Where we will be: LFD (I like the way that rhymes)

This Friday, May 29 at 6:00p.m.,* we'll be heading over to hang with our pals at Broadway Cigars in Providence, RI for a La Flor Dominicana (LFD) shindig.

LFD Guru John Gallogly will certainly have some awesome deals and swag...because he always does! (As I write this, I am wearing my LFD t-shirt from another event where we accidentally purchased a bunch of cigars. By ACCIDENT!) Here's a recap from the last LFD at Broadway.

Also, he is a master of the selfie--or selfie and Penny:

One of the few pics you'll ever see of me on here.

And the folks at Broadway are kings in the land of raffles, so make sure you stick around for that as well!

[source]

AND! Rumor has it, there will be some delicious eats from Roma on Federal Hill. (But probably no dessert. There's never any dessert at cigar events, never mind delicious dessert. Boys are dumb.**)

So, we can expect to see you there?

Okay, fine. Yes, Will will be there as well. I just searched for a photo of John and the little owl...and can't find one. That must be remedied quickly! In the meantime, please enjoy this pic of John with Valentino!

*Here's where Valentino and I continuously battle: I say this is a suggestion; he hates hates hates being late for anything. If we're ever late, assume it's my fault; I probably got distracted by a piece of glitter. Or hated my hair.

**Which is why I usually have Ring Dings or other delicious snacks in my bag. If you ask nicely...

The Caballeros Ride Again: Cigar Dinner Edition!

Oh, you know we love a nice fundraiser, especially when cigars are involved!

About a hundred years ago--a month maybe?-- Caballero #2 told us about a cigar dinner to support the Young America Club in Plymouth, MA.*

But the really enticing part? The Caballeros would be together again, after a too-long hiatus, on which I blame 1. travel; 2. being an adult; 3. stupid crap. So we said "Meh!"** to the comedy show tickets we'd already purchased*** and readied up for some serious cigarocity**** at the Young America Club.

As the event was supported by General Cigars, upon arrival, we received this bounty:

And thanks, Brennan's Smoke Shop! Hi Geoff!

Caballero #2 dove into this beauty and our hero followed suit:

See those raffle tickets in the background?
They're going to play a part in the story soon...

According to the La Gloria Cubana website "Available only at fine tobacconist stores, Serie R® Estelí was the second blend to surface during the blending process. Beefed by a top priming Jalapa Sol wrapper and rounded out by a combination of visos and ligeros, Serie R® Estelí sings her Nicaraguan song at the top of her lungs."

Plus, there was food, and we love foods.***** Valentino and all the other boys we love (Hi Caballero #2! Hi Three Amigos!******)

I willingly gave up my lobster. Too much work for too little return.
Now mashed potatoes...yeah baby.

Then there was the winning portion of the show. Er, I mean, the raffle portion of the show. Oh, who am I kidding.  Of course we won. We win a lot.*******

So...this:

Thanks again, General Cigar!

We had our doubts upon receipt of these winnings.

Michael Giannini and his team created the Foundry Worm Hole line, which pays tribute to the concept of the  "Worm Hole" -  and time travel; the Foundry Worm Hole line pays tribute to the past, present, and future. "The inspiration for Worm Hole starts at the year 1964, moves to present day 2014, and finally 50 years in the future to 2064.  The Worm Hole series has a blend for 50 years past (1964 Blend),  Current State (2014 Blend), and 50 years into the future (2064 Blend)" according to an article on Cigar Coop.

"Consistent with most of the Foundry portfolio, the details of the tobaccos have not been disclosed, but these are said to include rare tobaccos that have not been used before." The 2026, which we now own (Thanks, General Cigar for the product donations!) features "a unique keepsake (non-paper) cigar band." when we opened the box and saw 24 6 x 52 cigars clad in plastic, our inner skeptics kicked the winning gene in the head and took over.

Then Valentino lit one up. Much happiness ensued. It was sweet and creamy, with a little pepperiness. Then I lost sight of the smoke (if that's possible) because then he won this:

And thanks again again!
And you can tell by the blurriness of this picture, that I took it.
Because I am that awesome.

So I leave you with this, the folks who helped us carry out all our loot:

Josh Rashid and his daddio Caballero #2,
General Cigar's Marc Lagace, and our hero, Valentino. 

Hahaha. Just kidding (kind of)! But thanks to you guys and the Three Amigos for being so great!********


*Yes, where the Pilgrims lived. No, there weren't any there.

