Cigar of the Month Giveaway or: Mutiny and the Bounty

Annnnd, we're back--from CigarFest, that is.

6:00 a.m. Doors open at 10:00 a.m.

We have lots to tell you, and many, many pictures to show you (although if you follow us on Instagram*, you can see all the pics as they pop)!

The waiting really is the hardest part.

Although with this set-up, not as difficult as you'd think.

Housemates

The whole motley crew (not the band)

The crew on the verge of entering. We were so close...
and yet so far (from all the awesome)

Inside CigarFest from the Drew Estate section

 

Part of the first day's cigar collection

After the first day, I started to worry about where we were going to put everything (above) upon our return home.

Naturally, I'm going to give a minute portion away as thanks for reading our blog, for putting up with our shenanigans, and because where the F am I going to put all this!?!?

Here's the bounty!

As Valentino reads this, he's right now in the throes of heart palpitations. He hates giving his stuff away. I love giving his stuff away.** He may be captain of this ship, but as first mate, I call for a (temporary) mutiny! So...several winners--an no, you don't get to pick what you want. And NO, you aren't getting the Feral Flying Pigs or the Angels Shares lurking in the background there. (After all, I don't want to give the poor guy an ACTUAL heart attack!)

How can you enter? Check out the Rafflecopter below! Jump through the hoops and you could be a winner!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Follow us at @thecigargal on Instagram and @cigargal on Twitter.

**Technically, it's OUR stuff.

A Rogue Giveaway: KFC

This isn't our Cigar of the Month , which will be showing up very soon.

This is our "Someone very generously gave us a bunch of cigars and we feel like we should share the love much to Valentino's chagrin" giveaway.

These are MUWAT Kentucky Fire Cured Just a Friend (toro), 6 x 52. No need to count. There are 9 of them. We'll blast off ALL 9 to one person, because we're nice like that (and it saves on postage, which is also nice).

We just hope the mail train doesn't hit any snags like this one:

How do you enter to lay your soft, delicate hands on these cigars? Go here, to raffle central:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

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!

5 Things* about...Why you should like the Love of the Leaf Facebook page

 If you don't like Love of the Leaf on Facebook, you've made us have the sad. You're missing out on so...much...awesome! Keep reading (if you need convincing) and then join us there, at the cool kids hangout! (They let me go there too, so if you're uber-uncool like me, they'll still like you!)

5. Exclusive giveaways
You know we're not above bribery! For example, when we reach 200 likes/followers/stalkers, one lucky subscriber gets this (chosen completely randomly because, if nothing else, we're obsessively fair):

Instagram photo by @jerseyjay. Swiped from here.
(Too lazy to get up and take my own photo.)

Yep. One of you will receive two Drew Estate Undercrown Shade cigars! Like the page and you're in the running! (Chat with previous winners and they'll tell you we have difficulty with directions, always sending more than promised. Damn us!)

4.5. Sales and auctions
Sometimes we manage to lay our hands on cigars and swag that might make some of you swoon. You know. This kind of stuff:

Auction coming soon! For realz!

or this:

Just the hat, ma'am. Or sir.
[Source]

...or who knows what else.  As we've told you before, one of us is known as the Cigar Hunter, able to find and trap even the most elusive of sticks. We want to share the awesomeness with you by offering the stuff for sale or auction. (We're nice like that! But not nice enough to just give it to you!)

4. Your sales and auctions! Yes--your very own!
List cigars you want to sell or auction! Check out the pinned post on the Love of the Leaf Facebook page for guidelines. Keep in mind--this page is for kindness only, so please don't gripe or bitch about prices or anything else.  If you have a problem, please direct your comments towards the person privately or send me or Valentino a message. We'll help resolve any problem! And if we can't, we'll send out the Goon Squad.**

3. Blog posts, which as you know, are always good for a laugh or five. 
No need to track down that day's blog posts or new info on the Love of the Leaf website. The Facebook page will bring it all to you in one shot. Lucky you!

2. Instagram photos documenting cigar shenanigans, featuring all the crazy one picture can hold.
Like this one, a personal fave:

1. Additional bouts of craziness I can't put into words or even anticipate!
Who knows what we're going to get into next! (Although if you want to know where we'll be, in hopes of catching us mid-shenanigan, check out these events...more added frequently!)


