If you don't check out these cigars, you'll be sad, but we can't Falto you.

Phase whatever of the evening. So far, we had been here, to refresh your memory. I guess I should have been keeping count, but to be honest, I have ingested so many many many of these things, the days just fly by.

What gets me through the day.

We made our way to Havana Cigar Club, just like we promised we would.

There we started with this, the Falto Dos Banderas...

 

 

 

...which was ranked #2 in the "Panetelas" section of the March/April 2015 edition of Cigar Aficionado.

 

 

 

Of course, we weren't there just for the awesome cigars; that was an added bonus.  We stopped by for the opportunity to say "Howdy!" to (literally) Mr. Falto himself, center in the photo below.

 

Todd, Luis, our hero

We were supposed to try out the new Falto 20th Anniversary cigar, but because we lollygagged,* that ship sailed and the cigars were gone. That means we'll have to wait a month like the rest of the commoners.**

In case you missed it, you should check out  Luis' story, as well as the story of La Garita Cigar Company and Cigarros Falto, which is quite interesting; we couldn't possibly do it justice in this little old blog,*** so you should read about it here.

The Havana Cigar Club, 24 Quaker Lane in Warwick RI, is the only one in our area (that we know of) carrying the Falto brand.  You should take a jaunt there, or to you own local B&M, and pick up a couple. Or a few. Or even some. Or all.  Your choice really, but you should totally do it. Consider this peer pressure. Or peep pressure.

nom nom nom

*My fault. In my defense, I am a most excellent lollygagger.

**Sigh. Hello, commoners.

***We think the false modesty is becoming.

Oliva: Insert your own witty comment here (Brain? Dead.)

The man and the cigars.

This is happening now!*

We were supposed to be heading to another shindig, but stopped by the Oliva event at Broadway Cigars first--because you know I hate to miss a party.**

But we love these Men (and Lady--hi Lexy!) of Broadway and hadn't yet met John Gazzero, the Oliva account manager for our area, so win-win. 

First, though, we accidentally stopped and had pizza at Caserta's on Federal Hill,*** a favorite of our hero**** to fuel event-hopping. And THEN headed into Broadway.  Full disclosure and all that. 

 

 

We made off with a handful of Melanios, which Valentino loves. For some reason, none lived in either of our humidors. Whaaaaa? I know! We've learned that sometimes you have to look for what's not there, rather than gazing lovingly at what lies perfectly in their logically-appointed sections. 

 

So even though we were all, "We're not buying anything,"***** obvs we couldn't not buy something. We love love love the deals at these events, where you buy some and get some. So now we have another new favorite.  This:

 

We've chatted about these babies before, but maybe you got amnesia, and you're sitting here reading this, thinking, "Good heavens, what was the number one cigar in Cigar Aficionado last year?"

 

I'm so glad we were here for you.

 

BTW, if you haven't been to Broadway in Providence yet, you should totally go!  Newly painted! Brand new furniture!

 

 

Same old fellas, thankfully!

 

The usual suspects with Island Jim.

 

All right, off to phase two of our evening!!

*Although long in the past when I get around to finishing this (3 days later--not bad for my killer procrastination skills) and you get to read it. But NOW, as I start it. 

**This is an unabashed lie. A LIE. Ultimately, I'm both lazy and antisocial. Thinking about having to curl my hair, put on makeup, AND dress like a girl simultaneously makes me weep. 

***Proof that we are not trainable--we usually drive there for a meal on Mondays. They aren't open on Mondays. We know this. And yet we try and try. Luckily, we may be gaining some smarts!!

****I'm a thin-crust girl myself. The things we do for love. 

*****We say it every time. We have never stuck to it. Not ever. Ever. 

Paper leaves of tobacco leaves: Tobacco Sheds, Vanishing Treasures of the Connecticut River Valley

I love books.

