April Cigar of the Month! Sobremesa!

A couple of weeks ago,* we had the pleasure** of travelling north a wee bit to Kurt Kendall's Twins Smoke Shop for a Steve Saka Sobremesa Seminar and Shindig. (Also in  attendance, his awesome wife and partner-in-crime Cindy! Hi Cindy!)

If you've met me, you know I am such a nerd, which flares at embarrassingly (mostly for Valentino) high levels. So while the rest of the dozenish folks sat back, relaxed, and listened to Steve tell us tobacco tales, I did this:

Nerd level: Expert!
Also, if I relax, I fall asleep.

I'm taking the Certified Retail Tobacconist (CRT) exam while we're at IPCPR this summer. Rather than studying the book, I'd probably learn more by following Steve around,*** listening to him Talk Tobacco. You guys! He knows...all the things! And generously helps you understand all the things too!

As a matter of fact, tonight Valentino and I get to woohoo**** it up with him again! He's hosting a Sobremesa tasting at Millonzi's in West Warwick, RI, thanks to Paul Joyle and Mr. J's Havana (in the same town). Don't worry--I'll have a new tablet to fill!

We know what you're thinking (because we thought the same thing): What's a sobremesa and is it catchy?

Short answers: An awesome thing and I wish.

You know when in the movies (not so much in real life) after dinner the characters sit around the table chatting, drinking, enjoying a cigar and each others' company? That is sobremesa--appreciating life and its simple pleasures. No direct English translation, either in words or practice, exists. That makes me have the sad. Anyone interested in starting a Sobremesa Lifestyle Movement (SLM) with me? I'll try not to fall asleep when I relax!

Steve's Sobremesa, the first cigar from his Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust, is composed of an Ecuador sungrown wrapper, Mexican binder, and long filler from both Nicaragua and the US and created at the Joya de Nicaragua factory in Nicaragua.

Your vitola choices (so far)!
[Source]

Have you ever seen over a dozen guys simultaneously swoon? That actually happened when the (not-so) dirty dozen(ish) all lit up during the Twins' event. Throughout the smoke, the lot mentioned cocoa and earthiness, but as the evening progressed, chatter moved on to cedar and creaminess. As a professional second-hand smoker, I found the cocoa most notable--when I picked my head up from the notebook, at least. Oh! And Valentino gave Sobremesa the highest praise: He purchased a box, which is now mostly gone. Thankfully, a restocking will soon commence! Maybe even today! Wheeee!

We've gotten some members of the French Alliance
to organize the giveaway for us.
There's always that one guy perpetually on coffee break, isn't there?
He's living the Sobremesa lifestyle. At least that's what he told the general.

Working hard for you.

Many winners this time around!
Exactly how many will require math.
Math is dumb.

Steve, the very awesome and generous Steve, gave us a ton***** of these cigars to share with you, thus making the Sobremesa this month's Cigar of the Month.  How can you be one of many winners? Start here:

a Rafflecopter giveaway


*Another example of the time-space continuum issues frequently occurring in Penny World.

**It's a little over an hour drive. I fell asleep in the car almost instantly. I. Am. Awesome.

***NOT in a creepy-stalker way. More like a Deadhead/groupie kind of way.

****Haha. And this is irony at its best.

*****Exaggeration

We're Soooooo Nosy

Okay you crazy kids! We're looking for your stories and experiences in cigar lounges and assorted herfs. 

So if you're bored at work or avoiding yard work but want to look like you're busy, take our survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RWW8NYY

You're the best!! Thanks!! 

A Rogue Giveaway: KFC

This isn't our Cigar of the Month , which will be showing up very soon.

This is our "Someone very generously gave us a bunch of cigars and we feel like we should share the love much to Valentino's chagrin" giveaway.

These are MUWAT Kentucky Fire Cured Just a Friend (toro), 6 x 52. No need to count. There are 9 of them. We'll blast off ALL 9 to one person, because we're nice like that (and it saves on postage, which is also nice).

We just hope the mail train doesn't hit any snags like this one:

How do you enter to lay your soft, delicate hands on these cigars? Go here, to raffle central:


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cigar Lounge Douchebag: Don't be a Hater--or a Generalizer (although we don't mind if you sweep)

We've discussed this before. It bears repeating. Apparently not everyone in the world reads every post. Shocking! I know!

Speaking of shocking, the other night* at an undisclosed cigar lounge, a relatively new visitor said, "Everyone always talks about their favorite cigars. That's boring. What cigars do you guys really hate?"

Valentino and I exchanged the look as this guy began listing cigar brands. Not just specific cigars or vitolas, mind you--he actually said, "Anything by____ and _____ and_____."

Whaaa?

