Words you should know: Maduro

You see the dark wrapper and immediately think "Whoa! That's going to be a full cigar, all filled with strength and spice. I'm not ready for that strong a cigar yet."

Something's afoot! It's the Leaf by Oscar! [source]

We say, "Oh, pshaw." Turn that part of your brain off, please, and open your hearts to the maduro because this wrapper is going to surprise the crap out of you. In a (really) good way. Probably better if you're prepared for all that goodness.

 A language lesson: maduro means "mature" or "ripe" in Spanish, not "This is going to be so mother-effing strong I won't be able to handle it." Okay. Class over.

So why are the maduro cigars so so so dark?


[source]

You know how when you caramelize onions they get all dark and delicious? Same thing. Same-ish thing. Extra fermentation, baby. Alllll fermentation.

Here's how a maduro is born:

1. Really nice folks pick the someday-wrapper leaves, which are generally thicker than binder and filler leaves--and even non-maduro wrappers. Why thicker? Because thinner leaves will go "Poof!" and disintegrate during the loooooong fermentation process. That would be a waste of time and energy for the grower and the plant.

2a. Leaves snuggle together in a curing barn for up to 45 days--until their color goes from just-grown green to rich, delicious brown. You know, the opposite of what you generally want to happen with your plants at home.

2b. Want darker, sweeter, more caramelly leaves? Age them even longer--years if you like. (Cigar makers have some serious patience.)

3. Voila! Super fermented leaves with a deep, rich, flavorful profile you'd be a fool* to pass up. What kind of flavor? Well, depending on the soil and all those factors that make tobacco unique, you could be smoking the cigar equivalent of  dark chocolate, coffee, brown sugar, caramel, molasses, black pepper, dried fruit, black cherry, or other stuff the plants haven't even thought of yet! Almost all maduro wrappers are more complex than other wrappers because they worked very very hard at being delicious.

Mmmmm. (These are Fuentes, by the way.)  [source]

Let's play Cigar Smoker Word Association.
You say "maduro." Many will respond "dessert."

So beyond fermentation, what's providing the delicious sweetness?
A. Genetic make-up
B. Seed-type
C. Organic micro elements in the soil
D. All of the above.

The answer is D, so you can't possibly try this is home. (Sorry!)  And even if you get all those elements correct, tobacco variety tastes differently from one farm to the next and varies from crop to crop, depending on rainfall and  (literally) on which way the wind blows.

The mighty broadleaf. [source]

If you want the most sweetness from a maduro wrapper, seek out the broadleaf, which is genetically programmed to satisfy your sweet tooth.**

We challenge you to give the maduro wrapper a try. Actually, try a couple from different companies, but make sure one of them is a Padron '64 Anniversary series

and another is a Perdomo 20th Anniversary.

Oh crap. I could make myself crazy trying to include all the fabulous ones.

And Valentino really doesn't need me to be any crazier. I'm already at a dangerously high level.***




*


I pity the fool
that turns his nose up at maduro wrappers.

**But don't chew on it, for heaven's sake. That will land you in #cigarloungedouchebag territory.

***

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!

Where we'll be: 12 Reasons Why you should come to this event (apologies to Jay Asher for bastardizing his title.*)

On Friday, April 10, at 6:30!

 

Meet Jim Robinson!

 

At Broadway Cigars!

(obviously, we're very excited!)

 

Jim with our hero

Reasons you should go:

1. We'll be there. Obviously, you don't need another reason, but if you're being stubborn, here are some more:

2. Delicious food from Roma, on Federal Hill!

3. Two for one specials! 

4. Raffle for $500 worth of cigars and humidor!

5. Did we mention we'll be there?

6. Other cool people will be there! You want to meet and hang with Bobby and John and the folks who hang at Broadway Cigars.



Photo stolen shamelessly from the Broadway Cigars Facebook page.
Mr. Cool and the Gang

 

7. From our experience, any Island Jim event--or any event at Broadway Cigars--is always a good time.

8. Will the Travelling Owl will be there. (P.S. Please go like his Facebook page so he'll shut the eff up about us not promoting his "awesomeness" enough. Thank you.)
 

Jim and Will go waaaay back. Obvs they're BFFs.

9. You get to meet Jim Robinson, Mr. Island Jim himself. Trust us--you will love him. (And that's IF Will isn't bogarting all Jim's time. Will can be an asshole, as we all know.)

10. If you haven't had a Leaf by Oscar or an Island Jim cigar, this is your chance to swoon and meet their maker, simultaneously.

