Meh

Ok I am not going to piss on about my lack of attention to this little piece of the internet.  Blogs are really not an in thing any more, right?

Although much has changed since I started this lackluster venture I think I will still try and update on a semi-regular schedule.

So a big thank you to my two readers!  Thanks mom!  Thanks little sister!  Love you both.

Tradition starter or enabler?

I know it has been almost a year since my last post, in which I stated I was going to try and post more often.  Well as most of my loyal readers know (mom and sis) I am currently unemployed, so I now have more free time on my hands.  Also I was encouraged by what seems to be a third reader over at my favorite cigar forum, www.cigarweekly.com. 

In today’s world smoking has become vilified to the extent that people are forced to huddle in small out of the way alcoves to be able to enjoy their habit when in public.  This isn't a debate over what is right and wrong or personal freedoms but about a decision I had to make.  So was it a father passing on a tradition or was it a father enabling a nasty habit, you decide.

My son and I are fairly close, more so starting in his later teen years, so I get to hear adventures of him and his pals.  Some best kept out of writing but most no different than when you or I were of that age.  So upon hearing of his latest adventure with his friends to Ybor City where they all purchased “hand rolled” cigars, for ten dollars apiece, from one of the vendors that sells mainly to tourist.  Then the group of them went strolling around downtown Ybor like fat cats.  All I will say is that the cigars are not worth the ten bucks he charges but the tourist like them.

Thus the heart of my dilemma recently.  My son, who attends the greatest university in the state of Florida, came home for father’s day to spend it with dear old pop.  He has grown up seeing me smoke cigars and pipes so this has had some influence upon him.  So my dilemma was this; do I educate him in the world of cigars or do I let him find out for himself and possibly just not make it a (expensive) habit for him? 

So I decided to teach him some of the finer points of the cigar hobby.  I started by explaining the three parts of a true hand rolled long leaf cigar, how to cut or punch a cigar cap and how to light a cigar.  I then gave him one of my desktop humidors with a bundle of Padilla Fumas and a few other loose cigars, a humi jar, cutter and a torch lighter.  He was so excited.  I went over how to care for the cigars and the humidor and told him I would be happy to answer any questions that he may have.  I also pointed him to my favorite cigar website, www.cigarweekly.com, and told him that he should join the forums where he would be educated in all things cigars and maybe more.  When he left to go back home to school he carried that humidor out to his car like a baby.

So am I enabler or a tradition maker?  Feel free to post comments.

The best laid plans of mice and cigar smokers

It seems like there are conspiratorial forces as of late that are determined to ensure that I do not have enough material to be able to post to this blog. It is such a shame that my life is so devoid of possibilities to smoke that my general noontime lunch routine marks the only time that I get to enjoy a cigar. This being said I haven't had the possibility to have a lunch time cigar in almost three weeks or more, damn corporate growth!

 Ah but for the wonders of a caring spouse! My wife, who does not particularly share my love of cigars, noticed that I had not had the opportunity to indulge in my normal lunch time routine. This may have been in part of my cranky old man rants but she noticed. Well last evening after I had gotten home at 7:30 pm and had a wonderful dinner that she prepared, she suggested that I grab a cigar and maybe a glass of bourbon and go outside to sit and enjoy the rest of the evening.

 I happily agreed and went to plunder one of my humidors. Now it had been over three weeks since I had time to sit and just relax and enjoy a good cigar thus it took me almost fifteen minutes to decided upon what to smoke, I settled upon a cigar that a good friend over at the Cigar Weekly forums board suggested that I buy about four years ago. A Partagas de Luxe AT.

We retired outside on a perfect evening, a cool 72 degrees with a clear sky, stars everywhere! My beautiful wife requested a glass of her favorite sangria and at that point I knew it was going to be a magical evening. We made small talk while I lit the beautiful Partagas. Nothing special, just kids and such. After about five minutes my neighbor from across the street came over and I went and got him a Sam Adams (he isn't a bourbon drinker)and we spent the next forty minutes or so just making small talk and enjoying each others company.

It is amazing but I couldn't really tell you about the cigar other than it burned razor sharp and it just seemed to make the whole evening just right. There is nothing more enjoyable than to just sit and relax with a loving spouse and a neighbor while enjoying the wonders of nature (cigar and bourbon) on a cool evening.

