The Cigar Maker by Mark Carlos McGinty

Just found out about this book: The Cigar Maker.

It is about The Cigar City. The year is 1898. Young Cuban rebel Salvador Ortiz and his family have escaped the hardship of war-torn Cuba, but the union halls, cigar factories, and dark alleys of Tampa are filled with violence and vendetta. Salvador must defy constant labor strife and deadly corruption in a one-industry town known for backroom cockfights, street thugs, late-night abductions and mass production of the world’s best hand-rolled stogies. An ideological battle for control of the cigar industry tests Salvador’s self-respect and love of hard work as he fights to abandon his rambunctious, outlaw past and lead his proud Cuban family into a colorful immigrant society. His wish for a peaceful life as a husband, a father, and a man of dignity is threatened by a lawless underworld and a cultural conflict with a dangerous, bloody history.

Midwest Book Review gave it 5 stars and said it was "highly recommended." The Cigar Inspector said "I had a hard time putting it down."

Written in the style of Mario Puzo, painstakingly researched and lovingly
crafted, Mark McGinty’s The Cigar Maker blends fact and fiction and tells a
little known tale of American history. Already reaching #1 on Amazon’s cigar
best-sellers, this is Les Misérables meets the Buena Vista Social Club.

2010 Edicion Limitadas

On the Cigar Afficionado website, they list the 2010 line-up of the limitadas of 2010:

- Montecristo Grand Edmundo
- Partagas Serie D Especial
- Trinidad Short Robusto

Piedra Blanca de Veras Diplomatico

I got this beautiful cigar from a friend at our fencing club, who had this one in his possession for a long time. The cigars have not been stored properly, so a lot of flavors have gone. After a few months of carefull rehydration in my humi, they are now smokable again.

This smoke, a dominican Diplomaticos measuring 6 by 44, branded with the number 15, is a long veiny smoke with a good constructed cap.Presented in red label, it has "Olor Dominicano" and "Piloto Cubano" filler, Dominican binder, and Connecticut shade wrapper.




After clipping, the dry draw was effortless, not even the slightest resistance. It burns evenly after lighting it, giving the feeling of a good constructed cigar.

The taste itself is dry, don't know if that has anything to do with the age and the improper storing during the years. The cigar is very light and burns quite fast at first. However, a few times a correction was necessary.

Tastes are primarely nutty, with a hint of spice. In the second halve, the spice comes out very strong, but that can also be because I had to relight it alot of times.


The ashes are not very solid, so keep an ashtray close!

2009 Edition limitadas

this year following limitadas will be released:

* Bolivar Petit Belicosos (petit belicoso, 4.9 x 52)
* H. Upmann Magnum 48 (robusto, 4.5 x 48)
* Romeo y Julieta Duke (grand robusto, 5.5 x 54)

Partagas Serie D no5 Edicion Limitada 2008

This morning, the sun was shining. Time for a special smoke during my daily commute to Brussels (which normally takes me about 1hour). I looked around in my humi, to look for the best smoke on this day. It should be a small smoke, to finish in the hour. It left me with 2 choices: my last RyJ Short Churchill or the Partagas limitada of 2008.

I chose the Partagas, because I have never smoked this one. It looked perfectly, no bumps. It felt sweet, not silky like older cigars, and firm.

After clipping, the dry taste left me with a tobacco smell and taste, with a really good draw. So, I lighted it up.




Immediatly a lot of smoke..puffing went great, almost no resistance!! That is how I like my cigars !! first puffs revealed a strong spicy taste, a little bit too much on my empty stumach..

Getting in my car and puffing away, I could taste also hints of leather and earth (like every Partagas cigar). After 20 minutes the spicyness was still there, not to the liking of my bowel system. For the first time in over a year, my stumach was complaining about the cigar. Not that the cigar is that heavy, but the spicyness was almost upsetting.


The taste doesn't really change, it doesn't get softer of more other tastes..Perhaps they were just cloacked by the spices..
Great ashes, but I arrived at work too early to smoke it fully. The rest is waiting for my afternoon smoke in the sun.

Would I smoke this again? Definetely, but after a good meal.It looks like they packed all the action from a big cigar into this little one..

Great smoke, but beware ;)

Romeo y Julieta 1875 Reserva Real Corona

While it has been an interesting time to smoke cigars (the sun is shining again, spring and almost summer), I havent been posting on my blog since february. Since then, NUB's have been taking the market by storm (and indeed, they are delicious) and I had plenty of cigars to enjoy.

