Havanas anyone?

[pemazel]

Dear members,

of course, Cuban cigars (well, most of them) give great pleasure. But you are busy for an hour or more. So do not forget there are nice cigars to have from the Netherlands (yes, I am Dutch). Try Oud Kampen, Justus van Mourik or Olifant (Elefant): all made from good Indonesian ( a former colony) tobacco. Right now I am smoking an Oud Kampen La Reina, which will keep me busy for about 15 minutes. But don't forget, Dutch cigars are no long fillers.

Paul

[Cliff]

I just received some delicious Partagas Series D No. 4 ( 5 x 50) and enjoyed my first one last night. Splendid smoke.

[Art Tatum]

I just received some delicious Partagas Series D No. 4 ( 5 x 50) and enjoyed my first one last night. Splendid smoke.

Cliff,

Partagas Serie D No. 4 is one of my favorites. If you like torpedos, definately give Paratgas Serie P No. 2 a whirl. The draw on these cigars are just amazing.

Speaking of Torpedos, anyone on the forum a smoker of Diplomaticos No. 2? I think this may replace Montecristo No. 2 as my staple smoke.

Tom

[uppercase]

I had a wonderful smoke this weekend - a cohiba siglo VI - the first I have tried and it has quickly become one of my favorites. If you enjoy cigars, try it.

The ring guage, length, draw and flavor were excellent - just what I like in a cigar.

I am only an occassional smoker, but when I do smoke, I like to have a really pleasurable experience with a fine cigar, and this is one of the best smokes I have had.

I will add it to my list of favorites and buy a stick now and then when I find an open box, though my cigar store rarely opens up a box of the cohibas as the full boxes just sell out so quickly:
my favourites: cohiba siglo VI, Montecristo Edmundo, Partagas Serie D #4 and the Romeo y Julietta Churchill

http://www.cigars-review.org/Cohiba-Siglo-VI.htm

[Collarmelton]

For what it's worth, I'll describe my home cigar storage technique: I took a standard .50 caliber machine gun ammo can, available at any surplus store, lined the bottom, sides and underside of the lid with cedar strips and attached with a velcro strip on the underside of the lid a moistened clay disc (sold expressly for this purpose). The can has a rubber ring in a groove on the lid that creates a tight seal (after all, one wants to keep one's powder dry) which keeps cigars in an ideal condition almost indefinitely. It ain't elegant (obviously, it's kept in the closet), but it's effective. And given that we here can't just run out to a high street tobacconist and buy Havanas as they can in Europe, I'm not taking any chances.

[whittaker]

I'm a relative novice to the enjoyment of cigars. Thus far, my favourite is the Davidoff Grand Cru No. 3. From the Dominican Republic, this cigar is of medium-strength with a gorgeous aromatic flavour.

[Parishow]

Will

The bars in Duke's and Connaught are indeed a treat. Maybe we should do a "smoker's" guide to London bars, or find one that already exists on the net somewhere.

Try the Lobby Garden Bar at the Goring Hotel! Wonderful!!! (London)

[Aristide]

Will

The bars in Duke's and Connaught are indeed a treat. Maybe we should do a "smoker's" guide to London bars, or find one that already exists on the net somewhere.

Try the Lobby Garden Bar at the Goring Hotel! Wonderful!!! (London)

I would also suggets the Libaray Bar at the Lanesborough Hotel (Hyde Park).

[Parishow]

Well, my friends.....you better go to London now! As I am in December for a last Hurrah and last smoke in an hotel bar/lobby! because next year it all stops nationwide in Great Britain. It's in effect now in Scotland (in the recent play in Edinburgh) about Churchill, they banned the actor playing Churchill from smoking on stage.

Maybe we should get together in London and have a final smoke (Black Tie, wine etc)?

"Where is the life, that late ,I led?" - Wm S. and Cole Porter

[Ferrando]

I strongly second the good words shared here for the Partagas Series D Robusto and the classic Montecristo #2. Both excellent ways to enjoy a quiet hour or so.

I was recently in Canada, and among my cigar purchases was a Montecristo Edmundo. Has anyone in the LL tried this?

I also join the chorus of disapporval for London's upcoming smoking ban. I'm a fairly regular visitor, and one of my chief pleasures is a meal and postprandial cigar at one of the several clubs with which my own club is affiliated. Hard to believe that even these traditional cigar sanctuaries will be nonsmoking zones.

