Cabaiguan Belicoso Fino

My wife and I stopped by The Bravern the other day, that’s the new “hoity-toity” mall in downtown Bellevue. Nice complex, but did you know that it’s an outdoor mall? Shopping in the rain, oh yeah, I really look forward to that…

Speaking of outdoor malls, we were also out in Redmond at the Town Center – yes, shopping in the rain, but this place isn’t so bad because I’m able to escape to the cigar store.

Which leads me to the cigar that I picked out: Cabaiguan Belicoso

Ever heard of it? That makes two of us. That’s basically why I chose it. So the other night after a big dinner, I decided to try it out.

The Cabaiguan is a really nice looking cigar, at least in my opinion it looks good – good color, good size, pyramid shape, not too firm to the touch, just right. So I lite it up. Nice draw, smooth, billows of white smoke, maybe not sweet like an Oliva, but very enjoyable. Only minor complaints was that the burn was a tad uneven and towards the bottom quarter of the cigar it started to get a little harsh. Still worked OK for me though. I’ve read a few reviews on this cigar since I’ve smoked it and you’d almost think that I smoked a different cigar – the reviews I read rate this cigar pretty poorly. I must have found the jewel in the bunch, because mine turned out to be pretty darn good. Even my better half liked it.

So, my rating: 8

Turkey Day coming up – I’ve got the day after Thanksgiving off this year. Yes! This is the first time in 32 years I’ve taken it off.

Just like new…

 

I decided to wipe my computer clean over the weekend and reinstall the operating systems. It’s really not that big of a deal, but I can see why people would pay someone else to do it for them – it’s WAY too time consuming. In my case it was even more time consuming because I have a Mac AND I also run Windows XP on it.

Here’s a list of what needed to be done:

1. back up files before the install
2. Install Tiger
3. Install Leopard
4. Install Snow Leopard
5. Install system updates and patches
6. Run Boot Camp
7. Install Windows XP Service Pack 2
8. Install ALL updates and patches (OMG!)
9. Connect and reinstall peripherals (printers, fax, scanner, hubs, serial adapters, etc..)

I think all in all, it probably took about 8 hours to complete, of course I wasn’t sitting in front of my computer the whole time, but I did have to continually restart it. The part that took the most time was installing all the updates and patches for XP. Sheesh! That was never ending. You’d think that you could install all the updates at the same time, but noooooooo, only so many updates and patches will load, then you need to restart your computer and load the next batch. Jeez, that was never ending!

One thing that I did differently this time was to use Boot Camp instead of Vmware Fusions to install and run Windows XP. I’m glad I did too. I love Boot Camp compared to Fusions. XP runs GREAT! I guess I never did need to run both operating systems at the same time, which is one of the pluses to running Fusions.

So now I have an almost brand spank-me new perfectly running laptop. Unfortunately my son uses it occasionally for his studies at the UW, so it’s just a matter of time…

Anyway, I did manage to smoke a couple fine cigars during the process. Friday night we stopped by the Tobacco Patch after coffee at Zoka’s. BTW, Zoka’s is conveniently located right next to the Patch, but had it not been raining I would have gladly walked across the street to either Starbucks or Caffe Ladro, both have better coffee in my opinion. The Patch was pretty dead, but that wasn’t going to stop me from my Friday Night Cigar. I lit up an Oliva G Churchills – one of the best cigars on the planet!

Saturday night after dinner at The Slip in downtown Kirkland, we buzzed up the to the Snoqualmie Casino. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it rain so hard on the way up there; torrential rain! Luckily this place has a great valet service and the front entrance is fully covered, so no worries on staying dry.

The casino mails us coupons all the time, either for a free buffet or exchange for cash. This time we’ll use the cash coupon. Speaking of cash coupons, my mom told me the other day that whenever my sister goes to the casino she takes her coupon straight to the cashier’s window and cashes it in, then turns around and walks right out the front door. Winner!

After a couple of hours playing the slots, we decide to call it quits and go have a cigar in the Lit Lounge. The place is packed, but my lovely wife spots a group leaving their table just as we walk through the door. Good timing! I order my favorite rum (Pyrat) and my better half orders a cappuccino, which by the way are not made in the bar anymore, the waitress has to walk over to the restaurant to have it made for us. Good service!

