This Week In Smokes

I had some smokes…..not as many as last week, but then again I didn’t plan on smoking that many lol. I also went to a new B&M.

I was looking in my notes and it appears I didn’t smoke at all until Thanksgiving morning, I had 5 Vegas Triple A series, I read somewhere that your taste buds are at their best in the morning, so I had my 1st smoke that morning. I am not sure if this smoking in the morning is true or not, because I didn’t sense any difference in this smoke, it’s still great no matter when you smoke it.

I didn’t smoke again until the next day Friday, me and couple of friends went to a local B&M….my 1st time there, they are veterans. It is called the INDY CIGAR BAR and it was nice and they had a great humidor, and great customer service….they followed us into the humi and asked if there was anything they could help us with….we all politely declined their advance and he stepped out.

I thought they were a little pricey, but I saw a few sticks that I could easily purchased, but Marlon said he wanted to try something he hadn’t had before (which is not an easy feat, the dude has been smoking for 18 years) anyway he decided on a ZINO PLATINUM, and he bought for me and Alan, we went to the bar and they cut our cigars and even lit them…….this struck me as odd since that is considered a no no, noone but you should light your cigar….he even offered the lighter to me and I went to take it and Marlon said “No, you don’t touch the lighter.” See he was just offering me the lighter so I could lean into the flame and make sure I was lit all the way…..strange, but I went with this. This stick…..a single was $31!!!!!!

So, we smoked it and none of us were blown away, for that price the stick deserves it’s own blog….not so. I really enjoyed the aroma coming off the cigar……it just smelled like how a cigar should smell, I don’t know how to describe it, but I really enjoyed the aroma. It smoked fine, but again for $31 I should be really praising this stick. I’d give a 3 out of 5.

We went back to Marlon’s house and he gave me an Arturo Fuente God Of Fire…..his canister alone cost him $3k That’s an expensive smoke!!!! I really enjoyed, but the burn gave me problems, Marlon said he needs to open up the canister and let the moisture get to them. 4 out of 5

Next I had a Nat Sherman Churchill……oh man! This was a great cigar so many earthy flavors….wood, leather, oak……just so good…..best stick of the night easily. 5 out of 5

I didn’t smoke again until Sunday 11/27 again I went to Marlon’s and Alan presented me with my 3rd Cuban (so far) it was a Bolivar Habana Torpedo it was pretty good….nothing special 4 out of 5

Then Marlon surprised me with my 1st surprise of the evening, he said he went to a local B&M and bought me another Nat Sherman, this was a Hampton, it was more sweeter than the previous one, but I have to say again best stick of the night 5 out 5…..I NEED a box, my humi should not be without one.

My 2nd surprise of the night was a doozie, Alan and Marlon decided to initiate me into their little smoking club by giving me THE TRUNKADOR!!!!

Alan bought a $20 footlocker at Walmart and lined it with Spanish Cedar to make a humidor for his smokes, he passed it onto Marlon who had it for 8 years and now I am taking the reigns….truly an amazing Christmas present for me.

Marlon also gave me a box of his cheap cigars and Alan gave me his back issues of Cigar Aficionado’s.

My New Smoking Buddy…Maybe You Know Him?

Last Sunday my brother-in-law asked me if I was interested in a smoking buddy, I replied “Hell Yeah!” since all my BOTL’s (Brother Of The Leaf) are not very close to me. He explained how this person had a massive humidor filled with all kinds of cigars. He gave me his # and left the rest up to me.

I finally got around to calling him on Tuesday night and introduced myself, he was actually at a B&M I hadn’t been to before and we shot the chit for a bit. I invited him to the herf which probably isn’t going to happen this Saturday.

I googled his name, because he told me he was a race car driver and had several world records under his belt and his latest car is a million dollar beauty….I know nothing about racing other than they usually go in circles, so I’m thinking to myself this guy can’t be all that and be from my small little town…..well everything he told me was correct, but it still didn’t dawn on me who he was.

I had done my part and I really wasn’t expecting anything else from it.

He called me on Wednesday night and asks if I had or was smoking, I told him no it was too cold he burst out in this evil maniacal laughter and asked if I wanted to come over and smoke some. My plan last night was to stay at home and clock in some time on my new game (Saints Row:The Third) I just got the night before, I couldn’t play it on Tuesday because wifey had taken over the tv so last night was my night to play………but I thought about it for about 2 seconds and said “YES!” wife was out so I text her and told I was going.

