Don Candido

Lisa, Di, Lucy and Rena, I am very sorry to hear of your loss. My condolences to you and your family.

I have been away for a while, but I just moved. When I did so, I saw all my stored smokes and decided I needed to get back in gear. So hear I am. I hope all are well. Missed you guys...

Hoyo de Monterey Pyramid, I think. It is Hoyo and pyramid shaped. Just awesome!

Por Larranaga - Robustos de Larranaga - Exclusivo Asia Pacifico EMA JUN2007

Here in California, unfortunately, NC's are very common. It is worth noting the good ones (which generally pale in comparison to CC's) are still more expensive to purchase here, than it is to "import" CC's.

BTW, I do love the Xikar Havana series lighter.

Start with a Blazer PB-207 and branch out from there, if need be.

I was just at a Restaurant/Bar called La Bodeguita del Medio in Palo Alto. It is not in San Francisco. It is near Stanford U., about 30mins South of SF. They have a room in the back (and a patio) for cigar smoking. To avoid issues with the CA laws, they do not offer service in the cigar smoking areas. You basically need to head to the bar yourself. A nice, unique setting. Worth checking out if you come down that way.

In general, avoid airport smokes too.

The safety lever is VERY easy to remove. Just snap off or cut off the tab. It is not hard to do. I think the body styling on the older models was less rounded/more square on the gas button. There are minor differences besides the safety tab.

Dressing me up like that is only something I could picture in a horror film...

You know, now that I think about it, all the lighters I use eventually die. I have not seen a single one which does not. I am just currently impressed with the Xikar havana lighters. They actually have never died on me yet. I have a few. I am sure soon after this post, the one I have been using will give out... Still, they seem to be impressive was my main point. The Blazer PB-207 is still a great, practical choice (for something which fits in your pocket!) Cheers, DC

I do not recommend this ever. The result is not something that can be predicted in many cases. It may work well for some smokes. I am guessing it will work poorly for far more. The general guidelines for humidification changes with cigars over time is 1%/day. If you can control your secondary humidor well, you can take cigars from a resting place of 65-67% and increase their humidity over three to four days to 70%. I like to age at 65% and smoke at 70%, but I rarely bring smokes up to the 70%. It is easier to simply pull from my aging stock when I want to smoke. I am guessing there are plenty of views in the links Colt listed above.

umm, no offense, but those die too.

Welcome to FOH!