I’ve often thought this would be an interesting concept to flush out… sit back, listen to the radio, and talk cigars.  Cigar Dave HAS to be having a good time with this.  He’s the Rush Limbaugh of cigars; happy to discuss and set straight anyone who dares to call his show and bad-mouth “those stinky, nasty cigars.”

He rails against “the pleasure police” a label he applies to anyone trying to control what you can and cannot do.  Obvious targets are those who seek to further legislate where one can and cannot smoke a cigar, but he doesn’t stop there.  He recently belittled the recent assault on Ronald McDonald.

Cigar Dave takes a bit of a military angle to his show:

- refers to himself as “the general”

- united his followers to battle the “pleasure police”… those who would stifle your right to enjoy cigars

- his callers greet him with the statement “long ashes, general”

It’s all a little bit cheesy.  I can’t imagine ever calling a cigar radio show and uttering the words “long ashes.”  But they do some thoughtful and interesting things as well:

- recently had a “cigar draft” a la the NFL draft

- took phone calls and made suggestions for different cigars for different events (weddings, graduations, etc).

Similar to Car Talk on NPR, this show feels like something you’d have on in your garage as you’re out working on the car, building a project, or just taking care of your “honey-do” list.  I have typically enjoyed myself anytime I sit and listen to Cigar Dave.

I was looking forward to playing the famous 16th hole.  Granted there would not have been quite the pressure the pros feel, but would have been great to challenge that particular golf hole.  Here are some thoughts from Valentines Day 2010 regarding this special, unique challenge.

Ah yes… Valentines Day is upon us.  That sweet special day where, it doesn’t really matter what you get your significant other, as long as the thoughts are pure and good.  Yea right.  The timing of Valentines Day is terrible.  Most are still paying off credit cards from Christmas indulgences.  It must be flowers, perfume, chocolates, jewelry… all premium gifts for a special lady.  Following are premium Valentines Day gifts for the cigar smoker in your life.

Kristoff cigars:  I am going to pump Kristoff cigars in 2011.  Kristoff is, bar none, the best cigar you will smoke that you likely have never heard of.  This cigar has flavor that a seasoned cigar smoker will enjoy without overpowering a newcomer to cigars.  And the price… you cannot do better!  My favorite is any Kristoff with the Sumatra wrapper.

Cigar magazine:  For the man who leaves Manhattan on his helicopter, plays polo in the Hamptons on the weekend, then drives his lady around Long Island in his new Bently while drinking champagne and smoking $100 Cuban cigars, Cigar Aficionado is the magazine to have.  For everyone else in America, Cigar Magazine is the best, most informative magazine to read.  Good articles, good information, not snooty.  And quite a bit more affordable than the other cigar magazine offering.

Cigar accessories: Every guy needs nice cigar accessories.  If you look through Cigar Aficionado magazine you can spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on cutters, lighters, ashtrays and other paraphernalia.  Or… you can be smart and check out these items at theperfectashtray.  You will not find a more complete, classy, affordable selection of accessories.

What are you getting for your sweetheart this Valentine’s Day?

The Groundhog and all affiliated Groundhog people would have lost all credibility if the Groundhog had seen anything other than his shadow.  He’d have been relegated to such fake holiday characters as the tooth fairy and Easter bunny.  Such frauds.

Here’s a look back at a 2010 Groundhog Day.

La Casa de la Habana- this place was awesome!  With several locations around Detroit I opted for the one furthest from “8 Mile” or anywhere else resembling the place that nurtured the likes of Kid Rock and Marshall Mathers– Plymouth, MI.

Not only did this place have a great humidor (complete with cigars rolled in-house with a house blend of tobacco), but they have a coffee shop ATTACHED to the cigar shop.  I went from buying a Brickhouse cigar in one side of the building, to ordering a mocha in the other (great pairing, by the way).

The conversation was great.  I sat with a former Marine who was 55 and looked 35… cool guy.  There was also a restauranteur who runs a couple of places on the UM campus.  It was an enlightening hour about life growing up in Detroit and the real estate/job market in Michigan.  If you’re ever out that way, I cannot recommend this place highly enough.

Classic Cigars- since I have lived less than 90 miles from this place for the past 12 years, I am ashamed to say I found it only a month ago.  I will certainly return.  Like La Casa de la Habana in MI, this place has a smoking room in back complete with a bar.  No need to pay by the drink… they’ll run a tab for you.

I spent an enjoyable couple of hours with a friend over a couple of Guinness and a JFR cigar.  Their humidor is incredibly well-organized… perhaps the best of any I’ve encountered.  The selection was wide and the experience there was friendly.

