Premium 70/70 Lounge or: 70% chance I've been drinking from the lead cup

Honest to everything, sometimes I am the dumbest person ever to walk the earth. Or lie on the couch on Earth. Or have snacks on Earth. Or second-hand smoke on Earth.*

When this happens, my BFF (Hi Jame!) will look me straight in the eye and ask, "Have you been drinking from the lead cup?"

The answer is probably yes. Here's why:

1. I lived in Westport, MA for umpity gajillion years and never knew the Premium 70/70 Cigar Shop and Lounge existed. Westport is not a big place. There's no reason we haven't been going in there for umpity ages. I never connected the giant neon CIGAR sign outside to We Like Cigars.

Look what I was missing:


Look at this delicious lounging area.
Valentino could smoke and chat up a storm with the regulars here!
(We hear they're wicked nice!)
(Obvs they're not in the picture. I'm not THAT bad!).
BTW, I could totally second-hand smoke here.
I could write here. Let's be honest. I could nap here no problem. 

AND!**

You guys! You have to go here and be amazed at all the great cigars in this massive humidor that made Valentino weep with jealousy--even though this is a shop and we aren't (although the new humidor makes us look a lot closer). You'd be jealous of these humidors too! You should visit them to see for yourself. We'll meet you there!

So very very pretty. And what's inside is pretty great too!

[Here's an extended aside-too big for a sparkle--Premium 70/70 is hosting a J Grotto event on Friday, February 20, 2015. We've told you a million times about how much we love all things J Grotto and adore their creator, Paul Joyle, he of Mr. J's Havana. Clear your calendar and get your butt there. We'll probably go! ::runs to tell Valentino I'd like to go::]

Anyway, while we were at 70/70, Valentino picked up one of these little babies (below) to smoke while we pestered Manager and Awesomely Cool Guy*** Nolan Perry. You have to go and you have to say "Howdy!" to Nolan. He's super fun to talk to and he knows about one thousand cubic tons of cigar things.

And when you go, say "Well helloooooo" in that creepy way to Los Carajos, "All the power & flavor of a full sized Ligero concentrated into a quick smoke that will surely leave you yelling its name… in a good way!" according to the La Flor Dominicana website.


So very very tasty!

So...this 4 x 34 is the new house favorite for a quick smoke--for example when Valentino is waiting for me to get my crap together and leave the house, even though I was ready to go three minutes prior.**** I'm thinking I should buy this for him, since my losing things and getting sidetracked is a regular occurrence.

Perfect packaging if you have OCD.

In case you didn't know, because you don't live on Planet Earth, "La Flor Dominicana is one of the premier Dominican cigar producers known for growing full-flavored and full-bodied Dominican tobacco on their La Canela farm. They then carefully age and roll these tobaccos into some of the best-selling cigars in the world." [source] 

We recently emptied out the overstuffed humidor and split the goods into its newly-arrived 2,000-count twin. Guess what we found as we started sorting? Yep! Lots of LFDs because--hand to the heavens--there's not a bad one in the bunch, so each time we're at an event, we buy more new things to try and old favorites to stock up on. Contrary to popular belief, I am not an enabler.*****

"Offered with a variety of wrappers, the La Flor Dominicana Little Cigars provide the same great tobacco flavors that fans of La Flor Dominicana have come to expect but in a smaller package. These short smokes are guaranteed to give you your cigar fill in a shorter smoking time with medium to full-bodied smoke and terrific flavors." [source]
 Speaking of none of that, guess who lives at Premium 70/70!!!

Bob the Cat!!
How can you not love a place with a cat?

You thought I forgot I was making a list, didn't you?

2. So--70/70 Cigar Shop.
I'm embarrassed at how long it took me to figure out what the shop name means.  I'm not saying it took a couple of days to click. I mean MONTHS! Maybe even YEARS! I can't remember.

I looked at Valentino the other day, all proud of my perhaps deleaded-cup brain and said, "Did you know that the 70/70 shop name means the perfect temp and humidity?"

He didn't actually say, "No der," but I could see his thought bubble. It read "No DER."******


3. Before we walked into this amazeballs shop, standing outside in the effing freezing cold, we agreed, "We're not buying anything while we're here."

