Where we will (may) be: Smokey Pilgrim Cigar Festival

But even if we can't get there, you should definitely go to the Smokey Pilgrim event!

(We're still trying to figure out how to be in two places at once.)

On Saturday, June 13, 2015 from 3:00-8:00 (p.m., obviously), in good old Plymouth, MA,* an awesome group of folks is putting on quite the cigar herfing shindig.

The whole event is being sponsored by our SuperFriend John Brandt at Old Firehouse Smoke Shop. (Hi John!) Remember him and his cool pup Wyatt?

Each attendee will receive:

• 8 Premium Cigars--keep reading for the cigar sponsors!
• Official Smokey Pilgrim t-shirt!
• 2 drinks!
• Dinner!

So you're definitely getting waaay more than the $80 ticket price! Waaaay more! Oh, and you can purchase tickets here!

Those cigar sponsors? How's this for a lineup:

• 7-20-4 (Hi people we don't know yet!)
• La Flor Dominicana (Hi Litto! Hi John! Hi Jon!)
• MLB Cigar Ventures (Hi people we don't know yet!)
• J. Grotto Cigars (Hi Paul!)
• Leaf by Oscar (Hi Jim!)
• Asylum Cigars (Hi Tom!)
• Casa Magna (Hi people we don't know yet!)
• E.P. Carrillo (Hi Edgar!)

Plus! This event, while super fun, is a fundraiser at heart, raising money for Cigars for Warriors and the Young America Club.**

*Yes, Plimoth, where the Pilgrims landed. Unless they didn't land there, which Nathanial Philbrick discusses in his awesomely cool book Mayflower.***

**The Young America Club is a non-profit community based organization located in Plymouth Massachusetts. Founded in 1910 by Portuguese-Americans, the club has been providing local men with a place to socialize and network with friends and family within the community.

***As an aside, because you know I love asides, my Mayflower-travelling ancestor is Richard Warren, a London Merchant Adventurer, which sounds incredibly fun.

He'd fit right in today with that beard!

April Cigar of the Month: Asylum 13 NOW! WITH MORE STUFF!

EDITED April 20, 2015: You guys! While the cat is away, the mouse will...
Sneak into Valentino's humidor and add to this giveaway!

Shhhhhhh!

So this, plus the t-shirt and four smaller Asylum 13s!

First of all, congratulations to our Twitter peeps Mark V, Tim M, and Chris B --all three won some Rocky Patel 1961 cigars! (And Mark, as the first one chosen, gets a lotta something extra!) 

(And we let Rafflecopter do the choosing, so no bias!)

Tom (left), Lauren, and Valentino. Photo by not me.

The other day, we got the chance to hang with Asylum co-owner and all-around awesome dude Tom Lazuka and the always lovely and charming CLE regional sales manager Lauren Ferraro at Habanos in Pawtucket, RI.

And they were nice enough to offer up this for you guys to win!

YEP! T-shirt and four cigars--plus whatever else we can dig up!

From the company website: "Asylum 13 cigars are true Nicaraguan Puros. A dark Nicaraguan Habana wrapper coats a combination of aged Cuban seed long filler grown throughout the black volcanic soils of Nicaragua. One can expect a slow, cool burn with a medium to full bodied array of flavor. These cigars are eventful throughout and something you don't want to miss out on."

Now you know Valentino is a superfan of Nicaraguan tobacco, so actually taking these away from him will be a challenge--but one I'm up for, because heh heh.*

As Cigars International so eloquently states about the Asylum 13, "A dark, Nicaraguan Habano wrapper cloaks a feisty combination of aged Cuban-seed long-fillers grown throughout the black, volcanic soils of Nicaragua. Upon lighting, one can expect a complex, medium to full-bodied array of flavorful, Nica-influenced goodness, along with a slow, cool burn letting you fully appreciate every last nuance. Earth, cocoa, espresso bean, black tobacco, sweet notes, and gentle spices. Indeed, Asylum 13 is eventful throughout, and a cigar you don't want to miss out on."**

And you won't miss out--if you enter the giveaway! But you can't win if you don't play!        
To sweeten the pot, I'm planning to break into these...

This is an old picture. They're both reasonably full now.

...and swiping a little something extra for you. (Because I'm nice like that.)

How do you enter? Via a Rafflecopter giveaway !! Do it now!!!!!



*Hi, Mom!

**Note to self: Get job writing copy for CI.

CLE: Yeah, you know we (will be there) <--I was going for the rhyme rather than clarity

First, we're sorry about the wonky font. Is it fixable? Probably. Will we fix it? Probably not.

Usually, we have to travel to meet new friends from the cigar world. (See Jim Robinson, Luis Falto.) Well this time, we have home field advantage (which means we don't have to drive far) because our pal Lauren Ferraro, CLE regional sales manager (Hi Lauren!) is bringing Tom Lazuka, owner of Asylum Cigars, to Habanos Cigar Lounge .

Home, sweet home.

You know and love the Asylum Cigars, including Asylum, Asylum 13, Schizo, and the Ogre. Now you’ll get to meet their maker!

