Rob,
Had a chance to mix up a few Mexican Monks this weekend. Great drink! I didn't have B grade syrup but I did have Agave so used that which worked great. I am curious how different it would have been if I did have grade B syrup. Anyway, really enjoyed the new concoction and well, here is a video of how much I enjoyed it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yg7KL4v1w0&feature=player_embedded
Jeff

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"All things are possible through faith in The Beard."
- j0z3r 1/15/2010


pure.refreshing.bacon.

Jdorais:

Rob,
Had a chance to mix up a few Mexican Monks this weekend. Great drink! I didn't have B grade syrup but I did have Agave so used that which worked great. I am curious how different it would have been if I did have grade B syrup. Anyway, really enjoyed the new concoction and well, here is a video of how much I enjoyed it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Yg7KL4v1w0&feature=player_embedded
Jeff

LMAO

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There are two kinds of people in this world that go around beardless — boys and women — and I am neither one.

that particular vitola of V is my favorite one. it is more complex than the others in the line.

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

Thanks, Jdorais. Kuz, I've only had the lancero and the salomon and I agree that, although both were good, the salomon is the one I'd go back to. I have a few torps from a recent trade that I'll get around to trying soon enough.

So, this weekend, my girlfriend and I decided to take a mini vacation. She booked a hotel out in western mass for a night and this past Friday, the Cain F tour was hitting Portsmouth, NH and we took the day off to check it out (she's awesome - spent almost 4 hours hanging around a cigar shop with me and a bunch of other dudes smoking cigars). This was my first official cigar event and Sam was the first person in the business that I've ever met. Now, I've heard a lot of things about how cool most of the guys in the business are, but Sam is a top notch dude. We spent hours on Friday just watching Sam roll cigars and hand them out to people, then work his magic and art on some of the cigars he brought with him.

While I was standing around, Sam handed me a hand rolled cigar. He told me it was the Cain F filler and binder in the 6x60 with a connecticut shade binder (I believe it was Nicaraguan grown). I lit it up and was immediately blown away by how much the wrapper and a slightly different blend of filler had completely changed the entire experience of that cigar (I had only tried the Cain F in the 5x50 previously and wasn't all that impressed - I told Sam the Cain F that I tried wasn't all that great and rather than get offended, he pushed the new blend at me and said "try this"). The cigar was creamy and smooth with wood, pepper, spice and sweetness all at once. It was a total wolf in sheep's clothing. Strong as hell - he had a bunch of guys stepping outside with the sweats after smoking various sizes of the Cain F. I kept telling Sam, "I want to see this thing get released!" This seriously was one of the best cigars I've had in a long time.

After smoking that and a nub habano, Sam asked if anyone wanted to try rolling a cigar and of course, I jumped on that and after a few minutes and some guidance, I had rolled my first cigar (well, just applied the wrapper, but that's harder than you think). He started explaining to us that he got into blending cigars by taking his cigars apart and switching wrappers to see how it would change the flavor profile of each cigar. Then he took someone's cigar as they were smoking it and applied a connie wrapper right over the existing wrapper, while the cigar was still lit and handed it back to him saying, "try that. See how it changes the profile." We left to grab pizza and Ash (my girlfriend) smiled and said "I got a kiss!" So, it wasn't all bad for her. She was the eye candy for the guys there and she got to oggle Sam. Actually, one of the guys told John, the sales rep to give me the extra Cain F Nub "for bringing the only eye candy all day."

After that event, I decided it'd be worth checking out a second event the following day at another shop in NH as well. My girlfriend was teaching a horseback riding lesson during the day, so I figured I'd head up there. She ended up meeing up with me and bringing some beer for Sam and the Oliva Sales Rep that was with him. After the event, we all hung for a bit and chatted. Sam ended up giving me quite a few free cigars (as well as another one of those amazing hand rolled Fs with the connie wrapper), signing the box he gave me, so we asked if we could take him for dinner. He had to close out with the sales rep, but we got in touch afterward and ended up meeting him for drinks at his hotel at the airport (this was the last date of his tour and he was flying out of Boston the following morning to head home). After chatting for hours about sports, cats, infomercials, cigars, booze, past jobs, horses, travel and just life in general, he ended up paying the bill and buying us drinks on top of all of his hospitality. You just can't top that.

Oh, and Alex, if you read this: Sam said to call you "Swanson."

Rob1110:

Oh, and Alex, if you read this: Sam said to call you "Swanson."

Uh-oh ! secret's out!

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Kuzi's cigar catalog blending 101 developing your palate

LOL...Swanson??? LOL...oh man....I can only imagine........great pics btw, Sam is a really cool guy, I hope to meet him some day.

