tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35096104119105762024-02-19T06:20:42.837-07:00Musing's from the Hillbilly Hilton Random thoughts and observations that occur while out on the Hillbilly Hilton(tm)
AKA My Outdoor Man CaveAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-17219969233589967462014-03-02T11:45:00.001-07:002014-03-02T11:45:36.737-07:00The Wild Ride Ends<!--[if !mso]>
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As I mentioned in my last post.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stay tuned its going to be a wild ride.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Fortunately, during our trip to Auburn in the end of
January,<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>we were able to find a house
that we both fell in love with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We moved
into a 113 year old Victorian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The home
had been vacant for several months and as far as rent goes we got it for a steal.
It is very different from the cookie cutter houses that Arizona is famous for. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">
</span></div>
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We arrived back in Arizona on Saturday night, and the fast
and furious packing began.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was during
this moment that House of Emilio became the official cigar of cross country
moves everywhere.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bbLuOqvuTNhuR_zZWgV2__WiWHQR06lv4msjHWJHxeumUmzYhsX5wVbHC-j_7EwcVO0PNaUhfKqkTSWTR4_J7DfZcmEMyvbbtXgvd8NhrnY2AeW0vICsltErPKTBMNMZ1rcpknFpcoY/s1600/2014-02-02+12.28.34.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1bbLuOqvuTNhuR_zZWgV2__WiWHQR06lv4msjHWJHxeumUmzYhsX5wVbHC-j_7EwcVO0PNaUhfKqkTSWTR4_J7DfZcmEMyvbbtXgvd8NhrnY2AeW0vICsltErPKTBMNMZ1rcpknFpcoY/s1600/2014-02-02+12.28.34.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEied628glmCHcbHkjSuLv4Axf5QE4zG1xDh21ZGoWP91-72h_vAYF4HzhlCHC1H3ZUBol6Ts71qLt6uCU4EnG9aXuXH8IxihyphenhyphenpR8YKNia3w5AV1Lryfj9tBk7cxRXInyT9eRrLei9ecsuU/s1600/2014-02-04+11.02.25.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="mso-no-proof: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Monday we finished packing cleaned up the house for any
prospective buyers and didn’t look back. I headed up to my mom’s and Rhea
headed to the airport to pick up her Pop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>With Rhea’s health issues, she suffered a stroke in 2012 and suffers
from TIA’s or mini strokes; he thought it best to have someone with her and our
dog.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We pulled out Tuesday morning; the plan was to get as far
east as Oklahoma City and stay ahead of winter storm that was hitting the
Midwest and making its way to the Northeast .<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of things I was sure to keep with me was my
humidor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So after a stop for a meal
somewhere in Eastern Arizona this happened.</div>
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We had changed our route to stay towards the south to avoid
this winter storm which nailed the Midwest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I then tweeted that saying I was feeling a bit Nomadic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then somewhere in Arkansas, this happened</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RyLbSKUPeA0GsJDXnHrDwGppBplkwgiy-xtoOjVEqejFsIAp7XN1v8pYZ3DPBcE-CzgeXqyotD7Ltnx_y49ggpkANQPIQKVe9VIcKw6LgLh0P0oRRWoomyG7EihzSK6SR-VSpzEIaIg/s1600/2014-02-05+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6RyLbSKUPeA0GsJDXnHrDwGppBplkwgiy-xtoOjVEqejFsIAp7XN1v8pYZ3DPBcE-CzgeXqyotD7Ltnx_y49ggpkANQPIQKVe9VIcKw6LgLh0P0oRRWoomyG7EihzSK6SR-VSpzEIaIg/s1600/2014-02-05+%25282%2529.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Then I ended up detouring 40 minutes the wrong
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">The final leg of the journey, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and NY I made solo. Rhea stayed in Indiana until closer to the time the furniture arrived in Auburn. O.K. i wasn't exactly alone, I had Rodrigo with me. He was good company and kept relatively quiet for the rest of the journey.</span></div>
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Since arriving I have had the chance to enjoy ONLY one
cigar. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am currently in the process of stabilizing
the humidor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My Boveda packs are toast and
I am waiting on an order to arrive that I placed thru Cigars International.</div>
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Gradually I have begun to check out the cigar scene here in
Central New York and here’s what I discovered. There is a place here in town
called A.T. Walley’s <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>who has a cigars
for sale, but except twice a year, smoking is prohibited in the store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The upside is that come summer you can enjoy
your cigar outside when they set up their sidewalk café!</div>
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did stumble upon D’Angelo Cigars in Waterloo, NY.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I asked about Boveda Packs, Carmen knows what
they were and went as far as to say he had just ordered them but didn’t know
when he would have them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I explained to
him my plight of keeping my humidor stable and he cut of a piece of teak wood.
He told me to soak it in distilled water and place it on top of the
cigars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At this point I am having to
call BS on this the grand experiment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The conversation continued and I can say that
this man is fascinating to speak with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
is the owner of the D'Angelo Santana Plantation in Tamboril, Dominican Republic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Upon leaving I was given one of his house
blends, which are rolled in the shop in Waterloo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This cigar, pictured with the teak wood, it is
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>described as a medium fill. Consisting of
the following types of tobaccos Piloto Cubano, Cubano Seco, Single Long Leaf,
San Vicente Ligeto Criollo, Criollo 98 Ligero, Criollo 98 Seco, Olor Ligero,
Olor Seco, and Connecticut, Summatra, Marduro blended short fillers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This will sit in the humidor until it gets
some age on it and then I must remember to cut it with a guillotine cutter,
which has disappeared, and not a punch.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHrTVuJM-hFd2fqFYaaBa9fHOq-KGoku4NTYkwg8-2vAHn4geUhrv7rMLun5v-UVIj-uNNSCm1qJ132X_du34wwIKPpO57DHnEEW0wBoi3dY2EawC-iGohRnYq1OfP3_zFbcew0O3OHM/s1600/2014-02-25+18.18.55.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNHrTVuJM-hFd2fqFYaaBa9fHOq-KGoku4NTYkwg8-2vAHn4geUhrv7rMLun5v-UVIj-uNNSCm1qJ132X_du34wwIKPpO57DHnEEW0wBoi3dY2EawC-iGohRnYq1OfP3_zFbcew0O3OHM/s1600/2014-02-25+18.18.55.jpg" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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I
plan on getting to know Carmen D’Angelo some more and I am sure I will have
some interesting stories to tell you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><br />
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So until next time </div>
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#KeepATightAsh</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-55912047887871132922014-02-02T08:23:00.000-07:002014-02-02T08:23:49.482-07:00House H(a)untings and Other Strange Things<div>
<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Let me make one thing perfectly clear. I am a pain in the ass to travel with. Not sure if it stems from traveling in the time shortly after 9/11 but I am a pain in the ass to travel with. Why? I follow the rules, I get there two hours before the flight etc. Now throw in a connecting flight or two and I become a royal pain in the ass! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">So we land in Philly to learn that we came in at the C Terminal and our connecting flight is departing from the F Terminal. This involves taking a shuttle bus! Bam stress level thru he roof! Now here is a valuable travel tip, if one of youse is in wheel chair, it makes this part less stressful. As your entire party get preferential treatment. So now we head to the front of the line and make it to the F Terminal with 15-20 minutes to spare before we board. Then it happens! I see Tony Luke's and I have to have one. No time for screwing around deciding what to get? We order at traditional size wit whiz, wit out (without onions), 7 minutes later we are hauling ass to the gate, and I have already chocked down my half of this delectable delight like I am Joey Chestnut, in food eatin contest, before I get to the Jetway!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUq6dOooZYfAehVqJ9Ay4FRrZC410IlnCbM9KbdKL41pEoLSkWHD_TsrdwDsYMMpC1Q7SArm04YG7zDEuHk-PZdzrs2ljnel0L9aym-EmawJePGTSdX1CenUCPaK6ON9ev5BapwekaQes/s640/blogger-image-1433812433.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUq6dOooZYfAehVqJ9Ay4FRrZC410IlnCbM9KbdKL41pEoLSkWHD_TsrdwDsYMMpC1Q7SArm04YG7zDEuHk-PZdzrs2ljnel0L9aym-EmawJePGTSdX1CenUCPaK6ON9ev5BapwekaQes/s640/blogger-image-1433812433.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">So I also love small airports. They are easy to navigate and less hassle. When you get to baggage your bags are there in a matter of minutes not what seems like hours. The rental car counters are right behind baggage and the rental cars are in the parking garage outside the terminal. So we pick up the car and of all things our 2013 Chevy Impala has an Arizona license plate! Are ya kidding me?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge0fxiT1BpwwuH2F81PTiZi-121frjQUwzQiGo1tzlZax2P0GXsXsow73G7BzwaId3G_nYOah7DnuQoXaYGvLjXUiejG9t43y_iNur8UUwM9R9XVmJT4K1pVS73HykFkDSdh3iy9f1_CU/s640/blogger-image--739853887.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge0fxiT1BpwwuH2F81PTiZi-121frjQUwzQiGo1tzlZax2P0GXsXsow73G7BzwaId3G_nYOah7DnuQoXaYGvLjXUiejG9t43y_iNur8UUwM9R9XVmJT4K1pVS73HykFkDSdh3iy9f1_CU/s640/blogger-image--739853887.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">We were fortunate to be introduced to Vickie and Peter Harris, who offered us the use of their lakeside cabin while we house h(a)unted. This 760 sq ft cabin was awesome, and it even had wifi and cable! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVrlaGSdl1Bj0WMVUGX3sLbMHWcodkO7OGsd3bOI3N0VLIE9n0-_gMO8F9HY1IOicYrjkhd2ghpTBxIzOMe5fnMAybrCrFeM_zn6nMdbjrjEQgrryvT5ddACu6mvQT_58pge3kg5xI1tg/s640/blogger-image--628710538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVrlaGSdl1Bj0WMVUGX3sLbMHWcodkO7OGsd3bOI3N0VLIE9n0-_gMO8F9HY1IOicYrjkhd2ghpTBxIzOMe5fnMAybrCrFeM_zn6nMdbjrjEQgrryvT5ddACu6mvQT_58pge3kg5xI1tg/s1600/blogger-image--628710538.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I mentioned in my last post we have a short window to get things done. In fact, since I started at the Citizen on Friday , we really only had one day to find a home. Rhea took charge of the realtors! And the third home we saw the h(a)unt wa over. We jumped all over a Victorian that was built in 1900! The home needs a little TLC and we are happy happy to provide that. And for all you idiots that said it's haunted. Nope, if a buyer asks, you have to disclose that sh*t! We learned that from our realtor I. Auburn. The home is also located about 2 miles from my office...</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHt4WcEEu2eONWaTsbvgxaAkEO0aLecaDOwXOgfHpOzHi9r90NftFeYh0PWXcUJXwnlshHUB1Gl0EZKtnK3T3is-aXCPpjgTSpRFZLD4vHlQNhyphenhyphenVfdSVUW-YARq9SZpK_mVtREZSMNuLA/s640/blogger-image--306900817.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHt4WcEEu2eONWaTsbvgxaAkEO0aLecaDOwXOgfHpOzHi9r90NftFeYh0PWXcUJXwnlshHUB1Gl0EZKtnK3T3is-aXCPpjgTSpRFZLD4vHlQNhyphenhyphenVfdSVUW-YARq9SZpK_mVtREZSMNuLA/s1600/blogger-image--306900817.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">So back to me being a pain In the ass to travel with. We were flying out of Rochester, with a connecting flight in Philly, so we have turned in the rental car, checked our bags and we're enjoying a bit of lunch. When I discovered that the inbound flight, that would be ou aircraft, was delayed and I went into royal pain in the ass mode. Then this arrived, smiled and then this conversation happened:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7PYqgRWK4LF-UU2aG0QHu33b1Rhmnno2XzOXTZhMJP5ab7HxvMDv9VcgmQ3OFmmVjwLU1sRg7pyrmbWpULmNfhkuuNbKoHZBU8_tIssgXB93FGUA1OP83tTa-L6u18z5lFG9Fa605ceY/s640/blogger-image-1168801751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7PYqgRWK4LF-UU2aG0QHu33b1Rhmnno2XzOXTZhMJP5ab7HxvMDv9VcgmQ3OFmmVjwLU1sRg7pyrmbWpULmNfhkuuNbKoHZBU8_tIssgXB93FGUA1OP83tTa-L6u18z5lFG9Fa605ceY/s640/blogger-image-1168801751.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">RW: Is that our plane?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">JW: (looking over the top of my iPad) Yup</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">RW: I am not getting on a f*ckin prop plane</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">JW: (Not looking.up from my IPad) Technically babe, it's a turbo prop, and I don't think you have much of a choice!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Gate Agent: Now Boarding Zone 2</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">As I write this, on the plane back to Phoenix, I am trying to think of all that we need to accomplish in the next couple three days. Both the boy's their girlfriends, Kirk and Jen will be helping us load the uPack. Well Jen is actually the supervisor. I'm also grateful that Rhea's dad is going to make the journey with her in her car. They will stop and spend some to time in a Greenwood, IN, while I go onto Auburn. Then when the delivery date of our belongings and the time we take over the home on Perry Street gets closer she will join me in Auburn and her dad will go onto Boston. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Oh I did manage to stumble upon <a href="http://atwalley.com/">AT Walley 7 Co.</a>, which is described as, a Martini and Cigar Bar I will investigate further when I have more time but if this sign in the window is any indication Disneyland will no longer be the Happiiest Place on Earth for me! Well they do need some serious representation from House of Emilio, its an untapped market!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibGTkcNDjGf-JRQ5q3hSHW0o24TKDrsxk_YfjSxBOGgNxW2Ixm09h8-G9RLfN0lUG0n2vSrISz6n1kFnzm1Ra5thi0TokenHE4COEpcQrPiPWUZog1nEMUSKM9CkljX8XPqQ7lB59j2E/s640/blogger-image-365721428.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhibGTkcNDjGf-JRQ5q3hSHW0o24TKDrsxk_YfjSxBOGgNxW2Ixm09h8-G9RLfN0lUG0n2vSrISz6n1kFnzm1Ra5thi0TokenHE4COEpcQrPiPWUZog1nEMUSKM9CkljX8XPqQ7lB59j2E/s640/blogger-image-365721428.jpg" /></a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">Until Next Time</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;">#KeepATightAsh</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-158800364218828002014-01-23T11:33:00.002-07:002014-01-23T11:33:33.524-07:00Mr Toads Wild Ride and Other Things<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well, I told you in my last post that that "opportunities will be abundant" and to "stay tuned it's going to be a wild ride." That wild ride is now in full swing as my wife and I are in the process of selling our home and preparing to move 2,400 miles to upstate New York. That's right we are leaving the Valley of the Sun for Auburn, NY where I have accepted a position as the Advertising Director for Cayuga Media. Cayuga Media, part of Lee Enterprises, publishes <a href="http://www.auburnpub.com/">the Citizen, the Skaneateles Journal, and this Week in Cayuga County</a>. I am looking forward to working for a true community newspaper that has been part of the community for almost 200 years.<br />
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So in between flying to NY, pre-employment paperwork and drug screens, and meeting with realtors and moving companies. I managed to spend some time with, the National Sales Manager for House of Emilio, Nate McIntyre.<br />
<br />
Ambassador Fine Cigars, hosted an event titled "Help Us Pick the Next Cigar in Our Humidor!" The events were held at both locations and were very well attended.<br />
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On Sunday I opted for the Bodega Premium Blend Reunion Apertivo (Before Meal)
and The Ezra Zion FHK (Fathers of Hoover and Kyle) two cigars I have
been waiting, and waiting, and waiting for to arrive in Phoenix!<br />
<br />
And at Wednesday's event I grabbed the Bodega Premium Blend Reunion Digestivo (After Meal)<br />
<br />
All three of these cigars did not disappoint, but I am telling you that the fellas over at Bodega hit a walk off grand slam in their first at bat! Now which one of the two Bodega's did i like better? I have to say the Apertivo simply because I love a Habano Wrapper. I cant wait for the next release which I heard is a Connecticut Wrapper... <br />
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I've also had some great cigars, courtesy of my <a href="http://www.passionatepapercreations.blogspot.com/">wife</a>, this year. Starting with this RoMa Craft CroMagnon Mode 5 and this here Tatuaje Seleccion De Cazador Petite Robusto!<br />
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The next month is going to be a bit crazy, but at least my humidor is fully stocked...<br />
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For updates on the trip, follow me on twitter, @JRWeigand, I bet I can find a cigar lounge or two that will be willing to host a weary traveler<br />
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Until Next Time #KeepATightAsh<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-66577882350749575052014-01-03T10:25:00.000-07:002014-01-03T10:25:24.869-07:00Happy New Year from the Hillbilly HiltonAnother year has come and gone, and to be quite frank, I am glad to see 2013 pushed out the door. <br />
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Granted 2013 was a banner year for the cigar industry. New brands entered the market, a few old Cuban brands were resurrected, and the first commercial flight, in 50 years, made the 90 mile journey to Havana from Key West Florida.<br />
<br />
Who knows what 2014 will hold. New opportunities will be abundant. Stay tuned its going to be a wild ride.<br />
<br />
My first cigar in the New Year turned out to be a great disappointment! I had been eying this cigar for the better part of two, maybe three, years and this year when I was on Maui, for Thanksgiving,I picked up an Island Prince Dark from the Kauai Cigar Company. Price-point being a factor I picked up the 42 x 4 1/2 Luana Iki meaning Short Pause for Please in Hawaiian, which has a single stick price of $9.99. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZtX3FHcd87F4Dpg1czK1_UxDZ2dUmTrGtrQqH3V-a3fxJxZ6tRNwQIPi3B1v_gskeg3X-kGXK_dQeI_PZykT0U8i07DSD9c2Lq3NvR4SXQY4L7QguNToKjBbywPMzJlcvVAA2yxt6z7A/s1600/Island+Prince+Luana+Iki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZtX3FHcd87F4Dpg1czK1_UxDZ2dUmTrGtrQqH3V-a3fxJxZ6tRNwQIPi3B1v_gskeg3X-kGXK_dQeI_PZykT0U8i07DSD9c2Lq3NvR4SXQY4L7QguNToKjBbywPMzJlcvVAA2yxt6z7A/s320/Island+Prince+Luana+Iki.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Here's what intrigued me about this cigar. The filler is a sun grown tobacco that is grown on Kauai. After harvesting and curing tobacco, which is to become the filler, is then shipped to Nicaragua where the manufacturing process is completed at a "small and personal factory."<br />
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The Island Prince Dark boasts a Habano wrapper and is touted as the fuller bodied, most complex, of the two cigars in the this line.<br />
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Unfortunately I found that this cigar was not complex at all and actually had no flavor profile. We'll see maybe next year I will try one of the other lines that Kauai Cigar has in its portfolio, but there is no need to run out and buy a box of the Island Prince.<br />
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Finally, like all cigar aficionados, at year end I go through my dossier or journal and highlight my top 10 cigars of the year. My top ten cigars are ones that I enjoyed from 1/1/2013 – 11/30/2013,
The order is random, very random, and in the interest of full
disclosure I am the Arizona Disseminator for House of Emilio,
distributors of Emilio Cigars, Herederos de Robaina, Rodrigo, Guayacan
Cigars, 1502 Cigars (GPC), Ezra Zion, Nomad, and Bodega Premium Blends.
My “affiliation” with House of Emilio in no way influenced the outcome
of this list. So without further delay here are my top cigars for 2013.
