Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Dammit!

Due to an unforseen hardware issue with my computer (say, it blowing up), and not having the funds to replace it right away, it looks like there may be a break in The Smoking Lounge fun for a little while. Fear not, kind readers, we will return, better than ever.

TomC

Sunday, June 24, 2007

2001 Partagas Lonsdale

Origin: Cuba
Manufactured: Hand Made
Gauge: Medium
Length: 165 mm.
Vitola: Cervantes
Ring: 42
Weight: 10.80 gr.
Size: 6.5" x 42

Appearance: Pretty smooth looking like cinnamon hued cigar. No real noticeable imperfections, a generally nice looking stogie.

Pre - Light: clipped easily and perfectly. Pre light Draw smelled of that beautiful damp organic earthiness of a habano, also some tangy tobacco notes.

Burn/Draw: This cigar lit easily, and the burn was quite straight and even the whole way down. For the first inch or so this cigar's draw was rather tight, but with patience and time it opened up quite nicely and by the halfway point it was free and easy and produced a quite good amount of smoke. Overall it was not a big deal, and the actual act of smoking was a quite pleasant experience.

Flavors: this one seemed like a pretty straight forward pleasant smoke to me. There were tangy notes of tobacco and earthy leather at first. the whole length of the cigar was underpinned by a nice rich earthyness. Over the last third or so the flavors ramped up a bit, and some woody cedar and black pepper notes creeped in. This cigar was a solid just north of medium at its strongest. Pretty tasty.

TomC

Cabaiguán Imperiales

7" X 47, Natural

Construction: What a beauty! As you can see in the pic above its a luscious looking ligt brown vitola of decent length, nicely packed and clearly expertly rolled. It seems to me I saw a triple cap which generally means of cuban origin, or a Fuente Opus X, though it did not have the rosado hue of the latter. No soft spots, not veins to see, not one blemish at all!

Pre-Light: Rich and tangy smelling, with a host of earthy smells, this cigar did a good job of highlighting the flavors to come. Clip was easy and the pre light draw was fairly easy, just restricting enough to ensure what was going to be a long languid experience. the Pre-draw yeailede more of the the tasty notes experienced in the intial smell.

Burn/Draw: You can see how fine the construction is in the burn of this stogie. Long and slow, cool and straight, this stogie did not need a single touch up after the initial light. Did I mention how slow it burned. This cigar burned languidly for well over an hour and a half! And not once did it burn hot, allowing its marvelous flavor profile to shine through. The Draw while it burned was just perfect, restrictive enough as not to burn hot, but yielding a plethora of fragrant smoke.

Taste: What a lovely rich cigar. Amazingly smooth and round on the palate, this cigar abounds with earthy and rich notes. I dont wanna pin down the sweetness with a specific I dentifier, except to say it si natural (molasses maybe?). Also notes of wood like standing in a whiskey aging room, and a field on a farm after the rain (you know, that wet earth rich smell. The thing that stuck me most is that it had all these rich flavors while maintaining that incredible smoothness. Almost the epitome of what a medium bodied medium strength cigar should taste like. A genuine EXPERIENCE, not just a cigar to smoke.

TomC

Saturday, June 23, 2007

Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic Corona Especial 1977

5.5" X 38, Corojo 99 Wrapper

I have already written review of the robusto cigar in this line. With bold notes of spice (black pepper), wood, leather and tobacco, this cigar does not vary much from he other cigar I reviewed. Which is to say, it was quite good! What I want to talk about in regards to this particular cigar is the size and shape of it. Long and thin, it really cuts a striking image as you smoke it. Upon lighting I was worried there would be burn an draw problems. It seems thin cigars have these problems more often than their thicker brethren. This is not the case at all with this particular vitola. This cigar burned beautifully, producing billows of round white cool smoke. Also this cigar burned for a good, long time, more than an hour in my case. The overall result was a very distinguished smoking experience. It may not be a size you normally smoke, but I suggest trying it.

TomC

Alyssa Milano


Alyssa Jayne Milano (born December 19, 1972) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles in the sitcom Who's the Boss? and on the supernatural series Charmed.