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"Long ashes my friends"

He said they call him Swanson, mainly because it's easier than Svenson.

sweet rob, sounds like a blast and good catch on that girl too!

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your first event? man that's gonna be hard to top.

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"All things are possible through faith in The Beard."
- j0z3r 1/15/2010


pure.refreshing.bacon.

Last night I had the newest release by La Aroma de Cuba. The Mi Amor is fairly new to the market from what I know, so this was a pretty fresh stick. I've been a fan of Aroma de Cuba since I tried their original blend a few years ago.

Pre-light showed notes of cocoa, hay and some black pepper. This one lit up with lots of black pepper spice, some sweet cedar and bitter cocoa on the finish. Fairly consistent throughout, this stick also put of tons of thick, heavy but velvety smooth smoke (similar to my last opus).

Leopold Gourmel Premiers Saveurs Cognac - I believe this is a 6 year cognac and their youngest - comparable to a VSOP - Banana, caramel and flowers on the nose. Some youthful burn going down and on the finish. Not a very oaky cognac, so it shows its youth there as well. Slightly dry finish.

Carillo Short Run - I don't know much about this cigar, but my local B&M owner told me to try one, so I did. After letting it sit for a few weeks in my humi, I reached in and decided to give this one a shot tonight. I wasn't expecting it to be as strong as it was (maybe it's just me, but different cigars seem to hit me differently - independent of what I ate that day). The pre-light was mostly barnyard and it lit with hay, wood and black pepper. It was fairly consistent with occasional bitter notes. Also noteworthy was the distractingly uneven burn. One side was clearly winning the race.

Knappogue 1995 Irish Whiskey - I picked this up on sale for just over $20 and have seen it going for up to $50 recently, making me wish I bought two or three, just to have some on hand as gifts. I probably wouldn't pay $50 for it, but would consider paying the 20 something that I did just to have it around. On the nose, it gave off sweet spice and must. On the pallet, there was some burn with an initial sweetness almost reminiscent of tropical fruit but finished musty and earthy with residual warmth.

Your on a roll lately. Nicely done. That cognac sounds good, you have a favorite?

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Thanks. So far, I'm still a huge fan of Remy XO, but I'm really liking some of the Gabriel & Andrieu regional cognacs. All depends on the mood.

Oh, and I picked up two of those Aroma de Cubas. One for me, and the other's heading your way as soon as I can get to the post office. Hopefully Saturday.

sweet! Can't wait. I need to do a good liquor run, I really need to try some stuff.

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Sorry, I've been taking notes but not updating this thread lately, so here goes the last few pairs:

Carillo Short Run - Prelight of barnyard and not much more. Lit with hay, wood and black pepper. Not a bad cigar but not too interesting beyond that. It stayed fairly consistent and didn't waver much. Again, not bad.

Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey (1995) - nose of must and sweet spice. On the pallet, there is some burn with an initial sweetness, reminiscent of tropical fruits but finishes musty with residual warmth. Not a bad every day irish whiskey and definitely worth the price point I paid (under $25 on sale).

Avo Domaine - prelight of hay and tobacco. Excellent construction and simple but elegant presentation. It lit with hay, light cedar and a touch of burnt caramel. Creamy but slightly oily mouthfeel with a slightly ashy, mineral fade on the finish.

Black Pearl (I believe this was either the Cobre or Morado - it was gifted by a friend) Torpedo - sweet tobacco pre-light and not much else. Lit with some black pepper, cedar and sweet coffee with cream. Definitely a nice cigar, especially for the price.

Last night I pulled an Alec Bradley Tempus Genesis out of one of my aging humis. I remember liking these the first time I tried them right in the store and split a box with a friend shortly after. Since then, I've smoked a few from the box and have been less impressed each time. I thought, after almost two years, this should be really nice. I was really wrong. The first few puffs were really nice, mellow, smooth tobacco with cedar. Then just bitter and ashy with an uncomfortably tight draw, even off of a cut. Nothing beyond that, so I scrapped it half way through.

With that, I had some scotch that my girlfriend bought me a few weeks ago on vacation. This is a 17 year old cask strength scotch from the Rosebank Distillery that was distilled in 1991 and presented by Gordon and McPhail. It's a triple distilled lowland scotch and gives a nose of fruit with a touch of smoke. On the pallet, the fruit remains but becomes the background note to the smoke. There is a bit of burn, but with the addition of some cold spring water, this is a very smooth scotch.

Sad to hear about that tempus. I sort of gave up on thinking of getting boxes of them as the price and the cigar itself. Have you had the AVO maddy? I enjoyed it more than the domaine, but the domaine would have to be my 2nd fav of AVO.

...17 years is a bit old...

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