Ryan

I've met Jasim a few times in different situations. Airports, cigar-lounges, restaurants. Most recently last month in Paris. I've often seen him interact with other people. He always makes time for anyone who wants to talk to him, and people do come up to him, he's a "Hombre Habanos" winner. He has always been kind, empathetic, non-judgemental, very willing to share information and he usually knows more about cigars than the people he is talking with. Simply, a nice guy. Some other influencers known for their eccentric fashion seem to have missed the part that being "gentlemanly" isn't about what you look like, it's something you do.

Thank you. Yeah, my local guy (dawsonjewellers.ie) just took some peg wood and rodico to the hands to get some of the looser gunk off. Nothing else. Only the dial was sent to England.

Last November, a friend in Cuba found this watch on an online auction (in Havana) and asked if I would like it. I have been looking for an intact pre-revolution Cuervo y Sobrinos for 10 years, and this ticked all the boxes. He knows his stuff and got pictures of the movement before bidding. I got it at a decent price. Got it back to Ireland and sent it to England (billandsons.co.uk) for restoration of the dial. There had been water damage and some mold on the dial. There is an argument for "patina" but this was too far gone for me. The movement is original and had been serviced. I had been hoping to have it for the trip to Cuba a couple of weeks ago but it wasn't ready in time. I'll have it when I go in June. I'm very happy with how it turned out. How it was. After restoration. Restoration cost much more than the watch itself but well worth it to me.

The escaparate in El Laguito was full of Behike 58s in November last year. We smoked one in the tasting room. Very strong cigar. We were told they are for release in 2025. The Cohiba Atabey could be out before that.

The CM (in the Marca column after some cigar entries) stands for Cueta and Melilla. Two Spanish enclaves in north Africa. Taxes on tobacco are lower there thus the lower prices, though they don't have the breadth of range found on the mainland. Hard to get to also, without a boat.

These left Diadema in Genoa on Wednesday and arrived at my hotel in Sardinia at 7 am this morning.

The "Big Four" already have our clicks, text searches, eye-tracking and conversations. Headsets will tell them what we look at, for how long and in what order, with ads coming based on "doughnuts or waitress". Get people comfortable wearing headsets, ready for a subsequent generation of them, and thoughts are next. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/this-ai-used-brain-scans-to-recreate-images-people-saw-180981768/ I can't wait.

That does seem cheap. There is such a thing as fake rum in Cuba, I've seen fake Santiago 11 year old in stores in Cuba, before the currency changes etc. Always check the seal on the top of the bottle as well as the quality of the printing of on the label and the outer packaging. (Blurry = Bad). Since the currency changes though, there is actually cheaply priced, officially produced rum available, as well as cigars if one knows where to look. Hotel lounges that sell cigars in local prices will have the best prices on the Island. Nightclubs and bars will often have specials on rum and whiskey. Expensive if one has changed their money at 25 cup : 1 dollar. Not so expensive at 200 cup : 1 dollar.

Wernado cigars, the one based in Havana, was owned by Anglo-Cuba Cigar and Leaf Exporters until some time in the mid-50s. There was another Wernado cigar brand, owned by an A. Estevez, in San Antonio de las Vegas, Cuba. It might have been a change of ownership of the same brand name.

The description of soil in Vuelta Abajo is largely wrong, but to be fair it is only repeating the inaccuracies that have been published online by magazines and forums over the last 20 years. Interestingly ChatGPT 4 is telling me today that "Vuelta Abajo Cuba has a soil that is rich in nutrients, particularly magnesium". Using ChatGPT 4 in Bing chat will at least provide references. ChatGPT 4 used directly through Open AI will not provide references. It seems to be getting a lot of it's information from Holts.com and Wikipedia with sprinkles of CIgarAficionado thrown in.

The origin of trickle down economics, 1348. The image has been colorized.

I like the "Dolly-Partoniness" of her voice. With the 2000s "Bob-Dylaniness" style of the song. A little bit of Aimee Mann in the production too.

Some great deals in those private stores. A little hole in the wall beside Harris Brothers supermarket had Santiago 11 year old for 4,500 cup in February. Not bad compared to $48 in the MLC shops / cigar shops.

I was in a restaurant in Havana, Yarini, in February with an American friend who ordered pork and wanted it rare. I was going to order the pork too but couldn't after that order as I knew I would mistakenly have received his, that's happened me too many times before. I warned him that Cuba isn't America and Trichinosis etc. could still be a thing in pork in Cuba. Nonetheless he insisted. I had the ceviche and a salad which were both very good. He had his rare pork. The next night in another restaurant, Costa Vino, my current Number 1 in Havana (the risotto and the service), I had to apologise to the waitress for the amount of toilet paper my friend must have been using. He was in and out of there at least 10 times. Luckily that place had toilet paper that night. She was fine, laughing about it, I was back there the following night, for the risotto again, and she was asking for him. Three nights later, at a party at a distributor's house, this guy had to go home early, after getting stomach medication from the host. Still not right. Salmon, if I know a little bit about where it's from and what it's been through before hitting my plate, I'd have it raw, or smoked. I don't care, I'm not to picky about salmon as I'm not its biggest fan. Otherwise flaky and only if there's nothing more interesting on the menu.

The Chateau series yes. Produced under license for Davidoff by Hoyo de Monterrey from 1946. Davidoff himself said 1945. He may have had some hand in the blending. The No.1, No. 2 and Ambassadrice were created between 1967 and 1969 and rolled in El Laguito. The "Mille Series", (1000s, 2000s), came in the mid-70s, maybe 1976. The Chateau Series came under the brand name Davidoff (rather than Hoyo de Monterrey for Davidoff) starting in about 1975. The Yquem was discontinued in 1982 and replaced by the Mouton Rothschild in 1983. Then they all went away between 1989 and 1991.