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I love this time of the year It's Christmas season and for this part of the world that means it is hot and humid and thoughts turn to the beach, BBQs, Christmas catchups, long lunches, family reunions. Most of Oz will shut down this Friday and some will turn up again the week of the 5th of Jan with many more stringing it out until Australia Day on the 26th. It is our holiday period, our "special time". Aussies feel lucky. We know we are privileged to live in this great brown land surrounded by beautiful beaches/sea. It is why Sundays news of the Bondi beach massacre has shocked this nation to its core. We are a country of immigrants. No one ever came to this country because they had a lot of mates. We have taken immense pride to be a land of opportunity and largely peaceful co-existence. It's not perfect but in the main, you honour your past traditions, you park your issues at the door and you adopt the Australian ethos of tolerance. You "dig in" to make your mark to the best of your ability. What a difference 48 hours makes. Today in Oz, there appears to be one demographic, the Jewish community, who can no longer feel safe in enjoying what the rest of us take for granted. A day at the beach, a celebration, a BBQ, a laugh with friends and family, all held in an environment of safety. What occured Sunday was terrorism on our sacred sands. 16 dead, 40 injured. My heart goes out to all impacted by this tragedy. It has stunned the entire country and should cause all Aussies to contemplate what it means to be an Aussie. I hope that on the other side of that contemplation we all decide to be Ahmed al-Ahmed, that Aussie of Syrian descent who said "no, F*ck that", ran toward the firing terrorist, tackled him, disarmed him and saved countless innocents in the process. Ahmed al-Ahmed took a few bullets and recovers in hospital. Through his actions, Ahmed al-Ahmed has given Australia the greatest Christmas gift of all. He has defined courage, he has defined what being an Aussie should be. Without concern for personal safety, he protected the innocent, the vulnerable. Thank you Ahmed al-Ahmed for the reminder. Thank you for the greatest Christmas gift of all. Merry Christmas mate and a quick recovery.

ALO Mar 2016 50 cab of Punch Punch...

13' Ramon Allones Specially Selected (50 Cab) Raisin, Stewed fruit, Molasses

12 degrees @ 3:30 P.M. Siglo VI - OGA MAR 12

Mag 54. Stop thinking, start drinking. 😅

01' H. Upmann Upmann No.2 Baking Spice, Cocoa, Shortbread Cookie

Behike 52 - BTO OCT 13.

PUR JUL 16 CG. My favorite winter/holiday cigar. Cool night in Florida, had to light one up.

Carlota on a frigid morning with coffee. Go Bears!

Something different for me, Dalay Gran Beli 2023 Ten years of membership and my 5000th post, I’d like to take the opportunity to thank our great hosts and all members of the forum for this great community! I found my way here even much earlier through the legendary early tasting videos (on the old balcony-deck back then with Smithy). At first, twas hard for me to follow what these folks with that ‘strange’ accent were even talking about 😅. But since I am not a social media guy, couldn’t for long bring myself to join as a member. This forum and its inspiring exchange has since become a steadfast part of my life, during difficult times as well as times of joy and happiness. May the latter prevail for all of us, and may this forum go on forever! 🙏

1 y/o Quai d'Orsay Coronas Claro with the morning coffee.

Edmundo

Let's get the day started with a Punch Punch. Got the 120 ton crane set up 35,000 lbs of counterweights on and the old 35 ton rooftop unit down. Waiting on the new unit so we can set it and see what kind of chill water and steam pipe modifications have got to be done.

H.Upmann Petit Coronas - MEG Oct 2015...

Right there with ya. ….except the “Bears” part.

Nice Sunday afternoon...

A 2018 Partagas Shorts A 2021 orange dot Monte 2 A2025 Punch Punch that would have been an excellent cigar with a couple years of age.

One of the early ones...

OIK NOV 04

Just cracked into this box of #4's from 2018 and I am going to keep pulling from it. Wonderful afternoon cigar!

Siglo II.

JL1 2024

Partagas Serie du Connaisseur No 2. RAS MAY 09.

Stock standard Juan Lopez No 2. Just beautiful.

‘98 HdM Du Prince 50 Cab (5 1/8 X 40) - burnt toast, roasted almonds, heavy baking spice. Final third developed lovely rich brioche French toast notes. Super rich dense sweet & savory flavors. One hour of vintage cabinet aged Havana magic.

Cohiba Esplendido (UAO DUC18).

2022

QdO Senadores EL '19. These have all been stunning. Nursing a bit of a Sat morning hangover and getting ready to cook.

Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No.2 - UTL Jul 2019...

Have a nice weekend everyone...

14' La Gloria Cubana Medaille d'Or No.4 Rootbeer float, Honey, Marzipan

Fuente Don Carlos Shark with several years of age on it. Sublime. Slow burning, creamy, aromatic.

'10 Monte Open Junior. Smooth little dart.

Montecristo Media Corona '16. Still has some kick. I love aged tobacco.

14' San Cristóbal de la Habana Torreon Pancake, Marshmallow, Burnt Sugar

Anejo 77 Shark from 2005. This is my first NC in 2025. What a treat! Have a great week ahead FOH.

LGC Inmensos (MUR Jul 2012) thanks to a friend...

Nudie Ninfa. A long glorious smoke.

20' Bolivar Royal Coronas Graham Cracker, Cocoa, Gingerbread 1/2

Custom Havana roll after 1-year. Modelled after BHK 54. Major Trinidad notes for me. Spectacular.

Cohiba Siglo I - ROM Nov 2015...

Sancho Panza Eslavo Edición Regional Serbia 2014. Absolutely stunning. A wonderful weekend to you all.

As less and less vendors have been shipping to the States, I have been trying to slow down the Cuban bleeding from my humidor, so I have been testing out different NCs to see if there are any I could get used to. There really are no substitutes for the Cuban flavor, but these are pretty good.