July Cigar of the Month: Perdomo! (Thanks, Two Guys Smoke Shop for the story)

First and foremost,

Congratulations to Miguel and Jon, pals from the Twitter,
who were chosen by the almighty Rafflecopter

and will soon receive a bunch of goodies from us and Ashton Cigars!
(And yes, we said we'd have something for a random commenter.
We're working on that! Don't worry!)

Second and secondmost,
You're going to have to read the story to find the link to the contest.
Bwah hahahaha!

Did you know this is the 12th monthly giveaway? Did you know that means we've been forcing our words upon you for a year? You're welcome. Or: We're sorry.

One of my all-time best friends Jack (also known as J. North Conway), recently signed a deal for some Hollywood-types to make his book Queen of Thieves into a television series.

Jack's most recent book.

Jack's also a fan of Perdomo Cigars, so I thought it apropos we bundle his book with some of his favorite cigars:

 

The four cigars on the right came from a Perdomo event
held at Cigars International in Hamburg, PA before CigarFest.
The other one, I swiped from the humidor when Valentino wasn't looking!

This match-made-in-delicious-cigar-smoke is also very very serendipitous, as a couple of weeks ago we headed to New Hampshire for a Perdomo, Pistols, and Pizza event, organized by David Garafolo, head honcho of Two Guys Smoke Shop.

I know we've chatted about how awesome and gracious Nick Perdomo and his family are, but I'm going to repeat it and you can't stop me: Nick Perdomo and his family are some of the most kind and gracious people on the planet.

So even though we were literally* out of our element, being in a different state and all,** he and David and Barry Stein (Hi Barry!) made us feel super welcome. We'd wanted to actually go to the sponsoring shop, but the day got away from us and we went running running running to be there in time. That means we're going to have make another trip north. Oh, the things we do for you in the name of research and semi-truth*** in reporting.

[Pretend there's a really cool video here highlighting the event. I tried and tried and couldn't upload it and then decided it was causing more stress than I could handle. So I moved on with my life. Of course that means you don't get to see the video. Sorry!]

And then we shot things on a shooting range. (Yes, we brought part of our arsenal to shoot as well.) And then had pizza. Soooo...awesome day!

(L to R) Perdomo Rep Roy Kirby,
Two Guys Smoke Shop Owner David Garafalo,
and Man of the Hour Nick Perdomo.
[photo swiped from David's Facebook page]

For realz, Two Guys Smoke Shop has tons of fantastic events. Before you go check them out, though, enter this month's contest: a Rafflecopter giveaway

You'll be glad you did! <---Because then we'll be internet BFFs.

And check out Jack's other books, one of which has been optioned (to be made into a movie) by Jeremy Renner. You'll be glad you did! <---Because then we'll be book BFFs.




*

Oh Archer, why must you be so awesome?

**Although technically we were about 15 minutes from the state line.

***Look, I write fiction (that's the made-up one, not the true one). Anything for a good story (which is why I decided to stop writing for an actual newspaper--back in the day when truth was key to reporting).

A Bounty of Christmas Spirit (or: Where's Will?)

The festivities abound, as we told you about recently. We are (cigar) party animals as we count down to the VBT (10 days!).

Tonight, we are at one of our favorite places, Broadway Cigars, and guess who is here!

 

This guy! And Jim Robinson,
he of Leaf by Oscar and Island Jim Cigars

Our hosts, the lovely Bobby and JV, wish you could have been here with us! They told us they missed you!  Here's what you could have gotten:

Will practicing his showcase skills,
with the hopes of having a guest spot on The Price is Right.
How's he doing?

I know you probably know lots about the Leaf and Island Jim cigars, but if you're new (Hi! Welcome!), check out the links for lots and lots of information and jocularity.*

There were some shenanigans and this happened:

And this:

But let's talk about the best part of the night.** About 90 percent of the guys who came in had a bag of toys for this:

Can you find Will in this picture?
(No, we're not giving him away!)

Will wants you to help provide toys for the kids of Federal Hill House in Providence, RI. Stop by Broadway Cigars with a toy. Can't get to the toy store? Make a donation and Bobby will do the shopping for you!

You know, there are only ten days until Christmas, in addition to the VBT, so get over there quickly and help out a kid or ten.

And while you're there, buy a cigar or ten or twenty--they make great gifts for yourself, or someone else. We recommend getting cigars for someone who doesn't smoke them and then you'll get to keep the gift, but the giving still counts!***

While you're there, make friends with the folks at Broadway. You'll be so glad you did!



*And inane comments.

**Besides the food. And the company.

***We actually know someone who did this--gave Valentino a gift; it didn't work, so they brought it back. The people counted the gift as given! Boom! (And he's still out a gift from that year.)****

****Not that we're keeping track, but, yeah, we're keeping track.