Bill Hayes

Trying to broaden my wine experiences into Europe, which I know little about. Late Autumn chill suggests Northern Rhone might be ideal. Always thought this would be my go-to region. Here's my first introduction. A cheapie but nice all rounder. Enjoyed a Southern Rhone 50% Grenache, 40% Syrah, 10% Moudervourerdhowdoyouspellit yesterday which I thoroughly enjoyed too. Ha ha! Cheers. This one I thought a little thin but I just had a cigar and a stout. Very rounded for a 2019.

Another week or so until Good Beer Week in Melbourne, Australia. Local brewers are firing up with collabs. Have quite a few on pre-order to arrive in the next week or so. Lots of anticipation seeing as we've missed the last couple due to COVID lockdown. Only problem is that prices have increased because of govt tax trying to get money back from the last couple of years. Time to pick and choose wisely. Looking forward to enjoying a barrel-aged milkshake imperial DDH Triple Imperial pavlova, dragonfruit and marshmallow pastry sour for $27 a sip. Ha ha! Stay tuned.

In the past I smoke Cohiba on impulse. Same with other brands. It's what I feel like at the time. Usually after a sunny day in Spring or early summer at sunset. There's more of a dry heat where I live generally and I find those days seem to scream Cohiba for me and a whisky highball. Lately haven't purchased due to cost but definitely would if I could. Coro, Esplendidos are two of my all time favs as regular production cigars. Cheers

More Nudie Carlota. Find the size perfect for me. Stout or coffee or old fashioned or dark rum or all of the above. Lovely. Tax return coming soon so my fav JL#2 PSP and BBF clearance. Keep it simple coming into winter.

Your preferred tastes are kind of opposite to mine but I did the same thing. Try and age the Cubans and have the occasional NC in between. I mostly chose winter though and Maduros to enjoy with stout or dark rum. But I found the Arturo Fuentes Hemingway series to be more on the dried hay, woody side, although not with the creaminess of hoyo. A touch of pepper and closer to mid than mild. The other is the Oliva Serie V Melanio. I love these, especially the Churchill but you might find a bit too much pepper perhaps and mid/full but in that kind of flavour profile that I assume you prefer, yet no cream really. I also love the EP Carillo Encore Majestic but it is a bit peppery but very complex for a NC and around mid I reckon. The other way to go is maduro which can add sweetness but also pepper in some. If you like a big banger 6X6 I like the Rocky Patel Edge Battalion Maduro - the size lets the flavours develop from mild to mid. More barnyard and some forest mulch, toasty than full on pepper like a Partagas. Smoke half, have a rum and be done. Ha ha! The My Father Le Bijou 1922 Maduro is in the same boat IMHO but not so much barnyard and mulch but more espresso and dark chocolate and mild to mid. I usually stick to what I like but with my limited experience in NC and Davidoff, I would explore that brand. I found them somewhere between RYJ and Hoyo in flavour profile but my memory may be a bit warped, so don't take it as gospel. All the best with your search. Cheers

Pretty chilling. Loved the air powered bolt gun. 8/10.

That's the one. Ha ha! In my mind, the zebra was dressed as a cop. Must be the strength of the cartoonist to plant that image in my head just with words. Thanks @M1B

Couldn't find my fav. Always remember it. A zebra getting torn apart by lions. And another zebra dressed as cop is directing other zebras away saying, "Move right along, nothing to see here!". Also, while playing Aussie Rules Football my team used to call the far side of the ground 'Larson' as code so the opposition wouldn't understand the directions by players on field. They soon switched on but not straight away. Ha ha!

Pork crackling

My mountain bike is my main mode of transport nowadays. Not really a trail rider but like bicycle tours in the country and also overseas when on holidays. Have ridden a bike since 5or6yo, now 55. Wish I had the legs to show for it though. Ha ha!

Not what I'd reach for and haven't tried one for quite some time. Was a 'go to' cigar when starting my cigar journey. Have a soft spot for them but I tend to look for more rustic flavours. Hard to go past the JL#2, Coro and RASS for me. Thinking the epi 2 would be nice on a sunny late Autumn or early Spring day with a breakfast tea with a splash of milk perhaps. Always tried light whisky like a Macallan and a splash of soda but never really worked for me. Good memories though. May have to revisit if they recently have a bolder flavour profile. Cheers.

