MONJOUR PIPE SHOW

Steve Monjour at the Barclay Rex Pipe Show

Howdy all, just got a chance to report back about the Monjour Fall Pipe Show.  Show was held on Thursday December 2nd, 2010 at Barclay Rex 75 Broad Street, NYC from 11am - 6pm.  There were pipes from Brebbia, Ardor and Rinaldi with varying prices.  Steve Monjour, as always, was on hand to answer any questions on the pipes.

There were many lovely pipes, some of which I loved, but were out of my price range.  However I did find another pipe, yet another Brebbia, that is a clear version of my squashed tomato bowl Brebbia I bought at a previous Monjour Pipe Show. (Picture to follow)  

Steve also brought a pipe that was made to be raffled off.  Unfortunately I didn't win the raffled pipe.  Hopefully I'll be able to win one at the next Monjour Pipe Show.

Here is a link to the pictures from the Monjour Pipe Show Monjour Pipe Pictures.

The next event coming down the pipe (no pun intended) is the December New York Pipe Club meeting on December14th, 2010 at Florio's / Three Little Indians in Little Italy.  We'll be tasting two blends from the GL Pease tobacco line.  Hope to see you pipe lovers there.

November Pipe Club meeting

The Author smoking one of his Meerschaums

Hello again, time's sure flying this year.  Here we are again at the November Pipe Club meeting.  Once again we took up residence at Florio's / Three Little Indians for dinner and an evening of pipe smoking.

This month's meeting was jam packed with happenings.   First member Bob Sacks showed the members the Dunhill pipe, created for former president Vernon Vig.  President Lou encouraged the members in attendance to send a contribution so that we could, at a later date, present the pipe to Vernon as a gift from the NYPC.  We also had a raffle for a elegant wooden tamper with granite bit which was won by Gene.  Then we got down to business.

The evening featured some Ashton blends that have been reissued. (For a description of them one can visit the NYPC website New York Pipe Club).  We ha roughly 6 - 7 tins that was sent to us by our contact at McClelland.  We thoroughly enjoyed the sample tins provided.

Yours truly and Mark pitched a few ideas to Peter concerning events we could have at future meetings. Hopefully we can plan these events and hope that the loyal members will be on board.

As always a fun time was had by all in attendance.  Here's the link to the pictures so you can re-live the event, if you were there, or see what you missed if you were unable to attend. NYPC Pictures

Well that's all for now, will keep my ear to the cigar / pipe ash to see if any events are in the works.

Review: Rocky Patel Cigar Event

Event Poster on the door to the humidor

Hi again folks, your friendly neighborhood cigar and pipe reviewer coming to you from the Starbucks a blog away from Barclay Rex's main store on Broad Street in NYC.  I have been lapsing in writing this review about the Rocky Patel Cigar Event that took place September 30th, 2010 at 2 of Barclay Rex's locations.  The first being the Broad Street Store and the second being the much smaller 42nd Street location.  I was feeling lazy that morning, as it was two days after my birthday, so I decided to go to the 42nd Street store for the event.

I arrived at the store at approximately 3pm and was greeted by Mr. Patel standing outside smoking a cigar (one of his own).  The event was a buy 3 get 1 free.  I purchased 2 of The Edge and 1 of the Patel Brothers cigars.  The complimentary cigar was the 1961.   Since I have enjoyed the other 3 in the past I decided to give this one a try.  True to the brand this one was just a good as the others.  It is an even fuller body than the others in the Rocky Patel line.  I thoroughly enjoyed this cigar and will review it at a later date for my loyal followers.

Rocky Patel standing behind the counter speaking to a customer

I had the opportunity to speak to Mr. Patel, who I have meet some years before at the Big Smoke NYC, and we were talking about his cigar line.  He said that the Sumatra line are one of the strongest he's manufactured to date and since I like a full bodied cigar I should give this one a try.  Will have to try this one at a later date and post a review of it to this blog site.  Blow are some of the pictures I took at the event which shows some of his cigars, lighters, cutters and a signature humidor that can hold approximately 100 cigars.

 A Rocky Patel signature table lighter

The Rocky Patel 15th Anniversary Cigar with the 1961 and Signature Cutter

 A few of the cigars in his line including the 1961

 The Limited Edition Decade Cigar

The 5 Year Old Edge cigar with a warning label 

The Rocky Patel Signature Humidor

It was a great event, only wished that I could have gotten down to the Broad Street Store as it's the larger of the two stores.  However I enjoyed smoking the 1961 and as I said before I will try to smoke another one and post a review on this blog site.  However subsequently, at the October NY Pipe Club meeting, I was able to obtain a Rocky Patel 1990 Anniversary cigar and was blown away at how full bodied this cigar is.  Review of this one to follow.