*6 really, but we're pretending 5.
**Zillion trillion bonus points plus my undying friendship for getting the reference.

Two out of three ain't bad.

The other day, Valentino and I met up with Caballero #3 for Rooftop Cigar Shenanigans, er, make that a Cigar Social on the roof of a Mohegan Sun parking garage. Remember? We told you about it here.

While up there, we saw this picture, courtesy of Caballero #2 and the mighty internets:

#2 with a Padron '64.

Because these guys are who they are, naturally, a retaliatory photo session occurred:



#1 and #3 with a Padron '64.

A bunch of glad-handing and glad-kissing with cigar rep SuperFriends ensued. (Hi Jon! Hi John! Hi Cody! Hi Dave! Hi Mike-who-is-not-on-Facebook! Hi John-who-did-not-remember-us!*)

 

Then this happened:

 

The bloom was off the rose. We had the tired.

The moral of the story? We missed you, Caballero #2!

 

 

*I know you're thinking, "How is that even possible? You guys are so awesome and memorable!" I know!

Where we'll be: Barnstorming...er, BarnSmokering

First of all, I can NOT get the name of this correct, so if you would all start calling this event the Barnstormer, I'd really appreciate it. K? Thanx.

 

 

So one day, while we hung at Twins Smoke Shop, an email popped up, announcing these Drew Estate tickets going on sale. Well, this isn't my first rodeo, or barn raising, or cigar event, whatever, and I knew immediate action was needed. No--required. I didn't ask Valentino if he wanted to go and sent a text to Caballero #2 but didn't wait for his response. I just bought the damn tickets, which sold out in no time.

 

So we'll be here, the three caballeros and me, hanging with the Drew Estate folk. (Apparently there will be 300+ other folks here at the barnstormer too. What? Dammit. Barn Smoker.)

 

If you didn't know, "[b]arnstormers were pilots who flew throughout the country selling airplane rides and performing stunts; Charles Lindbergh first began flying in this capacity." [source]

An actual barnstormer:
A Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" in flight over Central Ontario c. 1918
[source]

While we won't be getting plane rides, we will be getting:

• (1) Liga Privada "A"
• (1) Liga Privada Ratzilla
• (1) Liga Privada Velvet Rat
• (1) Liga Privada No. 9
• (1) Liga Privada T52
• (1) Nica Rustica “El Brujito”
• (1) Undercrown Belicoso
• (1) ACID Toast

Apparently, the sampler pack also includes "custom Barn Smoker swag, Drew Estate matches, and more goodies."

 

Plus! A BBQ dinner! Beverages!

 

And a portion of ticket sales will be donated to Cigars For Warriors, so that's an added bonus for everyone!
 

Visit the Cigars for Warriors webpage!

It wasn't an Illusione after all! I do mix the metaphors into a dangerous concoction! Enter at your own risk!

Number three? Make that number awesome.

One of the millions of best parts of this movie.
[source]

 

We hadn't had Cigar Aficionado's #3 in their top 25 of 2014, the Illusione Fume d'Amour, yet...mainly because so many cigars, so little time. Sigh. 

But we're* at a cigar dinner sponsored by Mr J's Havana, our once a month festival of smoke and food and pals.  Yes, herfing.  But that sounds so...I don't know. Dirty? Kind of.

 

Anyway, Illusione is the featured cigar this month and (keep in mind I've been choking down huge quantities of prednisone lately) the Fume d'Amour Clemente is mother-effing fantastic.



The beginning of a love affair

You already know how we feel about best-of lists, since everyone and his brother has one, all based on an elusive, intangible selection process.  So keeping in mind that we're meh on it, Valentino lit up the Smoke of Love or Love Smoke and, I hate to say it, I fell in love.** 

Named #3 in the Cigar Aficionado 2014 year-end wrap up,*** this Nicaraguan puro, at 6 1/2 x 48 was "created by Dion Giolito, a cigar retailer from Reno, Nevada, who knew what he wanted in a great cigar and wasn’t afraid to push hard to get them just right," according to the Cigar Aficionado story. 

A few members of the regulars--Paul Joyle, Tom Joyle, our hero,
Mark Freeley, and Edgar Deckmange.

