Alec Bradley Mini Party at The Outlaw

I've become a big fan of The Outlaw's "mini parties." The cigars are just as good and the crowds are MUCH smaller! At the last mini-party I wound up watching basketball with Nestor Miranda! Try that at a BIG Outlaw event!

Anyway, this Saturday starting at 11:00am you can meet and chat with Alan Rubin of Alec Bradley Cigars, taste some fine scotch, and get in on some great cigar deals. All that and smaller crowds? I'll be there!

Xikar at Diebel's

This Thursday the 23rd from 5-8 PM at the Hawthorne Plaza location (119th and Roe), you can get four of the new Xikar HC Series cigars and partake in refreshments and fun for the meager price of $29.50. As usual, attendance is limited and advance tickets (available at either location) are recommended. Additional attractions include 25% off Xikar merchandise, as well as a free lighter ($100 value) with box purchase.

I've never visited the Hawthorne Plaza store; maybe this is the time!

CAO at The Outlaw this Saturday!

Don't miss this one! It should be great!

The Cigar Room, Lees Summit

I had the opportunity today to visit a shop I'd first heard of a couple months ago. In fact, the guy I bought my nice glass-topped humidor from told me about it. It's located at 108 SE 3rd Street, right in the middle of downtown Lees Summit.



Open since December, this little store features a well stocked walk-in humidor and a well appointed smoking lounge in the back. While the decor is a bit spare, they did at least have the requisite cigar store Indian. The prices I noted were well within reason, and everything is marked to eliminate mysteries.


In all, a nice little shop that deserves your patronage! Visit their website at: LeesSummitCigars.com

Hav-a-Tampa closes

(Read the Tampa Tribune story here.)

Hav-a-Tampa is not a big cigar brand, and the cigars they produce are inexpensive machine-made quickies; not at all in the same league as premium hand-mades. Their parent company, Altadis USA, however, is a HUGE cigar company that makes many different brands, premium and otherwise, both in the US and abroad. And very few cigars are made in the US these days because of the high costs.

Now there is one less, and more people unemployed. I guess my only question is: Where will the money come from to support these essential tax-funded programs when nobody smokes anymore?

Keeping Cool

We have no consistent air conditioning at home (seldom-used window units) and the temps inside typically hover around 80-85 degrees during the summer months. We're used to it for the most part, but temperatures like that can spell disaster for your cigars.

The problem isn't the temperature, per-se, but the fact that anything over 73 can lead to the hatching of tobacco beetle eggs. These eggs are so tiny they can't be seen, let alone cleaned off of every leaf. And when the beetle larva hatch they go to town eating your precious cigars!

So, what to do? The coolest, driest place in our house is the basement. A dehumidifier keeps the humidity down, but raises the temp. I'd read about keeping your humidor in a cooler with minimal ice-packs, so that's what I'm trying.

Here's the set-up: an old aluminum cooler with plastic 8x10 developing trays to raise the humidor off the bottom, and a single cooler pack off to the side. I have a darkroom thermometer at humidor height, so we'll see how well this works. I'll let you know.





Necessity is a mother, ain't she?

Tabacos Baez Serie SF

When I heard that Don Pepin Garcia was putting out a new cigar in the $3.00 price range I had to try it. Who wouldn't? The Tabacos Baez line is pretty well established, so would the new Serie SF (Short Fill) be as good? And how would it stack up against other cigars in the $3.00 price range? I had to find out.

Information is hard to come by on this stick. I could assume that the same filler, binder and wrapper are used here as in the regular Tabacos Baez line, but who knows.

That said, here goes . .

Contents: ?
Wrapper: ?
Size: Corona 6x46
Body: Medium
Acquired From: Outlaw Cigar Co.
Price: $3.00
Smoke Time: 1.5 hours


Pre-light
The wrapper was a bit veiny and the cigar felt solid without crunchiness or lumps. The cold draw was a little firm with not much flavor except for a little pepper on the lips and tongue. This draw left a little loose tobacco in my mouth; to be expected I guess.


First Third
The cigar was easy to light and produced a great volume of smoke. Initial flavor profile was of rich tobacco with a hint of pepper in the finish leaving a pleasant sweet leather aroma. Farther in, it progressed to an earthy flavor with a touch of black coffee. The burn line was a bit wavy but was easily corrected by simply turning the cigar as I smoked. This won't be a "long ash" contest winner, but it held its own throughout. Ashing it revealed a perfect cone-shaped burn.


Second Third
The flavors stayed in the same profile but became slightly more bitter; never more than black coffee though, and the body increased to medium. The aroma remained in the same.


Final Third
I noticed a slight increase in pepperiness in the finish, and the flavor seemed to move into more of a coca profile. There was no harshness, though, even to the nub.


Conclusion
This was a very good cigar. I've smoked less impressive sticks at twice the price. And the price cannot be ignored. The $3.00 cost puts it into competition with Curly Heads and the like, and the Tabacos Baez Serie SF blows them away. In fact, I think it may be the best smoke in its price range. There are better cigars at less than twice this price, but the Serie SF is better than half the quality of those. Add to this the fact that I've seen advertised prices online of $37.80 for a box of 20 in this size.

I smoked the Tabacos Baez Serie SF with a lite beer, but I really think it would pair well with morning coffee if you like stronger cigars that early.

Would I smoke this cigar again? Yes
Would I recommend this cigar? Yes. For the price I don't think it can be beat.