I was cheap this weekend (when am I not?) and brought a cigar with me, I didn’t feel like paying $$ for a cigar at the Lit Lounge, especially when I’ve got plenty at home. Can you guess what I brought? You guessed right! I’ve got a ton of these Oliva’s that I’ve got to smoke before I buy anything else. For me that’s not a problem – I could smoke these any time of day. (all except the Cain cigars, which are deadly to all humans)

All in all, it was a pretty nice evening…

Padilla Series ‘68 Corojo

We stopped by the Tobacco Patch on Friday night for a quick cigar – it hadn’t rained all day, but as soon as I lit up my cigar it started pouring. UGH… Couple of the guys broke out their umbrellas and the rest of us tucked up under the building awnings. Still got a little wet, but a good cigar and a great bunch of Aficionados made it all worth the effort. Extra little treat was watching all the people in their Halloween costumes walking over to the Irish Rover Restaurant for the Halloween party – some of those costumes were hilarious!

Anyway, as you know I’ve been complaining about the weather ever since I got back from my trip to Central America, but this weekend it finally stopped raining. Saturday was OK, but Sunday was absolutely picture-postcard perfect outside. It was so nice that we walked down to the Kirkland marina and smoked a cigar out on the dock.

Which leads me to the cigar that I chose to smoke out on the dock: Padilla Series ‘68 Corojo

I liked it – Terrific draw, perfect burn, smooth taste, packed nicely,
what more could you ask for? It’s a little stronger than a Cameroon, significantly stronger than a Connecticut, but not even close to a Ligero.  I think you get the picture. It turned out to be the perfect
cigar for an amazingly beautiful Sunday afternoon. I have a feeling
that might be the last of the nice weather days though.

My Rating: 8

Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Class

Pouring down rain outside, plus it’s only about 46 degrees, you’d think it was late November already. Two weeks of this stuff since I’ve been back from Central America – I’m strongly considering going to Brazil for Christmas/New Year’s, at least it’s guaranteed to be warm there.

Friday there was an Oliva cigar event over at Rain City Cigars in Georgetown. Since I’m within walking distance and of course you already know that Oliva cigars are my favorite smoke, I couldn’t resist checking it out. I arrived just after 3 PM and the shop was already full of Aficionados looking to score a good deal. The Oliva Rep had quite a nice selection displayed on the long counter. I noticed a price list taped to the window – 20% off boxes. OH BOY! I picked out a box of Oliva Serie G Churchill’s – the price was right, plus my humidor is nearly empty. I bought the box and the Rep gave me 6 additional cigars, plus a nifty Oliva baseball hat, a guillotine cutter and some NUB matches. NEAT O!

So as I’m sitting here typing away in the garage, I’m smoking an Oliva Serie O cigar and drinking a nice hot cup coffee – good combo on this crappy weather night. Great cigar I might add, but in all actuality I wanted to tell you about the cigar that I smoked on Friday night down at the Tobacco Patch. I’ve seen this brand many times and I’ve heard that they’re supposed to be pretty good, so I thought I’d try one for myself.

The Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Class cigar is not all that special, I’ll tell you that right now. It started off a little harsh, but surprised me and really mellowed out about a third of the way into it. Good draw, not the best burn, but I then again I never had to re-light it. Now that I think of it, there was a very, very light drizzle on Friday night, that might have caused the uneven burn. Had this cigar not started off as harsh as it did, I would have loved it, but since I’m judging the total package I’m not real thrilled about it. I’m starting to think that I should just shut up and stick to Cameroon wrapped cigars? Nah, that wouldn’t be any fun now, would it…

Off the top of my head I can’t think of another cigar to compare this to, maybe a Rocky Patel Corojo? I can’t remember… Old age sinking in?

My Rating: 7.9

PS – This Oliva Serie O that I’m smoking is EXCELLENT!

Cuban Stock Royal Selection

We’re back to our typical Fall weather pattern – rain, with a chance of more rain. Currently it’s drizzling, but that will change to showers, then to light rain, but downpours are likely. We’ve got a million different ways to say it’s raining here. Sheesh!