<br />
<ul>
<li>Ezra Zion Tantrum Prensado Pequeno*</li>
<li>Davidoff Nicaraguan Puro Short Corona</li>
<li>Tatuaje 10<sup>th</sup> Anniversary Perfecto</li>
<li>Nomad Estelí LE 1386 Toro*</li>
<li>Ortega Wild Bunch Fast Eddie Lancero</li>
<li>Nomad S-307 Toro*</li>
<li>Room 101 Master Collection One Mutante Lancero</li>
<li>Guayacan Habano Ecuador Toro*</li>
<li>Davidoff Club House Toro</li>
<li>Regius Seleccion Orchant Robusto LE</li>
</ul>
Honorable Mention<br />
<ul>
<li>Psyko 7 Robusto</li>
<li>San Cristobal Revelation by Ashton Robusto</li>
<li>Azan Natural Maduro Robusto</li>
<li>Fratello Robusto</li>
<li>Esteban Carreras Chupa Cabra Robusto Grande</li>
</ul>
Bear in mind there no rhyme or reason to this list
except these are the cigars that I enjoyed them once and in the
following weeks or months I made a point to find more.<br />
<br />
So there you have my first cigar of 2014, and my Top Cigars of 2013 <br />
<br />
I wish each and every one of you all the very best for a happy and healthy 2014. <br />
<br />
JRW<br />
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*House of Emilio brand<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-14104279410994905082013-12-15T19:51:00.001-07:002013-12-15T19:51:01.809-07:00I Am Clearly A SlackerSo its been just over two months since my last blog post and its taken me two weeks to finish this post! Its been a bit crazy around the Scottsdale/Phoenix Metro Area. Of course been able to try most of the stuff that was ordered from the IPCPR show back in July. I am not going to bore you with everything that I smoked since my last post of September 29th.<br />
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I was given the opportunity to test, a new cigar brand call Azan. Azan is the brainchild of Roberto Duran, a long respected figure in the cigar industry, who has held several positions with Pacific Cigar Company Ltd. The brand Azan is actually an old, privately owned Cuban brand that was started by a Chinese immigrant and who is also an ancestor of Durans wife. The brand disappeared after the
Revolution, when Fidel Castro nationalized the cigar industry, and was reintroduced to the United States at this years IPCPR as a Nicaraguan brand.<br />
<br />
I received one each, from Gabriel Pinares at Captiva PR, of the Burgundy Short Robusto and the White Label Robusto. There is also a third blend, a Natural Maduro. That is a fantastic cigar, which I purchased shortly I learned of the brand through various cigar publications and I continue to enjoy this paricular blend . In the Phoenix Metro Area you can find the Azan line, except the Burgundy, at Ambassador Fine Cigars in Scottsdale Arizona.<br />
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The Burgundy is priced at $3-4 per stick, which is perfect for cigar smokers on a budget, and was designed to be a daily smoke or go to cigar. I used a punch on this and found the cigar to burn evenly with a fairly tight ash, with an even burn that required no touch-ups. Unfortunately I did not care for this cigar I found it one dimensional, lacking complexity<br />
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The White Label, is priced in the $6-8 range which I consider, to be the sweet spot as far as price point. The binder, filler and wrapper of this cigar is higher grade of tobacco than what is in the Burgundy. The difference in the tobacco is clearly evident as is companies commitment to quality construction. This cigar is much more complex than the Burgundy with notes of pepper, cocoa with some caramel in the first 2/3 of this cigar. The final third the sweetness begins to fade, pepper and some earthy notes appear on the finish. Since smoking the cigar for review, I have also purchased more of this cigar, and it is now in my daily rotation.<br />
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---------------- <br />
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October was a good month to be a Cigar Smoker in Phoenix, Fox Cigar Bar kicked it off with its second annual Foxtoberfest that included visits from Eddie Ortega, Rafael Nodel from Oliveros/Swag and Aging Room, Clint Aaron of 262 Cigars, Matt Booth from Room 101, Wes Thornton from Crowned Heads Four Kicks and Terrance Reilly from Quesada, Lito Gomez from LFD Cigars and Jose" Hurricane" Ortega from My Father Cigar all made appearance. Some went as far as creating a special blend for this event.<br />
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November was equally exciting as Janny Garcia, Peter Johnson, Jose Ortega, KC Johnson and Dan Welsh (from<span class="st"><em> L'Atelier</em></span> and New Havana Cigars) made their way to Phoenix. They were in town primarily for an event at Ambassador Cigars that is destined to become an annual event here in the Phoenix Metro Area.<br />
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<br />Fine Ash Cigars held a private, invite only, meet and greet for about 20 of their friends and I was honored to have received an invite. Rosie and Sam, know how to throw an event and with the help of Eric and Jamie Parkinson, of Smoke Boutique Cigars, and Joel Schwartz of Trendsetters Marketing Group, this gathering was a huge success.<br />
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December 4th, in NYC, the Nat Sherman Townhouse hosted the launch party of Bodega Premium Blends. I also received an nvitation to the launch and would have loved to have been there but previous commitments precluded me from attending.<br />
<br />
Bodega Premium Blends was started by four friends from Canada Gino Domanico, Ron Plante, Stephane Barjolin, and Rob Mariani. The first release is their signature line called the Reunion and is manufactured in Nicaragua. The distribution of this cigar is thru House of Emilio, a company that I am vaguely familiar with and I am also writing a "monthly column" for their website. http://bpbcigars.com and you can read my posts here http://bpbcigars.com/author/jrweigand/<br />
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Until time, #KeepATightAsh<br />
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-26422351101578638252013-09-29T17:29:00.002-07:002013-09-29T19:47:16.917-07:00Weekend Getaways, Staycations and Cigars<div style="text-align: justify;">
Couple of notes about this blog! I am not a writer/journalist nor do I claim to be. I do not work for a industry magazine. I am simply a guy who likes cigars. It is for this reason I do not get into, nor do I care to play in world of in depth reviews of the cigars I smoke. I'll leave that to guys like Brooks Whittington, Patrick Lagreid, and David Savona. Get It? Got It? Good! So as my good friend Algernon Quattlebaum used to say "Let us move on..."</div>
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We are into monsoon season here in the PHX, and everyone is a while lead to a killer photo opp. This was accidentally created with the help of the window tint at the top of my windshied. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz53-PlIEiDG7pBlSRzHgu3IcA8vRAMjjMtbD9bFTD-lfqMXmsIAPd_F-XiqrwD-1k9SBdV9l69woBON30z2rm3QHj_p7XSYnrsWIv1FKpgl8NE3jaMqh_T_6yZQb_Xq0SeqiKPxYhRqk/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="189" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz53-PlIEiDG7pBlSRzHgu3IcA8vRAMjjMtbD9bFTD-lfqMXmsIAPd_F-XiqrwD-1k9SBdV9l69woBON30z2rm3QHj_p7XSYnrsWIv1FKpgl8NE3jaMqh_T_6yZQb_Xq0SeqiKPxYhRqk/s320/024.JPG" width="320"></a></div>
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It seems that this was the year of the big ring gauge but I'm seeing something a bit different. 7-20-4, Room 101, and Ezra Zion , have all come out with small cigars that with big flavors. These cigars, the Dog Walker, Namakubi Ecuador, and Tantrum, are great when you are short on time. See what I did there...?</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7CqmfMjksS3qIanBRGKfawm4qTrkB7neQfGisYmqoWbFogn9-qvdaUgBZZUxhihcjMv_6kGnoKLzeU5-DoHY-dRjkrdXgoP2GaToDw6-h6bglrbGSKpJ3hWcgMrqlRkh25p7ARF2wbg/s1600/005+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj7CqmfMjksS3qIanBRGKfawm4qTrkB7neQfGisYmqoWbFogn9-qvdaUgBZZUxhihcjMv_6kGnoKLzeU5-DoHY-dRjkrdXgoP2GaToDw6-h6bglrbGSKpJ3hWcgMrqlRkh25p7ARF2wbg/s200/005+%25282%2529.JPG" width="149"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMhvMRQ34KqR2MMwVUX_ID2KQ46AiN0YGaKixjoWec28L4it6yZD7_w9cqykd1HArJh1X7oXYCt57xZpTpvrk6zJF0R_OgE8NEnDcULLtp_F5xBpcT6wiXghLcJAENobydOof-zWcUFNk/s1600/002+%25283%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMhvMRQ34KqR2MMwVUX_ID2KQ46AiN0YGaKixjoWec28L4it6yZD7_w9cqykd1HArJh1X7oXYCt57xZpTpvrk6zJF0R_OgE8NEnDcULLtp_F5xBpcT6wiXghLcJAENobydOof-zWcUFNk/s200/002+%25283%2529.JPG" width="150"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguThHvVnqAyFJ074Q3kWMnQs9PsT5SJiTa5rFAmoKjs7EXrt9Y4MDtYYBzke5NaVAPp4PfJkxNYtHGCdz8uslNvQ9SsBG19lOvvvXQ8IqN4RjF8qb3WWRHUOZj-WDjDSdk-4_G4Mk595k/s1600/photo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguThHvVnqAyFJ074Q3kWMnQs9PsT5SJiTa5rFAmoKjs7EXrt9Y4MDtYYBzke5NaVAPp4PfJkxNYtHGCdz8uslNvQ9SsBG19lOvvvXQ8IqN4RjF8qb3WWRHUOZj-WDjDSdk-4_G4Mk595k/s200/photo.PNG" width="150"></a></div>
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A few weeks back I got an email, from PR firm in Miami, wanting to know I if would be interested in reviewing a new cigar. The Azan from Roberto Duran Premium Cigars. I bit and sent my information. I know, technically, I am not a member of the cigar media. but it is what it is. </div>
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This cigar is another brand that has been resurrected and the back story is very cool. Azan was an old, privately owned Cuban brand started by a Chinese immigrant, in the 1920's, before Fidel Castro nationalized the industry. It disappeared after the
Revolution, but is now back as a Nicaraguan brand, restarted this year
by Roberto Pelayo Duran, who's wife is a descendant of the original founder.</div>
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Azan comes in three varieties: White Premium, Burgundy and Maduro Natural. who suggested that I go with the Natural Maduro. It was a terrific smoke that was fairly complex. Again see what I did there</div>
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A couple of weeks ago my wife called,with a brilliant idea, a staycation/weekend getaway at local resort. Rhea checked in that afternoon, and I arrived after work...</div>
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Here's a valuable piece of advice for when you visit Scottsdale BRING YOUR OWN STICKS! If you forget, or if your Cuban stash ends up in the hands of the US Customs Department, there are plenty of shops within a short drive of the many fine resorts in town<span style="color: #0000ee;">.</span></div>
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As I said in earlier posts new product, that made its debut at the IPCPR, is still arriving in the local shops. Andrew Hopkins from Ye Olde Pipe and Tobacco pointed this one out. Well priced,at $4.95, is the Cubita Robusto Nouveau. This cigar is manufactured in the Dominican Republic at Matasa and is a Manuel Quesada product. This cigar is now in my regular rotation.</div>
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Here's something I hadn't seen before the Nomad Fugitive Perfecto, Love this Vitola and this Cigar! Can't wait to see what Fred comes up with next...Oh yeah, waiting rather impatiently for the S-307!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCXnxu6i3XWzwlKLWG9LSf2JAR0pKQ8X3c7kBOqsJb56Ousvs-DFaRDQ6-TiPez6D_pHaMPO03nv9EpwAozd-nQoOJ4s7nuND5qEOX0pzE9t9jVryNo0thhROxe66MRBzSUcT9gAq0qg/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCXnxu6i3XWzwlKLWG9LSf2JAR0pKQ8X3c7kBOqsJb56Ousvs-DFaRDQ6-TiPez6D_pHaMPO03nv9EpwAozd-nQoOJ4s7nuND5qEOX0pzE9t9jVryNo0thhROxe66MRBzSUcT9gAq0qg/s320/032.JPG" width="240"></a></div>
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The Crossfire Habano Perfecta was a gift from Ryan and Cigars and Scriptures. This 6 x 60 had some great flavors, but had an extremely tight draw. Others that smoked that smoked this cigar didnt have this challenge and I'll give it another try. Once again see what I did there<font size="2">. </font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><font size="2"><br></font></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The company also has an awesome mission and vision statement that is worth sharing</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"To create jobs, value people and empower the community while crafting great handmade premium cigars. </span><span style="font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue Light', HelveticaNeue-Light, helvetica, arial, sans-serif;">To passionately craft high quality hand rolled premium cigars at an affordable price."</span></div>
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Another new cigar line to hit the shelves at Goodfellas is from La Hoja Cigar Company. I will swear that this was a Nicaraguan blend, but nope its a Dominican Puro that smokes wonderfully. Yes I "V" cut a torpedo! </div>
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This is a another company with a cool back story. The family, led by Sr. Carlos Flores, was a prominent member of the peoples revolution against Castro and were forced to flee the country the 1960's. His son Carlos Flores Jr., has created the company La Hoja Cigar Company and this first blend, or collection, is the the La Hoja De Flores. The line also serves as a tribute to Carlos Sr.<br>
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No doubt about it the folks at My Fathers Cigars, make a terrific cigar. In fact some say they rival the flavor and character of a Cuban Cigar. This My Fathers Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ is one of those cigars. Simply put its a nice full-bodied smoke that is layered
with deep flavors. And oh by the way it's handmade in Miami!<br>
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Its no secret I am wound tighter than a eight day clock. My wife decided we needed to get out of town. So we headed up to Sedona....which is about 2 hours north of us. A leisurely day spent wondering downtown Sedona, strolling along Oak Creek, it was just what the doctor ordered.<br>
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And speaking of doctors, Get Well Soon George! Your Rodrigo La Fortaleza loved Oak Creek! <br>
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Til next time #KeepATightAsh....<br>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-45418501624334545922013-08-23T20:54:00.003-07:002013-08-24T08:17:19.661-07:00The Next Chapter of My LifeIt is said that all good things must come to an end. After 12 years in the newspaper industry, on the advertising side of house, it is time for a change. Two weeks ago I was offered and accepted an position with Voice Media Group the owners and publishers of the Phoenix New Times and 11 other publications throughout the country. I have gone to the dark side, the world of digital, that's right SEO, SEM, Local Search (mobile and tablet), Social Media, and Re-targeting. I am looking forward to the challenge and not being bound to deadlines.<br />
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Oh and what did I smoke for the celebratory cigar? The Ezra Zion Reagan!<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> The 7-20-4 Dog Walker is a petite corona with tons of flavor.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">7-20-4 also has a cool back story that ends with the resurrection of a brand once owned by the RG Sullivan Cigar Company. At its height the company claimed to be the countries largest producer of 10 cent cigars. The cigars were handmade, the filler was pure Havana tobacco with a Sumatra wrapper. According to a story in Time Magazine, the name 7-20-4 supposedly came from the numbers of a winning lottery ticket that RG Sullivan used to start the business. </span><br />
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In 1963 the company closed; two years after being sold to a company who moved production to Scranton, PA. An official from RG Sullivan essentially blamed Castro who's "regime has made increasingly difficult for us to secure Havana tobacco, which is, and always will be and important part of the 7-20-4 and Dexter Cigars made by the company"<br />
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The building was never sold and in 2008 Kurt Kendall, who owns the rights to the 7-20-4 brand, announced plans to market a modern version.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The week after the #IPCPR new cigars started to roll into our local B&M's. The newest line to the humidor, at Goodfellas Cigar Lounge, is distributed by Kuuts (Koots). John Gonzales, National Sales Director for Kuuts (pronounced Koots), joined us at Goodfellas Cigar Lounge, for the Arizona Launch Party for the Placeres Reserva, Miro and Tabacalera Zapata. These Cigars have been a top selling cigar in Europe for over a decade. A new factory in Honduras, has given the company the manufacturing capacity to produce more cigars allow them to bring these cigars to the US for the time in its history. <br /><br />The Placeres Reserva, pictured below, starts out on the mild side of the spectrum and works it way to solid medium bodied smoke. I do think the cigar would benefit from some time in a humidor.</span><br />
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This past Sunday my wife and I went out for some breakfast, and we ended up at the Brass Armadillo Antique Mall in Goodyear. I stumbled upon a few cigar boxes for sale, nothing really special until I found this....a Cigar Box, from Don Raphael, with 10 Cigars still in cello for $14.95. Some quick research Google and Twitter, found that the box of 20 retails for under $30, so I passed. I'll keep looking and maybe, just maybe, I will find that hidden gem. A pre-embargo Cuban cigar.<br />
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My last week at the West Valley View I was busy transitioning my clients to their new account executive. Wednesday I took some time for myself and I spent an hour, or so, with Sam over at Fine Ash Cigar. I picked up this El Triunfador from Pete Johnson and Don Pepin Garcia, this cigar was originally released in 2008 with a Connecticut Broadleaf Wrapper, however the current release uses an Ecuadorian Habano Wrapper. This cigar starts out medium bodied and works its way up to full bodied smoke that is very complex. </div>
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Monday brings new challenges, new colleagues, and a few old colleagues. Until next time #KeepATightAsh</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-24829278339081257272013-08-04T16:11:00.004-07:002013-08-04T16:13:16.639-07:00Habit or HobbyThis post is a result of seeing a blog post from Scott Lancaster who posed this same question on his blog, sticks2ash.blogspot.com, a few weeks back.<br />
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For me is a cigar is neither. In fact I have gone as long as five years without lighting up a cigar and I never smoked cigarettes and never tried weed. Until I was 10 my Dad, and Grandpa, both smoked a pipe but no one in my family, ever smoked a cigar. Interestingly enough I did learned that at one point there was a General Cigar factory in my mom's hometown of Mt Carmel, PA.</div>
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So how did I start smoking cigars. Right at the start of the cigar boom of the 1990s a colleague had his first child and passed out the ubiquitous It's a Boy cigar. I took one, and out of curiosity one evening I cut it, OK I bit the cap off as that was how I saw it done on TV and in the movies, toasted it; OK I burnt the hell out of it, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Shortly thereafter B&M's started to open up in Orange County and LA County and a few nightclub had smoking lounges. I worked for custom clothier in Beverly Hills, and Orange County and I was "that guy" usually dressed in a suit and smoking a cigar. My cigar of choice, was usually a Romeo y Julieta, a Hoya de Monterrey, or a Dunhill as far as B &M's there was a Tinder Box in Santa Ana, The Bombay Cigar Society in Redondo Beach, and Dunhill had a clothing shop near mine, that had a small humidor where they sold cigars by the stick. In 1995 California enacted the statewide smoking ban and I really didn't smoke again until 1998 when my then wife and I moved to Pennsylvania.</div>
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In Pennsylvania I had worked for Radius Communication, an interconnect that sold local advertising on top tier cable networks, and was based in Harrisburg. One day I was meeting a client for lunch and wandered into Rae's Tobacco. Rae's became my escape and almost each day I would "smoke" my lunch at Rae's. One of the members started a club. We could contribute $10 a week that was pooled. Once a week Joan Baker would select a cigar for the club members to taste and when we accumulated enough money we could buy a box, or two, and split the contents up between the members.</div>
