One of our favorite places and some newly favorite cigars. (Plus, primerib--something for everyone!)

Phone blogging again, so I can be excused for all grammar and other faux pas. Wahoo!

Welcome! (Also, I have awesome sneakers.)

So here's something super cool: 

 

Havana Cigar Lounge in West Warwick, RI has revamped their bar area. It is freaking gorgeous! (I'd show you a picture, but it's packed with guests. Come see for yourself!)

We love this place anyway, but like many people in the Rhode Island area, any trip requiring more than 25 minutes in the car requires going to bed early the night before and scheduling nothing else that day. Travel is so exhausting. So we don't get here as much as we'd like. 

But we hauled our butts to Havana today because coolness would soon commence!

This is actually happening right this very second. The tobacco hugging is metaphorical.

 

New England's face of La Aurora, Willy Marante, escorted the company's master blender Manuel Inoa to town and rejoicing commenced, as did a prime rib dinner at Havana. (I now request my arrival into any town be feted by a prime rib dinner. Consider yourself notified.)

Willy, our hero, Havana owner Todd LaScola, and Manuel Inoa at Havana.

Now considered the leading cigar factory in the Dominican market, La Aurora "was founded on October 3, 1903 by Eduardo León Jimenes, a hard working man who was son and grandson of tobacco growers... [who] decided to go a step further with the creation of a cigar brand," according to the company's website. 

Speed forward  (math is hard) years, and Valentino is smoking the first (don't be an ass--not the actual cigar; the kind) cigar the company ever created. 

 In fact, Havana has the cigar in a facsimile of the original box:

Havana also has one of the company's most sought-after cigars, 100 Anos, made in a size (vitola) exclusively for them: 

We can't guarantee how long these will last. In addition to be proprietary, they're also limited. (Insert evil laugh here.)

 

The 100 Anos: 

Wrapper: Corojo (Valle del Cibao – República Dominicana).
Binder: Valle del Cibao (República Dominicana).
Filler: Valle del Cibao (República Dominicana).

When he finished that other cigar, he moved on to this: 

 

I know we always say we don't review cigars because you should make your own decisions, but Valentino wants to make an exception. This Puro Vintage Edicion III Anniversario Salomon is "fucking delicious." Boom. Review. 

Stay tuned for more La Aurora updates! Valentino has some serious smoking to do! And I'm pretty sure a lot of it will happen at Havana Cigar Club and Lounge. You should join us here!! (24 Quaker Lane, Warwick, RI. www.havana-cigar-club.com)

Willy and our hero! 

For more info about La Aurora, visit www.laaurora.com.do. 

 

How do we love thee? Consider this an official public display of affection...

I was just writing a super bunch of stuff for our forthcoming website and decided, hey! I should self-plagiarize! So here's a portion of what's to come...

n.b.: If we left you off the list even though we have publicly professed our love for you in the past, it's because your lovely blogger was distracted by the bubbles in her ginger ale. Literally, it's not you; it's me.

Another n.b.: These are in no particular order.


Anyway, these are folks who actually speak to us in public. We support them, their businesses, their endeavors. They don’t look away when we make eye contact. Win-win!

Habanos Cigar Lounge—Where the magic happens. And by “magic,” we mean where words are written, friends made (where we found Caballero #2!), and cigars smoked. We consider this our “home base.” (Hi, well, everyone!) If you come by and we aren’t here, there’s a good chance we will be soon!

 

So...many...things...

Mr. J’s Havana—Owned by our SuperFriend Paul Joyle, this cigar shop in West Warwick, RI (located within Joyle’s Liquor) requires your immediate presence. Go ahead. We’ll wait. While you’re there, say “Howdy” to Mark and Nate and many of the regulars. They’re all awesome. Oh! And make sure you try the J Grotto cigars. You’re welcome in advance.

Actually, there's a new sign outside and the inside has been completely redone!
Broadway Cigars: Now! With more coziness!

Broadway Cigars—We’re big, big fans of this cigar lounge in Providence, RI, even though we don’t get there nearly as much as we’d like! They have fantastic in-house events and cigar dinners. Go for the ever-expanding repertoire of cigars and regulars, stay for the conversation and fun. Tell Bobby and JV we sent you! Oh! And it’s BYOB, just so you know!

This picture doesn't do The Humidor justice. But when you're swiping
pictures from the mighty internets, beggars can't be choosers.
Well, they can...