Anyway, on a brighter note, while it wasn’t raining, I picked up a few cigars out in Redmond. Yes, I know I should have bought them in Kirkland, but I was at the Mall with my lovely wife and it was just too darn convenient to buy them there. By the way, this cigar store has a pretty good following for their Sunday afternoon cigar get together out in front of their store. I might have to stop by some time if it’s not raining too hard.

So what did I find? A Cuban Stock Royal Selection. Why this one? Well, it kind of sticks out from the rest. Now I know why cigar companies put multiple cigar bands on their products – they want their cigar to be noticed! And that’s just what happened. The dark brown color, the multiple bands, the box press, no cellophane wrapper, all contributed to my decision. Very rarely do I buy a cigar that doesn’t have a label on it, however, I’ve been thinking about experimenting… (blind taste test)

Last night after dinner, a BIG dinner, my spouse and I grabbed a drink and headed out to the deck to try out the cigar. Surprisingly it wasn’t all that cold out and it wasn’t raining!

This cigar has an unusual box press, not square, but rectangular, kind of feels like you’re holding one of those big yellow carpenter pencils in your hand, it’s got that kind of shape to it, just a little shorter. The wrapper is a rich dark chocolate brown, nice feel to it as well, not too firm, and of course it has the two labels that stick out like neon signs. I gave it a single hole punch and lit it up. Not bad – medium to maybe full bodied flavor, but nothing like the Cain Ligero that I smoked a few weeks back. I knew right off that I would be able to handle this cigar OK. Even my better half said it was good! Unfortunately I don’t think that I’m going to add it to my list of favorite cigars. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good cigar and the burn and draw are absolutely perfect, but it’s just not as smooth as the cigars on my Favorites list – very, very close though.

My Rating: 7

14 Days, 12 Cigars

Just back from 14 days on a cruise ship, sailing from Los Angeles to Miami, via the Panama Canal. What an experience!

Itinerary:

• Los Angeles, CA
• Los Cabos, Mexico
• Acapulco, Mexico
• Huatulco, Mexico
• Antigua, Guatemala
• Puntarenas, Costa Rica
• Panama Canal – (cruising the canal)
• Cartagena, Columbia
• Miami, FL

Could not have asked for a better vacation – absolutely amazing!

So you’re probably wondering if I smoked any Cuban cigars along the way?
Not this time… I found that the “legitimate” Cuban cigars are cheaper back home, plus I’m too cheap.

Most cruise ships have some sort of cigar lounge or a designated spot to smoke cigars/pipes after a certain time at night, but this boat was probably the nicest – open all the time, nice comfortable arm chairs, few tables, nice selection of fine cigars, plus you could order whatever you liked from the bar. There were always people here and we got to know most of the regulars – heck, every night for 2 weeks you’ll definitely get to know someone! Great group though, always a good conversation going on. Kind of reminded me of the gang back home at the Tobacco Patch!

So what did I smoke while on the boat?
A variety of Oliva, Cohiba, and Romeo y Julieta cigars – all on my favorite list. The Oliva’s I brought from home, but the Cohiba Churchills and the Romeo y Julieta Reserves I bought on board. Good price too!

So why 12 cigars in 14 days?
Well, one day was a travel day back home, so cancel that day for cigars, but the other day off was on the way back to Miami from Columbia – beautiful warm sunny day, but super windy, thus the swells were quite high and the ship was rocking pretty good. My lovely wife got seasick…. I thought it best to stick around in case she needed anything. Nice guy, eh?

