Ok so I am finally in Miami. South Beach to be exact. Let me first say I am sorry to Miami and the entire state of Florida for bringing this crappy cold weather with me from Houston. Now back to our regularly scheduled program. So far not very impressed with the cigar scene here in South Beach. There are four shops around my hotel and you can only smoke in one of them. Deco Drive Cigars has three locations and the one at 414 Lincoln Road is where I am sitting right now. Its a nice shop with a good selection a little pricey but it’s a tourist driven area and it is a “Davidoff appointed store” so it’s not surprising. It has a full bar so that doesn’t suck too badly. I’m sitting here typing smoking a Padron and drinking a Presidente beer. They also have a bunch of hookahs, seems like every bar I pass has them. Anyway, there are several cigar shops when I did a search but it turns out that they are either candy stores or head shops so I didn’t even bother going in. The Deco Drive Cigars on Ocean Drive in kind of perplexing to me. You can’t smoke in the shop and they have a nice size patio area but they don’t have any tables out there. That is so strange to me. It seems like a huge opportunity missed to me. Oh well we all do business differently. Thankfully I always bring my smokes with me and there is not a lack of outdoor patios to smoke at. I hope to make it over to Little Havana tomorrow night. We will see how it goes and how expensive the cab ride is going to be. New Orleans is my next scheduled trip and i should have plenty to report from there. That’s all for now as always any comments or suggestions on a shop I should check out in my travels drop me a line Sean@lasvegashtv.com.

See Ya

Sean

Update. I was just talking to the manager of the Lincoln Road store and he was telling me that they can’t smoke inside or outside of the Ocean Drive store because it is residential above the shop. The smoking Nazis strike again!!!

Justin smokes the Ashton Heritage Puro Sol Belicoso #2 that was given to him by Tom. This cigar features all sungrown tobacco. Average price is around $10 and smoking time was 45 minutes.

Tags: Ashton, Tom B

Well I have been in Houston forever now and I am finally getting a chance to write this.
I’m sitting at McCoy’s Fine Cigars and Tobacco 525 Main St. Houston TX. It is the only cigar shop in downtown Houston that was close to the convention center and my hotel. It is a really small shop with 4 chairs to sit and smoke. The humidor is a good size with a great selection and really good prices.
The owner Brad who bought the shop January 1st is a really nice guy and really knowledgable about cigars and pipe tobacco.
The first day I came in to smoke there were six guys sitting and standing watching womens Olympic curling and really getting into it. The running commentary was well worth the price of addmission. One thing is sure that this shop will never get robbed during business hours since about a dozen Houston cops hang out here. They have a pretty good group of regulars that hang out in the shop on a daily basis. The only bummer is that the shop is closed on weekends but it is understandable since they roll up the sidewalks and downtown turns into a ghost town on Saturday and Sunday.
Well that’s all I have to report on this one. Next stop is Miami next week. hopefully I will have plenty of time to check out several shops while I am down there. If anyone has any sugestions on any shops in Miami Beach drop me a line at Sean@lasvegashtv.com.

See Ya

Sean

Justin reviews the limited edition 5 Vegas Limitada 2009.

This cigar was provided by CigarsDirect.com, a sponsor of Las VegASH TV

Tags: 5 vegas limitada, cigarsdirect.com

Oh (Come On), Canada

I can't feel my lips!

Being a person who travels extensively and is an avid cigar lover, I am sometimes subjected to local smoking laws that can be harsh, silly or even downright sinister.  I am constantly reminded of how narrow-minded, hypocritical and self-righteous government officials can be.  My recent travel to the Great White North, however, opened my eyes even further to the assault being made on the rights of cigar smokers (and other tobacco smokers, for that matter) world-wide. 

I traveled to Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada for business, and looked forward to the fact that I would then be able to stroll into any of the local tobacconists and pick up a few puros Cubanos without the risk of being taken down and dragged away for treason.  Little did I realize what startling reality I was about to face.  They do still sell Cuban cigars, however you cannot smoke them ANYWHERE indoors.  There are no cigar lounges, no smoker-friendly pubs, no lobby bars, not even a smoker-friendly casino!  As of June 8, 2005, the entire Province of Ontario went smoke-free.  It is now illegal to smoke anywhere indoors, even private clubs.  The only real exceptions to this law allow hotels to have smoking rooms, but most hotels have elected to follow the ban. 

