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!

January's Cigar of the Month!! Not JUST a cigar. A BOUNTY of Kristoff cigars and stuff!

CONGRATULATIONS to January's winner!!

 

LANCERO ARSONIST @Wm2slc!!!

First of all, Congratulations to our December winner, @HawaiianMaile <--Hopefully, not the real name! Although who are we to judge? One of us is named after a saint, and the other a TV character, so... yeah. (n.b. It's actually Rhonda Britton. Hi Rhonda!!)

Second of all, so sorry we're soooooo far behind schedule this month--even worse than usual!! I blame the Christmas cookies.

ANYWAY...

Our super friendly friends at Kristoff have donated alllll this for this month's giveaway:

We know what you're thinking:
Wow! Generous! I've gotta get me some of this!
(Actually, you get all of this--only one winner this month!)

We've chatted a ton about Kristoff lately, and actually have more to tell you, but...oh geez. It's hard to keep up!*

So you get four cigars (at least). These two:



Brittania Reserva and the GC Signature Series

And these two:



Galerones Series and the Corojo Limitada

So here's what we need you to do--one or two or three of the following:**

1. Follow us on twitter! We are @cigargal <--obviously Valentino had no say in the making of that twitter handle. Sometimes we're even funny.

 Be sure to leave your twitter handle in the comments below--otherwise we won't know you're following us to be in the running for the Kristoff loot!

This is us--just so you know you're following the right folks!

2. Like Will the Travelling Owl's Facebook page.

Be sure to tell us your name in the comments below, especially if you post anonymously, so we can be sure you're vying for the loot <--(rhymes with hoot!) and not one of his already awesome friends.

Yep. That's Will. He's checking his Facebook page.

3. Sign up to receive our blog posts right smack dab in your inboxes! The sign-up box is right below the Kristoff picture on the right hand side.

No special directions here--we can consult the list of subscribers!

The winner  is chosen on the 25th (ish) of each month--because my birthday is on the 25th, and what better way to count down to the blessed event than to give something away?

*Valentino gets exasperated with my anti-socialness at the cigar lounge, but writing takes time! Writing is hard and annoying. Writing, by its very nature, is perfect for people who don't like people! To quote Dorothy Parker, my favoritest writer of all time, "I hate writing. I love having written."

**If you do two, you get two chances to win! If you do all three, that's three chances!

Words you should know: Ligero (Think you can handle it, punk?)

We stopped by Havana Cigar Lounge in West Warwick, RI to say "Howdy!" to our friend Jarrid Trudeau, he of Kristoff Cigars, and maybe, just maybe, we were picking up a little something for you. (You'll hear about that later today.*)

Upon arrival, Jarrid gifted Valentino this baby. 

What's that? You want the deets? Straight from the Jarrid's mouth:** Honduran criollo wrapper, Dominican binder, Dominican/Honduran filler. 

 

And from the Kristoff website, "Looking for a full bodied cigar with depth and flavor, look no further. The Kristoff Ligero has twice the amount of Ligero leaf in the filler than the original Kristoff. It embodies incredible notes of toasted nut, caramel, undertones of cedar, spice and a sweet finish. Made with 100% Cuban Seed tobacco, this cigar leaves a clean, fresh finish on your palate."

Just as Valentino took the first few puffs, he said, "This has some bite to it."

"Well of course," Jarrid said. "It's a ligero."

And then they said ligero seventy-umpity hundredy times, with all the spit in the back of the throat a person can muster, kind of like an old, Jewish grandfather. It makes me giggle like a schoolgirl.***

What's that? You don't know what ligero is but you're afraid to ask?  I can help!!

Ligero is the tobacco leaf found at the top of the plant. Easy! Some other stuff about it:

• The leaf has a course texture
• The ligero has a potent, spicy taste, which makes for a full-bodied cigar
• The continuous, direct sunlight (because it's at the top of the plant) is the main reason for the leaves' fuller flavor. 
• Leaves are thicker and oilier, so they burn with more difficulty than other tobacco leaves.  

Carlos Fuente, who we love, has said, "The top leaves are left to overripen, and it looks ugly as hell.... And that's what gives you your baritone, heavy flavor, more body. It gives you more complexity."

 

So I thought I would give you some pictures to help you better understand the ligero. This is the first picture that came up:



You're welcome.

 

 This one might be a better help though:

 

See? Ligero is the tops

So when you see or hear "ligero," don't think, "That's a fun word to say,"**** even though it is. Think of Valentino saying, "This has some bite to it," and imagine him downplaying what he really thought, which was something along the lines of "Holy fuck,****** I wasn't expecting that!"