Alyssa Milano was born in Brooklyn, New York to Italian parents Tom (a music editor) and Lin Milano (a fashion designer). She has a younger brother, Cory (born 1982), who is also an actor. She and Cory grew up on Staten Island. She began her career at the age of eight when she won a part in an open audition for a national tour of Annie. She appeared in television commercials and off-Broadway productions. At the age of 11, she earned her first major role in the television program Who's the Boss?, alongside Tony Danza, Judith Light, Danny Pintauro and Katherine Helmond. She starred as Samantha Micelli, the daughter of Danza's character, Tony Micelli. When Alyssa won the role, her family relocated from Staten Island to Hollywood. Alyssa produced a teen workout video in 1988 called Teen Steam. Alyssa also appeared in the Josie music video by blink-182.

At the beginning of her career, Milano was known mainly for her role as Samantha Micelli on Who's the Boss? (1984-1992). She tried to shed her "nice girl" image by appearing in several films targeted at adults, such as Casualties of Love: The Long Island Lolita Story (1992), Embrace of the Vampire (1994), Confessions of Sorority Girls (1994), Deadly Sins (1995), and Poison Ivy II: Lily (1995), where she starred opposite Johnathon Schaech and Xander Berkley. She gained more mainstream success in TV as Jennifer Mancini on Melrose Place (1997-1998), Meg Winston in Spin City and most notably as Phoebe Halliwell on Charmed (1998-2006). Both Milano and Holly Marie Combs became producers for Charmed during the show's fifth season. Milano played the role of Eva Savealot in MCI's 1-800-COLLECT commercials.

On stage, she starred in Tender Offer, a one-act play written by Wendy Wasserstein, All Night Long, and the first American musical adaptation of Jane Eyre. She returned to her theater roots in 1991, when she starred in and produced a Los Angeles production of Butterflies Are Free.

In 2007, Milano began appearing on television commercials for the shaving cream "Veet".


TomC

8 random facts about ColbyPants

Well that little punkass f00 (I mean it in the nicest way possible) Princesse Ecossaise insisted I do this, and so here it goes:

1) My online tag name is derived from a dog I had when I was with my ex-wife, named Colby, who along with my other dog Murphy, I still miss terribly several years later. No, at no time did he ever wear pants.

2) Unlike the Princesse, I adore meat. Not because I have some special hate for animals (actually quite the opposite, I have been known to support the local ASPCA, or Humane Society), but I have to say that a nice juicy Porterhouse Steak (rare) with onions & mushrooms is one of the finest things a person can experience.

3) Up until my divorce, I was a hard core anti smoking Nazi. If you are at this site reading this post, you know why this is hysterical.

4) I am horribly claustrophobic. I am convinced this is why I failed Spanish repeatedly in HS, and history on college (anxiety from being in classrooms with no windows). The weird part is that I never had this issue as a kid (loved hide and seek, loved exploring caves) it came as I got older.

5) I pride myself on being open-minded, but know deep in my heart I could never be in a relationship with a New York Yankee Fan. (though I don't have to worry about that anymore cause I have a lovely girl who roots for the Indians!).

6) I got to meet Allen Ginsberg when I was in 9th grade, who was probably the coolest well known person I ever met. He read my favorite poem of his that night at the reading that followed just because I asked. Too Cool.

7) I read all the Baby Sitters Club books as a kid. Yep. Me. Heh.

8) I like International Soccer more than American Football. Shhh. don't tell anyone!


TomC

Friday, June 22, 2007

Montecristo White Rotchilde

5" X 52, Natural


Quick review on this pretty little stick. I was distracted at the time of smoking so I could not give it the full work up. That said it was worth mentioning. Its a nice medium stick at that burns well and has notes of cedar and spice. Good stuff all around.

TomC




Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Montecristo No. 4

Origin: Cuba
Name:
No.4
Format: Mareva

Ring Gauge:
42
Length:
12.90 cm / 5.0 in
Weight: 8.46 gr.

Info: The Montecristo brand was created in 1935 by Menéndez, García y Cía, then the owners of the popular H. Upmann brand of cigars. Having just purchased the H. Upmann marque from J. Frankau & Co., Menéndez and García decided to produce their own subset of the regular H. Upmann line, called the H. Upmann Montecristo Selection.

