Montecristo Cigars

      Well today is kind of a good news bad news sort of day.  The good news is that the weather is pretty nice outside but the bad news is that my buddy, Rick, tells me that there are very few steelhead in the river.  Thing is, when you have good weather and the sun is shining, even if you have fish in the river, they are spookier and try to make more of an effort to stay hidden and don’t take as many chances going after your offering.  The good news today is that it’s Friday and the bad news is that today is “Rake the Lawn and do Yardwork” day…. Now I realized when I pulled my Monte #2 box out of the humidor, the good news was that I still was in luck…. But…. I was down to my last one….The good news here as well is that it came from a box dated, September ‘07.. That was a nice box and after sitting for over 2 years and aging quite nicely, they started to taste mighty fine…. ( no bad news there)…I lit it up after lunch and this one may have been the pick of the litter. It had the lightest color ash, smoothest taste and lasted for almost 2 hours… I am able to smoke them very slowly and coax that finest flavors that Montecristo wanted me to taste when they were blended and rolled. Well I guess there will always be another box of Montes and there will always be a last one waiting to be smoked!

There are a few different reasons why you may want to stock up on a few of these Corona Grandes for the up-coming summer months.  With the fishing and golfing and camping I like to do I find that tubos can be a real good friend to take along.  Quite often when you pack in a hurry, you may only be staying overnight or a few days, a humidor is next to impossible to pack along, however small it may be.  This is when tubos can be your best friend. The aluminum tubes can keep a cigar moist and smokable for a few days so throwing a few in a tackle box or golf bag is very convenient.Nothing is more enjoyable than sitting in a boat with a fly-rod, a splash of scotch and a beautiful Cuban cigar.   Nothing is more frustrating than having cigars in a weak walled package that results in broken or soaked cigars when the weather gets rough.  Every now and then when I’m hit with a hard rain when I’m boating, I’ll even ( you’ll have to forgive me) clip the burning end off a cigar and hide the rest of the cigar in a tube until the weather clears up.   When the cigar is smoked and gone the tubes come in handy for storing many small items as well.

    This wonderful Saturday was started off in our breakfast nook with a Spanish omelette, crispy fried potatoes and freshly squeezed orange juice.  I love following a relaxed breakfast with a strong coffee, crossword puzzle and maybe a small cigar. this morning it was going to be a Monte #4.  I have a few of these marevas left over from a box from ‘06 and there’s something about a smaller ring gauge cigar that starts off the week-end quite nicely.  I took my #4, coffee and crossword out on to the front step and felt that the sunlight and cigar would do me a world of good.Cutting off the cap and reaching for my torch should have been just another typical cigar moment but this was shaping up to be anything but usual when I heard the 3 teenagers across the street clamoring out of their home and climbing into the new VW bug they had parked out front.Bugs look bigger today than I remember them being when I was a kid and from what I understand they cost more now too… A lot more…After toasting the foot of my cigar I checked to see that it was evenly lit and then the kid’s car started and on came the hip-hop or whatever music it was at ear shattering volume.  Now I try to be open minded and I remember arguing with my parents and their peers about rock and roll back in the 60’s so I try to be lenient but, good God, everybody has their limit.  The first few puffs revealed the Monte taste I love and opened with a nice cocoa overtone.  Just then I see that the girl driving the bug is pulling on to the street as she is looking down at what I can only guess is a cel phone.As the nose of the bug enters into the traffic of the street a pristine early 60’s mustang speeds by and hits the bug’s front driver’s side front quarter panel, I think that’s when the young female driver hung up the phone.  Ed the neighbour across from me who is probably still paying for the new car his daughter is driving now hears the loud metallic sound and I see his head in their front room picture window.  Ed doesn’t look happy but well into the first third of my Monte I’m feeling just fine as I’m tasting more leather and coffee flavors.  It never ceases to amaze me how complex these small cigars can be.  Complex would also be how you would describe the conversation that was also going on between the very angry Mustang owner and Ed, who came running out in his house coat and slippers.As their heated discussion died down I wondered how long it would take for the police to arrive.  I also wondered if my cigar would last that long until shortly after I heard the siren.Yup, the cigar would be with me still and became a little finger burner as I discovered that a 4 letter word for Hawaiian goose is NENE…. I’ll have to remember that!!  Not much happened across the street after the cops left so I went back inside got my car keys and pulled my car off the street into the back lane behind our house.   Hmmmmm, what’s a 5 letter word for “hot under the collar??  I guess Ed would be too irate for me to ask him at this time!