I realize I only travel a portion of the country, so I ask you… where are your favorite places to find some community while on the road?

As a guy, I love lists.  Love of lists is a trait that connects all guys.  SportsCenter has it’s top 10 plays of the day, week, season, and year.  Regardless of your love or hobby, there is always a list of the best.  Cigars are an incredibly subjective area to rate, which is why there are so many lists.  Following are some examples…

Toasted Foot’s top cigar of 2010

Tom’s Cigars favorite is here

Askmen.com has their list as well

Last year I took a look at some of my more memorable smokes of 2009.  In an effort to expand my stogie-knowledge, I tried not to smoke any of my favorites from last year and expand my palate.  I did quite well, although I did smoke several Rocky Patel’s in 2010… in my defense there’s absolutely no way to go an entire year without a RP.  That’s like going an entire year without having a sandwich.  It’s not good for you and, besides, why would you even want to do that?

Following is my list of smokes worth spending your hard-earned money on from this past year.  If you haven’t tried these, I highly recommend you rush out and try these.

Rocky Patel Connecticut-  Surprisingly, this is my favorite smoke of 2010.  I typically favor fuller, more flavorful cigars, but this RP had an incredible amount of flavor.  I can easily recommend this to a new cigar smoker AND to a grizzled veteran.  Both will enjoy the Connecticut.

Brickhouse-  I smoked several Brickhouse cigars this year and each was just as good as I remembered the previous.  It became a “go-to” smoke for me in 2010.  It’s priced well and is very consistent.  As you walk into a humidor and are overwhelmed by all your options, just look for the Brickhouse.  You’ll be glad you did.

Kristoff-  The Kristoff cigar is tough to find so if you see one, buy three.  Specifically I love the Kristoff’s with the Sumatran wrapper.  The flavor is unreal, very consistent, and smooth.  I shared this cigar with a friend and it instantly became a new favorite of his.  In fact, there are plans to buy another humidor exclusively to house Kristoff.

La Flor Dominicana Double Liguero Chisel- This is another one of my “go-to” cigars.  This is not a cigar to smoke if you’re a new cigar smoker.  This beauty will knock you on your butt!  Like a long kiss from a beautiful woman, this cigar will leave you reeling and light-headed.  If you are a seasoned cigar smoker, this cigar packs tons of flavor.  If you’ve never had one, you really MUST check it out.

Did you have any favorite smokes from 2010?  I’d love to try your favorite.

I remember reading about how Drew Carey “rewarded” himself for substantial weight loss with… an entire pizza.  He reflected correctly that it wasn’t really a reward as much as a punch in his own face.

I’m convinced this same principle applies to anyone who eats a McRib.  As you pop in the last sticky bite, one inevitably wonders why they’ve just done this to themselves.  By the way, how is it that the good people at McDonalds can make the most proper of adults look like a 7 year old who just ate a rack of ribs after eating one of those things.  If I wanted to get BBQ sauce all over myself, I’ll get real ribs.  If I want to enjoy a faux-meat, BBQ sandwich I’ll get a McRib.

I’m not sure what I was thinking, but I recently smoked this new cigar from Macanudo.  I know, I know.  I realize what it looks like.  My dad likes to give me a hard time and tell me that I smoke “dog turds.”  Well this little beauty moves his exaggerated mockery straight into the fact column.

This was actually a really nice smoke.  It wasn’t nearly as strong as you would think being as dark as it is.  The initial flavor was really nice and even, chocolate, and as it burned toward the middle, stayed very balanced and enjoyable.

But I could never quite get past what it looked like.  Some would call it rugged, natural, earthy.  Most others would say it could clear out a public swimming pool in less than 10 seconds.

I can’t picture the high-society men at Cigar Aficionado rating this cigar (or even wanting to be seen in public).  I can’t even imagine Zman wanting to grab a handful of these to enjoy at home.  I certainly don’t think the Keepers of the Flame would endorse this cigar.

A good portion of the intrigue and enjoyment of smoking a premium, hand-rolled cigar is enjoying the look of the cigar.  I’m not sure the folks at Macanudo paid much attention to this aspect.  No guy wants to smoke a cigar that is going to draw negative comments and snide remarks from everyone.  Hence, while I enjoyed the Macanudo, it will be my last.  No more dog turds for this guy.

Now… off to get a McRib before they disappear for another three years.

photo credit to Z-Man

Here are some blogs/articles I found humorous and interesting over the week, specific to my love of the leaf:

The Keepers of the Flame impressions of a new cigar from an old friend.

Z-Man– going off about finding just the right Christmas tree.  Rated PG-13.

And, as I mentioned earlier this week, a cigar (or seven) is a great Christmas gift.  Here are some great deals!