Hell, I love them so much, I write books.*

When I moved into Valentino's swanky bachelor pad**, lo those many years ago, I brought with me no less than one zillion books. Then I bought many many bookshelves to hold aforementioned books, thinking I'd have plenty of room.  I filled them.

He asked at one point, "What do you need all those books for?"***

"They're my friends," I said, without thinking about the thousand and thousands of paper leaves filling the books.

Speaking of leaves, (this is all going to come together in a second, so stay with us) this fall, we had a chance to tour a tobacco shed and hear about the drying and aging process.

The tour was part of an event put on by Connecticut Valley Tobacco Museum in conjunction with the lovely Karin Mills Tranghese and Cigar Room II in Agawam, MA.

Tino and tobacco

(Here's the connection we promised!) The other day we received this friend, Tobacco Sheds, Vanishing Treasures of the Connecticut River Valley, in the mail:

Paper leaves of tobacco leaves!
Hey book, could you be any more gorgeous?

This is the book's description (Thanks, amazon.com!):

"In recent years, over one thousand tobacco sheds have disappeared from the Tobacco Valley. This important book systematically catalogues tobacco sheds from Putney, Vermont, to Portland, Connecticut, a span of just over one hundred miles. The photographs capture the beauty of these unique farm buildings and serve as a valuable record for these endangered barns. The text offers the agricultural history of each town, helping to connect sheds to their own unique region of New England. In addition, the book reinforces the need for preserving one of New England s most unusual farm structures.

"Many sheds in the Connecticut River Valley are still used to dry tobacco leaves that will wrap some of the world's most expensive cigars, but, sadly, some are being left to slowly deteriorate over time or are being torn down to make way for development. This book will be treasured by cigar smokers and architectural historians and preservationists alike."

I totally treasure this book. It's filled with gorgeous photographs and well-written text that tells the story behind these tobacco titans scattered across the Connecticut River Valley, both of which are gorgeous in their own right.

In case you're not sure where we're talking about. [source]

One of the book's pages!
And one of the region's tobacco sheds. Gorgeous, no?

 

Can I be honest here? Since we're BFFs and all? I've seen these buildings my whole life as my family road-tripped around New England. "Pretty," I'd think and then my thoughts would move along with the car.**** I honestly had no idea tobacco was not only a New England industry but a necessary and successful one.  In fact, the shed we toured produced the wrapper for a little cigar called Liga Privada, according to owner Steve Jarmoc; ever heard of it? (Hahaha!)

 

Ceiling of tobacco leaves during our tour.

The authors of Tobacco Sheds, Vanishing Treasures of the Connecticut River Valley, an eclectic husband and wife team, have created a visual masterpiece as gorgeous as the sheds themselves.

The Cahills! [source]

 

"Dale Cahill has been a sailor, farmhand, electronic technician, equipment maintenance technician, a life guard, has run an aquatics facility, and is both a father and a grandfather. He has worked at resorts and in factories, favors the outdoors and he loves skiing, mountain biking and photographing beautiful things. He plays mandolin and guitar and owns a ski bar in Vermont.

 

"Darcy Cahill has been a teacher, school counselor, reporter, and sheep dog breeder. She is a mother and grandmother. She plays fiddle and owns a ski bar with her husband. She also spends time writing, gardening, mountain biking, and skiing." [source]            

 

 

 

According to an article in Cigar Aficionado, "The new book Tobacco Sheds, Vanishing Treasures of the Connecticut River Valley, takes the reader on a journey through the Connecticut River Valley and goes behind-the-scenes to show what these majestic barns really are. Authors Dale and Darcy Cahill, who have made these barns their passion for many years now, traveled the length of the 400-mile valley, which touches four U.S. states. More than 1,000 have been lost to time, disrepair and changing fortunes over recent years, but they found sheds remaining in Vermont, Massachusetts and (of course) Connecticut. None remain, they said, in New Hampshire."

