Hookah

(Before you read this I'm apologizing ahead of time for the Wikipedia links. I don't have a hookah supplier or no enough about them to give you a good link. So make do! due? do? Make one of them!)

Tonight was great. I went over to a friends house for a somewhat impromptu smoking party. I took along a few cigars for people to try and one of my other friends brought her hookah.

For myself, I brought along one of the cigars that came in my free fuerte 6-pack; An Augusto Reyes Criollo Churchill.

It was a great smoke. The wrapper is a nice light color and the cigar lasted me at least two hours (Normally I smoke much shorter cigars which take 45 minutes to an hour).

The wrap was done well, ash burned nice and even and it was about two inches before it wanted off.

This is one of the few cigars that got progressively and very noticeably better the further along in the smoke I got.

Augusto Reyes Criollo: I approve.

Now. On to the hookah:

You are not supposed to inhale cigars (though many people do). It is about the flavor and you don't taste with your lungs.

The hookah, however, you inhale (but don't hold in) the smoke. I was worried about coughing and hacking since I don't smoke regularly. I shouldn't have worried.

The smoke was so smooth. The tobacco tasted and smelled delicious and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I wouldn't say I enjoyed it more than the cigar, but it was a tasty smoke.

Hookah: You make for a great time.

Thanks again for everyone who came and props to the host and hostess of the party! Lets do it again soon!


I had two smokes today, cigar and hookah, and they were both an amazing time. I recommend both.

To those of you who haven't noticed, I don't use names in my blog. I like that people can have anonymity if they want. (or at least until I find interesting nicknames for them.) If you don't care feel free to comment at the bottom and reveal yourself or we'll work out a sweet nickname for you later.



Keep em Lit!

Oh!

If it seemed like I was distracted in that last post it was because I was watching the movie Proof.

Its pretty good and more importantly is about a Mathematician and his Mathematician-daughter.

Sadly, no one had so much as a puff of a cigar. Luckily the movie can be saved by this ingenious proof I just finished:

Math=Awesome

Cigars=Awesome

Cigars=Math

See what I mean? They could have stuck that in the movie and it would have won awards. Many of them. Awards movies can't even get. Like the Pulitzer or a Grammy.

(I bet this proof makes it into the Director's cut.)

If you were to write a proof, given that: x=Awesome=Cigars,

what can be substituted in for x? (Besides this sweet blog)


Keep em Lit!

Now wait just a minute!

Whoa there! Stop! Hold up! Wait a minute!

What I said before, about that humidor I want... Thompson pulled the wool over my eyes there.

I thought that was the best deal. I thought I had a handle on things here. Then they put a catalog in my mailbox. The April catalog to be exact.

I'm flipping through it when what appears on lucky page 13? The Lucky 7 Gold Combo!!!!

This amazing combination includes a 200 cigar humidor with:
*Exterior analog hygrometer
*State-of-the-art double humidification system
*Sturdy brass piano hinges, Plexi Door (this bit isn't as impressive as that other stuff)
*7 Divided cedar drawers with finished faces
*60 Handmade cigars (see page 55 for cigar description)(heh. Good luck!)

Ok, you're pretty lucky so I'll give you the scoop. Page 55 has this to say about the cigars:

"This is a creamy, mild cigar blended from Cuban-seed long fillers and finished with a Java wrapper."

An upstanding gentleman known as Big Daddy describes them as well: "Very smooth and good flavor. These cigars were so good that I smoked 2 or 3 a day."

Thanks Big Daddy.

And the price tag for this awesome package? $99

The same amount as the other awesome-but-less-awesome-in-the-wake-of-this-amazing-offer humidor.

Thompson & Co., Why are you so good to me?

I'll be smoking later tonight so keep a lookout for a possible second post tonight.


Keep em Lit!

I've been thinking

You will be upset to know that I did not smoke a cigar last night.

"Awww." I thought I heard you say.

