Montecristo Cigars

Rather than being a puppet and following the pack or orders from someone else, being your own independent individual and following your dreams and desires is probably the most important thing you can do while you are on this Earth…Living life to it’s fullest and eating what you want to eat, drinking what you want to drink and smoking the cigar you want to smoke will help you stay happy and have the best frame of mind you’ll need to get you through the tough times… I’m a lover of Montecrtisto cigars and a lover of Cuban cigars in general…. I will smoke them WHEN I WANT!!!

Finally I’ll be getting to taste the Grand Edmundo.  There is a shop here in Vancouver that has been sending out notices of some of their new shipments and I think its time to buy a few to smoke right now and a few to age for a year or two… People have been writing to me with their feelings about this one and I haven’t heard anything negative towards this Monte…I’ve heard that the construction is flawless and the taste is complex and balanced…I’m not sure what the price will be here in Canada but that isn’t a concern of mine at this time.. Its not like I’ll be picking up a dozen boxes, I simply want to be able to tell you my feelings towards this new cigar.

I wish that I would be able to describe in full detail all that happens when I smoke one of these…First of all, I’ve never run into one of these stubby cigars with ANY kind of draw issues and I always wonder, whenever I read different reviews of people complaining about their lack of good luck when smoking these, what kind of expectations people have when buying hand made cigars… Cigars vary in draw, sturdiness and color and, although there is a lot of consistency with the Montecristo brand, from time to time you’ll see slight differences..My take on this is to go to Cuba, get to know the Cuban mentality, hospitality and sprit and then you’ll find yourself becoming so much more lenient with the hand you are dealt in life… Also too, smoke a bunch of Montecristos, a whole bunch and regard it as simply another meal you’ll have in a long list of meals you will be eating before your time is up…. The feeling you get when smoking a Cuban cigar should be something not unlike what you feel in any kind of celebration and rejoice in the fact that you are holding a beautiful object that many many people had a part in producing… These are great days to be smoking Montecristos.. We’ve seen some years, not that long ago, when the quality wasn’t up to par, based on overproduction ( the Montecristo No 2 ), but now so much care is put into these cigars and I believe that it can only get better.

When you take a cigar that measures 9.3 inches and a ring gauge of 47 you get hours of smoking that will make you feel like royalty.  And why wouldn’t it?? We’re looking at possibly over 3 hours of sitting and contemplating all of the joys of life with friends in a relaxing environment and if that doesn’t sound like a regal experience then I should stop right now… The movement these days is to smoke cigars that are shorter and shorter, which is a point that proven given the more recent cigar sizes that are coming from Cuba in the last decade… But the Montecristo A is a classic that I hope stays around for years to come.  This is a cigar that demands the best tobacco leaves and one that is very challenging to roll so only the best, and very few, torceadors are given the task to assemble these at their tables…. You’d think that, given the length, you’d have an overpowering amount of strength but these are in the medium strength category with an earthy and beany profile…

Last night after a great dinner I stayed home and did nothing more than check out the TV listings to see what was on.  One of my favorite movies ” Double Jeopardy” had just started and so I sat back, cracked open a beer and kicked back… This is a great show starring Ashley Judd, Tommy Lee Jones and a Montecristo No. 2…… What??????? Well we’ll get to that in a second….. You may wonder why we have a picture of Gary Comeau, sporting a fine top hat and playing an accordion.  The reason why I included his picture in todays blog is because in the movie there is a New Orleans bar scene and you hear one of Gary’s songs, “Marianne” in the background… Back to the Monte 2…… Near the end of the movie we see Bruce Greenwood in his office and he offers Tommy Lee Jones a “Cuban cigar”…. Now I’m wondering if I can see a band and maybe identify the stogie and there it is, that torpedo with the Colorado wrapper and the unmistakable brown and white band.. yeah yeah, I can already hear some of you saying that it could be am H. Upmann No. 2 and, well, maybe you’d be right but I’m going to dig my heels in for a second and say that it was the Monte.. Makes sense to me!!!!!

