Greg and Scott reviewing by citronella twilight

This is from a few months ago, just found it on my camera, turn up your screen brightness and your volume ... a Partagas serie D no.4 and a Juan Lopez no.1 receive passing mention...

Scott's a Dad...

... and he's earned a cigar as well, it's a little boy called Owen.

we got a fire going on the beach and had some of his wedding Bolivars to celebrate, two nights ago.

Introduction of self

Seriously pleased to be a part of this group guys - thanks for the invite S.F. As a brief introduction I'm a photographer, web geek, and musician from Albany, NZ who enjoys poker, shisha, ninjas, downhill, and the better things of life (like cigars).

Looking forward to batch number one!

July-August batch is out

They say they're rolled on the thighs of virgins, but she assures us, it's not true.

Come and get it!

No new cigars in this one... have to get all these non-cubans smoked as most of 'em are good now but don't tend to age well... but never fear my law-enforcing brother in law is coming over in a few weeks with a couple of new cuban boxes.

However... plenty of Good cigars. And one new member for the Tamaki Makaurau branch in Zahn - Welcome Zahn ! (feel free to introduce yourself!).

• CAO Mx2: 2 maduro wrappers, outer from connecticut USA, inner from Brazil, all very tasty and goes magnificently with coffee. Easy to gobble your way through in half an hour - yum. 


• Romeo y Julieta Petit Corona: un habano para todos. Hint of dark cherry, coffee grinds, classic RyJ and more of a port (or very light liquor?) match. 2012 box.


• Rocky Patel Olde World Reserve - Corojo: Nicaraguan and Honduran filler and binder with a Honduran corojo wrapper. Mild-medium, sweet, velvety and buttery smoke, good on its own (maybe after coffee), eminently satisfying cigar.

Rafael Gonzalez Corona Extra: ... otro habano para usted, senor? intriguing mix of cream, leather, meat, mushrooms and pepper etc. with evolving flavours throughout, another good port cigar, as per last year's review. Has it changed since then? You be the judge (and let us know!). 2009 box so could well be peaking now. 

• Liga Undercrown - Corona ¡­­Viva!: San Andres (mexican) wrapper, mix of Brazilian mata fina and Nicaraguan filler. Meaty, cocoa and little bit of pepper?, but only medium-bodied and will work with pretty much anything. 

Enjoy!

Heretic Commune

Sam and Joel moving house

Apparently, the cigar heresy has intensified to such an extent that some of our members are choosing to move in together, and create intentional communities of ascetic devotion to the fermented tobacco leaf.

So if you too fancy the lifestyle, head to West auckland (where else?), and "turn on, tune in, and drop out" in the first ever Heretics commune.

I'm sure Joel and Sam can fill us in on further on their purpose and principles.

The Neighbours

The renaissance of port

[from http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10899775]

It can be a struggle to match wine with robust cheeses, strong dark chocolate or heavily infused coffee desserts. The delicate balance of most table wines, white or red, are overwhelmed by strident flavours that leave no room for compromise.

Fortunately, there is a reliable fallback position: port. With powerful primary fruit, reasonably strident alcohol levels and a warm lubricating viscosity, this ancient fortified wine is also a pleasant digestif and can be served, lightly chilled, as an aperitif.

Port is enjoying something of a renaissance and is no longer seen as unfashionable and belonging only in the dark mahogany recesses of old "Men Only" clubs.

Portugal, in particular the northern Douro Valley, is regarded as the spiritual home of this unique wine that is usually layered with warm sweet Christmas cake type flavours and should be gently sipped rather than quaffed.

One of Portugal's great ports is Quinta da Romaneira, which dates back to Roman times when vines were cultivated. Records exist of wines being produced in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1872, auction house Christie's auctioned ports from Romaneira, the first of its kind to be sold in this way.

Romaniera's managing director, Christian Seely, is committed to making wines that are world-class and get the recognition he feels they deserve - and not just for fortified wines.

"Our challenge has been, and remains, to find ways to vinify unfortified wines from the Douro that can take their rightful place among the great wines of the world, alongside the other great classic regions such as Bordeaux, Burgundy or the Rhone Valley."

In the meantime, he will continue producing the highest quality port wine possible - vintage ports, unfiltered LBVs (late-bottled vintage) and 10-year-old and 40-year-old tawnies.

Nothing beats a glass of port in front of a roaring fire in the middle of winter.

Arturo Fuente Hemingway - Work of Art (maduro)

Finally got round to trying this Arturo Fuente - Hemingway - Work of Art (maduro, connecticut shade grown wrapper instead of the lighter cameroon wrapper on most of the Hemingways).

That is one fat bell end (60 ring gauge at its fattest point, 46 at its thinnest).

