Our next event! ACID Rock! February 4!

Get your tickets here!

Check out the band!

Get some great eats here!

The home of our shenanigans!

The Drew Estate website!

I drew a blank, and then had an epiphany! What to get Holly for her birthday!

As you may remember, I was solely responsible for my own child's corruption, er, leap into the cigar world.

I performed the same service for another person's child: my son's longtime girlfriend.* She fell for the Drew Estate infused cigars when they visited here in August. (Tee hee.) Sorry, not sorry.

For Christmas, we gave her a plethora of Drew Estate ACID dandies. Let me see if I can remember which ones...

Blondies for sure, both sizes (4 x 38 and 5 x 54). I'm a big fan of second-hand smoking these. They're the perfect love child of Bit-O'-Honey candies snogging with Brach's Milk Maid candies.**

Kuba Kuba (5 x 54). This holds a special place in my heart, as my first infused second-hand smoke. Whenever someone mentions any infused cigar, this is where my mind automatically goes. The Drew Estate website says the maduro is a "rich twist on an ACID favorite." And that favorite is delectable, as if you gathered together in one place coffee, hot caramel sauce just as it's made and on the verge of burning but not quite, and a mixture of spices. (The spices scent reminds me of when you open our spice cabinet and all the smells come out together, creating something completely new--so, yeah. Spice.) The poster child for infused cigars, in my mind, anyway.

Toast (6 x 50). I am a big fan of toast--bread in the toaster kind of toast. With butter. And jam. So when someone not too long ago ordered one of these cigars, I briefly dreamt of my favorite midnight snack, Portuguese sweet bread with black cherry jam (jam I made, because I'm that kind of awesome). Know what? I wasn't that far off. Yay me! Now if I could only get Valentino to smoke one at midnight, when I'm craving a snack...***

"It's wafer-thin."****

Wafe (5 x 46). Honestly, I don't know anyone who has smoked these. Let me clarify--I wasn't paying attention if anyone smoked these around me. But! Full disclosure: I like the flat shape. It's cool. Shush. Don't be so judgey. Go take a look. You can't deny its high cool factor.  Famous Smoke says, "It's the savory, sensual aroma of ACID cigars in a thin, wafer-shaped cigar. Prime Nicaraguan tobaccos are meticulously marinated with an ambrosial mix of the finest herbal and botanical essences for a mild and satisfying aromatic smoke." I'm going to need to pick one up so I can see if that's true. ('Cause we're all about truth in reporting here. ::cough cough::)

Nasty (4 x 52). Another I purchased because of the shape--this one (obviously) a short, pyramid-maduro. Rumour has it, chocolate is the key taste here. I guess I'll have to make sure she has one (or ten) next time we see each other. Or I guess I could deem a research project necessary...

And then...

[source]

The one non-ACID player in the box, part of the Natural series: Jucy Lucy (3 x 38). I chose these for her because a friend loves them. (Hi, Alexis!) They're another sweetie-pie, with a little caramel, a bit of chocolate... But their tiny size makes me think of those eensy desserts you get at restaurants nowadays.*****  A couple of bites (or puffs) and the darned thing is kaput. Dangit. Waiter! Another please!

As I'm typing this, I'm wondering what to get her for her birthday. Der.

*As I can barely remember how old he is, there's no way on God's green Earth I'm going to be able to figure out how long they've been together.

**I rarely see either of these candies anymore. Is there an entire generation or two who have never had those stuck in the backs of their teeth while they listen to their Nana tell stories? That seems really sad.

***He's sound asleep as I type this. Damned steroid treatments. I want to wake him up to play with me! Wheee! It's 1:25 am! Going to make some regular toast, I guess.

****A million bonus points if you get the reference.

*****HATE these. Get me a damned piece of cake. Or pie. Or anything not made for a paper doll.

In which we're responsible for the corruption of another young soul.Yay!

So I was going to write about how we are back in the Leaf and Bean in Pittsburgh on the Strip and I guess I still am, but the focus of this post switched gears before I typed a word. 

Valentino lit up a Leaf, it being one of Island Jim Robinson's masterpieces. You know we're big big big big big fans of The Leaf by Oscar. After all, we've only been singing its praises since for-freaking-ever!

Today's selection, the 6x60 Corojo.

 

Anyway, Valentino's niece takes him up on his offer to try the Corojo Leaf.  As he handed it to her, he said, "For the love of God, don't inhale. Your head will explode "

She didn't. It didn't. All was right with the world.

 "I like it," she said. 

In the words of Island Jim, "Wahoo!"

I ran--pinky swear ran--into the humidor, pushed people out of the way, and took possession of an ACID Blondie, the tiny one, the panetela (4 x 38). It's a good starter and way less of a commitment than a full-size cigar.  It's also on the mild side, with a Connecticut wrapper, and, as his niece said, "It's sweet," thanks to its infused nature.

Mom watches her daughter's fall into the cigar culture and there is much rejoicing.

The ACID line, is something special in its own right.  According to the Drew Estate website, "The ACID smoking experience is like no other. Each blend holds new explorations in tobacco curing and blending that are the closest guarded secrets in the industry. For the past 10 years, legions of you have sought out ACID cigars in the far corners of the world to satisfy your craving for something truly one-of-a-kind, unique and inspiring. Explore the entire range of kaleidoscope tastes never before imagined in a cigar and be rewarded for your efforts."