Barclay Rex will be hosting the Savinelli  Pipe show this upcoming Thursday October 28th at the Broad Street Store and on October 29th at the 42nd Street Store from 11am - 5pm.  Will try to attend either of these dates and post a review of the show.

That's all folks!! (stealing the line from Porky Pig).  As always will keep my ear to the cigar / Pipe ash to see if there's any events happening in the near future.

OCTOBER PIPE CLUB MEETING

Author's Club Meerschaum with white gloves

Well, I was just looking at my blog site and realized that the last posting was about the August Pipe Club picinic .  We got a nice turn out at this meeting including member Dominick who, for work reasons, missed the last two meetings.

A lot has happened since the September meeting.   The Club Meerschaum, ordered back in June, finally arrived from the Turkish Carver which look very good.  Peter Guss brought the pipes along with pairs of white gloves (to honor the old fashion meerschaum smoking tradition).  He also brought some tobacco blends made by McClelland in tribute to some of the old Dunhill blends.  The blends we tried are AM Pipe a clone of Dunhill's Early Morning Pipe (EMP),  PM Pipe a clone of Dunhill's Nightcap and 925 a clone of Dunhill's 965.

Also we have chosen the blends that will eventually become the official New York Pipe Club blends.  The three selected are the VaPerOr blend (Virginia #2), The Balkan #1 (The English #1) blend and the Cigar leaf blend (Sailorman Jack blend).  At the meeting President Lou Carbon said that we would also add the Virginia #1 (Straight Virginia) blend as well.  We have decided that the VaPerOr and the English #1 need to be tweaked further to see if we can improve the blends.  For the VaPerOr we will increase the Oriental component.  For the English #1 we will increase the Latakia component.  Hopefully we'll get two blends that meet the Club members approval.  We should be able to re-taste them, before we make a final decision, to see if they are to our liking. We will also come up with names and artwork that will go on the final packaging. Cornell and Deihl will be the company that will tin the final blends for retail sale.

The night ended with the remaining members, Harvey, Hank, Lou, Liam, Dom and yours truly putting down our pipes.  No we weren't quitting pipe smoking but we had some great cigars that Liam and Avi had brought along.   Liam brought three anniversary Padron cigars 1966, 1965 and 1964 (44yr, 45yr and 46yr) and Avi brought yours truly a 1990 Rocky Patel cigar (20yr).  We enjoyed the last of the evening with these wonderful cigars and then closed out the October Pipe Club meeting.

For those who wish to see the pictures here's the link to them  October Pipe Club Pictures.  Enjoy the pictures.

Well as always I will keep an ear to the cigar / pipe ash to see if any events come up before the November Pipe Club Meeting.

NYPC Summer Picnic

Country Gentleman Corn Cob Pipe

Howdy all, I finally acquired the link to the pictures from the NYPC second annual picnic held at Todd's house in New Jersey.  The link is NYPC Summer Picnic.  Enjoy the pictures if you didn't attend the meeting or if you did it'll be a trip down memory lane.

In the next few days I'll be posting a review of the NYPC September meeting complete with a link to the pictures.  As always I'll be keeping my ear to the Cigar / Pipe Ash to listen for any news on upcoming events.

As always enjoy your smokes, whether it be pipes or cigars.  Until next time

NY Pipe Club Summer Picnic

Corn Cob Pipe showing The Club Name

Another view of the Corn Cob Pipe showing the date

A big shout out to all my loyal followers.  Here we are post Labor Day and it's a rather cool evening here in New York and I am just sitting down to write my review of the NY Pipe Club's second annual picnic held on Saturday August 14th, 2010.  The picnic was once again held at member Todd Platek's house in beautiful Berkeley Heights New Jersey.  Todd was nice enough again, he must love doing this, to open his house and yard to the New York Pipe Club members and their families to enjoy a day filled with food, booze and of course plenty of pipe smoking. 

The day turned out to be a gorgeous day with overcast skies and low humidity.  We were able to sit in the backyard amongst the trees and enjoy the great food and drink.  Club member Avi and I meet in Queens and we drove out to Todd's house arriving there about 1:30pm.  Since this was a BYOB (bring your own booze) event Avi brought a six pack of beer and yours truly brought, which was well received, a bottle of Knob Creek Single Batch Bourbon.

