Taking the fly rod, food for the day, warm clothing and your best Cohiba, whether it be a Robusto, Esplendidos or one from the Cohiba Maduro series, down to the river may or may not be the best idea.. OK, not like its a bad idea to have a beautiful cigar when fishing, but there are conditions that are better suited for smoking one of Cuba’s finest creations..  My feelings are that the ride in the car on the way to the river would be better for having the ability to taste every nuance that the cigar’s profile has to offer.

Wind, rain, sleet and hail are just a few of the conditions I’ve run into when fishing in British Columbia on any given day and I think that cigarettes would probably be the lesser waste of money during that kind of day.  I’ve had the good fortune to smoke a few Cohiba Behikes these last few months and, believe me, they ARE as good as people have been saying in their reviews and blogs.  Any cigar that starts out with a 52 ring gauge and has brothers that are 54 and 56 will only let you know that there is a lot of tobacco blended in this size of cigar, so why would you fight to keep a cigar dry in a torrential downpour when fighting a 16 pound salmon on a fly rod?  Save it for a quiet moment by the fire at the end of the day.

A round of golf with a cigar in the cart is probably the most popular place to enjoy a stogie these days but there ARE some courses that do NOT allow smoking…. Just avoid these courses !  Golf elsewhere and enjoy the freedom that you have …. For now……

A garage, den, rumpus room or a computer room can be a place where you have the freedom to do what you want, as long as you aren’t endangering the health of anyone else.. Scared of smelling up one of the rooms in your house??  Know what a paintbrush is?  Real men know how to paint and clean up any kind of issue a cigar has caused before you sell the house !

I simply believe that a controlled environment free of wind and cold should be your main quest before applying a flame to the head of some of the finest cigars in the world,

Its that time again in Canada when the Canadian Country Music Association or CCMA has it’s annual Awards weekend where it showcases country music and it’s performers with a series of musical workshops, a gala dinner where awards are given out to industry people and a televised awards show the following evening which spotlights the winners in various categories.  This is one of the most exciting weekends for country fans and industry alike because of the many late night jams played by the best pickers in Canada and of late, bands like “Jetty Road” from Australia, who’ve been performing and lighting up Canadian stages in the last few years.

These evenings are, most often, in local bars and rooms which are focused on live music with stages, lights and great sound in place and ready for an onslaught of maniacal country music folks hellbent on having the most fun they’ve had all year.  This year will be again a meeting of musicians, TV personalities  and producers now realizing that cigars are yet another thing that they have in common, will take place for 4 days in Hamilton Ontario.  This event moves from host cities in the west to the maritimes and this year’s event will will be very close to it’s association’s home town of Toronto.

Many great cigars will be passed back and forth and a whole bunch of drinking will take place.  One can only imagine the stories that will be told over breakfast tables this year.  I know that I’ll be seeing friends who play music and friends that are more involved in the technical end of things as well as producers that I sometimes only run into once a year.

As well as sharing Cuban cigars with old smoking buddies I always try to convert new smokers over to the cigar way of thinking… Yeeeeehaaaaaw!

I’m a guy that will always be on the hunt for a good cigar at a great price and quite often I check on Craigslist, here in Vancouver, to see if anyone is selling off any of theirs at a good price.  Now and then I find some real hidden treasure but I don’t believe I thought I’d find aged cigars so close to home like I did yesterday.

I woke up and was very excited that Kim Mitchell was playing at the PNE… I wrote an entry about that yesterday morning on this blog and after I hit the publish button I went to Craigslist to see if anyone had cigars to sell.. Bingo!!!! A very short ad describing cigars for sale came up and I emailed the address given, I got an answer right away only to find out that a few doors down from where I live, an older woman was getting rid of about 30 cigars for $100…. What????

After getting her phone number, I gave her a call and we were both quite pleased and surprised to find out that we were neighbors.. I walked over… In a city of this size you have no idea who some of your neighbors are and quite often we just don’t make the effort to get to know those who live close to us.  Life is changing, things get more complicated and I believe that we humans tend to cocoon more and more so maybe we live more guarded lives.. I guess I do that as well now…..As I walked into the entry of her home I was met with the smell that reminded me of Havana, you know the one, it is the aroma of a home that has seen many a burning cigar.. I was becoming very excited, I had no idea there was a cigar smoker who lived so close to me.. How could I have missed this?

