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The NHL just played the winter classic in Miami. I remain optimistic for your Popedom.

Well develloped.

i am still of the view that we should look at dividing sportsmen (and of course, women) and athletes, but if we combine, for me, MJ is undoubtedly the greatest basketballer and one of the all time greatest, but the stats and results and everything else are such that Donald Bradman is clearly the greatest, daylight second. if there is a challenger, surely it is heather mackay. the only two people who dominated a sport, that i can think of, to the extent Bradman did would be heather mackay and walter lindrum. a push to call lindrum an athlete, but perhaps a sportsman. tiger is a superstar but it is very hard to name him best of all, given that there is a more than legitimate case to argue that he may not have even been the greatest golfer, in comparison to Jack Nicklaus. line ball between them. jack with 18 majors, tiger with 15.

It’s very clear to me the greatest athlete of all time is Tiger Woods!

I would just note that while the overall concept of aging does relate to biochemical processes, the article does seem to be full of lore that isn’t supported by any understanding of biological processes. For example, the phrase “continuous fermentation” is used to describe cigars aging post-rolling: “…continuous fermentation of cigars produces ever increasing pleasant flavours…” This gives the impression that fermentation keeps actively going inside a finished cigar as you store it over years. Fermentation refers to active metabolism by microorganisms, usually under specific conditions (temp, water, etc)…the fermentation phase largely happens before rolling, in a controlled environment. After rolling, temperature and moisture are much lower than what microbes need for active fermentation and there’s no continuous input of nutrients or removal of waste, which is required. All this is to say aging is a thing, but the main action during long storage is chemical breakdown of various compounds, not microbial metabolism. So there’s no continuous fermentation…or second or third or whatever other fermentation. You simply have a palate of chemical compounds that are changing and the resultant combinations provide different flavors and aromas. Eventually though, they will all go flat and lifeless. Ferri seems to have it correct in the article in that the lifespan of a cigar is a parabola - it improves to a point where it peaks, and then starts degrading.

This is me freezing my cajones off in Michigan in December a couple days after Xmas!

Punch Short de Punch from 2019. Best cigar from the box, so far.

I so wanted to read this.

Tried my first Desnudo N8 today as my first cigar of 2026. I very rarely smoke this size of cigar due to time constraints, but thing lined up with my cigar friends for a long lunch. I received a 5-pack of these in September and have been sitting at 65% RH since then and they smoked absolutely beautiful. The construction and burn were absolutely flawless with plenty of smoke output. I consider these medium strength with nice subtle flavors throughout. All in all great cigars and a wonderful long lunch indoors with blowing snow and -15 degree temperatures outside. A wonderful way to start 2026.

I've only smoked two myself. One was with the Metaxa Private Reserve Brandy which has quite a sweet rose water finish that worked well and above was smoked with a Barbados rum aged in Tawny Port casks in South Australia. Both worked really well but I'd say the rum was ahead. If you've got a rum you like, give it a whirl!

I’ll put y’all’s initials on them, so there will be no doubt which one belongs to who’s great-great grandchild. 🤔

Picked up a fiver of Toscano Master Aged Serie 5 cigars. A hand rolled, fire-cured Italian grown Kentucky wrapper around more fire cured Italian grown Kentucky and other North American tobacco fillers. 5x38/50/38. No rainbow flavors or looking for transitions between thirds here. Just straight, in your face (well, mouth and nose) peaty, smoky, singed woody goodness. 🙂

Okay, well at the very least a consolation prize, if there is one!

They look good! 🤣

Last night's Cigars 14’ Trinidad Vigia Buttered toast, Almond, Caramel 20’ Saint Luis Rey Regios Vanilla Cake, Baked Bread, Cocoa Blah Ok Good Tasty Heavenly

Finally we are ahead of the curve instead of competing with the rest of the gulf south for last place in good metrics and first place in bad ones.

What he said.

I have the will, not sure of the ‘way’ part… H. Upmann Connossieur A H. Upmann Magnum 50 Bolivar Royal Corona Partagas Shorts 50-cab.

Fuente Anejo Shark. Dark, sweet, and fulfilling.

🎶FURRY PAWS OF WHITE!!!

Bwwwaaahahahaha!!! Just kidding. 😔

Hold on a minute, John…

Hold on…”On the phone with Habanos…a couple of weeks later…” Does smoking and reviewing a quickly rolled prison CC count?! 😂🙂 Nice review!

Ok ok if you wanna get technical, I smoked the cigars in the order I showed them so. 70's Partagás Capitols in cello out of a 5 pack tin That would be the last one I smoked in 2025!