For this gang at Millonzi's in West Warwick, RI, the Fume d'Amour  is the perfect post-dinner...I guess you could call it dessert.****

"Limited production and high grade tobacco combine for what are some of the top-tiered blends on the market today, and Fume D’Amour stays true to that recipe." [source]
 

At the Mr. J's dinners, you receive two cigars.
Naturally, our hero gets four, because he makes off with mine.



Illusione spokesmodel Edgar Deckmange told us about how this cigar doesn't use any ligero, which is usually the leaf that punches you in the face, the heavyweight champion of tobacco leaves. Instead, Giolito blended viso and seco, the lower, milder primings, which created the full-bodied bout, without the 1-2 punch. But like a fight of experienced boxers, the small moves, the refined notes, create the technical knockout of other cigars in a sly, subtle way.

"You wouldn't know there's no ligero in this," said our hero, as he performed a magic trick, making the cigar disappear.


The hand is quicker than the eye.

"That's the 4-6 year old tobacco," Edgar told us. And Giolito choreographs different portions of the leaf, some closer to the stem, others towards the end of the leaf, which makes for the unique blends found in the Illusione cigars. The prizefighter makes sure all rollers are making cigars only to his liking.

It's true! Not only do you get great food and cigars, you can also LEARN things at these cigar dinners. 

If you're interested in whooping it up with us, the next two events will be:

Monday, April 6--Drew Estate

 

 

Monday May 4--Tatuaje

 

*I swear I start these things with the good intention of finishing them that night and being all timely--like back in the days when I was a newspaper reporter: Getting shit done right away. I was much younger and less distracted back then.

**I'm sticking with the present tense. If this bothers you, let me know and I'll get a Sharpie so you can change it.

***Sometimes I can be such a stupid girl.


****It IS Cigar Aficionado, so that's something.
 

*****Dammit. I want dessert. Why can I never ever get dessert at these damn cigar dinners, regardless of where they are held and by whom. 

This is no pig in a poke Or: These Flying Pigs landed right in our humidor

When a friend who knows umpity-gajillion things about cigars texts and says he has something super special in his work humidor that you might just want, you don't say, "Hmmm. Let me think about that and get back to you." You say, "Fuck yeah. I'll be in Friday."

That's what happened with our friend Jake, Jake from Ale House. He was the texter, in case you weren't following our precise line of reasoning.

It's Jake. Jake from Ale House.

So now we own this:

Open sesame.

 

Ooooh. Purty.

Surely I can't possibly tell you anything you don't already know about this pen of pigs, 
like the San Andrés Negro wrapper, the Connecticut River Valley Stalk Cut and Cured Sun Grown Habano binder, and the Brazilian Mata Fina and Nicaraguan Habano filler.

A sexy 4 1/8 x 60

Or its super sassy shape. So, in case there are three of you in the world (and I was one of them not too long ago, thus making four) who don't know, Flying Pig is a shape, not just a fun name to say and imagine.

We were all ready to share, in our own words, because that's the right thing to do, the Undercrown Flying Pig info with you.  But the story of its inception is so fantabulous that paraphrasing didn't do it justice. So here, swiped from the Drew Estate website, is...not really the rest of the story,* but the whole story:

"In early 2009 we asked our torcedores to smoke less Liga Privada cigars because they were leaving too few to be exported. This request was met with the disappointment you would expect, but rather than being disgruntled they responded by blending their own signature liga.

"Incorporating many of the same rare tobaccos, but of different vintages and primings, the cigar they created was no mere replacement. Rather it is an exceptional smoking experience of uncompromising quality and flavor that deserves to be smoked by all.

"It is always the master makers who are heralded, but the reality is that great cigars are the product of many talented people, most of whom toil in factories with no publicity ever. They are the uncelebrated heroes who make all of our lives more pleasurable with the cigars they craft. And therefore, it is with great pleasure that we are now sharing their factory floor creation with you as Undercrown, borne of our worker’s ingenuity, resourcefulness and passion for a great cigar."

This short, stout perfecto was initially released in the Netherlands and the world (except the Netherlandiers? Is that a word?) had the sad. But in June 2012 and again in August 2014, they became US citizens--and were summarily sucked up (and sucked in) quickly, which is why we were all "fuck yeah" when Jake beckoned.