Lou Carbon, Club President, brought his two sons plus the blends from Russ for us to sample again, and for those who were not at the August meeting so we could try them and decide which blends would become the official New York Pipe Club blends. Also Peter Guss brought the official New York Pipe Club Corn Cob pipes and a bunch of aromatics that we could smoke in the corn cobs so as not to gunk up our more elegant pipes.

Todd was nice enough to provide the food for the event as well as sodas.  The food consisted of hot dogs, burgers, hot and sweet Italian sausages, ribs, pork chops and corn on the cob.  He also provided chips to accompany the beer and bourbon.  The picnic lasted well past sunset and the guys were having such a grand time that we all decided to light up another bowl to end such a glorious evening.  I ended the the evening smoking a bowl of Cornell and Deihl's Gentleman Caller which has a Deer Tongue Perique as one of the blends.  

As the evening wore on club members Dan and Alan treated us to some impromptu live music with Alan playing his flute and Dan playing his bongo drums.  They played a number of songs including, one of my favorites, their rendition of Dizzy Gillespie's A Night In Tunisia.

I sampled the Straight Virginia blend but was underwhelmed and decided to take a sample to smoke at a later date.  As I am writing this review I have tried the Straight Virginia again and enjoyed it enough that I will vote for it as one of the Official Pipe Club Blends.

I will try to post pictures from the picnic for all my readers to see and for those members who were unable to attend the picnic.

Well I will close this post now only to say that I will be attending the September meeting of the New York Pipe Club which will be held on Tuesday September 14th, 2010 at Florio's in Little Italy.  Hopefully we'll get the Club meerschaum which we ordered back at the June 2010 meeting.

I have heard through the cigar and pipe ash that Barclay Rex is planning, for the end of September, a cigar event featuring Rocky Patel cigars.  They have contacted Rocky Patel to see if he can fit it into his schedule to appear at this event.  No word on whether he's accepted the invitation but one can only hope.

Until next time I bid you happy smoking.

Review: NY Pipe Club August Meeting

The author at the March meeting smoking a Peterson Sitter 

Hi all, just got a free moment to bring you some wonderful news from the NY Pipe Club's August meeting.  We met at Florio's in Little Italy for a wonderful Italian meal and another fun night of pipe smoking.  This night was unlike any other night that I've had the pleasure to attend.  We had a special guest.  Russ Ouellette from Habana Premium Pipe and Cigar Shop, in Albany New York, was our special guest for the evening.  He brought six different pipe tobacco blends three of which will become the official NY Pipe Club blends.

I had the pleasure of trying two of the blend, being the Virginia / Oriental / Perique  blend and the Burley #1 blend.  These two blends were interesting blends that smoked very well in the two pipes I loaded them into.  The Burley blend is one that I would recommend to any pipe smoker who wants a blend that they can smoke all day without getting tired of them.

This coming Saturday we'll be attending the second annual club picnic where we'll be able to try all the blends.  Also those members that were unable to attend the monthly meeting will be able to try the blends as well.  I will be trying the aromatics as well as the the Straight Virginia blend plus the other burley blend.

Once we've all had our chance to try these six blends we will, as a club, decide on the three blends that will go into official production as the NY Pipe Club blends. The chosen blends will be tinned by Cornell and Dehil and will be available for sale to the general public which a portion of each sale going to the NY Pipe Club.

Looking forward to the picnic as this is my first one and will report back from the picnic with pictures and a detailed review of the blends that we're reviewing to become the Club blends.

The cigar ash has told me that Barclay Rex, Broad Street Store in NYC, will be hosting a Drew Estates cigar event on the 25th of August.  I will try to attend the event as I haven't smoke a Drew Estate cigar and will be looking forward to sampling this cigar and report back to my readers.

Review: La Flor Dominicana DL-700 Maduro

La Flor DL700 Maduro before smoking

Hi all, at long last on a nice and balmy NYC August evening I had the time to really enjoy the  DL700 Maduro and with a clear head which allowed me to compose, finally, my review of this wonderful cigar.  The cigar comprises of a Dominican binder and filler with an Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper.

PRE-BURN

Upon inspecting the cigar I found it to be well constructed.  The wrapper was dark in appearance, thanks to the Sun Grown Ecuadorian wrapper, with noticeable veins present.  In feeling the cigar it was firm to the touch with no soft sport present.  In putting the cigar to the nose I detected a hint of sweetness(cocoa) with an earthiness (hay and leather) as well.  Cutting the cigar with my trusty V-cutter and tasting it before lighting it gave me the aforementioned flavors plus a hint of chili pepper.  I was excited to see what flavors would emerge once I put flame to the cigar,

BURN

Upon putting flame to the cigar and taking the first puff I was greeted by a smoothness and the sweetness noted on the pre-burn was present as well.  This lasted thru approx an inch or so when the spiciness reasserted itself and hung on till I got to the second third.

