BlackFriar

A San Juan from ‘16

A gift from Colin

H.Up C.No.1 MEG MAY16

Ahhh “bush meat!”

Fonseca No.1, UTL SEP 17 a bit toothy on the wrapper and it feels dry (though it is not)

Not bad. Don’t get me wrong it is not spectacular like a great No2. To me at least I feel this is just a longer No4. What I do like is that extra bit of time to enjoy it. Cheap and cheerful. Well... relatively cheap 😁

MC3 today with a lovely divot.

It was rather bland and got acrid at the very end. First 88 I've ever smoked. The RASCC I smoked after was much better.

Almost there Colin with the deck and patio. Just a dream last summer.

A bit of barnyard funk at cold that we all seem to love. First few puffs are a bit thin on flavors. Maybe slight vegetal. First third. Good pepper notes on the retrohale and the smoke is thicker. A bit of leather and some cream in the flavor but not much. Also a bit of salty bitterness on the lips. A little boring actually. The ash is not holding together either. This is 3/4 of a wonderful box, but I guess they cannot all be fantastic. Luckily the cigar has a long way to go. Middle third. The leather is more pronounced and is accompanied by sandalwood (I always like that) but it is no powerhouse of flavors. It will not hold a decent ash either, 15 cm tops and it flakes off. I do occasionally get some meatiness and coffee flavors now as well. Final third. Thank God this cigar is finally coming to life. The density of the smoke has really picked up and has that luscious cream consistency in the mouth. Now the pepper is much more pronounced on the retrohale. The sandalwood is fading and being supplanted by the meatiness from the second third. Final thoughts. Well I was bound to run into an okay cigar in an otherwise wonderful box. I really liked these young but I think it’s time to forget about the rest of the box for a few years.

Going the cheap and cheerful route this evening with a Quintero Nacionales. Been dry boxing a few days as the last one straight from the humidor got pretty acrid a third of the way through. This one is starting off strong. Good spice notes, with some leather/tobacco flavors and some dense smoke. Solid non complex flavor profile. Considering it’s under four dollars for a cigar, I couldn’t be happier with its performance out of the gate. Update: Just finished the cigar. Really enjoyed it! The dry boxing made all the difference in the world! Will take about five out of the Humidor to dry box and smoke next week. When I cut the cigar, it had that nice dimple from the rollers who use the old bic pen shells to push in the rolled binder at the end. Nice to see such quality rolling in such an inexpensive cigar. The ash was flaky but it was a bit windy. Is this a consequence of short filler?

Dallas TX(AP) - A 7 year old boy was at the center of a court room drama yesterday when he challenged the court’s ruling of who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents, and was initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulation requiring that family unity be maintained to the highest degree possible. The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beats him more than his parents, and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he should live with his grandparents, the boy cried and then stated they beat him also. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life for them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him. After two recesses to check legal references and confer with the child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Dallas Cowboys, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

Thank you El Presidente!