This very pleasant woman, who could have been in her 80′s, explained that her husband, who smoked cigars all his life, had died and she was getting rid of his possessions before putting up their house for sale.  Her realtor told her that she would have to do a big house cleaning and paint the interior of the home before the sign would be stuck into the front lawn.  She also explained that the “wooden box” where he kept his cigars would be also thrown in as part of the deal… blink…… Ummmm, Ok…. Now my heart rate starts to go up 20 beats or so as she tells me to have a seat and drink some tea as she shuffles into another room to retrieve the “wooden box”..

I wasn’t sure what to expect but was very excited to see her return with a beautiful humidor that had the capacity to hold, I guessed, about 75 cigars.. This “wooden box” had the most beautiful barnyard smell come out of it after I opened the lid and inside were an impressive collection of cigars covered in plume… Good Lord.. What laid in front of me were Montecristo No 2′s, Partagas Lusitanias,  2 Cuaba Salomons, 4 H. Upmann Magnum 50′s, 3 Montecristo A’s, a few Romeo Churchills and the rest of the nicely aged cigars had that familiar black, white and gold band that we all love so much… I had to sit down and try to contain myself. I didn’t say anything for a while as she went to the kitchen to get more tea.

You know that dizzy feeling you get when you realize something has just happened but you’re not sure that it just happened and that maybe you shouldn’t have had those mushrooms sprinkled on top of that salad that those hippies just made for you….. Yeah, yeah, thats the feeling…

When she returned, I asked her if the smell of cigars bothered her and she told me that she loved the aroma so I reached into my pocket for my clipper and lit a Robusto adorned with that lovely yellow band.. The clouds parted, I was bathed in a warm comfortable glow as the first puff hit my olfactory nerves which told me that I now knew how the first guy felt as he picked up that rock which told him that the California gold rush was about to begin.  Just a few doors down???? I have a nose like a Steelhead when it comes to cigar smoke.. Why didn’t I ever smell cigar smoke so close to my home before???

I didn’t say much as I listened to this woman talk to her cat but decided that I would be a good neighbor and offer to cut her lawn as she was selling her house and moving out of our part of town.. This made her very happy and as I paid her the five 20 dollar bills she told me that the next time I came over, she’d let me pick a few cigars out of another “wooden box” that she was planning on giving to her brother…….. Heart rate goes up again……

Tonight is the night to go see Kim Mitchell at the PNE in Vancouver, a great stage, wonderful outdoor sound and they say we’ll be seeing 27 degrees this afternoon… Take your rock and roll t-shirts and shorts because you won’t need a lot of clothes today… We’ve had a great stretch of weather in Vancouver in the last 3 weeks and with all of the complaining about the Pacific North West’s summer this year, I’ve seen nothing but hot days, sunshine and warm nights… A perfect setting for a Rock and Roll concert..

Trouble is, the Pacific National Exhibition is in a Vancouver park, or at least classified as a park, so there is NO smoking on the grounds whatsoever… That’s right folks, non smoking hysteria is in full swing here in Lotus Town and any mention of a cigar in this post would be futile.. No matter, I want to hear, ” I am A Wild Party” and see my friend “Suds” on drums, as he drives the band in a steady and solid direction.. Chris is a Winnipeg drummer that has recently moved to Toronto and will storm the town, hopefully cleaning up with sessions and live work.

This has been a great week of getting new cigars, loading up the humidors and I’ll have more to report in that department in the next few posts.. Holy, Behike Batman!!!!

18 Pastures can be a tough golf course just outside of Vancouver.  A lot of seniors who live in the area love to golf there because of the very very affordable rates.. Just under $23 for a round of 18 holes and a shared power cart… You can’t lose, well, the one thing you WILL lose is a lot of golf balls and maybe a whole bunch of blood if you run into a bear in the trees as you look for your ball…

There is a possibility that my Cohiba may have saved my life today.. There’s a statement for all of the hysterical non-smokers who are reading this right now.  I had my cigar lit on the front nine and somewhere around hole 6 or 7 I shanked one into the woods ( which line every fairway ) and as I was entering the trees I heard a bit of rustling and saw a black mass running into the opposite direction… There’s a good chance it caught a whiff of the Cuban tobacco as I neared and probably didn’t like it one bit. Whew.. Black bears will take a route of escape 99% of the time when you meet them in the wild…. It’s that 1 % that always has me wondering.

The back nine was full of the bravest deer we’ve ever seen in these parts… You’d hit a ball close to them and could almost touch them as you walked up to your ball in the fairway… They see a lot of people I guess and we don’t seem to concern them at all…

Last group of animals we saw was a family of skunks… Not a lot of glamor there…..

Ever notice what people leave around tee boxes, fairways and greens more than anything else?? Well from my experience, I’ve seen Cohiba cigar butts more than any other brand.. Funny isn’t it! But its true!!  Now and then I run into a cigar butt of a golf course that has a different band on it but I think that its not as frequent as that very recognizable gold, black and white band!!  I also believe that maybe we’re looking at a Canadian syndrome as well since you may not see as many littering a US course but I could be wrong.. I think its also something that changes from course to course.

Food is something that never seems to last long on the fairways on a golf course, in Vancouver we have crows.. very .. very..very smart crows that know the inner workings of a golf cart and can recognize what is edible and what isn’t although I have seen a crow fly away with my buddy derek’s cigarettes and lighter… They’ll take anything !!!  Next spring I’m going to talk to my accountant and ask him if I can claim a few of these crows as dependents.. Really !!!

I still haven’t been able to get my hands on this year’s Cuban contribution to the cigar smoking world, the Cohiba 1966… I can only go by what I’ve read so far and from what I’ve seen I think that we’ll have a winner here… The Siglo line from Cohiba attracted a whole army of new cigar enthusiasts and I’m wondering if the 1966 will do the same… I’ll give you more of a detailed report after I get to light one up!

Gaye Delorme was a guitar player who died early Thursday morning in Calgary, Alberta, June 23, 2011.  Many of you do not know him or ever heard of him before but his music touched people around the world.  In his mid teens Gaye learned the guitar and in a relatively short time developed a skill set that allowed him to play in New York recording studios with some of jazz’s great players like Miles Davis, Stanley Clarke, Airto Moriera, Flora Purim, Billy Cobham and George Duke to mention a few.  Anyone who knows anything at all about jazz will agree that these are all giants in their field so to include Gaye in such company speaks volumes about his talent, not to mention an almost impossible feat like accomplishing all this in only a few years..

Gaye also lived in Vancouver and played music with Tommy Chong which started a life long relationship that saw Gaye work on a movie soundtrack for a Cheech and Chong movie.  Remember “Dave’s not here Man!” ?  This was probably one of Gaye’s many schticks that was introduced by Cheech and Chong on their “Big Bamboo” comedy album that most of us “older people” remember from our youth.  Gaye’s comedy was often copied, borrowed, stolen and repeated by people that met him but more often than not it just didn’t work.. It had to come from him in order to be effective !! He was gifted, very charismatic and it was the type of impish humor that you wouldn’t expect from someone that looked like him.  It was one of those, ” I guess ya had to be there” sort of things.

For all of the talent Gaye had as a master guitar player he will probably be most remembered as the guy who wrote the “Rodeo Song” and co-wrote “Earache my Eye”.  Both songs are known world wide by those who love comedy but Gaye was much more than that, his guitar skills are wide and diverse on the instrument and just a small amount of poking around on youtube will reveal great musical moments like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9_94cdhRbM&feature=related

After watching Gaye play with a symphony orchestra behind him, it almost seems perplexing that someone with such sensitivity and love for a broad scope of music could pen, “Well its 40 below and I don’t give a f**k, got a heater in my truck and I’m off to the Rodeo…”  But that was Gaye in all of his magnificence.  He had immense depth when it came to music, comedy, seeing life behind bars and also holding court in the world’s finest restaurants.  Who of us can possibly relate to so many facets of life and be able to tell you stories from this sort of experience first hand?  I don’t know a lot of people who could.

There was something about the guy that you could never really accurately describe that made him so magnetic, he had known some of the most beautiful women you could imagine and they couldn’t get enough of him…  Well, maybe a few had enough but there is always a more intense side to any genius’ personality that can be a bit disruptive and hard to be around at times, but those of us who truly loved him would always forgive him for moments that occasionally happened to be a bit dark whenever a great bottle or two of fine wine would show up. When I remember these moments I always think, “Let he who is free from sin, cast the first stone”.