 

And then settle in for something super delicious. 

This Kristoff ligero comes in the following vitolas:

• Churchill – 7 x 50        
• Torpedo – 6.25 x 52
• Robusto – 5.5 x 54      
• Matador – 6.5 x 56
• Lancero – 7.5 x 40      
• Short Robusto – 4 x 54
• Corona – 5 x 44

Something for everyone! Unless you can't handle the ligero.

 

*Probably today.******* You know how I tend to lose focus. 

**Fingers, actually, thanks to the electronic angels that bring messages from one person to another. 

***Shut up. 

*****To paraphrase Elf, one of the best movies ever. 

******There's no other way to say it. Deal with the language.

*******Hahahaha. No.

Camp Kristoff, Part the First

Not too long ago,* Glen Case (Hi Glen!), the head-honcho of Kristoff Cigars, visited Habanos, one of our favorite hang-outs, a place in our own back yard...

You remember Glen, right? We first met him at Havana Cigar Lounge in West Warwick, RI.

Havana owner Todd LaScola, our hero, and Glen Case.

Well, one night we were shenaniganning** over at Broadway Cigars at a Montecristo event and then later rolled closer to home, into Habanos. And there was Glen Case! It was like we walked into our own back yard and happily found a cool kid from a neighboring neighborhood! Yay!

Unlike the first time we hung around with him, which was an actual Kristoff event, whereby he was required to be an adult in full-adult mode; this time he had the relaxation cranked up to 11.

After we settled in, giving out lots of "hello" kisses, Valentino lit one of these delights, which we'd previously purchased at that Havana event:

The 685 Woodlawn, on the right.
That's the star of this show.

Glen stopped mid-sentence and said, "Where did you get that cigar?"

Valentino took the cigar from his mouth and looked at it, just to remind himself which delicious stick consumed his senses. "At the event in West Warwick," he said, making his way to the bar with Glen and Jarrid Trudeau (Hi Jarrid!), a cool dude in his own right and Kristoff's Northeast rep, to sit with me.

"That's my favorite stick," Glen said. "I don't even have any of those in my humidor at home."

Now if you must know, I have some mad internet skillz.*** So when Glen reiterated the lack of 685s, I hauled out my laptop and began a search.

Pretend I'm currently searching and during the lull, we'll cut away to a montage of information about this cigar:

• The cigar's name comes from the house he grew up in. 685 Woodlawn in the suburbs of Chicago. See? That makes me love it already because you must know by now how much I love a good story. By the way, it's not the family homestead any more, but an ode to your first home? Awesomely cool. (As a side note, Mom and Dad? Don't plan on moving out of that house, especially to move to Florida, as all your peers have. Stay put.)
• A small batch released in April-ish 2013, only 2,000 boxes of 10 were made.
• The wrapper is from Brazil, binder from Nicaragua, and filler from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and a super secret place--maybe Oz? Santa's workshop? Brigadoon****? 
• Comes in one size, the 6 1/2 x 60 perfecto--one of our favorite shapes!
• I love love love this cigar. (I seem to have a real fondness for small batches, as if the more I know I can't get it, the more I want it. But that's pretty much the way of life, right?)

Glen and Valentino***** whooping it up.
Actually, they were discussion serious life things
while I challenged the mighty internets to a duel.
I won.

So within moments, I found a few boxes of the 685 available for purchase and gave Glen and Jarrid the info. I guess if I were a really good person, I would have bought him a box, and a box for ourselves...but...no.  Of course I regret this now. Or I did! <--Blatant forshadowing.

That night Valentino smoked his one and only 685, filling my lungs with some serious sweetness with a background of pepper. Kind of like smelling and tasting the fruit pie Nana is making in the house while simultaneously inhaling the heavily-peppered steaks' smoke wafting from the neighbors' grill. If you could get both flavors in your face at the same time--the pepperiness, the fruitiness, and the creamy, buttery crust, you'd be experiencing the 685 Woodlawn.

The night over, we were left with some super fun memories of time with our Kristoff friends and the Kristoff cigars. Now the story should end there, but no, because there's another chapter to the story.

On our way to visit my son in West Virginia for the holidays, we accidentally drove by the most massive of cigar stores, Cigars International in Hamburg, PA. Come on, we were driving right by the exit. And we needed gas anyway...

Just a teeny tiny bit of the gigantean place!
Lousy picture by moi!

One of the first things we saw as we entered the store? (That foreshadowing comes into play now.) We saw this:

Oh my sweet darling...