My work schedule should be slowing down enough in the next week to allow me to resume my normal lunch time cigar interludes so that I will be able to keep my promise of updating more than once or twice a year. Love ya mom and little sis!

Poor sport on my part

Wow, I can't believe that I have truly allowed this part of my life slip into such disuse. When I started this I had grand designs of posting at least once a week some review, rant, musing or just a general lopsided view of cigar life that could only stem from my brain. Seeing as that my last post was almost three years ago I have utterly failed in this little experiment.

Well no more, time to get back on this horse and see where it will take me. In the three years of my sloth I have acquired and smoked hundreds cigars, lived at least a dozen lifetimes (I have adult children you know) and have countless memories to share with the whooping two dedicated readers (thanks mom and sis!) of this little blog. So onward and upwards and be prepared to be amused but more than likely disgusted.

Black is back

Well it really never left, just cool to say I guess. The black I am referring to can be none other than the CAO Black and this particular one on review is the Gothic.

Now I have a double confession to make. I am not really into the CAO products (I know I can hear the boos and hisses from here) but I am a bit of a sucker for the whole “limited”, “only xxxx boxes made” type of marketing. So when a certain vendor offered these “limited”, “numbered box”, “can only get them from us” cigars from CAO I got sucked in and decided to take a shot and ordered my favorite size. Needless to say that was a good four years ago and I think that the numbers on the boxes have been recycled a few times. Not to say that anyone is being deceptive but they are just that good of a cigar.

So here we are, it is a beautiful February day, clear skies with a temp somewhere around seventy two degrees. Of course I have great company with me for this lunch time smoke. The saddest part of this event was that this was my last one from the original box. The cigar was toasted and the lit producing right from the onset huge volumes of smoke, something that always turns me on. She burned, not with a razors edge but still very even with no touchups needed. From beginning to end your taste buds are assaulted with woody cedar flavor mingled with undertones of creamy vanilla and other spices that seem to just dance out of reach and keep you wanting more. I will honestly say that I have not been this satisfied with a non-Cuban in a very long time and it was with deep regret that I laid the nub down so she could go out with dignity.

Please feel free to comment.

This is cigar related to a degree because it is about my favorite cigar board web site. I posted it there and the only response I got was to make sure that I wasn't despondent, which is nice but I don't think anyone there made a connection.

I see you dying and don't know what to do.
I see you dying and want to save you.
I see you dying and it breaks my heart.
You have seen me through highs and lows.
You have taught me so much.
You have allowed me to teach.
So few now visit you anymore.
So few now take advantage of your lore.
So few now contribute to your knowledge store.
Do I mask my pain by pretending it is not true.
Do I mask my sorrow by not visiting today.
Do I mask my anger by putting on a happy face.
I need to fight to keep you alive.
I need to fight to preserve your dignity.
I need to fight to ensure you stay.
I see you dying and don't know what to do.
I see you dying and want to save you.
I see you dying and it breaks my heart.

As you can see it is very dark but hey life is dark sometimes, now lets go smoke a good cigar.

Where does Customer Service start and end?

I ordered some cigars that come in a glass humidor during one of the sales of the last few weeks and it arrived last Friday. When I opened it up there was a layer of mold across the top. Now you may be thinking that the cigars are toasted, but actually as long as the mold is just on the surface it can be wiped off without affect the cigar. On the other hand actually receiving product from a vendor that has mold on it is unacceptable.

So I sent the vendor’s customer service an email stating the problem and asking what could be done. The response I get was that they were sending me a pre-paid return UPS address label so I could return them and they would credit back my credit card since they were now out of stock, they also closed the “ticket”. Fine and dandy if I had wanted to just return them but I bought them with a specific purpose in mind and returning them for credit wasn’t an option I wanted to hear. Besides no one gave me any options, just here is what we are doing, live with it.

Well today I got on the phone with the vendor’s customer service and basically got the same response, not what I wanted to hear. The thing that burns me the most is that I wasn’t even contacted with a list of choices; even if those choices were to only keep the product in the condition I received it in or return it for a refund.

Customer service is there to interact with the customer, not to follow some flow chart and perform the end ritual.