  A buddy of mine just finished traveling for 11 months on the cruise ships from the Caribbean to the Mediterranean as a musician and in that time he saw sights and visited cities that most of us, in the occasional vacations we take, wouldn’t usually be able to accomplish in our lifetimes.  The thing about someone who gives up the stability of a “regular job” to pursue the life long perfection of their art is that they often find other rewards that aren’t usually measured in an accountant’s ledger book.  He told me that he was able to stand in the middle of the Roman Colosseum, walk up the stairs of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and eat in some very good restaurants as well as smoke cigars that he purchased in Gibraltar and the Canary Islands.  Oh yes, the cigar part of this story is that he came back and was able to hand off some monte 2’s and Petit Edmundos to me that he bought in his travels. Now is that a good friend or what!!  Travel is something that I believe is very important in our lives, in fact, I’ve always believed that family comes first and travel follows closely in second place as far as what should be important to all people on this planet!  I couldn’t wait and smoked a Petit Edmundo right away since he told me that the box was from ‘07, seemed a decent enough time to rest.  It was a nice medium to full strength cigar that was a lot like it’s bigger brother but along with the Monte flavors I love, I noticed a bit of sweetness and leather that took over for the last half to the nub.  Great friend and great cigar!

    Steelhead season is upon us again in the Pacific Northwest and I couldn’t be more excited.  Those are fun fish to catch in a river because of the strength they have and the fine arial display they give you once you hook into one.  They are a freshwater trout that migrate into the ocean but always come back to fresh water to spawn.  When fishing for them your hooks have to be “Tacky” sharp in order to  actually hook one, the inside of their mouths are hard and resilient, I mean consider the name!   Now rather than standing in one spot in a river and waiting for the fish to come to you, hunting them is more the norm and you could end up doing a lot of hiking and wading in a river before you find oneMy friend Al (not a cigar smoker but we’ll let him live) picked me up in his new 4X4 at 5:00 AM yesterday morning and we drove about an hour and a half to catch the first light out on the river.  We were the first to get to our spot, we quickly set up our rods, on went the waders and we were off!  I hooked into a small wild “steelie”, maybe 5 or 6 pounds and after about a 5 minute fight brought her in.  A quick photo and then I released the beautiful doe back into the water!About an hour later and about a 1  1/2 mile hike Al hooked into something bigger…. Waaaaaay bigger!!!!  Steelhead can reach sizes of 55 pounds but that’s a real record and no way did Al have anything that big.  After seeing his fish jump a few times he started yelling over to me that he thought he had one on that had to be in the 22 lb range.  Al was only using 15lb. test so I was hoping he brought all of his fishing skills with him.  After about 12 to 14 minutes of running up and down river with that jumping silver torpedo, Al brought it in to the river’s edge.  We didn’t have any scales with us but 22 pounds, or even more, wasn’t out of the picture.  One more photo opp of a beautiful fish and a toothy grinning maniac and the fish was released  gently back into the ice cld water.I’m always talking to Al about cigars and telling him why I love to smell up my car and my clothes with the wonderful aroma so as we were building a small fire to warm up and take a break, he asked me if I brought anything special to this great event (in HIS life).  After packing all of my fishing gear that morning, I went to the humidor and picked a Monte Robusto LE 2006, I hadn’t smoked one for about 6 months and thought that now was the time.  After the fire was built and we were sitting around on the rocks I decided to fire it up.This is a re-edition of the 2001 Robusto and complexity would probably be the most appropriate word for this beautiful cigar.  In fact, this is the most complex Monte I’ve ever smoked. Vanilla, chocolate and coffee are some of the nuances mixed with wood and  a wonderfully spicy finish.  A couple of beautiful fish, cool fresh air, a hyperventilating lunatic and an incredible LE to make for a perfect morning!

    last night I was poking around the internet and found a bunch of clips on youtube that had to do with cigars.  Of course at first I watched a bunch of uploads of people’s trips to Cuba and it made me think of the good times that could be had there.  I loved watching people’s different shots of Havana, Veradero and the music that really lights up the evenings in that wonderful country.  If you haven’t gone there, make sure to do so in the next few years while the country is still caught up in a time warp brought on by the economic troubles they are now experiencing. You may want to know why I’d be so passionate about it but you have to see it for yourself and experience the sights and the sounds and the honest beauty of the people.  At one point I started looking at cigar clips and stopped in to the Partagas factory where cigars are rolled, sold and tours are held.  A must see for yourself.  I then started looking at different cigar reviews (there are some very informative clips) and ran into something that stopped me in my tracks.A group of men were opening a box of 70 year old Montes and trying them in front of the camera.  I was jealous beyond belief since I have never smoked a pre-revolution cigar, let alone a Monte that old. Wow!!!!!!!!  I became riveted to the computer screen and sat motionless as they were very carefully opening the ancient box. The stage was set, who knew how good or average they would taste?  Well this was when I sat back and stared in disbelief as they were lighting the cigars and then taking 1, 2, 3, 4, puffs in rapid succession before committing to a mouthful of smoke. What?????Now I’ve already said I was jealous but this was too much for me.  I’ve learned that the real beauty of a Cuban, or any, cigar is when you coax the smoke out of a stick with the coolest flame possible.  .Am I wrong??? I really don’t think so.  I also have to respect everyone’s different style and way to smoke a cigar but I’ve always thought that the more you heat up a cigar to a hotbox kind of state then aren’t you really introducing a lot of excess and needless gasses into the equation ??  Sorry about the rant here but sometimes I just have to get this kind of stuff off my chest!

