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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.

Trinidad Topes Edición Limitada 2016.

Punch Serie D'Oro No. 2 EL '13

AMO ABR 16 Esplendido. Man oh man.

Behike 52 - BTO OCT 13.

December 20th 03' Vegas Robaina 5 Aniversario Humidor Don Alejandro Prunes, Leather, Licorice

Dip#2. Sourdough. Up there with P2 as an: 'I could smoke you everyday'.

'23 ERDM Demi Tasse. Tiny powerhouse of flavor.

Fundy from 2019. Cheers! FOH😙💨

Siglo II.

JL1 2024

To our Friends of FOH, This Christmas, we want you to know how deeply grateful we are. On behalf of Nahun, Sergio, and every man and woman on the floor at Fabrica 5, thank you. In 2025, FOH didn’t just support our cigars, you changed our lives. Your belief in what we do, your encouragement, your feedback, and your loyalty have given our team pride, stability, and a renewed sense of purpose every single day we come to work. When we roll a cigar, we now know we are rolling it for friends. From our families in Danlí to yours around the world, we wish you a peaceful Christmas filled with good health, good company, and great cigars. May 2026 be even better for all of us, and may we continue this journey together. With sincere gratitude and a strong hug, Nahun, Sergio & the entire Fabrica 5 team Sergio Nahun

H. Upmann Magnum 54 (UTL FEB19).

A magical 2005 Mag 46. Don't know if it's the age or the era, but those mid-oughts bring a special twang.

Been a while since posting here so happiest December fellow members! Have incredible holidays! CB

The last of my Reynaldo customs. 😞 A wonderful weekend to you all.

La Gloria Cubana Medaille D'Or Especial Edición Regional Belux.

N2 Piramide N1 Lancero

Cohiba Siglo III - PUR Nov 2016...

D4 '22

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

'19 PLPC. These are finally starting to come around and become inviting.

Monterreyes No.4 EL '21 Beauty day. These are underrated.

LAU FEB 17 898. So rich and full flavored.

Back to back flavor bombs. Happy Friday FOH!

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.

