Islandboy

H Upmann PSP awesomeness from our illustrious host...and some dark and oily Sancho Panza Belicosos.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Agree with Esplendidos and Sir Winstons being tops. I also think Lusitanias aren’t far behind, if the Partagas profile agrees with you. Another sleeper in the DC range is RAG. I’ve yet to meet a RASS I like, but RAG is a completely different animal with its graham cracker element.

I’m not familiar with beads, but FWIW, I know here in Hawaii, where ambient humidity is higher than average, it takes 62% Bovedas to achieve a steady 65%-66% in my humidors, so it appears there’s a fair bit of variability with them depending on conditions.

Hmm...perhaps it was licorice I was tasting. It was some dark, concentrated sweetness that I found really kinda ruined every stick for me.

Just one man’s opinion here - it’s your birthday, fire one up, chances are you won’t be disappointed.

Based on my experience, which may be skewed by having had an off box, it’s a totally different blend that barely resembles an HU. I smoked through a 2014 box over the last 4 years, finally smoked the last one recently. The whole time, I was waiting for the taste to come around to something H Upmann-like....never happened. Every stick over the years was consistently the same with a strange stone-fruit element dominating - didn’t care for them at all. And H Upmann is one of my favorite Marcas. It was either a bad batch, or it’s a blend that doesn’t play well with my palette.

Happy Birthday El Jefe!

Very pleased with the results of this purchase...wish you could smell these.

A couple boxes of Daughters of the Wind Calicos and a Singulare sampler.

I like ‘em enough to always have a box in the humi. Perfect when I want something a bit more delicately flavored but pleasant. Plus I’m a fan of the vitola, being a bigger RG that I don’t have to pry my mouth open for.

Bubble gum, which seems to be a flavor I detect in most of the La Gloria Cubanas I’ve had. I’m sincerely hoping it’s just because they’ve all been relatively young, and age will transform this element into something more pleasant.

I love wineadors...as long as they’re not running? They're very handy, look classy, and once sealed properly and lined with Spanish Cedar, I just keep ‘em at the right humidity with Boveda packs, and I keep them at a constant 70 degrees F in a small air conditioned room. Super simple, and effective enough. I’ve converted 3 so far, from inoperable units I get from work, like this:

I have a dumb question: as a lowly Island boy, unaccustomed to the finer details of this thing you call the stock market? (especially when this s**t happens), is this gonna be really bad for my 401k? Or should I say, for the average citizen’s 401k? Thanks for putting up with me, by the way.

Happy bloody Australia Day!!

...that I ponder in the wee hours. Does anyone else feel like it’s the beginning of the end when they pull the last stick of the upper tier of a dress box? I mean, you’re now left with less than half the box, thanks to the silly cardboard spacer that fills a perfectly fine space for a cigar. The guy (or gal) behind Trinidad packaging probably faced an uphill battle for their common sense approach to avoid this. Resistance from the Cuban cardboard manufacturers must’ve been brutal. ?

I had that song running through my head way too often, growing up.

AMO Abr 16 espy. Patience has paid off, these are amazing. Glad I decided to fire one up tonight.

Hana - to hang out with the Hawaiians Makawao - to hang out with the Paniolos Wailea - to hang with the rich and famous Paia - to hang out with the hippies Makena - to hang out with the hippies nekkid ?

I would stop being predictable

Happy Aloha Friday! Don’t know about you, but I’m ready to chill some time.

My wife has learned to wait until the cigar is further along, when the bourbon has taken effect.

Year after year, 3 token Cubans. I think that's all their advertising plan allows.

Well I knew no.1 wasn’t going to be Cuban once they advertised their annual contest for a giveaway of the top cigar - I don’t think that would be legal under current law. I predict 3 CC’s in the top 25, just like it’s been every year since I’ve been following the list (5 years).

My thoughts as well. I’m a bit uneasy with potential issues with paint products used in Cuba.