How to Reboot your Blog

1. Fly to Nicaragua.

2. Take  three-ish hour bus ride* to Esteli.**

This is the actual bus--part Partridge Family, part torture chamber.

Me, tired; he, not.

3. Discover that the smugness you felt regarding your superior knowledge about cigars was unfounded, for you knew absolutely nothing. Noth. Ing.

But now I know some things, thanks to Nick Perdomo,
he of Perdomo Cigars.

4. Start from scratch.

*A comparison to the infamous three-hour tour would not be inappropriate.

**Because one must suffer for their art, I suppose. You're welcome.

Words you should know: Criollo*

You've heard the word in passing as folks describe cigars, tobacco plants, and/or tobacco seeds, depending on who's doing the talking. By the way, we're ignoring the people who say it just to sound smart, especially since they usually mispronounce it** and/or don't know what the word actually means.

[source]

Keep reading and you'll know all the things. (Or at least mostly all the things. Or at least some things. Or something.)

The word translates to "native seed," so when you say "criollo," some folks may think you mean actual Cuban leaf grown on Cuban soil--the actual plant.

However--there's always a however, isn't there?--Criollo also means a person of Spanish descent born in Spanish America. Know what else can mean the same thing? Creole, as in "I went to New Orleans for the International Premium Cigars and Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) convention and never met anyone of Creole descent. But I sure did have some Creole food while smoking a criollo cigar." (There's also a criollo horse, but that's a blog post for another time. Probably around never o'clock.)

[source]

We're here for tobacco, though. So think of the criollo seeds as those native to Cuba, but (literally) uprooted and planted in another region, most notably Nicaragua,  Honduras, and San Andres in southern Mexico.

Obviously, if you live on planet Earth, and for the sake of argument, we'll make that assumption, you know the US and Cuba have been in a tiff for quite a long time, so you can't just call Fidel and ask him to send some criollo seeds. However! When Cuban tobacco growers beat feet out of the country for points southwest (Central America), as well as north to Miami, F-L-A*** and south to the Dominican Republic (among other non-Cuban havens), with them went their livelihood and way of life: tobacco seeds.

Those original criollo seeds have changed over the years,**** especially through hybridization to eliminate blue mold, a disease known to destroy plants and crops.

Once, criollo lived only as a sun-grown plant and, as a result, spent the rest of its days within the cigar, as filler. (Poor criollo.)

Yes, grown in the actual shade. [source]

Now, however, thanks to the innovation and smarty-pantsness of tobacco growers, a shade-grown criollo emerged around the turn of the century (20th to 21st), proudly becoming a perfect first impression of the cigar--the wrapper.

We're telling you this because we care about you: Please don't say "This tastes like criollo." No. Just...no. Remember that tobacco's taste/flavor ultimately comes from the soil and regional conditions, not the seeds themselves. For example, you'll find a Jalapa, Nicaragua-grown criollo much sweeter than that from the Esteli, Nicaragua region. (You're welcome to use that fact at your next cocktail party.)

Oh! Maybe next time we see you, we'll tell you about the criollo chocolate. Yep! It's a thing!




*To paraphrase Buddy the Elf: "That's a fun word to say."

**Super awesome when Valentino says it; ask him next time you see it. In the meantime, repeat after me: cree-oh-yo.

***You're welcome for the earworm!

****Haven't we all?

"The play's the thing."* This Nat Sherman cigar is definitely the thing.

No one loves an extended metaphor more than me. And Nat Sherman's Vice President of Retail & Brand Development Michael Herklots's metaphor skills are so mad crazy good he should be over on Broadway writing rather than at the Nat Sherman townhouse on 42nd street being awesome.

Michael, center stage. (That's Jimmy on the left.)

During a cigar demonstration and tasting, he started by comparing the elements that make up a cigar to the characters that make up a story. So this tasting? We're learning about the characters that make whole the very-highly rated Epoca. In fact, it made the top 25 of many end-of-the-year roundups.

A bit of background: Epoca was, in fact, the first cigar of the Nat Sherman company sold when it acquired the Schwab Bros. and Baer in 1929.**

Earlier this year, the company announced plans to resurrect the cigar and now, here we are, lucky enough to enjoy the Dominican and Nicaraguan cigar. This blend was the focus of an informational demonstration and dinner sponsored by Mr. J's Havana and held at Millonzi's restaurant in West Warwick.