The second third allowed the sweetness and the earthiness to shine thru while the spiciness disappeared.   The smoke produced was voluminous and hung around the face till the breeze blew it away.  The ash hung on for a good inch until gravity, a cigar smokers worst enemy, took over and it fell to the ground.  The cigar required frequent touch ups but that did not detract from the cigar in anyway.

The final third had the reappearance of the spiciness which was noticeable but not as pronounced as the Oscuro line.  Also the full body flavor of this smoke came thru on the final third which, for this reviewer, was welcomed.  As I smoked this down to the nub and beyond the hint of spiciness was welcomed and has become a hallmark of Lito's stronger smoke.


My hat's off to Lito and his wonderful team for creating yet another wonderful cigar which is a welcomed addition to the line of fine cigars.  Overall this is one smoke along with the non Maduro DL700 will become staples in my smoking arsenal.

One caveat: THIS is not a cigar for the novice or those who do not like a strong smoke.  Experienced smokers will enjoy the complex flavors this cigar has to offer.  A word of warning: This is a smoke, like the Patel Bros cigar reviewed earlier, that one should not smoke on an empty stomach as you may be overwhelmed and not be able to properly enjoy this smoke.

Until the next pipe club meeting which is just a week away, I bid you all good safe smoking.  As always I have my ear to the Cigar Ash to see if events, besides the ones that have surfaced, come to the surface.

Review: Rocky Patel's Patel Bros Toro Cello

Patel Bros Toro Cello

Hi again folks, I know I said in my last Tweet I said I'd be reviewing the La Flor Dominicana DL700 Maduro.  Well that review is in the works and will appear at a later date.

Today I'll be reviewing the Patel Bros Toro Cello cigar. This is the second one I smoked and have been impressed with this cigar line. This cigar is a Toro shaped cigar measuring 6 inches by a 52 ring gauge.  It is manufactured in Nicaragua comprising of Nicaraguan filler and binder with a Pennsylvania wrapper giving it a maduro color.

PRE-BURN

The cigar is a nicely constructed toro which provided ample flavors on the initial nose.  I has a woodsy flavor with a hint of sweetness.  Also it has a strong peppery flavor that I'd compare to snuff (not having done the stuff tho) which made me sneeze twice (imho a good thing).

BURN

Upon lighting the cigar I was presented with the sweetness plus the spiciness was present though the first two thirds.  It produced voluminous amounts of smoke and a nice grayish-black ash that hung on for a good inch, before succumbing to the effects of gravity before falling off.  The spiciness disappeared for the last third, but reappeared once I hit the nub section providing a great finish.

Overall this is a well blended and constructed smoke and imho another good smoke from the Patel line.  I would recommend this to anyone who is looking for a full bodied smoke and has some time to savor the complex flavors it presents.

Well the Cigar Ash has been very active and has presented three events upcoming for the month of August.  On August 10th I'll be attending the NY Pipe Club meeting where, hopefully, we'll be getting the club meerschaum we ordered back at the July meeting.  Also on Saturday August 14th we be attending the second annual Pipe Club picnic being held at member Todd Platek's  NJ home.  Hopefully we'll have great weather for the event where we'll be smoking corn cob pipes with, as always, some wonderful aromatics.  Also Barclay Rex will be hosting a Joya De Nicaragua event towards the end of the month.

Will report back from all events as time permits.  Looks to be a fun month for us pipe and cigar lovers.  Will Report back soon.

Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Maduro Cigar Review

Cigar before smoking

Hey all, standing in Times Square after a less than productive Saturday night, I figured it was time to relax and review the Indian Tabac Super Fuerte Maduro Toro Cigar. Super Fuerte translates to Super Strong.

The cigar is comprised of a mix of Honduran, Nicaraguan and Costa Rican tobaccos with a maduro wrapper. It is produced in Honduras and is also box pressed.

This cigar is made by legendary cigar maker Rocky Patel. It's a nicely constructed cigar with an oily wrapper.  It comes in at 6" with a 52 ring gauge which is right in this reviewer's neighborhood.

PRE-BURN

Putting the cigar to my nose revealed a nice strong tobacco flavor hinting of things to come. Construction of this cigar is solid, with no soft spots.  Cutting the head with my mahogany V cutter again spoke to the cigar's construction. A taste before putting flame to the cigar again hinted at what's in store.

