Small cigars for a hot night

That post title brings up thoughts of a rhythm-filled night in Havana, music blaring, men and women smoking small cigars.  That might be fine for an evening in the theater of the mind, but for the two cigars in question, it was just a hot night on the porch, with the most exciting thing being my learning about a group of muggers who were robbing people at gunpoint in my neighborhood while they worked in their yards or sat on their porches and smoked cigars.  And before I go on with this, let me just say.  Suck it Ron, you bloated piece of $hi+.  

I heard that the cold front that caused the temperatures to plummet into the low 90s was clearing out, so I decided I would give a cold beer and a great cigar one more shot before I got to the Smokies.  I had been generously replenished with Partagas Chicos, so I thought it might be a good time to stop hoarding my 2005 box.  I realized that one whole beer might be too much for a Chico, so I grabbed a 2011 Cohiba Panatela to backstop the venerable machine made Partagass.  I took up a comfortable spot on the porch, looked right and left for muggers, then lit her up.  Wow are these good.  The cellophane manages to hold in all the sweet, funky power these things are know for and preserve them for, in this case 7 years.  I say Funky because to me they seem to have a dank, basement flavor that is an acquired taste.  I have never seen evidence of mold on mine, but it seems my boxes of 25 all had a musty character.  I do not specifically recall the flavor in the 5 packs I got long ago.  Regardless of whether it's inherent or accidental, I might be almost through with it, because I now have only boxes of recent vintage that I will report on as the coming years go by.  If they are also musty, I will mark it down as being the blend.  Hard to say BLEND as these are scraps rolled by a machine, but they DO taste the same every time.  So you tell ME what to call it.


The cigar burns fast and warm, but delivers superb spicy, sweet flavor with a hint of wine.  It takes about 24 minutes to go from good idea to pile of ashes, and then the landlady comes out and talks about some business with her yard.  I get distracted and over-smoke the thing and ruin my mood.  Eventually it becomes clear she isn't going to go back inside and leave me to my warming beer and cold Chico butt.  So I light the Cohiba Panatela which is a mistake to begin with.  I have already determined that they are nothing to waste by smoking them before 2013-14.  But my mother tried her best not raise a fool, and she was only partially successful. It tastes good but can't hold a candle to the Chico.  The flavor is cold and weak and trying to be good, but not trying hard enough.  So she rambles on about the muggers, the lawn, the dogs, all the hot subjects just now.  I tell her she is missing the best possible chance to have her lawn fill in this summer.  Leslie will have to forgive me here, I am the Johnny Appleseed of St. Augustine grass.  I love it, she hates it.  But my landlady is sold.  She walks around on MY portion of the lawn in bare feet and giggles all the time about how great it feels.  When I moved in her yard was 57 vaieties of weeds and a little bermuda.  But she has LONG St. Augustine runners heading from my part of the yard to a bare patch on her half of the yard, but SOMEONE, and I think its HER, keeps raking them up so they are just flopping around on the lawn, not sticking to the dirt and making progress on stitching together to make a perfect carpet of St. Augustine.  I say raking, I think she is pulling up "Creeping Charlie" or Ground Ivy....when she pulls THAT UP, (which she told me she is doing) she must be yanking up the runners.  Geez, did I get off track again?  


Anyway the Cohiba gets warmed up and really delivers the goods after about a half inch.  I find my beer did not get as warm as I thought it might have, tell the landlady that its time to get back to my relaxation, and she toddles back inside and lets me be.  No muggers destroy my serenity either.  If  they ever tried to lay in wait once, I imagine Ralph barked at them so fiercely that they probably won't target any of US in their crime spree.  They like to creep around in the early morning or super-late night and walk up on you when you are entering or leaving your car in the dark.  They point a gun in your face and demand 'you shi+'.  As the cigar burned down, it gave me vanilla, raisin, nutmeg and toast flavors and performed flawlessly for a tightly-rolled smoke.  All in all both cigars were real winners and I look forward to seeing what the Cohibas are like in two years.  As for the Chicos, I will be smoking them regularly and will continue to note their qualities here.  I think they are a great value that everyone should find and purchase.  They are cheap but fulfilling and help get you through the summer and winter smoking times where it's just to unbearable to be outside for long.


Man are we in for trouble when the machine breaks down.  I know I AM spoiled with my air conditioner.  When the machine breaks down, there will be a LOT of angry bands of angry people roving around that will make Mad Max look like a Saturday Morning cartoon.