    Thought I’d have a little bit of fun here and mention some of the more famous Montes we know about.  Everyone knows about the cigars so there’ll be no need mentionoing them at this time.  I was poking around the “net” just to see how many times Monte has been used in either marketing or how many people of not have had that name.  Some of these are funny!  The one that gets me is Lou Monte, not because of the name but more because of the songs this Italian-American singer sang.  Titles like “Pepino, the Italian Mouse”, or maybe you may remember , ” Dominick, the Italian Christmas Donkey.”  Now may not know much about these songs but if you want a good laugh look these titles up on Youtube.  Maybe you’ve read Frank Monte’s book, “The Spying Game” or you could have ridden in a Monte Carlo.  The more you look up the name the more you’ll find legendary and notable references.   A  friend gave me a couple of Montecristo Joyitas yesterday that he had sitting in his humidor for a few years.  This little 26 ring gauge beauty surprised me in its ability to deliver a real sweet taste of Cuban tobacco.  Quite often I pass on smoking the thinner ring gauges but from now on I’ll be a lot more open minded and willing to give it a go!

    For the last 6 years a group of us have been participating in an annual golf tournament where Montecristo cigars are awarded as prizes.  Sound good?  I thought so and I signed up as soon as I heard about it.  This was the brainchild of an old and dear friend who got on to this Golf Course’s mailing list and found out that mid-week the green fees are very reasonable plus for a few dollars more you get to stay in some of the big show homes built along the fairways.  You see they’re trying to sell property and  course memberships, you don’t have to sit through any high-pressure sales meetings, its cheap golf with high end accommodations, (flat screen TV in every room , king size beds, Hot tubs) and they throw in a power cart as well.  We each contribute a small entry fee and we get enough money to buy a box of Montes, last year the lucky 5 players ( Only 5 prizes awarded ) each won 2 Montecristo Sublimes LE 2008.The first 5 years went without a hitch and as time went on we grew in number to 28 players and for the first time it started to feel all wrong.  2 players immediately drove their cart into a pond on the way to the first tee box. It was hard to explain to the folks at the pro-shop why their cart was almost 25 yards off the cart path and actually quite far from the course.  The driver of the cart tried to explain that he saw a duck look at him with a real menacing stare and …. well….. what kind of man backs down from a challenge like that .  2 players sent home.On the second hole two players from our group hit the course marshall in the shoulder at fairly close range which resulted in a stern warning becoming a fist fight and 2 more players thrown off the course.  Another player decided that it would be funny to remove all of his clothing and start chasing 2 women walking their small dogs on the course.  Now as you can probably guess things got a bit tense. We tried to talk some sense into the guy but have you ever seen that “lights on but nobody home” look in some people’s eyes  after a few drinks, and more drinks, and more drinks, and more drinks.  One of the guys from our last foursome thought it would be pretty funny to take all of the flags from every green after they had finished their putts and keep them in their golf bags because, after all, it would look really cool….. Good God!!!!!  4 more players removed.  We were cut off the mailing list and next year we’ll need to find another course.

    I would like to take this time to ask any of you good readers out there about your favorite Scotch whiskey.  Please feel free to leave a comment and let me know.I spent some time at a workshop a few Saturdays ago owned by a friend of mine who is a great carpenter.  At 2:00 PM every Saturday he shuts everything down and gets the scotch out, lights up a Cuban cigar and kicks back for the rest of the afternoon.  I should go over there more often than I do but after my last visit I’m going to make more of an effort.  That day he pulled out a bottle a fine fine single malt.  This one was Aberlour A’bunadh from Great Britan, a beautiful reddish brown color and was smooth as silk.  we paired it up with a Montecristo A.  This is quite a large cigar, a gran corona with a 47 ring gauge and talk about a match made in Heaven.  It wasn’t as strong and powerful as, lets say, an Edmundo but was almost 2 hours of fun and entertainment.  A wonderfully earthy tasting cigar, slightly herbal and creamy.I’m thinking that next Saturday will be a fine time to stop by again!!!!!

    I’m going to a birthday party tonight for a very good friend of mine and in years gone by we have usually given each other cigars as gifts.  Each time I receive a cigar or two as a gift I’m excited and grateful.  Each time I give cigars as a gift the recipient is usually excited and grateful  but today I’m having difficulty with my decision to do it again.  Is there something wrong with me??  I know that if it was my birthday I’d like nothing better than to open a gift and see Cuban tobacco but today I feel like I’m losing my edge and becoming predictable.The thing is, I have about 12 Monte 4’s in my humidor, they’re from a box dated ‘02, and the few times I’ve smoked them with Cal, the birthday boy, we’ve been so impressed with how they taste.  Nice subtle flavors of coffee and vanilla that develop into some nice power as it burns down.I was thinking about giving him 4 and stopping by the liquor store for a bottle of rum as well.  What’s happening to me?? Am I turning into a monster?? Will he even make eye contact with me as the evening progresses??  Y’know, I gotta do it!! Yup, I’ve talked myself into it.  I’ll let you know tomorrow if I got a black eye out of the deal!