Keep an eye out next time you're driving around the Connecticut Valley. They aren't just cool barns off in the distance, as I'd imagined. Well, they kind of are, but they're way more than that. They're SUPER cool barns! And you might even be smoking that shed's wares.

By the way, if you do get a chance to visit a tobacco shed this coming season (and you totally should!), be sure to pick up a nice hat for yourself.

Cabellero #2 and his fab chapeau.

In the meantime, get Tobacco Sheds, Vanishing Treasures of the Connecticut River Valley and enjoy the world around you--or the world your cigar may have come from--while in your cozy, warm house.


*You should buy them all here.

**Read: Beautifully-decorated, huge house

***Obviously, he's not a book person.

****Back in the day when kids' minds wandered during road trips, as opposed to now when they don't even look out the windows because they're watching a video. These kids probably don't even know the joy of fighting with a sibling, unhindered by a seat-belt, during a road trip--or getting a weak slap from a parent on whatever part of your body they can reach as they're driving--or calling "Way back!" so you could sit in the back of the station wagon staring at the drivers behind you and annoying the crap out of said drivers. Annoying two cars of people was a special bonus. Poor kids these days, watching TV during the ride.

The Humidor in East Greenwich, RI: Another new favorite place! (How are we ever going to keep up???)

So you guys! I am currently being consumed by the world's most comfortable chair in one of the coolest new (to us) shops we've been in.

First, let me tell you that most pictures in this post are taken from said chair, as I now live in it.
 

You thought I was kidding, didn't you?

This is the East Greenwich, RI location of...

First (again), let me say, we've been hearing pure awesomeness about The Humidor (which also has locations in Cranston, RI and Newport, RI) for ages, but just never got there.*  Then, one day not too long ago, Valentino was chatting with our friend Jarrid (he of Kristoff) (Hi Jarrid!) about the Partagas/Ramon y Ramon 150-year anniversary humidor we have, and how one drawer was missing, which made him have the sad.

Ours is not filled with cigars, however

Will chose a couple of 30-year-old cigars for Valentino.

Jarrid said Jana Polofsky, owner of The Humidor, had one of those. She might let us have the missing drawer. And after a series of text messages, blammo! She said we could have it. Valentino's day?** Made.


Within these humidors (and those in the first picture) lie some gorgeous sticks.

In addition to their fantastic selection, including things that will make you say, "OMG! I've been dying to try that!"  We found and picked up the Alec Bradley Fine and Rare, which was both fine and difficult to find. Well-played Alan Rubin. Well-played.

 

Bravo!

 

Drew Estate is seriously represented in the store as well.  Did you know The Humidor was the first in the country to carry Drew Estate? If it's good enough for Jonathan Drew...just saying.

While we were there, we met Austin Trudeau, a super cool dude, who I was trying to convince to become my BFF, but Will did what Will does and now they are BFFs.

Rats! Foiled again!

When you go to The Humidor--and you WILL go to The Humidor--you should poke around and check out the treasures. They have some cool and unique stuff, like a humidor with the (I believe) second Cigar Aficionado cover.***  And this:





Will would like to have this. 
And he would like to keep it on my desk.

And the people who go to The Humidor? Fantastic! While Valentino and Austin were cigar shenaniganning,**** I had a lovely chat with a couple who hang out there. From the comfort of my chair, of course.

Valentino and his drawer and a nice lady.
Plus! Look at all that cool stuff in the background!

 And and and there's so much room there! And that's super great because they seem to have the most fantastical events there! That's the other reason why I'm mad we didn't know about this place sooner! All the things we've missed! Kristoff events! Camacho events! Drew Estate events! Cigar dinners next door at Siena! D'oh!!



I would like to be sitting on that couch,
but getting out of the chair is quite difficult.



Make sure you like their Facebook page so you can get all the info before the fun happens! The events are much more engaging that way! (They don't have a website, which makes a researcher like me nutty.)