The ban will hit even closer to home when Washington, DC enacts its own smoking ordinance on January 2, 2007. Perhaps we need to organize a transatlantic version of the final smokeout that Parishow has suggested for Londoners. My own black tie and stash of Cubans is at the ready.

[JAS]

Ferrando – warning: rant alert

I chose this reply / subject as my first post for it is one that grinds the proverbial gears. I can still recall the post familial Thanksgiving dinner of ’98 when a Series D #4 took over my senses. Since then my awareness of the ever declining enjoyment of a good smoke became my windmill. Here in Chicago - the town that banned foie gras – the zealots have lumped all things offensive (to them) into an ongoing campaign which would have made the staunchest Puritans proud. Now, I am not a cigarette smoker and cannot stand the butts flying like fireflies as one passes those “taking a break”… are the trash bins that far away? I did not enjoy the warehouse supply of Pall Malls which my father was never seen without. And in general, the world is probably a healthier place. However, I will raise the same question here which I tossed into the aldermanic debate: How can you logically/morally ban something which is legally purchased? A ban should be a ban. One cannot buy an (insert banned substance) at the local five and dime. So what is this really, a health issue or a we-don’t–want–to–give-up-the-tax-revenue-and-sure-would-like-the-non-smoker-vote? I cannot scribble a response to the private club bans without raising my blood pressure but insofar as the overall topic, there are two solutions: 1. make tobacco illegal or 2. let the economy decide. Any business could purchase a license to have it on the premises and if the decision proved unwise, the restaurant’s, bar’s, or lounge’s revenue would dictate a change. An establishment chooses to serve a particular cuisine, offer BYOB, or pay rent for outdoor space. Why should this be any different with a legally sold product? The liquor revenue has kept them (read: alcohol ban) out of harms way, and of course we still have a Keystone Cops memory of how well that amendment went. Then again, rarely does one see a story of vehicular homicide caused by the driver who later blamed it on his favorite Meerschaum. (Certainly not meant to offend ~ or make lite of anyone who may have experienced this type of loss.) However the game is afoot here in the Windy City as well attired gents meet in private - I shall be taking them word of the LL. Regards, JAS

[Ferrando]

Give that gentleman a cigar. And make sure it's a Cuban.
Thanks for some nicely argued points, JAS.
Since we Americans are a minority among LL members, I'm sure that many of our international cigar smokers are puffing their Monte #2s in puzzlement as they ponder our country's drawn-out embargo and the expanding nannyism that our cities and counties are practicing.
I'm probably as Blue State as they come, but I do have to agree with that a unilateral ban on cigar smoking, including in private clubs, is a develpment to be resisted. Preferably by lighting up something of a 50 ring guage.

[uppercase]

For just a taste of Cuban leaf, the Club size is perfect for a 15 minute mid day break with an espresso or small beer.

The packaging is so bright and brilliant that I thought to add some photos:

[storeynicholas]

There is nothing quite like settling down for an hour or so with a fine cigar.
The world seems right, the conversation more civilized, contemplative and generous.
Life is just a bit better with a good cigar, whether enjoyed alone or with congenial company.
I'm settling in this evening with a fine Romeo Y Julieta Churchill.
Long one of my favorite cigars , the Churchill is just right for a relaxed evening at home. The Robusto, say a Partagas Series D or Cohiba, also has its proper place and time and between these cigars I find that they cover my needs and provide fine company.
I always found London's bars particularly enhanced a good smoke.
Two of my favorite bars are those in Dukes and the Connaught. They just feel right, particularly when the weather is cold and it is raining hard.
I think that in some ways, the English still have got it right when it comes to making life an occassion, through enjoying fine clothing , spirts, smokes.

Not anymore, since the stalinist smoking ban everywahere.

[RWS]

. . . . The packaging is so bright and brilliant that I thought to add some photos:
. . .

. . . .

I've never liked tobacco smoke (though I don't agree with certain measures taken against public smoking) and I've scant sympathy for the current Cuban regime, but I quite like this brilliant packaging -- even if it is flimsier and no brighter than the boxes of yore.

Thanks, "uppercase", for showing the photographs to us.