This RyJ was laying in my humi for quite some time, and since today is the day to vote (flemish and european elections), I had the time and occasion to smoke a gentle cigar.

I just came back from balloting my vote, sitting down at my new desk to enjoy a coffee and do some research.


My sister got me this smoke from her travels across the USA. And what a smoke it is! It looks smooth, the Ecuadorian wrapper feels not so oily, wit some large veins. As used from RyJ, the cigar is fabulously rolled. No imperfections, and after cutting, the dry draw is perfect.

The Nicaraguan binder and a blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers taste great when lighting. The cigar lights up perfectly and the first draws produce a lot of smoke. I was surprised how light the taste is !


It produces a greyish ash, which is not too consistent, floaks fall of every now and then. No burn troubles, although it didn't smoke even, but no touch ups were made.

Flavors are light: definitely some wood, wet bark. Yes, it tastes like a morning walk in the woods, with a hint of nuts and almons maybe.

Being so light, a great cigar for people who are starting to smoke cigars. Definetely great, and more then fair-priced !!

List of 2009 regional cigars

James Suckling reported on his cigar-afficionado blog about the 2009 Regional cigars:

Bolivar - Germany - 5ta Avenida – 50 x 184 - Conde 109
Bolivar - Germany - Especiales No.2 – 38 x 192 - Delicados
Punch - Italy - Diademas Extra - 55 x 233 - Diadema
El Ray del Mundo - Italy - Torpedos - 52 x 140 - Campanas
Por Larrañaga - not allocated - Machu Picchu - 50 x 127 - Petit Piramides
Ramon Allones - not allocated - Los Andes - 50 x 141 - Gorditos
El Ray del Mundo - Baltic - Balthasar - 50 x 155 - Dobles
Por Larrañaga - Switzerland - Valiosos - 52 x 156 - Piramides
Punch - Switzerland - Pocerosos - 54 x 164 - Sublimes
Ramon Allones - Switzerland - Deliciosos - 50 x 102 - Petit Robustos
Ramon Allones - Asia Pacific - Celestiales Finos - 46 x 137 - Britanicas
Saint Luis Rey - Asia Pacific - Pacifics - 52 x 156 - Piramides
Punch - Benelux - Punch Royal - 50 x 141 - Gordito
Bolivar - Benelux - Fabulosos - 52 x 135 - Edmundo
Vegas Robaina - Benelux - Elegantes - 47 x 158 - Tacos
Vegas Robaina - Benelux - Magnificos - 52 x 135 - Edmundo
Punch - Spain - Grand Robusto - 50 x 155 - Dobles
Por Larrañaga - not allocated - unnamed - 50 x 155 - Dobles
Juan Lopez - not allocated - unnamed - 50 x 102 - Petit Robustos
El Ray del Mundo - France - Petit Coupania - 50 x 127 - Petit Piramides
Quintero - France - Small Club - 50 x 102 - Petit Robustos
Ramon Allones - Middle East - Beritus - 52 x 135 - Edmundo
Bolivar - Middle East - El Greco - 50 x 141 - Gorditos
Vegas Robaina - Canada - Petit Robaina - 52 x 110 - Petit Edmundo
Ramon Allones - Canada - Petit Unicos - 50 x 127 - Petit Pyramides
Juan Lopez - UK - Seleccion Suprema - 52 x 170 - Torre Iznagas
El Ray del Mundo - UK - Choix de L'epoque - 52 x 110 - Petit Edmundo
Punch - Scandinavia - Northern Light - 52 x 110 - Petit Edmundo
Vegas Robaina - Scandinavia - Great Northern Light - 54 x 164 - Sublimes
La Gloria Cubana - Unknown (Habanos S.A.?) - Deliciosos - 48 x 127 - Hermosos No.4
Punch - India - Platino - 49 x 194 - Prominentes



Like they say in pokemon, gotta catch em all ;)

Electronic cigars ?

hmmm, not sure about this..the Gizmodo website shows some pictures about a guy smoking an electronic cigar..the NROBO is good for 1500 puffs, yet it has no flavor..

What do you think?

Helsinki 's cigar shop Havanna-Aitta

At Newyear, I was visiting a friend in Helsinki, Finland. Because of the special day, I did want a great cigar to match the feeling.