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I left PA, in 2001 and moved to Arizona</div>
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I would enjoy a cigar, as a "treat" here and there, such as the day my cousin Sarah and Kevin (below) married in 2003. Chances are these were probably Macanudo Robusto's as my resources were somewhat limited at the time.</div>
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And when I was road warrior, traveling each week for 48 weeks out the year, for Freedom Communications I would enjoy an occasional cigar. There were ad director conferences in Tampa, where any free moment I had was spent either at Steinbrenner Field or in Ybor City visiting many of the historic cigar factories and Cuban coffee houses.<br />
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I spent a lot of time in South Texas, and being across the river from Matamoras or Progesso/Reynoso I had access to "Cuban" Cigars. Again I became that guy, the one wearing the suit from out of state, sitting at the patio bar of Louis Backyard or Tequila Sunsets, smoking the forbidden fruit a Romeo y Julietas Exhibicion #3, Cohiba, or Montecristo #2. Which based on what I know now were most likely counterfeit Cubans. </div>
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It was one of these nights in 2004, Gary Thorn, my then finance who we shall just call S, and I went to South Padre Island for dinner and I sat at that bar at Louis Backyard, my with my counterfeit Montecristo #2 and Don Julio Resposado and thought. I thought about family, friends, my career, and life. On the way back to the hotel my cellphone rang. It was my mother, my father had passed away....<br />
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I really did not start enjoying cigars on a regular basis until 2008 when I moved into an outside sales role with the Arizona Republic and my first cient call was to Ye Old Pipe and Tobacco in Phoenix. I was able to work from their lounge and relax for a few moments. So there you have it, it is neither a hobby or habit but a...Hell I don't know what it is, except for a way for me to relax, and pure enjoyment!<br />
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It's been a bout 3 weeks or so since the #IPCPR ended and the stuff that was ordered during the show. I have had to luxury of trying some of the newer brands and blends offered at the #IPCPR before they arrive in the store. <br />
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Here is the Fratello Toro which has a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, a Ecuadorian Sumatra Binder, and the filler comes from both Nicaragua and Peru. I liked this cigar a lot and can't wait for its arrival in humidor at my local B&M<br />
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Nomad Cigar Company created the LE (Limited Edition) Esteli Lot 1386. There are only, or will be only 307 boxes made of this cigar. Holy Hell Fred hit for the cycle with this cigar! Now what ya gonna do next Fred? Huh? Huh?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvOiCQZnt0ZUjWLHPn6hqsVUxPLEZQnd1uPyT_noGAWAGW4E9m86nvdf-kPm8okpts97cBACQSeemy9yDwpiL4FOO3bzN9ZAkkCsu7Lq8Qw9_vvHVV49rQS6ACzgTZMcF6wbku56Pqurg/s1600/040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvOiCQZnt0ZUjWLHPn6hqsVUxPLEZQnd1uPyT_noGAWAGW4E9m86nvdf-kPm8okpts97cBACQSeemy9yDwpiL4FOO3bzN9ZAkkCsu7Lq8Qw9_vvHVV49rQS6ACzgTZMcF6wbku56Pqurg/s320/040.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Finally, on Saturday, the Arizona Cigar Community lost a great friend in Tommy Pupillo Tommy, was the rep for some of your favorite cigars including Perdomo and Tatuaje, passed away after a lengthy illness. I will share one story about Tommy. I was in the Man Cave at Cigar King and Tommy came in and sat down. I asked Tommy, "How does one become a cigar rep?" Tommy took a long draw on his cigar, tilted his head back, blew the smoke into the air and said "Now, why would you want to do something that stupid?!?"<br />
Tommy you will be missed. #RIP <br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-49355338343009840952013-05-27T15:50:00.000-07:002013-05-27T15:50:23.824-07:00I am the worlds greatest procrastinator<div style="text-align: justify;">
Never do today what you can do tomorrow or next week. That is my motto! </div>
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This applies to updating my blog which I have been saying I was going to do every week since my last post of April 18th.</div>
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What can I say I've been busy.</div>
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Anyway, new cigars continue to arrive in my favorite B&M's here in the PHX. </div>
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Fine Ash continues to stock his humidor with some great cigars. Since first enjoying the Intemperance EC XVIII (Ecuadorian Connecticut) in both the Charity and the Perfecto, the BA XXI (Brazil Arapiraca) Intrigue and the Aquataine Cranium (a gran toro) <span style="font-family: inherit;">I have been in love with the Roma Craft Brand. </span></div>
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Here is the Cromagnon Anthropoloy. </div>
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Here's the best part most of these cigars are in the $9 and under range. </div>
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Several months back, I talked about the Davidoff Tongue Tasting that Ambassador Fine Cigars in Peoria held. As part of that event I picked up this Davidoff Millenium Blend Toro. I got distinct notes of roasted coffee beans and caramel from this medium strength cigar.</div>
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We also had a birthday since my last post. It was a relatively simple and low key affair that included a Layer Cake (pun intended) Shiraz and an Ezra Zion Reagan. This cigar is flying off the shelves at Goodfella's Cigar Lounge and in my opinion is well priced at $12.75 per stick.</div>
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I will admit that out of respect for my wife, who is quitting smoking, I am limiting my cigar smoking at home.</div>
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But when I do enjoy a cigar at home I have been diving down deep into my humidor and enjoying several cigars that I have let rest. This Gurkha Ghost I received as a gift from Andrew Hopkins upon his return from the IPCPR show last year and the La Aroma de Cuba has been sitting in my humidor since an event last August at Cigar King. As a result these cigars were damn near perfect.</div>
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One of my favorite brand owners is Glen Case, and I had two of his Kristoff GC Signature Series sitting in the humidor. They were obtained about two months apart but after several months each in the humidor these cigars were nice and oily and full of flavors that included expresso and chocolate. In keeping with the program I paired them with a diet coke. The diet coke is what Glen drinks when he is blending his cigars.<br />
I also love the traditional pig tail cap, and closed foot.<br />
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As I mentioned earlier new lines are arriving constantly at the cigar shops in the PHX, the 7-20-4 arrived in the humidor at Fine Ash earlier this month. Here's what I know This cigar is a piece of history. From 1874 until the embargo in 1963 the 7-20-4 was manufactured in New Hampshire. Kurt Kendall acquired the trademark and resurrected the brand. It is a very smooth and flavorful cigar.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Shaun at Goodfella's Cigar Lounge in Phoenix is becoming, by choice, a purveyor of Boutique Cigars. By definition a boutique cigar is <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">low production numbers of these smokes. Many aficionados define these specialty cigars as smokes with an annual produ</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; line-height: 18px;">ction of no more than 1 million sticks.</span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The benefit of boutique cigar production is that they allow cigar enthusiasts the opportunity to try a wider variety of smokes that are made of high-quality tobacco and are produced using a refined production process. </span></span><div>
<span style="line-height: 18px;"><br />Goodfella's is also a true House of Emilo Cigar Retailer. Since I have known Shaun he has expanded his inventory to include the Emilio AF1, AF2, Suave, Series H; Epicurean; Ezra Zio and Guayacan. Last week the 1502 line arrived and a launch party was held. These cigars in Goodfella's style flew off the shelf. The line consists of the 92 rated Emerald, the 91 rated Ruby, and the 93 rated Black Gold. I would suggest working your way thru the line starting with the emerald (mild plus), then the ruby (medium plus) and closing it out with the Black Gold (full bodied) which is pictured below.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">Until Next Time</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">#KeepATightAsh</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-15815067443081113702013-04-18T07:27:00.003-07:002013-04-18T07:27:54.294-07:00<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">A Quote:</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">"What up everybody so glad you're here. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">It's Coolio with the flow back in your ear. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">This ain't a fantastic voyage </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">But I'm still on a mission, to see if I can </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">Get your attention. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">Now I wants to drop some information. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">Just a little additive to your education..." Artis Leon Ivey Jr. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">So I think </span></span><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">I'll</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;"> start this post with the dip sh*t of the day, I mean seriously what mental midget (and I mean no offense to any mental midget that might be reading this post) parks a Ferrari, under a tree, with the top down. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">It is safe to say it was the Valet's fault... </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">BREAKING NEWS</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">Food Porn! Flat Iron Steak, with a Pomme Frites, and a fried quail egg from Zinc Bistro in Scottsdale and some kinds of roasted tomato puree (Frances version of ketchup?)</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">Last week was odd. I mean seriously odd! The weather forecast called for Dust and Wind. What they didn't forecast was the rain! Which actually when it rained it rained mud! <span style="font-family: inherit;">I mean seriously look at the photo! I mean seriously, that car is white car, that is NEVER dirty! It was like the seven plagues</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXR7JHvUylsrpPmoqo6VHh9zVy84Og1wSGWRT-ID-TQ9Suj3RAjnU9qroQxxyDvE66DDSvE-BtFqEyAYEXh7iAc4VgXISgR73X42mPCkvt7EYJIX6-qxVXbllXqcOOMNsOHcqXla6IbY/s1600/BHXmwXlCIAEyBOd.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFXR7JHvUylsrpPmoqo6VHh9zVy84Og1wSGWRT-ID-TQ9Suj3RAjnU9qroQxxyDvE66DDSvE-BtFqEyAYEXh7iAc4VgXISgR73X42mPCkvt7EYJIX6-qxVXbllXqcOOMNsOHcqXla6IbY/s320/BHXmwXlCIAEyBOd.jpg" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjY9sWJva2rw4SNFdzWoKm3EkqzukrCShSk8Qh4IEfL7ft7ksdsoExVjtf1i9tOwNQlaWVcJGk52kGNuEpHZvlsC8C1Bxf0DbGlElpODyA9jGvgaEk5j-1ea1i44GfnvxUJvpmbzUbOA/s1600/BHYSpdkCEAAO-W-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinjY9sWJva2rw4SNFdzWoKm3EkqzukrCShSk8Qh4IEfL7ft7ksdsoExVjtf1i9tOwNQlaWVcJGk52kGNuEpHZvlsC8C1Bxf0DbGlElpODyA9jGvgaEk5j-1ea1i44GfnvxUJvpmbzUbOA/s320/BHYSpdkCEAAO-W-.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">Needless to say, per my wife's instuctions, I pressed onto Jen and Kirks house for dinner where I enjoyed a Four Kick Sublime. It Bums me out that the Wes Thornton was in town for a solid week and I was unable to connect with him. Oh well next time bro! However this cigar did have a bit of earthiness to it! That is, or was, due to the blowing dust!</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7J_3Qv7SOzsPpUo8w9N-0fnFVe-qVlzK_4hDI7CYT-wbLoItSeY7nPP1FJPlHXF5EBrxSE3xFEknvznqw1kf_LGDpi7e4l5iJ0XYlUm4NKQ2qxtoHKBXOA9Ow8ZjpQjocup65hzpCJnU/s1600/BHX4jnECAAIyuwz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7J_3Qv7SOzsPpUo8w9N-0fnFVe-qVlzK_4hDI7CYT-wbLoItSeY7nPP1FJPlHXF5EBrxSE3xFEknvznqw1kf_LGDpi7e4l5iJ0XYlUm4NKQ2qxtoHKBXOA9Ow8ZjpQjocup65hzpCJnU/s320/BHX4jnECAAIyuwz.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">Yes those are ducks, three of them, Jen raised them and yes the produce eggs.</span><br />
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<span style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 21.328125px;">It is safe to say that the cigar below is probably the best cigar that no one has ever heard of! From <a href="http://www.regiuscigars.com/">Regius Cigars</a> it is currently available in maybe 25 stores in the United States and <a href="http://www.fineashcigars.com/">Fine Ash Cigar Lounge</a> is the only one in the PHX that has them in their humidor. I have had this in two vitolas the Corona and the Lord Madsen, both I would describe at light to medium bodied that is full of surprises, including notes of coffee. The best part about this cigar is the price point which is in the $7 range.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYn_zBr6AcMrdhyphenhyphenUO-7yl0DPoh3apyYFqD3B0hOKb4JK7q2-83xUZ-OoL1md0lcNwaTizUKKjDVOUgkK-XwMVfcLtWE8Z223agnqqJY1yi9HUrhaohdezEH8pK2EZFQdmOOB5EijAVMM/s1600/BHdBtVLCIAIFXTz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRYn_zBr6AcMrdhyphenhyphenUO-7yl0DPoh3apyYFqD3B0hOKb4JK7q2-83xUZ-OoL1md0lcNwaTizUKKjDVOUgkK-XwMVfcLtWE8Z223agnqqJY1yi9HUrhaohdezEH8pK2EZFQdmOOB5EijAVMM/s320/BHdBtVLCIAIFXTz.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Eric Parkinson, of Smoke Boutique Cigars, hosts an event, he will post a secret word to either his facebook page or his twitter page. The secret word, get you a prize. The afternoon before a My Fathers Event, I ran into into Eric and I mumbled the secret word or phrase, which was Hot Pockets. Eric reached into his "coolidor" and handed me this...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYm2LLn_ZNiOmFzLHL0S0bNfR61E-fooIzaEmMXVRKTyY0H46UTEqBO538AdZdDy5NuBCSXNAH5hfkQ6M3B8MmiKHjhqR8bYcN_l-y4L51bsYbrOGqaCyJOKsNheeBWeW6OuRtPtNeds/s1600/BH13QPDCYAIczGT.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUYm2LLn_ZNiOmFzLHL0S0bNfR61E-fooIzaEmMXVRKTyY0H46UTEqBO538AdZdDy5NuBCSXNAH5hfkQ6M3B8MmiKHjhqR8bYcN_l-y4L51bsYbrOGqaCyJOKsNheeBWeW6OuRtPtNeds/s320/BH13QPDCYAIczGT.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 21.328125px;">The </span><span style="line-height: 21.328125px;">Esteban</span><span style="line-height: 21.328125px;"> Carreras 211...</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 21.328125px;">For those of you that don't the number 211 is actually a number used in police code for Robbery. </span>This cigar is actually the same blends as the Davidoff Millenium! Light to medium bodied, the cigar is very smooth and well balanced. but not overly complex. Still I would buy more!</span></div>
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BREAKING NEWS <br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">My beautiful wife Rhea is featured not once but twice in the April-June issue of Hobby Lobby's <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;">Stamping, Stationery, and Scrapbooking</span><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"> Magazine. Yup thats right I am a proud husband.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLZl3x6jyYULaYk8vyRZLa9JNAjhsrjqd7VjHGUgTL0HTi6JG5xpYQMzPJ6kvYnpH4cz_bXUfrAzo0qhqwrW1smu7l4z00A-CRYMcbrKvnFhIeNkyHTQn4CgKfHoo-mR2NU2nZYucT1M4/s1600/BH2E2V3CEAASqeo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLZl3x6jyYULaYk8vyRZLa9JNAjhsrjqd7VjHGUgTL0HTi6JG5xpYQMzPJ6kvYnpH4cz_bXUfrAzo0qhqwrW1smu7l4z00A-CRYMcbrKvnFhIeNkyHTQn4CgKfHoo-mR2NU2nZYucT1M4/s320/BH2E2V3CEAASqeo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="background-color: transparent;">To see more of her work visit her blog</span><a href="http://passionatepapercreations.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: transparent;"> Passionate Paper Creations </a></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;">Last year sometime I started to hear some rumblings about this line of Cigars that come from Texas and in my opinion RoMa Craft is the best thing to come out of Texas since ZZ Top and COTA. RoMa Craft Tobac is t</span><span style="line-height: 18px;">he Brain Child of Skip Martin and Michael Rosales. Last Year I stumbled upon them at <a href="http://bigsticksfinecigars.com/">Big Sticks Cigars </a>in Mesa AZ where I fell in very much in lust with the Intemperance.</span></div>
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Sam Lopez has brought them into Fine Ash Cigars here on the West Side.<br />
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As part of the launch they were joined by, the Ro in RoMa Craft, Michael Rosales. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;">I really enjoyed the Intemperance BA XXI (Brazil Arapiraca) and the EC XVIII (Ecuador Connecticut) and yesterday I started with the Intemperance EC XVIII perfecto. I would describe this cigar as full bodied flavors with a light-medium strength to it. If that makes sense.</span></span></div>
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This evening we had our monthly meetup of the West Valley Cigar Club. I made one mistake tonight. I brought only one cigar to enjoy. It was the RoMa Craft Aquataine Cranium Gran Toro. This cigar is medium to full bodied, and is very complex. It paired extremely well with a Guinness. Check that I made two mistake, I left my eyeglass screw driver at home too! I would have gotten a lot more out of the cigar has I brought that bad boy with me. Thank you Michael I really enjoyed this cigar</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHFICA9agex_7LKsBKhb07l_mgPKVkZqe8Hfk11EcccJfkmVwjMth_TcItYsZ4Cfij5PSnS1W1WOsKA0UETT3_xzbFb5cSkz10tNvmi24iVbFWF91NiFu_YkJkOLCYv2UnotetXEI1Qk/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIHFICA9agex_7LKsBKhb07l_mgPKVkZqe8Hfk11EcccJfkmVwjMth_TcItYsZ4Cfij5PSnS1W1WOsKA0UETT3_xzbFb5cSkz10tNvmi24iVbFWF91NiFu_YkJkOLCYv2UnotetXEI1Qk/s320/039.JPG" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmVaXPOfP_XlSk426sD-lVXjrX_66TFE7z9wvwT_xyZJHhh59nFf31ubmv75a1-3L0xtIzep7eXVN4T1FFoRZrp_3v1-cXIcxlDklCpcpMzWm1UD8FmuerCg5s9GrdeWNXRUknecQ6MM/s1600/040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZmVaXPOfP_XlSk426sD-lVXjrX_66TFE7z9wvwT_xyZJHhh59nFf31ubmv75a1-3L0xtIzep7eXVN4T1FFoRZrp_3v1-cXIcxlDklCpcpMzWm1UD8FmuerCg5s9GrdeWNXRUknecQ6MM/s320/040.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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So what's up next, I have no idea...Taking it one day at a time and one cigar at a time. As my wife says #PeaceOut..</div>
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Until next time #KeepATightAsh</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-6767381030534386712013-04-04T22:01:00.000-07:002013-04-05T01:37:35.697-07:00If You Ever Have A Chance...to partake in something from Davidoff Cigars called a Tongue Tasting. Don't delay do it! This event, held at <a href="http://www.ambassadorfinecigars.com/">Ambassador Fine Cigar</a>s West, was hands down the best event I had ever been to.<br />
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Jeffrey Stone, the National Brand Ambassador for Davidoff, took us on a journey as to what goes into the blending process, the history and the philosophy of a Davidoff Cigar. <br />
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Here's how it worked. Each attendee received 5 cigars. The Cigar's were labeled No. 1, No.2, No. 3, and Complete, the fifth cigar we would find out about later.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglgwhK6633Uwfk8gKdzOK3_GZPDzjhFWuenN3sn71RnTH_z4xZmxlb1N7mqwqy_MSabE4XoIQe7RXK8P-066Fy1AsOUdUoQCAQb6wYdX8uiYsLSOrKphddPiDhSWxr6EEUIkRDcazEnlo/s1600/2336205_h61p2FvJHeg0A0kVftHyIG8SocZzG114VG3z0qFdLKQ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglgwhK6633Uwfk8gKdzOK3_GZPDzjhFWuenN3sn71RnTH_z4xZmxlb1N7mqwqy_MSabE4XoIQe7RXK8P-066Fy1AsOUdUoQCAQb6wYdX8uiYsLSOrKphddPiDhSWxr6EEUIkRDcazEnlo/s320/2336205_h61p2FvJHeg0A0kVftHyIG8SocZzG114VG3z0qFdLKQ.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Right off the bat, we learned that the parts of the tongue sense or taste different things. The tip sweetness, the sides salt, the sides towards the back of the tongue will pick up acidic tastes, and the back of the tongue will taste bitterness (see chart below).<br />