I get the directions (9 mins from my house!) and I pull up, he meets me outside and we shake hands and he invites me in to see his humi…pics below:

This is with the doors closed

Top Shelf

 

Still the first shelf

 

Second Shelf

 

Third Shelf

 

And the very bottom

 

And with the doors open

 

He started showing me his collection box by box and educating me more and more this hobby. He then asked me which one I wanted out of his humi, I didn’t want to be greedy and take his Davidoffs or anything, so I chose the Bolivar Mudaro since I hadn’t had one and have been wanting one for a few weeks now. I also brought him a Perdomo Lot 23 which to my surprise he said he hadn’t had before.

 

 

 

 

 

The Bolivar was a much milder than I anticipated, but it was a great smoke.

We go outside to his “office” which was basically his garage and there he proceeded to tell me about his company and what he does, I am not going to go into detail I will just tell you to google the name Marlon Kirby.

So I just wanted to tell you about my adventure  from the other night and give props to a generous and fellow BOTL.

My 1st Herf

“A herf is a gathering of smokers, which usually turns into a gathering of friends where in stories are told, smokes are shared, run rampant and generally a BBQ breaks out….Most people stress about their first one with new people…what do I bring, am I expected to hand out smokes, ect. Just show up and be yourself….unless your an asshole, then you should probably be someone else…if you have the means to hand out a few smokes, do so, if not don’t. Just have a good time” Loki from the Puff.com forums

I know some of you would ask “What’s a herf?” So there is your explanation and this is EXACTLY what it is. Just a group of people be it male or female that enjoy cigars and good company.

I have only been smoking cigars for a little over 3 years, my brother in law (was only a co-worker at the time) got me into the art form that is smoking cigars. I say art form, because there is a tender beauty to cigar smoking…there are rules.

The lighting of the cigar, you can’t just put the bic to the “stick” (term of cigar, as well as “stogie” and the plain “smoke” there may be more, but I am a noob so those are the only 3 I have heard) and light it…oh no, there are rules.

1st off NEVER use a bic, in fact the best way to light your “stogie” is to use a wooden match (they burn longer) or a flame torch lighter and you must light the outer area of the “stick” first and make sure it is really lit. Then you can cut your cigar, or punch it (I have covered this already in my previous posts) or bite it, but I would not recommend this unless you want bits of tobacco and paper in your mouth.

One your cigar is cut or punched then you take your lighter or match to the “stick” and slowly rotate the cigar while you puff (NEVER INHALE….think of like going underwater in a swimming pool…just take the water in then exhale same with a cigar) and make sure the cigar is lit.

When smoking you only take about a puff every minute to two minutes, if you smoke it too fast you will taste the burn on your tongue (not pleasant) if you draw (puff) too fast it makes the “stick” burn too fast and you lose the flavor and this is the whole reason to smoke cigars.

Ok now that I have given you a little bit of the rules I will get to the point of today’s blog.

I joined a cigar message board that I am very happy with and it has consumed my time away from my blog, my emails and my Xbox!!!!  You cant join this board and start out reading the “stickies” and several days can go by while you soak in all the information, before you even have your 1st post.

So anyway I seen on the board that some fellow Indiana (Hoosiers) cigar smokers were going to have a herf and I decided to go. It was originally going to be at a bar, but this got moved because the bar owner was closing it down for the day….it was Labor Day so I’m sure he just didn’t want to work.

Well one of the guys stepped forward and said we could have it at his grandparents house. I didn’t I just wanted to go and get my herf cherry popped so to speak.

Well I went and had a great time, met some great people and enjoyed some great smokes and great food. These people even shared their smokes with me and gave me some sticks which is always appreciated, but never expected. A few even came from Ohio to be there, which was surprising and inspiring that they would travel to just hang….very cool in my eyes.

I can definitely see myself doing this about once a month or so, I have even been invited to a herf this Saturday in KY, I am racking my brain trying to think of how I can scrape up the $ to go…….I seriously need a 2nd job. (Not kidding).

Here a few pics, I will leave the faces out so no one will be offended (if they stumble upon this blog)

This was the view from the backyard

Swag

One of the cigars I was given