Wednesday, March 10, 2010

A Real Good Cigar - A love Story

I can't think of too many of my friends who will spend much time talking about a bad cigar. Yeah, we will mention it to our cigar smoking buddies, and if we have a good relationship with our tobacconist we might mention it to him. And I do have a really great tobacconist. Most times cigar smokers just talk about the really good cigars that they have found and want to share with their buddies.

And the cigars I want to share with you are Panacea Red and Black from Flatbed Cigar Company. I have had both of these cigars and they are absolutely delicious from the start. Both are 560's. 5 delicious inches long, with a 60 ring gauge. I have smoked both on the way home from work when I have needed a smooth, comfortable smoke to relax with. Both of these cigars hit the mark. Flatbed Cigar makes their cigars in the Dominican Republic, while the company itself is based in Bucks county, Pennsylvania. This unfortunately means that you might not be able to get them where you live unless you order them through the mail. Flatbed offers a Connecticut Natural, and a Brazilian Maduro in the Panacea Black, along with a Mauro/Habano in the Panacea Red, and the just releases a Panacea Green made with Pennsylvania Broadleaf. I have had only the Red and the Black. I am looking forward to trying the green as soon as I can.

Anyway. Cigar smoking buddies share good cigars. And that is what I did today with you. You have got to try the Panacea selections from Flatbed Cigar Company.

L8R

Monday, March 8, 2010

Cigar - another day another cigar

I am tempted to just write cigars, cigars, cigars, cigars, cigars. I don't know why I stopped at writing 5 cigars, it just seemed to be the right number to stop at.

I was in a quandary today as I got ready for work. Do I have a cigar on the way, or should I wait and have a cigar coming home? Or should I have a mild cigar this morning on the way to work, and then have a bolder one on the way home. Decisions, decisions. So just to be on the safe side I went to my favorite humidor and got a milder cigar, and then a bolder cigar.

Can't be too prepared for when the cigar muse needs to be appeased. And I merrily started on my way to work. I got up the road a bit and decided, what the heck. It is a nice day and I really could use a good cigar right about now. So I nipped the cap off of a Punch Gran Puro and fired it up. The Punch brand of cigar is another of my favs. I have never had a bad cigar from them.

And this cigar did not disappoint. A really nice flavor from the get go, held on to the ash quite well, creamy smoke, with a good draw. There is nothing worse that a cigar with a bad draw, though that usually means that the cigar could use a few more days in the humidor getting its moisture evened out. Or the cigar could have just been rolled a little too tight.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Good Cigar - But Not Today

A good cigar seemed to be in my grasp today. The sun was shining, the weather had warmed up and I had a few errands to run. That always seems like the best time to lit up carefully chosen cigar from the humidor. At least it seems like that to me, and since I am the one who is doing the smoking I feel it only fair.

Moving on.

I had a really good cigar the other day. A Panacea Black which is a Brazilian maduro wrapped cigar. Made in the Dominican Republic and sold by Flatbed Cigar Company. It smokes just as well as my favorite cigars, the Gurkha line, does. Nice creamy smoke, good draw, and tasty right down to your fingers.

But it wasn't to be on this errand day. A lot of short trip errands which doesn't lend itself to enjoying a good cigar, and why waste it on having to light, and re-light all the time. But I still have that cigar waiting out in my truck. Waiting for that time when a good cigar will hit the spot.

And I am hoping that that time is tomorrow.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Good Cigar - On The Way Home Edition

The other day I was talking about one of my favorite cigars, A Gurkha Masterblend. That cigar was really, really good. Today I was driving home after working without a day off for the past 5 days and lit up another cigar that I am going to have to add to my list of favs.

This cigar was called a Panacea. And it is made in Pennsylvania. I was blown away by that. And to make it even better, this was one helluva good smokin' cigar. The Panacea is a 5 inch x 60 ring gauge cigar. That is a lot of cigar to smoke. But this one was smooth right from the start. It lit strong with a great draw. And it just tasted like a cigar should taste.

Just talking about it makes me want another one.

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

A Good Cigar - Maybe

It could have been a good cigar. As a matter of fact it should have been a good cigar. It was from a good manufacturer. It had the right wrapper, and the right long fillers.

It should have been, but it wasn't a good cigar because one very important part of the equation had been missing. Humidity. It had not been stored in a good humidor while it was waiting for me to come buy it. And due to it not being stored at the correct humidity this potentially good cigar dried out.

I first noticed it being dry when I took it out of its wrapper, but didn't think too much of it. I was tired after work, and just wanted to get it lit so that I could start to relax on my drive home. And then the outer wrapper started to separate. That was when I knew I had a problem. I thought I could at least enjoy half before it got too bad, but that was not to be. I didn't even get a quarter of the way into it before I had to throw it away.

And that is a horrible thing to have to do with a good cigar. So let this be a lesson to all of you out there. Make sure the humidity on your stored cigars is at 70%, or else you are just drying your cigars out and you will end up throwing them away.