was good until just before the band where it finished a little wonky.No Biggie. All in all one of my favouite Robusto's. Seldom discussed but can be normally enjoyed young and I find them at their best come 4 years of age. OIK NOV 03 Vegas Robaina Famosos.

First run of 10's were in last week and out same day. Very small initialallocation. Next allocation are here in 10 days and will be in 25's. Drop Lise or myself a line if you would like some set aside. There have been some interesting reviews of the P2...some glowing and some not so glowing. Early days yet but I have liked what I have seen.

I have tried Decision being made in July as to whether they are going to be developed as a worldwide release. Some good news is the possibility of a FOH specific release next year

Just a few Snippets: H.Upmann Magnum 50 (50 being the ring gauge) (2005) Grand Reserva (10 year aged tobacco) Cohiba....not confirmed on shape but Sublime or Esplendido possibilities (2006). Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure Especiales LE will run until late June.

Dean and Howard....you are the last ones I can't take another month of the crying :crying:

Send some rain our way :-) Great to have you onboard

You all received the same cigar Ken is bursting to post his review....Will wrap this one up Friday!

OK Guys send in your Addy details Shoot to lisa@clubczar.com Well done

Hi Kab. Pull up a chair Welcome aboard!