What a year. 🥳 Danli Hamlet and I started in a new Danli Factory January 2025. Hammy was all for it. I was 50/50 knowing deep down that I was now responsible for 35 new people and their families. First cigars rolled off the production table in May and all fears were set aside. We had worked with Factory managers Nahun and Sergio previously. We know their quality and the standards upon which they would build thier team around. December 2025, 4 new cigar releases completed, full inventory in stock and a complete 2026 rollout plan (5 cigars) in place. Proud of the entire team. FOH Strength to strength. FOH holds a special place in the cigar world. It isn't Insta/YouTube/Influencer led. FOH launched in 2004 and has transitioned over the years from 100% Habanos to probably 50/50 in terms of the daily cigar appetite of members. It has weathered cigar shortages, cigarmageddon, Habanos shennanigans. FOH has grown up, doesn't take itself too seriously, supports each other, has enough "dodgy" in it that it's members enjoy taking the mickey out of each other. It also is a place of civil discourse. Not an easy thing to achieve in todays world! It is home to many of us. It is our global neighbourhood cigar lounge. Habanos What a shocker of a year. Cigar shortages, Prison rollers, Chen Zhi, Pig Butchering scams and global sanctions. You couldn't really write a worse script to finish off 2025. I will always give Habanos SA one thing. They know how to launch new product. I think it is at times forgotten that Habanos is a marketing and distribution machine. That is their sole role. It is the muppets at Tabacuba that are in charge of production/quality control and all the other "essentials". Habanos SA has some brilliant distributors in H&F/Phoenicia/PCC/ etc let alone a cohort of magnificent retailer ambassador stores around the world. Still I can't halp but feel that those distributors and retailers are being let down woefullly by Habanos. Get your shit together HSA. Clean up the mess and clean it up quickly. Lean on your best assets which are your distributors, retailers and loyal zealots whom you have ignored for far too long. Cuba Cuba right now is the weak link in the cigar chain...and Jesus, some of those other links are fragile. If you want to picture how the world of Cuban cigars falls apart in short order then look at the potential full or partial collapse of the Cuban state over the next 12 months. There is no good news coming out of Cuba today. Anyone looking for green shoots can stop now. If you were to ask me what are the chances that the Cuban cigar scene in December 2026 will look like December 2025, I will say less than 30% chance. Hold on to your hats people. Top CC cigars 2025 I won't do a top 25/20/15/10. There are some cracking cigars coming out of Cuba. World leading cigars. Cuba has the best tobacco in the world. No argument. Behike/Cohiba Esplendidos/V/VI ....brilliant. I don't put them in my list because they are out of reach for 80% of members. My finest for the year, was the Quai D'Orsay Imperiales Travel Humidor. They are simply great. I personally haven't smoked one less than a 94 point utility. Affordable (ish) Regular production you can't go wrong with Partagas D4/Ramon Allones Specially Select/H Upmanns 54/46/50/2/ Hoyo de Monterrey San Juan/Rio Seco/Romeo y Julieta Wide Churchill/Bolivar Royal Corona/Petit Corona/Sancho Panza Belicoso/Vegas Robaina Unicos/Punch Punch/Trinidad Topes/Esmeralda. There are plenty of others. QC has been on a steady path since 2022 which is "OK" to good. It isn't "great" and anyone who says it is...well.. is playing with themselves. If you have to reach for a "drawpoker" on a $25 cigar .....bugger me...a $6 cigar.... then it is a FAIL. We made some half a million cigars in Danli this year and my team screws up. They screw up less than I do....but don't tell them. Our fail rate is around 2%. My team are not machines and that is an acceptable rate in my eyes. We retrain/ refund/replace/apologise and put systems in place to get better. We pay well, we listen, we train and we support. How on earth can Cuba continue, at todays prices, to have a "good box" still arrive with 3-4 dodgy sticks. FOH Mods. You guys are immense and I haven't thanked or engaged with you enough this year. That will change in 2026. It has been a year of transition for me and you have worked together to allow me the freedom to pursue what needed to be done. Thankyou. Legends one and all. Your canvas of work is reflected in the beautiful, informative and inclusive nature of this forum. Kudos. Members 27500 members and only 5 members banned this this year! And none of them were named Ken ! Members of FOH are our family. You are the front door to our house. You are all welcome to lunch/dinner dine/cigar with Dee and myself anytime. Through your friendships you have enriched our lives no end. God we love you good people. Thank you. My Team Steve, Ben, Alex Groom, Alex Retamal, Haley, Katrina. Immense each and every one of you. You call me out, you shorten me up, you believe in the mission where people and ethics come before profit. Not much below...but a smidgeon. You remind me of personal shortcomings (endlessly), you celebrate our wins, you polish our near misses so that they become "wins" or are ditched quickly to the oblivion. I couldn't do it without you. To Diana and Lisa. Combined 50 years with me. We built this together. Love you both. For members I have something special coming in 2026. We will be releasing a line of cigars celebrating these two wonderful cigar community women's 50 years in the cigar world. We have blended 4 cigars along the lines of the Hoyo de Monterrey Le Hoyo Series. Depute/Du Prince/Daughin/Dieux. The blends are very much along the lines of our Ninfa. Honey, elegant, edgy. They will be boxes (SLB) 25's. 1. Sorellina 110 mm × 38 RG — The Little Sister 2. Bella Sorella 130 mm × 40 RG — The Beautiful Sister 3. Sorella di Notte 155 mm × 42 RG — The Sister of the Night 4. Sorella Reale 152 mm × 38 RG — The Royal Sister Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. To each and every one of you and your families, a heartfelt Merry Christmas and a Magnificent New 2026 Year. As things wind down over the coming days, perhaps take the time to reach out to those family and members who you haven't touched base with for a while. It may make a huge difference to their lives. Huge hug good people. Merry Christmas! Rob

TEB OCT O7 ESTUPENDOS.

Siglo De Oro - SUL AGO 23

2008 Sig VI from a tube. Fantastic. I leave home tomorrow and have over 100 days of snowboarding planned between now and the end of April. My cigar strategy is about 3-4 bundles of Sovereign Suns…so trying to get some nice variety in before I leave.

Plasencia alma del cielo. It's a no for me. Super Partagas . Yes. La Flor Dominicana ligero Granú. Again, no. Quai D'Orsay Coronas Claro. Yummy. Montes Serie N. Good. Punch Coronations. Yummy. Hoyo de Monterrey Coronations. Super yummy.

08 Punch Serie D’Oro No.1 Reina Unida ER 6 1/8 X 52 - my first and only one - not holding on to anything anymore. No stick is safe! Cinnamon French Toast, myriad baking spices, much more Upmann than Punch - reminds more of a well aged Upmann No.2. Smooth clearly super premium aged tobacco here. Superb construction - held ash like a champ. Two hours.

Quai d'Orsay Senadores TUA NOV 20

Hard to beat a good Monte 2. PTE NOV 23

20' H. Upmann Connossieur B La Casa del Habano Exclusivo Carmel Corn, Molasses, Baking Spices

Thanks @Gemini_Man

A N1 in the garage lounge. This could be my new to me cigar of the year. I love how the opening gives you a smack across the choppers and settles into a flavorful medium-bodied journey.

Padron 50th Maduro. Smooth chocolate and salinity. Brilliant. Thanks T!

UAO OCT 18 Siglo VI

'24 Reyes. Mild and creamy.

Cohiba Siglo I - ROM Nov 2015...

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

Cheerful smoke!

Fuente Opus X 20th in Believe vitola. Flawless construction and ample transitions in flavor.

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