BURN

After lighting the cigar and taking the first puff I was in cigar heaven.  I haven't smoked one of these in a few years and it brought back memories of meeting Rocky at the big smoke in 2008.  But I digress, back to the review.

The cigar produced volumes of smoke and a nice woodsy flavor that's pleasing on the pallet. It also produced a nice grayish-black ash that hung on for about an inch before falling off due to gravity.  The burn was a tad uneven  but easily fixed and didn't affect the cigar in any way.

Cigar  at the first third showing the lovely grayish-black ash

The first third was uneventful in flavor but it did produce mouthfuls of wonderful smoke throughout.

Cigar in the final third

The second and third thirds is where this cigar began to show itself. It produced a wonderful spiciness coupled with a hint of sweetness (cocoa) underneath that last right through the second and third portions. This was enjoyable right down to the nub.

Overall this cigar delivered what it promised, even though it wasn't as Super Strong as labeled. However I enjoyed it thoroughly and I will gladly smoke this one again in the future. I would recommend this cigar to anyone who enjoys a medium to full bodied smoke.

One caveat to keep in mind, this cigar is not one that you can quickly smoke as you won't enjoy the complex flavors that occur. This cigar, depending on how quickly you smoke requires a minimum of one hour from start to finish.

I will definitely be adding this one to my repertoire as I enjoyed almost every inch of this cigar.

Until either the cigar ash gets wind of another tasting event or I get another fabulous cigar to rave about, I will be trying to stay cool during this New York heatwave.

July Pipe Club Meeting

Some of the New York Pipe Club Members

Hey all, it looks to be a warm and miserable day here in NYC perfect time while still in my air conditioned room to write my latest post on the July New York Pipe Club meeting.  

As always the meeting took place at Florio's Italian Restaurant, 192 Grand Street NYC.  At this meeting we tried four blends from the L.J. Peretti Company located in Boston MA.  Here is the description from their website:

TASHKENT: Named for "The most beautiful city in Central Asia", this spicy, full flavored blend is made from Izmir Turkish and Latakia

PARK SQUARE: Red Virginia, Matured Virginia, and Stoved Virginia are delicately spiced with just the right amount of Perique to create a rich and complex blend whose character evolves and emerges throughout the bowl.

ROYAL BLEND: A blend of the choicest matured Virginian and the finest Oriental tobaccos.  It contains a high percentage of the finest Yenidje (Turkish) leaf.

BLEND No. 333: A splendid blend for those who like a fairly heavy tobacco that is not aromatic, but is full of flavor.  Very slow burning and cool.

We also placed orders for the club meerschaum which is going to be a fluted dublin with a silver band and an earth-toned mottled stem.  According to Peter Guss we should see these pipes by the August meeting.  If not we'll definitely have them by the September meeting.

A good time was had by all and we, those who ordered the club pipe, are looking forward to receive the club pipe.

Well this is the end for now, will keep my ear to the cigar / pipe ash to see if any events transpire. 

3rd Brebbia Pipe Review

Hey again, I figured today was a good day to start writing my review of my latest pipe acquisition.  It is a rather steamy day here in NYC with the temperatures slated to hit 101F

A while back, as reported in an earlier post, at the Monjour Pipe Trunk Show I fell in love with, now my fourth straight pipe in my collection.  It is a Canadian style pipe with the same cut pattern as my previous Brebbia squashed tomato pipe.

I've had a few opportunities to smoke this pipe and it smokes as well as my other Brebbias.  This pipe has a nice  9mm bowl which allows me to pack it with a good amount of tobacco.  I have smoked both aromatic and non-aromatic tobaccos in this pipe with no noticeable tongue bite.

According to the Cigar Ash there will be a cigar event at Barclay Rex (75 Broad Street NYC) this coming Friday July 9th.  I will try to attend this event and report back to you with the details

Also will be attending the July New York Pipe Club meeting this coming Tuesday the 13th where we'll be sampling, yet again, new and unusual tobaccos.  Also we'll be placing our orders for the New York Pipe Club's meerschaum pipe.  I will try to get some photographs of the sample pipe so I can post it here for you to see.

Until we meet again, hopefully it won't be as steamy then.  CIAO.

MONJOUR PIPE SHOW

Hi all, just getting a few minutes to put digital pen to paper to write about the Monjour Pipe Show.  The show took place on Friday June 11th, 2010 from 11am - 6pm at Barclay Rex, 75 Broad Street NYC.  As always Steve Monjour, the representative for Brebia, Rinaldo and Ardor, was on hand to answer any questions about any of the pipes.