Have a great weekend.

Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em.

But I digress.  I managed to avoid any “Black Friday” outings (being the good dad that I am I volunteered to stay home with the sickly lad), and did my best to participate in Small Business Saturday.  I had a bowl of chili worth going into battle for from the Cafe on Broadway here in our little downtown.

Which brings me to today… Cyber Monday.

Side note: when I was a kid we didn’t have “black Friday” and cyber Monday.  Although we didn’t have cell phones or the internet either, so maybe I just need to get over it.

Cyber Monday, I am told, is like the first two rounds of March Madness for the ladies.  More productivity is lost at work than any other day of the year.  This got me to thinking… as we get older, gifts get so much more expensive.  When I was a kid, a $9.99 GI Joe or a $12.00 lego set and I was happy as a pig in slop.  These days most of us have to either save all year (yea, right) or go in with 5 siblings and 3 aunts to buy someone the gift they want.

Kindle?  Yea right.

I would like to remind all you gift givers out there that a premium, hand-rolled cigar makes a fantastic Christmas gift.  They are incredibly affordable, extremely appreciated and enjoyed, and create an experience for the recipient that goes beyond any other regular gift.  Your praises will be sung the entire duration of the smoke.  And your gift recipient will be the envy of all those around him.

I realize many gift givers aren’t confident when buying a cigar for that special “lover-of-the-leaf” in their life.  So here are some can’t-miss options:

Alec Bradley:  These have really gained in popularity in the past year or two.  They’ve become mainstream and, thus, have risen in price a couple of dollars.  Rest assured, if you spring the $15-$20 for one of these you will be loved forever.

Arturo Fuente:  Again, you can’t miss if you get a Fuente.  You can spring big for an Opus Opus X ($30 and higher) all the way down to a Short Story from the Hemingway series for around $7.

Kristoff:  The Kristoff is a personal favorite of mine.  This cigar is harder to find, but oh so good if you can get your hands on one.  You can get these for less than $10 and it’s a lot of cigar for the price.

Rocky Patel:  Really anything from RP will be good.  Standards are the 1992 and 1990, but the Connecticut is great as well!  You’ll look to spend around $10 for a cigar.

Cigar Aficionado has a great online resource for finding a local tabacaria where you can pick up good cigars.  These are also the places where the cigars are going to be the most affordable.  Obviously you can also look around online, since it IS cyber-Monday.  JR’s and Cigar International are two good resources.  You’ll get a good price and your cigars will assuredly arrive unmolested.

Okay… time for you to jump online, click some of the links provided above, and be the best Santa you can be this Christmas.  Ho, ho, ho.

Ah yes… black Friday.  That blessed day that brings out the big sales and big shoppers.  Nothing says deck the halls and merry Christmas like fighting a complete stranger for sesame street dolls and video game consoles.  Mark my words… check the news headlines on Saturday and, for sure, on Monday.  There will be violence.

A very good friend of mine took it upon himself to bring all the good and love of the holiday season to my door a bit early.  “When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but the UPS man and box full of stogies.”  You know you have a friend worth keeping when he sends you a box of “man roses”… in this case a sampler of Nub cigars.

Why Nub?  Well…

Eddie Murphy does a fantastic impression of Buckwheat from the Little Rascals.  One of my favorite songs that he sings is Kenny Rogers and Dolly Partons’ “Lookin’ for Love” or, as Buckwheat sings it:

Wookin’ Pa Nub.

So Nub became a nickname in high school.

Thank you, dear friend, for the “care package.”  Rest assured, these delectable beauties will not live to see the calendar flip to December.

Thank you!

Brand new shapes, sizes, blends, flavors, etc. all contribute to make the world of cigars a vast jungle of options.  Pretty daunting for a newcomer.  In an effort to look like they know what they are doing, new/young cigar smokers will often buy an expensive cigar or a brand that they see often or hear others talk about.

One recent example of the cigar industry’s efforts to put out new product… two-toned wrapper (not talking about Kid ‘N Play).

I recently smoked an offering from Joya De Nicaragua that, in my opinion, was a bit hokey.  Yes, there it is.  I said it. Hokey.  They aren’t the only offenders.  I saw the same kind of cigar offered by one of my favorites… La Gloria Cubana.  It hurts me to have to call them out on such a weak cigar.

I have to admit that the idea is intriguing, but it isn’t anything that I would buy or smoke on a regular basis.  It’s an anomaly, something a little different that was fun to try once, but not anything I would keep on hand.  For a more detailed analysis of the cigar the guys at Keepers of the Flame give their 2-cents.  And while their verdict is that this feature is NOT a gimmick, it still falls firmly in the hokey camp for me.