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And the goal of a Davidoff Cigar is to hit all those area's of the tongue. <br />
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With that we cut, using a double guillotine, and toasted Cigar #1. The blends here accounts for 20% of the final blend. Fairly quickly we picked out some saltiness, a bit of acidity, and some bitterness. About 1" into the cigars we put it down and cut and toasted Cigar #2. which accounts for 40% of the final blend.<br />
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Cigar #2, the saltiness in the first cigar was no longer present, but the acidity and the bitterness remained. As with Cigar #1 after we smoked about 1" we put this Cigar down, cut and toasted Cigar #3, which accounts for the remaining 40% of the final blend.<br />
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Cigar #3 the saltiness, from Cigar #1 was no longer present, and the acidity and the bitterness that appeared in all three cigars was gone too! all that remained with the sweetness at the front of the tongue. This Cigar was also the strongest of the three.<br />
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OK this was cool, so it was time to cut and toast Cigar #4 or the Compete Cigar. Instead of cutting it with a guillotine, we used a punch. In this cigar the Sweetness, the Saltiness,the Acidity, and Bitterness worked together to create a very well balanced, somewhat complex, cigar. After the first inch, or so, we applied the Guillotine cutter to the cigar, and the experience on palliate changed. <br />
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The fourth cigar was paired with a Knappogue Castle 12 yr old Irish Whiskey. which shared many of the same characteristics of the "Complete Cigar"<br />
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We learned that the Complete Cigar was the actually the Grand Cru #3. The Grand Cru #3 uses a combination of Olor, San Vicente, and Piloto Cubano tobaccos to achieve this flavors. In fact Cigar #1 was from Olor tobacco, Cigar #2 was San Vicente tobacco, and Cigar #3 was Pil<span style="font-family: inherit;">oto Cubano tobacco. </span><br />
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Ah the fifth cigar, was unbanded, and came pre-punched. <br />
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Here is what we know. The cigar was the same blend as the Grand Cru #3 but the wrapper was different. The wrapper was a sun grown Yamasa leaf. The same leaf that is used as the wrapper in the <a href="http://www.davidoff.com/davidoff/en/pub/goodsmoke/davidoff_puro_d__oro/davidoff_puro_d__oro.cfm">Davidoff Puro d Oro</a>. Sadly this particular blend is not going into production! Why? That is question for Hendrink, Henky, Kelner, the mastermind behind the Davidoff blend.<br />
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As I said if you ever have the opportunity to partake in a Davidoff Tongue Tasting.. Do It. It is well worth the time, and any nominal fee, you invest.<br />
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Until Next Time<br />
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#KeepATightAsh<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-83502564005023264542013-03-31T22:07:00.001-07:002013-03-31T22:07:36.855-07:00Two Weeks of Being a Bachelor<div style="text-align: justify;">
Almost two weeks ago my wife left on a trip to visit her parents (cue Jim Nabors) "back home, again, in Indiana..."</div>
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All in all it was a relatively uneventful two weeks. I did manage to attend a Southwest Valley Chamber of Commerce mixer or two, simply for the food, and make my way to Fair Oaks Cigars, Goodfellas Cigar Lounge, Ambassador Fine Cigars West, Fine Ash Cigars, and Owl Ear Cigars.</div>
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Old friends, who met at Applebee's almost 7 years ago, got together for a BBQ. These events are fun as everyone brings a dish. Mario Batali's Spicy Beer Shrimp Boil. Earlier in the day I picked up a 6-pack of beer from Whole Foods. The beer, called Gold Mine Lager, was average so I didn't feel all that bad using 3 cans for the boil. By the way it was $2.99.</div>
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A couple of weeks ago I was given a Padron Serie 1926 80 yrs from a good friend at Ambassador Fine Cigars. This maduro, was the #2 cigar on Cigar Aficionado's Top 25 cigars of 2008, uses some of Padron' rarest leaves in its blend. The cigar, a perfecto, is also rolled by one trocodero and at roughly $30 per stick, this cigar, according to one source, is one of the <a href="http://www.mademan.com/mm/10-most-expensive-cigars.html">10 most expensive cigars in the world.</a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngg5-HSInibWo6AbEqirbJ3yNGqGsOEfmAITx7jPVzzKLryes-EJvG6dg0eQ2VSwIFAbcvaDMq0y3Y-0X4a2vLXIr0jSkeg8bDg3Jpg2CCZwmKfczu7xoM5kZiTQR7-94sRkHFEBzSh8/s1600/BGKBOhkCcAEFjF3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjngg5-HSInibWo6AbEqirbJ3yNGqGsOEfmAITx7jPVzzKLryes-EJvG6dg0eQ2VSwIFAbcvaDMq0y3Y-0X4a2vLXIr0jSkeg8bDg3Jpg2CCZwmKfczu7xoM5kZiTQR7-94sRkHFEBzSh8/s320/BGKBOhkCcAEFjF3.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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Wednesday found me with several client meetings in Central Phoenix, so I detoured over to Goodfellas Cigar Lounge. Short on time, I didn't have time to enjoy a cigar with Shawn, but I did pick up a few nice smokes that are distributed by House of Emilio. The Ezra Zion Ja Mais Vu (formerly the Inception, the Emilio Series H Maduro, and the Rodrigo La Fortaleza. For the record, the Ja Mais Vu didn't last long I burned that Wednesday evening.</div>
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Glen Case, owner of Kristoff Cigars, was in town this past week. Owl Ear Cigars hosted Glen for a Spring Training themed event. The event was catered by BOTL Chef Tom Baumbach. I've known Tom a while, but never had the pleasure of enjoying his food. Here, in no particular order, is some of what he created for this event; the Chicago Dog, the Anaheim Angels Halo Dog, the Kansas City Royal BBQ Dog (using Kristoff's BBQ Sauce). I went with the Pittsburgh Dog, complete with pierogi's and caramelized onions. <br />
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Kudo's to "H" at Owl Ear. Earlier in the week I received a call, from "H", telling me that I had won baseball tickets for Thursday afternoon. I promptly call "H" and told him I couldn't use them and to please give the tickets to someone who could use the. When I arrived at the event "H" gave me $50 in store credit to use however I wanted to. I used the credit to pick up a Xikar Cutter and a few sticks to balance out my humidor.</div>
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A last minute change of plans, to catch up with an old friend, found me at the Arizona Biltmore with "Uncle" Michael. Listening to live music, and enjoying a Kristoff Sumatra. </div>
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Friday I popped by Fine Ash Cigars o see what was new, and stumbled upon this. <br />
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The Esteban Carreras Chupa Cbara Coronoa, The cigar was very well-balanced flavors yet took some surprising turns during the course of the smoke. </div>
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It's Easter Sunday and I about the least religious person you will ever meet. Don't know what happened but it is what it is.</div>
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I spent the day in Scottsdale, with Mom, where we went through some of my grandpa's old papers. One of the more interesting items I came across was a letter from my great-grandfather to my grandfather when he was a, boy of maybe 8 or 9, and had just broken his arm. The formality of the letter blew my mind. It essentially seemed like a scolding for, well basically, being a child. </div>
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This afternoon's cigar was the Rodrigo La Fortaleza Forte, at this point I believe this cigar is available, in Arizona, at only Goodfellas Cigar Lounge in Central Phoenix. I paired it with a 2009 Napa Valley Cabernet from Sean Minor. Full Bodied and very complex it paired well with the Cabernet. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXKMyWjakQRizU_rOgktXP3JeZnxuigMu7oObBqZRlxo6dcbJRW50PU2xpiZ-zEaYk5d4M1PIZ46UL0iuykiHpfm0cfclNzy9sSDPbejHjsg6bVPzjbpwQ1D5iYAxJmTVUZt0aPansjSw/s1600/BGuTNH7CMAE4r1v.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXKMyWjakQRizU_rOgktXP3JeZnxuigMu7oObBqZRlxo6dcbJRW50PU2xpiZ-zEaYk5d4M1PIZ46UL0iuykiHpfm0cfclNzy9sSDPbejHjsg6bVPzjbpwQ1D5iYAxJmTVUZt0aPansjSw/s320/BGuTNH7CMAE4r1v.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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For a unique look into RodrigoCigar Factory,<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=-bnvoZQgZfk"> Click Here</a>, it's fascinating...<br />
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Looking forward to a Davidoff Tongue Tasting, as I understand it we will taste the three components of a Davidoff Cigar (the Filler, Binder and Wrapper) individually, and then the final complete blend. Should be fascinating<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Until next time...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">#KeepTightAsh</span><br />
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<span style="color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Until </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 28.796875px;"><br /></span></span></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-31992485001445691672013-03-25T08:45:00.000-07:002013-03-25T08:51:27.703-07:00Cease and Desist????It's been a busy couple of weeks out on the Hillbilly Hilton, which by the way I figure that any day I will be getting a cease and desist letter from Conrad, Rick, Paris, Nicki and Barron any day now for disparaging the Hilton name. So I am taking suggestions for new name for my outdoor man cave. But its not like the Hilton name has been disparaged, on numerous occasions, by both Paris and Barron.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2XP6M4ZRhyuixGyoVNXb8LaccuxtojkAETLTTPKQ9-pb1bBa9p7PxWiCDWdbfvLOOpFxW_fNm33-Ql7ZVLmWECsuds8fxNrN0Q3FKRGMD530J7-6WE4CFvfPg5Kpw7L8-vSzOAfnxz6g/s1600/Presentation1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2XP6M4ZRhyuixGyoVNXb8LaccuxtojkAETLTTPKQ9-pb1bBa9p7PxWiCDWdbfvLOOpFxW_fNm33-Ql7ZVLmWECsuds8fxNrN0Q3FKRGMD530J7-6WE4CFvfPg5Kpw7L8-vSzOAfnxz6g/s320/Presentation1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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(PHOTO: Courtesy of the LAPD)</div>
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In preparation for St. Patrick's Day, and also for Earth Day, I toasted a few candela's. First was the La Flor Dominicana Double Claro. This is a not a mild cigar, it has some meat on it's bones and has some complexity to it. However, these are not something I would smoke daily, yup that's right I smoke them only around St. Patrick's Day and, for kicks and giggles, Earth Day. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcsxL-M9MxEfWTj1uH8bnJixslpVxEXQLf3TqqQeAqh2xTnxkWvV50e29vehTiTWoV6M9XZZ8OTuQcUmXodpxQ02oIa68vIrGTtOsfPtZezE3em_Xq1KuSiZj2tdQESe2y_h9HIAy8Sc0/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcsxL-M9MxEfWTj1uH8bnJixslpVxEXQLf3TqqQeAqh2xTnxkWvV50e29vehTiTWoV6M9XZZ8OTuQcUmXodpxQ02oIa68vIrGTtOsfPtZezE3em_Xq1KuSiZj2tdQESe2y_h9HIAy8Sc0/s320/001.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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The second candela that I picked up, from Fair Oaks Cigar, was the Filthy Hooligan from <a href="http://www.alecbradley.com/">Alec Bradley</a>. This cigar was originally called the Dirty Hooligan. Word on the street is that out of respect for Jonathan Drew, of <a href="http://www.drewestate.com/">Drew Estate</a>s, who uses the moniker "Dirty" in the name of several of cigars in the Liga Privada line, Alan Rubin changed the name of the cigar, to the Filthy Hooligan, even after having swag, bands etc, printed up!<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is an </span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">ultra-smooth, creamy smoke laced with hints of spice that finishes with a touch of sweetness. </span>Unfortunately.<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that rather large vein, that you can clearly see, became a bit problematic in the final third</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Utkcm8kXIJoOOcY_YOwFmvOiMCt_np6PLoomzd_PdS6ptpyQ0ah-eBjvl11ljZtyIROrtg1pZkENo_lj2mt7gmFBl8-H-nM_QYkOM5qyK8WNXqnW-ca7XeOOjRlYuikqqUpcqhGKfrk/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4Utkcm8kXIJoOOcY_YOwFmvOiMCt_np6PLoomzd_PdS6ptpyQ0ah-eBjvl11ljZtyIROrtg1pZkENo_lj2mt7gmFBl8-H-nM_QYkOM5qyK8WNXqnW-ca7XeOOjRlYuikqqUpcqhGKfrk/s320/006.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Viaje Super Shot 12 Gauge, is a 3 1/4 x 53 that <span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;"> tons of flavor in such a short smoke, and because it was a small offering it is a cigar that I can have in times when I am short on time. In this case it was a late evening smoke enjoyed out on the, soon to be renamed, Hillbilly Hilton. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; line-height: 24px;">The Room 101 Daruma Papi Chulo was another late night evening smoke. I enjoyed this after steak dinner of which I set off the smoke alarm in the house! My wife came out of her studio saying, well I guess dinner is done! This is 4 x 42 is a very</span><span style="text-align: -webkit-center;"> well balanced and complex smoke.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0K5D7DzWRFNPWHB2Inucs_hKUkKZE4EBQJbnRw70Nm4omnrhAB9oDoNi0p-7LwRmvOz5QWU_9essi8stKZRtkyRltznluPYv5dy4VIwiaN-ADE2sArzqY3NTH5NOfmmpUvFn5BuGkVOI/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0K5D7DzWRFNPWHB2Inucs_hKUkKZE4EBQJbnRw70Nm4omnrhAB9oDoNi0p-7LwRmvOz5QWU_9essi8stKZRtkyRltznluPYv5dy4VIwiaN-ADE2sArzqY3NTH5NOfmmpUvFn5BuGkVOI/s320/010.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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I really enjoy the monthly meet-ups of the West Valley Cigar Club, this time of year we meet at Johnny Foxes Pubic House in Peoria. For this meet-up I made a trip out to Goodfellas Cigar Lounge to pick up a few sticks for the evening. Wednesdays haul included a Reagan 40th, an Emilio, AF2, and an Emilio Series-H. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJMrMl9Qo1OTq5U-abbWEQJWwFFln8oiGuX22VkCnmfb20fRqN6CXvJ99O4Gf-GTzU7tG3fwoW-Y_2plhCl4xGfbOd8eDk3clVVEKw3x5PAPT7CpfTYd4FG1th3xCDADDKrWHV_1aCr0/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKJMrMl9Qo1OTq5U-abbWEQJWwFFln8oiGuX22VkCnmfb20fRqN6CXvJ99O4Gf-GTzU7tG3fwoW-Y_2plhCl4xGfbOd8eDk3clVVEKw3x5PAPT7CpfTYd4FG1th3xCDADDKrWHV_1aCr0/s320/014.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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I wanted to tell the story of <a href="http://www.ezrazion.com/">Ezra Zion Cigar Company</a> which Nate McIntyre told during his visit earlier this month. Wednesday Morning I reached out to Nate, and he told me to call Chris Kelly. Chris then had me call Kyle Hoover. This is the story they told me, I hope I don't screw it up. <br />
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Ezra Zion is more than a Nicaraguan Puro. It is a cigar company that was started by three (3) families (and three Brothers
of the Leaf) who met at church and bonded over Family and Cigars. (Chris Kelly, Kyle Hoover,
and Alan "The Don" Fonseca) The origin of the name Ezra Zion stems Kyle and his wife Tanya who had a son, who passed away before birth, to be named Ezra, and for Chris and his wife who lost a daughter, her name was Coco Zion.</div>
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The label incorporates several things. Two angels, which has two meanings one for each child
lost, but also represents the two angels that are overlooking the ark of the covenant. A flame which represents God and 12 stars, which represents the 12 tribes of Israel.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8lp2WzIapMuGUZKbledRduYcyVwgpobiWjKG5VFawSVv12n6GEbt5sFPa0v-XBvo7Z4SuPZE26u7Vew732X0Gy9tHLja4s_drVIyB8Bqc1FS-A2BZmK4DO9UuP_9vfc7rh5ofWe-THW4/s1600/logo-big.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8lp2WzIapMuGUZKbledRduYcyVwgpobiWjKG5VFawSVv12n6GEbt5sFPa0v-XBvo7Z4SuPZE26u7Vew732X0Gy9tHLja4s_drVIyB8Bqc1FS-A2BZmK4DO9UuP_9vfc7rh5ofWe-THW4/s320/logo-big.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Simply put the goal of Ezra Zion is to produce the "Best Cigar You
Ever Had". This process starts with the
philosophy rather than the cigar. The first cigar in the line was the Ja Mais Vu, formerly the Inception, which was 14 months in the blending. The second cigar in the line, and first of the Honor Series, the Reagan was 12 months.<br />
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Here's what they want you to remember Chris, Kyle and Alan are cigar smokers just like us.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA_DtsEODxmSsysE1p9GF8g5f_-h-5zl6L0oJtzWKyxK-Yvec_e8jQ61hyphenhyphenzaSf9iL1Co_jR7uqifMNnvV4QtkiYNcbA-xzaHX33PhAT4PZb4v8KvieG_C07PKxQelPko_ATTb2ggqOFTg/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA_DtsEODxmSsysE1p9GF8g5f_-h-5zl6L0oJtzWKyxK-Yvec_e8jQ61hyphenhyphenzaSf9iL1Co_jR7uqifMNnvV4QtkiYNcbA-xzaHX33PhAT4PZb4v8KvieG_C07PKxQelPko_ATTb2ggqOFTg/s320/015.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.goodfellascigarlounge.com/">Goodfellas Cigar Lounge</a> is becoming truly a <a href="http://www.emiliocigars.com/">House of Emilio</a>, If memory serves me he has the AF Series, the La Musa, and just brought in the Series-H. They also carry the Ezra Zion, Steve Ysidron's Epicurean Cigars,<a href="http://globalpremiumcigars.com/"> 1502</a>, and<a href="http://guayacancigars.com/"> Guayacan</a>. My second cigar of the evening was the Emilio Series-H which I will describe as simply stupid good, full bodied and very complex.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkI3EsW5r9kqcG4JCMcK51ijDvxpklBRRbOY9Q3zgLya1iND9gYqVB5T4yv_Hk8IL-Wdemn8qfc8ww6ZAgdNtw1hpcdYn8OYA25XZiFy1Ime3JmDaCVAc5ZFYvQklOYgabpWEKkWGXvE/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkI3EsW5r9kqcG4JCMcK51ijDvxpklBRRbOY9Q3zgLya1iND9gYqVB5T4yv_Hk8IL-Wdemn8qfc8ww6ZAgdNtw1hpcdYn8OYA25XZiFy1Ime3JmDaCVAc5ZFYvQklOYgabpWEKkWGXvE/s320/016.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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This week, I'm looking forward to catching with Glen Case, of<a href="http://kristoff.com/"> Kristoff Cigar</a>s, at Owl Ear Smoke Shop in Scottsdale, on Thursday night. <br />
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Until next time...<br />
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#KeepTightAsh<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-56985404529288571882013-03-08T07:30:00.000-07:002013-03-08T16:18:05.798-07:00Random Thoughts From A Disseminator<div style="text-align: justify;">
So here is a rare mid week post from me. I am actually sitting at a pizza joint , here in Goodyear, eatin on some NY style pizza and wings, reflecting on last nights events. Hindsight being foresight I probably should have taken more pics, and some freakin notes, cause I learned a lot and let's be realistic I probably won't actually post this until sometime over the weekend</div>
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<a href="http://www.emiliocigars.com/">Emilio Cigars and House of Emilio Cigars</a>, the distributors for Guayacan, Epicurean, Ezra Zion, GPC, Nomad, Rodrigo and 1502, has been experiencing phenomenal growth. Kevin Bishop, from Groucho Cigars, myself and Stephen LaPre Sr have created such a stir, in the Phoenix Metro area, about these brands that people are taking notice. Prior to January the ONLY store in Arizona to carry Emilio cigars was Fox Cigar Bar in Gilbert and <a href="http://www.goodfellascigarlounge.com/">Goodfellas Cigar Lounge</a> in Phoenix As of last night. Goodfellas in addition to the Emilio AF Series, La Musa, Epicurean and 1502, has since added the Ezra Zion to their Humidor. Oh and by the way they sold 8 boxes in 3-days and has since reordered. Fumar Cigars, already a retailer for Epicurean, has added the Emilio Cigar AF series and the Ezra Zion to their inventory. Last Night we learned that <a href="http://www.azhouseofcigars.com/">House of Cigars</a>, in Gilbert is the first store in Arizona to carry the Guayacan line of Cigars. I am looking forward to several more B&M's in the Phoenix metro area joining the Emilio family in the next few weeks or months.</div>