The man himself [source]

Lazuka and Christian Eiroa, the dynamic co-founding duo, use a “take no prisoners” approach, providing a variety of taste profiles, featuring Nicaraguan tobacco, at approachable prices for a broad cigar audience.

Lazuka and Eiroa are proud that Asylum Cigars will “provide customers a diversity of new experiences. Lazuka noted. ‘By partnering with Christian Eiroa and his company...we have a platform that gives us the ability to create full-body, high-palate-impact to truly flavorful medium bodied cigars and our formats range from 44 x 4 to 70 x 7, all rolled with the finest available Nicaragua tobacco reserves,’” according to the Asylum website.

Obvs we are in need of an Asylum event.
These are all we had in the humidor!

 

Eiroa, former owner of Camacho, is also responsible for the Eiroa blend, which will be featured at this event.  The Eiroa is an “authentic Honduran corojo (which Christian is known for),” according to Ferraro.

You'll get to meet these in person too! [source]

 

We'll tell you lots more things after the event happens!  And in case you want to join us* and say "Hello!" or buy us drinks or woo us with French fries, Habanos is located at 1438 Newport Ave. in Pawtucket, RI.

 

 

*How to recognize us: Valentino looks as Italian as his name sounds and is super duper friendly, so he'll probably be milling about. I'll be the socially awkward one at the bar, nose buried in a laptop or iPad.

 

It's a Madhouse! Welcome to the Asylum

 

First of all, has anyone noticed how often Planet of the Apes is on? I'm not complaining about seeing it every few days--just making an observation. (Because the first rule of Planet of the Apes is you have to watch Planet of the Apes whenever you see it on the television. Remote down. No passing it by.)

 

I know what you're thinking--whaaaa?

 

Here's the dealio. (Or: Stand behind the splash zone because this is how Penny's brain works.)

 

We were at Habanos last weekend, whooping it up with our pals, both old (Hi Brian! Hi Chris! Hi Marc! Hi Amanda!) and brand-new (Hi new folks whose names I've forgotten because I'm a jerk!), and I watched Marc hand Valentino an Asylum 13 in some strange male ritual of cigar swapping and back clapping. I observed from afar, lest the testosterone get in my eye, causing temporary blindness and keeping me from watching Planet of the Apes again.

I think the flowers are a nice touch. Shush.
Let me have a teeny tiny bit of girliness will you?

 

Brainchild of Tom Lazuka and Christian Eiroa, the Asylum 13 Seventy, she is a big girl: 7" long with a 70 ring gauge. This cigar is a commitment.  Unfortunately, we only had about 45 minutes to last call, and that would mean the Asylum powerhouse would enter stasis (no smoking in the car, no desire to stand in the mean streets of Pawtucket, RI puffing away), and we all know the cigars never come back from hibernation exactly the same as we left them.

 

(By the way, Marc, he feels guilty for not smoking it there with you, but he wanted to be able to enjoy the whole thing. Mission accomplished. Sorry you weren't here to enjoy it.)

 

But today was the day, breaking into the Asylum 13 (not to be confused with breaking out of  Stalag 13, where Hogan's Heroes plotted against Colonel Klink).

 

According to the company website, "Asylum 13 cigars are true Nicaraguan Puros. A dark Nicaraguan Habana wrapper coats a combination of aged Cuban seed long filler grown throughout the black volcanic soils of Nicaragua. One can expect a slow, cool burn with a medium to full bodied array of flavor. these cigars are eventful throughout and something you don't want to miss out on."

You guys! You definitely don't want to miss out on this cigar if you haven't tried it. First of all, it looks very milk-chocolaty so there's that. And then when Valentino started to smoke it, I swear I got chocolate, cocoa notes. Trick of the mind because I had sweet deliciousness on the brain? Then it had a hint of pepperiness, which reminded me of that scene in Chocolat when Juliette Binoche's character Vianne mixes spices into the chocolate and... Oh, I'll be right back. I need to go get some.  While I'm gone, please enjoy these pictures:

You're welcome, ladies and gentlemen. [source]

I know, I know...no need for me to rush back. [source]

 

 Are we all a little more settled?* Okay, so the Asylum 13 smoked evenly and Valentino said it had an amazeballs draw. (I'm paraphrasing.)

It took a good part of the day, sitting together in the shade, tormenting each other as only best friends can, but he finished the cigar a couple hours later. The Asylum 13 Seventy gave up the ghost with a final puff of smoke as Valentino burned his fingertips for the last time, flung the nubbin (that's what I like to call it) and muttered "Dammit."

Thank you, Marc!!!

Leaving the asylum. Get it?
Dudes, I wrote this whole post just so I could use this picture
and the Planet of the Apes video. Shut up. [source]

*I may have consumed Hostess cupcakes, my all-time favorite dessert** (although they're not exactly the same since their comeback--kind of like the cigar after stasis: the same yet different).

**And you should be quiet about me having trained in the fine art of baking and pastry at one of the top culinary schools.*** Hostess cupcakes are nearly the perfect food. If you're good, one of these days I'll tell you how to eat them correctly.

***Valentino, you can shut your cupcake hole before you even open it. We will not have the battle of the culinary schools on my blog.****

****Because I will win. You don't know the blog password. Bwah hahahaha!