The Humidor--With three Rhode Island locations, all unique and yet amazing, our favorite is the East Greenwich, RI, shop, which features a huge lounge area, big enough to hold an excellent Drew Estate dinner, which we went to this past Thursday. Owner Jana is one of the coolest chicks we know; she hosts fabulous events and provides a fantastic selection of cigars and accessories. Tell her we said "Hi!" when you go!

Cigar Cellar and Lounge—A bit further from home than we’d like, this Miami spot is heaven. We happened upon it by accident and now we’re trying to figure out how to relocate the business, owner Rhea Planes, and all the regulars up to us. (And no, relocating to Miami is not an option. Too hot there for one of us.) Learn how to play dominos before you go and tell Rhea we said "Hi!" and we miss her, when you get there!

As wonderfully eclectic inside as it is out.

Leaf + Bean, Pittsburgh’s Strip District—There are almost no words for how eclectically awesome this place is. Owned by our pal Jim Robinson (he who created the Leaf by Oscar cigar, among others), this shop happens to be near Valentino’s hometown and not too far from Penny’s son’s home. We visit both a lot more now.

Churchill's Smoke Shop--Not a huge place, but definitely a hugely welcoming place! Valentino found this on his own, and when I eventually got there myself, I felt the need to arm-punch him for holding out. Owner Bryan and Joe are definitely guys you want to be friends with--trust me on this.

Yes, an actual old firehouse.

Old Firehouse Smoke Shop--This is another shop we'd heard about for ages and then practically stumbled over by accident while we were in Fall River, MA. So so so glad we did! John only carries boutique cigars; if you wander around for even a bit of time, you'll say, "Hey! I heard about these..." or "I've been looking for these..." more than a few times. Plus...there's a shop dog named Wyatt to love while you're there...

Premium 70/70 Cigar Shop and Lounge--Who's an ass? Make that a clueless ass...This girl. Premium 70/70 is in my hometown. The town I lived in for mumblemumble years! And I've driven by no less than one hundred million times, making a teeny tiny mental note of it. One day we had some extra time and said, "Hey, we should go there.." And we did. And we loved it, especially Nolan and the great cigar selection. Plus, there's a shop cat named Bob... If I still lived in town, I would make that my homebase for sure.

Havana Cigar Club--If you have an hour or ten, you should visit Havana's humidor. Take it in like an art gallery; that's what I do, while Valentino stands there saying, "Come onnnnnn" and one of the awesome staff members tells me about the cigars I regard with obvious longing. If you do actually choose (because you aren't indecisive like me), settle into a cozy leather chair and...ahhhhh. Become a member and you can settle into even cushier chairs in the private member room.

Ale House Cigar Bar—This really cool place to hang out, located in downtown Providence, RI, has its cache upped by the staff—welcoming, funny, and thoughtful. Honestly, we don’t get here nearly enough.  That needs to change—stat--partly because we miss Humidor Manager Jake!
 

Boulevard Cigar--A newcomer to the greater Providence area, stepping into this  place is like visiting your best friend’s living room—it’s welcoming, cozy, and…well, your BFF probably doesn’t have an amazingly stocked humidor, but ours does! A great cigar selection, especially for a new place. Bet you'll love it so much you'll want to be a member!

 

The other day, I said, “I’d like to quit my job and travel around the country in an RV, checking out cigar lounges and going to cigar events.”

Simultaneously, two friends looked at me and said, “Don’t you already do that?”

Oh. Actually, yes. Except we don’t have an RV.

What cigar lounges should we visit next? Tell us--we have the summer off, although can that possibly be long enough? Anyway, we want to find new favorites. Without an RV, obviously (harumph), but I can try to overlook that. I'll just have to settle for Valentino's luxury vehicle... 

If you don't check out these cigars, you'll be sad, but we can't Falto you.

Phase whatever of the evening. So far, we had been here, to refresh your memory. I guess I should have been keeping count, but to be honest, I have ingested so many many many of these things, the days just fly by.

What gets me through the day.

We made our way to Havana Cigar Club, just like we promised we would.

There we started with this, the Falto Dos Banderas...

 

 

 

...which was ranked #2 in the "Panetelas" section of the March/April 2015 edition of Cigar Aficionado.

 

 

 

Of course, we weren't there just for the awesome cigars; that was an added bonus.  We stopped by for the opportunity to say "Howdy!" to (literally) Mr. Falto himself, center in the photo below.