The Humidor's East Greenwich shop is at 5600 Post Road. "We are located right next to Siena in Benny's Plaza. Come on in! Have a smoke and relax in our comfy leather sofas. BYOB! We also have a poker table in the back."  And when you go, tell Austin and Jana we said "Howdy!"--unless we're there; then you should say "Howdy!" to us! And them!

 

Next stop! The Cranston shop! Wahooooo!

*We're creatures of habit. This should not be news to anyone.

 

**Not Valentine's Day.

 

***Full disclosure: We have the humidor with the premier cover.

 

****It's a word now!

"The play's the thing."* This Nat Sherman cigar is definitely the thing.

No one loves an extended metaphor more than me. And Nat Sherman's Vice President of Retail & Brand Development Michael Herklots's metaphor skills are so mad crazy good he should be over on Broadway writing rather than at the Nat Sherman townhouse on 42nd street being awesome.

Michael, center stage. (That's Jimmy on the left.)

During a cigar demonstration and tasting, he started by comparing the elements that make up a cigar to the characters that make up a story. So this tasting? We're learning about the characters that make whole the very-highly rated Epoca. In fact, it made the top 25 of many end-of-the-year roundups.

A bit of background: Epoca was, in fact, the first cigar of the Nat Sherman company sold when it acquired the Schwab Bros. and Baer in 1929.**

Earlier this year, the company announced plans to resurrect the cigar and now, here we are, lucky enough to enjoy the Dominican and Nicaraguan cigar. This blend was the focus of an informational demonstration and dinner sponsored by Mr. J's Havana and held at Millonzi's restaurant in West Warwick.

"The blend for Epoca is a tribute to the experience of what it was like to smoke premium cigars in the 1920s and ‘30s," said Michael Herklots, in an article in Cigar Aficionado. It's also a play on the Timeless blend that brought the Nat Sherman company back into the forefront of smokers' consciousness and then shot them straight into super success. There's another interesting article about the company's resurgence in the January/February 2015 edition of Cigar Aficionado. (It wasn't available online yet, when I last checked.)

And you know we are suckers for a pretty face and a cool story, so when Nat Sherman Northeast Representative Jimmy Shaffer showed us the box and explained how it is a near-perfect replication of the original box, and all the work that went into the recreation, we were sold, before aforementioned box was ever opened. Yes, we were charmed by the set dressing. So sue us.***

Before/Then

 

After/Now

At this demonstration and tasting, Michael started us out with the first character, the first element of what would eventually become the Epoca. This Dominican seco, by itself, was meh, both as a dry smoke and a smoking stick. We all agreed it was a little musty, kind of like grandma's basement, and hit one part of the tongue, although that location varied by person.

The second small stick, the second character in this play, was a Dominican ligero. Ligero by nature is the strongest of the leaf types, and a bit sweeter; this one, however, had some age on it, so it was a bit more mellow than we expected, based on the first. As a result, the flavor profile hit a different part of everyone's tongues, offering a different perspective to the plot.

Then we tried the third player, a Nicaraguan ligero, which had similar elements but was much stronger than the other ligero. Again, this one hit different elements on the tongue, just as a third character offers another layer to the play, which was an interesting turn of events.

Our hero smokes three at a time!

Then! Then Michael had everyone smoke the first and third samples. Funnest part of the evening? The comic relief? Watching everyone's faces as they hated the tastes in their mouths. "It tastes like shit, doesn't it?" he asked. Everyone nodded in agreement as they drank away the horror.

Then they smoked all three...

[source]

Ike Karipides, Director of Premium Cigars, and Jimmy handed us all one of the Epoca cigars. Everyone lit it up. "Tastes just like those," said Valentino, pointing to the three characters in the ashtray.

According to Michael, all three of those are well represented, but there is a heavier Nicaraguan influence in the Epoca because it has more filler than their 1930 cigar, which has a similar blend. In the Epoca, however, there is less emphasis on the Dominican ligero, which is used as the binder and a small percentage of the filler. 

