"The Kids" Take On An Oliva Serie V Lancero!

Good Times,

TomC

More Humidor pRon!

My Friend MikeD made me promise I would post more pics of my Antietam Cabinet once I got it stocked with cigars, well who am I to refuse a request.

(From The Front)
(Look at all the Goodies!)
(Top Drawer.)
(Bottom (Drawer.)

Well there you have it, a meaningless, self aggrandizing post! But stay tuned, because tonight there will be a review of the much talked about Padron 1926 Serie, 80 years! I bet you cannot wait!

TomC

Building Lather/ "SOTD"

Well I must say, I am really enjoying this foray into traditional shaving techniques. I have been at it almost two weeks now, and while I have not achieved "Baby's Behind Smooth" shaves yet I can tell you that three things are true:

1) I enjoy shaving a lot more now than I ever did in the past, in fact I look forward to it on occasion now.

2) I can get about as good a shave now as I usually got with a Mach 3 Razor, and with less irritation in the end.

3) I am sure I will only improve with time.

I think one of my biggest problems to date is figuring out how much water to put in the shaving cream while lathering (I think I may be putting too much), and so for my benefit and your interest, I put another of our pal "mantic59" videos at the top of this post, this time the one that focuses entirely on lathering.

One of the common things discussed on forums for wetshavers is a persons "SOTD". That is their "Shave Of The Day". Many of these folks have been at it a lot longer than me, and can produce many variations of razors, blades, soaps, creams, and aftershaves. I cannot do this yet, so I will give you essentially the setup I have been using to practice technique with:

Pre Shave:
Warm Shower
Hot towel
Musgo Real Pre Shave Oil (Didn't Use Today)

Razor:
Gillette Knack (kindly gifted by a friend)
Derby Extra Super Stainless Blades

Cream:
Musgo Real (surprise, surprise)

Post Shave:
Musgo Real Classic Aftershave (I must say that I really prefer their Balsam for its skin protection, though the smell of the aftershave is amazing!).

Yeah I know its not very creative (yet), but I bet the collection of things to try will grow in time. I hear its good to stay consistent when learning shaving form, so we shall stick with this stuff for a while, and its a lovely combination, if you ask me. Now on to the Action Shots!

Soaking the brush in warm water while I take a shower.
It really does not take much of the cream to do the job at hand!
See, a little bit goes a long way! Though I think I may have put too much water in it this time. Some experimentation may be in order here.
Goes on the face nice and slick, providing a relatively close and comfortable shave! (I added a bit more after this shot was taken ;) ).

Needless to say I am hooked, so you may be stuck hearing about this more often. That said I have bored you all enough for tonight.

Hope all is well,

TomC

La Flor Dominicana "El Jocko" Maduro

Country: Dominican Republic
Length/Ring: 4 1/2" x 32/54
Shape: Perfecto
Wrapper: Maduro

Construction: I have never really had a construction issue with any LA Flor Dominicana cigars, and this one is no different. The construction on this perfecto was spot on. Both firmly and evenly packed, there were no soft spots to be found. The rich dark chocolate wrapper was smoot and without flaws, and glistened with essential oils.

Pre-Light: The clip was simple and clean. The pre light draw was just right. This draw yielded notes of sweet tobacco, earthiness, and dark roasted coffee.

Burn/Draw: The burn on this cigar was great. On occasion, perfecto shaped cigars will burn a bit funky at the beginning, but that was not the case with this cigar. The burn line generally stayed straight, and self corrected the few times it wandered at all. The draw was just as it should be, it offered a tiny bit of resistance, so that the burn stayed long and slow, producing volumes of smooth cool blue grey smoke. The ash was very light grey/white and firm. It held as long as I wanted it to.

Flavors: This cigar strikes me as the LFD Chiselito, Lite! The chiselito is one of my all time favorite smokes, but it is VERY STRONG, and not for all occasions. This cigar is a mellower version of that. More of a medium strength smoke, it still displays a lot of the great flavors I love in La Flor Dominicana Maduros. It starts with a light burst of pepper, and then settles in to a lovely earthiness, sweet maduro tobacco flavor that lasts most of the first half of the cigar. At the halfway point, the flavor ramps up a bit, adding a nice french roast coffee note. Over the last third or so of the cigar the flavors are more dry, with some cedar woodiness and the earthiness pushing more to the forefront. Overall, a pretty damn good cigar, and I think a great entry point into La Flor Dominicana's more robust blends. I recommend it, and might just have to buy a box myself!

TomC

Beginnig Wetshaving. . .

(The beginning of what I hope is not ANOTHER obsession!)

It seems to me, in my time as a cigar smoker, that people who enjoy cigars, also enjoy (to whatever degree they can afford) several of the other finer things in life. Whether that be the good company of a herf, an exciting or relaxing lifestyle, the best sports teams, a lovely spirit to accompany a lovely smoke, or anything else that strikes their fancy. Well something I have been made aware of lately that falls into this category is something I have been searching for recently, a decent shave. I have to say for most of my relatively short life I have either sported a (bad, lazily trimmed) beard, or an equally bad, hastily shaven face, covered in bumps and razor burn, and honestly more like stubble than a clean shave. There was a brief time where I tried using a cheap brush from a christmas set I got and Bath & Body Works Shave Cream, but I gave up on that almost as quick as I started. I think they discontinued the line I used anyway. In general, I was young and lazy, and because I really didn't need to shave, I pretty much didn't.

Well recently, realizing I am not as young as I used to be (it is my Birthday today, after all!), along with having a job that requires a clean shave, I have come around to the idea that if I am going to have to shave just about every day, then I might as well finally try to learn how to do it right. Couple that with an affinity for retro lifestyle things in general, and it was inevitably going to lead to one thing, wetshaving. The old school method of shaving with a brush and mug, real shaving soap or cream and a Single Blade Safety Razor. Now, I am slowly easing my way into this pursuit, making sure I do everything right, and while I was searching for information to help me on my path I came aacross agreat set of YouTube Tutorials by a guy who goes by the screen name "mantic59", that I have found to be the absolute best resource so far. He even has a BLOG where he tries his best to answer any questions a n00b like me would have. Well through the joy of the internet, I figure I would share some of the videos that he has posted with you, my readers, to show that, like me, anybody can attempt this and maybe we can even get good enough to enjoy what, for me, has usually been an annoying daily chore.

Today I thought I would post the stuff that coincides with where I am along this journey, the VERY BEGINNING.

(note: I had nothing to do with the creation of any of these videos, and if you like the content they hold, I strongly suggest commenting on either his BLOG or YouTube profile page to that extent!)







I find this all to be terribly interesting, and hope that you do too.

TomC

Bombed By Black Patch Cigars!

Last fall while on a trip to KY I picked up a cigar by the Black Patch Cigar Company, and reviewed it.

Well ever since posting it, I have been in contact from they guy in charge there. Well out of the blue, on Friday, I got a package from Black Patch with samples of thier new stuff, whic i thought was pretty cool, so I thought I would share that generosity with you all. More Black Patch Reviews forthcoming, it seems. . .

TomC

"The Kids" Take On A Nub Habano

I just love these guys, who are at it again:












TomC

My New Humidor And its First Friend

Not much too this post really, just a little cigar pRon! After a long time trying to save for one, I finally purchased an Antietam Cabinet Humidor! And since I didn't want the humidor to feel lonely, here is its first friend, a box of Carlos Torano Signature Churchill. Fun Times!