Busy, Busy, Busy and an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story

Hi all,

As you may know from my recent "posts," or mini-updates from my phone, I have been extremely busy. It all began last Thursday when I officially decided to paint the living room. On Friday we got the new dishwasher delivered, two hours late, thanks Best Buy, but weren't able to install it because it didn't come will all necessary parts needed to make the damn thing run! Instead of installing the dishwasher, Andrew and I painted our living room until about 2am. Sadly, we had to get up at 4:30 am to be at a pottery show for my dad. Unfortunately the show didn't go that well. We did our bests to try to encourage buyers, but they just weren't biting. However, although we didn't do that well, we did better than most people.

Last night's smoke:

Arturo Fuente, Hemingway Short Story
Perfecto
Cost: $6.30
Place of Purchase: Boda's
Wrapper: West African Cameroon
Filler: Dominican

Before indulging in this delectable cigar, I need to let you in on some background regarding its purchase. At the Rocky Patel event at Boda's, Andrew and I had been speaking about getting one of these little cigars because I have a B.A. in English. He thought it very appropriate, seeing as Hemingway was a great American writer of the early 20th century, that I sample one of these cigars.

I cut the cigar with my brand spanking new Revolution Cigar Cutter (pictured), which Andrew recently purchased for me, and found that the margin to cut the cap was EXTREMELY small, and considering that I am an amateur smoker/cutter, it was freakin' hard! The pre-light draw was rather difficult, but that's no surprise as the foot is somewhat conical. While some may cut the foot off, I chose to burn it (so morbid I know). Overall, I found the cigar to be a gentle, medium bodied cigar that packed a punch. For example, some of the flavors I sensed from this smoke were: cinnamon, honey (significantly), and finally a spicy yet subdued ending to what turned out to be a savory smoke.

In my opinion, if one interested in a 30-45 minute short stack that packs a lot of punch, the Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story is the way to go.

3) We went out of town to GA for the day to sell pottery for my dad. His website is: www.michelbayne.com . Check it out! 4)We ran out of paint and got more!

Hey everyone. I just wanted to let you in on some updates and apologize for my lack of entries as of late. 1) I got a new job! 2) We have been painting

Hey everyone. I just wanted to let you in on some updates and apologize for my lack of entries as of late. 1) I got a new job! 2) We have been painting

Just trying out posting from my mobile! Thanks for your patience!
- Cigar sucker

Two for the Price of One!

Well, I know it’s been a while since I have updated the blog, but I figured now would be as good of a time as any. You’ll be excited to know that several interesting events have occurred since last Thursday! Some of these events included: serious birthday celebrations, sushi eating, serious cigar smoking, and last but not least, new dishwasher buying!

On Thursday night I spent some serious time making lovely cupcakes for Andrew’s early birthday celebrations (which we had decided would start on Thursday and end on Sunday, ha!) Andrew had been talking a lot about Bombay Sapphire and how it made the best martinis ever. In light of this, I bought Andrew a Boston, two martini glasses, and some Bombay Sapphire! Needless to say it was a great night!

Because Friday was the Rocky Patel event, we decided we’d take it easy before the event. Once we got there, Mark was there once again, and this time he was offering some awesome free deals. We bought SEVERAL RP cigars…and Andrew bought me an Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story. He said “because you were a literature major, you should definitely have this cigar,” and believe me, I couldn’t agree more! (I’m allowing my Hemingway to sit in the humidor for a while, reviews to come soon.) Sadly, we didn’t win any of the free giveaways, but wow, we had a fantastic time.

What did we smoke?

I smoked a REAL Rocky Patel Edge (thanks babe!!) and Andrew smoked a RP Decade.

Rocky Patel Edge

Toro

Cost: $6.50

Place of Purchase: Boda Pipes

Wrapper: Costa Rican Maduro

Filler: Nicaraguan-Honduran Ligero fillers

Smell: Bold natural scent

The experience:

Until now, I have only experienced faux Rocky Patel Edge cigars (factory seconds), but now that I have indulged in the actual Edge, there’s no turning back. The smooth draw allows for an intense flavor experience. This, accompanied with hearty aromas, makes the Edge incomparable to any other cigar (any that I’ve had thus far). The edge is a genial cigar that offers great depth for anyone’s palate. The aroma, taste, oily perfectly textured touch of the wrapper, and scent are all exceptional. For the lover of a medium to full bodied cigar, this is definitely a winner.

