Golf today...mediocre at best but the cigars weren't...
Opus X Destino al Siglo, Rafael Gonzalez Coronas Extra, Fuente Anejo #77 The Shark, Forbidden X Double Robusto

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again....When World War Z breaks out, I'm heading to Jon's house!!! Don't worry, I'll bring my own guns and ammo to hold off the zekes and keep that stash safe!!

 

As always Jon you have hands down the best privately owned cigar collection I have ever seen, herd of or came across in my entire life. I love it!

 

I would hate to see what my score would be if I smoked Opus and Anjeo's on the course.

 

With 4 days off and great hot weather there was no better place to go but my own house. The hammick and my pool were all set. With the ball game on the radio and always a good drink ready I ended up enjoying 4 cigars.

Cafe Con Leche
CAO Moontrace
Carolina Cigar Company
San Lotano Maduro

 

Done it many times before. Has not made me play any better but it does make for a more enjoyable time when out hacking

 

goodness...sticks on sticks on sticks. must be hard deciding which premium stick to smoke from that massive selection.

weekend smokes:
- Gurkha Beauty (complete dog rocket, **** stick)
- RB Genesis the Project
- Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne
- FF Opus X Belicoso

enjoyed the opus x belicoso (courtesy of Jon) with my buddy this past weekend. a damn good smoke indeed. incredibly mellow with a very light sweetness in the creamy smoke texture. ash held nice and tight for about half the stick. all the pepper and spice without the harshness that they usually bring along. want to say that it's almost nutty in flavor and texture as well. started finishing off with a light leathery note that wasn't overpowering or off-putting at all. pics will be available later

 

My Friday pre-golf pics of the stash...I got through most of them except the Aging Room F55 and the Cohiba Maduro 5...I think I'll smoke them tonight. The 10yr old double corona Opus X, The Ashton VSG Illusione, and the Padron 1926 40th were peerless...

 

i could only imagine how smooth a 10 year opus x is compared to a 2 year opus x. i've never even heard of aging room..where can I go to read up on sticks such as aging room sticks.

 

Had some great smokes this weekend. Attended my local MBCA Section meet in upstate NY. A very very hot weekend for us up here (Mid to upper 90's) so lots of pool time and cigar time for me along with running octane level test on a E55 AMG but that is another story

2 Padron's, Liga Privada #9, Cafe Con Leche and a San Lotano
Starting off with a San Lotano Maduro
Then the Padron Maduro from the box I purchased a couple weeks ago.
Padron #9 Maduro at the MBCA Event infront of the beautiful 300SL
Liga Privada #9 Robusto by the pool

Cafe Con Leche. Never stops being good!

 

Hey guys!! Sorry for the hiatus, I've had a busy couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I've had some good smokes.

I found a local B&M that stocks the La Gloria Cubana Obelisco... my first experience with this one was courtesy of Jon (thanks again man!) and I was blown away with the ease in which this thing smoked. Smoke volume is excellent, flavor is just a delicious tobacco flavor (nothing frilly) and the construction is simply something to marvel at.

Secondly, I finally got my mitts on a JdN Antano... OMG!!! What a freaking smoke!!! It's definitely a stout cigar... I was feeling a bit dizzy after I nubbed it (although I did smoke the Toro size). But jeez, what a yummy stick. It would be worth $12-$17 a stick, no problem. But for a retail of $6.75, it's a freaking steal. I will heavily consider this as at least a five-pack in the future. Not an everyday smoke (for me) but a great one to have in the humi if I want to be knocked off my ****.

Third photo below is of my sampler I received... Montecristo Media Noche and the Partagas 1845. A bargain at $40.

Fourth photo is the Media Noche... Jon, I owe you one for recommending this to us. The flavor of the smoke is VERY close to the Cafe Con Leche. As Jon mentioned, you don't taste the infused sweetness on your lips, but the exact same flavor profile you experience in the smoke of the CCL can be found in the Media Noche. A firm (but not overly tight) draw, excellent construction, and over an hour and a half of smoking time. An excellent stick. I'd give it a "92" rating based on my personal smoking scale.

The Partagas was a decadent stick. Not as sweet as the Montecristo, and the flavor was VERY strong, but the "kick" of the cigar wasn't all that bad. In other words, very manageable. Would pair well with a good scotch. Had a sweet spice to it, some oaky notes, and semi-sweet chocolate -- and that's about it. Not very complex, but a solid smoke. Worth a try if you haven't had one.

 

Next two sticks are the 5 Vegas Classic, and the Xikar Habano^2 (Habano squared, but I can't do superscript on the forum)

I was a bit concerned about the 5 Vegas Classic, because it was one of the "cheap" sticks I got with the Herfador purchase. I kept putting it off because I thought it would be as horrible as the Nestor Miranda Doppleböck (the worst smoke I've had all year).

Boy, was I wrong. Pre-light, I got notes of baked bread. Once the cigar was lit, the first puff or two was a bit peculiar but OMG... after the first 1/4" it became one of the tastiest mellow smokes I've ever had. Generally, I don't smoke the mild/medium sticks because there's not a lot of complexity or flavor to them. THIS was an exception. I kept getting three very distinct notes from this cigar -- baked bread, nuttiness, and vanilla. Yes, vanilla. Almost reminded me of a nuttier CAO Moontrance cigar without the chemically-infused aftertaste. Construction was freaking perfect, the smoke production was substantial, the burn was sharp, and the aftertaste was very pleasing. I was very pleasantly surprised, and I will be ordering more of these. Interested in the "55" size, in particular. It's a 5.5", 55-RG box press. I'm a sucker for neat shapes special to a certain brand...