I know right? But look, I'll have one tonight and all will be well with the world. Instead I have something serious to talk to you about: My humidor.

Specifically the humidifier (note: this link is not to the humidifier I have, its to the humidifier I need). Its not working properly. I'm getting upset. I'll have to buy another one soon. Luckily I bought some of that great gel (not the Thompson's system that I'll be getting when I'm done with this) and it seems to be keeping humidity in the humidor for the time being.

You have to understand. This is a big issue. A humidor with a malfunctioning humidifier is just an expensive box.

Dry-Stale cigars are just as bad as Wet-moldy cigars. Well, maybe not as bad as moldy, but either way their ruined. If you've checked out the humidor link I put up you'll know that the inside of a humidor is a micro-climate that keeps the cigars living in a perfect humid atmosphere.

I need to get a new humidifier and fast! I want my tobacco wrapped friends to be comfortable and enjoying life before I burn them mercilessly for my enjoyment. (Don't worry, I'm as humane as I can be.)

Really what I need is a larger humidor.

Really what I want is this one. Right here! This one! Oh Yeah! You know you like it! Look at how pretty it is! And cheap! And it comes with bundles of cigars! And all of that room! I'm making due with a fifty count humidor now and its not enough. (On the bright side it assures that if I want to keep fresh cigars I'll need to smoke them quickly.)

That being said. The question becomes do I spend $30.00 on a humidifier for the humidor I have (which is obviously too small) or try to scrounge up $100.00 for the humidor I want (which comes with cigars as well). This question is further made interesting by the fact that I am usually extremely broke.

But... We can't let all of these fine cigars got to waste. So I'll have to do one of them. This is a touch decision. (and by touch I mean tough. Yes I realize I could have easily deleted the ch and put a gh in it's place but c'mon, admit you like this better.)

I will have a delicious cigar tonight, either the aforementioned Don Lugo (who escaped its fate last night due to me being exhausted), or the La Gloria Cubana that is waiting right next to it.

I love having to make delicious decisions.

Ok. I know I use Thompson Links often, but they're just good people. They do what they can to make sure you are satisfied and their deals are great! So don't judge me.


Let me know what you think I should do about this humidor situation in the comments section below and as always:


Keep em Lit!

I want you!

Good news everybody!

The Examiner has decided to accept me as a contributor. I'm just waiting for the paperwork to get straightened out and I'll soon be publishing to their site and getting paid!

Who knew?

That being said, I'll link to the site once its up and running. You all should visit because the more hits I get the more monies I make!

Also, downer, I just found out they don't like words like Fuck Shit Ass Bitch Cunt and Cock. So if I write that in here I'll have to change/delete it for transition to the Examiner.

Oh! Something about a cigar... (Of course I remembered to write something about a cigar here I'm the Cigar Freak!)

I'm going to go smoke one right now. Probably a Don Lugo. I'll let you know how delicious it was/is tomorrow. Live in suspense until tomorrow.

Also, leave comments! (It stops my fingers from trembling and makes it easier for me to light my cigars.)


Keep em Lit!

Thank you for applying to become an Examiner

A friend of mine convinced me to apply to become the Baltimore Cigar Examiner which I think is a great idea!

I thought you might be interested (I have no idea why) in the questions I had to answer and which directions I didn't follow.

Without further ado (Well, maybe a little ado), the application (or at least the good bits):

What experiences or credentials do you have that qualify you to write as and examiner?

Cigar smoking is in my family. I remember my uncles and grandfather at family parties when I was young smoking delicious smelling cigars. They have always been a part of my life. I have been smoking cigars (quality and otherwise), for about twelve years. I receive shipments of cigars on a monthly basis and regularly blog about them.

As to my writing qualifications: I currently edit upper level college papers and write a fair share of my own. I have been writing (fiction and nonfiction) since before I began smoking. My style is very stream of consciousness and usually riddled with humor. If my blog is not enough to show you, feel free to ask and I'll send in a few other writing samples.