 

Todd, Luis, our hero

We were supposed to try out the new Falto 20th Anniversary cigar, but because we lollygagged,* that ship sailed and the cigars were gone. That means we'll have to wait a month like the rest of the commoners.**

In case you missed it, you should check out  Luis' story, as well as the story of La Garita Cigar Company and Cigarros Falto, which is quite interesting; we couldn't possibly do it justice in this little old blog,*** so you should read about it here.

The Havana Cigar Club, 24 Quaker Lane in Warwick RI, is the only one in our area (that we know of) carrying the Falto brand.  You should take a jaunt there, or to you own local B&M, and pick up a couple. Or a few. Or even some. Or all.  Your choice really, but you should totally do it. Consider this peer pressure. Or peep pressure.

nom nom nom

*My fault. In my defense, I am a most excellent lollygagger.

**Sigh. Hello, commoners.

***We think the false modesty is becoming.

Where We'll Be: Falto Cigars Early Release Event at Havana Cigar Club

This Thursday, March 12 at 7:00, we're heading over to Havana Cigar Club in West Warwick for a 20th Anniversary event with the one and only Luis Falto!

The man himself.

By the way, this means we'll get to try the 20th Anniversary cigar a full month before anyone else. (Although maybe, just maybe, a certain someone happens to have one in a certain humidor, and Cabellero #2 might also have one. Because, you know, we know a guy...)

Anyway, who's in with us?

How about if we said Luis was flying  in just to have a meet and greet with us--and you, if you come, you should come--and to chat about his amazing new cigar, the Falto Eminente. Rumour (::cough internet stalking cough::) has it, this cigar has the following elements: Habano Ecuador wrapper, Double (Dominican and Cuban Seeds) Ecuador binder, and Dominican filler.*

 

 

 

How about if we tell you that Luis' story, as well as the story of La Garita Cigar Company and Cigarros Falto is an interesting one and we couldn't possibly do it justice in this little old blog, so you should read about it here.**

 

 How about if we tell you that if you purchase any Falto cigar at this event, you'll get to try the 20th Anniversary Cigar--compliments of Luis!***

 

[source]

 

Luis Juan Falto is a young entrepreneur from the city of Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. "A cigar smoker for more than two decades and connoisseur of everything concerning the culture of tobacco, his cigars represent the ambitious initiative to create an exclusive line of premium boutique cigars powered by his experience and knowledge," according to the company website. "At the same time, he created a unique philosophy of making cigars full of passion and love for the tradition of such art form."

 So we'll see you there? We'll see you there. We'll be looking for you. Look for us--we're easy to spot: The handsome devil and his socially awkward sidekick!****

 

 

 

*If this has changed and we're totally wrong, we apologize. We're flying without a net here. And by that, I mean one of us is quitting Diet Coke and grrrr.

 

**Consider it homework. There may or may not be a quiz.

 

***And we're not talking one cigar that gets passed around between all attendees. Because that would be gross. Although one of these days remind me to tell you about the guy who picked up one of Valentino's discarded cigars and finished it. It still makes me gag to think about it.

****We should get costumes with capes. Hopefully by Thursday.

The Second Cabellero Makes a New Friend or: Make sure you read to the end.

(I don't know why that weird blooch is there or what it is. Move along, people. Nothing to see here.)

Last night (ha ha ha as if I would be timely. But my intentions were good.)

Anyway, "last" night, the Cabelleros and their respective Cabellierettes (<--It's a word now) went to dinner and later landed at one of our favorite places: Havana Cigar Club in West Warwick, RI.

They have a super spectacular humidor, in case you didn't know.

They have tons of cool things here!**

Apparently Caballero #2 came on our jaunt cigarless.* Weirdo.

So as we wandered around the delicious humidor like we were in the fanciest museum, he chose this:

Of course you recognize it: The Oliva Serie V Melanio, last year's Cigar of the Year, deemed so by Cigar Aficionado. In their article praising the cigar, they state, "One look at the sharply pressed corners and carefully curved head and foot of the Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado tells you this is no ordinary cigar. The Nicaraguan smoke represents the pinnacle of achievement for Oliva Cigar Co."

"I can't believe I haven't had this yet," said Caballero #2 as he lifted the newly-sainted stick and made his way out to the smoking lounge, which looks a little something like this:

Except not this. This is the members' room. But very similar!**

Anyway, the Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado...that's a hefty name, but we must address it by its full name, out of respect.

