Hey Joe

Now you probably don't realise that this guy was in the club for the last year, his name is Joe, and he's my cuzzy. He's just left the country on his OE but Sam and Greg managed to get a picture of him first:

And as you can see Joe is having a good time on his OE, getting his degree at Trump University (looks like he got in on a golf scholarship):

Enjoy your travels, Joe!

El Canelo numero Cuatro

Enjoying this last Monte#4 while Canelo aka "the guy ducking GGG" destroys Liam Smith. We've had a few boxes of MC4 now and this is def the heaviest bodied one we have had, even with over 4 years of age on it. Has plenty of cocoa, coffee grinds, and peaty gunpowder but well balanced now. A bit like Canelo, it has matured nicely, with plenty of angles to it, but packs a solid punch, slowly breaking you down. And smart enough to avoid a fire cracker like GGG. ;-)

 

A pity they're all gone. Adieu, Montecanelo!

Sandwedge Challenge

... With por larranaga PC. Up and down over the cactus and into the Bin. Even when attempting such a huge challenge the Por Larranaga is too grunty to be forgotten. And leaves that lingering orange peel goodness.
[posted this a few months ago "live" but i just found it - on my work team blog - oops!!]

A Salutary Lesson

If you ever needed a reminder of how sensitive cigars are to changes in temperature... This is a little el rey del Mundo that I left in the car by mistake for one night

Trinidad Reyes

I tried to post this on my phone and lost the review a couple of weeks ago ... Needless to say, from memory it was ready to smoke, and apart from a youthful kick of mega tannin and raw leather in the first few puffs, it quickly subsided to elegant Italian leather (sounds better!) with bread and digestive biscuit, and a touch of spices.. Was it cumin? And maybe the slightest bit of brown sugar. Anyway it stayed satisfying throughout. It will improve even more over the next couple years. A beauty for the eye to behold... Fit for a King or even three kings ! Enjoy. 

Easter Zahnday

Monte 2 strikes again

Tournament Cool off Romeo

Sam and I got knocked out early from a $60 turbo Holdem tournament. Zach is still fighting in there. Enjoying a Romeo no. 2 while we wait at a tapas bar with Carchelo 2013. Old Romeo speaks of wood, hay and apricot. Happy new year everyone!

Port pigs and Mexicans

My uncle Pierrito joined me in a Monte 4 and showed me this neat little port pig glass - you suck it out of that tiny sliver of  a pig tail to instantly aerate it. It definitely enhances enjoyment and slows intake! Another magic evening in Wellington.

RyJ Exhibicion no.4 and Partagas Serie P no.2

Had a nice Boxing Day lunch and did away with these beauties. This RyJ robusto is my favourite port cigar right now, and we noticed how it had stepped up a notch in the last year with more pepper, charred cherry, and coffee grinds. It's getting more like those RyJ petit coronas we had last year. Brilliant.

Petanque Twilight...

[Here's a draft review from 2012 that i never posted!! at least it deals with a cigar from your last batch]

Had a ERDM demi-tasse over petanque last night. Brief but remarkably pleasant experience, there is now a richness to the cedar that warms the heart and the citrus zing complimented our lemon cake quite nicely. To my surprise my better half Bryony tried a couple of puffs - her first ever first hand smoking experience. She thought it taste a bit leathery like a tack room (this apparently is the room where they store all the saddles bridles etc for the horses). I looked around but the only pigs flying were the cochonets getting lost in the evening twilight... (Greg started winning when it was established that none of us could actually see the target)

Eva Kahurangi's Monte2

You might remember Leo's birth was celebrated with a Montecristo A [or number 1?]

Now, here's Eva with a Montecristo number 2! 

Here's tae my new niece

That is SAm's new baby girl born on Friday and currently nameless. 

P.s. The cigar I am smoking is a Romeo y Julieta spelling J-u-l-i-e-t-a 

[the heretics suggested some cigar themed names for SAMs last child so why not this one? now to find out the names of Fidel Castro's mistress ]

CHRISTMAS HAS COME EARLY FOR GOOD BOYS

... For those who asked for it. Sept-oct & nov-Dec batches out now...

From left to right:

September-October

• Montecristo no.2: El magnificent puro que hopefully has come of age (2011 box). This is a beautiful, beautiful cigar to look at, in fact i would like to varnish one and put up on my mantlepiece. The estimate when we first tried it at this infamous Texas Hold'em Up Poker party is that it would need 5 years before it was ready to smoke. Almost there now, you can play it safe and bury it in your humidor for another year or fire it up on new year's eve. Make sure you have a free 1h30 after a heavy red meat and red wine meal on a dry windless day...


• Por Larranaga Petit Corona: from a 2012 cabinet of beauties. As with the other PLs, you generally want 2yrs minimum age. These are ready to rumble: almost full bodied, rich and powerful cedar, coffee grinds and orange peel reminiscent of its smaller brother reviewed here. They stand up easily to black coffee and get so strong in the last third that i've been finishing off with this wonderful NZ coffee liqueur 


• Cohiba Secretos: the last of these Heretic favourites. These 2013s have been stronger than previous boxes and not quite as sweet so I suggest that these be after-dinner port or whisky options.


• Rafael Gonzalez Perlas (x2): more of these extended coffee break beauties. Delightful and surprisingly hefty.   
 

November-December

Juan Lopez no.2: Vitola - Robusto, and robusto it is, plenty of meaty heft to complement the rich cedar that we enjoyed in the J-Lo no.1. It is young (2014 box) and you could lay it down or pull out a heavier accompaniment (bourbon, whisky, etc)  and enjoy it now if you have a good hour free. I'll be interested to hear from you where these are at right now

Ramon Allones Superiores: Vitola - Corona Gorda. The perfect size for a warm still evening or a lazy afternoon. Still young (2014 box) but not as hefty in body as the J Lo no.2 and a really enjoyable richness. Forgot to write down the flavours but i remember the hay and almonds. Really enjoyed this with a light scotch, it will could get richer with age but smoking fantastically now.

Por Larranaga Petit Corona: (see above)

Partagas Short: small but mighty, this is full of tannin and will be at its peak  in perhaps 3+ years. No need to wait if you have balls of steel and a whisky at hand.

El Rey del Mundo - Demi Tasse : welcome back to an old friend, cigarette sized but packed tightly enough that it should last you at least 20min. As with all skinny cigars, do not puff fast to avoid burning your tongue, and best not to smoke in humid conditions as the leaves will expand and block the already tight draw. Despite the dark wrapper adding a bit of cocoa flavour, it has the classic ERDM citrus tinge... so hard to match with a drink - maybe a light roasted, fruity, single origin coffee? you tell me!

Funny bunch trifecta at the Basin

Oops just found this draft post from back in June... We went straight from a port tasting session in a liquor store to the basin reserve for a smoke. Good times

Un Rafael Gonzalez Perlas? Si.

These little perlitas make me think about cigars every time i have coffee... they are the natural partner of the black juice ... their silky leather wrapper blends seamlessly with the colour of your crema... their creamy white smoke envelops the caffeinated tongue with a soothing lusciousness that calls your name, again and again, and again ... couleur... café.... que j'aime ta couleur, café!