"The blend for Epoca is a tribute to the experience of what it was like to smoke premium cigars in the 1920s and ‘30s," said Michael Herklots, in an article in Cigar Aficionado. It's also a play on the Timeless blend that brought the Nat Sherman company back into the forefront of smokers' consciousness and then shot them straight into super success. There's another interesting article about the company's resurgence in the January/February 2015 edition of Cigar Aficionado. (It wasn't available online yet, when I last checked.)

And you know we are suckers for a pretty face and a cool story, so when Nat Sherman Northeast Representative Jimmy Shaffer showed us the box and explained how it is a near-perfect replication of the original box, and all the work that went into the recreation, we were sold, before aforementioned box was ever opened. Yes, we were charmed by the set dressing. So sue us.***

Before/Then

 

After/Now

At this demonstration and tasting, Michael started us out with the first character, the first element of what would eventually become the Epoca. This Dominican seco, by itself, was meh, both as a dry smoke and a smoking stick. We all agreed it was a little musty, kind of like grandma's basement, and hit one part of the tongue, although that location varied by person.

The second small stick, the second character in this play, was a Dominican ligero. Ligero by nature is the strongest of the leaf types, and a bit sweeter; this one, however, had some age on it, so it was a bit more mellow than we expected, based on the first. As a result, the flavor profile hit a different part of everyone's tongues, offering a different perspective to the plot.

Then we tried the third player, a Nicaraguan ligero, which had similar elements but was much stronger than the other ligero. Again, this one hit different elements on the tongue, just as a third character offers another layer to the play, which was an interesting turn of events.

Our hero smokes three at a time!

Then! Then Michael had everyone smoke the first and third samples. Funnest part of the evening? The comic relief? Watching everyone's faces as they hated the tastes in their mouths. "It tastes like shit, doesn't it?" he asked. Everyone nodded in agreement as they drank away the horror.

Then they smoked all three...

[source]

Ike Karipides, Director of Premium Cigars, and Jimmy handed us all one of the Epoca cigars. Everyone lit it up. "Tastes just like those," said Valentino, pointing to the three characters in the ashtray.

According to Michael, all three of those are well represented, but there is a heavier Nicaraguan influence in the Epoca because it has more filler than their 1930 cigar, which has a similar blend. In the Epoca, however, there is less emphasis on the Dominican ligero, which is used as the binder and a small percentage of the filler. 

 

"With the Epoca, the feel of its smoke is weighty. It has body. It's classified as full-bodied, but not strong," said Michael. It's not an ass-kicker, not strong.  It has well-balanced flavors, creamier and nuttier than the 1930, more cappuccino rather than the strength of espresso."

You guys. If you haven't tried the Epoca yet, you need to do it. If creaminess, nuttiness, cappuccino, and slight woodiness got together and started a band, this cigar would be The Beatles.

Or to complete the extended metaphor, this cigar would be The Glass Menagerie or Death of a Salesman, or A Doll's House--sure to be a classic, thanks, in part, to the master "playwright" Michael Herklots.

Michael shares his Epoca with Will

 

 *Hamlet:
I'll have grounds
More relative than this—the play's the thing
Wherein I'll catch the conscience of the King.
**There's an historical rumor that Nat Sherman won the business in a card game. We love a great backstory.

***Not really. Please don't.
 

The Crux of the Matter* <--Note the first sparkle!

We're sitting at the Mr.J's Havana cigar dinner in that seekrit location and the featured cigars are those by Crux.

"Who?" you ask, and rightfully so, because if you happened to spend the summer smoking old favorites, you might have missed this newcomer to the cigar scene. This past June, they launched the Passport, Ninfamaniac, and Skeeterz, followed quickly in July with Classic and the Bull and Bear.

At the dinner, we were given the first three and we jumped right in! We're nice like that!

First up? Passport, which comes in three sizes: the toro (6 x 48,which Valentino happens to be smoking right this second**), 5.5 x 44, and 7 x 40. The wrapper is Ecuadorean, the binder and filler from Nicaragua, which perked Valentino up before he even lit it. After all, as you must know by now, my guy is the #1 fan of Nicaraguan tobacco. 

True story.

