For the last week I’ve been glued to the Cigar Aficionado site so I can read Gordon Mott and David Savona’s daily posts about their experiences at the 2011 Habanos Festival in Havana.  Although I’ve been to havana and smoked cigars in that beautifully intoxicating city, I’ve never been to the festival….. Next year will be different…

I’ve loved hearing about the new cigars that are coming out this year and in particular I’m interested in the Cohiba 1966 and the Montecristo Gran Reserva…. BUT…. I love cigars from H. Upmann and Partagas as well so 2011 just may be a year to remember….

Reading short reviews about the cigars from these guys has been very entertaining but more to the point, who do you really want to hear a cigar review from?? You want to go to the ones who have had this passion for many years and have devoted so much of their time and energy in dissecting the subtle nuances of a cigar’s profile and writing their thoughts in their own prestigious publication that informs cigar lovers around the globe.  That’s called TRUST !

Also too, these men are educated and very adept at expressing their feelings and experiences in a writing style with a quality and beauty that towers over the rest of us mere mortals’ attempts at describing the flavor of a cigar or the surroundings in which it was smoked.  Bravo !

I’ll still continue with this blog since I love writing and will continue to so…. Hey, nobody has lost an eye yet!

I’ve been hungrily devouring every word that the Cigar Aficionado guys have been posting on their daily blogs from the Habanos Festival from Havana.. Good Lord, I’ve been promising myself all last week that this will be the last time I read someone else’s blog as they tell us the day to day events from the Festival.. Next year I’ll be there…..

I’ve been to Havana and smoked their superlative cigars in the bars, restaurants and sidewalk cafes and I can’t begin to describe how wonderful it is to be in that city and soak up all of the sights, sounds and flavors that the city has to offer.  Although there are only 5 LCDH outlets in Havana, Cuban cigars seem to be everywhere in Havana but I tend to dig my heels in and only shop where I know that I’ll be getting the real thing….. Yes, there are a lot of cigars for sale but there are also a lot of BAD cigars that get sold to unsuspecting victims that want to taste the best.. Be careful.

I’m sitting on pins and needles waiting to taste the 1966 from Cohiba.  From all reports it is the best of all of the new cigars coming out this year and when you think about it, it really isn’t that much of a surprise since Cohiba gets the first pick of the tobacco leaves grown on that island.  Their rollers use great care in the preparation of Cohiba cigars and strict and attentive care is adopted when grading and packaging as well..

The Cohiba 1966 is being released to celebrate the 45th anniversary of the Cohiba brand.. I can’t wait to get my hands on one!

Although we were promised a long winter of foul cold weather, extreme differences of winters we’ve ever had before, the Pacific Northwest has been a place to golf…. All…. Winter !! I ask myself as I watch the weather reports about storms and record snowfalls in other parts of our continent I have to tell myself how lucky we are for being able to get out on a great golf course, play on lush green grass, putt on excellent greens, smoke cigars when its not too windy in December, January and February !!

A place that I spend a lot of time at is Riverway Golf Course in Burnaby, British Columbia. This course has, through the years, spent a lot of time developing their 18 holes into a scenic links course and has ended up being the busiest place to golf in the Vancouver area. Their drainage on all of the fairways is such that they can have a good rain in the early morning and allow their golfers you to drive a power-cart on their fairways that same morning….. 12 months of the year.. Sure we go out for the exercise but let me drive right up to the ball, put my cigar down, select a club and if I’m lucky I tell myself that choosing the right club is the only issue worth thinking about at that moment in time. Thats living life to the fullest, those are the days you’ll be remembering when you’re too old to get out to golf…

Now to the cigars…

In the early part of the winter, in December for example, I brought out some very nice Cohibas, Montes or maybe a Partagas, but after a few colder days and me thinking that I might want to save the better cigars for warmer locations, I started taking out Cuban Bundle cigars or maybe a Non-Cuban just in case the wind came up… Nothing can ruin a good day like watching your cigars burn quickly and un-evenly in a cold wind.. Save the Esplendidos for the rec room and a game of billiards with a good buddy.  A quality Cuban bundle cigar, even when young and excitable, can be a wonderful companion on the links.

