Lovers of Cuban torpedoes will usually opt for the Montecristo No. 2 when wanting a cigar of this shape and who can argue with the stats.  The Monte 2 has been one of the biggest success stories that ever came out of Cuba.  A few years back the Monte 2 was being produced in every Cuban factory to keep up with world demand but the quality took a dramatic drop until the powers that be put a stop to the full scale production and improved the quality.  At that time smokers started looking around at different options in the piramides and started trying different brands with the same shape.

These last few weeks I’ve been enjoying the H. Upmann No. 2 and can’t say enough good things about them but today I thought I’d revisit the Partagas Series P No.2 and, once again, I am reminded about the strength and quality of these cigars.  Anyone who is a fan of the Series D No. 4 would have no problem enjoying these at all.  The Partagas profile is here through and through but this one tends to start off a bit slower and takes its time to get to the full strength that it will approach at the end.  A class act all the way.

Now I have to get more… See, thats the problem with being a lover of Cuban cigars.  You tend to want a large number of ALL of them!!!!!

This little stack of Cohibas really DOES look like a solid foundation for a nice night out!!!  I’d ask any of them out on a date!!!!  Not sure why, but I’ve been on a bit of a Cohiba kick these days.. It started with me watching the Oscars with a Cohiba Robusto and then moving into the Siglo I frame of mind. I think my obsession with this brand probably has something to do with the complete Cuban picture they have to offer in terms of taste and delivery, coupled with wonderful construction and even burn.

I think its probably time I relive a few Siglo VI’s next just to see what kind of experience they give me.  Each cigar has so much to offer but so much of my experience depends on what I just ate, what I’m drinking at the time and how my palate is behaving that day.  Every day is a bit different and every cigar can behave in wild and exciting ways.  The Siglo VI is nothing short of a big experience ( Big Cigar ) and so rather than staying with just one Cohiba, moving around and mixing it up might be the best thing to do in these next few weeks!!

Last night a good friend gave me this cigar as I was leaving his house and he told me that he had been smoking quite a few of them lately.  He and his wife have two young boys and his leisure time now comes in smaller increments which means that his cigar smoking time is more condensed.  This is where the Siglo I enters into the scenario.

I have to admit that I really hadn’t smoked that many and whenever I had, either I was distracted or my heart simply wasn’t into it.  I guess you could say that I just didn’t “get it”… Well…. What was I thinking?????  I guess I wasn’t !!  Different words are used to describe this little Cohiba like firecracker, powerhouse or anything that is used to characterize an object that delivers “attitude” but what I’m getting is mostly a medium strength delivery of some of the best flavors that Cuba has to offer.

This is really a cigar that takes you on a journey of tastes and sensations that you usually see with a cigar 6 times it’s size.  The Cohiba Esplendidos comes to mind because of the complexity that it contains but the Siglo I starts off like the quintessential Cohiba with the grassy introduction and then smoothens out with cedar and coffee.  The cedar stays in the profile well into the final third but is joined with notes of leather, chocolate and well…. more cedar….

I’m sitting here with about an inch and a half left and wondering if there are any cigar stores open in Vancouver at this time of night……………

In so many cigars we smoke that come out of Cuba we can detect the unmistakable taste of chocolate.  Some times it can be a sweet milk chocolate, a dark chocolate or a burnt chocolate but its in there.. No two ways about it.  One cigar I’ve smoked and have been enjoying immensely has been the Romeo y Julieta Exibicion No. 4 and make no mistake about it, this one has chocolate loaded in the profile from the first puff.

Hoyo de Monterrey cigars have the taste of cocoa in many of their complex and beautiful cigars in different degrees but once again, you can’t dispute it in any way.

Try a Trinidad Robusto Extra and once again you’ll detect slight amounts of cocoa in this complex and exquisite blend.

But, in my humble opinion, the chocolate factory of them all is ever present  in the Cohiba line.. From the Esplendido to the Maduro 5’s, you’ll find yourself tasting Chocolate in almost every puff. There’s no getting around it and I truly believe that in every cigar smoker you’ll find someone with a giant sweet tooth.