 

"With the Epoca, the feel of its smoke is weighty. It has body. It's classified as full-bodied, but not strong," said Michael. It's not an ass-kicker, not strong.  It has well-balanced flavors, creamier and nuttier than the 1930, more cappuccino rather than the strength of espresso."

You guys. If you haven't tried the Epoca yet, you need to do it. If creaminess, nuttiness, cappuccino, and slight woodiness got together and started a band, this cigar would be The Beatles.

Or to complete the extended metaphor, this cigar would be The Glass Menagerie or Death of a Salesman, or A Doll's House--sure to be a classic, thanks, in part, to the master "playwright" Michael Herklots.

Michael shares his Epoca with Will

 

 *Hamlet:
I'll have grounds
More relative than this—the play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.
**There's an historical rumor that Nat Sherman won the business in a card game. We love a great backstory.

***Not really. Please don't.
 

Happy New Year! (The rest of the story)

New Year's Eve is happening. Right this second.* Although by the time I post this, we could be in 2016.

So here's a brief rundown. 

Our hero, Cabellero #1:

I actually took a cool picture! Yay me!

The Cigar Formerly Known as Mysterioso!  Thanks LFD for bringing it back this year, even though some asshat was mad about the Mysterio/Mysterioso name. (::cough:: click on the link for details ::cough::)

Cabellero #2 takes on New Year's Eve

Cabellero #2, upon us handing him a cigar and demanding he smoke it, had a Kristoff 685, which we told you about recently.

Remember?

Our friend Jake, the Maestro of Hanley's Ale House, loved on this baby:

The ash perplexed us.

It's the darned LFD Salomon, about which Cigar Aficionado said, "La Flor Dominicana Salomon is beautiful, strong, and complex. The man behind the cigar is Litto Gomez, who has become one of the most intriguing and talented cigarmakers in the world today. This Salomon showcases his considerable talents. His blend of homegrown tobacco from La Canela, Dominican Republic, and a stunning, dark wrapper imported from Nicaragua combines to bombard the palate with bold flavor of black cherry, licorice and rich cocoa."   

Okay, so the other day,** we were at Cigars International's Hamburg Superstore and I bought two salomons, natural and maduro, for Cabelleros #1 and #2 to smoke on New Year's Eve.

And I left them at home, in the humidor. Boo! I had the sad. That just means another smoke-together! Wahoo!***

Our friend Deep Dish Dave, smoked this for Old Times' Sake:

Because Jake ordered them for him

And then we started the new year with a new moniker for him. Deep Dish Dave is now LFDave, because our other hangout ran out of the Deep Dish, known for its "Sumatra wrapper, velvety smoke, and toasty sweetness." He needed something, so I bought him an LFD Capitulo 2 and he was done for. A goner. At least until ::hint hint:: the new Drew Estate order comes in.

Our hero ended the evening with this:

 

...of which he said, "Everything about this cigar is amazing." Yep. That's an Opus X Lost City Lancero, the great white whale of the cigar world, and for good reason. According to CI, "The Opus X Lost City was made with rare tobaccos grown on Chateau de la Fuente during the off-season for crop production, tobaccos that have been aging for 5 years prior to production. Made with 100% Dominican-grown tobaccos, this puro features dark Dominican wrappers and an eventful blend of Dominican long-fillers. The result is a bold, creamy smoke with robust flavors delivered in a mild, and smooth fashion complemented by a deep, cedary aroma. Rare, no doubt. Pricey, but worth it. Special, absolutely."

Our friend Jarrid (Hi Jarrid!) gifted the cigar to Valentino. THAT was amazing. Thank you a million times over, friend. A perfect ending to an imperfect year.****

*Hahahaha. Two days ago.