Side Note:
One night on the boat, one of the entertainers was a hypnotist. He put on a really good show, nothing too crazy like you see sometimes, but when the show was over he said that he would be giving a seminar the next afternoon on self hypnosis and how you can loose weight (big item on a cruise ship), stop smoking, sleep better, etc. etc… We decided to go – heck, we’re on a boat, we’ve got plenty of free time. Anyway, we show up the next day and the hypnotist gives a little talk on hypnosis and it’s benefits, then he tells us that we’re going to watch a little video to help you loose weight. He also said that the short flick would have subliminal messages in it as well. OK, I’m ready.  Now first off, both my wife and I aren’t overweight at all, but being on a cruise ship all you want to do eat, so we thought this might be something of interest. Anyway, we watched the self hypnosis video with the subliminal messages and follow all the directions that the video gave us. When it was over I thought that it was no big deal – relaxing, but I doubt anything will become of it.
That night, dinner time, we decide to go to the buffet instead of the main dinning room. I’m looking at all this food on the buffet tables,  good food, but nothing looks appealing to me. WTF? Am I sick? Depressed? What’s up here? I settle on a few pieces of cheese and some dried appricots, maybe a few walnuts on the side. Excuse me, but what planet am I from again? Too funny, that stupid hypnotist thing worked. For the next few days I was rarely hungry like I usualy am, plus I slept great. This is one of the few cruises that I’ve been on where I didn’t gain any weight. Amazing!

Cain Cigars (Oliva)

I was down at the Tobacco Patch and my local tobacconist gave me one of these Cain cigars. He told me to be careful, they’re pretty strong. A fellow aficionado near by concurred, he told me the Ligero leaf will sneak up on you….

The Ligero totals for this cigar are as follows:

32% Esteli Ligero
25% Condega Ligero
25% Jalapa Ligero

Ligero = Full Bodied kick-ass

OK, so you’re wondering why I even have this cigar in my possession? Besides that it was given to me, I couldn’t resist the challenge of seeing how good or bad this cigar was. Would I put it out after the first few puffs, could I handle this Ligero blend? Well, just to play it safe I decided to smoke this cigar at home.

Anyway, Sunday was a beautiful day, temp in the mid 70’s and a cool breeze out of the north. Yes, Fall is in the air. I’d already completed most everything that needed to be done for the day and my lovely wife was away at the Mall – perfect opportunity to try out this Cain cigar. I was going to smoke it out on the back deck, but this late in the afternoon the decks are in the shade, so I moved to the garage instead. I didn’t want the garage to reek of cigar smoke when mama got home, so I opened up the doors (3 car garage) and let that warm afternoon sunshine air in. Boy it was nice out too – what a great Summer it’s been! If only it could be like this all year long…

Back to reality – I sat down at my work bench and flipped on the TV. There was a film on PBS, one that I’d seen before, but every time it comes on I’ve got to watch it again: “Alone in the Wilderness” – a video of Dick Proenneke. Absolutely amazing film – you will be mesmerized watching what this guy can do and has done in the Alaskan Wilderness. Unbelievable…

So I’m all set now. I poured a glass of Brandy and punched the end of the cigar with a single hole. The wrapper looks nice, a few little dark dots on a somewhat rugged looking stick, no soft spots. I take a sip of Brandy and lite it up. OOOhhhh, nice! This is a really good cigar – full bodied taste, no bite, smooth as silk, billows of white smoke, great draw. Jeez, what’s up here? This bad boy Ligero isn’t supposed to taste like this, is it? Excellent smoke. What a surprise!

After a while I finish my Brandy and I think to myself that it might be wise to grab something to munch on and possibly get something else to drink. I grab a bag of pistachios and a glass of lemonade, terrible combo, but perfect for the garage. Half way through the cigar it’s still holding up perfectly, and so am I. God, I’ll definitely have to buy some of these. I’ve had to re-lite it twice, but that’s no big deal – taste-wise, it’s still just the same as when I lit it.

OK, so I kind of knew that at some point this cigar would jump up and bite me on the butt, but it didn’t actually hit me until I was totally finished with it and typing away on my computer – BAM! Oh man, the room started spinning – better lay down for a minute. Well, I laid down for about an hour. That Ligero blend had a delayed reaction for me – Thank God I wasn’t in public, I probably would have passed out. YIKES!

Overall, my rating for this cigar is a 8.9. I would have given it a 10 had I not started feeling sick. Seriously, it’s kind of like drinking too much, at first you feel great, but later you feel like crap. I think if I had only smoked half of it, I might have been just fine. Oh well, live and learn…

PS – I’m heading South this weekend; 14 night/Panama Canal cruise. Hopefully I’ll be able to find a legitimate Cuban Cohiba this time. I’ll keep you posted!