When we were in Nicaragua last month, Nick Perdomo recommended you (we--haha not me, though) smoke all of a blend's sizes. Maybe you won't like the binder-filler combination in the bigger gauge, but scootch down to a smaller ring gauge and you could hit Nirvana with this ratio. By writing off the entire blend because of one size, you'd have done yourself a solid sad. Don't give yourself a solid sad.

Nick Perdomo is outstanding in his field.
He's also definitely NOT a douchebag.

As this guy blathered on, I held steady in that grey area where alertness and sleepiness converge. I wanted to smugly ask if he'd had all the cigars' variations these noted manufacturers manufactured, but I couldn't form complete thoughts with my foggy brain, so I kept my pie hole shut. (Mmmm. Pie.)

I did offer, "We don't say anything negative about..." but his negativity-track-mind disallowed my addition to his one-sided conversation.

Then brave, brave Valentino gave it the old community-college-try. "Maybe those don't fit your flavor profile, but that doesn't make them bad." This guy wanted no additions of logic or reason and turned away from our hero, shooting his diatribe toward another patron.

One cause of my college writing class fist-shaking (with an undercurrent of "Kids these days!") is sweeping generalizations.

Gratuitous grammar and writing lesson (no extra charge!): When you find yourself writing or speaking and using (or implying) ALL of something is true, your whole argument falls apart (unless you can prove your statement with hard facts and/or data). And since he obviously couldn't prove that every _____ cigar was "bad" (whatever that means), his argument--and therefore credibility--was shot.

So the next time you head into a cigar lounge, please please please remember:

1. Just because a cigar doesn't fit your flavor profile doesn't make it bad.
2. If you're looking for a fight, you're probably not going to find it in a cigar lounge.
3. Not every cigar of a particular company is bad. Everyone thinks that's stupid. (See what I did there?)
4. Try listening. You just might learn something. If you want to perform a monologue, go find a stage.
5. You are not the smartest person in the room. We're all good at something. Whatever you're good at doesn't make you better than anyone else.
6. Make friends, not people who dread seeing you walk into the shop.

Okay, class over. Go smoke a cigar. Try something new. You may be surprised.



*This USED to say "last night," but now it should read "many last nights ago.."

The Successful Cigar Lounge (Employee edition)

Jorge Padron [source] 

"...the focus should be on quality, not quantity.  By this I mean that it is not necessarily the biggest store or walk-in humidor that makes a tobacconist great, [sic] it is the quality of the employees that make the difference. Tobacconists that understand their customers' needs and preferences, and who pair that with the perfect product for that particular smoker, are successful at what they do." 

--Jorge Padron, from the Foreword in The Tabacconist Handbook

We've been thinking a lot about cigar lounges lately: What makes one successful and another not-so-much.

In a completely unscientific and totally slipshod experiment, using the word "experiment" so loose it's probably turning tricks on a shitty city street corner, we've made a few notes about what works and what doesn't in a cigar lounge (as it relates to humidor/cigar sales only).

These brain musings focus on the sales clerk/staff only (in no particular order). We'll take on the other aspects another day.

The Good Clerk

• Wants to know what you currently smoke.
• Offers recommendations through conversation rather than hard-selling a specific cigar.
• Remains in the vicinity for quick assistance but no so close you feel you need to buy him/her a drink. 
• Understands at least the basic cigar terminology and doesn't look like a confused cheerleader when you ask for a lancero.
• Shares info about the shop if you're new, including regular events and upcoming special events.

The Not-so-good Clerk

• Know everything about everything and anything you say is wrong. 
• Holds the world championship title in oneupsmanship.
• Follows you so closely that onlookers mistake you for newlyweds.
• Makes you look up a price in the humidor. 
• Is constantly surprised by the stock.
• Is too busy talking to other patrons to acknowledge your presence. (This is cousin to the clerk who stays on the phone without even making eye contact.) 
• Obviously works on commission or needs to meet a sales quota because you aren't getting past him unless you hand over your wallet or at least your AmEx. 

The Head-banging-on-counter/why-does-this-person-have-a-job? Clerk

• Doesn't greet you when you walk into the shop.
• Consistently mispronounces company/brand names--Olivia cigars, anyone?
• Goes missing when you need to pay. 
• Doesn't listen.
• Says "I just work here." 
• Tells you to give him a flat amount of cash where he's sitting rather than ringing you up. You don't need a receipt, right?
• Obviously steals from the owner. (Do you tell the owner? This is a post for another day.)

You've surely seen most, if not all, of these scenarios at one point or another.  Join us in applauding the Good Clerk. Thank the guy or gal personally. Then go one step further and tell the shop owner or manager about the great service.

If you own a shop, we recommend checking out these books:

Available for purchase here.

 

Available here.

More than the number of cigars your humidor holds or how many special events and dinners you hold, excellent customer service is what brings people back to your shop. Make sure every customer has an excellent visit. After all, you never know who they could recommend visit--or discourage from visiting your shop.