When Valentino first toasted and lit the Passport, I waited patiently, slowly slipping the sangria that accidentally wound up in front of me. (That happens a lot at cigar dinners, for some reason.) He didn't make the "This is effing good," face that occasionally occurs upon the first puffs. But because this was something brand-spanking new, he took the time to savor over a third of the cigar (and I waited patiently, savoring one half of the sangria) before making the proclamation that it was pretty darned good.  Definitely worthy of some quality time.

I wasn't sitting directly next to him, poking him and annoying the crap out of him, like I usually am, not unlike a pesky mosquito (or should I say "skeeter"<--see what I did there?) and because there were so many guys smoking different cigars from Crux, I didn't get a chance to enjoy a good second hand smoke, although I did manage to capture and rein in an occasional chocolate and tobacco taste as friends stopped by our table to chat. Sangria makes me chatty.

Valentino said the Passport was hovering on the high-end of medium/low end of full.*** He also said he was getting a variety of flavors as he progressed through the tasty stick. The chocolate was an actual thing--not just my subliminal cry for dessert. He also picked up some cedar and citrus, along with pepper and leather. I continued drinking and accidentally stopped listening.

As the dinner portion of the evening ended, the raffle began and this happened:

Valentino won a travel humidor loaded with Crux cigars, compliments of the company. Thanks, guys! Our hero, along with the three other winners, and (L-R) Cigar Rep Mike Ferraro, Mr. J's Havana's Mark Feeley, Mr. J himself [Paul Joyal], and Tom, son of Mr. J! Huzzah! Congratulations! And if you must know, I also won--a table-top lighter offered by Mike! Thanks, Mike! Thanks all you super awesome guys! Signed, the token girl at the cigar dinners! XOXO

 

When the festivities wound down, we headed home, but then accidentally wound up at Habanos, where Valentino tried out the 7 x 33 Ninfamaniac, which comes in natural and maduro, although we only had a natural handy. The Esteli, Nicaragua filler and Indonesian binder are lovingly wrapped in Habana Jalapa.

 

Halfwheel.com had this to say about the Ninfamaniac's unique shape and taste: "There isn’t much problem burning through the closed foot of the cigar and establishing a somewhat firm but certainly acceptable flow of air that produces more than enough smoke. I do find myself adjusting how much of the cap to clip off in an attempt to preserve some of the pointed head while also ensuring there is enough of an opening to enable adequate air flow. There are touches of sweetness on the palate in the early going, along with some dry soil notes and a certain tangy zing that I’m inclined to think is coming from the Indonesian binder."

He finished that one, smoking it right down to the finger-burning nubbin and we didn't really feel like ending the evening (even though someone had an 8:00 class and had no right even being awake at that time!), so he fired up the third of the evening, the 4 x 32 Skeeterz--perfect for when you want quick and delicious. (Heh heh)  It has the same filler, binder, wrapper elements as the Ninfamaniac, although because of its unique size and shape, offered up a completely different smoke and experience.

Let's go to Halfwheel for the info about this one, because 1. I know he smoked it; I saw it happen, but I have no memory of any other sensory information about it other than seeing the smoke; 2. I forgot to ask Valentino to tell me descriptive words about it, and he's smoked umpity gajillion cigars since then. I've been a bad blogger.****

"Starting into the first third I’m immediately greeted with notes of fresh hay, a little licorice, a touch of light black pepper and some spice. Despite the earlier soft spots the draw is a little on the open end but still well within the ideal range. The smoke production from this little cigar is billowing and plentiful when drawing and drops down to almost no smoke coming off the foot a few seconds after setting it down. Less than an inch into the cigar and the black pepper has ramped up, coming more to the forefront to join the hay and the overall sweet spice while the licorice from the beginning has completely disappeared."

Yeah. What they said. If I were a really good blogger/reporter, I'd get him to smoke another so I could take in the experience and give you a first-hand report. But hahahahahaha. No. (He's out doing man things right now, so I couldn't ask even if I were so inclined.)

ANYWAY! You're probably dying to know who makes all these dandies.

Say "Hello!" to Jeff Haugen and Joel Rogers, co-owners of Tobacco Grove in Maple Grove, Minnesota!

Hello, Gentlemen! You've made our list of favorites! Welcome to the party!