Next was the Xikar. I read a review on this one that sparked my interest, so when I saw it in the local B&M I snapped one up. Cost $6.50 for a Robusto. Not bad. It had a very good tobacco flavor, with some fruity (raisin?) sweetness to it. Not a lot of other flavors to mention... no earthiness, no cream... just sweet. Paired it with a coffee, which was a bad call -- scotch (Johnny Walker Green, specifically) would have been a better pairing. Wine would have been even better... Overall, a "good" smoke that didn't disappoint. Quite strong as well, I was definitely buzzed (but not dizzy) after the stick. A good value, and one to try if you come across it.

 

Good to see all the smokers back!

@ Kreuz: JdN Antano is the business. Such an awesome smoke.

I told my buddy about the Montecristo Media Noche and he ended up ordering a 10 pack (I think) for $39 shipped from CBid. Those came in a couple days ago so we'll be lighting that up soon with some rest on it. We'll also be smoking a T-52 today so pictures and commentary will be up shortly.

Here's some pictures of 2 of the smokes I've had this past week (I don't take enough pictures)
- DPG Legado De Pepin
- Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne
- Camacho Havana Diademas

DPG Legado De Pepin


Perdomo 10th Anniversary Champagne


(ignore my sandal style)


- Camacho Havana Diademas was gifted to me from a friends father. This stick is huge!

 

That Camacho is a HOSS!!!

 

Hope everyone had a nice relaxing weekend. Here's my lineup this past weekend.

-Liga Privada T-52 and my friend's Liga Privada No.9. Commentary is not needed for these two sticks.






-CAO Gold poolside in SD. amazing burn all the way down to the nub, great nutty sweet flavors. Similar to the Perdomo Champagne but not as nice.


-Mi Barrio El Billetero at La Jolla Shores after breakfast


-Green Flash Brewery Tour to top off the weekend in SD

 

Long live the Ligas!!

So a recent headcold has me on the vacation from cigars... yes, the nicotine buzz would be great BUT I can't taste/smell a damn thing... Which makes it pointless to even burn my $2.50 PDR dispose-a-smokes, much less anything photo worthy.

So with all of this free time, over the weekend I completed a little "art project" for the office. I've been saving the best (and/or most "eye catching") labels over the past year... I bought a black canvas, and arranged them all in a random fashion on the canvas, and then covered them in a matte glaze. Final results were... surprisingly good!! I plan on hanging this over the humidor.

**Note that in the photos, the glaze was still drying under a few of the labels. Now that the board is completely dry, the finish is superb and there isn't the slightest white hue over/around any of the labels.

Let me know your thoughts!

 

nice! great minds think alike.
i'm actually working on getting all my bands collected so i can make collage of my own

 

I felt like a buying Modge Podge and a canvas from Hobby Lobby, but I had the smoking hot wife with me so I just blamed it on her

I had trouble with the thicker labels... when the glaze was applied over them, the labels would wrinkle and some of them dried that way. I think if there's ever a "version 2.0" of this, I'll simply buy a glue stick and affix the labels that way first, THEN do a broad stroke with a wider brush over the labels one the glue has cured (so as not to saturate them so much).

Live & learn, it's not like I won't collect more labels in the future

 

The sticks looks great my friends! Keep it up!
I only got around to 3 this weekend.
San Lotano

CAO Moontrace
Cafe Con Leche

I am leaving Friday to head to my place in Florida for a month so I will be playing some golf and smoking some great cigars with Jon! Looking forward to seeing him again!

 

Had a chance to hit them today after work...Cafe Con Leche, Cohiba Maduro 5 Magicos, and Padron 1964 46th Year.




The smokes from my baby girl's baptism party...the mariachis were fantastic! 2010 Padron Millennium, 2010 Opus X BBFM, 2003 Opus X Double Corona...with some Glenmorangie Pride and Johnny Blue...

 

as always...awesome lineup, Jon. and that glen pride though...

 

Had one yesterday morning very early on the Golf Course. Played a nice round and was hitting straight and far. A rare for me.

Had another one today while taking a break from my drive to Florida. Stopped in Cape May/Wildwood NJ Area. Stayed at a family friends condo on the beach. Enjoyed another Cafe Con Leche very early in the morning.

 

Down here in paradise! Ended up playing Golf with Jon! Boy he is a damn good golfer!
My usual hacking up of the earth for me. Cigars have helped me lol.
My recent smokes!

 

Wish I was with you guys! Fighting heat, humidity and thunder showers here in Mizzou. Just got a small sampler shipment in of Camacho Triple Maduros, Mi Barrio's, Aging Room robustos and a sampler pack of CAO, Perdomo and Rocky Patel Old World. Finally tried a Camacho Triple M, which is a pretty good smoke.

Jon, the family photo looks great, congrats! The little one is a cutie!

 

Had some very nice smokes recently! Spent the day out on the boat and enjoyed a Cohbia One of the most creamy, light and easy going cigars I have ever enjoyed!




Enjoyed this Liga Dirty Rat thanks to Jon. It was very good!






Padron 3k Maduro! Always a great stick!