I searched online, though no place came up..A lot of non-smokers in the streets of the city as well, until I saw a pipe-smoking man at the harbour. He told me there was a Havana house in one the parallel streets, so I hurried over to the Aleksanterinkatu 44, where I found the tiny shop "Havanna-Aitta".

A very friendly man behind the counter helped me in my search with great professionalism, although they had a very minimal range of cigars..and boy, they were expensive!!

So if you are stuck in Helsinki (which is a great city to visit by the way), be sure to bring your own, or be prepared to pay a large sum for smokes (because of the tax ?)..
Great shop to visit, a lot of accesoires, but only a small range of smokes.

cigar review: Cuaba Piramides Edicion Limitada 2008

This weekend I was craving for an absolutely great cigar as I was going to watch one of the best movies ever made..

This made me look in my humi for a cuban, perhaps something I never smoked before. It had to be one with a lot of flavour and a lot of body. That's when I opened my drawer with my special smokes..This drawer is my meeting place for all limitadas and special cigars I collected up to now.

I bought all the limitada's a few weeks ago in a little cigar shop in Lier. I immediatly saw the beautiful and big Cuaba smiling at me..

I picked it up and smelled it..a great odeur rose from the big torpedo. A smell that would later on become the main flavor when lit. The cigar felt good. lots of big veins, very oily outside and perfectly rolled.

I took my cutter and cutted the point away on about 1cm. The draw was perfect, and I could feel the cigar's spice burn on the tip of my tongue. All the signs were there to point out this was going to be a full cigar with a lot of body and flavours.

I took some matches and after the second match the cigar was properly lit. From the first puffs on, I could taste the primary taste in the fat, creamy smoke: wood. The cigar wasn't really balanced, but the wood taste was very much there and it hided all the other flavours. It also had some leather taste next to the wood.

The ash was very flaky, and the burn very uneven. Just the thing I would imagine in a cigar like this.

From the second part, a hint of flowers and moss came up next to the wood and leather. What an incredible taste! Such a power..

The last third came at the end of the movie and I was fully satisfied. I picked up a magazine after the movie to enjoy the cigar a little more, but I just couldn't take it anymore..I was completely exhausted after all that power.. I didn't enjoy it that much anymore and decided to toss it out.




Conclusion:
What a powerhouse!! Main taste is definitely wood and leather, a lot of full body tasty creamy smoke. Just a little too long for me. Definitely worth the money, while it is a costly smoke.

I am going to keep the others for a few years, to see how they age.

cigar shop visit: Plumes et volutes

The people of the little town Braine-le-compte in the frech speaking of Belgium finally have a place nearby to purchase their smokes!

I met the owners a few days ago in Antwerp on the Navarre evening and they told me they opened up their shop nearly a year ago. They had the opportunity, and chose to open a store that sold cigars, pipes and tabac, as well as fine pens and writing equipment.

They were very friendly and invited me to come take a look at their shop. They also mentioned their 23 year old daughter was also working there, who (they said) was really pretty..another reason to go ;)

So, I was in the neighborhood when I decided to take the detour, because I didn't have anything to smoke in the 1 hour drive home.
Funny thing though, to get in Braine-le-compte you have to take a small dirty road for about 15 minutes..which was really great in the dark with the Mercedes..put the automatic gearbox on "sport" and the drive was thrilling!




So I arrived in the main shopping street (tres chouette as they say in french) and I discovered their shop. It is not that big, but it does have a lot of class!
I was greeted by a young blond and beautiful girl (so the owners were right ;) ) who took me to the humidor. She really knew her stuff and pointed me directly to the new limitadas when I asked which new specials they had. I choose 3 cigars payed and left the store very happy for another great shopping experience!

I can't link to the website, as they don't have one right now, but they are working on it. The humidor is not that big, but they do have all the great stuff! They also have Navarre's for sale.

If you are in the neighborhood of Halle or Waterloo, take the detour down, it really is worth it!

Cigar evening with Noel Labourdette of Navarre

Yesterday I was joining the cigar evening by Huis Verloo at Salle Jeanne (in English you could translate that to "room Jeanne" or "dirty Jeanne"). It was a special evening, Noël Labourdette of the Navarre brand was speaking!