 

11. Foods. Yummy, yummy foods.

12. We'll be there.

*If you have not read 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, you should. And you should do it soon.  I can't believe you've gone this long without reading it! Or at least listen to it!

From the (Face)Book of Jim

Unless you've been living somewhere other than Penny World (although why would you be anywhere else, since here everything is fun and sparkly. Plus unicorns.)   I wandered away from my sentence again. 

 

So unless you're new, you know how much we adore Jim Robinson, he of Leaf by Oscar and Island Jim fantabulous cigars, as well as the superfantabuloso Leaf and Bean.

Jim and our hero

 

The other day on the facebook,* Jim posted the following missive, which sums up pretty much all that is right with the cigar word.**

 

The only changes I made were adding paragraphing. He said I should change it to make him sound smarter, but I'm ignoring that for three reasons:
 

1. No way would I even attempt to alter his voice. "Find your voice and commit to it," I tell my students.  Jim's writing voice is as open and friendly and honest and awesome as he is. To mess with it would be a crime. 
2. Jim is already wicked smaht, as we say here in New England.

3. I forgot what the other thing was. 

Jim in his shop Leaf and Bean in the Pittsburgh Strip District

 

So with that, please enjoy:
 
All the time as a retailer I am asked what is your favorite cigar. What a question, how do I pick just one. There are so many great manufacturers out there making fabulous cigars, its impossible for me to pick a favorite. My goal is to try them all, yes I have certain tobaccos that I like. But to pick ONE from thousands is impossible for me. And there are so many great masters of the craft, I cannot even start naming names, mostly for the fear I will not mention one of the masters of the craft.

For the most part great cigars are in that $7 - $20 price range. Some below a few higher, but money does not make a cigar taste better to me. I respect a fair number of Master Blenders or as I refer to them the Head Chefs of a fine restaurant who know their ingredients and how to make a great recipe.

I have had fantastic $6.00 cigars, and OK $20.00 cigars. The joy of cigar smoking for me is to experiment, try them, smoke them. I have not in my opinion had a bad cigar yet! Some may not fit my taste profile, but that does not make it bad. Not one, Not one, manufacturer that I know is making a bad cigar. They are making cigars for their market, some markets I fall into, some I don't. Does not make them bad.

We are living in great times, we have choices, It was not that many years ago, that we did not have choices, there was only so many different manufactures to choose from, now every day I am hearing and trying something I never heard of. For me, that is what cigar smoking is all about, always on the quest to try something new, to find that perfect cigar, that perfect cigar that fits my budget.

Not everyone agrees with me, and you know what "Thats OK." That is what is so cool about cigar smoking we don't have to agree. What brings us together is the ritual, the socializing 10 guys and gals around a table will be smoking 10 different cigars and they all at the time think they are smoking the best. Wahoo!

What a country.... For me the quest is on, I am smoking and enjoying and looking for that next great cigar.....

You must have all of these. Go ahead. We'll wait.

So, as Jim would say, "Wahoo!!"

 

*I say this in an ironic way. 

**Imagine one of those Ven Diagrams. One circle says Cigar World and the other says Penny World. That place where it overlaps? And it does overlap. That's a bit of heaven where a handful of people live. It's very nice there, if I do say so myself. 

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.

 

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. 

A Tale of Two Cigar Shops/Lounges, Part the First

Valentino and I had a couple of errands to run, one of which was actually paying for the tickets we'd reserved for the Broadway Cigars' February dinner at Ciara Restaurant  on February 9. (For details, give the shop a call* (401) 272-9600 or visit the event Facebook page.)

We took Will the Travelling Owl because sometimes it's just easier to bring him than it is to listen to him bitch because we didn't.

We landed at Broadway first, whereby Will demanded a photoshoot:

Oh, we'll do what you want, little owl,
but we're going to photobomb you.

You know we love the La Flor Dominicana Myster...oh, we mean TCFKAM (The Cigar Formerly Known As Mysterio). Will's also a fan.

Will would like to own this box. Just sayin'...

This Alec Bradley Nica Puro Diamond Rough Cut is on our to-do list. I guess it would be a to-smoke list. We don't want to call it a Cigar Bucket List, as we'd like to have more than one before we do any bucket-kicking. The limited-release (which you know makes us swoon) 6 1/2 x 54 toro is a line extension of the already beloved Nico Puro. As the name states, this cigar screams heaven for our Nicaraguan-loving Valentino.

Yep. These AB babies. Where the Nica Puro line all began...
way back in 2012.

This is a super favorite of the entire household!

