A Very Perdomo Weekend or: I finally got some mashed potatoes and all was right with the world.

We've long been fans of Perdomo cigars. Remember this? (There's other stuff you would be able to remember if I'd actually written about things rather than keeping them in the drafts folder, unfinished. Maybe someday I'll get to them. Or not.)

During our CigarFest bonanza weekend, we were continuously Perdomoed.* That's a good thing. No, that's a great thing!

On the first full day of our** trip, we went to the Cigars International Bethleham (PA) store for a Perdomo event.

Nick and Valentino whooping it up at the CI event.

 

Nick and his sales gurus promoted the new Small Batch, which Valentino loved and made off with a box of the Connecticut blend. (The cigar also comes in Maduro and Sun-Grown.)

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Just so you know...All three come in four sizes: Half-corona (4 x 46), Rothschild (4 1/2 x 50), Belicoso (5 x 54), and toro Especiala (5 1/2 x 54).

The Perdomo folks say the Connecticut offers “a rich smoke with a creamy complexity, slight hints of caramel and cedar, with a smooth, elegant finish.” I'm nodding enthusiastically.

From the Perdomo press release:

The Perdomo Small Batch Series takes “small batch” to the next level. Hand‐crafted from a rare collection of 10 year aged tobaccos, the Perdomo Small Batch Series is carefully blended with smaller leaves that have the perfect balance of flavor, strength, and aroma. Perdomo has created this stunning line of small premium hand‐crafted cigars by combining the finest bourbon barrel aged wrappers with these rare and exquisite 10 year aged filler tobaccos.

Limited to 3,000 boxes, the Small Batch cigars were magically created at Tabacalera Perdomo in Estelí, Nicaragua. You know how I get antsy about limited editions and how I worry Valentino won't be able to smoke what he wants because they're gone.

I, however, was more enchanted by the new salomon. Here's a picture, but more about that cigar is coming...



Before dinner treat--keep reading!

Then we went to Cigars International's CigarFest in Split Rock, PA.

Shenanigans ensued, including this:

Valentino would like me to Photoshop his eyes open.
Of course I won't, because I don't know how.
So pretend his eyes are open.
See? Way easier than Photoshop!

On the last full day of our adventure, exhausted from days and days of cigar craziness, we decided to eat a real meal while sitting down and being served. (This was my idea. I was feeling needy--for mashed potatoes.) I grabbed one of those salomons for each of the three men and we headed to  Louis Prime Steakhouse--chosen because they had an outdoor smoking area and we had some cigars for smoking. (And mashed potatoes.)

And who happens to be sitting at the next table? These folks:

The very awesome, very gracious Perdomo family.
(Yes, I stole this from Nick's Facebook page.)

Nick graciously offered us 20th Anniversary Maduros (which of course we accepted, because...der). Those were for later.

Our meal would start with the Perdomo Double Aged 12 Year Vintage Salomones (6 1/8 x 50/60) we'd purchased at CI.*** (Valentino said I couldn't have mashed potatoes for an app.)

"Nick has outdone himself this time around, shelling out three separate blends that each lay claim to 12-year-old, exquisitely fermented tobacco leaves" reported CI. "Dressed in Connecticut, Sun Grown, and Maduro wrappers, Double Aged 12-Year Vintage has a selection for every cigar lover out there. All of the tobaccos in each blend – wrapper, binder, and filler – go through an extensive 'double aging' process. They are bale-aged for ten long years before moving on to barrel-aging in charred, white oak bourbon barrels for the next two years, resulting in a refined product that’s brimming with flavor. This process ensures that the crop from 2001 has impeccable color, texture, aroma, and flavor."

Note the missing three.
Or the spot where the three used to be.

When I had originally pulled the cigars for each of them, Valentino gave me the "What are you doing?" look that I get frequently--because most of the time I really have no idea what I'm doing. But this time, I was looking to give away his very precious cigars. We both knew what I was doing.

But sitting there at dinner in the company of greatness--both the man and the cigars--Valentino said, "This was a really good idea."  I'd have bowed in agreement but 1. I was sitting, so I would have banged my head on the table (embarrassing!) and 2. I don't really like to draw attention to myself.

