My friends and I hit the links yesterday once again and the first thing to hit us was the temperature in the Vancouver area.  We had the longest spring, it seems, and each time we golfed we brought cigars and each time we lit those cigars it felt as if we were wasting our money as we watched the most uneven burns in the windiest coldest conditions on every course we hit.

Very frustrating to try to enjoy a cigar like that but yesterday was as different as we could have imagined..  Temperatures approaching the 80′s, low to no wind conditions so the beginning of the back nine saw us clipping cigars and anticipating a good time since we were all golfing pretty fairly, balls were finally traveling further because of the temperatures and we actually saw balls bounce on the fairways… That may strike you as being a bit of a funny statement but you have to understand that we live in an area where it rains daily in the winter and as soon as a golf ball gets hit into the air of any height, you know that its going to come down onto a very soft fairway and the ball will disappear into the ground.

All of that was NOT happening yesterday and it felt like we were golfing in a different country.. Wow, shorts and a short sleeved golf shirt!!!  Very different from all of the heavy clothing we usually wear…… Never mind the wardrobe, lets get to the Siglo V…

I’ve picked up Siglo V’s lately from “The Vancouver Cigar Company” since my trip to the “Falls” and smoking one with my friend Derek during that trip.  The Siglo series from Cohiba is considerably more mellow than Cohibas usually are.  There isn’t any bitterness and burn to your sinuses when smoking these although the Siglo I can be a bit of a firecracker if smoked quickly.. The Siglo V started out being very herbal with a toasted tobacco finish well into the first third and burned very evenly as we sipped on coffee and hit golf balls.

My final third with the “V” finally gained strength and revealed strong coffee notes before I set it down and I noticed that it lasted almost 9 holes with me smoking it very slowly…. Great day, great cigar. great friends!

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!

I sat on the edge of my seat all throughout last night’s game as I watched our Vancouver Canucks beat out San Jose to go for a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup in the air.  I think they can do it… The only question is; will it be Tampa Bay or Boston they have to beat to accomplish this feat…. I don’t know ….

Last night was a great opportunity to light up a good cigar while the game was on.. I ended up lighting an H. Upmann No 2 and what a fine idea that was..  This was a cigar from 2008 and with the time it had in the humidor to ferment and age nicely, it was a cigar to remember..  Smooth notes of woods, wonderful toasted tobacco and strong coffee made up the profile that amazed me as the game went from period to period..  A lot of ash ended up on my clothes as I couldn’t tear my attention from the game.. Thats easy to deal with…. No problem…

This being a Cohiba slanted blog doesn’t really mean that I have to devote all of my attention to Cuba’s finest brand all of the time… Cuba’s most elegant export includes the finest cigars in the world and it includes a vast array of cigar brands that differ in strength, blend and aroma but the one thing they all have in common is the stellar level of fine taste.

The H. Upmann brand includes various sizes of vitolas that will leave you amazed and wanting boxes and boxes of more.. I usually visit “The Vancouver Cigar Company’ when I pick up more cigars for my humidors.  This group of people are probably the most informed cigar people in our city.  The fact that they get their cigars directly from “Havana House” means that you’ll be getting the best that Cuba has to offer.

Getting back to hockey…. I believe that this is our year to be the champions.. I feel very confident that we’ll do it and I’m very happy that the San Jose Sharks can now finally relax and work on their golf swings..

As The Vancouver Canucks march forward toward the Stanley Cup Playoffs ( fingers crossed ) I’ve been biting my nails during the games and wondering when the game will appear when we can lead a game by more than one goal.  Games have been very very close and at no time do I ever feel as if we can sit back and rest during a period because of the tough opposition we’ve run into in these post season games…..

Tonight was a little different……..  We just won game two in the series against San Jose with a score of 7-3….. Well there ya go, thats more like it..  It was a Cohiba Siglo IV night in front of the television and I was able to get a little more than 2 periods out of the Corona Gorda with a 5.6 inch cigar with a 46 ring gauge…. That was quick, maybe too quick, I tend to smoke slower but I think that tonight’s game had me puffing a bit more furiously than usual…..

These are usually a bit milder and creamier than your more traditional Cohibas but whats funny is that I felt that the strength of this cigar was ramped up a bit more than usual.. Ha…. Serves me right!!!!!  The mild bean flavors were definitely there from time to time and I can recall a bit of a creamy taste, which I love in a cigar, but I must have been on a bit of a smoking rampage….

I think that when I watch playoff hockey I would be wiser to light up something in the Jose L. Piedra price range rather than go towards the Cohiba humidor, but when was the last time a Cuban cigar junky made a smart decision…. Hey, maybe I’m being a bit hard on myself here…… ( I do have a problem though, and am not ashamed to admit it )…..

