Jose_A_Rodriguez

@shlomo Yesterday, I was at Schiphol Airport and for the most part the duty free options are nothing special. No RE or LE anywhere. Not sure if you're interested, but I saw many boxes of Hoyo de Monterrey Hoye du Prince selling for 176 euros.

More Cohibas:

LCDH at Düsseldorf started off as cigar world, then it got awarded the "Habanos Specialists" award in Germany. I'm assuming sometime later, they bought the rights to be called LCDH. Maybe there's a "grandfather" clause that allows them to continue to sell NC cigars. http://habanosnews.habanos.com/en/habanos-specialist-award-germany http://www.cigaranalysis.com/cigarworld/

They have them here: http://www.cigarworld.de/en/zigarren/nicaragua/padron-50-years-anniversary-humidor-90014002

FWIW, this is just my first impression based in three months living in Germany. I've noticed that NC cigars seem to be have a big share of the cigar distribution based on the western part of Germany, where I'm currently living. In Düsseldorf, LCDH has way more NC than Cuban cigars in the walk in humidor (not sure if that's the case in their downstairs humidor). You can get an idea of what they offer at their website. Notice that they categorize their cigars by country and Cuba is one of many that they offer.

?Couldn't agree more with your comments. There's no point on telling lies. I was ready to tell them that I paid over 5000 dollars for the nine boxes; I had receipts with me to show them. I agree that customs just don't think it's worth their time to deal with cigar taxes.

Two weeks ago when I visited my hometown (Illinois) from Germany, I was asked by customs if I was carrying less than 100 cigars and I just answered "I'm bringing 9 boxes for personal consumption". Then, they replied "then, you're ok" and didn't care to ask me about the value of the cigars. All I can say is that I didn't lie to them. ?

Against my better judgement (cigar being only 9 months old), I decided to light up one of the CCS from one of my two boxes that I recently purchased. But for cigar-aging-sake, I gotta get a reference point. Impecable contruction and beautiful chocolate wrapper. First 3rd: Quite muted at the beginning of first third showing mainly oaky and cedar notes and some coffee notes. The only thing going in the right direction for this cigar was the lack of any ammonia signs. First impression was that it was just too young. In fairness, I was just going to leave it unrated and put the box

I'm going to seek out a few more for overcasted days with short smoking windows...

It's definitely worth seeking out. Highly recommended. Congratulation on your 100 posts since you might now qualify to join the FOH trading forum.

Originally, I wanted to smoke a Corona Especial, but it started raining and my 90-minute smoking window was shortened to only 30 minutes. This turned out to be is a solid 25 minute cigar. Outstanding contruction that resulted in a nice draw that prevented any major overheating during the smoking duration. Although I was expecting this cigar to be a one-dimensional smoke, I was pleasantly surprised that it actually delivered some complexity. It primarily showed medium-roasted coffee notes through out its length with a consistent cedar finish. There were also some hints of cream on

Awesome! Looking forward to one day qualifying. ✌️

I know the feeling! Most of us has done it one time or another.

I also really enjoyed my last Magnum 46.

Thanks for the tasting note.

Some discontinued cigars: Molinos, Le Hoyo du Prince and Cononas Gigantes.

Sampling my first Connie A. A bit of a tight draw with first cut, then opted for a larger cut almost immediately after initially lighting it up. Turned out to be the right decision. First 3rd Started off with cream coffee and cacao notes. The expected nuttiness was only faintly present. Oaky finish. Middle 3rd: Cream coffee still was quite pronounced complemented with emerging hints of hazelnut and vanilla. Molasses sweetness was also present. Orange peel on the finish. Final 3rd: Creaminess started to fade at the beginning

Looking forward to a craft beer tasting with a few friends tonight (Friday). It sure looks like Diana and you are truly enjoying the beach!

The day after returning from a Chicago home trip, I opted to smoke a Don José as my first smoke in anticipation of a much-needed nicotine kick based on previous experience. Beautiful construction with a near-perfect draw with pre-light notes of gingerbread. First 3rd: Similar to the last one I had a couple of months ago, it started off really spicy showing predominately white pepper with cinnamon and cloves. Once it settled down, the cloves diminished allowing the cinnamon to be more prominent. The finish had lingering cedar notes. Middle 3rd: It mostly remained consi

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Four more lots from 24:24 showed up yesterday:

Semi-aged CoRo cigars from 24:24.

A couple of more boxes from 24:24.

My first delivery from 24:24...I couldn't be happier. ???

Congrats @Diabolicalpherpher