Of course in the process of not drawing attention to myself, I announced on Facebook where I was and what I was doing, tagging all the usual suspects, as well as Nick and Janine Perdomo. A short time later, Nick approached our table and said, "Are you Penny?"****

Busted. So much for my incognito-ness. ::shakes fist at internet and Facebook::

As I finish writing this, Valentino is coming to the end of this cigar:

Obvs, I didn't take this picture.

.... and I'm reminded that I started writing this while clad in my new Perdomo shirt, also my new favorite shirt, a gift with purchase for buying those delicious, well-timed salomones.

Cigars and Swag! But the shirt is my favorite.

 

*That's a fabulous word that I just invented. It means "being washed over with kindness, generosity, and class." You're welcome to use it. 

**"Our" throughout the story is Valentino, Caballero #2, and Honorary Caballero Mike. He should probably get a badge or sash or something.

***If you must know, three boxes may have been purchased, since only eight nestle into the box.

****I'm sure I responded, but it was probably some kind of gurgling idiot-speak, as I have a difficult time communicating like an adult. Or a human for that matter.

Island Jim and the New Englanders

I am a terrible fangirl. Or maybe a perfect one. You decide. 

Island Jim, he of Leaf by Oscar and Island Jim cigars, as well as the Leaf and Bean shop in Pittsburgh, came to town not too long ago.*

 

 

Let me back up even more. When we tried the Leaf by Oscar cigar, we were giddy with delight and I wrote alllll about it. If you go back and read it, which you totally should, you'll notice my absolute, unadulterated swooning. 

And then (Island) Jim Robinson and I became Facebook BFFs. So I should have been excited when the rumors of him coming to town proved to be true!! Except all his local events happened on days I wasn't available. (Rude!) I wept openly and sent Valentino to the festivities solo.**

Island Jim and our hero, Valentino.

 

On the Monday of his weeklong visit, while I taught adult students at the community college how to write, he went to Churchill's in Providence and had a fantastical time hob-nobbing with the guest of honor, as well as Churchills' owner Bryan LeBeau.

But! The next evening, we had the opportunity to hang with the man himself at Broadway Cigars, a place you know we love very very much!


 

Our pals Bobby (left picture) and John (not the left picture)!

As we pulled up to the shop, I was an extrovert, a chatty, happy-go-lucky social butterfly. Still true as we walked to, and then into, the shop. And then the thing that happens all the time happened. I became a shy, delicate flower.

I become this shy. For realz.
"He can call me flower if he wants to."

So I became Socially Awkward Girl. Luckily, Valentino is super fun extrovert guy all the time, so he and Island Jim became BFFs while they smoked these:

This would be the point in our show where I tell you what the cigar is made up of, from whence the wrapper, binder, and filler come. But that Island Jim, he is a wily one. He's not releasing this info, and he said that sometime soon, he'll be holding a contest wherein the person who guesses the blend gets a trip to an exotic locale. Details haven't yet been released, but we expect to hear more soon. We'll totally let you know as soon as we know!

So while we can't tell you what it is made of, we can tell you the result of this mystery concoction! When he first lit the cigar, Valentino sent a wave of sweet billowing smoke in my direction and I nuzzled up to him a bit more. Shyness? Delicious smoke? You decide.

As the cigar burned while Valentino socialized, hints of earthiness and spiciness lingered in the background, not unlike myself.

Another big fancy event was held that Friday, which Valentino and I missed because we were in Miami, about to attend other fancy events and meet other super cool people.***

Can you find us in the picture?
Nope, because we were in Miami! But we were also here in spirit!
(Photo shamelessly stolen from Broadway Cigars!)

During this event, the folks at Broadway sold over 500 Leaf and Island Jim cigars! And we just heard that they're expecting another shipment shortly. If you're interested, you should contact them as soon as possible.  But not too quickly, because I need to run over there and put my order in!



Speaking of shopping, here's a picture of Island Jim himself purchasing a Leaf cigar. The first one he's ever bought! I was supposed to be taking this picture, but my shaky hands took away the privilege. And no, they weren't shaky because I was nervous...much. I think the consensus has been reached: I'm a terrible fan girl!

*Okay, a month ago. So many things have been happening lately, both good and awful, that I've fallen behind in blog posts even more than before. School's almost over! I'll catch up soon! Right after I grade that pile of essays.****

**I may or may not have sulked.

***And by "met," I mean I stayed in the background, quietly meeting folks and then introducing them to Valentino so he could become BFFs with them.

****The pile is about as tall as me. No, I'm not exaggerating.*****

*****Much.