August Cigar of the Month: My Father Cigars!

First of all...

to Chase, our Perdomo giveaway winner!!

Now!

In honor of my dad's birthday in August, we're giving a way one cubic ton (as figured by an English major) of My Father Cigars, specifically the Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ! The top two winners* will receive this:

Surprisingly, photo by me!

A few other folks will receive a handful of the cigars (without the ashtray). You want to know how many? ::shrugs:: As many as the math will allow.

Let's think of them as a Herf in a Box. Invite a couple of pals over and share the bounty!

SuperFriend and My Father Cigars rep Jeremy Soares graciously offered us a bounty of awesome cigars to share with you! (And you know how I loooove sharing other people's stuff!**)

Have you had the Miami-made Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ?*** Dudes, you are going to loooove it if you haven't. And if you have, don't you love it, with its Nicaraguan binder and filler and the Corojo Rosado wrapper?****

Oh, and if you haven't had it, here's a great way for you to potentially lay your hands on some for you and your best cigar pals!*****

a Rafflecopter giveaway

[source]

 

And also, Happy Birthday, Dad!

 

My dad and his BFF Baxter.
Someone is not napping like he is supposed to be.

 

 

 

*As figured by Rafflecopter, not me! I just say, "Oh mighty Rafflecopter, please choose me a winner..."

 

**But that's between us. Remember: We don't want Valentino to know we raid his humidors when he isn't around!

 

***The first J from the Series JJ? That would be Jose, Garcia family patriarch. The second? That would be his son Jaime.

 

****Rhetorical question. How can you NOT love it? (That's another rhetorical question.)

 

*****Technically, you're not required to share them, and we'll never know if you do or not, but wouldn't that be super fun?

Where we will be: Hint--Alec Bradley is involved*

Q: What’s black and white and…a smokin’ good time (and not just because we'll be there)?

A: The Alec Bradley Black and White event at Habanos Cigar Lounge on Thursday, June 18, from 6:00-11:00 p.m.

We’re going to make this as clear as possible—no gray areas!

Join Alec Bradley’s New England Regional Territory Manager and our SuperFriend Drinnan Thornton at Habanos Cigar Lounge as he showcases some of the company’s best cigars.

This is also an opportunity to find the perfect Alec Bradley smoke for you. We're already in love with the Black Market, Nica Puro, and Coyol, among others, so definitely try those. Oh jeez. You're going to need to get there super early in order to try all these cigars. Or...I guess you could purchase some also... That would work! Or both! Yes! Try AND buy! That's for sure what we'll be doing!

As an aside, we finally came across the Coyol petit lancero the other day and may or may not have purchased a few. That skinny mofo is ass-kicking awesome, made with a Honduran wrapper, and the binder and filler coming from Nicaragua and Honduras, albeit from a variety of regions. When I went to get the cigar for photoshoot time, wherein I hope the result's not too blurry, this little bastard was making off with it.

Last AB petit lancero in the humidor, little buddy.
Not a chance you're leaving the humidified box with it.
Not. A. Chance.

The petit lancero's small ring size brings smoke's focus to the binder rather than the filler. So even though you're smoking an already-favorite, the experience will be much different--and magically delicious. If that size isn't available at the Habanos event, be sure to ask Drinnan where to lay your mitts (or wings) on some, because as much as we like you, we're not giving you ours.

Drinnan's fabulous and he'll help match what you like to an Alec Bradley product similar in strength and blend. Or even better, try something completely different than you’re used to—it could become your new favorite!

At the Habanos event on the 18th, we're going to get 40% off all Alec Bradley box purchases! Know what? We'll put in a good word for you and let you have the discount as well! (We know a guy who can help you out.)

During the event, we're to dress in black and white (or black or white would work too, I guess) and we've earned a raffle ticket! Just for getting dressed! Talk about incentive! We're definitely going to get dressed for this shin-dig! Guaranteed, Valentino will be decked out in black and white. I may or may not--depends on whether I feel like conforming. Although a raffle ticket...

Photo by me.
I know! Shocking! It's pretty good!

What’s the raffle for? Apparently, tons and tons of prizes! (Tons as figured by an English major, not a metric ton.) At this nanosecond, we have no idea what the prizes could be, although we suspect Valentino will be a favorite to win. Yes, he's one of those guys, who wins tons and tons of stuff! Actual tons of stuff, as calculated by people who know how to do math.)