In your articles, what are some topics you would examine and why?

I plan on examining different cigars, and the gadgets that go along with cigar culture (cutters, pokers, lighters, humidors, etc.). I will focus on different cigar shops in Maryland as well as online shopping sites. There is also a lot of important legislature regarding tobacco products and culture currently in the works in the federal and state governments. I will discuss some of the effects they are having on cigar prices and smoking in general. It is my purpose to bring the cigar culture to as many people as possible. Smoking in general has gotten a bad rap recently and the tobacco culture is suffering. ...and to have fun.

(What I plan on doing is what I do in this blog. Then I'll probably copy and paste, replacing or deleting expletives if they don't appreciate foul language. They'll read this in a few days. Don't say you weren't warned Examiner!)

Sample article title: Excerpt, TCC Corojo Cubana and the Rain

Sample article: (I sent them a bit of the article. I am not repeating it here. If you want to see them go read my post TCC Corojo Cubana and the Rain. This may be why they don't accept me: They told me to write an article NOT in the first person. Considering this is an excerpt from my blog which is all in first person, either they are going to love it or not hire me.)


So that's my app. I should hear back within the next two weeks and I'll keep you posted.

Questions? Comments? General thoughts? What do you want to hear about? You are a pretty quiet bunch in the comment section. (Gives me things to talk about which is good for me and then I can make you read it by saying I mentioned you or what you said in the post... C'mon. C'mon!)



Keep em Lit!

Gadgets: Part One

This will be quick considering class begins in a few minutes. I should be doing homework. Instead I'm contemplating my cutter.

Xikar is great. The things they make can take a beating. I've been using a Malachite Green Xi2 Cutter for a few years now so believe me, I know.

I've taken it camping, its lived in my Jacket for about two years and it still cuts clean.

Plus its pretty.

One of the things I've always enjoyed about the smoking culture is the gadgets that come along with it.

This is one of my favorites.

Now all I need is a torch lighter. Yes. Yes...

You can't see it, but I"m rubbing my hands together gleefully right now. My beard has become a pencil thin moustache and I'm wearing black. No one can stop me! Not even those meddling kids and their dumb...

Ok. I'm back.

But yeah,

Gadgets make the smoking experience even better.


Off to class.



Keep em Lit!

TCC Corojo Cubano and the Rain

You know what I found? My invoice from Thompson. This makes naming these cigars way easier.

I also found matches. (I know some of you were worried.)

And rain. Lots and lots of rain. Buckets of it. Since I am a Cigar Freak I persevered and went out on the porch to smoke anyway. The cat, who usually accompanies me out onto the porch, was too scared of the lightning to hang out this time.

While I was out there I was faced with a dilemma: While the rain was torrential, I hadn't been sitting and, once the storm became somewhat calmer, the chair was soaked. Also, I ran out of ginger ale in the midst of my cigar.

Now, these things are easily fixed when it is dry. Simply put the cigar on the side of the ashtray for a moment, run inside, grab a towel (come to think of it, why would I need a towel if it was dry? This is a flaw in my logic. Nevertheless, I continue), grab the 2 liter of ginger ale, and go back outside.

This is what I decided to do when I realized that the ashtray was a swimming pool at the moment and I had nowhere to put my cigar.

In fact, nowhere on the porch was dry. I wasn't going to take the cigar inside so I did the next best thing.

What I haven't mentioned yet is that before I went outside I put on my jacket. Unbeknownst to me, I had a few scraps of paper in there (read as bills) and with these I quickly fashioned a makeshift cigar holder (read as me putting the paper down and then the cigar on the paper as far away from the rain as possible and hanging slightly over so as not to burn the paper and damage the cigar). Voila! I dashed through the house, procuring both the towel and the ginger ale as quickly as possible before rescuing my cigar from almost certain doom.