Don't be a douchebag: Facebook edition

No fewer than seventy gabillion (and counting) Facebook cigar groups exist and many many Cigarz Facebookerz belong to at least half of those, with a handful active participants.

Dude, it's really really hard to miss you.

No biggie, right?

Right. 

Unless.  Oh yes. Unless.

(source)

Unless you happen to be friends with one of the oversharers. Then Facebook becomes the digital equivalent of Groundhog Day, but without Bill Murray's almighty quirkiness.  Here's how it goes:

Phase One: 

That's nice. A -----cigar with a pithy sentence or two. 

::scroll::

Oh. Same picture and text. 

::scroll::

Same pic and text. 

Or had to see the same Facebook post over and over and over...
(source)

Phase Two:

The picture and words. 

::scroll::

Picture. Words. Same. 

::scroll::

Is this ever going to stop? The same pictures and same damn words. 

(source)

Phase Three:

Dear God in heaven, is this ever going to stop?

::scroll::

What evil have I committed to make me have to look at this same picture and same text ad infinitum?

::scroll:: ::scroll:: ::scroll::

Unfriends that person, no longer caring about a long friendship or shared memories. You just want to stop seeing the same picture this decade. 

But I want people to see that I have this cigar, you say. 

No one cares.

(source)

There. I said it. And I know you aren't listening, instead thinking smugly, "You aren't talking about me. People want to see what I post."

Yes I am. And no...they don't. 

Choose two groups and post your picture. If you can't choose just two, then stagger your posts over the course of the day and change the damn text with each post. If you can't think of clever text to go with the picture, then why the hell are you putting it up at all?

(source)

CMA--No, not the Country Music Awards

CMA as in Cigar Media Association.

Guess who just entered the club?

Me.

Stop laughing.

I started this dang blog about a year and a half ago(ish) because I had a couple of great ideas for books, but in order to give my characters credibility, I needed to know more about the (cigar) world they live in. So I started researching.

You say "watching TV." I say "researching."

At the same time, Valentino and I started going to more in-shop events, dinners, spending more time investigating new cigar lounges, hanging at our close-to-home lounge, and travelling for bigger events (for example, CigarFest in some remote town in Pennsylvania, the CFCF Havana Nights fundraiser in Miami, and we JUST returned from Nicaragua). Sometimes funny things happened, sometimes interesting things happened, sometimes nothing happened but a good cigar wafted by, and that would spark a story just as much as a grand-doing.

I'm a storyteller by nature. (You should buy my books. Just sayin'.)

Superfriend Karl (Hi Karl!) says I'm not a cigar blogger; I'm a cigar storyteller. He's right. I don't care about the first third or any third for that matter, although if it's notable for one reason or another, I'll certainly tell you about it. I like the stories behind the cigars or the things that happen in my own little cigar world.  Is it cool to meet the owners and blenders? Yep. A round of picture-taking just to flaunt meeting them? Nope. But! If a story occurs during shenaniganning, then abso-kerflunkin-lutely you'll hear about it!

The actual Litto, actually dancing.
I guess it's the Litto Shuffle.

So what started as me needing a place to keep all the learnin' has become a home for our adventures.

Because I'm a professional writer at heart, I aim to answer questions before a reader asks them-- you'll notice I like to include the cigars' stats along the way--just so I'm providing a clear picture. The CMA's mission is "Providing the cigar industry with an accredited group of individuals that can produce accurate media to consumers and retailers." One of the curses that comes with writing professionally AND teaching people to write at the college level is the need to be a diligent researcher who uses reliable sources and credits those sources. So that happens and sometimes it takes a long time in order for it to happen, which is why postings are sometimes sporadic."* [nb: Urgh. The white blocks are an added bonus. No extra charge.]

The crazy themes and pictures? Those are to make Valentino laugh.** (Hopefully, you laugh too.)

As a new member of the CMA, Love of the Leaf joins these awesome online publications:

• Blind Man’s Puff
• The Cigar Authority
• Cigar Coop / Stogie Geeks
• Cigar Dojo
• Cigar Inspector
• Cigar Federation
• Cigar Smoke
• Cigar Jukebox
• Cigar Vixen
• Covering Your Ash
• Fat Ash Magazine
• Half Ashed
• Kiss My Ash Radio
• Love of the Leaf (You are here.)
• Nice Tight Ash
• Stogies on the Rocks
• Stogie Press
• Toasted Foot

You should check them out. They're totally cool and joining them makes me feel like I just received a sparkly crown. Or I get to sit at the cool kids' lunch table. Or both. Yes! Definitely both! Simultaneously!! I'd do the happy dance, except...

This is literally me.

Okay, then. Figuratively.

*You know how when you go to look at one  video on YouTube and five hours later you're still watching cat videos? I'm the nerd version of that.

**And me laugh too.