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Nat Sherman Suave Torpedo

It’s turning out to be a great weekend – temp was near 90º yesterday and it looks like it’ll continue for a few more days. What a complete turnaround from last weekend, yes the Holiday weekend, where it did nothing but rain. Generally speaking, this has turned out to be one of the better Summers, of course after the winter that we had, 17 snow days compared to the usual 5, I think we kind of deserve a nice Summer.

So last night, Cigar Night, we went down to the Tobacco Patch to see what was happening downtown. First we had to stop by Caffe Ladro for dessert and a mocha. By the way, I noticed that the downtown Tulley’s was closed down the other day. I’m not sure if it’s closed for good or just being remodeled – all the windows were covered with paper. So that means that in a 2 block downtown radius there are only 4 coffeehouses now. What will we do! Anyway, we had our dessert and brought the mocha over to the Patch to drink while I enjoyed my cigar.

So what did I think about the Nat Sherman Suave? Well, I thought it was going to be a super mild cigar, mainly because the wrapper is so light in color, but it turned out to be an extremely smooth medium bodied smoke – I liked it! It had all the qualities I like  – great taste, excellent draw, volumes of smoke and no bite. The only issue I had with it was that I had to re-lite it a couple of times, not a big deal, but kind of inconvenient. Now you might be asking yourself: “Why did he pick this one?” Well, I didn’t actually, it was given to me – I would have never picked a cigar with this color wrapper. So my new motto is: “Never judge a cigar by it’s wrapper.” Heck, never judge it by it’s label either!

My Rating: 8.5

Till next time -

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One good, one bad…

You know I don’t think I’ve ever smoked a bad Oliva cigar, but I had my first one over this past weekend. I couldn’t really tell you which variety it was since the label has no distinguishing features. (other than the Oliva name) 

But what I do know is that this was really a crappy cigar. It had a bite right from the get-go and it never stopped. UGH!! I got this cigar with a 5 pack sampler that I bought from CI. I should really know better than to buy samplers – there’s always a terd in the bunch. Oh well, the price was right.

Anyway, now on the brighter side, I did smoke one really nice cigar, one that I would recommend: Sol Cubano Connecticut. (made by Oliva)

This beauty rates in the top 10 on my Cigar Favorites list. I thought it would be similar to the Oliva Connecticut, but it turned out to be a stronger, more flavorful blend. If you hold this next to the Oliva CT, you’ll notice that it does indeed have a darker wrapper, but boy is it a smooth blend. I loved it! If you like Oliva’s, you’re going to really enjoy this puppy. It’s pretty special. 

My Rating: 9.5

On the restaurant front -

Stopped by the 13 Coins in Seattle on Monday, we had lunch/breakfast with some friends from out of town. I haven’t been to the Coins in years, but it hasn’t changed a bit, it’s still one of the best restaurants in Seattle. My dad used to have an office in the building next door, I still remember having lunch with him when I was just a punk. Yes, this place has been around forever! I still love it – the food is always perfect!

Also, I found the best place on the Eastside for Pho – I Love Pho in Factoria. Some good friends took us there on Sunday night. I recommend the Beef Pho with extra beef. MMMMmmmmm…. Mighty good, especially if you know how to add all the condiments to it. Be careful not to add too much hot sauce. 

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Rocky Patel Corojo Especial

Not bad, a little tough on the draw at first, but a quite flavorful, actually improved as it went along. The only problem, if you consider this a problem, was that it lasted forever. No kidding! After an hour and 45 minutes I had to call it quits, I just didn’t have time to finish it, and there was at least another 30 minutes left.

Would I buy one of these again? Actually this was given to me by my local tobacconist, but I might, especially if I have the time for it. For a medium bodied cigar with a BIG ring size it does pretty well, just be aware that you’ll have to puff it kind of hard at first to get it burning, but after 15 minutes or so it’ll be drawing perfectly.

My Rating 8.5

Side note: Stopped by Zeeks Pizza on Saturday night. Not big on pizza anymore, but Zeeks does a good job. My lovely wife and I split a “Jimmy the Greek/Dragon” pizza. Oh man, that was good. Those damn jalapeños are addicting!  Nice cold beer to wash it down made for a perfect dinner. Swung by the Patch afterwards and smoked an Oliva O Maduro – Yes, a perfect evening.