"Whew!" I know right? Close one.

On to the cigar! Today I chose (I think) the TCC Corojo Cub (thank you invoice! Also, its the green labeled one in this picture. Couldn't find one of it by itself or didn't look hard enough). I haven't smoked them before because I wasn't sure what they were called and the wrapper isn't telling me jack. Here's what I have to say about it:

The ash. The ash was constantly mushrooming outward as I was smoking it and it definitely did NOT burn evenly.

The taste. The taste wasn't that great. It had that acrid aftertaste so many cheap/bad cigars usually have.

It is the first cigar I've tried out of the Powerhouse 30 that I am just not a fan of. I didn't enjoy this smoke as much as I should have (Rain notwithstanding).

I'm not going to give up on it quite yet however. I have four more of them in my humidor right now and perhaps that cigar was just a dud. I'll give it another go in a few days and see if my mind is changed.

So my fellow smokers/blog followers, What is your favorite smoke? (By smoke I mean cigar, not marijuana. I'm sure thats where a few of you were going to take this.) What cigars taste delicious to you?

Leave your comments below.

Keep em Lit!

O.k...

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.
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Who's got matches?



Keep em lit! (If you can find matches!)

What's this? A lull?

You must be asking yourself:

"What happened? We were used to every other day blogs about cigars that had little or no technical value at all but were slightly interesting to read.

What happened to the Author?

Was he not-so-aptly-named Cigar Freak?

Is he, perhaps, just a guy who smokes a cigar every once in a while?

Did he stop smoking much to the joy of his mother?"

Well I'll tell you, I haven't stopped smoking (sorry mom). Indeed, I've had a cigar every other day since my post. Yum, they were good too.

One of them was a something something something Silver Edition and man it was good. I can't find the wrapper so don't ask me what it really was. The only reason I know it was a silver edition was because that was the name of this saved post before I changed it. I have no idea why I saved it with only those two words in it but I did.

The other one was a great little number from the Indian Tabac Cigar Co. A box pressed, super fuerte, Natural. (I found the wrapper for this one...what I didn't find, was a picture of it. You'll have to make due with my search on Thompson) Yum. Great job Indian Tabac Cigar Co. (By the way, that was totally a cigar from my free 6-pack of fuerte cigars from Thompson. You guys still rule!)

So why the lull in posting you ask? Well, for those of you who don't know me personally, I am in college and apparently it's been extremely important for my teachers to all give me lots of work. (Those of you who are my teachers and are reading this, you know exactly what I'm talking about.)I was even planning on going out of town this weekend and had to cancel the trip because of the amount of work.

I also postponed my blog-writing. I know. I know. You've all been devastated.

Well get ready for happiness!

The time has come for me to write another blog post! (As you might have noticed since you're reading it right now.)

Now, here comes the sort of sad news. I know what you're saying: "But we just got excited for the happiness!"

I know you did. I did that on purpose. Now the sad news doesn't seem as bad. Its not that bad. See, I'm convincing myself too! Actually, It's pretty good if you ask me.

I haven't smoked my cigar for the evening.

"Gasp!" I thought I heard you say.

But look, This gives me a great opportunity to do what I enjoy doing. I get to go smoke. You all, on the other hand, get to sit in quiet anticipation and fear and wonder if I'll get around to posting about it afterwards.

No worries. My paper is finished for tomorrow, so unless I pass out immediately following my smoke, there is a good chance you'll see another post tonight.

My only question is: Which cigar should I try tonight? Don't worry about trying to answer this on in time... I'll probably be out there puffing away by the time you comment.

Decisions, Decisions...

Keep em lit!

El Artista Bambina

Ok Ok I know what you're thinking... This guy told us earlier that he was going to talk about Ashton's or Don Lugo's. What is this El Artista crap?

Let me explain... No. Is too much. Let me sum up: I literally just finished an El Artista Bambina and decided to write about what was fresh in my mind.

