RDB

I've been through plenty of LCDH, and the cigars here are reliably better.

I’ve enjoyed this.

Thanks T Bird

Some BPCs from our host. Remind me what the orange dot means please? These smell great, deep cocoa and earth. Firmly box pressed! One or two construction issues, but let’s see how they smoke in a month’s time...

I used to smoke in the somewhat less exclusive but nonetheless nice cigar lounge at the Kempinski in Cairo. Amazing view of the city and the Nile. Cheap as chips. Incidentally Cairo is positively awash with fake Cohiba Sublimes, mostly happily blooming to death in little glass topped 'humidors'.

The trouble is, it's always a deeply ingrained characteristic, and I've never known anyone like this to change significantly. Maybe a few degrees, but not much. Doesn't matter if you speak to them openly, cut back your own generosity, or love bomb them with even more open-handedness. In the end you have to broadly accept or move on. Two amelioration strategies are to be totally prescriptive: "please bring three of those nice Esplendidos you were showing me" and humour "cause we don't want your crappy cast-offs while you scoff our good stuff, ok?" I feel sorry for mean people. The world is just so much nicer if you act with generosity. Either it's reciprocated, which is great, or it's not, in which case you did the right thing anyway.

Proper measure of spirit in that glass!

I’ve enjoyed a lot of RyJ Short Churchills over the past year. Not fashionable, but “There’s truth in what people actually drink.”

We have a rule in my house, which the kids enthusiastically enforce: If you burp you must say 'pardon me', but if you fart then you point at someone else. My five year old girl can do a belch that shakes the windows.

Rule of thumb around ambient temperatures is that chemical reactions double in rate for every 10C rise in temp. So 28C would double the rate relative to 18C (which is about 65F). No one does this for wine, because storage at that higher temp would kill it. But maybe it doesn’t harm cigars?

JLS2 in Lincoln’s Inn Fields. MOL MAR 18. This from a 24:24 clearance offer, but quality is great: full of rich flavour and with a lovely construction. The chocolate orange is there for sure, helped along nicely by a milky coffee. There’s a slightly ‘dusty’ character about this smoke: some cigars feel more precise amd focused, while this is a bit more expansive and softer.

Here’s the kind of freely given, expert help that makes this sort of forum so great. Nice one!

PSP Hoyo Epi 2, UEB ABR 18. This is not your momma’s Epi 2... the flavours are strong and clearly defined, and while it has the classic creaminess, it’s got a much more spicy edge than I associate with old-school Hoyo. Very nice burn, lovely construction with tons of smoke, and I am 100% confident that a couple of years will bring further delights. This time round I left about a third (after 45 mins), but I’m sure that time will soften the bite.

PSP Picadores UER NOV 17. These have just about the most intense aroma at cold I’ve ever got from a box of cigars. Wow. Looks like they need some sleep! All the same, I can’t resist taking a few out to try early on...

My first San Cristobal, a little El Principe from 24:24 clearance. LGR JUL 17. Impatient so it’s only had a week or so since transit, but it’s a lovely civilised thing in the autumn sunshine with a cup of tea and some home made marble cake. A touch of sweetness, mild to medium body, nice burn and good smoke production. Hard not to rush it!