We scooped these up and asked about more.  The very nice staff lady searched high and low, climbing ladders to look in way high cubbies and giving herself a headrush looking in the store's deep, dark crevices.  And know what? She found another box! That was some amazeballs customer service!  We took them and ran!

This isn't true. I held them close to myself, like a treasured Latin textbook****** and we slowly perused the entire store, twice.

We're heading home from our travels tomorrow and I hope on Tuesday we can do some more research with these, see if they will once again help me relive the long, slow, sunny days of a childhood summer--even if I am a grownup now (boo) and we've just entered a long winter (double boo). I may ask Valentino to bring two.





*Keeping in mind I have real issues with time passing quickly and not recognizing it.

**A real word in Penny World.

***Not nearly as good as my friend Shelagh, who could teach a master class, but still better than the average schmoe.

****One of my all-time favorite plays.

*****This picture is actually from later in the evening, when our hero had moved on to a different Kristoff cigar.

******I'm probably the only one who ever actually treasured a textbook, right? Especially a Latin one? Thought so. Just to let you know, I still have my high school Latin books.

In which Valentino is Mr. Helpy McHelperson, Part the First

So we're sitting at Habanos, and I am "grading papers"* while Valentino smokes and chats and orders a pizza for me.**

Brad comes in and we greet him because we're awesome like that. He goes into the humidor and gets his regular purchase.*** As he comes to the end of it, he starts thinking aloud about what to have next. He says he likes medium and asks what Valentino would recommend. Of course Valentino has a recommendation. They disappear into the humidor and return with these selections:

Alec Bradley, Kristoff, and LaSirena. Haha Two men and a lady!

The Alec Bradley Black Market is one of Valentino's favorites; quite a few currently reside in The Monster, waiting their turn to be called up to the big league. (Oh. And set on fire--the metaphor died a horrible death, didn't it?). It's medium strength and the "4-country blend is jam-packed with Jamastran, Honduras and Panamanian long-fillers, capped off by a lively Sumatra binder and powerful Nicaraguan wrapper leaf. Upon first lighting, plumes of smoke fill the air as the blend burns with purpose. Unique and satisfying arrays of flavors greet your palate, as spice, pepper, and peaty undertones finish the ensemble. With a long dry finish, and slow burn, the Black Market cigar is a finger burner." [source]

We just told you yesterday about our fondness for all things Kristoff, so no surprise that it made the recommendation trio. This one, the Corojo Limitada "is for the fan of Nicaraguan tobacco" which is why it made the cut here--as you must know by now, Valentino looooves Nicaraguan tobacco. According to the Kristoff website, "Nearly a puros Nicaraguan blend, this medium-full bodied cigar is loaded with spice, nutmeg, toasted nut and a sweet-spicy finish. Made with 100% Habano seed tobacco that is double and triple fermented, the Corojo Limitada maintains the Kristoff tradition of flavor and smoothness." This cigar is considered the "signature of Kristoff Cigars." We very much like their penmanship.****

He also recommended a La Sirena. Apparently he adores this as well, although I have no memory of him actually smoking one. Of course, we're not together allllll the time, although you probably think we are. Just most of the time! I do know that our friend Eric (Hi Eric!) is a fan of Arielle's line, including this, the Merlion, which is a "rich blend comprised of six...tobaccos. It all starts with a feisty, yet silky smooth Ecuadorian Corojo wrapper. This lovely leaf hugs a Brazilian Sumatra binder, housing an impressive long-filler bouquet of Dominican Corojo, Dominican Criollo 98', Nicaraguan ligero, and finally Brazilian Mata Fina. An adventurous blend no doubt, each brand's influence is evident, as the Merlion asserts a bold, well-balanced array of rich medium to full-bodied smoke...Expect hints of pepper, oak, natural sweetness, and subtle floral notes to mingle, before a long toasty finish." While the Merlion is considered fuller, the tobacco level isn't that high, so its strength isn't pop-your-head-off full, just nice and subtle full.<--Yes, that's a thing. I just made it up, which makes it a thing now.

Valentino's willingness to help out a new friend isn't unique. It happens time and again, whether it's lending a lighter, buying a drink, or handing over a favorite cigar***** in order to share the love with someone who hadn't yet tried it. (And if Valentino hands you a Padron or a Joel Sherman by Nat Sherman, you might as well consider yourself BFFs for life.)

So if you're not sure what to smoke next while you're at the cigar lounge, ask for suggestions. You may just find your new all-time favorite. Or at the very least, make a new friend.

*hahahha. Reading homework words, hoping they're in a good enough order to call fabulous.