Now that we've got that out of the way, lets begin our journey in the middle: I go to my favorite cigar website Thompson Cigar (they don't pay me for this they are just that awesome... Come to think of it, they'd be pretty freaking awesome if they did pay me for this. Think about it guys!) and sign up for their SWEET 250 Club. (Its FREE!!) If you're a pretty frequent smoker -DO THIS NOW. I'll wait for you to get back to continue.

....(Insert your own Jeopardy music here)

Everybody back? Happy now? Good. As you now know you'll be receiving either a free humidor or a free six pack of cigars with your first 250 club shipment.

My first shipment came in about six days and since I got their Powerhouse 30 Sampler I now have lots of cigars I've never tried before to check out. Tonight, completely at random, I chose this El Artista Bambina for a smoke.

I know people have very sophisticated ways of grading cigars.

I also know I just got 36 cigars for around $50. This means that they are cheap cigars and indeed you can get packs of El Artista Bambina for Cheap. Don't believe me? The capital C in Cheap didn't convince you? Non-believers Click Here.

I also also know that I do not have a sophisticated way of grading cigars. I can tell you if they taste good to me. My first El Artista Bambina wasn't a bad smoke. It wasn't as good as the Don Lugo (See I talked about it) but I've had some seven and eight dollar cigars that weren't as good as the Bambina. After clipping it the wrapper wanted to unravel a bit but a little saliva made it good as new.

The burn wasn't as consistent as the Don Lugo which amazingly burned like an Ashton. In other words really well.

There was none of that acrid taste you sometimes get with lousy (in my opinion) cigars.

I enjoyed the smoke. I think you will too.

It wasn't anywhere near as good as an Ashton (Two for two) but it was a decent smoke and I think its a good choice for anyone on a budget.


El Artista Bambina: You are a decent smoke.

Don Lugo: You're fast becoming one of my favorites.

Ashton's (pretty much all of them): I've never met an Ashton I didn't like. You're still number one in my life.


Keep em Lit!

Why?

Originally I was planning on starting a magazine and who knows? Perhaps a magazine will come out of this. I had -have? had? very specific reasons for wanting to make a magazine. The biggest reason is that I love cigars. The other reasons I posted on my facebook wall. I’ll copy and paste that here:

So here’s the thing. Originally i’m thinking I want to make a cigar magazine. I read Cigar Aficianado the other day and let me tell you, I feel the same way about that magazine as I do about Playboy: You buy the magazine expecting to see a particular thing… and then you flip it open and are like… What the fuck are all of these non-related articles doing here?

But!!! I can see how you would need a few other things in there… I just think you should somehow relate them to cigars/naked chicks (depending on the magazine)

So Yeah. It would be so easy, just incorporate a cigar into the pictures and maybe a discussion by whoever is being interviewed on their favorite brands/times/ways to smoke or some such.

I want to create a magazine that I would want to read. I’m not saying don’t have articles about other things, just make them relate to the overall theme of the magazine in some way…. See More (Apparently facebook wants a see more here. I’m leaving it. There is no more there though, I just went back and checked.)

Questions? Comments? Ideas? Want to Collaborate? Article Ideas? What would YOU want to see in a cigar magazine?

Thats what I posted a while ago. I still feel that way. (ok now I have to re-read it to make sure of that) Ok. I do still feel that way.

So the purpose of this blog is going to be… (I’m double spacing somehow now. These blogs are going to look wierd until I figure out how to deal with this stuff) what is described above.

I’m going to discuss cigars that I like/don’t like things that are happening in the cigar world. Cigars that I’ve been smoking. Cigars that taste great for everyday smokers that aren’t filthy rich. Places to buy cigars. cigars that cigars when cigared. Cigars, cigars cigars cigars: Cigars. (Is anyone reading this?) Probably not.

Look for my next post on either Ashton’s or the Don Lugo I smoked last night (or both)

Keep em lit!