Good Friday was the day to get out on to the links with a Cohiba Robusto I had been saving through the winter.  An 8 month old robusto from Cohiba will never taste better than when with a great foursome, a day with little to no wind on a golf course that was groomed to perfection and playing host to golfers from all over the lower mainland.

The Falls is a course that we’ve been visiting for years and when a few of us had a day off we saw no reason to golf anywhere else, so a quick drive from Vancouver got us to our destination, just past Chilliwack on Canada’s number 1 highway.  If you haven’t seen this course and you live in the lower mainland, I would seriously recommend you make the trip out to this beautiful course carved into the side of a mountain with the most beautiful scenery you’ll see on a golf course ANYWHERE..

If you’re expecting to shoot in the low 70′s your first time out you may want to lower your expectations a bit because of the surprises that await you.  Anyone would have a great time golfing here, regardless of your handicap due to the fact that all of the fairways are wide enough to hit from the t-boxes.  What makes this course impressive are the views that golfers photograph before they reach for their drivers from hole to hole.. The golf carts are equipped with GPS screens that let you know the number of yards you need to think about before each shot and helpful tips at the push of a button are always free of charge.

I lit the Cohiba on hole number 4 instead of waiting, like I usually do, for the back nine to light up.  This gorgeous par 3 actually yielded a birdie for me, my only bird of the day… My t-shot was short and to the right but a 58 degree wedge from the first cut was all I needed to use to drop it into the hole.. I walked back to my power cart and tasted the beginning of what was going to be a beautiful first third of the robusto.  Wind is usually the worst enemy of a great cigar but yesterday’s Good Friday weather at The Falls allowed me to see an even burn for the duration of the cigar.

This morning after breakfast I decided to go through one of the humidors that I rarely visit and to my surprise, I found an old Cohiba Secretos under a few Cohiba Robustos that I had been saving.  I’m not sure where this little guy came from but something in my distant memory tells me that this cigar was purchased in 2007 when this series first came out.  This is not a large cigar at 4 3/8 inches long with a 40 ring gauge so I decided that a trip to the back deck with a cup of coffee and the newspaper would be a great idea.

My neighbor was doing some lawn work and grumbling about his lawn mower, all the rain this spring, some neighborhood kids spray painting his front fence, the crow’s nest in the chestnut tree beside his house, his income tax problems, a flat tire his wife got yesterday afternoon and his concerns about the Stanley Cup playoffs while I clipped off the cap of the little maduro and felt nothing but contentment as I reached for my torch.

When this Maduro series came out, Cohiba introduced a five year old aged wrapper and now this being 2011, I was holding on to a little blast of rich chocolate with a 9 year old wrapper..  A blast of rich dark chocolate was the first thing I noticed after a few puffs but 10 minutes later this reyes mellowed considerably and a richer creamier chocolate appeared.. I wish I had the patience to hold on to cigars for this length of time all the time but I’m just not that kind of person.  Whenever I buy a box of new Cubans, I’m always seeing a great number of cigars to give to friends and smoke one after another until I’m seeing 9 or so left and then the feeling of panic sets in and I go into a hoarding mode..

I’m not sure how I was able to hold on to this cigar for this long but starting tomorrow, or maybe the day after I’m going to turn over a new leaf and buy MORE cigars…. Smoke LESS cigars and build up my reserve………… Yeah sure, and the Edmonton Oilers will win the Cup this year too!!!!

After Tiger finished the front nine today at Augusta I was clipping off the cap of a Cohiba Genios and was getting ready for a long awaited victory for the red shirted wonder.  Yeah, maybe I jumped the gun but I really didn’t care that I was celebrating a bit early, I wanted to smoke the cigar anyway and it was wonderful to see his name on the leader board so high up…

The win went to the golfer representing South Africa, Charl Schwartzel, who’s last year’s result was a tie for 30th.. Talk about a big day for a young man who just won his first major..  His shots on the front nine propelled him up the leader board when he started getting birdies and a fabulous eagle on a par four.

Now back to Tiger……..  Although I watched him slowly get edged out by the others I was so impressed with his ability to be a contender on this course and I wondered if this is the beginning of a strong comeback from this champ..  I know that I’m not alone when I say that I really want him to return to his former game and, with all that he has learned in this last year or so, become even more of a driven competitor… Time will tell..

So the Genios burned evenly and tasted wonderful as I watched these new young guns come up the field and I wondered if we are now seeing a whole new batch of fierce players completely take over…. Not if Tiger has anything to say about it, I’m sure…..