**And him, but more for me. Two words: Hungry. Headache.

***If I weren't such a hack reporter, I'd be able to tell you what that cigar was. However, I am a hack reporter with a limited ability to retain information when distracted by air, so...yeah. Let's just skip over this stick. Pretend it never happened.

****Come on. Work with me here. Signature? Penmanship. Sometimes I think I have the funny in abundance!

*****Unsmoked, of course!

Glen Case and Kristoff get all the sparkles!

The other day, when a certain someone* should have been home grading papers, she wasn't because she'd been whisked off** to a new place.***

Another new favorite place!
Hanging out in all these awesome places doesn't leave any time for work! 
Hold on while I go play the lottery!! We have lots more places to visit!

Our friend Brenda, who started working at Havana Cigar Club in West Warwick, RI not too long ago, had been enticing us with promises of a place filled with unicorns and rainbows.**** Yeah, yeah, yeah we said, since the lounge is maybe 30-40 minutes away from Casa Awesome.

But her wily ways took a stronghold the other day when she announced a Kristoff event at the lounge. We'd heard nothing but amazing things about his eminency***** Glen Case and we needed to bow to him, shake his hand, and offer to wash his car. At least that was my intention. Valentino said we could just make him laugh and smoke his cigars. Whatevs, dude.

Turns out his plan really was the best one, although I'll never admit that publicly.****** (It was really cold that night so washing the car was out of the question anyway.) And we certainly made him laugh. In fact, he and Valentino may share a funny gene.*******  OMG! It was like they were separated at birth! For realz!

And while all the jocularity occurred, he showed us his wares (heh heh), asking what Valentino likes to smoke and then made recommendations from favorites. That makes me happy, when a cigar rep or
owner or shopkeeper wants to match you with the perfect cigar for you, rather than pointing you in the popular direction.

These are just two of our purchases. The others disappeared magically somehow, swallowed up by the Humidor Monster perhaps?

We know what happened to this one though:

Up in flames, baby! Up! In! Flames!
And it made me have the glad, because man, oh man, was that fabuloso!!

The Kristoff GC Signature Series hit the flame first and released "rich notes of espresso, dried apricot, chocolate and a sweet-spicy finish." [source]  The delicious Brazilian Maduro wrapper reminded us a teeny bit of our old friend, the CAO Amazon Basin. The binder is Cuban Seed Honduran and the filler, the filler is all the delicious things! Cuban Seed Dominican! Cuban Seed Honduran! AND Cuban Seed Nicaraguan!

Our friend Brenda, she who enticed us there in the first place, had this and raaaaaved about it. I can't possibly share a second-hand smoke story with you because she's a fast little devil, moving a zillion miles an hour:

"The maduro ligero washes your palate with notes of espresso bean,
dark chocolate, a hint of mix berry and a sweet cocoa finish."
(I'd tell you the source, but I closed the dang window and moved on with my day and then...d'oh!)

The Kristoff website says, "The Kristoff Ligero has twice the amount of Ligero leaf in the filler than the original Kristoff. It embodies incredible notes of toasted nut, caramel, undertones of cedar, spice and a sweet finish. Made with 100% Cuban Seed tobacco, this cigar leaves a clean, fresh finish on your palate."

Anyway, Glen? Glen is awesomely awesome and he would never lead you astray--unless you asked him to, but that's something else again. Want to know why he's in the cigar business? "It was one of those mid-life crisis’.  I’ve always enjoyed a good cigar and decided to pursue, what was an interest at the time; but it quickly turned into a passion."  Yeah, that happens to a lot of us. Oh, wait. Midlife crisis? Nope. Don't know anything about that!

"I spent nineteen years in the corporate world; all in the financial services industry.  The last nine years of my career, I spent as an executive at one of the top five banks in the country. I actually started in this industry as an independent sales rep.  However, it was only about six months later that I decided I wanted to come out with my own cigar line.  That was over 8 years ago." [source]

Havana Cigar Club Owner Todd LaScola, our hero Valentino, and Glen Case!

So! Now we 1. Have a couple of new friends; 2. Found another cool place to hang out; 3. Have another new favorite cigar. Not a bad evening of fun, although when we finally returned home, the elves hadn't even started grading papers. It's so hard to get good help these days.  Sheesh.


*Me, in case you haven't caught on to our patterns of mystery here.

**Actual conversation went something like this... Him: Ready to go? Me: Yep.

***New to me; Valentino had cased the joint previously.

****Metaphorical, I was sad to find out.

*****Not Eminem, you jokers. The head honcho.

******Oh.

*******Not this funny Gene: