cfc1016

Looks like the SOM MAR 17 aristocrats i put, on the left? I think you may be surprised by that one.

On the road now. Meeting up with an FOHer in BC today. Anyone else between prince George and Kamloops?

Any vigia. Something about a vigia and a cup of turquino wiith JUST a hint of milk, listening to the birds chirp... That's perfection.

Brilliant.

Ride Ayala

Been such a joy to see the handicapped format repeated, and to bring so many people so much joy, again. Special congratulations to the newbie prize winners, too. Big thanks to PugDaddy for taking on the challenge and bringing the community together. And to all the vets here who participated in the original as newbies (Hyun, James, Erik, etc) - you guys are rockstars. I didn't forget all the help you guys provided last time. Sounds like you were just as supportive with PugD. Good on ya, guys. I'm gettin all verklempt. I love you guys.

Have you smoked a few of the new ones, to compare to previous years (smoked at similar age)? I'm curious to hear the opinion of some other folks who've long known and loved the vitola, before I buy any of the new boxes.

Did they change the blend? It's always technically been the 'coronas claros', despite the confusing labeling in the past. I haven't smoked any of the 'facelift' version, yet, so i can't speak with authority.

Prominentes hands down.

+1

1. Pragmatism: I'll let the ash stay on there for as long as it still seems sturdy. If i feel it getting loose, I tap it away. Very rarely, in the cases of really spot on construction, it just never loosens up. Soooo I never tap it off. There's no superstition or compelling personal preference - just the habit of ashing behavior I've developed over 20+ years. I don't really even think about it when I'm doing it. 2. Critical analysis: After thousands of cigars, I can not share any conclusive evidence that a long-ash-holding cigar will taste consistently better/worse. Same with ash color. As far as I'm concerned, any notions that the ash somehow indicates quality, are at best speculative rubbish. If there even is a correlation, I highly doubt it's causal. 3. Emotion: Aesthetically, it's pretty. People like pretty things. 4. Hypothesis: Being uncommon, aesthetically appealing, and vicariously enjoyed by peers - I would posit that as the most logical explanation for the photos being so common in social media. 5. Personal analogy: I look at it like catching an otherwise run of the mill fish that has a highly unusual color pattern, for its species. I don't expect it to taste better or worse than the normal looking fish. It's just different from what I expect the other 99% of the time. Different is interesting.

I have never seen a cigar's ash change color because of a beetle. My guess would be that it was just a dud (as often happens). As i said, the taste of roast beetle is hard to miss. It does not taste anything like tobacco (good or bad).

Yes indeed. The insects you've eaten were intentionally cooked - made to taste a certain way. The one you will smoke is catastrophically OVERcooked. Imagine burning soy sauce into a pan. After a certain point,it no longer smells like soy sauce,but rather just 'burnt'. So it is with a smoked beetle. All their constituent compounds are broken down into foul smoke. It does not taste like perfect, medium rare grasshopper, lol.

Yeah I doubt it was a beetle if you didn't notice the flavor change.

I don't know for sure, tbh. I *suppose* a knot in a stem could conceivably pop? I dunno. I would imagine you'd distinctly recognize a sudden flavor of roast beetle, though...