[source]

In case you didn't know, the makers of the much-loved Black Market cigar (get it?), Alec Bradley is a world-class boutique producer synonymous with quality and accessibility and focused on one goal: to give the cigar smoker an unforgettable experience. We guarantee you’ll long-remember the joy the Alec Bradley cigars bring you--especially if you smoke them with us, as we are completely fab!

Got it? Because from here, it’s as clear as black and white.

One of my all-time fave pics:
(L to R) Drinnan, Caballero #2, our hero

Since you have your calendar out, and you're probably looking for other opportunities to spend with us, make a note of these upcoming Habanos events. (We'll let you know about other events too, as soon as our schedule is solidified.):


July 9: My Father Cigars

  July 23: Oliva dinner 

 August 6: Miami Cigar Company



*But neither Alec nor Bradley. Just the cigar company. You know Alec and Bradley are the names of Alec Bradley company owner Alan Rubin's boys, right? Now you know!

Premium 70/70 Lounge or: 70% chance I've been drinking from the lead cup

Honest to everything, sometimes I am the dumbest person ever to walk the earth. Or lie on the couch on Earth. Or have snacks on Earth. Or second-hand smoke on Earth.*

When this happens, my BFF (Hi Jame!) will look me straight in the eye and ask, "Have you been drinking from the lead cup?"

The answer is probably yes. Here's why:

1. I lived in Westport, MA for umpity gajillion years and never knew the Premium 70/70 Cigar Shop and Lounge existed. Westport is not a big place. There's no reason we haven't been going in there for umpity ages. I never connected the giant neon CIGAR sign outside to We Like Cigars.

Look what I was missing:


Look at this delicious lounging area.
Valentino could smoke and chat up a storm with the regulars here!
(We hear they're wicked nice!)
(Obvs they're not in the picture. I'm not THAT bad!).
BTW, I could totally second-hand smoke here.
I could write here. Let's be honest. I could nap here no problem. 

AND!**

You guys! You have to go here and be amazed at all the great cigars in this massive humidor that made Valentino weep with jealousy--even though this is a shop and we aren't (although the new humidor makes us look a lot closer). You'd be jealous of these humidors too! You should visit them to see for yourself. We'll meet you there!

So very very pretty. And what's inside is pretty great too!

[Here's an extended aside-too big for a sparkle--Premium 70/70 is hosting a J Grotto event on Friday, February 20, 2015. We've told you a million times about how much we love all things J Grotto and adore their creator, Paul Joyle, he of Mr. J's Havana. Clear your calendar and get your butt there. We'll probably go! ::runs to tell Valentino I'd like to go::]

Anyway, while we were at 70/70, Valentino picked up one of these little babies (below) to smoke while we pestered Manager and Awesomely Cool Guy*** Nolan Perry. You have to go and you have to say "Howdy!" to Nolan. He's super fun to talk to and he knows about one thousand cubic tons of cigar things.

And when you go, say "Well helloooooo" in that creepy way to Los Carajos, "All the power & flavor of a full sized Ligero concentrated into a quick smoke that will surely leave you yelling its name… in a good way!" according to the La Flor Dominicana website.


So very very tasty!

So...this 4 x 34 is the new house favorite for a quick smoke--for example when Valentino is waiting for me to get my crap together and leave the house, even though I was ready to go three minutes prior.**** I'm thinking I should buy this for him, since my losing things and getting sidetracked is a regular occurrence.

Perfect packaging if you have OCD.

In case you didn't know, because you don't live on Planet Earth, "La Flor Dominicana is one of the premier Dominican cigar producers known for growing full-flavored and full-bodied Dominican tobacco on their La Canela farm. They then carefully age and roll these tobaccos into some of the best-selling cigars in the world." [source] 

We recently emptied out the overstuffed humidor and split the goods into its newly-arrived 2,000-count twin. Guess what we found as we started sorting? Yep! Lots of LFDs because--hand to the heavens--there's not a bad one in the bunch, so each time we're at an event, we buy more new things to try and old favorites to stock up on. Contrary to popular belief, I am not an enabler.*****

"Offered with a variety of wrappers, the La Flor Dominicana Little Cigars provide the same great tobacco flavors that fans of La Flor Dominicana have come to expect but in a smaller package. These short smokes are guaranteed to give you your cigar fill in a shorter smoking time with medium to full-bodied smoke and terrific flavors." [source]
 Speaking of none of that, guess who lives at Premium 70/70!!!

Bob the Cat!!
How can you not love a place with a cat?

You thought I forgot I was making a list, didn't you?

2. So--70/70 Cigar Shop.
I'm embarrassed at how long it took me to figure out what the shop name means.  I'm not saying it took a couple of days to click. I mean MONTHS! Maybe even YEARS! I can't remember.

I looked at Valentino the other day, all proud of my perhaps deleaded-cup brain and said, "Did you know that the 70/70 shop name means the perfect temp and humidity?"

He didn't actually say, "No der," but I could see his thought bubble. It read "No DER."******


3. Before we walked into this amazeballs shop, standing outside in the effing freezing cold, we agreed, "We're not buying anything while we're here."

Hahahaahahhahhahhah. As if that could happen--us walking out of a fabulous shop empty-handed. Obviously he's been sipping from the cup as well.

[As another aside too big for sparkles, we did walk IN empty-handed. We hadn't planned to visit the shop, so we left Will at home. When I introduced myself, Nolan said, "Where's Will?"]

Anyway, we plucked these from the shop's magic humidor, with Nolan's help. We like to ask shopkeepers what they're enjoying and what they recommend.


Jaime Garcia!
Matilde Renacer!
Quesada Oktoberfest in two sizes!
Quesada 40th Anniversary!
LFD 1994 from the stein!
And the baby LFDs!

One is trying to escape!

We're going to write about these cigars in the near future--and I promise not to forget.  Although I can't promise I won't get distracted choosing a pair of earrings or shooing Will out of the humidor--so no actual timeframe... but someday! Someday!!

 

In the meantime, we'll see you at Premium 70/70 in Westport, MA!

 

 

 

*Keeping it relevant, people.

 

**Me yelling, for emphasis.

 

***His official title, according to me.

 

****I swear I am not doing girly things, like my hair. I'm usually looking for my other glove or Will or running back upstairs to get earrings or a scarf. I am Valentino's version of unorganized hell. And proud of it.

 

*****Lie. I'm a total enabler. Does it make you happy? Get it!

 

******In case this phrase isn't common in your land, it essentially means, "What are you, fucking stupid?" in a  more sarcastic and much nicer way. 

A Tale of Two Cigar Shops/Lounges, Part the Second (but about Nos. 4 and 5) (Numbers are confusing.)

When we last left you, we'd visited Broadway Cigars and kept Will from licking the cigars. Check out Part the First and Part the First and a Half.

Then we hopped in the car and headed to a place we'd been meaning to go for ages: The Humidor in Cranston, RI. As you may remember, we visited their East Greenwich shop not too long ago.

The Cranston store is their flagship and, while not as big as our earlier jaunt destination, man oh man do they have a ton of cool stuff! In fact, we had a really hard time deciding what to get. Apprently, for the fiscally responsible (Valentino), "Let's get all the things!" is not a reasonable alternative.

But first! We want to tell you this interesting fact: The Humidor was one of Drew Estate's first five accounts and the first in New England.

Now I wish I could say, for continuity's sake, that we bought a ton of Drew Estate cigars, but we already have a ton ton ton in the humidor, so we went in a different direction and got these:

I know!

We've been looking for the My Father Cigars lancero, also known as the My Father No. 4, for just ages! And here they were! We suspect we're going to love them, and when we got home, we were all d'oh! Why did we only get one of the 7 1/2 x 38 cigars, with their Ecuadorian Habano Rosado wrappers and Nicaraguan binders and fillers? We never do that! We always get at least two, usually three--one to smoke right away, one for the humidor, and one for a second smoke. The humidor looked angry* when we only fed one of these lovelies into its maw.

We'll tell you more when we set it on fire, which will probably happen soon-ish.


Then! the lovely Jana, owner extraordinaire, brought this box from the back room:

...and Will jumped right in. Sigh.

This lovely box is half-filled with the Fuente Fuente Opus X (FFOX) Perfecxion No. 5, which may seem owl-sized at 40 x 4 7/8, but we triple-dog-dared him to light one up. We stared him down--or tried to but were seriously losing--so we walked away and passive-aggressively said, "You do what you want." 

We should probably tell Will that our friends at Famous Smoke** say the "cigars are stunning little fireplugs handcrafted by Carlito Fuente's most talented rollers using vintage, all-Dominican, Cuban-seed fillers capped in mouthwateringly oily wrappers. The smoke is full-bodied, heady and spicy, laced with a deep dark tobacco flavors." Yeah, we should probably tell him.

This is another instance where we say, "What were we thinking? Why didn't we just grab the box and run?"***

Jana, we're going to be back soon, because we really should hav ebought all the things. Is there an opposite of "buyer's remorse"? Like, "Didn't buy it remorse"? Because if that's a thing, we have it. Big time.


*It truly is a living beast, with wants and needs that must be fulfilled.  And you should never, ever feed it after midnight.

**Of course, our friends at Famous Smoke also say "Hahaha, good luck finding these!"

***Probably because we aren't really runners. Plus, we're pretty law-abiding and we'd feel really badly before we ever reached the car. Plus plus, Jana is wicked nice.

The One that Got Away--It's Box-worthy!*

The other night, under pressure of deadline and associated crazy, I sent Valentino away. He wound up at Habanos, which is great because that's where he headed in the first place, with pland to meet up with a bunch of super cool folks.

As my state reached pinnacle crazy, he packed up a few cigars, kissed me goodbye, and fled.  Usually I'll ask what tubular treasures he's taking with him, but I didn't. My brain, she is a weeeee bit fried. Twenty six measly letters into many, many combinations of words and sentences and paragraphs and then all of a sudden, he was home.**

So while I spent hours finagling a book proposal into some semblance of order, he enjoyed this:

Damn, he's a good picture-taker.

Once again My Father Cigar has made a spectacular impression and I'm just sorry I missed it.
Once he found out the details of the Flor de las Antillas, a sun-grown wrapper and Nicaraguan filler and binder, we said, "Ahhh. Of course." We've discovered over many many many cigars that he does tend to favor the leaves of Nicaragua.

According to Cigar Aficionado, the company released the Flor de Las Antillas brand in May 2012. "The standout of the four-size brand is the Toro, which has a gentle, rounded box press and a beautiful and evenly colored wrapper. The smokes are delicious from the first puff, with notes of nutmeg, white pepper and just enough strength without being overpowering. They are hard to put down. They are classics, 96-point smokes on our 100-point scale."

[source]

The Flor de las Antillas, the "first entirely box-pressed line from My Father Cigars, means 'Flower of the Antilles'; the Flor de las Antillas represents Cuba, the largest island in the Greater Antilles islands, and home to the Garcia family's rich cigar making heritage. Traditionally focused on more full-bodied cigars, Flor de las Antillas ventures into the company's untapped niche of a true medium-bodied experience." [source] 

The company states on their website, "The Garcia family has decided to put that name on this amazing and unique creation, combining a great cigar with a design that includes accents from the original art created in the early 1900s, packed in a box of 20 cigars. It is a 3/4 to Full-Bodied cigar Box-Pressed of a sun grown wrapper harvested in Las Marias farm, located in the region of Namaja­ in Estela­, Nicaragua, owned and operated by the Garcia Family. This cigar is blended with several Cuban tobacco seeds, making it smooth and creamy. It starts with the signature My Father spice and has a rich cocoa flavor. It produces a beautiful white ash giving it a great finish."

Valentino noted that the cigar started with a blast of spiciness and hint of pepper but it ebbed quickly and headed into a sweeter mild-medium smoke with hints of wood and leather behind it all. We're going to have to take his word for it, since I wasn't there. Oh, and he knows what he's talking about, so there's that...

::Happy dance:: We're getting a box of these! [source]

We can't quite remember where we got the magical Flor de Las Antillas toro (6 x 52)***; it surfaced as he mucked around in one of the humidors.**** But we certainly know where the next one is coming from--and the one after that. Seems there was a groupon for an online cigar shop we've purchased from in the past. Using that, a box of these delights is on its way to us shortly.

I can't decide if I want to end this by saying he should go out on his own and discover more awesome cigars or if I should be totally selfish and demand to second hand smoke them all. Guess the deadlines will have the final say.


*

[source]

**I have absolutely no recollection of what this sparkle was going to be.

***It also comes in Belicoso (5 1/2 x 52), Robusto (5 x 50), and Toro Gordo (6 1/2 x 56).

****We just remembered from whence it came! A cigar dinner last fall at Cosantino's in Providence, sponsored by Habanos!

Cuellar Connecticut Kreme: A Great Discovery (Or: Corruption of my own child, part 2)

Things you should know:

1. I don't confuse easily. Except anything to do with math. Math is stupid and I challenge it to a duel.
2. I am on a first name basis with the mighty, mighty internets and am pretty darned good at researching stuff. Except math. Researching math is stupid.
3. Different is cool. Except differential equations because that's math. Differential equations (sons of math) are stupid.
4. I know the font changes in this post. I'm sorry. I tried to fix it. And then I stopped trying because I needed to keep a modicum of sanity.

Keep these things in mind. They're going to come in handy later.

Sean (my son) and Valentino and I were on a bit of a mission* to fill a small humidor for the young one (well, relatively young one). We went with a bunch that we already loved--Nub, J Grotto Silk, My Father Connecticut.... Look! Here's a picture!
 

There were more when he left the house. Hmmm...I wonder what happened...

 
Anyway, the story isn't about that. It's about this...

The cigar with so many names it's almost unfindable
unless you have the correct combination.
Unless, also, you happen to see them in your favorite tobacco shop.

 
In the sea of deliciously dark cigar boxes sat a glossy, heavy-duty white box. Oooh. Shiny. But I was a little apprehensive. It was different. I like different. But was it one of those issues where the packaging made up for an inferior product? Because that happens, as we all know. (I'd give an example, but I don't want to call anyone out, so, yeah. You know what I mean.)
 
But our tobacconists, the incomparable Paul and Mark at Mr. J's assured us the Cuellar Connecticut Kreme by Villiger Cigars was more than just a pretty box. The cigar comes in four sizes--
 
Robusto: 5 x 48
Toro Gordo: 6 x 54
Churchill: 7 x 50
Torpedo: 6 1/4 x 52
 
We purchased three of the four and took the Toro Gordo on the road with us to Federal Hill. There, we took my boy on a tour of the place and ultimately landed at the LaPigna statue at Garibaldi Square. (Yes, we're creatures of habit.)
 
After deciding who would sit on the wet spot of the bench (not me; I'm a girl and as such, am afforded certain benefits thanks to my delicate female sensibilities.**), we settled in and the gentlemen started their butane engines, toasting and lighting.
 
This cigar was launched at the IPCPA in Las Vegas recently, so digging up a ton of research materials proved difficult. Finding a picture of that shiny white box? Impossible, so don't ask. But the things I do for you folks!!! Here are some details!
 
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Leaf
Binder: Cuban Seed Piloto Ligero
Filler: Cuban Seed and Criollo 98

We chose this as an addition to the new humidor because of the lightness--our goal wasn't to blast my boy's taste buds into the stratosphere so early in the game.
 

Where I did not want my son's taste buds to go. [source]

The mild choice proved perfect for our new cigar smoker. He said, as he progressed from the first to second third, "It tingled my tongue but then mellowed out."
 
The folks at Cigar Coop had the same experience, but with much more detail. "The start to the Cuéllar Connecticut Krēmē surprised me with black pepper notes right out of the gate. There also was a light 'twang' on the tongue from the pepper notes. I also detected the pepper notes on the retro-hale - something that would be present throughout the cigar experience. Once the pepper subsided, notes of cream and wood emerged. There also was a subtle fruit sweetness in the background."
 
As I experience the second-hand smoke in stereo, I, too, sensed the pepper but also the long-lasting creaminess, which you all know I am a serious fan of inhaling.
 
Our in-house cigar expert, Valentino himself, concurred that this smoke ranked high on his list. "A good breakfast smoke," he said. "A good, smooth entry into the day. Although it's still smooth and wonderful at any time of day."
 
Jack from StogieNet.com said about this cigar, "Smooth is the name of the game....The overall flavor is a creamy smooth woodiness.  Lemon curd, fresh hay, and some grassy notes are in there too.  I have found that grassy notes can be a bit harsh in Connecticut cigars but this cigar is so smooth that the flavor fits perfectly.  A very mild cedar spice, light coffee, and a nice herbal note appear in the middle of the cigar.  Here the creaminess really starts to shine.  There is almost no bite to the smoke at all.  As you can imagine, it is an exceptionally mild cigar...but it does lean higher on the mild scale as you smoke it.  The filler contains 16  year old criollo tobacco, hence the smooth body.  Some caramel,vanilla, nuts, and extremely smooth woody characters pop up towards the end of the cigar.  I am blown away.  It doesn't get hot or harsh at the end either.  Superb smoke all around."
 

I know. Lousy picture. You get the gist.

  
Where does the confusion come in? Don't just ask the mighty, mighty internets for info on Kreme cigars because you will wind up in Krispy Kreme hell.*** And don't look on the Villiger website, because you'll find lots of great info, but not on this baby. This cigar, in fact, has so many varied monikers, and Villiger so many logos, I almost gave up. Almost.
 

 
 
So I went even deeper into the internet and sought out Carolyn with Villiger Cigars. (Thanks, facebook!) She directed me to the Cueller website, which I wouldn't have found in a zillion years! You should totally check it out!
 
I also found this pretty interesting information. "The Cuellar is named for Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. Velázquez was a Spanish conquistador who sailed with Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World in 1493. He settled in Hispaniola (the island that the Dominican Republic was a part of). Eventually he played an integral role in the conquest of Cuba and by 1515 he was appointed Governor of Cuba. The Connecticut Krēmē is derived from the wrapper (Ecuadorian Connecticut) and the cigar's creamy profile." [source]
 

"Hey! Where are my royalties?"

 
Of course, I also can't find these cigars online anywhere,**** so I can't secretly ship them to my son! Or Valentino!***** But I can head back to Mr. J's and scoop up a handful or two. I'm sure no one will mind. And it won't matter what I call them. I'll just look for the shiny, white boxes.******  
 
  *With shenanigans and sneakiness involved, but that's a post for another day.
 
**Stop laughing, you scoundrel.
 
***Hell because we live in Dunkin' Donuts central, with the head office less than an hour away. No Krispy Kremes anywhere around here. ::weeps::
 
****Although I will admit that I haven't searched very hard and am always looking for an excuse to go to visit our friends at Mr. J's.
 
*****I like to order cigars and ship them to him as a surprise. Tee hee! Although that won't work here, I guess. Dang.
 
******Private joke for Sean and Valentino: Boxen.

In Real Time: Our New My Father (Our Father?)

So there we were, in Broadway, picking up Leafs (Leaves? This will stymie the grammarian in me until the end of time) and on the counter sat this:

Yeah, I'm shallow enough to be drawn to a cigar by its band. Can you blame me?
The answer better be "No" or we're going to have words. And I'll type my words in ALL CAPS.

So we're right now at Habanos and I realize Valentino has that lovely cigar. I swoon. Or maybe it's because I'm sitting next to him.*

A terrible picture** but proof that I really am writing this at the cigar bar in real real-time.
Yes, that is bacon.
Doesn't your bartender bring you bacon? My bartender is better than your bartender.
Thanks, Nathalie!!

I generally like the My Father line, but they are definitely a strong family. My Father could beat up your father. Yeah, that strong.

He cuts the cap and sucks in to test the draw."I know I'm going to like this already." I assume he said the same thing when he first saw my match.com profile.

He toasts the foot, starting their relationship. Ohhhh...

Then...THEN! He takes his first..."Wow. It's good." I barely hear him because I'm surrounded by butter. Butter? Creaminess. Cream? Have I died and gone to heaven? What do you call it when you're in love with My Father?***

Real time is hard when there's an Italian margarita taunting me, begging me to drink it.**** I keep getting distracted...*****

Oh, look. Time flies. Now we're here:

And things are starting to change. Added to the sweet deliciousness comes some nuttiness and "It's gaining more strength. More than a Connecticut usually does." And holy smokes (ha ha), pepper? Is that pepper? Not the black pepper from the grinder, but that sneaky red pepper that he smuggles into food and I don't know it's there and then BAM and I say, "You son of a..."

According to an article on the Cigar Aficionado website, "Aptly named My Father Connecticut, the blend showcases a Connecticut-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador, a Corojo '99 binder from Nicaragua and a Nicaraguan filler blend of Habano and Criollo leaf.

"With the exception of the wrapper, every leaf of tobacco comes from the Garcia family's farms."

The My Father story is pretty cool and you should definitely read more about it. After all, you should get to know the whole family, right?

It's only mostly dead.
Is The Princess Bride the best movie of all time? Yes, yes it is.