The end result for this and many other cigar smokers that I met while in Canada is that if you wish to smoke a cigar, cigarette, pipe, hookah, etc. is to enjoy the wonder of the great outdoors on a brisk winter day.  There is nothing so cheery and de-stressing than cutting and burning a delicious Cuban puros without the ability to feel your lips, hands, or any other extremity.  To top off the insult is the fact that many restaurants, hotels, and pubs do offer patios to smoke on, but do not provide heaters or any other means of preventing frostbite. 

My recommendation is if you wish to enjoy the wonder of buying and smoking a Cuban cigar legally in Canada, do so during the summer months, or get a hotel room in a hotel that has smoking rooms.   The bottom line is, Ontario, Canada is no longer a destination for those of us Americans seeking the pleasure of enjoying a Cuban cigar without the nagging prison sentence or in the case of Ontario, frostbite.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Nicaragua, Peru, Dominican Republic

Smoking Time 1 hour and 20 minutes

Tags: teds made by hand

Justin smokes the belicoso of the line.

Wrapper: Brazilian Maduro
Binder: Costa Rican Corojo
Filler: Honduran and Nicaraguan
Price: $155 for a box of 21

Tags: Delirium, J. Fuego

Xikar, being known as one of the best cigar accessories manufacturers in the world, dipped their proverbial toes in the cigar making world by introducing a line of cigars in 2008, named “Defiance”.   Jesus Fuego (best known for blending cigars for Rocky Patel, Plasencia, and his own line, JFuego), was called upon to blend and roll the cigars for Xikar.  The Defiance line was also created to assist the fight for cigar smoker rights by giving 5% of all sale proceeds to cigar rights coalitions across the United States.  The release of the Defiance line was only the first in a series of cigars planned to be released by the collaboration between Jesus Fuego and Xikar.

Enter the HC line of cigars.  This line of cigars was again blended by Jesus Fuego and is rolled in Nestor Plasencia’s Tabacos de Oriente factory in Honduras and Segovia Cigars factory in Nicaragua.  The line comes in three different wrappers and blends: Connecticut Shade (mild), Criollo (medium) and Habano Colorado (medium to full-bodied).  Both the Connecticut Shade and Criollo lines come in a 5×50 Robusto, 6×52 Belicoso, 6×46 Lonsdale and 6.5×52 Toro sizes, and the Habano Colorado includes all previously mentioned sizes and adds the 7×48 Churchill and 4.5×44 Petit Corona.  Prices range from $8.25 for the Toro to $9.25 for the Belicoso, on average. 

For this review I chose the Habano Colorado Lonsdale.  The wrapper on this cigar line is a Habano Colorado grown in the Jalapa Valley, the binder is Esteli, and the filler is a combination of Costa Rican, Jalapa and Honduras tobaccos.  Smelling the foot of the cigar gives hints of cedar and dark chocolate.  The cigar itself is very well rolled, and glimmers with its natural oils.  Upon the light, notes of spice, cedar and semi-sweet chocolate were noticed, with a light Brazilian coffee finish.  The burn of the cigar was very even and continued burning very evenly throughout the entire cigar.  Once past the first 1/3 of the cigar, the complexity kicked up a notch and provided background notes of French vanilla and light cinnamon.  The spice continued throughout the second 1/3 and translated heavily at the last 1/3.  Peppery notes were dominant at the end of the smoke, but were tamed a bit with background notes of dark chocolate and Columbian dark-roast coffee. 

The flavors of this cigar are immense and delicious, but they do not overpower the palate.  This is not a cigar that you need a turkey dinner with all the trimmings in the belly to maintain your consciousness through.  This is a great first-of-day smoke or a wonderful way to close out an evening with.  Beverage pairings for this cigar range from a good amber ale to a nice bold Cabernet, and is complemented nicely with a single-malt scotch or Irish whiskey. 

As an additional note, the original line of Defiance cigars can no longer be found on the shelves in their original banding, although they do still exist.  They are now the HC Criollo line.  This is the identical blend to the Defiance line, so for fans of the original line, don’t fret!  Run out to your local tobacconist and purchase the HC line of Xikar cigars today.  You will not be disappointed!

-Doug

Tags: Habano Colorado, HC, Jesus Fuego, Xikar

These cigars were sent to me by La Caridad and this review covers the robusto. More later…

Justin sits down with Dane Maralason, inventor of Repuff, a cigar relighting solution. In part 3 we discuss retailer reaction and how to get a free sample.