For those who don't know Navarre: This is a cigar company that creates French handmade cigars. The cigars are entirely produced in France, with cuban seeds. They are grown, collected and fermented in France. For the rolling of the cigars, they had cuban rollers teaching their trade to french workers. Their market is mostly Europe and Japan. They have a limited quantity of tabacco, and really only want the best.

Together with about 30 people we listened to Noël talk about his cigars, while puffing away a petit-robusto from his brand. Very enjoyable cigar, which to my opinion tastes a lot like Partagas cigars: very earthy and cedary, with a hint of floral touches. I did notice on mine and other cigars an very uneven burn, and I had to relight the cigar a lot when in the last third.

Noël was talking about the fact that he clearly wants quality over quantity and I really believe him. He found a little place in France where the micro-climat is exactly the same as the famous Pinar-del-rio in Cuba.

The second cigar of the evening was the limited edition maduro version, which I found even more enjoyable. Less earthy, and more complex flavors on this "not-too-dark" maduro version of the robusto.

Noël was a really cool guy, he answered all questions with a lot of humor and honesty. He did say that they are going to release some new sizes in the future.

We also has a little premiere: the existing Corona Gorda, combined with notes of Armagnac. Noël also gave us a glass of Armagnac, coming from a friend in the neighbourhood where he lives. This pairs really great with the maduro!

My first smoke

ah, I still remember my first smoke! I was still studying at that time, and I was with a friend in a used-bookstore, strolling around looking for good books. My eye catched a few books about cigars (one of them an old book “the gentle art of smoking” by Dunhill). I said to my friend that smoking cigars would be a great hobby, because all people that were smoking cigars all looked really pleased and relaxed.

I bought the books and that same afternoon we visited a local cigar shop, and I told the story to the clerk. He smiled to us and was eager to help the young and unexpirienced boys. He gave us a great speech about what, why and how to smoke a cigar.
He invited us in the humi, and my eyes opened with excitement!

I left the shop with a case of “The heeren van Ruysdael” shortfillers and a sampler pack of “Private stock”, the low budget Davidoff line. The sampler pack contained 5 cigars with different sizes.
The clerk also gave me a cigar cutter.

As soon as I smoked one I was hooked.. I visited that shop many times over to try almost anything he had.

Visit at La Casa Del Habano in Luxemburg

Armistice day (November,11th) in Belgium is one of those holidays here, where we remember the Great War from 1914-1918.

Sara and me took the opportunity to pay a visit to the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg. I read on one of my RSS feeds that they had a visit this week of one of a cuban cigar roller who would be there all week.

So we took out the Benz for a spin and drove about 2 hours from Antwerp to the city of Luxemburg in search for "La casa del habano". Thanks to the GPS we found it quite fast (though we had to park on the opposite side of town ;) ).

When we first entered the shop, a lot of smoke was hanging there from a few guys who were happily watching Señor Saùl Jorge Gonzalez de los Rios perform his cigar miracles. Together with a 7 year old rum, I enjoyed a freshly rolled cigar.



Boy, that really is something else: seeing the cigar being made, it really enhances the experience. It smells great, feels so soft (other than usual cigars that are harder), and smokes really fabulous! I must say, Saul really did a fantastic job on creating gran robusto's and other sizes.

We watched him during the smoke as he continued displaying his craftsmanship while smoking a great one himself. We really had a great talk with the owner and some of the other guests. It was a really fun opportunity to smoke a freshly rolled cigar.

The shop itself is also great. Close to the shopping streets, the shop offers a place to sit, renting of cabinets and a lot of great accesoires. They only sell a few single cigars (which isn't a problem because they sell all the major ones by piece) and a great humidor for the boxes.
The people that work there are also a great help: they offer a lot of knowledge and information about the goods you want to buy.

So if you are Luxemburg neighborhood or visiting there, be sure to drop in the shop!

All about my mother

This post has nothing to do with the famous Almodovar movie, "Todo sobre mi madre", but I wanted to dedicate a post on this blog to my mother.

After being diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, things were looking pretty grim in the family. She went in surgery in spring, and is still taking lots of heavy medication.

But that doesn't stop her from enjoying life to the fullest. As we speak, she is on an adventurous trip with other people like her.

These pictures were taken a few weeks ago, at the poetry exhibition of Jan, her husband. She is smoking a small Cohiba, and you can clearly she is loving it.

Thanks mom, for being there for me and with me, and I hope we can share a lot more good times (and great cigars!)

Xikar lighters: Free leather sheat if you registrate your product !