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In the photo, is my partner in crime, Stephen LaPre Sr., Nate McIntytre and Kevin Bishop. The cigar is a <a href="http://guayacancigars.com/">Guayacan</a>, that is an Ecuadorian Habano with that is a solid medium bodied smoke, that retails in the $6.50 or so range. It also received a 91 rating in the Jan/Feb 2013 issue of <a href="http://www.cigarsnobmag.com/">Cigar Snob Magazine</a></div>
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Nate McIntyre. National Sales Director for Emilio Cigars, and I have chatted over twitter, on the phone, and by way of text message. Last Night we finally met I person, at <a href="http://www.fumarcigarsusa.com/">Fumar Cigars</a>. I arrived and five and didn't leave until nearly 10pm. To sit and talk with Nate about the cigars he represents, his degree is in Rare Biblical Languages, and other topics was thoroughly enjoyable. I also learned what the logo, a digital scan of the Griffith Family Sword, and a digital scan of a long thought to be extinct Metasequoia, or Dawn Redwood, from Emilio Cigars represents. I look forward to spending more time with Nate in the future.</div>
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Tonight would have been my Mom and Dad's 49th Wedding Anniversary.</div>
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Dad passed almost 9 years ago and on their anniversary I make a point to have dinner with my Mom. I tell you that to get to this. On the day we were to bury Dad, Mom was at the kitchen and I heard her say "Richard If you are OK, give us a sign..." All of a sudden a hummingbird appeared in the window. </div>
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Tonight as I was walking outside to fire up the grill, there was a hummingbird (look closely at the center of the photo on the right) milling about the lavender. Without hesitation I looked and the hummingbird and said "Hi Dad..." and this is not the first time the hummingbird has been seen over the past nine year.</div>
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More to come over the weekend., Maybe...Well after I finish helping the wife with the Garage Sale at Scraps of Love... I get to hold the money!</div>
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Until next time...<br />
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#KeepATightAshAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-88232788290343202112013-03-03T18:00:00.001-07:002013-03-05T19:47:29.246-07:00Race Week in the PHX<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: start;">Twice a year NASCAR makes it's way to the Phoenix Metro Area and you never know who you will run into when out and about town. This past week I was invited to the Phoenix Coyotes and Minnesota Wild game, at Jobing.com arena in Westgate, by a good friend It turns out it was NASCAR night in Glendale and 5-time himself, Jimmie Johnson, was in the house...</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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Needless to say, as practice started at 10am and considering, he had been to 60 appearances since winning the Daytona 500, he didn't stick around long...<br />
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This week was also nothing about the Boutique Cigars....<br />
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I started the with a new cigar the Cult Fuerte. Stinky, the man behind Stinky Cigars/Ashtray, brought a few of these to last meet-up of the West Valley Cigar Club. This cigar, is a full bodied with clean, even burn that didn't require any touch-ups, and had a wonderful finish.<br />
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BREAKING NEWS: Arizona suffered one of it's darkest days in it's 101 year history. Sheriff Joe, dubbed America's toughest Sheriff, fell down and was briefly hospitalized.<br />
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As I mentioned it was the week for Boutique Cigars, and thanks to the "Chairman" Stephen Le Pre, Sr (@CigarChairman) I was able to try a <a href="http://www.nadicigars.com/">Nadi Cigar</a>. As I understand it Cigar Aficionado'd Nadi and Jeff Jumper were given a once in a lifetime opportunity to produce their own line of cigars, and man did they deliver! This cigar was very complex, and full of flavor. They only way to describe this cigar, a 6 x 43 corona, Connecticut wrapper, is....well in a nutshell is that it is stupid good and I am looking forward to enjoying the robusto.<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;">and yes I smoked it to the nub, with the help of a Kobalt Tools 6/54 screwdriver.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Today my <a href="http://passionatepapercreations.blogspot.com/">wife</a> is at a all day craft retreat, so after I watched the Rolex Series Race from the Circuit of the American, detailed my 2004 Toyota Solara SE and <span style="text-align: center;">had a bit of lunch, I sat down to watch the NASCAR race from PIR. Today's smoke was an </span><span style="text-align: center;">Epicurean AG Azul Vintage 2008. I liked this cigar. I liked it a lot. It burned clean and evenly, and the only relight it required was when my A.D.D kicked in and I started doing other things around the house. </span></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCHgP48guff4ptSv5utj6rXFt-6y2rf9kmVyNzTjRGH5VkBC0Ch3eGAu6PCzEJWVftmH_h6G7QAMtPVkT3kJk_YbnRSuTZuuMzuqo3PPAvTQaRjvVpBy3tIG-bACPDErYRWQxS9bHCBI/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwCHgP48guff4ptSv5utj6rXFt-6y2rf9kmVyNzTjRGH5VkBC0Ch3eGAu6PCzEJWVftmH_h6G7QAMtPVkT3kJk_YbnRSuTZuuMzuqo3PPAvTQaRjvVpBy3tIG-bACPDErYRWQxS9bHCBI/s320/021.JPG" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXgD95oszxzj3DXW0GyWaRFLN528SY-4xS6kOsziZ08OqIMUfCU9eKI07mK_r-gEyOqlpzQBGxASaQw9PtYAScn2kKwm5h9KyRsQ3WKQotUYtNkn-GAbPf4hHTJVTOzd5WfxTzQL3vf-s/s1600/023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXgD95oszxzj3DXW0GyWaRFLN528SY-4xS6kOsziZ08OqIMUfCU9eKI07mK_r-gEyOqlpzQBGxASaQw9PtYAScn2kKwm5h9KyRsQ3WKQotUYtNkn-GAbPf4hHTJVTOzd5WfxTzQL3vf-s/s320/023.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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As the Emilio Cigar Disseminator for Arizona I am looking forward to spending some time this week with Nate McIntyre. Nate is the National Sales Director for <a href="http://www.emiliocigars.com/">Emilio Cigars</a> and House of Emilio, the distributors of Emilio Cigars (including the AF Series, La Musa, Series H, Draig K, and Los Regalo's). Ezra Zion, Epicurean, Herederos de Robaina, Rodrigo, Guayacan Cigars, 1502, and Nomad Cigars. <br />
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This Wednesday, Kevin Bishop and I are hosting a Meet and Greet with Nate at <a href="http://www.fumarcigarsusa.com/">Fumar Cigars</a>, the newest retailer, in the Phoenix Metro Area, to carry the Emilio and Ezra Zion line of cigars. The event is from 6pm-8pm, and will also feature the Epicurean Gonzo, AG, and AG Azul.<br />
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If you can come out and join us, we'd love to see you!<br />
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Until next time...<br />
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#KeepATightAshAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-13801536061088324062013-02-24T14:07:00.000-07:002013-02-24T14:07:24.204-07:00Cigars and Other Happenings<div style="text-align: justify;">
Lots has been happening around the Hillbilly Hilton of late. The biggest happening was that, after 3 long months of searching, I finally went back to work. I accepted a position with the West Valley View. A twice weekly, 100% advertising supported, newspaper with a distribution of just under 80,000. </div>
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It's hard to explain but once the "ink gets in your blood" there is something about the smell of ink going on the paper and noise when a 12 unit web press is running. I have experienced this only once before. When I spent a lot time around the CART, Champ Car/Indy Car Series and was often heard saying "I love the smell of Methanol in the morning"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGb9861aZPXHoliTzI_THzkcOxfkkUsL-QKVyL5r1BjqKnEquLLmSMDCj9IImxNMUVrB7ipNTlnWy6QLEG7zYz1vGliDPTHmHIzrJ_RG3qGoFDlZM4maFt4M_eFIB-aJIiyga4inRZAQ/s1600/12+Unit+Web+Press.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhGb9861aZPXHoliTzI_THzkcOxfkkUsL-QKVyL5r1BjqKnEquLLmSMDCj9IImxNMUVrB7ipNTlnWy6QLEG7zYz1vGliDPTHmHIzrJ_RG3qGoFDlZM4maFt4M_eFIB-aJIiyga4inRZAQ/s320/12+Unit+Web+Press.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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For me this is also the first time since 2006, that my commute is actually less 45 minutes. The offices of the West Valley View are about 5 miles from the house and I'm loving it. Community Newspapers are a completely different environment, than working at a metro daily, and I am glad to back in this environment.</div>
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The end of my being a "ward of the state," a euphemism for unemployment, was celebrated with an Epicurean Armando Gutierrez (AG) Vintage 2007 from Steve Ysidron. I would describe this cigar as fairly complex with a variety of flavors. Construction seemed to be a bit of an issue and several touch ups were needed. All in all it was good smoke and I believe that it will only get better with a month or two in the humidor.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTQfh4HyIGzenmNj1ws7RV4iVb8Etxt73jf6wSJDST-CMCBtIm6CPq1aH8hCatBl8d3hZ65_TlAs_4aroRCG4g6hd9hmk8yzF-7nKb-OPLBeX8xw9neoyLekRfW8lwdn7qERS45-hciE/s1600/Epicurean+AG.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZTQfh4HyIGzenmNj1ws7RV4iVb8Etxt73jf6wSJDST-CMCBtIm6CPq1aH8hCatBl8d3hZ65_TlAs_4aroRCG4g6hd9hmk8yzF-7nKb-OPLBeX8xw9neoyLekRfW8lwdn7qERS45-hciE/s320/Epicurean+AG.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Monday was President's Day and I couldn't think of a better cigar to smoke than the Reagan 40th from my friends at Ezra Zion. In a nutshell the Reagan 40th, the first in the Ezra Zion Honor Series, is flavorful and well constructed. It did not require a single touch-up and well I smoked it down to the nub. As of this writing the Ezra Zion is available, in Phoenix, only at<a href="http://www.goodfellascigarlounge.com/"> Goodfellas Cigar Lounge</a>. Shaun actually sold out eight (8) boxes in three (3) day's! EIGHT BOXES IN THREE DAYS!</div>
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Reaganomics is making a comeback with this cigar!</div>
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We have a good little group in the West Valley Cigar Club. All totaled I think there are about 100 members. At our monthly meet-ups we usually have about 20-25 members in attendance During the summer months, our meet-ups are held at one of three locations, Fair Oaks Cigars, Ambassador Cigars West, or Fine Ash Cigars. When it is cooler we meet on the cigar friendly patio of Johnny Foxes Public house in Peoria. </div>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">The meet-ups at Johnny Foxes you bring your own cigars, in which case Thursday was Good Day for Guinness</span><span style="text-align: justify;"> and an Emilio Cigars AF-2</span></div>
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Last month I was fortunate to spend a bit of time with Lana Frasier, the premium event manager for General Cigar Company. This Partagas Series Z perfecto was a gift from Lana. Thanks Lana and it was a pleasure meeting you.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Z7hutGLR6R_BoZm79EcJ72CRnf2TlFYxPKgIQeYSrZsmqlWaZjJv6aRkYSAEIBxDDMWnr2Yjyx04j6Wqeb5guqIxL03DoRQXuRgUqMuXziQA8LSTgHPtrMoqGaneDYe0CCxwZlFuyeo/s1600/Partagas+Series+S+Perfecto.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8Z7hutGLR6R_BoZm79EcJ72CRnf2TlFYxPKgIQeYSrZsmqlWaZjJv6aRkYSAEIBxDDMWnr2Yjyx04j6Wqeb5guqIxL03DoRQXuRgUqMuXziQA8LSTgHPtrMoqGaneDYe0CCxwZlFuyeo/s320/Partagas+Series+S+Perfecto.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Until next time...</div>
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#KeepATightAsh</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-48643312183055480522013-02-15T16:55:00.001-07:002013-02-16T07:44:59.365-07:00Dissemination<div style="text-align: justify;">
So it's been about two weeks since I announced that I had been asked to be a Disseminator or "Brand Ambassador" if you will, for Emilio Cigars and the lines that they distribute, These lines are some of the hottest boutique brands on the market and include in no particular order Nomad Cigar Co, 1502, Epicurean, Guaycan, Rodrigo and Herederos de Robania. <br />
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These brands have been rewarded with, for lack of a better word, 90 plus ratings by several industry publications and websites. To help you, my readers and followers, identify the Emilio Cigars and they lines they distribute I will use the hashtag #Disseminator to those mentions on this blog.</div>
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A couple of weeks ago I received a message from the Atlantic City Cigar Company, that I had won a bundle of Padilla Habano Reserva Torpedos.I have smoked one or two of them but as it is a fairly new release, August 2012, it does need some time to rest in the humidor to realize its full potential </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgD0Q_2d9SzHG9SAQ3xa8ODHaQSyHXe80Qa8zSglvvL_JXQsQxzEU3RGPi8NiqUDMgC_EAx87UkSNPQgwM8ULqlX4ta0XaLT72nYDqhzruhPxD2q5SWwKMT2g_NiO2G05ZXypKYj5tOM/s1600/Padilla+Habano+Reserva+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXgD0Q_2d9SzHG9SAQ3xa8ODHaQSyHXe80Qa8zSglvvL_JXQsQxzEU3RGPi8NiqUDMgC_EAx87UkSNPQgwM8ULqlX4ta0XaLT72nYDqhzruhPxD2q5SWwKMT2g_NiO2G05ZXypKYj5tOM/s320/Padilla+Habano+Reserva+(2).JPG" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rpk21KnG0mb_1iOFNxPoUbxL1T8udGVzG4nGogryqZ-WsZCJEq0PQJXWEekCmmF_Btn3wRH5oJpD5a6RuurzBqxOLVvEHwX2oy3oh7cve3s-WV9kaJ7ij_KJOKg84kewOHOcBnIdx6A/s1600/Padilla+Habano+Reserva.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8rpk21KnG0mb_1iOFNxPoUbxL1T8udGVzG4nGogryqZ-WsZCJEq0PQJXWEekCmmF_Btn3wRH5oJpD5a6RuurzBqxOLVvEHwX2oy3oh7cve3s-WV9kaJ7ij_KJOKg84kewOHOcBnIdx6A/s320/Padilla+Habano+Reserva.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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I love it when I head into cigar lounge and a customer or employee tells me that I have to try something new.</div>
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That was the case with the EH Cultura the end result of a collaboration with between Edgar Hoill and CLE.</div>
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I liked the unique shape and size of this vitola called a <span style="background-color: white; letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px; text-align: center;">Trompeta which is a </span><span style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;">4 1/2" x 38 x 54 ring gauge. This Cigar is a </span><span style="line-height: 18px;">Nicaraguan</span><span style="letter-spacing: 0px; line-height: 18px;"> Puro in its finest form </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60k1JX55OovDcnngxf321bLotBbm86_W4dGGMgU3eKyAv1kaEzdfGBJGDjRVgLjNHyQo0ELD6O7M6DAsnGcJhkRoHHko1NLGUwKi9Hs9LR51MVSwiuCRvyW_OirFArvlG3I4F1ym8H_Q/s1600/EH+Cultura.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj60k1JX55OovDcnngxf321bLotBbm86_W4dGGMgU3eKyAv1kaEzdfGBJGDjRVgLjNHyQo0ELD6O7M6DAsnGcJhkRoHHko1NLGUwKi9Hs9LR51MVSwiuCRvyW_OirFArvlG3I4F1ym8H_Q/s320/EH+Cultura.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Epicurean Cigars (#Disseminator) is the brainchild of Steve Ysidron, formerly of Savinelli, and launched almost a year ago, The first two cigars were the Armando Gutierrez (AG),which is a tribute to Ysidron's Great Grandfather, and the Gonzo. The Gonzo is a limited release cigar that is has or will have a total of 50,000 cigars produced in 5 sizes. At the IPCPR, in August of 2012, Epicurean announced the third cigar in the line, the AG Azul.</div>
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As of today, I have enjoyed the Gonzo, a 6' x 52 box pressed cigar, that I smoked to the final half inch.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnETXRChIVTcXNKBzt93J6rZ35u4DmIebDheiW93U4Yqhr252mRFcy4_-g1NVOzF4cmJRwQ1QREuo82XqmWE00cK1P55DKCrgqV39EaZQr36HrE9KVu5qzikzXqJBq3E5ZAOtAcg3CR58/s1600/Epicurean+Samples+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnETXRChIVTcXNKBzt93J6rZ35u4DmIebDheiW93U4Yqhr252mRFcy4_-g1NVOzF4cmJRwQ1QREuo82XqmWE00cK1P55DKCrgqV39EaZQr36HrE9KVu5qzikzXqJBq3E5ZAOtAcg3CR58/s320/Epicurean+Samples+2.JPG" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUqVpLECFB4mRmdc9yHzniflIAlmHtRcy8gFp7xMHgIMG0JjnnV4_RmcE33wHr1z8XjIxZpO8ckN-BJ95nM3x7lSmsN7YnRtTIyTqoCQfVNgJSM95GgouNnHUQFZjPptztbzsOQvMWpQ/s1600/Epicurean+Gonzo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIUqVpLECFB4mRmdc9yHzniflIAlmHtRcy8gFp7xMHgIMG0JjnnV4_RmcE33wHr1z8XjIxZpO8ckN-BJ95nM3x7lSmsN7YnRtTIyTqoCQfVNgJSM95GgouNnHUQFZjPptztbzsOQvMWpQ/s320/Epicurean+Gonzo.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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My last post, talked about the Emilio Cigar (#Disseminator) AF-Sauve, AF-1 and AF2 there are two other lines in their portfolio the La Musa (formerly the Grimalkin) and the Draig K.<br />
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In the La Musa lines there are two blends to tickle your palette The medium bodied Mousa and the fuller bodied Melete. I can tell you these cigars did not disappoint. Again it is no wonder that the Mousa received a 92 rating in the May/June 2012 issue of Cigar Snob!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqu-ujeDucyGZP1ZorKx-sUOsMds7f6m_w-c8Z2fbMSfCXFsmmsvl04lZTQjhCJFvJmzT8QK8oGe22O_cViI8eowpIuCQ8UJ6CkpB4BHH7v0u6uwcuc8wBNnfjd1ERRwnWNqVBdNdFL0/s1600/Emilio+Cigar+La+Musa+Meletee+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyqu-ujeDucyGZP1ZorKx-sUOsMds7f6m_w-c8Z2fbMSfCXFsmmsvl04lZTQjhCJFvJmzT8QK8oGe22O_cViI8eowpIuCQ8UJ6CkpB4BHH7v0u6uwcuc8wBNnfjd1ERRwnWNqVBdNdFL0/s320/Emilio+Cigar+La+Musa+Meletee+(2).JPG" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6W1vv1jqQhDpNXTxewrunaSPWdO6fvwwer963sGQNM9X1ouy9rTC_7cLGS6D40JKKIFNUE1_CoV5jJsUaxBBdn58Gr5XlnQWgGuUE-51cXolUNxbJHGq4hEQ_S1jFeR_LeRaItBAc_Q/s1600/Emilio+Cigar+La+Musa+Mousa.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj6W1vv1jqQhDpNXTxewrunaSPWdO6fvwwer963sGQNM9X1ouy9rTC_7cLGS6D40JKKIFNUE1_CoV5jJsUaxBBdn58Gr5XlnQWgGuUE-51cXolUNxbJHGq4hEQ_S1jFeR_LeRaItBAc_Q/s320/Emilio+Cigar+La+Musa+Mousa.JPG" width="238" /></a></div>
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Ah the Draig K, been wanting to try this one for a long time. I knew of one place in the PHX that was fortunate to have this in their humidor. I was on the east side of the valley for an interview so it made sense to swing by <a href="http://foxtobacco.com/">Fox Cigar Bar</a> in Gilbert for a cigar and a cheesesteak from <a href="http://www.genoscheesesteaks.com/">Geno's</a>.<br />
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Full disclosure here I do not think this establishment is affiliated in any way shape for form the with the Original Geno's in Philadelphia, but they do have Tastykakes!</div>
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Dark and Oily, and due to the wrapper ability to retain moisture, it was recommended to me the that Idry box the cigar for 24 hours before smoking. A day or so before I wanted to smoke this bad boy, I took it out of my humidor and placed it in a non humidified travel case with a cedar lining. This really helped with along the way, I did not have to relight or touch up this cigar, and the burn was even, consistent with the other cigars from Emilio. I would describe the cigar as medium bodied but full of flavor. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-3eJZohRS1vLv3pPKmx0uWkh09d_B-IsFE8O_7CP-ilxTXtySJ50OVIcgvZvdZ06s4Qoq7Pb0CqEL7FF2vUYdHi-uz0jIYyHGsAY5m3IQa9hbD5T_vFXsNkfc0xqBbHXJRRdnzquTV70/s1600/Draig+K+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-3eJZohRS1vLv3pPKmx0uWkh09d_B-IsFE8O_7CP-ilxTXtySJ50OVIcgvZvdZ06s4Qoq7Pb0CqEL7FF2vUYdHi-uz0jIYyHGsAY5m3IQa9hbD5T_vFXsNkfc0xqBbHXJRRdnzquTV70/s320/Draig+K+(2).JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<b>BREAKING NEWS: </b>(#Disseminator)<a href="http://www.goodfellascigarlounge.com/"> Goodfellas Cigar Lounge</a>, as of yesterday, is the <b>ONLY </b>store in the PHX to have the Ezra Zion line of cigars in its humidor and according to Shaun, at Goodfellas, they are flying off the shelves! So Go Getcha Self Some! NOW! Like right this very minute!<br />
