Island Jim's Big Johnny (heh heh)

You already know how much we love all things Island Jim. But there's a new fella to his cigar lineup--Big Johnny.

Named for a regular at Jim's Leaf and Bean in Pittsburgh's Strip District, the 8 x 66 is a monster--a very, very friendly monster, and described as "Only slighter smaller than a Louisville Slugger..." by Rich Myberg on Jim's Facebook page.



"Heeerrreeee's Johnny!"

 

So there we were, hanging out at Broadway Cigars in April, this time because Jim would be in the house. Well, in the shop. We stocked up on Leaf by Oscar and Island Jim cigars and then Valentino came back to my nest (where I'd cozily set up laptop and snacks and friends) with one of these:

As far as I know, these are (as the picture states) still only available at Jim's shop, the Leaf & Bean in Pittsburgh's Strip District. But he was nice enough to bring these for sampling purposes (plus he's really nice).

Valentino's is still in the humidor and Caballero #2 hasn't revved his up yet either. Sigh. They want to smoke them together, but can't seem to find enough time to partake--because the Big Johnny is a commitment of time. A forced relaxation, if you will.

Because both Caballeros let me down, I went off the reservation and hunted down our Big Johnny-smoking pals.

Jim and Karl at the Broadway Cigars event.

Karl Pease and I spent a year in the same vicinity, always sitting two tables away from each other at cigar dinners or in different clusters of chairs in the same lounge. At this event, I demanded attention. Okay, actually, I introduced myself. We're BFFs now, of course.

So I asked him what he thought of the newest Island Jim and Oscar Valladares collaboration. "The Big Johnny is kind of like that big teddy bear. Gives you that big friendly flavor, but doesn't knock you out. It delivers great taste for a long time. Instead of being scary big, it's teddy bear big."

Will!!

Then, on the Leaf & Bean Facebook page, I saw our pal Will McPhaul sitting back and smoking one of these new sticks as part of a testing group.

We met Will at Leaf & Bean in December. Jim actually said we needed to know each other, which was incredibly flattering for someone who thinks she's invisible most of the time. (That's me, by the way.) Of the cigar, he said, "The Big Johnny is more than enough bang for your buck! It's the rebellious big sister of the Leaf Maduro and doesn't play by anyone's rules."

If you get the chance to lay your hands (and mouth) on a Big Johnny--the CIGAR--do it! Doitdoitdoit!

And if the caballeros finally get around to their Big Johnnys... (Dear god is there any way to talk about this cigar without double entendres?) Anyway, I'll definitely let you know. Pinky swear.


P.S. (If there is such a thing on a blog), here's an interesting fact, from Jim's Facebook page:

"The paper for the 'Leaf by Oscar' Cigar bands are made one sheet at a time. The stems from the tobacco leaf are ground up made into a mulch and then painstakingly made into tobacco paper. This small factory makes for us 1300 sheets per week. All this is done in Danli, keeping as much of our cigar making process in our community as possible. We are proud that we give back as much as possible to our friends and neighbors."

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... 

Where we'll be: 12 Reasons Why you should come to this event (apologies to Jay Asher for bastardizing his title.*)

On Friday, April 10, at 6:30!

 

Meet Jim Robinson!

 

At Broadway Cigars!

(obviously, we're very excited!)

 

Jim with our hero

Reasons you should go:

1. We'll be there. Obviously, you don't need another reason, but if you're being stubborn, here are some more:

2. Delicious food from Roma, on Federal Hill!

3. Two for one specials! 

4. Raffle for $500 worth of cigars and humidor!

5. Did we mention we'll be there?

6. Other cool people will be there! You want to meet and hang with Bobby and John and the folks who hang at Broadway Cigars.



Photo stolen shamelessly from the Broadway Cigars Facebook page.
Mr. Cool and the Gang

 

7. From our experience, any Island Jim event--or any event at Broadway Cigars--is always a good time.

8. Will the Travelling Owl will be there. (P.S. Please go like his Facebook page so he'll shut the eff up about us not promoting his "awesomeness" enough. Thank you.)
 

Jim and Will go waaaay back. Obvs they're BFFs.

9. You get to meet Jim Robinson, Mr. Island Jim himself. Trust us--you will love him. (And that's IF Will isn't bogarting all Jim's time. Will can be an asshole, as we all know.)

10. If you haven't had a Leaf by Oscar or an Island Jim cigar, this is your chance to swoon and meet their maker, simultaneously.

 

11. Foods. Yummy, yummy foods.

12. We'll be there.

*If you have not read 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher, you should. And you should do it soon.  I can't believe you've gone this long without reading it! Or at least listen to it!

From the (Face)Book of Jim

Unless you've been living somewhere other than Penny World (although why would you be anywhere else, since here everything is fun and sparkly. Plus unicorns.)   I wandered away from my sentence again. 

 

So unless you're new, you know how much we adore Jim Robinson, he of Leaf by Oscar and Island Jim fantabulous cigars, as well as the superfantabuloso Leaf and Bean.

Jim and our hero

 

The other day on the facebook,* Jim posted the following missive, which sums up pretty much all that is right with the cigar word.**

 

The only changes I made were adding paragraphing. He said I should change it to make him sound smarter, but I'm ignoring that for three reasons:
 

1. No way would I even attempt to alter his voice. "Find your voice and commit to it," I tell my students.  Jim's writing voice is as open and friendly and honest and awesome as he is. To mess with it would be a crime. 
2. Jim is already wicked smaht, as we say here in New England.

3. I forgot what the other thing was. 

Jim in his shop Leaf and Bean in the Pittsburgh Strip District

 

So with that, please enjoy:
 
All the time as a retailer I am asked what is your favorite cigar. What a question, how do I pick just one. There are so many great manufacturers out there making fabulous cigars, its impossible for me to pick a favorite. My goal is to try them all, yes I have certain tobaccos that I like. But to pick ONE from thousands is impossible for me. And there are so many great masters of the craft, I cannot even start naming names, mostly for the fear I will not mention one of the masters of the craft.

For the most part great cigars are in that $7 - $20 price range. Some below a few higher, but money does not make a cigar taste better to me. I respect a fair number of Master Blenders or as I refer to them the Head Chefs of a fine restaurant who know their ingredients and how to make a great recipe.

I have had fantastic $6.00 cigars, and OK $20.00 cigars. The joy of cigar smoking for me is to experiment, try them, smoke them. I have not in my opinion had a bad cigar yet! Some may not fit my taste profile, but that does not make it bad. Not one, Not one, manufacturer that I know is making a bad cigar. They are making cigars for their market, some markets I fall into, some I don't. Does not make them bad.

We are living in great times, we have choices, It was not that many years ago, that we did not have choices, there was only so many different manufactures to choose from, now every day I am hearing and trying something I never heard of. For me, that is what cigar smoking is all about, always on the quest to try something new, to find that perfect cigar, that perfect cigar that fits my budget.

Not everyone agrees with me, and you know what "Thats OK." That is what is so cool about cigar smoking we don't have to agree. What brings us together is the ritual, the socializing 10 guys and gals around a table will be smoking 10 different cigars and they all at the time think they are smoking the best. Wahoo!

What a country.... For me the quest is on, I am smoking and enjoying and looking for that next great cigar.....

You must have all of these. Go ahead. We'll wait.

So, as Jim would say, "Wahoo!!"

 

*I say this in an ironic way. 

**Imagine one of those Ven Diagrams. One circle says Cigar World and the other says Penny World. That place where it overlaps? And it does overlap. That's a bit of heaven where a handful of people live. It's very nice there, if I do say so myself. 

Words you should know: Herf or: A grammar lesson

You've seen the word on blogs and event posters, and even on the travel humidor your buddy brings to hang at the lounge.

[source]

It sounds like it should be a muppet.
Or a squishy ball. (Shush, you.)
Or something you do after too much drinking.

But it isn't. (Although I wouldn't mind seeing a muppet named Herf, if you must know.)

Aforementioned grammar lesson:

As a collective noun:

A gaggle of geese. [source]

A train of camels. [source]

A murder of crows. [source]

A herf of cigar smokers.
(This is us with some of Valentino's childhood friends
and Island Jim himself at Island Jim's place in Pittsburgh PA.)

So a herf is a gathering of cigar smokers coming together to share airspace.

Unless you want to use it as a verb:

Are you up for herfing this weekend? I just got the new 50th Anniversary Padron. Feel like second-hand smoking it?

Seems a shame to smoke it! But that will happen. Soon.

As an adjective:

I've been at the cigar lounge every night this week. I'm a herfing fool!

As a made-up word:

We're getting psyched for a herfariffic experience at Cigarfest in May.

In multiple ways altogether:

If you're going, let us know and we can herf during the herf, which seems a little meta.

The waiting is the hardest part. Or: Aging cigars is not fun for those of us with limited patience

Right now,* Valentino and I are transporting goods across state lines. (Teehee!)

 

We really are the world's most innocuous mules. I have nothing stashed in my bouffant hairdo** a la Marge Simpson. Valentino has nothing sewn into his jacket. (I was going to go with another image, one more traditional in the smuggling world, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Hi, Mom!)

 

Instead of being supercool and in the midst of a car chase with guns ablazin', we're driving along Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania, minding speed limits and listening to 70s on 7.  (I love Sirius/XM radio.)

 

And a backseat full of these:

In boxes, obviously. Not a back seat full of loose cigars.

We spent a couple of afternoons/evenings at Island Jim Robinson's Leaf and Bean this past week, but couldn't actually smoke any of his signature cigars. They were totally sold out. He told us some had been produced and were sitting in Honduras, silently aging.***  He stressed that he wouldn't have them shipped to himself or anyone else until they were practically perfect in every way. (I'm paraphrasing, obvs. I just can't see Jim quoting Mary Poppins.) 

 

Then we saw on Facebook (my major source for news) that the cigars were wide awake and U.S.-bound.

They were on their way here!!

THEN! Our friend Bobby from Broadway Cigars said, Hey, 10 boxes please! And through a series of cryptic messages, we wound up with a backseat full of boxes. 

 

The interesting point here, and there actually is a point, is this: Cigar makers want to make sure every cigar is as perfect as possible. Our friend Paul Joyal, he of J Grotto cigars, told us he was out of the Anniversary Series double perfecto, an amazing cigar in its own right. We saw them at Jim's place, and at Broadway Cigars, but Paul himself didn't have any in his own shop. 

(He's going to kill me for using this picture!)
The J Grotto double perfecto in PA!

 

Were they hand rolled and ready to go? Yep. 

 

Would they be travelling to the US? Nope. 

 

"I'd rather they be perfect," he said. "It's not a financial decision. It's a quality decision."

 

Valentino and I like to say, "You're only as good as your last envelope," meaning people remember the last thing you did for them, the last plate you served them at a restaurant, whatever. The metaphor crosses into a zillion professions--although I'm fond of the saying's mob ties. 

 

If you have a bad cigar, especially if it's your first time with that premium cigar, you might not go back to it, especially with so many other options on the market. Boutique cigar crafters make the right decision when they hold off until the cigar has enough aging under its belt.

Cigars International says in their article, "Properly Aging Cigars," "Aging is often what makes a good cigar a great one."

We actually know this from experience.

For his birthday, I bought Valentino a box of his own blend of cigars, thanks to George Rico, head honcho at Gran Habano Cigars. So cool (both George and the ability to create your own blend). Valentino chose the filler, binder, and wrapper, by using their  super-fun blending kit, which contains "10-20 puritos of each tobacco leaf available at the time...detailed menu of the tobaccos included, and a blending sheet," according to the feature article on cigar.com, from whence the kit comes.

The choices...

So he puffed away on the puritos, mixing and matching, trying to figure out his most favorite.

The choosing...
(Thanks for taking the pictures, Nathalie!)

Then, because Valentino is Valentino, much research ensued, including lots of discussions with our cigar pals in-the-know, including Mr. J Grotto himself. Finally, he settled on a blend.  And a few months later, this arrived:

Yes, those are angels you hear singing.

More angels singing.
This is the sticker that held the paper covering the cigars together.
(Weird sentence. Too lazy to fix it.)
(We do not promise perfection here. Just a few laughs.)

By all that's right and holy, he should have fallen in love with them on first puff.

That does not look like a man in love with his cigar.

Not the cigar's fault. It needs more time to, as we incorrectly say, "marinate."

Here's a general guideline, from Cigar Secrets:

• "3 weeks stabilizes the mechanical tensions and moisture of a cigar, making it smoke better, particularly if it was shipped ‘green’
• 3 months allows the oils to begin their natural dissipation so that the flavors of the blend ‘marry’ [Hahaha. I should have said "marryinate."]
• 3 years (in a temperature/humidity controlled environment) allows some more complex chemical processes of true aging to take place, creating deep, rich and subtle layers of flavor
• Beyond 3 years – Carefully stored, cigars just keep getting better and better"****

At the launch of the J Grotto Anniversary series, Valentino had a nice chat with Philip Zanghi, of Debonaire Cigars, about how fermentation during the aging process reduces the ammonia and other chemicals that make, if smoked too soon, the cigar taste like ass.***** Longer-aged cigars result in mellowed acridity.