So here I sit with a few bucks extra in the bank and my parents are going to Cuba next week.  I have a busy schedule and can’t take the time off to join them but they were wondering if I wanted them to pick up a few cigars for me… A few???? Only a few????? Hmmmmmm, yeah maybe!!!!  OF COURSE I WANT THEM TO PICK UP A FEW BOXES…. But what cigars do I want them to get…. I got on the phone last night and had a talk with my mother about the dangers of buying cigars on the street, the beach or from anyone other than a government store, so I think I’ll be OK as far as getting the real thing.. My only decision now is to choose my size and brand… Having a bit of difficulty here since the choices are great but maybe if they could find some limited edition Montes or something with some age ( I also told her about checking the date and factory code stamped on the bottom of the box)…… What would you pick??

If they could sing, oh what a song it would be….. But today’s picture and heading is here to remind us of how important Montecristo Cigars are to the whole industry and what they have contributed to Cuba’s gift to the world… This cigar is a standard that has been lifted to such heights that other companies try to copy the quality and consistency that Alonso Menendez created but, other than other Cuban cigar brands, usually fall short…. I know that there are millions of smokers out there that will argue with me and say that Non-Cuban cigars are just as good and many will tell me that Non-Cuban cigars are better but my opinion will NOT change.. Give it your best shot, bring it on and say what you will but your efforts will be better spent on lighting up a Cuban Monte and tasting for yourself…. Its just that simple!

Well there you go, it took 49 years but Chicago takes the Stanley Cup last night after Patrick Kane’s sharp angled shot makes it past the Philly goalie, Michael Leighton, in overtime… I wanted Chicago to win because they were the team that beat the Vancouver Canucks and I’ve always felt that if you’re going to get beat, you may as well get beat by the team thats going to go all the way… Was last night an evening to light up a Montecristo?? Well, maybe not.. Hey, I felt good about the Black Hawks winning but I wasn’t about to go into the humidor and pick one of my best cigars to smoke to celebrate another team’s victory…  What did I smoke last night? It ended up being a Non-Cuban and that suited me just fine.. I have some great Edmundos that are going to age all year and when the hockey season starts again I think it’ll be time to light one up in hopes that this up-coming season will result in Lord Stanley’s cup resting on the west coast of Canada!

Every now and then you’ll run into a  cigar that really surprises you and last night was a real eye opener… I was doing some work at a friend’s place and as I was leaving, after they made me a great dinner, I was gifted 3 Montecristo No, 4’s.  Very nice, I thought as I drove home.  A few blocks away from their home and I’m reaching for the matches to light one of these babies up and first few puffs were very peppery and intense.  Now this guy gets his cigars from a reputable source and I knew from looking at the perfect triple cap and the beautiful wrapper that this was the real thing…Some times you can’t be too sure.  The wrapper was dark though, even for a Monte but I wasn’t concerned about anything other than a calm and relaxing drive home.  What got me about this little cigar was the strength and intensity, lots of pepper and coffee and reminded me of a bit of a Cohiba flavor, which as most of you know, can be a good thing.  As the cigar burned down to the final third I finally got to see some mellow chocolate, dark chocolate, and I’m going to try hanging on to the remaining 2 to see what some time in the humidor will do. No pun intended by calling this little fellow a firecracker but I was blown away!!!

As I sit back and smoke this little Monte I have to pay a small amount of tribute to the people who make their living by harvesting shrimp and sea foods in the South Eastern U.S. and my heart goes out to them in this time of the difficulty they are experiencing with the oil spill.  Our prayers are with them and the industry that is facing devastation because of the toxins in the waters that have been pristine since the world was formed and life started down there. I’m just a guy that loves cigars and I’m not here to point fingers, place blame or comment on the political opportunities or difficulties that may arise for those on the periphery… I just want to take this time to say that we ALL hope that the mess can be taken care of  quickly.