Hahahaahahhahhahhah. As if that could happen--us walking out of a fabulous shop empty-handed. Obviously he's been sipping from the cup as well.

[As another aside too big for sparkles, we did walk IN empty-handed. We hadn't planned to visit the shop, so we left Will at home. When I introduced myself, Nolan said, "Where's Will?"]

Anyway, we plucked these from the shop's magic humidor, with Nolan's help. We like to ask shopkeepers what they're enjoying and what they recommend.


Jaime Garcia!
Matilde Renacer!
Quesada Oktoberfest in two sizes!
Quesada 40th Anniversary!
LFD 1994 from the stein!
And the baby LFDs!

One is trying to escape!

We're going to write about these cigars in the near future--and I promise not to forget.  Although I can't promise I won't get distracted choosing a pair of earrings or shooing Will out of the humidor--so no actual timeframe... but someday! Someday!!

 

In the meantime, we'll see you at Premium 70/70 in Westport, MA!

 

 

 

*Keeping it relevant, people.

 

**Me yelling, for emphasis.

 

***His official title, according to me.

 

****I swear I am not doing girly things, like my hair. I'm usually looking for my other glove or Will or running back upstairs to get earrings or a scarf. I am Valentino's version of unorganized hell. And proud of it.

 

*****Lie. I'm a total enabler. Does it make you happy? Get it!

 

******In case this phrase isn't common in your land, it essentially means, "What are you, fucking stupid?" in a  more sarcastic and much nicer way. 

The Litto (Gomez) Shuffle

Valentino and I had to run out of town today, and that journey just happened to take us in the direction of Old Firehouse Smoke Shop in Fall River, MA (and lunch with my parents--Hi Mom! Hi Dad!) and we just happened to stop in to say "Howdy!" to Wyatt.

Hi Wyatt!

Oh, and shop proprietor John Brandt! (Although one of us may or may not have greeted the dog first. That person may or may not have been me.)

Okay, full disclosure. John had something we wanted and as far as we have been able to figure, he's the only one who has them. I guess you could say he's our supplier.

Now, lots of folks have the Small Batch Litto Gomez. But John, John has the 2010 batch. (That's Batch #3, if you're keeping track.) We had picked up a couple (one to smoke and one for the humidor) a while ago just on a whim (okay, and a recommendation). Valentino smoked it at an event at the Connecticut Valley Tobacco Museum and swooned. (I'd like to pretend he was swooning over my awesomeness, but we all know it was Litto.)

Let's back up a second. In case you didn't know, Litto owns this little cigar brand called La Flor Dominicana. Hahaha--not little. One of our most super favorites!* I love all their cigars. Even the ones I haven't met yet! You may remember this gem. Oh! And guess what! One of our favoritest cigar friends is John Gallogly, our LFD rep!** Hi John!

According to Traveling Stogie, "Production of this cigar is limited to 30,000 packed in crates of 104 cigars which limits distribution to about 285 crates... [T]he plants used for this production cigar are grown on a blocked off section on farm where only the premium leaves are used."

 

Just now, before he lit it, Valentino tested the draw and said, "This is something. This is something that I can't place." Naturally, I asked the internets for help because you can get anything on the mighty mighty internets. And there it was. "Was it sourdough?" I asked, pretending I knew what I was talking about, but really, the genius belongs to the folks at Traveling Stogie. (Thank you!)

 

With Dominican filler and binder all nestled together with Dominican Sumatra, our new toro love*** has a gorgeous reddish hue on its shapely 6.75 x 52 self.

 

Hello, my pretties.

I'll admit, when I first saw them, I was perplexed. The tobacco leaf veins stood out and left the texture bumpy and craggy. This was completely different from the traditional smoothness of the cigars I'd encountered thus far. But it had personality. And charm. And a beauty I couldn't quite describe. Kind of like Ray Liotta. (Don't judge. Use your imagination.)

 

And now, as I sit here at Habanos with the gang (Hi Lauren! Hi Brian! Hi Nathalie! Hi Dave! Hi Sarah!**** Hi Mike! Hi Lexxie! Hi Doc! Hi Doc's cousin whose name I've already forgotten!*****) (Oh, Hi Valentino! XOXO), I get to second-hand smoke all its deliciousness. Its primary taste is leather, reminiscent of its look, accompanied by cedar and an underlying sweetness of molasses and cocoa.