So, yes, we know he shouldn't have smoked the Cabellero #1 so soon upon its arrival, but come on. That's like buying an edible gift early on in the shopping season and not eating it.

[source]

At least Island Jim and Paul Joyle keep their cigars in another country to ensure proper aging. Lucky bastards. Although I bet they would leave the edible Christmas gifts alone too. What are you guys? Robots? Sheesh.

Anyway, the moral of the story is this: We will certainly entertain offers to mule cigars for you, if necessary. For a price, of course. Like, maybe, some Christmas gifts you're still holding onto... nom nom nom. Please just don't make us wait too long.

Will's not happy with the Idiot Handler who took the lousy picture.
He says it doesn't show the extent or importance of his work.

 

 

*Hahaha. As if I could finish a blog post in the same year I started it.

 

**I wish I could even keep a bouffant bouffanted for more than 13 seconds. 

 

***Shhhh. The Island Jims are sleeping.

****Naturally, there are exceptions. But that's a post for another time!

*****My interpretation, obvs.

Amen (Seen at the Leaf and Bean in Pittsburgh)

In which we're responsible for the corruption of another young soul.Yay!

So I was going to write about how we are back in the Leaf and Bean in Pittsburgh on the Strip and I guess I still am, but the focus of this post switched gears before I typed a word. 

Valentino lit up a Leaf, it being one of Island Jim Robinson's masterpieces. You know we're big big big big big fans of The Leaf by Oscar. After all, we've only been singing its praises since for-freaking-ever!

Today's selection, the 6x60 Corojo.

 

Anyway, Valentino's niece takes him up on his offer to try the Corojo Leaf.  As he handed it to her, he said, "For the love of God, don't inhale. Your head will explode "

She didn't. It didn't. All was right with the world.

 "I like it," she said. 

In the words of Island Jim, "Wahoo!"

I ran--pinky swear ran--into the humidor, pushed people out of the way, and took possession of an ACID Blondie, the tiny one, the panetela (4 x 38). It's a good starter and way less of a commitment than a full-size cigar.  It's also on the mild side, with a Connecticut wrapper, and, as his niece said, "It's sweet," thanks to its infused nature.

Mom watches her daughter's fall into the cigar culture and there is much rejoicing.

The ACID line, is something special in its own right.  According to the Drew Estate website, "The ACID smoking experience is like no other. Each blend holds new explorations in tobacco curing and blending that are the closest guarded secrets in the industry. For the past 10 years, legions of you have sought out ACID cigars in the far corners of the world to satisfy your craving for something truly one-of-a-kind, unique and inspiring. Explore the entire range of kaleidoscope tastes never before imagined in a cigar and be rewarded for your efforts."

Want to know a super interesting story about this guy? (The one on the right.  The one on the left is our hero, Valentino.)

That's Scott Chester, he of ACID Cigars,

and many other amazing product lines.

We had the luxury of meeting him a

t the Fuente fundraiser in Miami this October.* 

 

First of all, ACID is an acronym, which stands for Arielle Chester (his daughter) Industrial Design. See? Now you're already way smarter than when you started reading this! 

This is from Scott's website, "In 1998 ACID was approached by Marvin Samel and Jonathan Drew, future owners of Drew Estate, cigar company. They wanted ACID to develop a cigar brand. After several years, ACID cigars, now consists of five different lines and sixteen different cigars, all of which have served to solve a major cigar problem: the cigar tastes good as it’s smoked but the lingering aroma is not often pleasing. The secret process for creating the patented ACID cigar aroma involves blending over 140 botanical and herbal elements. The mixture is cured into the wrapper layer tobacco for over six months, which makes for a pleasant smelling smoke without hindering the five-tobacco blend within the cigar. 'If you’re in a room full of cigar smokers you can easily detect the ACID aroma.'"

 

So we've captured another soul, gotten her to smoke and enjoy a cigar--and in one of the best places to do it! But there's so much more to know.  Your lessons have just begun, Grasshopper. 

 

P.S. She's going for cigar number two! And it's Jim's very own Connecticut Leaf! (It seems only right.) Is it wrong for us to be so happy? Best part? Island Jim is giving her pointers on lighting it!!

Yes, she's of age. Turn off your tattletale brain.

 

*Yes, we have been promising to tell you about this trip for one hundred million ages and we will--before next year's event. **

 

**We have had a request for a minimum of three sparkle entries.***

 

***This is the third! :)