This is the super-limited, 75th Anniversary release Joel Sherman, from our friends at Nat Sherman. The double corona (7 1/2 x 46) is a perfect blend of an Ecuadorean Connecticut wrapper and Dominican binder and filler. Every once in a while, we'll gift one to a friend and as his** face lights up with delight, we mention that (hahaha) they're hard to find.*** 

We were super surprised to find that Broadway had them, as few other folks do. So, if this is your great white whale that you relentlessly seek, run and get them!

P.S. We cropped the photo so you couldn't have your heart broken, as we did when we saw someone wrote the price on this gorgeous box in permanent marker.

Will is saying, Ah, I remember when
I was first to have one of these...

Broadway also has the J Grotto perfecto P-555 (5 x 55--get it?), which sold so quickly that they, too, are difficult to find. Will wanted to hoard them all. We told him if he wanted to get a job and pay for them, we'd be happy to carry the bag for him.

But we can also understand his desire to have them. We've loved them since Paul Joyle shared them with us pre-release. The Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and Dominican Habano binder work lovingly together to hold the Dominican and other Central American super secret fillers. Want to know more? You should go here!


We turned away for one second and found Will
rolling around in the box of another favorite cigar. Sigh.

We've told you a hundred gazillion times**** about our love of the Leaf.***** It's another we tell folks about all the time. We could probably hand-sell them throughout the land if we were so inclined. But then we'd feel like we were playing favorites, and that wouldn't be right. After all, we are staunch reporters, committed to true journalism. (Hard to say without laughing, so we can imagine how hard it is to read.)

If you haven't had a Leaf by Oscar, from our friend Island Jim Robinson, then let us know and we'll point you in the right direction. Wrapped in a tobacco leaf, this cigar is as awesome as it looks.


Arrrrgh!

Very few cigars can be both awesome and annoying. There's another all-Nicaraguan cigar (awesome) we dig and every time we see it, whether at Broadway, another shop, or in the humidor when we're looking for something delicious,****** that damn Commodores song pops into our heads (annoying). (You're welcome, by the way, for the earworm.)

We have been remiss in telling you about our Brick House love, and promise to get to that soon, but in the meantime, here's an interesting story from their website: "In 1937, J.C. Newman launched Brick House; a true Cuban puro cigar made with the finest Havana tobaccos. To honor his family and heritage, J.C. modeled the Brick House label after his childhood home – the only brick house in their small, Hungarian village. Locals and visitors would gather at the house nightly to eat, drink, smoke and enjoy each other’s company. But with the Cuban embargo came the end of the Brick House." But you can't blow a brick house down, and they are back and waiting for you!

Yes, Will likes the name of this cigar. Sigh. Again.

Mr. J's Havana introduced us to the Crux Cigar family at one of their monthly dinners, waaay back in October, and we've been fans ever since! Crux is relative new to the marketplace, and this Ninfamaniac pays homage to the classic Cuban Ninfa, at 7 x 33, although the tapered cap and foot makes it uniquely Crux. With a Habano Jalapa wrapper, Indonesian binder, and Nicaraguan filler, one of the most interesting things about the Ninfamaniac, besides the fantastic taste, is that the cigars are handcrafted by only two rollers.

Oh, we do go on, don't we? Check out Part the First and a Half here, and Part the Second here.

 

 

*But not today, Tuesday 1/27, because they are closed--as is the rest of Penny World because of, um...all the snow in the world being dumped on us!

 

**Always "he." We know very few local lady cigar smokers.

 

***We are horrible people. We know this. We know you love us anyway.

 

****Go to the right-hand side of the blog, scroll down, and click on Leaf. Then you'll see all the times we brought it up in casual conversation. Blogging conversation, that is. 

 

*****Hey! We said the name of the blog!

 

******Everything in the humidor is delicious, so the search isn't a difficult one.

In which we're responsible for the corruption of another young soul.Yay!

So I was going to write about how we are back in the Leaf and Bean in Pittsburgh on the Strip and I guess I still am, but the focus of this post switched gears before I typed a word. 

Valentino lit up a Leaf, it being one of Island Jim Robinson's masterpieces. You know we're big big big big big fans of The Leaf by Oscar. After all, we've only been singing its praises since for-freaking-ever!

Today's selection, the 6x60 Corojo.

 

Anyway, Valentino's niece takes him up on his offer to try the Corojo Leaf.  As he handed it to her, he said, "For the love of God, don't inhale. Your head will explode "

She didn't. It didn't. All was right with the world.

 "I like it," she said. 

In the words of Island Jim, "Wahoo!"

I ran--pinky swear ran--into the humidor, pushed people out of the way, and took possession of an ACID Blondie, the tiny one, the panetela (4 x 38). It's a good starter and way less of a commitment than a full-size cigar.  It's also on the mild side, with a Connecticut wrapper, and, as his niece said, "It's sweet," thanks to its infused nature.