The Sedin line for Vancouver was on fire tonight and looked to be unbeatable….. If anyone from San Jose is reading this tonight, I have to say I’m very sorry for what happened to your team tonight.  Maybe the best thing for us to do is just to win the next 2 games and make it a four game winning streak so your boys can get back out on to the golf course and forget that nights like this ever happened….

So there I sit in front of the television last night waiting for the last installment of Survivor to start and I’m thinking that since this is my favorite TV show, I might as well light up one of my favorite cigars.  In my humble opinion, I look at the EL Cohiba Piramides from 2006 as one of the best cigars to come out of Cuba in the last few years and the few that I have left are reserved for big occasions.  Why not Survivor??  I love the show, I love the evil mind twisting games that the participants play against each other and I wonder how this all compares to day to day life in the real world….. Maybe it doesn’t ……. Its only a reality show.. Thats all it is..

I reach for my torch and knowing that this is about a 2 hour cigar, I know that it’ll stay with me for the duration of the drama…..  As the last few years have gone by, I’ve noticed the subtle changes that have taken place in the fermentation process with the Piramides.  In 2008, when I smoked my first, I’m guessing that the oils in the tobacco gave out rich and sweet tobacco flavors that gave this cigar a complex profile loaded with coffees and sweet chocolates but in the last year or so, whenever I’ve lit one of these great cigars, I’m getting more woods and dusty dark chocolate flavors that show me what happens to a beautiful cigar after years in a humidor.

I firmly believe that the sweetness of a cigar tends to gradually fade as it ages.  Some of you may argue with me on this point but the flavors of a cigar are so subjective and I wonder if we all taste the same things.  No matter….. The nicotine tends to fade in tobacco as years go by.. Try smoking a very young cigar and if it has a mighty ring gauge and a fair bit of length, there’ll be a good chance that you’ll occasionally feel dizzy and even break out in a sweat if you smoke it quickly.. Last night’s cigar was woody and smooth, thats all I can say.. I enjoyed it immensely and found myself to be very fortunate to be experiencing such a work of art as I watched one of the biggest jerks get handed a million dollars.

I’m sorry, but the guy is arrogant, smug, cruel and reminds me of some sort of cheap hood that I remember seeing in the movies when I was a kid.  You know the guy, the guy that belongs to some gangster organization, the guy that slaps women around and the type of guy that would probably get a lot of drinks thrown in his face in bars…. I really hope we don’t have to see him again….. Him and Omarosa.. Two peas in a pod!

I’ve been a big fan of many kinds of music through the years but as I get older I keep going back to the jazz albums I used to listen to in the early 70′s…. I was a big fan of Miles, early Coltrane and then Weather Report as time went on.  I wasn’t yet a cigar smoker back in the 70′s, something I regret today, but I can remember hearing albums that were beautiful and timeless.

One of my favorite composers was always Antonio Carlos Jobim and one tragic thing is that most people usually remember him for composing ” The Girl From Ipanema” , a great structured song, but certainly not the only masterpiece he composed.  He is regarded as one of Brazil’s greatest treasures and the more you listen to his music the more you’ll understand why that country considers him to be so valuable to their culture.

I was on youtube tonight and didn’t plan on having a cigar until I found this song… It is “Wave” by Jobim but NOT recorded by the master… Instead, this is a recording from 1973 by Oscar Peterson with strings arranged by Claus Ogerman.  The album is called “Motions and Emotions”… As soon as I heard this track I was stopped dead in my tracks as I listened to the song…. I played it again and then went over to the humidor and chose an Esplendidos, went back to the computer and lit up and played the song again…. Oscar’s piano solo at the end of this song is stellar and the strings are divine.

The cigar tasted better with a song like this in the background.  This made me sort of sad about the condition of jazz bars these days with no smoking policies  because when listening to something this beautiful in a live music environment, there is nothing better than a great cigar and a glass of Scotch on a table in front of you.. These days all you smell in a jazz bar is chicken wings…. Good grief!!!! Something is wrong with us…. Cuba is still where its at!!!! Period

So anyway, sit back, light up your most prized Cohiba and listen to THIS !!

Here are a few things that I’ve been thinking about lately about the Cohiba Behike.

1….. They are expensive

2….. They come in 3 sizes

3….. They are beautifully rolled

4…..  They will be very difficult to counterfeit

5…..  They have a very unique taste

6…..  As to how they will age over time is still unknown

7…..  They have a very elaborate band

8…..  The hype surrounding their release was enormous

9…..  Their filler contains the rare Medio Tiempo leaf

10…..  Their taste was unbelievably smooth and rich

11…..  Cigar Aficionado liked them

12….. I definitely agreed with Cigar Aficionado’s choice of best tasting size

13…..  Many cigar smokers will never smoke one

14….. The original Behikes were rolled by a single roller at El Laguito, Norma Fernandez