Carlota Maduro and Old fashioned.

A negroni my way with a sprinkle of instant espresso muddled with Angostura bitters and orange bitters and a slice of orange. Nice match with the Carlota Maduro thanks to the underlying coffee note. Cheers.

What if I self identify as a eunuch?

It's quite bizarre. In Melbourne, we continue to get sunny days ATM. Probably swap over later in the year and we cop the rainfall in October/November which is expected. And then dry from mid January and February. But for now, I'm still sunning in the backyard. WTF! Stay safe guys and don't challenge the flood waters by driving through them. Too many stories ending in tragedy. Cheers.

Don't forget your 100% DEET Bushman's repellent @Ken Gargett and a fly net. ha ha! Looks amazing BTW

Used to walk through the storm water drains like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Just needed a torch and no rain. We'd pop out of drains a suburb away. Also climb a lot of trees. Fell out of a few trying to be Spiderman. Haha!

Buy fireworks at the Milk Bar and have war games with trenches while shooting baby rockets from PVC piping like RPG's at each other, lobbing fire crackers like grenades and raiding the other trench with 10 ball shot sticks like machine guns. Also making bolt bombs throwing at brick walls and seeing how they explode with bolt and nut projectiles flying in all directions. The idea was to not get hit. Just stupid really. Our family also camped down the penninsula and my uncle had a boat that I was the only one that the knack of starting. Engine was almost kaput but just needed the right amount of choke without flooding. I used to drive it around with my mates as a 12yo, catch flatheads and feed them to the seals and try and jump the wakes of container ships in the shipping channel. Learned pretty quick how to read the weather, that's for sure. Can't imagine umbrella parents nowadays allowing that. Didn't need a boat license back then. Ha ha!

No idea if it is still being rolled but haven't seen SLR DC. Ignore if it's been deleted.

Probably a draw between a PSP JL#2 and a Nudies Carlota Maduro. I leaped straight in as soon as they arrived which is not advised but found the Nudie to be right in my wheelhouse from the get go. Experimented with pairing it with an Old Fashioned with a touch of orange bitters as well as Angostura bitters and worked pretty well. Tried an Old Fashioned without the orange bitters but with a light sprinkle of instant espresso powder and wasn't bad, although I think the orange was a good contrast to the toasty, leathery and maduro cocoa/coffee flavours. I make my Old Fashioneds with Rye. I think bourbon would be too sweet unless drunk on the rocks or neat. Will revisit with just a long machiatto or perhaps a tall black iced coffee. If the Nudies improve over the next 30 days, it's a bonus IMHO. Also loved the size. Can smoke it slow and steady without re-lighting. Cheers.

Gin Palace in Melbourne was one of the best and coolest bars in the city in early 2000's. Loved that place. Hideously expensive and took ages to get a drink but at least you'd know you were getting top quality. Negroni, Singapore Sling and dirty Martini among my fav cocktails. Interesting read, especially how London Dry Gin is pure without any botanicals. Cheers. Hmmm... damn you Ken. Best make a Negroni then.

JL#2 BBF Monte 2 Bolivar PC Coro Nudies Carlota Maduro

Friendsofhappiness Awwwww... Haha! Havanagreatlife Havanasmokeandachat Havannaonlyfriends - HOFnPuff.com ha ha!

Found a dusty old bottle of 20yo dessert wine from Yarra Valley in Melbourne on the shelf. I pretended it stood the test of time with copious heat fluctuations. Ha ha! Was ok and pretty smooth though and really good with a JL flavour profile. Still sunny down here so made the most of it with a Pinot Noir and platter on the deck and a late arvo beer to toast the downfall of my mighty Tigers in the AFL after 3 premierships in 5 years. Although, I'm off to the AFL today to see them play and sit in my reserved seat at the great MCG for the first time since 2019. Cheers all. And good luck to you Brisbane AFL supporters up North. They look very very good this year. Cheers.

Can depend a lot on your financial position and what country. In Oz, we pay high taxes so I usually buy 6 cigar of my favs. But I do like the 3 box of coro and other Cohiba and some of the more premium cigars. 3 carton of boli libratador for example or 3 box of party Lusitania for the bigger vitolas that you don't smoke as often.