Taking it WAY back to the beginning

I can remember when I first started smoking cigars, I had money in hand and eyes bigger than my humidors.  One of the first cigars I ever smoked was a Macanudo Portofino.  A lot of people dismiss the entire Macanudo line as the lowest common denominator, that people who smoke them don't REALLY know anything about cigars.    But when you look at it through the lens of cold, hard facts, it's easy to see that maybe those people don't know what they are talking about.  Macanudo is the largest-selling cigar brand in the USA, heck, even the word macanudo is slang for "great".  But what makes them great?  And by this, I mean 'what makes the core line of Macanudo great?'  At first glance, one might guess that its because they are wrapped by the coveted Connecticut shade wrappers.  But to me, the secret is in what lies beneath.  Under the velvety-smooth wrapper lies a rich, dark Mexican San Andres binder.  The creaminess of the wrapper would be nothing without the sweet, earthy mexican binder.  It's strength helps hold the bunch together securely and allows the best rollers to roll flawless, round cigars.


But in the end, it's really is all about the flavor, (as much as I hate the "I'm all about" and "it's all about" phrases).  If people who have many years of smoking experience discount the Macanudo, it might be that the blend is not powerful enough to keep their attention.  The Portofino is certainly not going to change their minds.  One of the main reasons I loved this cigar so much back in the olden days is that I could inhale it like a cigarette.  NO ONE inhales cigars, at least not the ones who do not like to be kicked in the chest by a mule.  But the Portofino was different.  Not only was it sweet, creamy and silky smooth, but I could forget about cigarettes while I smoked it, which was important since I was actively quitting cigarettes for 20 years.  

Bla Bla Bla, let's smoke it.  This is a tubed cigar, so it goes anywhere.  But it's also a lancero-shape cigar, and lately people on the net seem to be saying that the draw is no longer consistent on these.  As I had just ordered a box, I was worried about that.  But as I cut and tested my first Portofino in decades, the draw was perfect.  It lit slowly and from the first few puffs, I was worried that I had wasted my money.  Granted, these are mostly going to the troops in the end anyway, but I will make short work out of 5-6 of them.  So I was worried that there was not much flavor there, and this was the first cigar of the day.  I laid out a rack of beef  ribs and some 'pork fingers' on the smoker, poured a Maredsous Brown abbey ale and kicked back to watch the birds.  There are new arrivals in the yard the longer these new bird feeders are up.  Saw my first Black-Capped Chickadees up close, I know that is not such a big deal to most people, but I have been a long-time bird lover, and there are a lot of house sparrows in this neighborhood.  We have always had Cardinals, Bluejays, Robins, etc, and seeing House Finches come in and eat that we never knew were around was cool enough, but these Chickadees really got to me.  SO SMALL and so unique.  And while we are on small and unique, I have heard a Peewee out there, too, no mistaking THAT call, and hopefully it will find it's way to our little nature preserve we call the back yard.  It's a pine-fenced corner lot in the middle of a busy older part of a major city in which we don't spray pesticides.  The bird scene can get raucous on a Friday evening and tonight was looking lie a loud night.

The longer the cigar burned, the better it got.  I began to find some body in there, and the signature sweet, toasty and creamy character began to shine.  I got this one down to the nub, all the while enjoying an ever-increasing complexity and strength.  Well, I say nubbed, I took it to an inch and a half, which for me is nubbed, especially with a long cigars.  While I will not say that this is a cigar I will be smoking very many more times, it was a pleasure to smoke it again, like shaking hands with an old friend and finding them no worse for wear, tear and twenty years of time passed.  And out of respect for that relationship, I WILL do what I rarely ever do, and rate this smoke.  81 points and still going strong.