There were, as always, some rather unique pipes including two with bowls so large that they could be used as a weapon.  There were a few that I saw that I really liked, but they were out of my price range.  I did find one, within my price range, that I purchased.  It has the same pattern as my squashed tomato bowl but this one is a straight pipe in what is called a Canadian style as the bowl has a canter that tilts the bowl away from the stem.  Will have pictures and a review once I get a chance to enjoy a few bowls in this wonderful pipe.

Here are pictures from the pipe show so can see the wonderful pipes. See images here: Monjour Pipe Show.

Well that's all she wrote, whatever that means, from the Monjour Pipe Show.   I will see what the cigar ash has in store for us in the coming days.  If nothing occurs I'll report back with my review of my 3rd Brebia Pipe in the coming days.

June Pipe Club Meeting

Hi all, it's been a while since I posted anything to the blog. I've had an interesting couple of months off, heading back to Jamaica, the island not Jamaica NY,  to celebrate my grandmother's 98th birthday (who'd believe that) and just lazing around smoking my pipes and the occasional cigar.   I thought this would be a good time to get back into the swing of blogging once again.

Tuesday June 8th, 2010 was the 6th meeting for the calendar year and an important milestone. We had the passing of the ceremonial smoking fez from our past president Vernon Vig to our newly elected president Lou Carbone. We all raised our pipes in honor of Lou officially taking the reigns as president.

In addition to the usual smoking and eating we had a few special things at this meeting. First we had a raffle where the prizes offered were: an NY Pipe Club hat, 3 pipes used in the slow smoke contest at the major shows, a few t-shirts from various pipe organizations, a hand drawn chart showing the different types of Dunhill Pipes and a leather tobacco and pipe pouch.

Our new president secured 4 different varieties of Uhle pipe tobacco. I secured two of them to try at my leisure to see how they smoke. One was called Bishop's Move and the other is called Perfect Plug.  Will smoke them and post a review here on the blog.

Peter Guss presented the club's 2010 pipe that'll be made for those interested. This year's pipe will be a meerschaum, not too ornate, with a tam and white stem. Price is set at $75, but Peter will send out an email with a link so those not in attendance can see the pipe and decide by the July meeting if they'd be interested in purchasing one. This reviewer has expressed an interest in purchasing one to add to my collection.  Here's the link to the New York Pipe Club's Site NY Pipe Club so you check out the site in general as well as see the 2010 Meerschaum that will be produced for the Pipe Club.

We ended the meeting with a discussion as to the dates for the summer picnic. I suggested that a couple of dates be sent out to the group and see which garners the most votes.

Well that's all for now until the next event, which happens to be the Brebia, Ardor and Rinaldi pipe trunk show at Barclay Rex, 75 Broad Street NYC, from 11am - 6pm June 11th. I will try to attend and take pictures of the pipes available. Who knows I may wind up buying a pipe, if I see an eye catching one, and post a review of it on this blog.

For those who won't be in cyberspace enjoy the summer holidays and I'll keep the blog updated pending your return.

CAIN CIGAR REVIEW

Hi all, taking time to recover from the March meeting of the NY Pipe club and figured it was time to update this blog.

The Cain cigar comes to us from the Oliva stable which produced the wonderful Nub cigar line. The Cain cigar is a Ligero filler and binder from the farms in Nicaragua with either a Maduro or a Habano wrapper.

The one I chose for this review is the one with the Habano wrapper.

PRE-BURN

The Cain Habano is comprised of Ligero tobacco from different regions with either a Maduro or Habano wrapper. The initial nose of the cigar produced a wonderful sweetness with hints of leather. Upon. Cutting the cigar, with an exquisite V cutter, I proceeded to give it a pre-light taste. The hints of leather was evident as was the sweetness.

BURN
Upon lighting the cigar and taking the initial draw showed just how well made this cigar is. The hints of sweetness and leather were joined with a black pepper spiciness that wasn't overpowering. The black pepper flavor was there for the first third then replaced by a wonderful bitter sweet chocolate flavor that endured through the second third.

Nub of Cain Cigar with wonderful ash

All the while, the wonderful grayish ash hung on well into the final third in the final third, see picture above,  the spiciness reappared but this tome it was more of a red pepper spiciness. Not overpowering enough to hide the sweetness that was present throughout.

Overall this is yet another cigar in the oliva line that I would regard as a sleeper. For those who enjoy a full bodied smoke will enjoy the cain cigar line as much as I have.

The cigar ash has informed me that this coming friday, March 12th, barclay rex will be hosting an event featuring the zino cigar line from Davidoff. Looks to be a great event. Hope to see you there.