**And by this, I mean we sold them on Craigslist.

***We were in the middle of saying, "Darn, I think we're going to eat those tickets" about three hours before the comedy show when his phone rang and someone asked if the tickets were still available. It was a ticket miracle! We're hoping that's not the only miracle we get for the rest of the year.

****That is too a word.

*****Although gentlemen planners, no dessert? What the what? Granted, there were only two women at the dinner (Yay!), but...but...

******Who are actually three brothers--triplets!

*******This has nothing to do with me.  I lose a lot. Valentino, like my dad, has the winning gene. Only occasionally does this gene shed its recessive trait and rear its winningness head.

********

Not really my Three Amigos,
but representative of their awesomeness.

Call of the Wild (Wild West), Part the Second

When last we left our heroes, they'd made the acquaintance of some real purdy cigars--the CAO BraziliaAmazon Basin in all its 6 x 52 sexiness.

Speaking of sexiness, Hellloooo, you handsome devils!

Speaking of sexiness, Hellloooo, you handsome devils!

And, well, hello, you gorgeous creature! Pssst. Rumor has it you can smoke right through the band.
Valentino didn't get the chance because
I wanted to play with its sproinginess.

After rustling up some delish grub, thanks to our wonderful hosts and all-around good people Christine and Anibal, this happened:

In which the two caballeros become the three amigos! Fire is such a transformative element, don't you think?

In which the two caballeros become the three amigos!
Fire is such a transformative element, don't you think?

I crossed everything, from fingers to signals, and held my breath, hoping this cigar didn't wind up being unloved, especially since we had a canoe's worth coming up the river.

They're here!!

Then I remembered that breath-holding would prove counter productive to my ultimate goal of sucking in all the deliciousness while they did all the work.* I waited expectantly, fingers on iPhone ready to take notes of their every observation--just like a cub reporter following Marshall Bat Masterson around, trying to get a good quote for the newspaper.**

I really worried*** that these cigars might be bat-shit crazy strong, but once the fine gentlemen puffed their smoke in my direction, all worries abated. On first blush, the Brazilia Amazon Basin punches you with strong pepperiness, but after half an inch or so****, it started to smooth out and get creamy.

"Complex," Valentino said.

Caballero #2 nodded and said, "Leather bite."*****

There were certainly undertones of s'mores, although that may have come from the dessert making its way up to my mouth. (I'm a good multi-tasker.)

After the first third, all three amigos agreed that the sweetness increased.  And no, this had nothing to do with the chocolately goodness.  I love these guys, but share dessert?  Hahahaha. Just...no.

Thanks a million to Rolling Stogies (Hi, guys! See you next year!) for their travelling mercantile, which allowed us to own and share this amazeballs cigar. Mike Strategakis, who owns this superfun business (check it out!), reminded us only 2,000 boxes exist in the whole entire world. This forced our usually-slow shopping-hand in the first place.****** (Valentino likes to research before purchasing. I was jumping up and down behind him, shrieking, "They're getting away! Hurry!" At 2:00 a.m. Shut up. I was drunk on lobster tails.)

And then! Last night, while at Habanos, feting a friend's 21st birthday******* (Hi, Hollie!)

 

Wheeeeee!

 

..and simultaneously writing the last blog post, our friend Eric told Valentino that he had a couple of Brazilia Amazon Basins sitting in his humidor at home. He, too, said he was afraid they were going to be super strong and he should probably have an entire Thanksgiving dinner to prepare for the onslaught of the powerful cigar. Ah, the old adage, "Fight fire with turkey..."

But that's the sneaky illusion of the Basin. Even though the Ecuador Sumatra wrapper is darker than a thousand midnights (one of my favorite books!), it still errs on the side of medium-to-full rather than full-frontal. So don't be afraid, Eric et al. Light it up as you watch with a few amigos as the sun set over the chaparral. Or we could meet somewhere air-conditioned, enjoy the CAO Brazilia Amazon Basin, and watch a spaghetti western.




*And they work so very hard for me, these men do.

**"Never run a bluff with a six-gun." - Bat Masterson

***I'm a worrier. What can I say? It's a requirement of my birth order. (First.)

****We're very precise here. You'll just have to deal with it.

 

*****Description, not command, obvs. Not, "Leather, bite." That's a whole other kind of blog.

******Know when to hold 'em and all that.

*******I have socks older than this girl. I'm not even kidding. But still, Happy Birthday!

Close, but no cigar. Or: Please don't sniff the cello

Valentino and I frequently hold Battle of the Mediterranean.*

[source]

In his corner: Italy, from whence come sauces and spices and flavor and deliciousness in all forms (mostly).**

[source]

In my corner: Portugal, from whence comes chourico. Apparently other things too, but 1. My Portuguese is watered down with English and Irish and 2. My Portuguese people are not fans of spices or flavor. Five or so years ago, when my son (who is 26? 27? Math is hard.) had his first meal at Valentino's house, his face lit up with his first bite. "Mom," he said, "This food has flavor!"