**Like, two? Three? weeks ago.

***Which is the opposite of Boo!

****Ask me some time about how Valentino almost missed the "Happy New Year!" portion of the show. Damn you, Rolex.***** ::shakes fist::

*****Operator error, actually.

The Perfect Storm Cigar Dinner: Alec Bradley, Opa, and Habanos--all in one place!

About a hundred years ago (November), our friends at Habanos met up with our friends from Alec Bradley who met up with our friends at Opa.

It was the perfect storm of cigar events. If you didn't go, you should be both sad and jealous. While we're waiting for you to finish the sadness and jealousy, we'll let you enjoy the first of Will's many antics at the event.

We all received a four-pack of cigars at the event.
Mine went missing. Will feigned innocence.

Better? Good. As an aside, I find snacks always make the sad or the jealousy better.*

Drinnan Thornton, our friendly neighborhood Alec Bradley rep, brought many gifts for many folks. There was much rejoicing!


Caution: DDT doing the Drinnan
(Drinnen, Doc, Tino)

Valentino started with this delight:

I'd be an Alec Bradley groupie if that were a thing. Wait. Is that a thing? It totally should be.

According to CI, the "Connecticut boasts an array of big-time flavors, all while remaining pleasant and tame in body. Dressed in a seamless Ecuadorian Connecticut shade wrapper, and chock full of Honduran and Nicaraguan long-fillers, Connecticut produces a highly satisfying mild to medium-bodied experience. Plumes of creamy and cool smoke coat the palate as notes of cedar, nuts, and toast enter the fray before ​a slightly sweet finish. It's a lot like a light beer that tastes really damn good."

It really is damn good. Because it was an AB event, I was surrounded by like-minded smokers, many of whom started with the Connecticut. As a result, I got myself a snout full of woodiness, which sounds weird when  say it like that. Like the woods of Dunsinane** marched right into my face. Well, when that happened, they also brought some pepperiness and creaminess, so...yeah.

Then this happened:

Will was the official Guardian of the Meat.

We have more than once proclaimed our unending joy for any and all foods created by Joe, he of Opa fame. For this event, we had a million tons of food, but you only need to know about my most favorite, the thing that if we're passing by the restaurant, smoking a cigar as we wander around the mean streets of Federal Hill and Tino needs*** raw kibbeh--my favorite thing is hummus with ground meat and pine nuts on it with fresh pita bread. Oh gawd, that sounds great right now.

We ate until we almost--and really, we were thisclose to literally busting a gut--at maximum food capacity.

In order to aid digestion, Valentino moved on to this:

I fell in love with the Coyol at first smell. Actually, even before that.

Drinnen told us about how the cigar honors one particular farm. "Sometimes tobacco has great aroma or great flavor, but rarely does one have both," said company president Alan Rubin in Cigar Aficionado. "That is what makes Coyol so unique. The blend for this new cigar is designed around the Coyol tobacco, which is why I had to name the cigar Coyol." Oh, come on. You know by now that I like a story to go with our cigars.

According to CI, the cigar is a "bold, medium-bodied profile with notes of earth, leather, and spice flourish around the palate from first light. Subtly sweet notes of cherry and nutmeg are also present on the finish. Yet another masterpiece from Alec Bradley…par for the course these days."

Mr. Rubin, you had me at the sweetness. Perfect for after that fantastic meal.

In the meantime, some other folks were doing this, which lots of folks do at Habanos. I think it looks like a lot of work, but that's just me. Too many contraptions for the likes of me. And way too many things to remember and then mess up. But Will sure did like it:

Now if I only had a cheese plate...

We're cigar people rather than hookah people. And we know you probably are too! In celebration of this most fabulous event, we're giving away a five-pack of cigars and a jaunty cap for this month's Cigar of the Month!



Yep! We're giving this to one awesome reader!
Click the picture to find out how you can win!

*That is not a sign of a problem. You should be quiet.

**The blog's first Macbeth reference! Woohoo!

***Neeeeeeds, by way of me suggesting it