The name for the brand was inspired by the Alexandre Dumas, père novel The Count of Monte Cristo, which was supposedly a very popular choice among the torcedores (cigar rollers) in their factory to have read by the lector on the rolling floor.

On the insistence of the John Hunter firm of Great Britain (which would later merge with J. Frankau & Co. to form Hunter & Frankau, Britain's sole importer of Cuban cigars to this day), the name was shortened to simply Montecristo and a new logo was designed for it: the yellow and red "crossed swords" logo the brand still bears today.

Through the efforts of Alfred Dunhill, Ltd., the Montecristo brand became incredibly popular worldwide and to this day accounts for roughly 50% of Habanos SA's worldwide cigar sales, making it the most popular Cuban cigar in the world. After the Cuban Revolution and the nationalization of the cigar industry in Cuba in 1961, Menéndez and García fled to the Canary Islands where they re-established the brand, but were later forced to quit due to copyright disputes with Cubatabaco. In the mid-1970s, the operation was moved to La Romana in the Dominican Republic and released for the US market, where Cuba's rights to the brand weren't recognized due to the embargo. Menéndez, García, y Cía is now owned by Altadis SA, who controls its distribution and marketing in the United States.

The original line had only five numbered sizes, with a tubed cigar added during the 1940s, but otherwise remained unchanged until after nationalization. With Menendez and Garcia gone after 1959, one of the top grade torcedores, José Manuel Gonzalez, was promoted to floor manager and proceeded to breathe new life into the brand. In the 1970s and 1980s, five new sizes were added: the A, the Especial No. 1 and 2, the Joyita, and the Petit Tubo. Three other sizes, the Montecristo No. 6, No. 7, and B, were released but subsequently discontinued, though the B can occasionally be found in very small releases each year in Cuba.

Through the 1970s and 1980s, Montecristo continued to rise in popularity among cigar smokers and firmly entrenched itself as one of Cuba's top selling cigar lines. The Montecristo No. 4 is, itself, the most popular cigar in the world market.

In 2004, another new edition to the regular line was made with the Edmundo, a large robusto-sized cigar, named for the hero of Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, Edmond Dantès.

Montecristo is also regularly chosen to be featured in Habanos SA's annual Edición Limitada selection of cigars with a darker vintage wrapper and there are numerous limited edition releases of special Montecristo cigars for special occasions, anniversaries, the annual Habanos Festival, charities, etc.

Montecristo also produces three machine-made cigarillos: the Mini, the Club, and the Purito.

Appearance: Alas, not every cigar can be a beauty queen, and that was the case with this cigar. Rustic and toothy looking, this cigar kinda reminds you that this is an organic, handmade product. The wrapper was a nice medium brown color and there didn't seem to be any veins to it. That said it wasn't a particularly smooth or even looking cigar.

Pre-Light: This cigar smelled exactly as a Habano should, with wafts of that classic "barnyard" earthiness. Clip was easy and flush and beautiful, with the Credo. Prelight draw was a bit tight, and yielded more of that earthiness, and some smoky woodiness.

Burn/Draw: Before getting into this I have to say that more than almost any other cigar (and definitely more than any other Habano), the construction on the Monte 4 can be a bit of a crap shoot. I have probably smoked about a box worth of these cigars over the years, and about half of these have had a noticeably tight draw. A bigger concern is 4-5 of the Monte 4s I have smoked were outright plugged. I don't know what the deal with these cigars is, but they can be a construction issue. That said, the draw on this particular stick was noticeably tight as well, to the point where it affected the burn. It was not horrible to the point where the cigar was unsmokeable, but the cigar did require several touch ups. The funky burn and draw did not seem to affect the smoke to adversely, as with a bit of effort the cigar produced a fair amount of white billowing smoke.

Flavors: This cigar makes a good entry point for the new smoker into the world of Habanos. The dominant note down the whole length of the stick was that classic Cuban earthiness that carried over from the pre light. There was also that nice smokey woodiness, and some peppery spiciness at the end. This is the workman of Cuban stogies, where it finds the notes that suit it well and does not deviate from them much. That is okay though, the flavors are good ones. Another thing that should be noted is that this cigar comes across as rather muted in strength as compared to some of the other major players (PSD4, Epi2, etc.) of the Habano world. Still flavorful but it wont't knock you for a loop like some other sticks will. Overall this is one of the staples of Cuban cigars, and good to have around, especially if you are new to Habanos.