A few weeks ago I bought this great new lighter, a Xikar EX in chrome silver (so I can check if my hair is good on the reflection ;) ). My old one was totally scratched from sitting in my pocket next to my keys.

This lighter is a combination of a regular flame and a jetflame, so you can light your cigars while standing in the wind! It is fuelled by butane, so no benzine smell on your cigars. The people from Xikar also offer a lifetime warranty on all their products, so the Xikar is really a good choice, not only for lighters but they do offer great looking cutters as well! (I am already saving for a mammoth cutter ;) )

Now, what was I going to do to not get this scratched as well? I was looking at keychains or pouches to put my keys in..both designer brands as normal brands offer really good looking ones, but I still feel like they belong to my grandparents..

Well, Xikar solved my problem in another way! They send me a free leather sheath to put my lighter in..As a way of saying "thanks for buying our product" I think this is a really good message!

And I even got it really quick..they send it from Kansas,USA to Antwerp, Belgium in 2 weeks..really great!

Thanks guys and girls at Xikar, I will definitely buy more of your stuff!

De Compagnie Sigarendiner editie 5

It is the time of the year again! Anneke en John from the Compagnie in Breda are having another of their Sigarendiners: 3 courses of dinner accompagnied with great cigars. Be there on Oktober 19th.

De Compagnie en Publieke Werken nodigen u uit deel te nemen aan een gezellig siga­ren diner. De culinaire kant van de avond wordt verzorgd door eetcafé Publieke Wer­ken, in Cubaanse stijl.
De Compagnie selecteert de sigaren. Dit diner hebben we gekozen voor een combina­tie van oud en nieuw. De gekozen sigaren doen het bijzonder goed in proef panels en aan u de gelegenheid te proeven of u het daarmee eens bent.
Wij ontvangen u met een echte Cubaanse Mojito cocktail op basis van Cubaanse Hava­na-Club rum. Tijdens de ontvangst kunt u genieten van een aperitief sigaar en kennis maken met de overige gasten. De sigaar is een “Ramón Allones small club corona”. Deze werd door Cigar aficionado in 2007 als een van de beste kleine corona’s geko­zen.

Na het voorgerecht is het tijd voor de tweede sigaar een “Montecristo Petit Edmundo”. Dit is de iets kortere ver­sie van de Edmundo met dezelfde diameter. Uitermate geschikt als er wat minder tijd is voor een langere sigaar.
U heeft de keuze uit een hoofdgerecht van vlees of vis.
Na het dessert gaan we genieten van een klassieke after-dinner sigaar. De derde sigaar is een “all-time” winnaar. Een “Partagas Série P N˚2” pyramid. Hierbij wordt kof­fie geserveerd en een mooie 7 jaar oude Havana– club rum.

We hopen u graag op het sigarendiner te mogen verwelkomen.
Anneke en John Bodar
bodar@decompagniebreda.nl

La Aurora 1495 Series 4

My parents brought me a lovely box of La Aurora 1495, Series 4 for me from Canada.

The box looks very different from "normal" boxes, but I do enjoy it very much, with the lion. Also the closing mechanism is a double pass, which gives the box an authentic medieval look!

 

 

These Dominican cigars are a bit darker, and have a strong, great perfume.

  

After trying one, I am really feeling good. These are decent cigars, especially for the price tag! Too bad I cant get them in cigar shops in Belgium, or these would be my next favorite everyday-smoke !!

A lengthier review will be due in a few weeks.

Does this Parking lot remind you of any cigars?

The first time I entered this parking lot, I immediately saw a stunning resemble of a great cigar logo ;)

Passatore double bullet cutter

I purchased this bullet cutter in Schneiderwind (see previous post).

You have these cutters in two versions: the single cutter with a 7mm cut, and the double cutter with both a 7 mm and a 10 mm cut. With my love for robustos, it wasn't a difficult choice ;)

Schneiderwind has them in shiny black or aluminium. I chose the aluminium one, because it will be on my keychain.

 

What a difference with my old one, which I purchased in Seattle a few years ago. That plastic cheap item got lost from my chain because the cutter part fell of. That will not happen with this one because it has "screw on" parts. And with a retail price of 49 euros it is just right. The single cutter is 10 euros cheaper.

 

Passatore is made in Germany, but I couldn't find their website. They also make really great humidors.

I already love it ;)