Wow, imagine an event in Hollywood taking place where everyone expected ” Avatar ” to clean up and ” The Hurt Locker” makes a clean sweep…. I have to admit that every now and then I get wrapped up in all of the glitz and glamor and watch every award given out.  About one third into the show I went to the humidor and picked Cohiba Robusto, my favorite, and poured a shot of Oban with a bit of cold water and went back to the couch.  It occurred to me about two thirds through the cigar that, although I was ecstatic with the taste of the fine Robusto, I started remembering all of the outstanding cigars I have been smoking lately.

Not long ago I mentioned how fantastic the H. Upmann No. 2 has been treating me.  This one has taken me by surprise lately and deserves to be mentioned, yet again, as one of the finest cigars coming out of Cuba today.  Trevor at “The Vancouver Cigar Company” has a box from ‘07, sold me a few, and I can’t believe the complexity and how wonderfully constructed this piramide is.  CALL HIM !!!! Try to get some from this box.. You WON’T regret it!!!!!

I was thinking about all of the Bolivar Royal Coronas that I’ve smoked lately as well and I don’t think I’ve ever had a RC from that brand that has ever had a draw issue or has ever let me down in the taste department!!!! Very Very consistent…. Perhaps the most consistent Cuban cigar there is !!!

Another award winner is the Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No 2.  As I was smoking the Cohiba tonight I thought about the intense flavors in the Hoyo and I was dumfounded as to how we sometimes take the lesser priced cigars for granted.

Well, I guess I have to go and stand in line now and see “The Hurt Locker”…

For over 100 years art has been used to decorate cigar boxes, cigar posters, cigar bands and any kind of advertisement to sell cigars.  It seems to me that some of the world’s most innovative artists and illustrators were employed to help getting the message out that cigars were synonymous with success, relaxation and escape of all forms.

Quite often the American and Latin American natives were used in the illustrations….

Different exotic looking peoples from all over the world were included in the images as well..

It appears that in the early 20’s the art deco movement had it’s share of cigar art….

These pictures are only a small fraction of all of the beautiful work that you will see in reference to cigars and their illustrations.  Books have been written on the topic, posters have been printed and many artists have put brush to canvas and expressed their impressions on this topic.  Great cigars, great art and wonderful memories that live forever…

This new cigar was introduced during the welcome at the Habanos Festival that just took place in Havana.  The new “Wide Churchill” is a 50 ring gauge and 5 inch long cigar that, in my opinion, may as well be called a Robusto. As I’ve said before, I am a big fan of this format because of the consistency of construction quality from cigar to cigar and the slightly larger than average ring gauge tends to give you a rounder, smoother and more full bodied array of flavors.

Not much has been reported about the feedback on this new member of the Romeo family because the majority of the new release attention was centered around the much anticipated Cohiba Behike. I’m hoping the we will be seeing the next step taken to give followers of the Romeo line a slightly more complex cigar while keeping the same fundamental profile.

Today was a day of reading a bit about Havana and going to youtube and listening to some of the beautifully complicated rhythmic music we hear from that country.  I’m always amazed at the inventiveness of the Cuban musician. On one hand you have strict adherence to tradition and on the other you have a daring and fearless hunger for change.

One thing that does NOT change is the constant decay of some of the most beautiful architecture in the world. Havana has buildings that were erected not long after Christopher Columbus appeared on the island and after the city was formed, rapid and classic design took place in that tropical location.  Our hotel, the Hostel Valencia located in old Havana, was completed at the end of the 1700’s and I believe that after almost 40 years of travel I had never been in such a hotel with so much character.  It was a building that was originally the home of councilman Sotolongo and in it’s day it must have been a magnificent single family dwelling.  You’d be hard pressed to find a more comfortable and reasonably priced hotel in one of the best locations of Havana.

