Call of the Wild (Wild West), Part the Second

When last we left our heroes, they'd made the acquaintance of some real purdy cigars--the CAO BraziliaAmazon Basin in all its 6 x 52 sexiness.

Speaking of sexiness, Hellloooo, you handsome devils!

Speaking of sexiness, Hellloooo, you handsome devils!

And, well, hello, you gorgeous creature! Pssst. Rumor has it you can smoke right through the band.
Valentino didn't get the chance because
I wanted to play with its sproinginess.

After rustling up some delish grub, thanks to our wonderful hosts and all-around good people Christine and Anibal, this happened:

In which the two caballeros become the three amigos! Fire is such a transformative element, don't you think?

In which the two caballeros become the three amigos!
Fire is such a transformative element, don't you think?

I crossed everything, from fingers to signals, and held my breath, hoping this cigar didn't wind up being unloved, especially since we had a canoe's worth coming up the river.

They're here!!

Then I remembered that breath-holding would prove counter productive to my ultimate goal of sucking in all the deliciousness while they did all the work.* I waited expectantly, fingers on iPhone ready to take notes of their every observation--just like a cub reporter following Marshall Bat Masterson around, trying to get a good quote for the newspaper.**

I really worried*** that these cigars might be bat-shit crazy strong, but once the fine gentlemen puffed their smoke in my direction, all worries abated. On first blush, the Brazilia Amazon Basin punches you with strong pepperiness, but after half an inch or so****, it started to smooth out and get creamy.

"Complex," Valentino said.

Caballero #2 nodded and said, "Leather bite."*****

There were certainly undertones of s'mores, although that may have come from the dessert making its way up to my mouth. (I'm a good multi-tasker.)

After the first third, all three amigos agreed that the sweetness increased.  And no, this had nothing to do with the chocolately goodness.  I love these guys, but share dessert?  Hahahaha. Just...no.

Thanks a million to Rolling Stogies (Hi, guys! See you next year!) for their travelling mercantile, which allowed us to own and share this amazeballs cigar. Mike Strategakis, who owns this superfun business (check it out!), reminded us only 2,000 boxes exist in the whole entire world. This forced our usually-slow shopping-hand in the first place.****** (Valentino likes to research before purchasing. I was jumping up and down behind him, shrieking, "They're getting away! Hurry!" At 2:00 a.m. Shut up. I was drunk on lobster tails.)

And then! Last night, while at Habanos, feting a friend's 21st birthday******* (Hi, Hollie!)

 

Wheeeeee!

 

..and simultaneously writing the last blog post, our friend Eric told Valentino that he had a couple of Brazilia Amazon Basins sitting in his humidor at home. He, too, said he was afraid they were going to be super strong and he should probably have an entire Thanksgiving dinner to prepare for the onslaught of the powerful cigar. Ah, the old adage, "Fight fire with turkey..."

But that's the sneaky illusion of the Basin. Even though the Ecuador Sumatra wrapper is darker than a thousand midnights (one of my favorite books!), it still errs on the side of medium-to-full rather than full-frontal. So don't be afraid, Eric et al. Light it up as you watch with a few amigos as the sun set over the chaparral. Or we could meet somewhere air-conditioned, enjoy the CAO Brazilia Amazon Basin, and watch a spaghetti western.




*And they work so very hard for me, these men do.

**"Never run a bluff with a six-gun." - Bat Masterson

***I'm a worrier. What can I say? It's a requirement of my birth order. (First.)

****We're very precise here. You'll just have to deal with it.

 

*****Description, not command, obvs. Not, "Leather, bite." That's a whole other kind of blog.

******Know when to hold 'em and all that.

*******I have socks older than this girl. I'm not even kidding. But still, Happy Birthday!