LA FLOR DOMINICANA AIRBENDER REVIEW

Hi all, just got some time to sit down and write my review of La Flor Dominicana's newest cigar called the Airbender.  This is a wonderful cigar features tobacco grown at the company's own tobacco farm in the Dominican republic for the filler and binder.  A spicy Ecuadorian Habano wrapper completes the package to create a wonderful cigar.

PRE-BURN
Upon inspection this is a finely constructed cigar with a nice oily sheen to the wrapper.  The nose of cigar revealed hints of sweetness and leather. Clipping the cigar, with a nice mahogany V cutter, the pre-light draw revealed more of the sweetness, the leather and a touch of spiciness.

BURN
Once lit the first third exuded the spiciness and that was present on the pre-burn draw.  The hint of leather was also present.  There was loads of smoke present and the ash was a grayish-black and hung on for a full 2 inches.

The spiciness disappeared on the second third and I was left with the hints of sweetness and leather throughout the second third.  The burn was a bit uneven and needed a slight touch up but that didn't affect the overall quality of the cigar.

The final third ushered in the spiciness that appeared in the first third and the sweetness was still present.  The ash during the final third hung on for a good 2 inches.

Overall this is a great smoke and I would highly recommend it to anyone who's familiar with the brand or likes a full bodied smoke.

The next event is the March Pipe Club meeting, Tuesday March 9th, 2010, where we'll be smoking, yet again, some unusual pipe tobaccos.

LA FLOR DOMINICANA CIGAR EVENT

A snowy shout out to all the readers of my blog site.  I am writing this post from the smoking lounge at Barclay Rex, 75 Broad Street NYC.  They are hosting the La Flor Dominicana cigar event.  It was from 12- 5pm.  John, the La Flor rep, braved the elements and was at the event.

The event was a buy three get one free.  The free cigars were either the new Airbender or the DL-600 maduro. I purchased three of the Oscuro size Ligero cigars and chose the new Airbender cigar.  This new cigar features a Dominican filler and binder with an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper.  This cigar comes in 4 different sizes from a 5 x 50 up to a 6 1/4 x 60.  This is a medium bodied cigar.  I will post a review of the Airbender cigar as well as the DL-600 maduro at a later date.

Well that's it from the La Flor Dominicana Cigar Event.  As always will keep my ear to the cigar ash in case anything develops.

INTERNATIONAL PIPE SMOKING DAY

Hi again, just getting a chance to write about the NY Pipe Club's International Pipe Smoking Day event.  We met at De La Concha Cigar Shop at 56th Street and Sixth Avenue at 4pm where we began smoking our pipes.  The folks at De La Concha was  nice enough to provide the members with a discount on pipe tobacco and any pipes in the store.  Most of the members stocked up on the pipe tobaccos.

Afterward a group of us decided to go over to Merchant's where we were able to continue to smoke our pipes and also drink and enjoy some great food.  We stayed at Merchant's till about 11pm when everybody was basically smoked out and we ended an enjoyable evening.

Here is a link Pictures from De La Concha to the pictures from the beginning part of the evening.

The next event takes place this Friday @ Barclay Rex, 75 Broad Street NYC, from 12  - 5pm.  The event will feature a new cigar from La Flor Dominicana in a buy three get one free.  Hope it'll be a great turn out.

UNUSUALLY SHAPED CIGAR

Hi again folks, had an opportunity to try a most unique cigar made.  This is made by Arturo Fuente and is called the Reserva No 77 Pyramid.  This  rare cigar is also know as the Shark due to its unusual shape and is made in very limited quantities.  It starts off as a pyramid shape at the head and becomes, what someone would call Box Pressed, square in shape at the foot.  It is a 5.8 x 54 cigar with a 5 year old Maduro wrapper aged in a cognac barrel.  The filler and binder are reported to be from the same tobacco that goes into the Fuente Fuente OPUS X.  It is a full bodied smoke and, as this reviewer can attest, should be smoked on a full stomach.  Whoa to those who smoke this without having consumed a decent meal.  I have smoked a couple of them but haven't had the time to dissect this cigar to write a review.  Hopefully I'll be able to smoke one and provide my loyal followers with a detailed review.

See you at De La Concha this Saturday as we celebrate the International Pipe Smoking Day.

UPCOMING EVENTS

Howdy all, just got back from Barclay Rex, 75 Broad Street, and have a few updates from the cigar ash. First Barclay Rex us celebrating their 100th anniversary, can you believe it they've been in business 100 years, and in honor of their centennial they are doing an interesting promotion. Come in to any of their locations on your birthday and you'll get a free cigar (same as the one purchased). Also on Friday February 26th,2010 from, 12:00 - 5pm, they will be hosting an event with La Flor Dominicana which is a buy 3 get one free. Since I am a long time fan of this brand, it's the first one I smoked, I will make sure to be in attendance. Hopefully the La Flor representative will be on hand so I can have pictures to show all.