Even with its increase in strength, this Connecticut is like a perfect relationship: starts out sweet and smooth, hits some serious spiciness with the sweet undertones remaining and continually builds strength. And just like an amazing relationship, you hope it will never end.



*Are you grossed out by my sappiness yet? What is my problem? I'm not usually like this! Ugh
.
**Any good pictures you see here? Valentino took them. Any weird or all-out bad pictures you see? That photographer is this girl right here.

***Creepy?

****Any misspellings or awkward language from here on out is not my fault. Lauren makes a mother-effing strong margarita.

*****Honestly, I get distracted by a sparkle in the air, so...yeah...

A Special Federal Hill Second-hand Smoke

On Wednesday, I didn't feel like cooking.* My first thought of the day (not kidding)  was, "Yikes! I have a groupon that's going to expire soon! We need to go to Caffe Dolce Vita [on Federal Hill in Providence, RI] for lunch." Lunch turned into dinner because:

• I went back to sanding that darned furniture I'm refinishing.
• I got a splinter (that remains in my thumb because taking it out would cause more pain than leaving it in).
• I got distracted by shiny things.

But we finally got there, had delish calamari, eggplant parm, and chicken marsala, along with a nice chat with the owner of Dolce (and a good portion of the businesses on Federal Hill).**  Anyway, blah blah blah...

 

Let's get to the cigar!!

 

Hello, my Special friend. At Garibaldi Square on Federal Hill, looking out at La Pigna,
an arch featuring either a pineapple or pinecone, depending on who you ask. 

A while ago, we attended a cigar dinner on Federal Hill, sponsored by one of our favorite hangouts, Habanos Cigar Lounge in Pawtucket, RI, and featured My Father Cigars. (Hi to Jeremy Soares, our MFC go-to guy and New England rep!) (Also, I happen to right this second be wearing a t-shirt I won at the event! Today's story was meant to be!!)

 

There, in addition to others that were handed out, we received a My Father Cigar "S" Special, which actually can't be purchased singularly (sorry, kids) but is given out at events when a box is purchased. I've heard rumors that it actually can be purchased, but be aware that there are two different versions of this cigar. Read more about it here.

 

 

The 50 x 5 was released in 2011 and, according to halfwheel, "The My Father S Special seems wonderfully rolled, with a silky smooth medium brown wrapper that has almost the perfect give when squeezed. The wrapper smells wonderful, like a combination of dark chocolate, leather and sweet generic wood."

 

Here's some info about this Robusto cigar you may find interesting, or that might give you some credibility next time you're hanging out with your cigar-friends (the people, not the cigars themselves, which can also be considered friends).

 

"My Father cigars were introduced in 2008 by Jaime Garcia, son of the renowned Don Jose Pepin Garcia, at Jaime's My Father factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. These full-bodied cigars contain Nicaraguan longfillers and a hybrid Ecuadorian Habano Rosado/Criollo wrapper," according to the folks at Famous Smoke Shop. They also state, "The smoke's initial crack of pepper rounds out to reveal a complex brew of spice, wood, coffee, and a kiss of caramelized sweetness. If you thought his father made great cigars, wait til you try Jaime's. A must-smoke!"

 

Apparently, according to the House Specialist (Valentino), it had a really smooth draw. I noticed that sometimes it smelled sweet and sometimes not; the variation may have come from the aroma of delicious foods wafting directly into my nostrils as we passed a multitude of restaurants on our stroll. But he said that yes, the sweetness came and went, along with a toasted and spicy flavor.

 

As he worked through the final third, he mentioned its increasing strength. I don't remember exactly what he said, but I interpreted his words as, "Wow, I could use some sugar. Let's get gelato from Marissa at Venda Ravioli/Costantino's!!"

 

 

 

*Hahaha. I never feel like cooking.  In fact, I can't cook.  Well, I can but it really isn't very good ever. Except the shepherd's pie. I make a hell of a shepherds pie*** Valentino is the one who keeps us alive and (very) well-fed.

 

**Valentino actually did this part and I watched from our outdoor table, which made it seem like a mob-movie.  Apparently, secret, confidential documents were discussed, which made me feel very spy-like. Hmmm...I think I could use that in the mystery novel I'm writing when I'm not doing this. Or procrastinating.

 

***Valentino has pointed out, through his gagging noises from across the room, that he does not care for the shepherd's pie.