Hahaha. (Again.) Anyway, the Melanio, according to the Oliva website, "is hand rolled using expertly fermented ligero fillers, leaves known for their robust and rich flavor. Five years in the making, this special cigar is sure to exceed a premium cigar smoker's highest expectations.

"The Serie V is full flavored yet smooth. The long filler tobaccos are a blend of Oliva Nicaraguan Habano that emphasizes tobacco from the Jalapa region, an area known for a more nuanced leaf than the Esteli or Condega regions. This carefully aged Jalapa blend produces a particularly flavored smoke." 



Photo by Mrs. Caballero #2. Hi Cathie! 



Cabellero #2 dug the Melanio with its Ecuadorian wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and filler. But even more impressive than the cigar itself? That it does tricks so well. (He probably had something to do with it too.)



Photo by Mrs. Caballero #2. Hi again!

Said the man who has umpity-gajillion cigars in his one billion humidors, "This is a damn good smoke." Dudes...if anyone would know, it's him. Oh. And Cigar Aficionado, would know too, I guess.

Valentino is sad because he doesn't have a place in this story, so here is a photo:

He is totally going to kill me for this. It'll be worth it!



*Are you as shocked at this twist as we were?

**Pictures stolen unabashedly from the Havana Cigar Club Facebook page.



 

Words you should know: Ligero (Think you can handle it, punk?)

We stopped by Havana Cigar Lounge in West Warwick, RI to say "Howdy!" to our friend Jarrid Trudeau, he of Kristoff Cigars, and maybe, just maybe, we were picking up a little something for you. (You'll hear about that later today.*)

Upon arrival, Jarrid gifted Valentino this baby. 

What's that? You want the deets? Straight from the Jarrid's mouth:** Honduran criollo wrapper, Dominican binder, Dominican/Honduran filler. 

 

And from the Kristoff website, "Looking for a full bodied cigar with depth and flavor, look no further. The Kristoff Ligero has twice the amount of Ligero leaf in the filler than the original Kristoff. It embodies incredible notes of toasted nut, caramel, undertones of cedar, spice and a sweet finish. Made with 100% Cuban Seed tobacco, this cigar leaves a clean, fresh finish on your palate."

Just as Valentino took the first few puffs, he said, "This has some bite to it."

"Well of course," Jarrid said. "It's a ligero."

And then they said ligero seventy-umpity hundredy times, with all the spit in the back of the throat a person can muster, kind of like an old, Jewish grandfather. It makes me giggle like a schoolgirl.***

What's that? You don't know what ligero is but you're afraid to ask?  I can help!!

Ligero is the tobacco leaf found at the top of the plant. Easy! Some other stuff about it:

• The leaf has a course texture
• The ligero has a potent, spicy taste, which makes for a full-bodied cigar
• The continuous, direct sunlight (because it's at the top of the plant) is the main reason for the leaves' fuller flavor. 
• Leaves are thicker and oilier, so they burn with more difficulty than other tobacco leaves.  

Carlos Fuente, who we love, has said, "The top leaves are left to overripen, and it looks ugly as hell.... And that's what gives you your baritone, heavy flavor, more body. It gives you more complexity."

 

So I thought I would give you some pictures to help you better understand the ligero. This is the first picture that came up:



You're welcome.

 

 This one might be a better help though:

 

See? Ligero is the tops

So when you see or hear "ligero," don't think, "That's a fun word to say,"**** even though it is. Think of Valentino saying, "This has some bite to it," and imagine him downplaying what he really thought, which was something along the lines of "Holy fuck,****** I wasn't expecting that!"

 

And then settle in for something super delicious. 

This Kristoff ligero comes in the following vitolas:

• Churchill – 7 x 50        
• Torpedo – 6.25 x 52
• Robusto – 5.5 x 54      
• Matador – 6.5 x 56
• Lancero – 7.5 x 40      
• Short Robusto – 4 x 54
• Corona – 5 x 44

Something for everyone! Unless you can't handle the ligero.

 

*Probably today.******* You know how I tend to lose focus. 

**Fingers, actually, thanks to the electronic angels that bring messages from one person to another. 

***Shut up. 

*****To paraphrase Elf, one of the best movies ever. 

******There's no other way to say it. Deal with the language.

*******Hahahaha. No.

Camp Kristoff, Part the First

Not too long ago,* Glen Case (Hi Glen!), the head-honcho of Kristoff Cigars, visited Habanos, one of our favorite hang-outs, a place in our own back yard...

