Puff, Puff, Keep!

This past Sunday, February the 24th, the temperature in West Palm Beach, Florida reached 85 degrees.  Not hot, but in the middle of 'winter', this is about as good as it gets.

I couldn't resist the call of the soft breeze, and warm afternoon sun any longer, so I headed to the pool (I know you probably hate me by now, but it gets worse!).  Along for the ride was a couple of  Magic Hat #9 cold-ass beers, and a beautiful Alec Bradley 'Connecticut'.

This cigar is dressed in a seamless Ecuadorian Connecticut shade wrapper and chock full of Honduran and Nicaraguan long-fillers.  Typically a light Connecticut share wrapper is not my tendency.  In fact, I can't recall the last time I bought a natural cigar, favoring heavily the maduro wrappers.  This guy got in my bag of goodies at the latest Great Smoke event sponsored by The Smoke Inn...my favorite day of the whole year!

Well, well, well seems like I've been missing out on a little piece of heaven.  This cigar almost melts in your mouth with a wonderful pallet of flavors, easy draw and long finish.  Nothing overpowering or hot, just a ture pool side companion to soak in the rays.

While I usually do smoke it down to the nub, I was truly looking around for a clip or stick or someway of smoking this puppy down to my fingers!  Not very classy I know, but there was hardly anyone else there! LOL!

Now I love Alec Bradley's amazing and ornate bands, many of which I would like to turn into a custom cigar band ring, but I equally love their smokes.  This is a natural cigar that I will absolutely keep in stock (which to me means it will last in my humidor at least one week).

Enjoy!

John Garcia
Custom Cigar Band Rings

Custom Cigar Band Rings

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My uncle Pepe has been rolling cigars since he was a kid in Cuba.  Now reaching 70 years old, I guess he can qualify as a Master Roller even if his Boquilla / Havana Cigars never made it to the mainstream.

Havana Cigars - Union City NJ

I didn't smoke my first cigar until I was 27 years old, 16 years ago.  It was just one of things at my cousins party where I was offered a cigar and this time gave it a shot.  As any seasoned cigar smoker can tell you, it was love at first puff!

From there my thirst for quality cigars grew and low and behold, I found out I have an authentic cigar roller in the family with his own cigar shop, not far from my house...life is good!!!  I went over to my uncle's shop, and there is my older cousin, working there and telling me about plans to open a second store!

I was so excited, I went everyday and helped in anyway that I could.  My cousin was able to get an investor to help him open the second store, complete with a smokers lounge, with big screen TV's, comfy lounge chairs and lots and lots of great cigars.

It did not take long for to me appreciate what smoking a great cigar is really all about...camaraderie.  I'm not talking about just a bunch of guys, wasting away a couple of hours watching sports, I'm talking about men, sharing philosophy on life, politics, libations and of course stories of adventures (of all types!).

People from all walks of life, mostly men but a few very cool woman too, would come in and stories would just sort of ooze out.  It was a type of atmosphere and companionship that I have not seen before or since.  Some of that is my own fault since there are some great smoke shops near me, and I haven't made the effort to frequent them enough.

In any case, I can enjoy a good cigar alone without any conversation, perfectly fine...thank you very much!  However, what kept me coming back, and building my love affair with the leaf, was all of the great talks, games, laughs and memories I shared at the smoke shop!

For more visit www.customcigarbandrings.com or our Facebook or Twitter page.  Thank you!

Link to 'Smoke Magazine's' story about my uncle Pepe and my cousin Bobby in 1985.

Montecristo #1...maybe not?

OK, I hadn’t smoked a good Monte in a long time, and with one as a gift from my recent birthday, and a great Knicks v. Nets game on TV, I thought it was time to spark it up.

That’s where all of the trouble started.  The cigar did not seem dry or moist, in fact it had a nice firmness to it, and it seemed ready to go.  When I put it to my lips I got no immediate flavor or spice, but I cut into it anyway and lit a bit of cedar to get a good burn.

For whatever reason, it did not want to cooperate.  The draw was very tight, and took effort to pull in any smoke.  It was very slow going , and I finally took a torch lighter to it, and held it there for quite a few seconds to try and get it as hot as possible.  After nearly burning the front end, it finally gave in, and the draw started to ease up.

The frustrating start caught me off guard, and had me writing some derogatory notes in my little 33 Cigars book.  With such high expectations off to such a poor start, I almost didn’t notice how quickly the cigar turned from naughty to nice!

Really, from about ¼ of the way in, all the way through about ¼ of the way finished it was a pleasant smoke.  No real flavor or kick to speak of, just a mild and smooth ride along the way.  Although I’m big on maduro’s and cigars that pack a punch, I think everyone occasionally should smoke something less demanding. Unfortunately it did not pair very well with my Johnnie Walker Black, but I should have expected that.

It also was not a cigar that I could smoke to the nub, which is another one of my preferences.  It became just a little too flat at the end, and the draw began to tighten up again.

So…not one I would go to again, not this size and not this complexity, but still will keep my humidor open to the ‘darker’ side of Montecristo and let you know how that goes.  I would rate it a 5 on a 10, hope the Cigar Gods aren’t listening. 

For more visit www.customcigarbandrings.com or our Facebook or Twitter page.  Thank you!

The Lord of the Rings!

The Lord of the Rings!

This blog will serve to promote our custom cigar band rings page.  To do so, we will blog about all things cigars, and the unmatched enjoyment of smoking premium cigars.

As an avid smoker myself, I have always enjoyed carefully peeling the cigar bands and (thanks to my slender fingers), slipping them on my finger which appears like a ring.

Many times people would comment about how good they looked, and that cigar band rings would be a great way to show off your favorite smoke.  This led me to work with a master-jeweler here in south Florida to explore this idea further.

After many attempts, and many ruined bands, we came up with a process that uses the actual paper cigar band, to create a beautiful custom ring.

As you can see, the results are amazing.  Whether you go with with gold, or in sterling silver, these rings make a dramatic statement, whenever you light up.

Now you can enjoy your favorite cigar while displaying these beautiful rings on your hand.  Visit our page at www.customcigarbandrings.com for your free quote.  We look forward to hearing from you.