Why the drooling cigar smokers jousting for the rogue box? Why can't there be a pig in every pot--or humidor?

Because the rolling process is completed by two mere mortals only.** "Described by many as one of the best and most satisfying Ligas ever produced (Undercrown or not), the Undercrown Flying Pig is a rare treat that every cigar enthusiast and collector alike should strive to have in their humidor." [source]

Valentino couldn't light it up fast enough and made sure Caballero #2 laid his hands on a couple also.*** When the hero of our story revved it up and the smoke started billowing, man, oh, man it wafted chocolate, vanilla, and coffee right smack dab into my sensory receptors. Honestly, the people who make faces and bitch about cigar smoke need to 1. Actually wake up and smell the smoke and 2. Shut the fuck up.****

Cabellero #2 partakes.

Of course, when we answered the Call of the Undercrown, we didn't just walk out with that one product. There were more purchasing shenanigans. Read about them here! You won't be sorry. Annoyed, maybe. Probably even bored. But sorry? Nope. See you there!

P.S. As a return favor, I worked some magic for Jake, Jake from Ale House. Well, not really magic--more like put my research savant skills to work for him.  He told Valentino about a cigar he loved but hadn't been able to find. Fingers ablaze, I found those motherfuckers***** for him, sent him links, and said "You're welcome." Boom. Mic drop.

 

 

*Anyone else still miss the late, great, Paul Harvey?

 

**And no superheroes

 

***You may start singing "That's what friends are for." You're welcome for the earworm.

 

****I'm very swearish today. Must be the prednisone talking. Or bitching.

 

*****Four swears

Where we'll be: Drew Estate Prohibition/Roaring '20s Party

On March 26 from 7-10 p.m., come to your favorite juice (and cigar) joint (Habanos Cigar Lounge, Pawtucket, RI) for a Drew Estate Roaring ‘20s/ Prohibition Party. The $40 cover charge will get you two “torches of freedom” (cigars), passed appetizers, and three beverages. Plus, the promise that this time is going to be the berries. Yep. That good.

 

Yay!  [source]

 

Grab your favorite gangster or moll, don your favorite sparkly flapper dress and cloche, dress up your striped suit with a new fedora. How you choose to salute the decade is up to you, but please come clad in your finest prohibition-era glad-rags. The best dressed guest will receive a box of Drew Estate cigars. If that’s not the bees’ knees, we don’t know what is.

Wahoo! [source]

At our speakeasy, we won’t be serving bathtub gin or hooch. Your three complimentary giggle juices have been created just for the shin-dig by some seriously knowledgeable cats—and cool cats at that. You’ll vote for your favorite and the creator will win a box of cigars. Use your cigar bands to note your choice—and expect to be bribed like a fed on Skid Road.

Hahahahaha [source]

Also, check out the hotsy-totsy barkeepers and waitresses, all decked out in their jazz-age finery, who will also vie for mazuma—this time a $25 gift certificate. You should, however, feel free to shower them with gifts throughout the evening.

 

I'll have a "soft drink" please. [source]

 

Event tickets are very limited. After all, we can’t let just anyone into the speakeasy and still keep it under wraps, lest the heavies shake us down.   Purchase your tickets at Habanos—and do it soon, before they tighten the screws.

[source]

A Long(mire) time coming!

Sorry it took a couple of extra days. But finally...

 

We have a winner for February's Cigar of the Month!

 

Albert Quackenbush! It's you!!

The four Joya Reds from Joya de Nicaragua are coming in your direction shortly!

And guess who is their travelling companion!

This guy!* But in book form.

Four cigars, though, not two!

Thanks to everyone who entered! And this next giveaway is going to be another bonanza! We're going to tell you about it in just a nanosecond, but as a hint, it will involve this:

Details coming soon!

*If you don't know, this is Robert Taylor as Walt Longmire from the (now) Netflix series Longmire, which is based on Craig Johnson's book series.**

**If you have the chance, you should listen to the books' audio versions, which are narrated by the most awesome George Guidall.***

***You know how everyone wants Morgan Freeman to narrate their lives? I would make George my first, second, and third choices.