Cigar Newbie

Sorry for no posts. I’m hoping to continue my review of CAO America’s 4 for Fourth of July box set. It was a busy work week. I did get the special CRA sampler set this week. I had it shipped to Cigar Inn in Manhattan. I didn’t spend nearly enough time there but one thing I definitely got was a friendly “vibe” from the staff. I’ve been in another cigar bar/lounge kind of place and found it to be too put offish. I’m not a rich NYC type and I am not one to spend all my days in suits. When I teach, I tend to be more relaxed as it’s about the content than the packaging. I’ll admit it: I’m a jeans and t-shirt kind of guy.

Anyways, it didn’t seem to matter what I was wearing they were very friendly. So, as I’m apt to do in more friendlier places, I took a peruse through the humidor to see if anything caught my eye. A few things did (one for the sake of novelty) and so I added to their coffers in addition to the Sampler. I think the next time I visit there, I’ll have to get them to do the whole barber thing. I was actually very impressed by their selection of straight-edge razors. There selection was impressive but most I had seen before. There were only one or two I hadn’t. But that’s fine. Sometimes it’s good to know where to get the usual stuff when in the city and not just the unique ones.

So in addition to the sampler and the 3 cigars I got from Cigar Inn (Stradivarius, H. Uppman Edicion Limitada and AVO 80th)  I also got my Cigars of Month (Cigars International) from the post office (who insists they left a notice but I know I didn’t get it so the cigars have been in the post office for a couple of weeks). This month I got Tatiana Mocha (very bland and only went through about half before I chucked it), CAO VR Full Fathom Five, San Cristobal Guajiro (has a pig tail) and La Flor de Cano Selectos. I’ve had the CAO before (Ying Yang box set) but the other two I haven’t and am looking forward to trying them.

As I sat last, however, trying out the Tatiana and my girlfriend was enjoying the Al Capones (her favourites) I began to wonder if those kinds of enjoyments will go away with the new change in law by the FDA. While I don’t always have a Drew Estate (if I have a flavoured cigar it’s usually theirs), I am a bit perturbed by the ban on flavoured cigarettes and how broad the law is. It could mean that her enjoyment (maybe once a week) in those little cigarillos and my occasional indulgence (maybe once every two weeks) will be taken away. I certainly understand that cigarettes shouldn’t be foisted onto children but I am an adult and I certainly can make that decision on my own as to what I choose to do (no different than the foods I eat, the exercise I do or don’t get, and the alcohol I drink). Now, I am from a country that is far more “nanny state” than this but it still is annoying.

There is no easy answer as to how to address this. First they will remove the flavoured cigarettes, then the cigarillos and then the non-flavoured stuff (a straight-out ban on tobacco). And I’d bet they’d find that many people still die from lung cancer et al. (other “smoker” diseases). The reality is that no one thing is the cause (short of outright direct radiation from a nuclear explosion, etc.) when it comes to things like cancer, etc. When  you read through some of the material and consider that there are other factors that aren’t included (i.e., better healthcare options, less pollution, wider spaces, higher employment rate, etc.) you can quickly realize that perhaps targeting one thing isn’t necessarily the solution.

We will all die at some point. I’d like to do so enjoying the things I love the most: a good cigar, a good drink, a good love and a good fight in WoW.