"We have been retailers of premium cigars for over 20 years and have been truly blessed to be involved in selling a product that has done so much good for so many people. Cigars build friendships and community, uniting people from all walks of life. Cigars allow people to relax from the stressors of life, which allows us to sort out the challenges we face. Cigars allow us to celebrate the moments that matter most. Cigars reward us for our successes and help us accept our failures."

I know exactly what you're thinking: Penny***** needs cupcakes.  Ha ha ha. No.******

You were thinking, Sheesh! That's what Penny has been saying all along! The community! The friends! The culture! They're all favorites!

So...the moral(s) of the very very long-winded story:

1. The cigars? They are good! Super good! And...
2. The three we've had so far? Perfect for three different occasions: The "I want to leisurely hang out with friends" (Passport), the "I need to relax but I don't have a shit-ton of time" (Nimfamaniac), and the "Penny doesn't want to leave yet but the place is going to close and I don't want to fire up a cigar that I'm going to have to let die" (Skeeterz). Also...
3. These guys? They're super cool and you definitely want to support them and their new lines of fab cigars. So...
4. It's crucial that you try all the cigars in the Crux line.*******

 

*Sometimes these things just write themselves.

**And by "right this second," I mean this past Monday when I started this blog post. Sometimes, like a good cigar, they need to age a bit before they're released out into the wild.

***Glass half full, half empty. Whatevs.

****Yeah. Like it's the first time.

*****That's me, by the way, in case you haven't been paying attention--ever.

******I mean yes, I always need cupcakes, but that's not what you should have been thinking at that very moment!

*******See what I did there? Crux meaning the crucial point? Plus it's Latin for cross.********

********Yes, I studied Latin in school. And yes, I know my nerd-level just rose exponentially. Yay!

History, Class, History Class, and a Giant Cookie

So last night, while tooling around the North End of Boston at the St. Anthony's Feast, a cry of great despair echoed through the city. It came from me, if you must know. If we didn't get to Modern Pastry soon, they would be out of lobster tails again and we would return home with much sadness and no pastries.

Dudes, it's filled with diplomat cream--a marriage of pastry cream and whipped cream.
Also known as heaven in a crunchy pastry shell.
Only get them from Modern Pastry, though.
No one else does them correctly. Trust me on this. [source]
Also, not my hand. Who can get anything done with nails like that?

We pushed by slow-moving families with carriages and baby detritus;* we threw ourselves in front of cars to cross streets.**

Success! Pastries purchased, no immediate deaths resulting.  We wandered, contented with our future satiation,*** moseying to the park where Paul Revere sits atop his mighty steed, which sits atop a mighty block of granite.****

[source]

 

Naturally, a cigar was necessary, so Valentino reached into the pocket of his Tommy Bahama shirt and produced a Perdomo 20th Anniversary. 

This particular stick has been lounging in the humidor, basking in the goodness of perfect humidity and even temperature for ages. We can't remember if it was last fall or the spring before that when we attended a Perdomo dinner with the great Roy Kirby, courtesy of Paul Joyle of Mr. J's Havana Shop and his mad party-planning skills.****
 

So when he selected this baby***** for the great ride to the big city, the Gordo (6 x 60) with a sun-grown wrapper and Nicaraguan filler and wrapper was good to go. One of the many joys that came with this smoke--besides the amazeballs flavor profile of creaminess and earthiness and coffeeness (yes, it is a word) with just a teeny tiny bit of pepperiness, a perfect second-hand smoke for the delicious raspberry sandwich cookie, which happened to be occupying all the rest of my senses.

According to CI, "Perdomo 20th Anniversary celebrates this rich, family history of Nicaraguan handmades. Each cigar employs bold, Cuban-seed long-fillers grown throughout Nicaragua's black, volcanic soils. Top-priming tobaccos from Esteli, Jalapa, and Condega....patiently aged and skillfully blended to perfection. But then there's the wrapper. Where the fun really happens. Nicaraguan, Cuban-seed sun-grown wrappers from the highest priming, extra-fermented, cedar-aged, then barrel-aged in old bourbon barrels for 14+ months prior to being applied. A gentle box-press is the finishing touch to this impressive Nicaraguan puro."