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Ezra Zion debuted in July of 2012, and lets just say the reviews are nothing short of phenomenal. Yesterday, I enjoyed the Jamais Vu, one of the last with the Inception label on the foot. I must say this cigar lived up to the "hype." I can only imagine what will happen to this cigar after it rests in the humidor for a while.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgkbLeX5bBA_e1C0C30lbyb3Xj5WSHl73CEgxrcg5U9uS5H1oQXiIPDODlZ-8Lwyu1uhyvwwiANfuse4cb0rddTNHTZw_TG6WHkoZIAqo4tbuyifR8zNciraABg81GqVpC4NloC8UXdM/s1600/Ezra+Zion+JaMaisVu+(Inception).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvgkbLeX5bBA_e1C0C30lbyb3Xj5WSHl73CEgxrcg5U9uS5H1oQXiIPDODlZ-8Lwyu1uhyvwwiANfuse4cb0rddTNHTZw_TG6WHkoZIAqo4tbuyifR8zNciraABg81GqVpC4NloC8UXdM/s320/Ezra+Zion+JaMaisVu+(Inception).JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Currently there are two cigars in Ezra Zion's portfolio. The Reagan 40th is the first cigar released under Ezra Zion Honor Series banner, and is a tribute to our 40th President. I am saving this cigar, for a battle of the Presidents with Jon Shattuck (@cigarguy86) who has an Obama 44 from Segovia Cigars in his humidor.<br />
There is no doubt in my mind the Reagan 40th will dominate this battle.<br />
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During an interview ast week, on Cigar Chat, the folks at Ezra Zion revealed that they have three new releases planned for 2013. One of the releases will be the 2nd cigar in the Honor Series which will be a tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and will be called the MLK. Thinking about future releases I'd like to start lobbying for a fellow Brother of the Leaf, the great NYC Mayor and America's Mayor Rudolph Giuliani be named to a future Honor Series Cigar.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2PTWrM4qvFZpbwDpR2iP8oMYfLzt7GfpZV3KjeVFeWpTYxW5XoZoMRc46jOpMGuTwYRrvrPzpkrEExtaXN9lEXvmGj08neiQK4eyt2GSj2MmlZKoHpaSJqMP3_AN9ZvuUhA7Hr5_5i3w/s1600/Ezra+Zion+Reagan.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2PTWrM4qvFZpbwDpR2iP8oMYfLzt7GfpZV3KjeVFeWpTYxW5XoZoMRc46jOpMGuTwYRrvrPzpkrEExtaXN9lEXvmGj08neiQK4eyt2GSj2MmlZKoHpaSJqMP3_AN9ZvuUhA7Hr5_5i3w/s320/Ezra+Zion+Reagan.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Until next time....<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-6740436363954599852013-02-02T14:09:00.001-07:002013-02-02T14:17:16.209-07:00<div style="text-align: justify;">
Go figure on this one, while heading into a super secret meeting to plan a super secret event to occur in November, I was pointed in the direction of this little gem The Perdomo P2 Limited Edition 2008. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; line-height: 15px;">T</span><span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">he cigar is a medium to full bodied that is </span></span><span style="line-height: 15px;">extremely</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;"> well balanced. BTW The Chairman tried to swipe the bands for his collection, Homey don't play that! I need it for my Journal!</span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ZlKG_bPHzP-pXtFqdRl0t9sGnX6-nzmmruH_f1QGRlKJhUYgBJWW-evaz9a1fCTCBmJ0ZeZ0onF6Hh4ZhWyKh-5e6vHHPnWX5n5PCMIrusD0oQ68RIFM0-_pdHyT46GEVybpGZcmGxw/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0ZlKG_bPHzP-pXtFqdRl0t9sGnX6-nzmmruH_f1QGRlKJhUYgBJWW-evaz9a1fCTCBmJ0ZeZ0onF6Hh4ZhWyKh-5e6vHHPnWX5n5PCMIrusD0oQ68RIFM0-_pdHyT46GEVybpGZcmGxw/s320/001.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Continuing to work my way through the Emilio family of Cigars, yesterday I took from my humidor, which by the way is FINALLY stabilized nicely at 68-70%, the Emilio AF-1. The last time I had one of these was, back in September, during a launch party at Fine Ash Cigars here in Avondale. This Cigar is currently available in two locations in Arizona, <a href="http://foxtobacco.com/">Fox Cigar Bar </a>in Chandler and <a href="http://www.goodfellascigarlounge.com/">Goodfella's Cigar Lounge </a>in Phoenix.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; line-height: 18px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This cigar has a dark and somewhat oily San Andreas Maduro wrapper. I smoked it down to the nubbin, again using my small eyeglass screwdriver to hold the nubbin try to get every thing out of this Robusto that I could.</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8-pqHXuztxukOpsxuwy6fc41NGJVKbjX2Jxf1sOZ36l7__ua10RsXyxk4DTkOZUMY_L7eRO6VMxrcnrsCQAi-Mtj8K5AQe65ROZP4FHvzL7lDSdWkfy-9Lc2KnQC5LxVKGbiY6ToLeU/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh8-pqHXuztxukOpsxuwy6fc41NGJVKbjX2Jxf1sOZ36l7__ua10RsXyxk4DTkOZUMY_L7eRO6VMxrcnrsCQAi-Mtj8K5AQe65ROZP4FHvzL7lDSdWkfy-9Lc2KnQC5LxVKGbiY6ToLeU/s320/002.JPG" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinL5b-9zBED56TJBrUf4bbBm49Zq6EyYCui5lQRjfpcyjeSQSijVlbF_cAux7TvXTAvZzXDjsV3RchsEkV9c4VbP1zX2UAUV8rHw9bbEtNoYze9JyOUwfWREkuOkjDzU1ydnf7850cjiQ/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinL5b-9zBED56TJBrUf4bbBm49Zq6EyYCui5lQRjfpcyjeSQSijVlbF_cAux7TvXTAvZzXDjsV3RchsEkV9c4VbP1zX2UAUV8rHw9bbEtNoYze9JyOUwfWREkuOkjDzU1ydnf7850cjiQ/s320/003.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Logic dictates that the next cigar I smoke should, in theory, be the AF-2<br />
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Anyway, Super Bowl Sunday tomorrow, not sure where I am going to watch the game. Rest assured there will be plenty of cigars.<br />
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Stay tuned for information about the Super Secret Event in November.<br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-31891634871047740202013-02-01T11:44:00.002-07:002013-02-02T14:10:39.328-07:00Exciting News<br />
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<span class="vk_ans vk_dgy" style="font-size: xx-large !important; margin-bottom: 5px;">dis·sem·i·nate</span> <span class="speaker-icon-listen-off" data-s="disseminate.mp3" id="speaker_icon" jsaction="dict.l" style="background-image: url(https://ssl.gstatic.com/dictionary/static/images/icons/1/pronunciation.png); background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border: 1px solid transparent; display: inline-block; float: none; height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 1px 6px; opacity: 0.55; vertical-align: bottom; width: 16px;"></span><table class="vk_txt ts" style="border-collapse: collapse; font-size: small !important; margin-top: 20px;"><tbody>
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<li class="vk_txt" style="border: 0px; line-height: 1.2; list-style: decimal; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Spread or disperse (something, esp. information) widely</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #212121;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">Earlier this week I as was asked to be part of a pilot program for Emilio Cigars called the Disseminators. Emilio Cigars is the manufacturer/distributor of the AF Series (AF Suave, AF-1, AF-2), Series H, Draig K, and the La Musa lines of cigars. Additionally Emilio Cigars distributes the Ezra Zion, 1052 (GPC), Epicureon, Rodrigo, </span></span><span style="background-color: transparent; line-height: 15px;"><span style="color: #212121;">Herederos De Robaina, Guayacan,and Nomad Cigar Co., brands of Cigars.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent;"><span style="color: #212121;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">Gary Griffith, Owner of Emilio Cigars, announced the formation of the Disseminators on his blog,</span><a href="http://emiliocigars.blogspot.com/" style="line-height: 15px;"> From Seed to Smoke</a></span><span style="font-family: inherit; line-height: 15px;"> earlier today. Click on the link to learn more about what I will doing in my role as a </span><span style="line-height: 15px;">Disseminator</span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 15px;">.</span></span></span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-22938321453706877362013-01-30T16:40:00.002-07:002013-01-30T17:00:20.424-07:00<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><em style="background-color: white; font-style: normal; line-height: 16px;">What up everybody so glad you're here</em><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;">. It's Coolio with the flow back in your ear. </span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; line-height: 16px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Been busier than a one legged man in an ass kicking contest. Job searching is a job in itself hopefully something will come up soon. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 16px;">January - March is the season, event season, in the PHX. Auction week kick off the events, Auction week includes Barrett Jackson, Russo and Steele, Gooding and Co., RM Auctions and Kruse Auction and this year alone there was nearly $234,000,000 in sales. Among the top sellers was the George Barris' Batmobile which went to some asshat for $4,200,000! </span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgzvXiTR0bHFsSZG2j1yX7Lplwb7j_UKR3x1IEC9kLi2PbUayeXzDwa5o0XKNRbI1LVMk6vGQWEGZRGVfTElQ0TMGF6JoE57Dg95y9Z6rPUeMlvkgeNKvdTp8j_8JCqB0sOn9he7mnuE/s1600/George+Barris+and+the+Batmobile.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgzvXiTR0bHFsSZG2j1yX7Lplwb7j_UKR3x1IEC9kLi2PbUayeXzDwa5o0XKNRbI1LVMk6vGQWEGZRGVfTElQ0TMGF6JoE57Dg95y9Z6rPUeMlvkgeNKvdTp8j_8JCqB0sOn9he7mnuE/s320/George+Barris+and+the+Batmobile.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Auction Season, is followed by the Waste Management Phoenix Open, NASCAR at PIR, and Cactus League Spring Training.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I got to spend some time with Lana Fraser, the P</span>remium Event Manager for General Cigar, when she was hanging out in <span style="font-family: inherit;">the Cohiba Lounge at Barrett Jackson.</span></div>
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Recently, I enjoyed a La Gloria Cubana Wavell a very nice medium bodied cigar that I think is often overlooked. This is prompting me to bring back Wavell Wednesday. I mean look at the ash on that cigar....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBykxnHeIMk-ngpXr_WrY2wurnxgVnnd0loaUZvvvo0XFtdIBCA-l1gRviguEuqphyphenhyphen8Cx45pdxOYedXqEgoZ2Q6xpAoGK4LD7JC5db7tZgHQ4Gpc8mHy_QugMu8KCvBAAAIQRYrTeuHAk/s1600/La+Gloria+Cubana+Wavell.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBykxnHeIMk-ngpXr_WrY2wurnxgVnnd0loaUZvvvo0XFtdIBCA-l1gRviguEuqphyphenhyphen8Cx45pdxOYedXqEgoZ2Q6xpAoGK4LD7JC5db7tZgHQ4Gpc8mHy_QugMu8KCvBAAAIQRYrTeuHAk/s320/La+Gloria+Cubana+Wavell.JPG" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2edR27vKeu4_rzW8srtMG5sfZ2tzmHScjrLg6BnOaPjdvxvS_7WRlEAEJ_k88nvSLi5EsyJWdhGVEj0-JuGBin2QzOts4zstz-59PQNUG_vOPn3oSZgqcYIb854VDXP6SyyJ8SCzYu5c/s1600/La+Gloria+Cubana+Wavell_2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2edR27vKeu4_rzW8srtMG5sfZ2tzmHScjrLg6BnOaPjdvxvS_7WRlEAEJ_k88nvSLi5EsyJWdhGVEj0-JuGBin2QzOts4zstz-59PQNUG_vOPn3oSZgqcYIb854VDXP6SyyJ8SCzYu5c/s320/La+Gloria+Cubana+Wavell_2.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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One of the more unique cigars I have acquired is the CAO Left Coast. Exclusive to Cigar Shops on the West Coast, this massive 6 3/4 x 74, is actually shaped like a Trapezoid.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UD8jrKYu0NKUWK09q1ClYp5sWTHMZIcdh3GSY49J0EA2vKu6APsx79R9-iv14KvUgccbRnuqZ-ENHfD8mu5CWWPrcm4Lt5lHim7fCr7gK1lkBp5nxtycTigwXtfLKch3aAuUcj5RmSY/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1UD8jrKYu0NKUWK09q1ClYp5sWTHMZIcdh3GSY49J0EA2vKu6APsx79R9-iv14KvUgccbRnuqZ-ENHfD8mu5CWWPrcm4Lt5lHim7fCr7gK1lkBp5nxtycTigwXtfLKch3aAuUcj5RmSY/s320/004.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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As I am unemployed, and Arizona Unemployment Benefit is a paltry $240 per week, I am all about the budget cigar. <a href="http://www.ambassadorfinecigars.com/">Ambassador Fine Cigars</a> has a bundle package of 10 Cigars for $45. The retail value of the cigars is approximately $100. There is a little bit of this and a little bit of that in each package but I tell you these cigars have some serious age to them. Which make smoking them all the more enjoyable. This past weekend, I enjoyed the Gurkha Beast (MSRP was roughly $21).For this picture I put the cigar and the wrapper up against my wife's portable photo studio to show the age as evidenced by the discoloration of the wrapper. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vXErJfDoNRPu7k3r4VlCMjeql-gDwpLbUR5Qd9Z0yMifNsL2ZRtAO6NEYy_7UWHuTzaBhe8xuDZBR_SRmAP8aCrJLQaspveiVLW8MWFrTJ5BTepvIOJrfV7L8p93IXW7kKbdTo34OCk/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5vXErJfDoNRPu7k3r4VlCMjeql-gDwpLbUR5Qd9Z0yMifNsL2ZRtAO6NEYy_7UWHuTzaBhe8xuDZBR_SRmAP8aCrJLQaspveiVLW8MWFrTJ5BTepvIOJrfV7L8p93IXW7kKbdTo34OCk/s320/001.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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So I am sitting on the Hillbilly Hilton (TM) minding my own business, and I drop my lighter. Now the damn thing won't work. I grab my wife's bic and the cedar that wrapped the a fore mentioned Gurkha. The cedar won't stay lit, the metal on the lighter burnt my fingers trying light this behemoth of a cigar. Getting frustrated I decide use this bad boy toast my cigar. Thank God, the profile didn't change to that of Lamp Oil! </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifDbIPSGChQgjJlA2PpJS5bT41K_S7JW7uWlTvOFJuksB9sUaHnb9eSdTo_nj5HXbyIYnm6WVmL-CHXzaDprtGs7SuFNWMVPy_Pw2qhBgGlo4M3YnwDfwgcoHDx1B5h1BMzGoEqKTohk/s1600/BBpb_tWCMAAbSOm.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifDbIPSGChQgjJlA2PpJS5bT41K_S7JW7uWlTvOFJuksB9sUaHnb9eSdTo_nj5HXbyIYnm6WVmL-CHXzaDprtGs7SuFNWMVPy_Pw2qhBgGlo4M3YnwDfwgcoHDx1B5h1BMzGoEqKTohk/s320/BBpb_tWCMAAbSOm.jpeg" width="239" /></a></div>
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PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:</div>
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If your wife, girlfriend, mother, grandmother are into paper arts (card making, scrap-booking, etc.,) follow my wife's blog <a href="http://passionatepapercreations.blogspot.com/">Passionate Paper Creations</a></div>
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The photo below actually uses a box from Kristoff Cigars as its "foundation." I am very proud of her especially since her work was recognized by Hobby Lobby and by design teams as far away as Australia.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9i_1c4W7poaUWJJmosfLW9oil-XlwAWGzuIFcpayr8SYNWkyzkOsuXoigf26pD5JxTrmElU5ytlFl_pasTuNntkm5rjf7a-aQfJ70wXvNo3nwyPrt5ffHmEUvNm9pW2bShyswHqVFTFA/s1600/Mic+New+Year+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9i_1c4W7poaUWJJmosfLW9oil-XlwAWGzuIFcpayr8SYNWkyzkOsuXoigf26pD5JxTrmElU5ytlFl_pasTuNntkm5rjf7a-aQfJ70wXvNo3nwyPrt5ffHmEUvNm9pW2bShyswHqVFTFA/s320/Mic+New+Year+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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There is this cigar line that I have been trying to get my hands on, and when I set my mind to doing something I get er done. Emilio Cigars, as of last count I think there is only one, maybe two stores, that carries them in Arizona (<a href="http://foxtobacco.com/#!fox-cigar-humidor/">Fox Cigar Bar</a> in Chandler and <a href="http://www.goodfellascigarlounge.com/">Goodfella's</a> in Phoenix). Earlier this week, courtesy of Kevin Bishop, I added to my Humidor the Emilio AF-Sauve, the AF-1, the AF-2 and the Le Musa Movao. Part of the reason I was hellbent on getting these cigars was because Gary Griffith, the owner of Emilio Cigars, was one of my first followers when I started posting #NowSmoking Tweets. Gary's interaction with his customers, retailers, and other manufacturers is second to none and I respect that.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOr0LpD-f272726Lak-C1T8W_vfuNMGd9ZvJl_wCLWc4R1sZKC9YiVLWuLNY55kSe7EC6DpmpmuONwaRMZAFxT4scZMTMU3NiY7B0hFM74bVVMuoB2gsq8v9bi4_iEW7DMxlPNF-BXBGM/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOr0LpD-f272726Lak-C1T8W_vfuNMGd9ZvJl_wCLWc4R1sZKC9YiVLWuLNY55kSe7EC6DpmpmuONwaRMZAFxT4scZMTMU3NiY7B0hFM74bVVMuoB2gsq8v9bi4_iEW7DMxlPNF-BXBGM/s320/002.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Yesterday I lit up the Emilio AF-Suave, This cigar has beautiful Ecuadorian Connecticut Wrapper and for a Connecticut was fairly complex. I smoked it down to the nubbin, using a small eyeglass screwdriver to hold the nubbin try to get every thing out of this Robusto that I could.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAZQydTxhLqK2rnP-Oj6eTXE0GR3OD4ThlISJoIrTcMNbGMqwB_ZX12Z1Xjb4zuqgpUnZveJKPad3YK4JcfVAXUAaLV67YliXPoZkT8PT8fO0NYHRkh5aq0v2xWHvDdKXVyG9HnVoigU/s1600/001+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbAZQydTxhLqK2rnP-Oj6eTXE0GR3OD4ThlISJoIrTcMNbGMqwB_ZX12Z1Xjb4zuqgpUnZveJKPad3YK4JcfVAXUAaLV67YliXPoZkT8PT8fO0NYHRkh5aq0v2xWHvDdKXVyG9HnVoigU/s320/001+%25282%2529.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Finally, Saturday marked one year since our friend Bruce Gaudet was taken from us. Bruce was a Sales Rep for General Cigar in the Western Region. I also had to priviledge of working with him on the promotion of several events held at Ambassador Cigars</div>
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RIP Bruce and know that you are missed...</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-6556227989745910382013-01-14T14:22:00.003-07:002013-01-14T14:23:34.284-07:00My First Blog Post of 2013Feliz Ano's Nuevo....<br />
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So far it's been a smokin new year, with lots of great cigars to be enjoyed. I will be doing things differently this year. Chris Davidson (@psu_chris) brought up the question about tracking your inventory. I, with a boatload of help from Chris, have been playing with a variety of options, everything ranging from Cigar Boss and other apps, to my Journal, to excel. At this juncture I am leaning towards the excel option until someone (hint, hint) develops or releases a better mouse trap. Here are a couple of snapshots of what I have been doing, it also is helping me with my handwritten journal, which will soon consist of "many leather bound books."PS I also keep a printed copy folded inside my journal.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96Fiz33tStLeXXtWGUCODcEdgRYK6pxpgPNORzMARrYPIkp7DAN6JXLI8Hb0IhkxpjIXxSWHYHdrwg0zIr0yBxwxZ1BGPd-3OBjdgvUxm2xRqEI-j8bhxd2fYeS3smyJtssIyleCzZ24/s1600/Slide1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg96Fiz33tStLeXXtWGUCODcEdgRYK6pxpgPNORzMARrYPIkp7DAN6JXLI8Hb0IhkxpjIXxSWHYHdrwg0zIr0yBxwxZ1BGPd-3OBjdgvUxm2xRqEI-j8bhxd2fYeS3smyJtssIyleCzZ24/s640/Slide1.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXRpVOsonDsoaufayaooxyyGtlFNN2WSTpLUREYDyFfJUSB0XYI6B3N0wQbSVCnMlQV44pWcim780ivh97h7vUZoF9Gp2VHDVDnUGl70i1jHytOJiWU038Qnx-Tg_Yh021Dj8FLSprQk/s1600/Slide2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKXRpVOsonDsoaufayaooxyyGtlFNN2WSTpLUREYDyFfJUSB0XYI6B3N0wQbSVCnMlQV44pWcim780ivh97h7vUZoF9Gp2VHDVDnUGl70i1jHytOJiWU038Qnx-Tg_Yh021Dj8FLSprQk/s640/Slide2.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">I started off the year, with another Foundry at the suggestion of another #BOTL, this time I tried the Cayley.</span></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;">The Cayley measures 6 1/2 x 60 x 56 x 43 and has a wrapper that is proprietary to General Cigar. The Cayley was a much more enjoyable smoke that the Wells or the Lovelace, but it still not what a boutique cigar should be. With the Cayley I also experienced some construction issue up near the band, which I am beginning to thing has something to do with the metal gear positioned over the band itself.</span></div>
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The Mundos Semilia Habano Grand #1, Little is known about this cigar, except that this is or was a Tatuaje project. As I understand this particular cigar uses B & C grade tobacco and my experience with this particular blend was that it was a bit on the tight side and not overly complex.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7UUB23SZvAFfhtSplwGgj2i5BnyBBH4W0E4U4JFDwpc0cX71PSNNddBongUKA5xyDgdKRDoWtx5dx8lD3D_lMHD4xoomoNX4VZnCZr5IIoIx2tI0kIPk_Ogc841VuE35qVTQPw-g9q8/s1600/A_opQB3CQAMc-Dz+(1).jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjp7UUB23SZvAFfhtSplwGgj2i5BnyBBH4W0E4U4JFDwpc0cX71PSNNddBongUKA5xyDgdKRDoWtx5dx8lD3D_lMHD4xoomoNX4VZnCZr5IIoIx2tI0kIPk_Ogc841VuE35qVTQPw-g9q8/s320/A_opQB3CQAMc-Dz+(1).jpeg" width="239" /></a></div>
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I am becoming a big fan of the San Cristobal line from Ashton. Here is the San Cristobal Classico, this cigar had a nice amount age on it and good flavors throughout, it was dark, oily, earthy with notes of chocolate and espresso.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyWtQE5BQ9fIiy0E5ovDy0MCwyBwnC6H7CwVzRupBPD2pTJ3ZNaeDCXLX0-IIs-W6K-rBNgQ8Xjq9p75CrnMWvRlop0aIH5ghR1I61cjaHTBPSgJgnwJTLukmw1aozChUpitdKiqREmE/s1600/San+Cristobal+Classico.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyWtQE5BQ9fIiy0E5ovDy0MCwyBwnC6H7CwVzRupBPD2pTJ3ZNaeDCXLX0-IIs-W6K-rBNgQ8Xjq9p75CrnMWvRlop0aIH5ghR1I61cjaHTBPSgJgnwJTLukmw1aozChUpitdKiqREmE/s320/San+Cristobal+Classico.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Short on time pick one of these up, the Oliva Series G SPCL G, a great value at $4.55. A nice medium bodied cigar, with a nice tight white ash.<br />