There have been a few things I haven’t done this winter….. I haven’t smoked a Behike…. Last summer I tried them, loved them and decided that at least a year’s rest in my humidor would be the fate of my remaining Behikes..  I fell in love with the 52 after trying it last summer and in the fall the 54 was a great cigar…. But….. I know they can get better and I’m willing to invest the time…..

I haven’t been anywhere tropical and usually that doesn’t bother me all that much but last month I started losing my mind when I knew the Habanos festival was taking place in Havana… Without me being there…..  A lot of people will read about the day to day exploits of those attending that wonderful festival and many salivate all over their computer keypads as they read about all of the cigars being smoked in Cuba…. That doesn’t really bother me since I have 4 humidors that all have a nice selection of Cubans that are presently further fermenting….. Whenever I want one, I smoke one..  What bothered me was that I wanted to take part in many of the seminars available to festival goers….. Next year will be different !

What bothers me the most is that, although I’ve golfed all winter……. I haven’t been warm ONCE on the course !!  That is starting to really get on my nerves!  I can’t WAIT for a warm day when I can swing a club in a T-shirt… C’mon already!!!!!  I realize that the rest of my Canadian brothers and sisters are still shoveling snow from their driveways when I’m complaining about needing to wear too many articles of clothing on the course but I DON’T have a lot of body fat and this is getting old!!  Our winter is going on and on and although yesterday was the first day of spring, its seems like an eternity until we’ll be getting days that reach 15 degrees…

Oh well, thats my list of complaints for the day!!!!!  Tomorrow is another day!

It is with great sadness that I light this lovely Siglo I and think about how fortunate I am to be sitting in a dry dusty garage as my buddy gets his hands dirty with the oil dripping into the pan under my car as he changes my oil filter and tells me about his friend in Japan who is writing to him and describing what he has seen in the last few days.  I wonder why the Supreme Being has decided to shake up the lives of some of the most loving, hard-working and compassionate people on our planet.

I’ve seen Japan from Kobe to Sapporo and felt the hospitality of men and women who looked at me with almost a childlike innocence as they offered me tea, great beer or a place to sleep for the night.  I remember thinking to myself that it was almost impossible to believe that a country of hugely populated cities had dark alleys that I walked down and at NO time was I ever in any danger.. I’m serious, I could be drinking for many hours in a bar or restaurant and then walk back to my hotel at any time of the night and stagger into strangers in the dark who only either gave me a smile or walked idly by without me feeling concerned about my safety.  Would I be able to do that in our hemisphere?  Yeah Right!! What have we become?? OR.. What have we always been???

Yet the Supreme Being decides to punish THEM !!!!

Take a look at some of the video clips on www.liveleak.com and tell me that you don’t feel anything when you see giant surges of water bulldoze houses over and you notice a tiny human form running for high ground.  These are truly frightful digital clips of widespread destruction that we now see almost as it is happening.  Many years ago we would only have read about it in the paper and with any luck get a glimpse of some blurry photo.

I feel optimistic that the Japanese government will do all that it can to help it’s citizens rebuild their lives and recreate employment.  I’m sure we’ll watch, in months to come, a loving group of Japanese officials do all that it can to make the lives of their people as comfortable as possible.  Quite a contrast from a different government in a different hemisphere who, after the water went back into the sea, seized the opportunity to punish the people of a city because it felt they had a history of voting the wrong way.

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.

Traditionally, New Year’s Eve is one night when we pull out all the stops, dress up in our finest garb and ring in the new year with Champagne, music, dancing and for some of us, handing out and smoking some of the best cigars in our humidors.  Cubans and Non-Cubans are usually set on fire and sacrificed to the tobacco gods so that the new year will surely bring prosperity, comfort and good health.  All should unfold nicely as long as you light something that pleases them.

Christmas, of late, has resulted in more than a few new cigars sitting in my humidor so as time goes by I find myself with something that can’t wait to be lit and a night like that is a good enough reason for me so I’m thinking of taking a few options in my travel humidor.  I DO have friends that love cigars but quite often are not carrying any so I’ve become the guy that passes a few out to close friends.  I love sharing the experience with my friends and look forward to contributing to their evening.

I plan on taking Cohiba Lancero, Robusto and maybe a Genios for the maduro guy in the room… Maybe I’ll be the maduro guy… Don’t really feel like making any plans yet and will let everything unfold.

Please leave a comment and let me know what you plan on smoking.