We are lucky to be able to live in a time when we can buy cigars from a country that produces tobacco and cigars with production requirements that have not changed almost since cigars were first invented.  Yes, improvements in design and construction have made great strides forward but we still are fortunate to have tobacco products without ANY chemicals and additives that alter their taste. A stone’s throw from El Capitolio in the centre of Old Havana is the Partagas cigar factory which offers tours and a world class cigar shop where thousands of lucky cigar smokers pick up treasure to take back to countries all over the world.  The facade of the Partagas building has not changed and is in relatively good condition as is the exterior of El Capitolio but a tour of the old capital building’s interior will reveal peeling paint from ceiling and wall murals which would bring a tear to anyone who appreciates fine decoration and historical reference.  See pictures below…..

Not really the worst example we saw but still a situation that needs attention.

One can only imagine these amazing arches when they were originally built and at the same time I think we all share a hope for this picturesque city’s future.  Everywhere you look you see a steady decay of architecture that needs to be saved so future generations can appreciate the beauty and massive effort required to build something so inspiring.

This is a country that needs us to do what we can to keep it from crumbling completely and one thing a responsible cigar smoker can do is to insist on purchasing authentic cigars from Cuban government stores and NOT from counterfeit scam artists on the street that will promise you the real thing for a fraction of the price. There is no such deal in Havana and if you think you can find it, you’ll be terribly disappointed when you get home with your banana leaf cigars in varnished, second rate Cohiba boxes.

It seems that with the decline in sales in Cuban cigars in recent years, Romeo y Julieta will have a go at boosting their line by introducing a new cigar for women worldwide.  The new cigar from R y J will be simply called, “The Julieta”.  Romeo will take a step back from the spotlight and stay in the classification of full bodied tobaccos while his female costar Julieta will be milder and, from what the Cuban giant hopes, will attract new female smokers.

The new cigar will come in a 33 ring gauge and a length of 4 3/4 inches long.  Packaging will also be aimed at women with these cigars arriving on the scene in aluminum cases each holding 5 cigars.  Will it work?? Only time will tell.  I’ll tell you what I think …. If they tasted great, and I DO intend to try a few, then this new idea in marketing just might help the sagging Cuban industry.  If they don’t really catch on, then a new and exciting Cuban cigar will make it’s debut next year at the Habanos Festival.  Either way, the hardcore cigar smokers, like myself, will win in the end with different options to dazzle our taste buds.

Here they are, in all their glory!!! These look good enough to smoke!!

The Winter Olympics are over in Vancouver and now its time to get back to the basics.  Golf and Fishing.  Days spent on the links and on the river are possibly the best days you will ever have in your life.  I believe that when we are at the end of our years and are tallying up all of our victories, defeats, moments spent with friends and loved ones, we will remember the time we spent investing in the quality of life rather than the toil and hardship that comes with this gift we are given.  So rather than fixating on getting that new house or making sure my bank account is overflowing, I’m golfing……… Whenever possible!!!!!!

So lets get to the Jose l Piedra part of the story, shall we.. Lately my mission to stay away from cigarettes has been very successful but my humidor is getting hit very hard.  The other day I had a Cohiba with my morning coffee before breakfast ( I like smoking ) and I don’t believe I could taste all of what it had to offer, it being so early in the morning and all….. What a waste…. So I dropped down to see my friends at The Vancouver Cigar Company and picked up a few boxes of Jose L Piedra cigars, one box of Cazadores and one box of Conservas…… Actually I lit a Conservas and went for a bit of a walk just now…. See below…

Trying these more affordable cigars in the morning might have been the smartest thing I’ve done in a long time and I was shocked as to how good they tasted compared to how I remember them a few years back.  This little cigar, which isn’t that small.. 44 ring gauge and 5.5 inches long,might be the best bang for the buck since it has quite an attitude because of the medium strength and a lot more complexity than I expected.  Bottom line is that I’m looking for nicotine with a Cuban delivery in the morning and from now on if you bump into me early in the morning, chances are I’ll have one of these in my hand!!!!!