You remember Glen, right? We first met him at Havana Cigar Lounge in West Warwick, RI.

Havana owner Todd LaScola, our hero, and Glen Case.

Well, one night we were shenaniganning** over at Broadway Cigars at a Montecristo event and then later rolled closer to home, into Habanos. And there was Glen Case! It was like we walked into our own back yard and happily found a cool kid from a neighboring neighborhood! Yay!

Unlike the first time we hung around with him, which was an actual Kristoff event, whereby he was required to be an adult in full-adult mode; this time he had the relaxation cranked up to 11.

After we settled in, giving out lots of "hello" kisses, Valentino lit one of these delights, which we'd previously purchased at that Havana event:

The 685 Woodlawn, on the right.
That's the star of this show.

Glen stopped mid-sentence and said, "Where did you get that cigar?"

Valentino took the cigar from his mouth and looked at it, just to remind himself which delicious stick consumed his senses. "At the event in West Warwick," he said, making his way to the bar with Glen and Jarrid Trudeau (Hi Jarrid!), a cool dude in his own right and Kristoff's Northeast rep, to sit with me.

"That's my favorite stick," Glen said. "I don't even have any of those in my humidor at home."

Now if you must know, I have some mad internet skillz.*** So when Glen reiterated the lack of 685s, I hauled out my laptop and began a search.

Pretend I'm currently searching and during the lull, we'll cut away to a montage of information about this cigar:

• The cigar's name comes from the house he grew up in. 685 Woodlawn in the suburbs of Chicago. See? That makes me love it already because you must know by now how much I love a good story. By the way, it's not the family homestead any more, but an ode to your first home? Awesomely cool. (As a side note, Mom and Dad? Don't plan on moving out of that house, especially to move to Florida, as all your peers have. Stay put.)
• A small batch released in April-ish 2013, only 2,000 boxes of 10 were made.
• The wrapper is from Brazil, binder from Nicaragua, and filler from Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, and a super secret place--maybe Oz? Santa's workshop? Brigadoon****? 
• Comes in one size, the 6 1/2 x 60 perfecto--one of our favorite shapes!
• I love love love this cigar. (I seem to have a real fondness for small batches, as if the more I know I can't get it, the more I want it. But that's pretty much the way of life, right?)

Glen and Valentino***** whooping it up.
Actually, they were discussion serious life things
while I challenged the mighty internets to a duel.
I won.

So within moments, I found a few boxes of the 685 available for purchase and gave Glen and Jarrid the info. I guess if I were a really good person, I would have bought him a box, and a box for ourselves...but...no.  Of course I regret this now. Or I did! <--Blatant forshadowing.

That night Valentino smoked his one and only 685, filling my lungs with some serious sweetness with a background of pepper. Kind of like smelling and tasting the fruit pie Nana is making in the house while simultaneously inhaling the heavily-peppered steaks' smoke wafting from the neighbors' grill. If you could get both flavors in your face at the same time--the pepperiness, the fruitiness, and the creamy, buttery crust, you'd be experiencing the 685 Woodlawn.

The night over, we were left with some super fun memories of time with our Kristoff friends and the Kristoff cigars. Now the story should end there, but no, because there's another chapter to the story.

On our way to visit my son in West Virginia for the holidays, we accidentally drove by the most massive of cigar stores, Cigars International in Hamburg, PA. Come on, we were driving right by the exit. And we needed gas anyway...

Just a teeny tiny bit of the gigantean place!
Lousy picture by moi!

One of the first things we saw as we entered the store? (That foreshadowing comes into play now.) We saw this:

Oh my sweet darling...

We scooped these up and asked about more.  The very nice staff lady searched high and low, climbing ladders to look in way high cubbies and giving herself a headrush looking in the store's deep, dark crevices.  And know what? She found another box! That was some amazeballs customer service!  We took them and ran!

This isn't true. I held them close to myself, like a treasured Latin textbook****** and we slowly perused the entire store, twice.

We're heading home from our travels tomorrow and I hope on Tuesday we can do some more research with these, see if they will once again help me relive the long, slow, sunny days of a childhood summer--even if I am a grownup now (boo) and we've just entered a long winter (double boo). I may ask Valentino to bring two.





*Keeping in mind I have real issues with time passing quickly and not recognizing it.

