RDB

HUHC: rich and reliable short smoke. This one Jun 17 with plenty of legs. Where’s the 50 cab?

The way the spirit has been handled will have a huge effect though. Lots of spirits are now transferred to second barrels for a ‘finishing’ effect, which personally I almost never want as it usually introduces strong new flavours. Also, the original barrel is critical. New oak? High char? Forget it. What I really like is long ageing in a relatively neutral barrel. It takes about 40-50 years for a spirit to naturally stabilise at about 43-44% alcohol.

Even the cigar looks like it is sweating!

Nice review, thanks. Reminds me of the box of 2015 ERDM CX that I’m smoking: nothing particularly stands out, yet somehow the overall experience is very pleasing.

Yep. I’m smoking a UBM FEB 18 cab, also HQ, and they seem ready to me.

Great review, thanks. I try to tell myself that if I’ve had a good hour with a cigar, then anything else is a blessing. No need to struggle on! Having said that, of course the very best smokes are always the ones where you never want to stop and it just gets more and more intense towards the nub...

Nice review, thank you!

Thanks. A ‘not impressed’ review is every bit as useful as a ‘wow’.

El Principe above the place I’m camping with my kids this summer: Gorge De L'Ardèche.

Ha. Good to know we don’t all agree about everything. That would be boring. I’ve seen the adverts in question. The Philadelphia one is pretty harmless: it just makes a joke about men being useless parents. The VW one is totally straight-faced and is all adventurous high-achieving men (astronauts, athletes) while mum makes sandwiches and reads by the pram. I have two young children, a boy and a girl. I don’t want her persistently being told that women are not as capable as men except when it comes to childcare.

Frankly, I’m tired of pervasive sexism and I’m delighted that companies are going to have to get a little more creative than making fat blokes guffaw at women looking after babies while men do adventure sports and ignore the kids. F**k that s**t. It has real world consequences: men belittling women, thinking less of them, thinking you know it’s ok to make fun and maybe push your luck and well... what’s the harm in trying it on? Wake up! Sometimes people will get it wrong the other way and take offence where none is meant. Sometimes we’ll miss out on funny jokes. I open doors for women because I was taught that is polite. But is it time to change the weather? Yes it’s long overdue.

Nina Simone - I Wish I Knew (How It Feels To Be Free). That is the sound of the human spirit.

Here’s my adventure / beach watch. Precista PRS82, a modern homage to a British Navy diver. Strap is a waterproof Hirsch Alligator, which I can’t recommend highly enough. Yay summer.

Nope. Anyone with that kind of self-discipline can achieve pretty much anything they want.

@Elpresidente you are a gentleman. I know the time zone thing is tricky - appreciate your efforts!