Gaye moved to Los Angeles during the ’70s after driving from New York in, I believe Airto’s Rolls Royce and began doing a lot of recording with many artists and many producers.  His skill in the studio really started to blossom in California, so along with his incredible musical ear, guitar playing ability and bedside manner in such a milieu, be became invaluable to a number of producers that kept him very busy at that time.  All was fine until cocaine reared it’s ugly head in the music industry and the California music scene welcomed the destructive powder with open arms.  Gaye told me that after a while, musicians doing a lot of recording were even being paid in cocaine and thats when he decided that it was time to move home to Edmonton.

Not long after, Gaye moved to Calgary where the oil boom was in full speed, so bars, lounges, restaurants, pubs or anywhere alcohol was served, had live music and Gaye owned the town.  He would assemble fine bands and it would always be easy to find him by doing a small amount of driving around the downtown area and spotting the longest line-up of people waiting to get into whatever room his group was performing.  His guitar playing was on fire by this time as was his song writing that featured long guitar solos that amazed most everyone that had the good fortune to be in the rooms where he played.  He used to use a black BC Rich 6 string into a Boss Chorus Pedal plugged into 2 Fender amplifiers in stereo which gave him his own signature sound which was beautiful and unique.  Sadly, another guitar player from England had the same sounding voice, guitar sound and playing style that was so similar to Gaye’s sound that people in the audience started shouting out, “Play Sultans of Swing” … You’d see Gaye’s face wince and he’d gruffly say into the microphone, ” Go buy the record !! ”  Who could blame him, it was an artistic coincidence and that was all that it was, but a part of me knew that a bit of wind was taken out of his sails…  Sometimes an artist’s life can be a bit unfair.

The following years saw Gaye move to Vancouver where he would record, play live and produce albums for various artists who wanted his input and experience and the city’s mild weather was great for Gaye’s soul as he’d bike around or go for long walks to different gyms around town.  Gaye was very active and in great health but as the years went on it was discovered that he had diabetes and it started taking a toll on his eyesight.  He eventually went blind in one eye and was left with about 30% efficiency in the other which meant that the first thing to go would be his drivers license. For the most part Gaye took it in stride and started using public transport but it had to be a bit difficult when it came to doing gigs.  Playing in his band meant also being his chauffeur but what resulted was that you got to spend more time with the guy hearing his stories and he was always very appreciative.  Those were special moments, it was never a problem.

Gaye moved back to Edmonton, maybe a year ago and found a city that was still hungry for his music and supported his art with many live venues.  Gaye was in fine spirits and would call me regularly with news of his recording, live work and more beautiful women that he kept meeting.  Edmonton was good to him this last year and I was happy that he was working as much as he was…..

But…..

I want to backtrack and tell you one more story about his days in Vancouver shortly before he moved to Edmonton.

Gaye was living in a suite with some great folks that became sort of family to him but his desire to have more independence had him looking for and finding a place a few blocks away where he had his own space where he could record, play guitar and entertain friends.  It was a difficult time financially and there wasn’t a lot of live work for Gaye, he was running short on funds..  So it was a cold rainy morning when Gaye thought of the not so pleasant possibility and looming reality that a visit to welfare may be the only option but on his way to the government office he decided to drop in on his old address to pick up any last pieces of mail that may have been delivered.  In the miserable non-stop Vancouver downpour, Gaye walked up the steps and noticed a letter that was waterlogged and half folded over the mailbox.  Upon opening it he discovered that Korn had recorded, “Earache my Eye” and here was a soggy cheque for $20,000..( God bless Korn ), this was the first of 3 such cheques that Gaye received for his part in the co-write.  Young songwriters should know that a great song will pay off for years.. Never give up hope !

There is so much to tell of Gaye’s life, I’m sure much will be revealed in blogs, newspapers and websites in the near future and I can’t wait to hear every detail..

This morning after breakfast I decided that a Cohiba Piramides EL 2006 would be the most fitting cigar to smoke as I write this and I’m glad I lit something with such class and flavor when remembering such an immense talent, legendary personality and great friend.

Father’s day is an occasion where many sons and fathers get together and either knock a golf ball around, catch a fish or two, share advice and light up a great cigar after dinner.  This time of year is usually busy at cigar shops where sons purchase their father’s favorites and Cohiba is a brand that sells very well.  This time of year is perfect for sitting out on the deck with a cigar in one hand and a glass of something potent in the other because of the warmer weather that has finally arrived.  The winter months are a royal pain for many cigar enthusiasts, with the winter and icy winds that blow a chill deep into your bones and insure that your cigars burn unevenly.  Many space heaters take the terrible chill out of countless garages and work shops during the winter months, a guy has to do all that he can to get the most enjoyment out of a premium cigar.