Mom watches her daughter's fall into the cigar culture and there is much rejoicing.

The ACID line, is something special in its own right.  According to the Drew Estate website, "The ACID smoking experience is like no other. Each blend holds new explorations in tobacco curing and blending that are the closest guarded secrets in the industry. For the past 10 years, legions of you have sought out ACID cigars in the far corners of the world to satisfy your craving for something truly one-of-a-kind, unique and inspiring. Explore the entire range of kaleidoscope tastes never before imagined in a cigar and be rewarded for your efforts."

Want to know a super interesting story about this guy? (The one on the right.  The one on the left is our hero, Valentino.)

That's Scott Chester, he of ACID Cigars,

and many other amazing product lines.

We had the luxury of meeting him a

t the Fuente fundraiser in Miami this October.* 

 

First of all, ACID is an acronym, which stands for Arielle Chester (his daughter) Industrial Design. See? Now you're already way smarter than when you started reading this! 

This is from Scott's website, "In 1998 ACID was approached by Marvin Samel and Jonathan Drew, future owners of Drew Estate, cigar company. They wanted ACID to develop a cigar brand. After several years, ACID cigars, now consists of five different lines and sixteen different cigars, all of which have served to solve a major cigar problem: the cigar tastes good as it’s smoked but the lingering aroma is not often pleasing. The secret process for creating the patented ACID cigar aroma involves blending over 140 botanical and herbal elements. The mixture is cured into the wrapper layer tobacco for over six months, which makes for a pleasant smelling smoke without hindering the five-tobacco blend within the cigar. 'If you’re in a room full of cigar smokers you can easily detect the ACID aroma.'"

 

So we've captured another soul, gotten her to smoke and enjoy a cigar--and in one of the best places to do it! But there's so much more to know.  Your lessons have just begun, Grasshopper. 

 

P.S. She's going for cigar number two! And it's Jim's very own Connecticut Leaf! (It seems only right.) Is it wrong for us to be so happy? Best part? Island Jim is giving her pointers on lighting it!!

Yes, she's of age. Turn off your tattletale brain.

 

*Yes, we have been promising to tell you about this trip for one hundred million ages and we will--before next year's event. **

 

**We have had a request for a minimum of three sparkle entries.***

 

***This is the third! :)

Lookit!! A sea of color in a black and gold world!

So remember back in July how we kept not knowing we were missing the coolest place ever in the Strip District in Pittsburgh PA?

We found it! (Thanks Google maps!)

The Leaf and Bean is one of the most awesomely coolest places ever!! For realz! 

In fact, it's a deliciously smoky island of relaxation in the loud, choppy sea of macaroni and gravy.*

When we strolled in, in full lollygagging mode,** we were hit with many layers of eclecticity.*** I'd try to explain it, but instead, let's refer to Valentino's pictures, shall we?

 

 

And here is Island Jim himself, in his natural habitat!!

See right behind Jim? That's the shop's humidor, which features some of our super favorites, including Leaf by Oscar (of course, because that's Jim's best selling cigar), along with others like our friend Paul Joyal's J Grotto, the ever-awesome Padron, and another new fave, New Workd by AJ Fernandez. 

 

I know what you're thinking: Uhhhh...what about the Island Jim? You know, the proprietor's namesake? Don't you think you should mention that, dear, sweet bloggess?

Well, home skillet, I would mention it, except they're sold out!! So why should I get you all excited for something you can't have? That's just mean!!

But they will be back in house sometime in January, so save your Christmas money. 

 

Here's another treasure of the Leaf and Bean: Melody, Jim's better half. She's a kindred spirit; she doesn't actually smoke  cigars but knows tons and tons about them. But she's super friendly and fun to chat with. 

 

Here's the dealio: I don't actually want to live in Pennsylvania because it's way too far from the ocean. But if IF I found some reason I found myself inhabiting a home with a western PA address, I've already picked out my barber chair in the back, where I could write and write and write. 

 

So come here. It's on The Strip on 22nd street. (I know the mailing address is Penn Ave. Ignore that.) if you're at the intersection of the two streets, looking toward the thousands, no, millions of vendors hawking fruit and Steelers merchandise, go left on 22nd. You're going to come across an island of color. Go towards the color. Go. Now. 

 

 

*For those who don't know, the Italians call sauce "gravy" and pasta "macaroni." Yes, they are weird. 

**Stuffed from the Primanti's sandwich, if you must know. Look how big the darned sandwich is!

***Yes, it is a word.