Also on Saturday February 20th the NY Pipe Club will be hosting an event at De La Concha cigar lounge to celebrate the International Pipe Smoking Day. Looking forward to attending this event and will also have pictures to commemorate the event. Should be a fun time for all.

Until next time or if the cigar ash brings us another exciting event.

NY Pipe Club meeting / Miami Cigar Event

Hello again, it's been a while since I've posted anything. A lot has happened since the last posting. I went to the February meeting of the NY Pipe Club and also attended the Miami Cigar event at Barclay Rex in NYC.

Had the pleasure of attending the meeting of the NY Pipe Club this past Tuesday February 9th. As always it was held at Florio's / Three Little Indians on Grand Street in Little Italy. We started out with a nice Italian meal, followed by a night of pipe smoking. We had a fabulous turnout with quite a few first timers joining us. Peter, our resident treasurer and webmaster, brought in a few odd named pipe tobacco. One was called Beck's Ol' Limey Bastard and the other was called Frenchy's Sonza Bitches.

I was able to smoke the Ol' Limey Bastard, which is heavy on the Latakia. I thoroughly enjoyed this tobacco and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys smoking the non-aromatic blends. We had a wonderful time at the pipe club meeting and I look forward to report on the March meeting.

Thursday and Friday February 11th and 12th from 12 noon - 5pm Barclay Rex, 75 Broad Street, hosted the Miami Cigar event. This featured, among others, the Aurora cigar, the Leon Jimenez, the Murcielago cigar among others that Miami Cigar handles. Unfortunately the Miami Cigar representative got snowed in and was unable to attend the event. They had a buy 2 get 1 free deal with the free cigar being two new sizes in the Leon Jimenez line. I bought one of the Murcielago, one of the Leon Jimenez and an additional Leon Jimenez in the new sizes. Smoked the two Leon Jimenez, which smoked wonderful. Haven't smoked the Murcielago yet but this is the retail size to the one I reviewed in an earlier posting on my Blog site. Hopefully it'll smoke as well as the one I smoked for the 50 Best event.

Well I could go on forever but I'll leave you while I go load my pipe with Black Dawg pipe tobacco and my iPod with Led Zeppelin's Black Dog.

Till the Cigar Ash gives us details on the next event, I look forward to reporting from the annals of the pipe and cigar world. In the meantime I hope to hear from my followers on new cigars or pipe tobaccos that would be worth trying.

Pipe Club Meeting and Other Musings

Hello folks, it's been a while since I last posted to this Blog. Lot has happened since my last post. Went to the first pipe club meeting of 2010 where we smoked some great pipe tobaccos. A fun time was had by all.

The next pipe club meeting will be taking place on Tuesday February 9th, 2010 at, as always, Florio's Italian restaurant in Little Italy starting at 6pm. As we did last month we'll be smoking some unique blends as well as our regular pipe tobacco.

The cigar ash has revealed some great news. Barclay Rex in conjunction with Miami Cigar will be holding an event on Friday February 12th, 2010 from 12 noon - 5pm. Will be attending the event and will be reviewing the event and cigars(s) and will have associated pictures as well.

Not sure what the next event will be but as always will keep an ear to the cigar ash to see what, if any, will be happening in the immediate future.

FIRST MEERSCHAUM PIPE

Meerschaum Pipe in case

Another image of Meerschaum Pipe showing beginnings of coloration

Happy New Year to all.  Hope the New Year will bring health and prosperity to all.  I started the New Year with yet another pipe purchase.  As seen from the above images I have entered the world of Meerschaum pipes.  This is a wonderfully carved pipe which features the front section of a Pegasus with the wings folded back.

Picked up some new aromatics which I am smoking in this pipe.  One is a Barclay Rex blend they call Alkazar and the other one is a blend by Solani called Scotch Whiskey.  I also smoked an aromatic roll cake tobacco in this pipe as well.  So far this pipe smoke wonderful and I have to remember to keep my hands off the bowl while smoking it so I don't get any oils from my hands on the bowl and ruin the coloration process.

That's all for now. Will be going to the first Pipe Club meeting tomorrow evening and hope to smoke some new tobaccos from McClelland.  Will try them and hopefully write a review of it.

Will keep my ear to the cigar / pipe and will report back if anything comes out of the cigar / pipe ash.