My father is NOT a cigar smoker, NOT a cigarette smoker and the glare I get from him whenever I light one up in his presence is something that I’ll always remember but I do it anyway.  Funny how we tend to sacrifice almost anything, including a parent’s approval, to enjoy a wonderful cigar with family.  I have a sister who is a cigarette smoker and we’ve shared a lifetime of laughs and memories around a community ashtray.  I’ll never trade those moments for the world.  When I was younger I used to compare smokers and non-smokers and wonder what made people tick and why some smoked and some didn’t .. For a great number of years I told myself that I preferred the company of smokers to almost anyone else but as I get older I’ve relaxed my harsh judgements and see people for what they harbor within.

I can’t see any cigar on a day like this to be better than a Cohiba for it’s classic taste and full body.  The original Cohibas before the Siglo series with their grassy profile are a favorite of mine but in recent years I’ve learned to enjoy the Siglos and can see that for every occasion there is a need for different flavors and strengths.  The world is made up of millions of different personalities and needs and adapting to the moment is what I’ve been striving for lately.  I guess we’re all looking for a balance.

Happy Father’s Day !

Cigar Aficionado’s latest piece on counterfeit Behikes was informative and heartbreaking at the same time.. Its great to know that we can access sites like theirs and learn so much about cigars, wine, scotch and well.. almost anything in life that is decadent and worthwhile.. I read their on-line magazine daily and believe that anyone who has ever put a match to the end of a cigar, whether it is Cuban or Non-Cuban, should take the time to learn from a site like theirs..

I’ve had the pleasure of smoking the amazing Cohiba Behikes and can agree with many of you out there that Cohiba has raised the bar and given us a new line of 3 sizes of cigars that will tantalize many a palate for years to come… The introduction of the Medio Tiempo leaf has added a subtle new dimension to these pricy little babies.. But….. Its always heartbreaking to know that the dark side of the underground cigar industry in Cuba is now counterfeiting Behikes as well and…. are we surprised??

I’m sad that many gullible cigar smokers going to Cuba for the first time will run into serpents of every description telling tales and taking hard earned money for the same old banana leaf and floor sweepings that we know all too well.. If you’ve been smoking cigars for as many years as I have, I’m sure you’ve tasted these mild nondescript counterfeits with the black, gold and yellow band… The individuals selling them on the streets of Havana need to feed their families and I don’t hold this against them but the next time I get the great fortune to walk those beautiful streets, I’ll visit the government stores and shell out my cash for the real thing…. Compared to the prices in Canada you can’t go wrong!!

As I’ve written not too many posts ago, the Falls in Chiliwack is one of our favorite golf courses in the Lower Mainland and the last few days saw 12 of us golfing buddies having the time of our lives with golf, LOTS of alcohol and great Cuban cigars.  This course has some beautiful houses you can stay at on the first tee box and we tied up 3 of these homes for our annual golf tournament.. Let the fun and games begin..

Our great buddy Derek Wong came with coolers of food for one of the best meals we’ve ever had after a twilight round on the first day.  Some guys go beyond anyone’s expectations when it comes to a good time and Derek helped to organize the meals and the tournament’s trophy, KP and Long Drive competition markers..

The first night was a booze-fest with many jokes, much yelling and loud cavorting into the night but one of my favorite moments in the day’s activities was the cigars that followed our great meal….  Cubans were brought out on to the deck and with drinks in hand we started tasting and comparing some wonderful cigars.. Those who took part in this activity all had to come to the same conclusion that when comparing cigars which were some Partagas, El Rey Del Mundo and Cohiba, it was a Cohiba Siglo V tubos that won the hearts of every smoker there… Now this is a tough competition especially when you consider that my Partagas Lusitanias which had been aging for a few years was in the mix.

I was totally impressed with the Siglo V with it’s medium strength that revealed a beautiful Cohiba grassiness and smooth delivery that won hands down.. Derek, who was gifted this cigar earlier in the year, hadn’t tasted one before and was saving it for this golf excursion.. Needless to say, this cigar will be on his wish list whenever anyone of our friends goes to Cuba again..

I think that I’ll have a hard time thinking about any other cigar for the next few days… I was really blown away!