As a side note, I've always been super impressed with Perdomo, from the very moment I met Mr. Kirby****** and he waved the 20th Anniversary before my starry eyes. Then he lit it, so, yeah... I was a goner. The brand represents high quality and class, which is further exemplified by their outstanding website, filled with education, behind-the-scenes action, and a serious collection of events. Spend some time there. Learn things. Go to your local tobacconist and prove me correct about the 20th Anniversary. I'll buy you a cookie if you do.

And! To make this all come full circle, and to tease you about a party I still haven't gotten around to writing about, Caballero #2 gave Valentino this as a birthday gift last week.******* Thank you, thank you, thank you!

It's gorgeous in real life. We almost don't want to muck it up! Almost.  [source]

And thank you, Perdomo, for this amazing end-of-the-night smoke. A great way to bid adieu to a season of Italian festivals. Now the countdown to my birthday commences! Consider yourself warned!


 

*Why, exactly, were these kids out so late? Just curious.

 

**Me. I live by the "Pedestrians always have the right of way" mantra. Valentino does not and, as a result, frequently grabs my arm to save me from myself. Reminder: He's not a native New Englander. 

 

***A cookie the size of my head also may have left the shop with us. No way would I be able to wait for sweet goodness until we got home. Hahaha. No.

 

****Valentino brought up the cool historical significance of the park in which we sat, right near the Old North Church. One if by land and two if by sea and all that. As a native Massachusetts resident, I looked around, remembering that the place has more social significance than a good place to eat midnight snacks and (second-hand) smoke delicious cigars. I feel like I should go read a history book. Or at least a Wikipedia entry. 

 

*****His monthly cigar dinner events are about to start up again for the season. You should come and join us and have a rip-roaring good time!! Call the shop and ask for more details! (We'll even let you sit with us if you're up for a spot of crazy!)

 

*****Probably the wrong word to use, since he would soon light it on fire.

 

******The fact that I used "Mr." should be quite telling.

 

*******Along with a ton of other things. The Cabelleros' gift giving is getting out of hand. But who's complaining?

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!

Words You Should Know #1: Esteli; Or: Mommy, Where do cigars come from?

You see the word on your La Gloria Cubana or Drew Estate cigar.
 
You hear people drop-kick it into a conversation, for no reason other than they heard someone else say it.*
 
Maybe during the recent soccer hullaballoo, you heard the city name in passing.**
 

See Esteli right there? Below the middle? [source]

Welcome to the third-largest city in Nicaragua. Officially known as Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Esteli, "The land around Esteli is perfect for growing tobacco for use in cigars, and the town became a refuge for Cuban cigar makers after the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Award-winning cigars have made Esteli one of the most important cigar-producing cities in the world." [source]

Wait, what? That's a good picture but you don't know where to put Nicaragua in context? You mean like the person who asked the other day if it is in Europe?***

Hello, Central America! [source]

According to Cigar Cabana, "The Esteli region has black and fertile soil and produces a heavy, full-flavored tobacco leaf. It is characteristically dark, and rich with full aromas, body, and flavor. Esteli is known for producing the most powerful of all Nicaraguan tobacco." As such, this is where the majority of Nicaraguan cigars are created.

Read more about the rich and varied history of Nicaragua and its cigars! Be amazed at how many times the industry has been kicked in the face by conflict (Looking at you, Sandinista government and Contras.) and nature (You too, Hurricane Mitch).

I'll fully admit that I'm no geographical wiz-kid and have a limited view of the universe because I stay fully ensconced in Penny World, which is wall-papered with rainbows and unicorns and sparkles. I will also admit that sometimes a trip across the border into the real world can be pretty darned interesting.

I'm not saying you have to go to Nicaragua (although we're thinking about a jaunt there next year--shocking, I know!), but just take a look into one of the places where your cigars may be coming from. It's actually pretty interesting.****
 
 
*This actually happened recently. We're still shaking our heads because it didn't even fit into the conversation's context. Luckily, my mom reared me to be polite, so I didn't say...

"What you talkin' 'bout, fool?" [source]

 
**Don't worry: We wouldn't have looked it up either, because...soccer. We don't generally hop on bandwagons.

This bandwagon looks kind of fun, though. [source]

***Europe was all, like, "Whaaaaa?"

****And me saying that something in the outside world is interesting enough to catch and hold my attention means it has got to be good!