 

When we picked up six today, I looked at the remaining dozen or so (maybe 18? Math is dumb.), and I'm still thinking I need to go back and get the rest. You guys know how I get about limited editions and "When they're gone, they're gone."

 

I mean, how can I not want him to be this happy for as long as possible?

 

Again, I'd like to say it's my awesomeness, but it's all you, Litto!

Mom and Dad! We'll be shuffling over there for dinner soon!

 

 

 

 

*I came, I bought, I'm actually wearing the t-shirt right this second!

**Technically, he's not OUR rep, but...well, you know. He exudes awesome. And he takes a hell of a selfie!

***Yes, yes, we know we are fickle. But we have so much love to give the cigar world. There's plenty for everyone! Don't worry!

****I'm going to post this before you get here. You'd better come or...I don't even know what will happen to the internets. They may be permanently broken. And then Brian and I will have the sad. Probably other people too.

*****Sorry! Lauren makes a hell of a drink!

You guys! You're going to looooove this place!! Old Firehouse SmokeShop!!

So there we were, scootching down Rock Street in Fall River, MA, air conditioner blasting, me annoying Valentino...same old same old. All of a sudden, we both did this:

No Krabby Patties were harmed in the making of this blog post.

Because we both just happened to look out the passenger window* and saw this:

[source]

I know what you're thinking. "Errr...and...?"

Maybe this will help:

Caballero #2 has frequently mentioned how much he likes Old Firehouse Smoke Shop and owner of the dog in charge, John Brandt.  Every once in a while, Valentino and I will have a lightbulb moment and say, "We should go to Old Firehouse..." and then we're distracted by not driving 45 minutes and we promise that another time, we're totally going there. (If you must know, our procrastination is made much more horrifying because my parents live 20 minutes away--next town over from Fall River.)

We looped around the block and pulled up. If it hadn't been so darned hot** I would have settled at one of the tables on the front porch and whiled away the hours.***

Instead, we went in and met awesomeness face-to-face. In the early 19th century, the building served as an actual firehouse, and then later a meeting house for Union Army veterans of the Civil War.  Although the building has obviously been updated and modified and gussied up right nice, the cigar shop maintains an old-world feel, harkening back to the days when the world was a little easier, a little nicer...a little more focused on community and camaraderie.****

I know we've chatted about this before, but what draws me to the cigar world is that community. And Old Firehouse Smoke Shop embodies all those feels. ::swoon::

And then the angels sang as we walked into the humidor about twice the size of my childhood bedroom, filled with boutique sticks. Proprietor John said he prides himself on their unique collection--and really, that's part of the shop's charm. We were in a museum, although way more delicious smelling--and you can't deny some of those bands are works of art. We stopped at each box, dreaming of future smokes, foregoing mortgage payments***** so we could take them all home. 

We actually did settle on a few--just a few! John introduced us to the Litto Gomez 2010, so that will happen soon. And who could possibly pass up this Factory Pressed IV LFD****** (6 1/4 x 60)? No mere mortal, that's for sure!! So, yeah, now we own one. How long we own it remains to be seen.

John also gifted us with this LFD, only available at events. And, well, us stopping by the fine establishment certainly qualifies as an event, soooo...

Add caption

And finally, he gave us this one:



Add caption

...which we'll tell you about soon! But this story is about a great man named John and his awesome dog Wyatt and a smoke shop where I suspect we'll be spending lots more time--under the auspices of visiting my parents, of course!!

Wyatt says "Hi!"

*He may have been trying to figure out how to open the door and push me out. But I digress.

**Mother Nature, why are you being such a bitch lately?

***Consulting with the flowers...

****Somehow I just turned into a crazy old lady who says, "Back in the day..." Although when my students say "Back in the day," they mean the 1980s, so... yeah.

*****Don't worry, Mum.  You know Valentino is the most fiscally responsible person in the world. Me, on the other hand... fill the humidor!!!!

******5th in a series of Factory Pressed cigars.