TomC

Cigar Etiquette


In 1967, a man called Zino Davidoff published a now-famous essay for cigar connoisseurs. It includes a charter and code for cigar smokers everywhere, telling them how they should behave when smoking or preparing to smoke their cigars. As to his reasons for publishing what is effectively a guide to cigar etiquette, Davidoff has this to say:

“The important thing to remember is that we cigar aficionados should present ourselves as considerate and understanding individuals. Changing people’s preconceived notions and giving the growing numbers of aficionados a good name is well worth that little extra effort.”

Davidoff featured the following Dos and Don'ts for smoking cigars in public.

Do:

* Warm the foot of the cigar slightly before starting to puff on it.
* Remove the band carefully after lighting the cigar.
* Take your time in smoking it; a puff a minute is about right.
* Hold the cigar between your index finger and thumb.
* Let the cigar die a dignified death. After it's smoked half way, it will go out on its own.
* Dispose of the dead cigar discreetly and quickly.
* Wait at least fifteen minutes between cigars; anything less indicates obsessive behavior.

Don't:

* Use a penknife to cut or a lance to pierce the end of the cigar.
* Touch the flame directly to the foot of the cigar: Instead, simply rotate it around the edge till it starts to burn, then puff lightly.
* Ask someone else for a light (the lighting of a cigar should be a personal affair).
* Light your cigar too quickly or too slowly.
* Indulge in exhibitionism in lighting or any other aspect of smoking.
* Relight your cigar if less than one quarter of it is leaf.
* Put the cigar in your mouth to relight it. Just scrape off the ash and turn it in the flame for several seconds till it relights.
* Clench it between your teeth. Likewise do not get the end of the cigar wet, chew it, or slobber on it.
* Smoke too quickly.
* Use a cigar holder, or worse, stick a toothpick or matchstick in the end of the cigar to help hold it in your mouth.
* Dunk your cigar in port or brandy, a habit attributed to Winston Churchill.
* Smoke while working.
* Hold a cigar between your index and middle finger.
* Smoke when you're walking.
* Smoke more than half the cigar.
* Put the cigar out by crushing it in an ashtray.
* Chain-smoke cigars.


I don't agree with all of his rules, but its a good guideline for the basics.

TomC

Monday, June 18, 2007

AVO L.E. 07

Strength: 5 5/8" x 48
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Filler: Dominican Piloto, San Vicente
Binder: Dominican Olor

The highly-anticipated Avo L.E. 07 cigars have arrived in a limited edition production of only 4,000 boxes. The cigars, which are only available in local cigar stores, are presented cabinet style (no cello) in a wooden box of 20 cigars without bands.

Appearance: Another pretty medium brown stick. With just the right amount of give to it it really did look like a well constructed cigar that just begged to be lit.

Pre-Light: Clip was easy, and pre light draw seemed good. The pre light draws yielded faint spicy and tangy notes.

Burn/Draw: The burn and draw on this cigar was flawless. Burn was razor straight the whole way down, never mind no real issues, there really wasn't any deviance from razor straight. The draw was just perfect and yielded tons of cool white, rich and round smoke. The ash was pretty bright white and held well.

Flavors: This cigar started with a band, exploding onto the palate with peppery spiciness and a rich tanginess. This tanginess was unusual, it tasted kinda like home made sweet and sour sauce. Almost. This rich tangy spiciness continued for most of the first half of the cigar, at a medium full flavor medium full bodied pace. It also had notes of woodiness and a sweet rawhide (like a baseball) quality. Then at the halfway point, POOF!. Gone. The cigar lost all of its strength. It was still rich and round in the mouth (medium full bodied), but the strength dropped away to Macanudo mild. There was still some okay noted to it, some sweet half and half creaminess, but all of the spiciness and tanginess were GONE! Also, during the last third of the cigar there was a slightly disturbing hint of a vegetal note that crept in, but nothing too bothersome. Over all this was a pretty good cigar, but the sudden drop off in strength was just weird.