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I am also a big fan of Habano wrappers, This EP Carillo Club 52 had a bit of earth, wood, and leather. However there were some construction issues which consisted of unraveling in the last third of the cigar.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuqoQLMm2K-dctFT61yHOxf2PVBWiiP8Mv9pO3I8Jx8PR-chvDu8AhsupbH67ZUJKrarUjl7DmMT8BO_AtTG4BIOU5iFGoMNZqHMfbDpQIqEqYLKu-mpJcZ4i9gUNrqDRsA7ru4CUOyQ/s1600/EP+Carillo+Club+52.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUuqoQLMm2K-dctFT61yHOxf2PVBWiiP8Mv9pO3I8Jx8PR-chvDu8AhsupbH67ZUJKrarUjl7DmMT8BO_AtTG4BIOU5iFGoMNZqHMfbDpQIqEqYLKu-mpJcZ4i9gUNrqDRsA7ru4CUOyQ/s320/EP+Carillo+Club+52.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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I love perfecto cigars, which is na<span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; line-height: 19.1875px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">rrow at both ends and slightly bulged in the middle</span></span><span style="background-color: #f9f9f9; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 19.1875px;">. I </span>don't know why I just do. This Avo 787 is well aged, which is becoming quite common for my humidor, medium-bodied with plenty of sweetness and excellent balance. The cigar developed into a creamy cigar with flavors of roasted nut flavors.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eoQtVF4UZrcNL2bKqSGRH_4Z6b5Ay3tE8Myvk1BRmaWGTj7mLxdfSvTDlx0jSSBkmv8-9-_NWoBZHAG9s_Z3qd4LA0rNVeC2eM9WpazlwonFEvuT_ZQeYzv2xA_Ve7_mQ3rbBwXoPHI/s1600/IMG_3451.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eoQtVF4UZrcNL2bKqSGRH_4Z6b5Ay3tE8Myvk1BRmaWGTj7mLxdfSvTDlx0jSSBkmv8-9-_NWoBZHAG9s_Z3qd4LA0rNVeC2eM9WpazlwonFEvuT_ZQeYzv2xA_Ve7_mQ3rbBwXoPHI/s320/IMG_3451.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Dark in color very oily, and very full bodied is the best way to describe the Viaje 50/50 black label. It is definitely not a first stick of the day. Viaje does it again, and is one of my favorite boutique cigars.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3gW51HAGmNqh5nXqAhntobURBh96gigthPAGp5jgLB7a5rVhd9uU9QGnqq2xljoHQldktXaBtSr8NAJz2j-daTVMJgr0kCEaIZ6OAJAkHkcekzR-bXUuTnhc-mn_q2krUdsfzsFdqfM/s1600/IMG_3469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs3gW51HAGmNqh5nXqAhntobURBh96gigthPAGp5jgLB7a5rVhd9uU9QGnqq2xljoHQldktXaBtSr8NAJz2j-daTVMJgr0kCEaIZ6OAJAkHkcekzR-bXUuTnhc-mn_q2krUdsfzsFdqfM/s320/IMG_3469.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Here is a solid, and I mean solid, medium bodied cigar with a wood flavor profile that transitioned into a flavor profile that is not only rich, but earthy and includes notes of chocolate in the last third. This cigar is also slightly box pressed, which I liked a alot. Thanks to Stephen La Pre Jr (@CigarChairman) for the gift it was very much appreciated. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8doUbk4h0bV2ttY4siXq2gG2Z1Nzg964OxeETzDN1rChSE_3IkVmZ-D21gt0_KG4OCO7g9BTj_VwjqDPkzFfrcwrj7A9hFu99Tv2TVf19_2-dOwr9zKRqnRcXABD8or8afIvwHFRNW48/s1600/IMG_3476.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8doUbk4h0bV2ttY4siXq2gG2Z1Nzg964OxeETzDN1rChSE_3IkVmZ-D21gt0_KG4OCO7g9BTj_VwjqDPkzFfrcwrj7A9hFu99Tv2TVf19_2-dOwr9zKRqnRcXABD8or8afIvwHFRNW48/s320/IMG_3476.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Until next time stay toasting, uh toasty...it's cold in the PHX!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-70378098533502057172012-12-31T10:56:00.001-07:002012-12-31T12:34:56.464-07:00My Final Post for 2012I smoked a lot cigars this year...and I am actually working on a list if the Top 10 (maybe Top 25) of the Cigars that I enjoyed in 2012. There is more activity to be posted not to mention adding to my written Journal the last few bands and notes from the cigars I smoked in December.<br />
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One of the first smokes I had when we returned from Maul, was the Graycliff Crystal PG, which I paired with a Big Wave Ale, from the Kona Brewing Compnay. The Graycliff line is relatively expensive, $20 or so per stick, this particular stick was part of a Groupon promotion, $100 worth of Cigars for $45) that I was aloud to purchase without purchasing the actual Groupon. The nice thing about this Groupon is the Cigars were well aged, some 10 years or more.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuckl86ZCpLASP6iYVfXu7GEXkZ7dTrsXMcJPaqmXhk6l4Z1yvYAQ7XT26sl678ffB_uyN5IyvMBoxvJAPGHfSge6OEuM1j37n4RvQTjFpyG-lWSFyf_IiYlys_ZajQ_1KsC6V8JK56j4/s1600/A9PXcpaCMAE2YDX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuckl86ZCpLASP6iYVfXu7GEXkZ7dTrsXMcJPaqmXhk6l4Z1yvYAQ7XT26sl678ffB_uyN5IyvMBoxvJAPGHfSge6OEuM1j37n4RvQTjFpyG-lWSFyf_IiYlys_ZajQ_1KsC6V8JK56j4/s320/A9PXcpaCMAE2YDX.jpg" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRTMdE4fhEV7fkCkcy7tz28PspaRsC-RRpNbJ1yTEea4Ejv9CtUDisnGVXvXvICFbFuetz-0ace4sI8EKzQoLcbZcCCuSbC8WbKhBi6KeYOncUEiYXbEjs1Stxd_NLlD-lSaSIAfEKxI/s1600/Sampler.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqRTMdE4fhEV7fkCkcy7tz28PspaRsC-RRpNbJ1yTEea4Ejv9CtUDisnGVXvXvICFbFuetz-0ace4sI8EKzQoLcbZcCCuSbC8WbKhBi6KeYOncUEiYXbEjs1Stxd_NLlD-lSaSIAfEKxI/s320/Sampler.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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New releases, I like trying new releases, however on occasion they let you down. This was the case with the Foundry, General Cigar Co's, attempt at creating a "Boutique Cigar" The metal gear on the band is interesting but I think the weight contributes to construction issues that I, and many others, have experienced with this cigar (see second photo). This is the 6 x 50 or "Wells" which is its given name...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWqMTP4TiFat8YtsSslBHX0dknYxqozU75o12ypJ-l8c-h8g-_9yGpwt8NZwSSX_vNLEgGJ4uTSbBnzeTNq3O0YDWgQ0doh8hdbyN4JtdnDQCUOxXQ3WwS9cuAUs9pAlilm_LgdP2PmNQ/s1600/Foundry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWqMTP4TiFat8YtsSslBHX0dknYxqozU75o12ypJ-l8c-h8g-_9yGpwt8NZwSSX_vNLEgGJ4uTSbBnzeTNq3O0YDWgQ0doh8hdbyN4JtdnDQCUOxXQ3WwS9cuAUs9pAlilm_LgdP2PmNQ/s320/Foundry.jpg" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1a-Yt7pZiEMLwkhl2Sd0FuqcxlLwpJLIaQHqFxCDrPQ71bwbxjWlQgcui_FbX2gLwGEsen4HG4_2DzcyMrmz09i1mxLmgDJUJDnFEO8LNnP1pXt5A7WCC_gyjxtAe0gNyTYNprPZz5wg/s1600/Foundry2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1a-Yt7pZiEMLwkhl2Sd0FuqcxlLwpJLIaQHqFxCDrPQ71bwbxjWlQgcui_FbX2gLwGEsen4HG4_2DzcyMrmz09i1mxLmgDJUJDnFEO8LNnP1pXt5A7WCC_gyjxtAe0gNyTYNprPZz5wg/s320/Foundry2.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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This A Torrent Puro Corojo Robusto is rich in flavor and complexity....<br />
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How about the age on this here Avo Signature Robusto...<br />
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S<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">unday is for football, which requires a bit of a longer smoke, here is the Jose Seijas Signature Series Belicoso. This cigar was very well received in 2005 and 2006, having <span style="background-color: white;">Cigar Insider named Seijas Signature Series the best cigar made in the Dominican Republic in its December 2005 issue. Cigar Aficionado chose Seijas Signature Series as one of the 10 best cigars of 2006, and Robb Report included it among its Best of the Best!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ojhYpcb9CGh5hyphenhyphenjlYFveWxHWpKh6iHm2uJshIIPqJ4woiTYiyYOS8AWS1Qq-5TwrFMUwBuJH4Gvi-AYr2G946DPc7y36iV1NkfEbk6Ehhm59tg8p3IFcluAO_ylwWG7mZMdaM6YYnjc/s1600/Jose+Seijas+Signature+Series+Belicoso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ojhYpcb9CGh5hyphenhyphenjlYFveWxHWpKh6iHm2uJshIIPqJ4woiTYiyYOS8AWS1Qq-5TwrFMUwBuJH4Gvi-AYr2G946DPc7y36iV1NkfEbk6Ehhm59tg8p3IFcluAO_ylwWG7mZMdaM6YYnjc/s320/Jose+Seijas+Signature+Series+Belicoso.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Due to a heavy travel schedule I missed the West Valley Cigar Club dinner this year. Churchill's Fine Cigars in Glendale held a private tasting for 21 members (as that is the number of cigars in a box) of the Papacayo XXL, a lovely little 6 x 60, and thanks again Chet for providing the Yuengling.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NqqCdXHxXw7J3hWYfGZUn37uwtXLydtCfK6vUb4d8zIXoh6rXPL6rv6bz6Ln46lkc7K8PEXSc0zlURWWt29xMItfqC7oUfSNMCvPuyw7ht8h9igm6SUdlzy3fVZtXfgLxB5OXAzUeBA/s1600/San+Cristobal+Papagayo+XXL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8NqqCdXHxXw7J3hWYfGZUn37uwtXLydtCfK6vUb4d8zIXoh6rXPL6rv6bz6Ln46lkc7K8PEXSc0zlURWWt29xMItfqC7oUfSNMCvPuyw7ht8h9igm6SUdlzy3fVZtXfgLxB5OXAzUeBA/s320/San+Cristobal+Papagayo+XXL.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Until some Brothers of the Leaf got together and sent a friend who was diagnosed with Testicular Cancer I never tried a Xikar HC Series Cigar. That sounds odd but here's the back story a few weeks back a few of us, who connected on #Twitter, chipped in $10 to purchase a pick me up gift for Scott. When Xikar got wind of this, they donated to our cause a Xikar Lighter, we in turn sent him Xikar Cigars and Visa Gift Card. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Below is the Xikar HC Series Churchill...here's to Scott's nuts!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxi63_kLmAI6L7SwFwOFPQ3EemzpNhKOXPDmuaZlcs0ehmIjuW1f7KBiHJ-dnsnqu1gjevVwPUgSDqpegepZeBKf1AcIbKDuMiDiJDDnsUZQu1oiNoOIjD6w7a4RH2JVii8Xt3Q9DoN-E/s1600/Xikar+HC+Series+Churchill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxi63_kLmAI6L7SwFwOFPQ3EemzpNhKOXPDmuaZlcs0ehmIjuW1f7KBiHJ-dnsnqu1gjevVwPUgSDqpegepZeBKf1AcIbKDuMiDiJDDnsUZQu1oiNoOIjD6w7a4RH2JVii8Xt3Q9DoN-E/s320/Xikar+HC+Series+Churchill.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">CAR PORN</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br />Did you know Tesla has a dealership in Scottsdale, AZ? Yup that's right it's in a Mall!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FkjX56Uj_NNVnHQk8mie_0IM_p3VZuil_1gVIi1Li0_GNMZO7APpyyN6RVutCITlfH0KCztAxF2UI4w48MyEJ_ZRuGzAvtM0pNCg-9j6zmdUufqtSAZtZ_LTZ1GrigrrvmnvCu6ffcE/s1600/Tesla+Dealership.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_FkjX56Uj_NNVnHQk8mie_0IM_p3VZuil_1gVIi1Li0_GNMZO7APpyyN6RVutCITlfH0KCztAxF2UI4w48MyEJ_ZRuGzAvtM0pNCg-9j6zmdUufqtSAZtZ_LTZ1GrigrrvmnvCu6ffcE/s320/Tesla+Dealership.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">I think I am one of the few that actually enjoy the Zino Platinum lines, I haven't had a bad cigar from this line</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">This is the 643C ( or 6 x 43 Corona)...Now if only I could procure the Zino Mobile lounge to chauffeur me around for interviews that would be awesome.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGP3KTjZOAGSRVq93Qm9bPhhdtUjz2MFAwf_aw-9_mMlKLZydOIAVrXf3XGmdafEATVxBkj9nn9fOxu6cF9b_d9sSMFTVwcu9wc7wbl0eZBtHWchSxciW0KpEUNWwpQgd_8i2YZXdKrE/s1600/Zino+Platinum+643c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmGP3KTjZOAGSRVq93Qm9bPhhdtUjz2MFAwf_aw-9_mMlKLZydOIAVrXf3XGmdafEATVxBkj9nn9fOxu6cF9b_d9sSMFTVwcu9wc7wbl0eZBtHWchSxciW0KpEUNWwpQgd_8i2YZXdKrE/s320/Zino+Platinum+643c.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Great Cigar from Gurkha, I believe it is one of the Master Select's that has been sitting in the humidor of Ambassador Fine Cigars for a long time.and yes that's a v-cut!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPapXvZDC3p4b3tdgw8aLnm6qC8PEcS9R1VTCpryw-72Rwqp61030QlvMonT8Q1yx7HLomXuH7m9LyVD_Hb0nA1_vCWSOFz9hFjRHY83qXRwIL7-PSXOM_of3XJ4FudjjsYC_iQYcJ-g/s1600/Gurkha+Master+Select.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPapXvZDC3p4b3tdgw8aLnm6qC8PEcS9R1VTCpryw-72Rwqp61030QlvMonT8Q1yx7HLomXuH7m9LyVD_Hb0nA1_vCWSOFz9hFjRHY83qXRwIL7-PSXOM_of3XJ4FudjjsYC_iQYcJ-g/s320/Gurkha+Master+Select.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">So 12/21/12 was supposedly the end of days, in fact I learned that the time that this was to occur was 11:11am. So I arrived at Portofino's Fine Cigars at 11am and lit up an Illusione 68. The world did not end, but damn I enjoyed this cigar.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt65vSrWRN5LSyjWZ34iZBZAr6btmycC7-OHt3lnO2BTwmL5Bgg3MELWcYyszOwm3g0AiFI0nrOkDqeMX4rHGAFbB6wdUmAoVGx2mQDNccAfCIBfmtm5hkoQ1rC2TF0Vby_1WsnJoiV0Y/s1600/illusione+68.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt65vSrWRN5LSyjWZ34iZBZAr6btmycC7-OHt3lnO2BTwmL5Bgg3MELWcYyszOwm3g0AiFI0nrOkDqeMX4rHGAFbB6wdUmAoVGx2mQDNccAfCIBfmtm5hkoQ1rC2TF0Vby_1WsnJoiV0Y/s320/illusione+68.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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MORE CAR PORN</div>
All I want for Christmas<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoxQ1KpNghIc61M6F9OARhc8gxEFXbo4xATnFuyVRcFAbeh0beotAFmKBgBF8tWrLQ7c0oLN2IdsnpMvzehEBpomCyMSloRe9MKaCTNrsjbVjkePNg7GD_D1BNaAhlfXXgnuc_54zzWE/s1600/Italian+Trash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdoxQ1KpNghIc61M6F9OARhc8gxEFXbo4xATnFuyVRcFAbeh0beotAFmKBgBF8tWrLQ7c0oLN2IdsnpMvzehEBpomCyMSloRe9MKaCTNrsjbVjkePNg7GD_D1BNaAhlfXXgnuc_54zzWE/s320/Italian+Trash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3OTNaICM0LqtWJpz1cNvB7h-m0Z3meORxlCXNdXmdxfKt7SStMByuYSpVUjoAqhesG8QVrj7i7zlBq580IXWIbVO1ZmQDuIvbFR3Zkx2rsw6EcqmPrcWuQDlA82LisEt-IZWKe5rYP4/s1600/More+Italian+Trash.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn3OTNaICM0LqtWJpz1cNvB7h-m0Z3meORxlCXNdXmdxfKt7SStMByuYSpVUjoAqhesG8QVrj7i7zlBq580IXWIbVO1ZmQDuIvbFR3Zkx2rsw6EcqmPrcWuQDlA82LisEt-IZWKe5rYP4/s320/More+Italian+Trash.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I got neither...</div>
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I've been getting some flack about not visiting my old friends at the Scottsdale Location of Ambassador Fine Cigars, so I made an appearance to spread my Christmas Cheer. Here is the 2012 Holiday Edition Cigar from Viaje, the Candy Cane. AKA a Barbershop Pole Cigar. This Cigar comes in one size a 6 x 54 and has closed foot and has been described as an entertaining cigar.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILNcqOtQv9k4NN16JJe7WBFjjhXXTvTpn8YlUVzbBB2cTHO7JLHuzCBAFl72eEYxwI4Xw0fe09vtB580uhKX-8jrkz1RhCI9VdqQqL2qAhpbTPADyFqI062B-7q7SmjFJ8qBnvY4EVZM/s1600/Viaje+Candy+Cane.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjILNcqOtQv9k4NN16JJe7WBFjjhXXTvTpn8YlUVzbBB2cTHO7JLHuzCBAFl72eEYxwI4Xw0fe09vtB580uhKX-8jrkz1RhCI9VdqQqL2qAhpbTPADyFqI062B-7q7SmjFJ8qBnvY4EVZM/s320/Viaje+Candy+Cane.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Illusione has become one of my favorites....here is the Illusione mj12 which to me is a stellar cigar in Construction, Appearance, Flavors and Price!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldeRkch-ETQ75z_sIgWc6JqThOCmpH3bIwjYWNQqA8Yr2X9v-89S4mXVZPMDXGs2o5BgGMIwK8ldIy1vFQbwp7bvfR-gFECTsMx4NAbRXSi5N9yYwyp_JuwdSMQj_nDSZYzkYRVkcX6E/s1600/Illusione+mj12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjldeRkch-ETQ75z_sIgWc6JqThOCmpH3bIwjYWNQqA8Yr2X9v-89S4mXVZPMDXGs2o5BgGMIwK8ldIy1vFQbwp7bvfR-gFECTsMx4NAbRXSi5N9yYwyp_JuwdSMQj_nDSZYzkYRVkcX6E/s320/Illusione+mj12.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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This had all the makings of a disaster! I carefully selected this cigar from my humidor, walked outside to side smoke and damn near walked through the glass arcadia door! the Cigar was the first thing to make contact with the door! It smoked great with really no other issues other than my own stupidity.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWDxFHKOcinz9O1Hg_0MPiI8XzZNvquZL-y5tv03uN9iBAt34hpi0s_2iMwd_-cIoeg1e6Ekq0rbuKuhBwJHhPdchFlx5mEkGNWQpzXXg7kay7nDzyv7PZK-PaP927njpM6L67BqJMD0/s1600/CAO+Cameroon+Churchill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSWDxFHKOcinz9O1Hg_0MPiI8XzZNvquZL-y5tv03uN9iBAt34hpi0s_2iMwd_-cIoeg1e6Ekq0rbuKuhBwJHhPdchFlx5mEkGNWQpzXXg7kay7nDzyv7PZK-PaP927njpM6L67BqJMD0/s320/CAO+Cameroon+Churchill.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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Romeo y Julieta used to be my go to smoke. Since Grady Watson told me I wasn't aloud to smoke any more of these I really haven't smoked any of them, then when LJ arrived it was on! On liker Donkey Kong. Here is the Romeo y Juliets 1875 Anniversario Robusto (5 x 52)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHO8dkcuuMf1TOUldwjuLBUkWj9L4bwLfUoiiHNdLO32h1Moo5na2O1hoJT-Nfsat1QycTAt25SUsqZJlOZ3-mh-JIb2gEyJNreYZtzvC3VSnZKYE9JkqOyPeTxJ2HgPT-w3AR1CZcWY/s1600/RyJAnniversario+Robusto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHO8dkcuuMf1TOUldwjuLBUkWj9L4bwLfUoiiHNdLO32h1Moo5na2O1hoJT-Nfsat1QycTAt25SUsqZJlOZ3-mh-JIb2gEyJNreYZtzvC3VSnZKYE9JkqOyPeTxJ2HgPT-w3AR1CZcWY/s320/RyJAnniversario+Robusto.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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This year I have a few Cusano's none of which blew my socks off. This one different the Cusano 10th Anniversary. As I understand it Michael Chiusano hoped to mimic the blend of the Montecristo #4 Habano, and apparently he got damn close!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxO1FQmW2bSkDGkyGBOxZDoi3TfquVfl8fg7SRabnWhJwX-H8sInwKseILCW8w_tmWjZTQJdUvgjh3P2MD5O0Q3kj4m1DtKGG7rUWDihzM40v-3d65q8-ZGp5zzGl-pb9bTIXjw7PHHQ/s1600/Cusano+10th+Anniv.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOxO1FQmW2bSkDGkyGBOxZDoi3TfquVfl8fg7SRabnWhJwX-H8sInwKseILCW8w_tmWjZTQJdUvgjh3P2MD5O0Q3kj4m1DtKGG7rUWDihzM40v-3d65q8-ZGp5zzGl-pb9bTIXjw7PHHQ/s320/Cusano+10th+Anniv.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
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So that's it another year in the books. I'll close the book with my top 25 cigars that I smoked in 2012. <b><u>There is no particular order to My Top 25</u></b></div>
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<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Cuenca y Blanco </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Ortego Series D Maduro</span></li>
<li>La Aroma de Cuba Mi Amor Reserva</li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">CLE Corojo</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">San Lotano Oval Maduro </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">My Fathers Flor de las Antillas</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Emilio AF-1 </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tatuaje Cojonu 2012</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Nat Sherman Timeless Collection Hermoso</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Four Kicks Selection #5</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tatuaje Old Man & the C (2012)</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Aging Room F55</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Aging Room Havao</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Tatuaje TAA 2012</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">L'Atelier LAT52</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">El Suelo Prado Belicoso</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Asylum Premium Torpedo</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Trocadero Cambon</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduro</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">262 Revere Toro</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">CAO Concert</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Room 101 Daruma Mutante</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Crowned Heads Headley Grange </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">San Cristobal Papacayo XXL</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">La Duena Belicoso #2 </span></li>
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Onto 2013....</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-30988074890594446532012-12-03T13:08:00.001-07:002012-12-03T16:34:49.419-07:00Back to Life Back to Reality<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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One final pic from the Island of Maui. Last Tuesday my wife and I talked about what will happen since I am unemployed, uh semi retired, will we relocate and if so where will we relocate to. This contemplation occurred while sitting on Wailea Beach as I enjoyed the Big Kahuna Maduro.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKyqea-0a5YXqPe0NgcNxhc_d8mWGBTCTsJO3u06CSZNxc5RgiCZnjSbQx1VfguWtDL1JiS-1Q8RyDlhtzjBJV85lUQq0ByNY1kyaFhKxa7nSPdi9hb0kMxIswsYrjO6BFVI7qt3Jyn4/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSKyqea-0a5YXqPe0NgcNxhc_d8mWGBTCTsJO3u06CSZNxc5RgiCZnjSbQx1VfguWtDL1JiS-1Q8RyDlhtzjBJV85lUQq0ByNY1kyaFhKxa7nSPdi9hb0kMxIswsYrjO6BFVI7qt3Jyn4/s320/010.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Back to the topic at hand; events are in full swing this month in Phoenix and last Friday was no exception. Ambassador Fine Cigars in Peoria held a Villiger Cigar Event. This is an interesting cigar company as they are based in Switzerland. Several years ago I remember having one of their 1888 at an event at Ye Olde Pipe and Tobacco, it was OK.<br />