**A real word in Penny World.

***Not nearly as good as my friend Shelagh, who could teach a master class, but still better than the average schmoe.

****One of my all-time favorite plays.

*****This picture is actually from later in the evening, when our hero had moved on to a different Kristoff cigar.

******I'm probably the only one who ever actually treasured a textbook, right? Especially a Latin one? Thought so. Just to let you know, I still have my high school Latin books.

Glen Case and Kristoff get all the sparkles!

The other day, when a certain someone* should have been home grading papers, she wasn't because she'd been whisked off** to a new place.***

Another new favorite place!
Hanging out in all these awesome places doesn't leave any time for work! 
Hold on while I go play the lottery!! We have lots more places to visit!

Our friend Brenda, who started working at Havana Cigar Club in West Warwick, RI not too long ago, had been enticing us with promises of a place filled with unicorns and rainbows.**** Yeah, yeah, yeah we said, since the lounge is maybe 30-40 minutes away from Casa Awesome.

But her wily ways took a stronghold the other day when she announced a Kristoff event at the lounge. We'd heard nothing but amazing things about his eminency***** Glen Case and we needed to bow to him, shake his hand, and offer to wash his car. At least that was my intention. Valentino said we could just make him laugh and smoke his cigars. Whatevs, dude.

Turns out his plan really was the best one, although I'll never admit that publicly.****** (It was really cold that night so washing the car was out of the question anyway.) And we certainly made him laugh. In fact, he and Valentino may share a funny gene.*******  OMG! It was like they were separated at birth! For realz!

And while all the jocularity occurred, he showed us his wares (heh heh), asking what Valentino likes to smoke and then made recommendations from favorites. That makes me happy, when a cigar rep or
owner or shopkeeper wants to match you with the perfect cigar for you, rather than pointing you in the popular direction.

These are just two of our purchases. The others disappeared magically somehow, swallowed up by the Humidor Monster perhaps?

We know what happened to this one though:

Up in flames, baby! Up! In! Flames!
And it made me have the glad, because man, oh man, was that fabuloso!!

The Kristoff GC Signature Series hit the flame first and released "rich notes of espresso, dried apricot, chocolate and a sweet-spicy finish." [source]  The delicious Brazilian Maduro wrapper reminded us a teeny bit of our old friend, the CAO Amazon Basin. The binder is Cuban Seed Honduran and the filler, the filler is all the delicious things! Cuban Seed Dominican! Cuban Seed Honduran! AND Cuban Seed Nicaraguan!

Our friend Brenda, she who enticed us there in the first place, had this and raaaaaved about it. I can't possibly share a second-hand smoke story with you because she's a fast little devil, moving a zillion miles an hour:

"The maduro ligero washes your palate with notes of espresso bean,
dark chocolate, a hint of mix berry and a sweet cocoa finish."
(I'd tell you the source, but I closed the dang window and moved on with my day and then...d'oh!)

The Kristoff website says, "The Kristoff Ligero has twice the amount of Ligero leaf in the filler than the original Kristoff. It embodies incredible notes of toasted nut, caramel, undertones of cedar, spice and a sweet finish. Made with 100% Cuban Seed tobacco, this cigar leaves a clean, fresh finish on your palate."

Anyway, Glen? Glen is awesomely awesome and he would never lead you astray--unless you asked him to, but that's something else again. Want to know why he's in the cigar business? "It was one of those mid-life crisis’.  I’ve always enjoyed a good cigar and decided to pursue, what was an interest at the time; but it quickly turned into a passion."  Yeah, that happens to a lot of us. Oh, wait. Midlife crisis? Nope. Don't know anything about that!

"I spent nineteen years in the corporate world; all in the financial services industry.  The last nine years of my career, I spent as an executive at one of the top five banks in the country. I actually started in this industry as an independent sales rep.  However, it was only about six months later that I decided I wanted to come out with my own cigar line.  That was over 8 years ago." [source]

Havana Cigar Club Owner Todd LaScola, our hero Valentino, and Glen Case!

So! Now we 1. Have a couple of new friends; 2. Found another cool place to hang out; 3. Have another new favorite cigar. Not a bad evening of fun, although when we finally returned home, the elves hadn't even started grading papers. It's so hard to get good help these days.  Sheesh.


*Me, in case you haven't caught on to our patterns of mystery here.

**Actual conversation went something like this... Him: Ready to go? Me: Yep.

***New to me; Valentino had cased the joint previously.

****Metaphorical, I was sad to find out.

*****Not Eminem, you jokers. The head honcho.

******Oh.

*******Not this funny Gene: