Santa Cohiba

Oddly enough that is NOT the name of an island off the coast of Cuba.  It's the jolly old elf that brought me some new Cohibas to taste for the blog.  In the next week or so, I will be smoking a Cohiba Panatela, which I have had before and was very impressed with.  I never smoked one for this blog, but it should be interesting, as they are 2011 smokes.  


Also coming up is the Behike 52, which ought to REALLY be a trip.  I have had friends who read this junk tell me that they appreciate that I never fail to tell them when the emperor isn't wearing any clothes, so to speak.  I don't have a very good palate, but I do know what I like.  And oftentimes I do not care for cigars that are widely accepted as great smokes, but that do not perform for me.  While I understand the concept of a good, representative sample, I also know it's possible to find a great cigar occasionally, and I do....only occasionally, haha.  So the Behike 52 review ought to be a hoot.


I also found my way into a few 2008 Esplendidos, and I expect the world out of these sticks.  I have let far too many 04 and 06 models slip right through my fingers due to a reverence for a rule many have for aging you Cohibas before smoking them, thus avoiding the waste of a potential fine smoke.  By the time they were ready to consume, someone else wanted them more than me.  I wonder how those cigars tasted?  They were certainly fantastic when they were new.


So look out in the next several days for some Cohiba reviews.  I am hoping for some really high marks.


Also I would like to thank Jeff B, a co-inmate at the Asylum where I am locked away.  He was the high bidder one of a few auction lots that I had in our troop-support auction.  It consisted of three of the 5 highest-rated cigars I have smoked for the blog, Which turned out to be the 2001 Partagas Churchill Deluxe that scored a 97, and two cigars that scored a 93, the 1998 Bolivar Coronas Extra and the 2009 H. Upmann Coronas Major Tubos.  Had the bids escalated to a troop-worthy level, I probably would have substituted the tubo with a 2005 Trinidad Fundadore which also scored a 97.  

Also included in the lot was a OLSCIGARS pint glass, as well as a OLSCIGARS beer-tasting glass.  Once the bidding rounded $65, I decided to throw in one of my new tobacco plant pint glasses.

  The winning bid eventually reached 90 bucks and Jeff was the winner of the lot, using a persistent strategy of bids and I am glad he felt it was worth bidding on.  With shipping to Canada, he actually paid about what it was worth in the end, though, haha.
Thanks Jeff.