Dagnabbit! Also, Happy birthday!

If my birthday weren't on a major international/universal holiday,* I'd forget it.**

While we were at the International Premium Cigar and Pipe Retailers (IPCPR) trade show this past weekend,  I realized about a year had passed since I started  this blog. I vowed to check our start date. And then I forgot, because New Orleans is so hot your (my) brain turns (turned) to grits.***

So 305 posts later and 22 days late, happy birthday, little blog. 



Pretty much me, daily

*Christmas, bitches. I am quite the holiday treat. Best gift my parents ever received.****

**A lie, but also a great (and somewhat clichéd) lead line.

***Which are not delicious, by the way. Although at a breakfast during the show, we saw a sign that said "Artisinal Grits." This is NOT a thing. The very nature of grits--and the word "grits" for that matter--is the complete and total opposite of anything artisanal. This is your brain in New Orleans. Any questions?

 

****In other news, my newest obsession is what I'd like to do on my 50th birthday in 17 months--which is also 17 cigar giveaways from now. Things I know I won't be doing: getting a free meal at pretty much any restaurant that advertises free meals on your birthday and having everyone focus on me and nothing else. (Dammit, Jesus; it's my birthday too. Quit hogging the limelight.)

Happy Father's Day!

He's the best dad ever, and the fact that he has gone 48 1/2 years without murdering me should get him sainted, stat.

 

My dad fell asleep while playing with the dog outside.
I think the wearing-out was supposed to happen the opposite way.

And here's Valentino's dad, who passed away this past November. We miss him terribly.

This past August, I snuck his dad here for Valentino's surprise birthday party!
Yes, the pic is blurry, but it's still one of my favorites. 



I drew a blank, and then had an epiphany! What to get Holly for her birthday!

As you may remember, I was solely responsible for my own child's corruption, er, leap into the cigar world.

I performed the same service for another person's child: my son's longtime girlfriend.* She fell for the Drew Estate infused cigars when they visited here in August. (Tee hee.) Sorry, not sorry.

For Christmas, we gave her a plethora of Drew Estate ACID dandies. Let me see if I can remember which ones...

Blondies for sure, both sizes (4 x 38 and 5 x 54). I'm a big fan of second-hand smoking these. They're the perfect love child of Bit-O'-Honey candies snogging with Brach's Milk Maid candies.**

Kuba Kuba (5 x 54). This holds a special place in my heart, as my first infused second-hand smoke. Whenever someone mentions any infused cigar, this is where my mind automatically goes. The Drew Estate website says the maduro is a "rich twist on an ACID favorite." And that favorite is delectable, as if you gathered together in one place coffee, hot caramel sauce just as it's made and on the verge of burning but not quite, and a mixture of spices. (The spices scent reminds me of when you open our spice cabinet and all the smells come out together, creating something completely new--so, yeah. Spice.) The poster child for infused cigars, in my mind, anyway.

Toast (6 x 50). I am a big fan of toast--bread in the toaster kind of toast. With butter. And jam. So when someone not too long ago ordered one of these cigars, I briefly dreamt of my favorite midnight snack, Portuguese sweet bread with black cherry jam (jam I made, because I'm that kind of awesome). Know what? I wasn't that far off. Yay me! Now if I could only get Valentino to smoke one at midnight, when I'm craving a snack...***

"It's wafer-thin."****

Wafe (5 x 46). Honestly, I don't know anyone who has smoked these. Let me clarify--I wasn't paying attention if anyone smoked these around me. But! Full disclosure: I like the flat shape. It's cool. Shush. Don't be so judgey. Go take a look. You can't deny its high cool factor.  Famous Smoke says, "It's the savory, sensual aroma of ACID cigars in a thin, wafer-shaped cigar. Prime Nicaraguan tobaccos are meticulously marinated with an ambrosial mix of the finest herbal and botanical essences for a mild and satisfying aromatic smoke." I'm going to need to pick one up so I can see if that's true. ('Cause we're all about truth in reporting here. ::cough cough::)

Nasty (4 x 52). Another I purchased because of the shape--this one (obviously) a short, pyramid-maduro. Rumour has it, chocolate is the key taste here. I guess I'll have to make sure she has one (or ten) next time we see each other. Or I guess I could deem a research project necessary...

And then...

[source]

The one non-ACID player in the box, part of the Natural series: Jucy Lucy (3 x 38). I chose these for her because a friend loves them. (Hi, Alexis!) They're another sweetie-pie, with a little caramel, a bit of chocolate... But their tiny size makes me think of those eensy desserts you get at restaurants nowadays.*****  A couple of bites (or puffs) and the darned thing is kaput. Dangit. Waiter! Another please!

As I'm typing this, I'm wondering what to get her for her birthday. Der.

*As I can barely remember how old he is, there's no way on God's green Earth I'm going to be able to figure out how long they've been together.

**I rarely see either of these candies anymore. Is there an entire generation or two who have never had those stuck in the backs of their teeth while they listen to their Nana tell stories? That seems really sad.

***He's sound asleep as I type this. Damned steroid treatments. I want to wake him up to play with me! Wheee! It's 1:25 am! Going to make some regular toast, I guess.

****A million bonus points if you get the reference.

*****HATE these. Get me a damned piece of cake. Or pie. Or anything not made for a paper doll.

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?