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This year Villiger added two new cigars to their lines the Villiger Talanga, and the Villiger Colorado which is a wrapped in Jalapa Colorado leaf...I was surprised, then again both cigars are manufactured in Nicaragua. I enjoyed one of the Villiger Colorado's. It was a nice medium-full bodied cigars, that drew evenly, burned fairly evenly and did not require a single touch up or relight.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvBrQ5mqDQuZPCBIzuMfieMa0NnjpUc9mNrjLiKaO9EFsiEqr8khzQBMA0JbBNt9esSezt4pbSZJmkSQ40FdvjpGewTe1tHebxUltVn4skq7NNlwtExw3keEHgm1VHeBkWgHhSVfZEGo/s1600/028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmvBrQ5mqDQuZPCBIzuMfieMa0NnjpUc9mNrjLiKaO9EFsiEqr8khzQBMA0JbBNt9esSezt4pbSZJmkSQ40FdvjpGewTe1tHebxUltVn4skq7NNlwtExw3keEHgm1VHeBkWgHhSVfZEGo/s320/028.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Since I had my first Four-Kicks, from Crowned Heads, earlier this year i have been waiting to try the Headley Grange. Which is named after the recording studio where Led Zeppelin recorded the song "When the Levee Breaks." The Cigars are part of a collaboration Ernesto Perez Carrillo, Jr., and Tabacalera La Alian<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 24.616666793823242px;">a SA., Next up from the Crowned Heads will be the Limited Edition Mule Kick.</span></span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 24.616666793823242px;">PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT </span><br />
<span style="line-height: 24.616666793823242px;">It is never OK to wear a Cowboy Hat (a Black One at that too) and Deck Shoes. I don't care who you are...Eric., crap like that will get you hung in Texas. Oh by the way the Cigar is a Nat Sherman Timeless Collection #2. Love this Cigar, Love it.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35iYeOBZpQpZY_NfIRmMZHaRjUYOomqXgCVcgGL7gW7JG4xbOeOeSy7OCSjgRy_OwJ4RAGoT1wumYS17anRHBUH-0o6DxWRyqk26m94W049t6ZPOSghEsSHFxgOkhIQgtejG6YEvZCFE/s1600/034b.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj35iYeOBZpQpZY_NfIRmMZHaRjUYOomqXgCVcgGL7gW7JG4xbOeOeSy7OCSjgRy_OwJ4RAGoT1wumYS17anRHBUH-0o6DxWRyqk26m94W049t6ZPOSghEsSHFxgOkhIQgtejG6YEvZCFE/s320/034b.jpeg" width="262" /></a></div>
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<span style="line-height: 24.616666793823242px;">Finally, Several months ago I was given a very special limited edition Romeo y Julieta 125th Anniversary Churchill. Part of the 1875 Collection this particular cigar had been sitting in my friend Rob's humidor for 12 years. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white;"> The cigar is a blend of Peruvian, Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers with an Ecuadorian wrapper and a broad-leaf binder</span><span style="line-height: 24.616666793823242px;"><span style="background-color: white;">. </span> I had saved this Cigar for a very special occasion, the birth of our first grandchild, LJ. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 24.616666793823242px;">John Stephen Sutto IV</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="line-height: 24.616666793823242px;">AKA Little John or L.J for Short</span></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-72009835716666510802012-11-26T20:15:00.001-07:002012-11-26T20:15:10.815-07:00Herfing Island Style!As our annual vacation comes to a close, we have one more night, I am going to reflect on a quest. A quests to find a cigar or cigars at or even close to the MSRP! Ok disclaimer Hawai'i has a 40% wholesale tax and taxes the hell out of tobacco products.<br />
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I began this quest on Tuesday at the Wailea Gift Shop here at the hotel. Let's just say their prices were ridiculous and the selection was miniscule. I had two choices a Cohiba Crystal Corona Tube for $26.99 and a Macanudo Cafe Crystal Tubes That was just under $16.99.<br />
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Last night Rhea and I had our 3rd anniversary dinner a Humuhumnukunukuapua'a (little fish big name) and they had the Arturo Fuente Short Story as their featured Cigar. Yup $18 for a Cigar that normally hovers around the $6 range.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxcI4EwAAxfK-9uZqcl6LAHP7d-vnvuXPXp2WVcCPmMftS2FM9nHBAYQ6gMQ9kaIQeBOcvtRoqoSd2gtzqYQCnpPjkazJPFwXkEMmtH7IfelRYGumSu8k0KcgvUag0rFteraPc3KxmuI/s1600/106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxcI4EwAAxfK-9uZqcl6LAHP7d-vnvuXPXp2WVcCPmMftS2FM9nHBAYQ6gMQ9kaIQeBOcvtRoqoSd2gtzqYQCnpPjkazJPFwXkEMmtH7IfelRYGumSu8k0KcgvUag0rFteraPc3KxmuI/s320/106.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The ABC Store, essentially a hawaiian convenience store, has a small selection of cigars. What intrigued me was the Kauai Cigar Company that filled the stores "Humidor." The Humidor is basically what amounts to a desktop humidor. <br />
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I inquired about the two cigars they were offering the response I got was one is light the other is dark. OK I can live with the fact your are not a tobacconist, what my research indicated is that the Kauai cigars are the result of growing, curing, fermenting, and aging, on Kauai, some of the finest tobacco in the world. The filler cigars contain premium, all natural, Sun Grown Kauai Tobacco. <br />
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The light cigaar tobacco is wrapped in a Connecticut shade leaf grown in Ecuador. This cigar is described as a silky cream like cigar has a medium to full bodied taste. <br />
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The dark wrapped is a Habano leaf grown in Nicaragua. It is a full bodied smoke and is filled with deep complex flavors. <br />
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The seed actually an Old Generation Pinar del Rio and the cigars are rolled in Nicaragua. Single sticks retail for $13.40 and they area also avaialble in a 3 pack and a sampler pack containing 6 cigars for $99.The Vitola's even have Hawaiian names. Below is the Momona, which at a 50 x 5 3/4 is esentially Robusto.<br />
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Yesterday, we made our way to Lahaina and I literally stumbled into Sir Wilfred's. I learned that the name of the store, was inspired by the character “Sir Wilfred” in Agathie Christie’s “Witness for the Prosecution”. Sir Wilfred liked to drank cognac and smoked cigars. <br />
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The original store had Maui’s first walk-in cigar humidor, tobacco, pipes, and accessories. Not being able to survive, selling only tobacco, pipes, cigars and accessories, they decided to add coffee and tea. Today the store has three large wall humidors contain cigars in every price range, from the names we all know and love.<br />
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I picked up two of the Big Kahuna, Sir Wilfred’s signature cigar, and is is a hand-rolled premium cigar made
from Honduran filler and binder, a Connecticut wrapper and rolled in the Camacho Factory. I picked up two their corona's at $4.99 a piece! <br />
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Disclaimer, I smoked the lighter of the two on the ride home. This was an OK cigar on the mild side and not overly complex. I did not exeperience any construction issues and the burn was fairly even and did not require any touch ups.</div>
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Mahalo!</div>
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PS</div>
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I am totally up for this? Are you?</div>
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<a href="http://www.hawaiicigarassociation.org/festival2013">http://www.hawaiicigarassociation.org/festival2013</a></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17698054496724136671noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3509610411910576.post-78151696150402402562012-11-19T10:39:00.002-07:002012-11-19T10:39:19.777-07:00Almost a Months worth of Catching upIt's 3:15am and all is well except for the fact I am up at 3:15am . So considering I haven't updated my blog in almost a month I figure what better time than now<br />
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I don't get it but whats with the trend of big ring gauges? Anything over a 54 is just too large.<br />
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Here is the Rocky Patel Vintage Connecticut 1999 Sixty. This little cigar is is a 6 x 60 and is on the mild side and unfortunately I experienced some construction issues<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8TJ8Xk2h2kyudGVQu1HGfR-_RW1CEYMxoHRExcWEZNJPDgQFJMERZFqcoweZLMVPrFIJn3Hk3zErl8gR_lMjaVNosZsEGTbcCjdwrdR4BaSQJx-S-qBlm37i5H_lLKs1aTUZfF2IK50/s1600/004+(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir8TJ8Xk2h2kyudGVQu1HGfR-_RW1CEYMxoHRExcWEZNJPDgQFJMERZFqcoweZLMVPrFIJn3Hk3zErl8gR_lMjaVNosZsEGTbcCjdwrdR4BaSQJx-S-qBlm37i5H_lLKs1aTUZfF2IK50/s320/004+(8).JPG" width="239" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlAbjZadBfY420d1mb8qaAcpjdITGPmrSfgozeBr0MGr8PK3LO9P_A2C1lQyKsKTU-4aGSyBpp3rB0ZxPdlf-FzwtMmHHGiwVnbbc0nOcT6i_9b5nLdJmJC4y_hLpCEMbcGy9CsdudkI/s1600/003+%25289%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwlAbjZadBfY420d1mb8qaAcpjdITGPmrSfgozeBr0MGr8PK3LO9P_A2C1lQyKsKTU-4aGSyBpp3rB0ZxPdlf-FzwtMmHHGiwVnbbc0nOcT6i_9b5nLdJmJC4y_hLpCEMbcGy9CsdudkI/s320/003+%25289%2529.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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When I smoke a cigar I like to do a little research. My research primarily consists of the back story of the cigar and sometimes the manufacturer. The CAO Concert is the second release since CAO was taken over by General Cigar. This is the CAO Concert Amp, which is a 5 1/2 x 48 and has a price point of under $7 a stick.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_xkTyqNB_7T8dxLf6GevuSCeY9oFEhzFqt9cPcIAi7yrXaKsTFEUKR98mnK5Gx3QR5_8eXBGnnzzsjoi9L79mUPgkh4TCdUa11zuoqQCiD5JdVI8ZDZCeR4yPBrhYY3cXAFBgxP-cHc/s1600/006+(6).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS_xkTyqNB_7T8dxLf6GevuSCeY9oFEhzFqt9cPcIAi7yrXaKsTFEUKR98mnK5Gx3QR5_8eXBGnnzzsjoi9L79mUPgkh4TCdUa11zuoqQCiD5JdVI8ZDZCeR4yPBrhYY3cXAFBgxP-cHc/s320/006+(6).JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Brandon at Cigar King is a good friend and follows my twitter, @JRWeigand, he knows my palette and an often points out what is new in the humidor. Here is the Oliveros Sun Grown Reserve Robusto. <br />
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When Matt Booth was in town, I grabbed the Room 101 Daruma Sucio a 7 x 48, Matt told me the best size in the line was the Mutante a 7 x 38, Damn it he was right! Well hell he should be after all he is the blender!<br />
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We interrupt this blog for an important message. CAR PORN! here is a 1958 Lister Corvette or is it. I think it a Replica. <br />
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Trick or Treating was good to me this year. I was gifted a Tatuaje Lil Drac from the 2012 Little Monster Series. A 5 x 48 short torpedo, which is reminiscent of one of Dracula's fangs.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2eNRah9dUHqmCl0F1G8ezSuy8edHfEukGWEmInItdYjmU8_oI9NOnpuzJ-4XfKyB6n01ZCmLczEXNHUDFS-lhyHQpjsp78HNF3h5DQPulU_LJ1UVapgoszw8Bhd46NPQEIilWUHpcog/s1600/020+(3).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs2eNRah9dUHqmCl0F1G8ezSuy8edHfEukGWEmInItdYjmU8_oI9NOnpuzJ-4XfKyB6n01ZCmLczEXNHUDFS-lhyHQpjsp78HNF3h5DQPulU_LJ1UVapgoszw8Bhd46NPQEIilWUHpcog/s320/020+(3).JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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One of the hard to find cigars in the Roma Craft Line, Very particular about who carries this brand. I found them that Big Sticks Cigars in Mesa Arizona. I started with the Intemperence Line. The name Intemperance goes back to the Temperenace Movement of the 19th century that saddled us with joyless years of prohibition in the United States. The branding is intended to draw attention to the modern temperance movement that targets smoking tobacco in place of alcoholic beverages. <br />
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The Intemperance comes in two different wrappers. The first, called the EC XVIII, is an Ecuadorian Connecticut which eluded to the Temperance Movement’s origins in rural Connecticut and the 18th amendment that established prohibition.<br />
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The second is the BA XXI, a Brazil Arapiraca celebrating the ratification of the 21st amendment which repealed this experiment.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5JKK2AnNaask5l4xBwPk_rUnAQzhLke50_hXXlVDzvMG_jYUJA7WeOl55DC-15mhOFTlDjslHafvM54A0p8Rvq0Xw4HgiAGB-Z3oMioCnHizREZ6sS1dhKy5CqVs4QXnuPoIVW3Q0rQQ/s1600/058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5JKK2AnNaask5l4xBwPk_rUnAQzhLke50_hXXlVDzvMG_jYUJA7WeOl55DC-15mhOFTlDjslHafvM54A0p8Rvq0Xw4HgiAGB-Z3oMioCnHizREZ6sS1dhKy5CqVs4QXnuPoIVW3Q0rQQ/s320/058.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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I am really enjoying the Room 101 Brand Cigars, per Matt Booth this is NOT a boutique cigar, but a Salon Cigar. Here is the Namakubi Papi Chulo at nice little 4 x 42.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxs1gAYM4-OqBNyRWSq9h-k3t2dSzseHC13dDtehlCHO5SEVnCGtgpqYh62YxvHPAWqRuSo6RCkR5kx-fmOyFLQtidImXIUxRbZyfoj7kQXKDHmEQL0-AsWUtRxsSwCfXjhPj1olWUdU/s1600/023+(2).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRxs1gAYM4-OqBNyRWSq9h-k3t2dSzseHC13dDtehlCHO5SEVnCGtgpqYh62YxvHPAWqRuSo6RCkR5kx-fmOyFLQtidImXIUxRbZyfoj7kQXKDHmEQL0-AsWUtRxsSwCfXjhPj1olWUdU/s320/023+(2).JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Well be back after this short break.<br />
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And We're back it is now 9:42am and we just finished packing for our annual Thanksgiving trip to Maui. After the year we've had we need this and need it bad.<br />
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Below is an La Palina El Diario Robusto, El Diario translates in English to “The Daily” that is fitting as this could become another go to cigar! I paired this with a Dogfish Head 60 Minute Ale. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOELRG2qiM3dvTe-qIt_60q2OAQlLXZBt6OfzdKnyJovlHtfW898aabnM04LJIOAbQ0p-rWomhjgefLO77gx453zEPj_K6JeAU3NGMVpWZCtWWhveg7s1DF1Oe1CEA_hg0aMZdtxjCfs/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPOELRG2qiM3dvTe-qIt_60q2OAQlLXZBt6OfzdKnyJovlHtfW898aabnM04LJIOAbQ0p-rWomhjgefLO77gx453zEPj_K6JeAU3NGMVpWZCtWWhveg7s1DF1Oe1CEA_hg0aMZdtxjCfs/s320/001.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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Not one to talk about house blends unless they are a good value stick for the money. Recently Portofino's Cigars opened in Central Phoenix and I was given one of their house blends. Retailing for on $3.15 a stick I was pleasantly surprised with the burn, which did not require a touch up, the construction, and the blend itself. If I am not mistaken this cigars was manufactured by the fine folks at Oliva<br />
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The week prior to the Big Smoke in Las Vegas is event season in the Phoenix Metro Area. Among the festivities Cigar King hosted their 2nd annual Scottdale Cigar Week. While not part of Scottsdale Cigar Week earlier this month I was able to spend some time with Glen Case at Ambassador Fine Cigars in Peoria. Glen in the the man behind Kristoff Cigar. Once you meet Glen he becomes well Glen.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ffqPO2-5ZNGLm5s4EEbufxRcuCEd783MSld58jbsQ53JXi4Ey2VHwc5UFXCKNzeQ4W6bWMsYrTGjQ_qm5cXEK6I-ri_LU-dxw6YbqqD6IO470ocFzmu1Q7097zm3juZ1Oy_cOuTemtY/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7ffqPO2-5ZNGLm5s4EEbufxRcuCEd783MSld58jbsQ53JXi4Ey2VHwc5UFXCKNzeQ4W6bWMsYrTGjQ_qm5cXEK6I-ri_LU-dxw6YbqqD6IO470ocFzmu1Q7097zm3juZ1Oy_cOuTemtY/s320/006.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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The cigar chosen for this event was the Original Kristoff Maduro. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1dtvsKn8F9sGPLWAISHAEydoFDlaDDkVfmQKPvtBx2A9pqQI3Ezz0-sRJ5jqkq68dED3u50p-ghCVhwN6i86yICPqXqt5dQG-3BqhNXjsatYWkC6tiHA4BtGHZ5cf5NrWBOamgMIdxY/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx1dtvsKn8F9sGPLWAISHAEydoFDlaDDkVfmQKPvtBx2A9pqQI3Ezz0-sRJ5jqkq68dED3u50p-ghCVhwN6i86yICPqXqt5dQG-3BqhNXjsatYWkC6tiHA4BtGHZ5cf5NrWBOamgMIdxY/s320/005.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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When there are so many shops for you to chose from, you almost set a goal of trying to find something you havent seen anywhere else. While visiting with Jimmy, the proprietor of Scottsdale Cigars and Gift, I stumbled upon the Murcielago, which means bat, from Espinosa and Ortega. This is a fine collaberation from my friend Eddie Ortega, Erik Espinosa, and Don Pepin Garcia. There was some construction issue which I blame on the stores humidor but otherwise enjoyable.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpuw58UrMXmKRkCBqxXYLEUCJnVShZcVj4a-Y5cdYI-ueWy_-5Peglbg-EKoXMJ0uDOCl6Z6VEC_D9jx4h7dGO-hgslOlWewLz3aBYm38D-rbLtwcYYw4bWKMQGBOG7WrohR1wuZ9vric/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpuw58UrMXmKRkCBqxXYLEUCJnVShZcVj4a-Y5cdYI-ueWy_-5Peglbg-EKoXMJ0uDOCl6Z6VEC_D9jx4h7dGO-hgslOlWewLz3aBYm38D-rbLtwcYYw4bWKMQGBOG7WrohR1wuZ9vric/s320/008.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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I have begun to ramp up for Maui, by picking up six packs my favorite Hawaiian Brewery, the Kona Brewing Company. This week I paired a Camacho Jamastran Gigante which was well just genius.The Camacho Corojo Gigante fat cigar with an oily wrapper. It draws very easily and was enjoyed on a cool crisp day in the PHX<br />
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The 262 Line of Cigars is becoming one of my favorite boutique cigar. I picked up this 262 Ideology Box Pressed Toro when Clint Aaron was in town. The Story behind this cigar is awesome, from the 262 Website <a href="http://www.smoketherevolution.com/">www.smoketherevolution.com</a> each cigar in the 262 line refers to the American Revolution or our Constitutional right. Heres what Clint says about the Ideology<br />
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<em>The passion to create great cigars. The fortitude to transcend the opposition. The resolve to smoke free. The collection of beliefs and doctrines the guide our thoughts, words and actions. Our Ideologies are what make us who we are. They’re often shaped by our parents, friends, or heroes and often change or grow throughout our lifetimes due to new experiences and insights. Whatever your Ideology was 5, 10, 15 years ago, as a cigar lover, you now know that those in power will exploit any opportunity to gain more control over our daily lives…and you know that it is wrong.</em></div>
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<em>At 262, we believe as our country’s founders did; that our government should never be allowed to hold our God-given rights and liberties hostage in the name of “progress”. We believe it’s long past time to take back control of our own lives and be the creators of our own prosperity</em><br />
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A Final thought, Getting Old SUCKS, here I am 46 years old sitting out on the Hillbilly Hilton (tm)<br />
reading, watching TV while enjoying a cigar and I am wearing a sweater and reading glasses.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglo6SalZJngd9PYAIRwvY6q9aszPjUoxHe0F58inZ8zNJI07XJLlDm2lcQOEA3swLhsA54OxooggsKp_JgDJaA0oKo9HD1yb_cnsY_5DlguPfzfrvPUrpZYYYPAAEX7jYGJU58JKGoo5c/s1600/A7ymm3eCYAA-tgz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglo6SalZJngd9PYAIRwvY6q9aszPjUoxHe0F58inZ8zNJI07XJLlDm2lcQOEA3swLhsA54OxooggsKp_JgDJaA0oKo9HD1yb_cnsY_5DlguPfzfrvPUrpZYYYPAAEX7jYGJU58JKGoo5c/s320/A7ymm3eCYAA-tgz.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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Off to Maui tomorrow morning at 9am, I am looking forward to vistiting Sir Wilfreds Coffee and Cigars in Lahaina during the trip.</div>
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Until then Aloha, Mahalo, Keep A Tight Ash</div>
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