The Coronas Especiales from Cohiba is slightly small cigar with a 38 ring gauge and a length of 6 inches that sells in Canada these days at around $33.50.  This is a cigar that won’t take up too much of your time, almost an hour of smoking, but if aged can be as exciting as any cigar in the brand with notes of cedar, dark chocolate and strong coffee.

I just let one die a graceful death in the ashtray and I have to admit, as I was smoking this lovely cigar I kept comparing it to other Cohibas that I’ve smoked in the last year.  The Esplendidos has got to be, hands down, one of my favorite cigars of all time but this little aged, maybe 10 years or so, just as complex as the longer and larger ring gauge brother.

The smoothness was the first thing that caught my attention as this cigar burned into the first third and although a very small amount of grassiness appeared, I kept looking at the cigar’s band and wrapper to see if I indeed had an authentic Cohiba.  This cigar was a gift..  Sure enough, the band looked fine as did the wrapper and then the cigar started to build in intensity as it burned into the second third.

Cedar was starting to build into the equation but a very distinct 3 flavors ( chocolate, cedar coffee )kept coming up as the cigar burned down to the nub.  The finish was the only thing to alter and that it was a very clear taste of strong coffee but the coffee became stronger with each puff..

The taste stayed with me for a good hour after setting this cigar down and I’m yet reminded of how a cigar improves with years of aging.

Many posts ago I mentioned that I had an uncle that lived in Victoria on Vancouver Island and that he is an old cigar smoker that has a very nicely stocked humidor.  We spent some time visiting him over the holidays and, as usual, we spent time smoking a few together with very nice Scotch and some very old port.  Talk about perfect pairings in both cases.

I thought I’d steer away from the very old Cohiba Lanceros since the last time I was there I was allowed to take one.  You can only go so far, if you know what I mean.  One Cohiba box that caught my eye on this visit was a box of Robustos with a date stamped on the bottom that read early 2000.  My heart really starts to beat whenever I know that I can smoke a Cohiba with at least 10 years on it.  Wow!!

I’ve tasted Cohiba Robustos that have been young, fresh and full of nicotine and I have to say that I don’t mind them at all.  They can be sweet, grassy and pack a pretty good punch but this 2000 stick had a few extras that I don’t get to taste very often.  This cigar was quite woody and had no shortage of that beautiful Cohiba herbal profile but the dark chocolates in the flavor profile were what really thrilled me.  Port and a cigar like that really DO go together well and one enhanced the beauty of the other in such a big way.

I don’t see my uncle often enough !!!!

Against my better judgement I’ll be hitting the links tomorrow with a Cohiba Robusto.  Yeah yeah, I know what you’re thinking… What could be so wrong with both of thoseideas on the same day.. Well, I’m in the middle of a big job that has to be finished very soon and I’ll be golfing instead of working.. Plus… I’ll be taking out a very special cigar to smoke when it’ll only be 5 degrees Centigrade at the warmest part of the day!

Well, I believe that you have to be a rebel from time to time and I’ll be with some very special friends that all smoke very nice cigars in any weather.  Yup, I guess I have some very crazy friends!!!  That’s not the point.. We will be in for some harsh winter conditions by Vancouver standards for, what the weatherman says, a considerable length of time this winter.  No matter, you have to make hay when the sun shines and we WILL be seeing sunshine tomorrow.. And it COULD be one of the last do-able days of the year for golf… So So who’s the crazy person after all??!!!!

I’ve found a box of Cohiba Robustos that have a few years on them and these taste particularly fine.  The Robusto from Cohiba can present varied flavors depending on the age and the batch.. Sure, they are very consistent but I’ve had some that are very sweet and then at other times I’ve smoked very grassy and spicy Robustos from Cohiba.  My personal favorite are the Robustos that lean toward to sweeter notes and in the past few years these tend to be a bit younger….  Goes to show you that aging cigars does eliminate the ammonia that occurs as the cigar is young but will also eliminate some of the sweeter flavors that have been showing up in Cuban cigars in the last 10 years or so….

Oh yes, there is one more thing I forgot to mention…. The golf course is closed to the public and I believe that we will be the only foursome allowed out tomorrow….  Now THAT is special treatment !!! Warm clothing and prayers for low to no wind will be in my horizon.. Should be fun!