Just had a big black coffee so in the mood for a maduro. Starts out with slight cocoa, and a hint of the cinnamon sweetness that you get in the Cameroon-wrappered Short Stories, but adds a note of brooding dark earth. The good thing about these perfecto cigars is that you know that from just after you light up until you get over the hump, you will be tasting almost 100% wrapper so you know what that is contributing. The bad thing is that you will probably have to correct the burn line because humps don't burn straight. Once over the hill, there is quite a bit more cocoa coming into it, and a bit of dark ghana-style chocolate as well - slightly bitter but not fruity. And plenty of coffee grinds. The trademark cinnamon grows a bit and a rich mouthful of cedar and other woodiness in there, finished off with a drying spicy white pepper (is that szechuan pepper Scott?) with hints of paprika. The resulting thick grey smoke actually has a bit of coffee aroma, which is unusual, but is also intensely sweet smelling as with its shorter cousin. Very satisfying package.

Into the last third and pepper grows. The end turns dark'n'broody again but with little sweetness and more meatiness. Now would be the time to fetch a peaty whisky or some such. I have a 16y.o Tomintoul on hand, a bit light for the job (sweet with a touch of stonefruit and apple).

All in all, the 1st half was top drawer, and the 2nd average, dusty and peppery. Pretty typical and a game-of-two-halves profile that it shares with the Hemingway short stories and the Ashton VSGs we once had. All of these have dominican filler... is there a common theme here? (maybe we should start reviewing them like the gimmicky Cigar Aficionado magazine and only smoke the first inch!!!). Anyway with an inch to go it dies out on me and i'm happy to leave it at that...

3 things one might discover on a cold winters evening

1. When a report says there is a "supermoon", it will in fact appear much larger
2. Walking at night with someone you love will make a cigar taste that little bit nicer [wink]
3. You won't actually need to go to Europe to discover Jesus in some glass

The little Fuente is such a great 20-30 minute smoke. Really enjoyed this while strolling up our mt eden last night. The cool outside air along with the sweet smells that came from the tobacco had me wanting just one more after I had finished. I think of these as a tasteful cigarette that does not require inhalation. Cheers for including them in the last few batches Xav  

To scale

Hey Joel! I don't have a ruler so here's the best I can do in terms of giving some kind of scale!

Roland Barthes

Just came across this picture of Barthes in a book. Notice that he nibbled the end of his cigar rather than cut it (What can we infer from this??) Also made me think that a fun dress up theme for poker+cigar evening could be intellectuals of the 60s/70s. 

Peru

A gift from Jim and Helen! They just got back from a one-month cycling tour of South America.

Matariki 2013 Batch (with box pics)

• Arturo Fuente - Exquisito maduro (i think that was the last of that box of 50)


• CAO Mx2: another handily sized cigar that is definitely not a puro and in this case, all the better for it


• Liga Privada - Unico Serie - Papas Fritas: Liga Privada are expensive cigars, unlike their Liga Undercrown counterparts, and here is the cheapest one ever released which is also the most expensive short filler cigar ever released. Confused? It makes sense if you think about it. It has their top Connecticut broadleaf wrapper but the filler is not whole leaves but leftover cuttings from the big boy LPs (if you tap it on the table some little bits might fall out). Very meaty, huge clouds of velvety smoke, not particularly sweet, and comes in fancy tins (one of which Sam won at poker). Probably a good heavy liquor cigar if you don't want a biggun.    





Another marketing-oriented box. Heavy as & made from weird stringy wood a bit like ponga.



Had a wax seal which could've been cool if they'd chosen a wax that looked less like Warewhare plastic

• Rocky Patel - Olde World Reserve (Corojo wrapper): as per last batch, mild-medium, sweet, velvety and buttery smoke, good after coffee, eminently satisfying cigar.





Liga Undercrown box: attractive but heavy which co$ts in postage. Plenty of fancy cedar inside that smells like detergent. Typical bloody american stuff.

• Liga Undercrown - Corona ¡­­Viva!: Got a whole box of these cos they are reasonably priced for a good cigar. San Andres (mexican) wrapper, mix of Brazilian mata fina and Nicaraguan filler. You've had the Undercrown Robusto, this is roughly the same except they have tweaked the blend to give it a (little) bit more kick (hence the ¡­­Viva!) when they released it in 2012. Smoke the two together and you'll see what i mean ;-) Still medium-bodied easy smoking, just a bit meatier. So goes with pretty much anything. Corona gorda is a much better vitola too in my opinion (thinner than robusto so doesn't burn as hot and easier size on your delicate mouth). 


• Cuaba Exclusivos: Ahhh, cuaba... the only cuban in this batch. A more recent marca (est. 1990s) made up of only perfecto (curvy) vitolas and often criticised for its poor construction. This is a carefully selected box from 2008 so ready to smoke now. On the milder side and yet complex and satisfying - you'll see what i mean. Needs a light drink, and definitely not coffee. Excellent after-lunch cigar. I really loved the small rg of the end you stick in your mouth, for some reason, just so comfortable. Won't improve as mild and 5 years old so smoke it now!!!

Blurb from the Cuaba box - note that in essence it's the same word as Cohiba

Bombones! La bomba!

In honour of the French tour

Inspiration through Inhalation

1. An outdoor table
2. A book
3. Pen and paper, or a type-writer
4. Preferably some kind of view
5. Arturo Fuente or other small to medium-sized cigar

Mix these ingredients up and you'll feel the joy of smoking at your desk like you would have back in the 70s. Combining these ingredients will connect you to your pipe smoking, novel writing ancestors and provide great moments of inspiration.