One of our favorite things to do in the summer is head to Boston to the Italian festivals and eat and smoke (him) and second-hand smoke (me) cigars and talk to people and all the other fun things that happen when you're part of the "family." How cool that we'd be able to do that with the Portuguese folks! And the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament in New Bedford, MA had just started! And we were close!

His thought bubble screamed his intentions, which, actually, they usually do. This time: Roam around the Portuguese feast and eat all the foods and smoke a cigar.

Except.

No cigar. He left the house with cutter and lighter. And not one cigar.

But food! I got excited about Valentino trying cacoila and malassadas***: the food of my people. He was not impressed with the savory (except for the chourico, everything was pretty bland), but really liked the sweet.****

As we walked around, full but kinda unsatisfied, we happened upon Rolling Stogies. Know what that meant? Cigars! We'd met up with these folks at the Boston festivals over the past few years, and we chatted with them while deciding the perfect stick for the Blessed Sacrament--something sweet and creamy to offset the spiciness in the air (although not in the food).

The Nub Connecticut won, in case you were wondering.
[source]

While we were chatting and choosing, this thing happened.  In fact, this thing happens a lot, but I've never been this close to the horror before.

As Valentino chatted, I watched a guy in his 30s look around, obviously unfamiliar with even the basics of the cigar culture. You know how when you're watching a child, you're always unsure whether to step in or let them make their own mistakes and learn from them? That was me.

I stood back, watching this guy as he picked up the cigar, sniffed it through the cello, said, "Hmmm. That's nice." Then he held it out to his lady friend. She sniffed and made appreciative noises as well.

[source]

As unsatisfying as sniffing a premium cigar through its cello wrapper, the Feast of the Blessed Sacrament left Valentino longing for his Italian festivals in Boston's North End.  See you soon, Fisherman's Feast and St. Anthony! (And yes, that does mean that he wins this round. And no, I'm not telling you what he wins.)


*Different from Battle of the Culinary Schools. I know it's hard to keep up, since food is involved in both. And pretty much everything else we do.

**Except desserts. No offense, but his people do not do sugar and/or dessert well.******

***Which he decided to call "Miley Cyrus" and now, my people weep.

****Because my people know the sweet stuff.

*****Cheese is not a dessert.

(BR)AVO!!

I'm one of those annoying people who puts XOXO at the bottom of emails and text messages--but not business correspondence.  You make that mistake only once. Or twice.

Just thought you should know.

Yesterday evening, as we bided (bode? boded?  wasted?) our time walking around Federal Hill, waiting for a couple of friends (Hi Brian! Hi Michael!) to meet us for dinner, Valentino pulled out an AVO XO Presto. Swoon.

I'll admit I'm a sucker for a classy logo and/or band and, as a result, I've been a long-time fan of the AVO brand.

The moment he started toasting the XO's foot, I wanted to take it from him and whisk it off to Vegas and marry it. It reminded me of a fine, creamy dessert, one you could only get at Del Posto in NYC, one of my all-time favorite restaurants.

More, please.

At 3 3/4 x 43, it was the perfect before-dinner smoke, taking exactly as much time as a person (me) needs to drink two sangrias as we sat in front of the restaurant, watching people, a favorite pastime (drinking and watching people simultaneously).

The wrapper of this mild cigar is Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut seed, with Dominican binder and filler. (There may also be a mildly-spicy crème brulee tucked into that wrapper. That's some good camouflage. Well played, gentlemen.)

I asked him to smoke another today as we sit outside loving the weather, but he only had the one! Whaaa? Who let this happen?!?!

Anyway, here's some cool info about the company's jefe*: "Avo Uvezian is a cosmopolitan who began his career as a musician and went on to become a composer, cigar aficionado and even a creator of fine cigars. Avo, who lent his name to AVO Cigars, has nurtured all these talents in his quest for perfection. In both music and the creation of cigars, passion is the driving force that spurs him to find perfect harmony."

Okay! Time to run. I have to get ready to go out for another cigar adventure.  In the meantime, I leave you with...

XOXO


*Spanish for chief or boss