Schadenfreude is the German word for the pleasure derived from others’ misfortunes.. Its a good word that applies to how I felt today as I sat on my front steps, with a Cohiba Siglo I in hand, and watched drivers on our street slip, slide and go careening into the traffic circle at the end of our block.. I’m only a few houses from the end of our street, so I had a bird’s eye view.

The cigar tasted great and the entertainment on the street was greater…. But…. The little cigar DID taste great, paired with a strong Italian coffee.

Vancouver’s drivers come from all over the world.  I love the diversity of cultures in our city and truly believe that we are rich with many fabulous restaurants, sights and sounds as we visit shops and neighborhoods that have been improved with the immigration of people from countries around the world. For someone like myself, who enjoys the antics I see on our streets after the first snow fall, the change of seasons is not unlike Christmas coming early.

We who grew up on the prairies and who learned how to drive in severe winter conditions, quite often choose to keep our vehicles in our garages and only go out at night when there is less traffic.  It is much safer and more often than not, our vehicles look the same upon our return as they did when we initially left home.

As Martha Stewart would say, ” Its a good thing.”

It takes a very brave, tough and a little bit extravagant individual to prop themselves up on a lawn chair in the back yard these days as the flurries blow by and the beer in the glass slightly ices over.. I’ve never been one to enjoy quality Cuban cigars in the cold but I really feel that I can’t let a day go by without lighting one up and taking my chances on how the elements will treat me.  This is why I wish to direct my attention towards the Cohiba Pantelas.  Not a lot of money, not a lot of time required to finish but more flavor than you’d expect from a cigar with a 26 ring gauge.. In fact…. Way more flavor than you’d expect!

I’ve smoked other Cuban brands in this size and some are better than others but the Cohiba reigns supreme when it comes to taste.  When you are cold, speed is of the essence and my feelings are that I want the best flavor for the money.  Gone are the days when I will light up a Cohiba Siglo VI in a blizzard…. In fact, I seem to remember that I’ve done that once before and ended up in a terrible mood that ended up in violence towards an inanimate object.. Life is too short for experiences like that.

Another thing is that these little Cohibas make great stocking stuffers… Affordable and tasty….. Try it, you’ll make a great impression.

Hey Tommy, thanks for leaving a comment on the Cohiba 1966 entry, I like your site and I think it provides great reading…..

There is no doubt that the cost of these humidors will be through the roof, not unlike a special vintage limited release wine from some of the finest regions in France.  One thing for sure is that when almost ANY cigar from Cuba has aged the right amount of time you can almost say that it’s time has come and the flavors can be extraordinary.  We are very lucky to live in Canada and to be able to buy Cubans whenever we want.  Our SIN tax is through the roof and Cuban cigars cost more than almost any others on the market today but once you get a taste for them there’s no going back.

When The Cohiba Behike became available many Canadian smokers had a bit of difficulty getting their hands on them because there were only so many boxes available to smoke shops around the country.  People were on a waiting list and it became a first come first serve situation that left a lot of smokers wondering what happened and why did it happen so quickly.  A lot of hard core cigar smokers in Canada have DEEEEP pockets and had no problem snatching the first VERY few boxes of these wonderful creations with the medio Tiempo leaf and the rest of us wandered the streets in search of the odd cigar here and there that were still available.

I was very lucky to get my hands on one of each of these Behikes and so far I’ve smoked the 52 and the 54.  I’ll let the 56 sit in my humidor until Christmas, I hope that it will probably be as fantastic as the other two.  Getting back to the 1966, I’m not sure I’ll ever get my hands on one but if I elevate myself to a different class of schmoozing cigar smoker, I just may find myself in someone’s private smoking rec room and with enough good fortune I may be able to sample one of them..

Thanks for leaving the comment!

1966 was the year that Cohiba started making a lot of the best cigars that the world has ever seen, smoked or smelled.  This was when diplomats around the world were given these cigars as gifts and were able to smoke the same cigars that Castro had known about and smoked himself until he stopped smoking some years back.

Not a lot is known about this special cigar from Cohiba just yet.  We can only guess the size, the price and the amount of cigars that will be in, I’m guessing, special humidors that will be up for sale next year.  Judging from the cost of past special edition Cohibas, most cigar smokers around the world will only be able to dream about lighting up one of these fine Cubans…… But what a dream!!!