Beyond the review I’d like to take a few lines to explain why I love the Edge so much. While its outer appearance is elegant, and it tastes great, the Edge offers a great experience not only to cigar elites, but to the everyday “Joe.” When browsing in Boda’s humidor on Friday, I noticed that so many cigars were covered in fancy wrappers and encased in very visually stimulating boxes. Sometimes these fancy items can scream “EXPENSIVE.” When one looks at the Edge he sees a simple, yet handsome cigar. In closing, although lacking external fancies, the Edge speaks volumes through its flavors.

Rocky Patel Decade

Robusto

Cost: $9.99

Place of Purchase: Boda’s

Wrapper: Ecuadorian

Filler: Honduran

Smell: Gentle, smooth smelling earthy characteristics

Well… I probably shouldn’t have been smoking this cigar at nearly the same time as The Edge, because they are VERY different cigars. The Decade is a very mild cigar; it doesn’t pack much punch. It’s delicate, draws nicely, easily fits in one’s hand, and is visually appealing. However, it pales in comparison with The Edge. Please note that this is strictly my opinion, as I tend to lean more towards full-bodied cigars. As typical of many Rocky Patel cigars, The Decade possessed light, airy earth tones, accompanied by nutty (almost chestnut) flavors. While the flavors were present, they were definitely not bold. Sadly, when I placed the cigar in to a cigar ashtray, because the cigar is box pressed, it did not fit well and repeatedly fell. . Perhaps someone could suggest an ashtray suited better for box pressed cigars?

Other random news:

I bought a new cutter at Boda’s. Considering I almost chopped off my finger using Andrew’s double bladed cutter, I thought it best that I acquire a scissor cutter! It’s great!

Our dishwasher broke on Sunday (Andrew’s birthday, happy birthday to him!) so we went and bought one on Monday.

Here it is:

And again

Since Andrew and I were fortunate enough to attend the Rocky Patel sale at Outman's on Friday, we are definitely taking advantage of the loot we made out with! On today's menu it's: RP Vintage 1990 and 1992.

RP Vintage 1990
Robusto
Cost: $8.30
Place of Purchase: Outman's
Wrapper: 12 year old Honduran Broadleaf Maduro wrapper (Box press)
Filler: 7 year old filler and binder
Smell:More mild than the '92, sweet, intoxicating smell

and

RP Vintage 1992
Robusto
Cost: $8.30
Place of Purchase: Outman's
Wrapper: 10 year old Ecuadorian Sumatra Wrapper (Box press)
Filler: 7 year old filler and binder
Smell: Stout earth smell


First of all, I'd just like to say that Rocky excels in the cigar semblance department. When Andrew and I were speaking with the RP rep on Saturday, he made us aware that RP employs an individual to examine the outside of the cigars to match each cigar in the box by color. Clearly, it's only the best for Rocky Patel.

The Vintage 1990 and 1992 are extremely different cigars. Based on smell alone I assumed the 1992 would be a medium to full-bodied cigar, but I was very wrong. The 1990, although a little more difficult to draw than the 1992, was sensuous, smooth, and sweet. Initially the cigar was a bit earthy tasting, but about a third of the way through, my patience paid off. Like many RP cigars, this cigar being no exception, there are complex flavors just waiting to be discovered with every inhale.

On to the 1992... both Andrew and I believe that we may have obtained a dud. Although we did try the punch method on this cigar, we did make sure that there were breaches in the extremity of the cigar. Because I had never had a 1992 before, I was unable to compare it to any other 1992's. However, Andrew had previously smoked a 1992, and was quite convinced there was something wrong with this cigar. The only thing I can say about this cigar is that it drew extremely easily, perhaps even too easily. In regards to taste, the cigar was boring and without character. I will, without a doubt, buy another Vintage 1992 to make certain my assessment is without error.

Thank you to everyone who subscribed to my Tweets and checked out my blog! I really appreciate all of your support!