TomC

Don Pepin Garcia Serie JJ Sublime

Country: USA
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo long-leaf tobacco
Size: Sublime, 6.0″ x 54

Appearance:
Hmmmm. . . this is one average looking stogie. Not beautiful and glistening and smooth like some of the beauts I have been smoking recently. But not rough and rustic looking either. It just looks like an average looking cigar with a pretty looking band.

Pre-Light: Clip was easy. The pre light draw is free and easy and had notes of tangyness and pepper.

Burn/Draw: This is the part where the cigar shined. Despite the rather pedestrian look of this stick, it burned near perfect the whole way down. The draw was free and easy and produced volumes of cool, white smoke. The ash was firm and white and held till I didn't want it to any longer.

Flavors: Evidently this cigar line is supposed to be the cream of the Don Pepin crop. i do not know if I agree with this assertion. It is a bit more refined than the blue & black labels, inasmuch as it is rounder in the mouth and a bit milder than those lines. The flavor profile was rather simple. Rich and peppery, with some nice spicy pepper. the problem is, is that it really didn't develop much from there. Overall, it was a pleasant experience, but not really worth the price of admission.

TomC

Jessica Biel (Redux)

Jessica Claire Biel (born March 3, 1982) is an American actress and former fashion model probably best known for her role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven and appeared in several Hollywood feature films, including Summer Catch, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and The Illusionist.

It wasn't until Biel attended the International Modeling & Talent Association Convention in Los Angeles in 1994 when her career started to take off as a fashion model. However, her big break came when at 14 years old she landed the role of Mary Camden on the WB TV Series 7th Heaven. The family drama from Aaron Spelling and Brenda Hampton became the most popular (and remains the longest running) series on the fledgling network. Jessica's film career also began at age 15 when she played alongside Peter Fonda in his Golden Globe winning performance in Ulee's Gold (1997). Aside from acting, Jessica became a spokesmodel for L'Oreal cosmetics in 2002.

In 2000, Biel posed topless in a layout of Gear magazine. It was controversial because she was only 17 at the time of the shoot. Her frustration and fear about being typecast was one of the reasons that led to her decision. She blamed her saintly image on 7th Heaven for limiting her film career, including losing a lead role in American Beauty, which eventually went to Thora Birch. Jessica also hoped that by posing she would get out of her 7th Heaven contract, which she accomplished. She later said she regretted posing for the magazine and regards it as a learning experience. Jessica returned to 7th Heaven full time for the 2001—2002 season and then focused her attention on her movie career and has made minimal TV appearances since then.

After her departure from 7th Heaven she accepted projects mainly geared to teens and young adults including Summer Catch (2001), The Rules of Attraction (2002) and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). The movies were met with mild reaction from the box office and received mixed reviews, with at least as many negative as positive ones as well. She has also had starring roles in Blade: Trinity (2004) and Stealth (2005), the latter of which was a box-office flop, losing a significant amount of money. Biel was also rumored to be up for the part of Elizabeth in The Fog (a part originated by scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis). Later reports stated Biel did not want to do any more horror films. The part eventually went to Maggie Grace of Lost. Turning down the role proved to be a wise move: the remake was a box office flop, which had been predicted by various critics, as the film was not screened for the press prior to its release. After a nearly three year absence, Jessica surprised her fans by making one final appearance in the series finale of 7th Heaven in May 2006. The series was later renewed, at last minute, for an 11th season. Biel has not made any future appearances as of early 2007. After several indifferent feature films, her film career finally blossomed when she played a turn-of-the-century duchess in The Illusionist (2006), which received good reviews and generated a profit at the box office.

Her latest film, Home of the Brave (2006), about soldiers returning from Iraq, premiered in Los Angeles on December 5, 2006.

She'll next star opposite Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore in Next (2007), a science fiction action film based on The Golden Man, a short story by noted author Philip K. Dick. She will also star opposite Adam Sandler in the comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and in A Woman of No Importance, taking over Lindsay Lohan's part, since the latter recently dropped out of the project.

I did an older post on Ms. Biel, if you are interested, as well.


TomC