Want to know a super interesting story about this guy? (The one on the right.  The one on the left is our hero, Valentino.)

That's Scott Chester, he of ACID Cigars,

and many other amazing product lines.

We had the luxury of meeting him a

t the Fuente fundraiser in Miami this October.* 

 

First of all, ACID is an acronym, which stands for Arielle Chester (his daughter) Industrial Design. See? Now you're already way smarter than when you started reading this! 

This is from Scott's website, "In 1998 ACID was approached by Marvin Samel and Jonathan Drew, future owners of Drew Estate, cigar company. They wanted ACID to develop a cigar brand. After several years, ACID cigars, now consists of five different lines and sixteen different cigars, all of which have served to solve a major cigar problem: the cigar tastes good as it’s smoked but the lingering aroma is not often pleasing. The secret process for creating the patented ACID cigar aroma involves blending over 140 botanical and herbal elements. The mixture is cured into the wrapper layer tobacco for over six months, which makes for a pleasant smelling smoke without hindering the five-tobacco blend within the cigar. 'If you’re in a room full of cigar smokers you can easily detect the ACID aroma.'"

 

So we've captured another soul, gotten her to smoke and enjoy a cigar--and in one of the best places to do it! But there's so much more to know.  Your lessons have just begun, Grasshopper. 

 

P.S. She's going for cigar number two! And it's Jim's very own Connecticut Leaf! (It seems only right.) Is it wrong for us to be so happy? Best part? Island Jim is giving her pointers on lighting it!!

Yes, she's of age. Turn off your tattletale brain.

 

*Yes, we have been promising to tell you about this trip for one hundred million ages and we will--before next year's event. **

 

**We have had a request for a minimum of three sparkle entries.***

 

***This is the third! :)

She blinded me with science! Plus! Deep Dish (but not apple pie!!)

I like Super Dave* and Sarah, Queen of Science.** They are nice, kind, funny, thoughtful people we see on the weekends and sometimes during the week at one of our hangouts.

Dave reminds me a little bit of my boy, so I have a little special place in my heart for him. Sorry, Dave, but not enough that I'm going to sign you up for Cigar of the Month Club too. But so very very close!

Here's what Dave smokes: the Drew Estate Acid Deep Dish, which makes me think of apple pie, which makes me think happy thoughts** Unfortunately, it doesn't smell like apple pie.

[Valentino would like me to point out here--not in a sparkle at the bottom--that deep dish could also mean pizza.  I say, "Shhh. Stop talking," because deep dish pizza? Yuck. I do not like the pizza bones or the 72 cubic tons of cheese on my pizza. And sauce on top of the cheese? What the what? Just...no. So we're going to stick with this image:]

Not this. Boo. [source]

Luckily, I really like what the Deep Dish does smell like, which is fortunate, since I like sitting next to Dave and chatting. What's that? You want to know what it does smell like? Well, there's an underlying sweetness upon which rests hints of coffee and floral undertones. Mmmm. Almost as good as pie!

According to Stogiesontherocks.com, "What I love about these Acid cigars is the fact that they are indeed ‘real’ cigars. If you retrohale them you can pick up the typical flavors you would in a cigar. I was finding this very woody and earthy note on the retrohale that complimented the sweet candied flavor on the lips. It’s actually quite enjoyable. The retrohale wasn’t packed with spice causing my eyes to water. It was a nice full flavored rounded out smoke."

This cigar is lovely. Except it doesn't smell like pie. I call shenanigans!

Drew Estate creates this infused cigar in their Esteli, Nicaragua factory. According to CI, "The Deep Dish is a chunky, 58-ring box-pressed beauty that's been carefully influenced by Drew Estate's proprietary recipe of aromatic herbs and botanicals. The smoke is exceedingly rich in tobacco flavor, thanks to a generous dose of black Nicaraguan long-fillers inside a light, silky-smooth Sumatra wrapper leaf."

As the cigar takes about an hour to smoke, that means I get to enjoy Dave and Sarah's company for a while!

Of course, Sarah is going to be solely responsible for me becoming an alcoholic. Every time I see her, she's requesting another delicious drink that I just have to try and then order my own.  One time, she said we were going to have chocolate cake shots.

I like cake. No, I loooove cake. She had the lovely bartender line up shots of Frangelico, along with a lime and packet of sugar.

"There is no way this is going to taste like a chocolate cake," I said.

"It will! It's science!" she proclaimed. 

So I dipped the lime in the sugar and then sucked on it, keeping the sweet juice on my tongue while I shot the Frangelico. I know my face lit up. "It tastes like chocolate cake!" I said, probably way too loudly.

It's this...but in a shot glass!!! OMG! [source]

"It's science!" she repeated.

Doubting Valentino doubted and so we lined him up with his own. And blammo. "It tastes like chocolate cake," he acquiesced.

"Science!" we all cried! And then ordered another, because...of delicious reasons.



*

Not this Super Dave. And by the way, have you seen recent pictures of this Super Dave?
He went a little heavy on the plastic surgery and Botox. Yikes. ::shivers::

**Obvs, not their real names.

***Did you know the Shakers ate pie for breakfast? True story. Ask my BFF Jame Richards!