HShep

I'm looking for an LC Smith Longfowl. 3" chambers. Ideal grade would be a dream come true. 30" bbls. The plan is to do a soft restoration on it with no intent on selling it.

I'm realizing two things- 1- I like the corona size ring gauge. A lot. 2- I like short smokes, especially on my commute to work. I'm keeping an eye open for a half corona on the 24:24 and I'm wondering what brand I should buy. I like creamier/nuttier cigars in the morning when I'd smoke something like this. This sounds more like the Upmann than the Monte, but I figured the brain trust would have a better idea. What do y'all think?

I'm on a new lease in Arkansas this year. All duck. Four pits, two or three layout fields, a river blind, and some timber. I'll probably try and line up a Canvasback hunt on Catahoula (Louisiana) lake this year as well. I'm definitely looking forward to smoking a Bolivar or HdM while hunting the old man with a good Parker SxS.

I see this a lot with old shotguns. People go so far down the rabbit hole that they end up spending a fortune on things that they will never use. Guns were made to be shot and enjoyed. Cigars were made to be smoked. If you wind up with a collection that is too rare or valuable to use, what have you done, really, aside from created a personal museum for things that you like to use, but won't, because reasons? I wouldn't own a shotgun that I wouldn't shoot and I wouldn't own a cigar that I wouldn't smoke. Sometimes the stars align and you come across something truly special and unique. Enjoy it for what it was designed to do and don't obsess over the future.

I stuffed an empty duffel bag in my suitcase. On the return trip, all of the dirty clothes went in the duffel and the cigars went in the suitcase.On my next trip, I'll put clean clothes in tupperware containers in the suitcase along with the empty duffel and then put custom rolls in the tupperware on the return.

I don't drink anymore, but I smoke plenty of cigars. Ginger Beer is my favorite. Bundaberg's is great. We have a pretty good sized garden and I'll drop a couple of basil or mint leaves in it to add some more spice. Bruce Cost ginger ale is also really good. If you're in the American south, Cheerwine is good, but sweet, as are other sodas. Coffee and cuban coffee are also really good. Any kind of soda or sparkling water should do the trick as well. Finally, if it's hot, fresh lemonade with fresh mint (limonada con menta) is wonderful with a full-bodied cigar. It's even better blended. Edit to add- I suspect a strong black iced tea with a handful of fresh mint would also work really well.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind. One, you're going to want to factor in at least 10% for a currency exchange. She may order foreign currency before she goes, but you're really complicating things at that point. LCdH will usually take American dollars, but they will also factor in 10%. For all I know, they're changing money behind the counter. It doesn't matter either way. Next, you probably want to suggest at least three to five sizes and shapes. Count on your friend visiting one shop and that's about it. Three, encourage your friend to enjoy a cigar at Hotel Nacional, LCdH in Miramar or Melia Cohiba or in Vinales. In my experience, the LCdH in Hotel Melia Cohiba had some of the friendliest staff when it comes to new cigar smokers. They can make some good recommendations and rum pairings. They were also very square dealing when I bought a bunch of boxes there.

I am relatively new to cigars and Cuban cigars, but I jumped in with both feet. I think there's a certain obsession with 'chasing the dragon' when it comes to Cuban cigars. The first CC I smoked was a PSD4 at LCdH in Miramar, Habana, Cuba. The experience alone was enough to hook me on the mystique and provenance of Cuban cigars. The cigar itself, though, was positively decadent. Full, but smooth. Toothy, but not with the typical pepper of a Nicaraguan or Dominican blend. However, I too have found that it's entirely possible to get some that just aren't that great. The first Punch Punch turned me off to the cigar entirely. If the others taste and draw like the one and only that I sampled, y'all can have it. I'm good. I have a box of 8-9-8s in the humidor that are just... harsh. I hope another couple of years in the humi mellows them out by several orders of magnitude.But, as I sit here typing on a Cuban cigar forum, puffing on a HdM Epi. No. 1 with a good cup of coffee, I might as well be in Cuba. The flavor, the smells, and the experience keep me hoarding the growing collection that I own for just the right time to smoke one and searching out vitolas that appeal to me, because maybe the next box that I buy will be as good or even better than that first PSD4.It's kind of a nerdy thing to do, but the next time I visit Cuba, God willing, I'm buying a box of Cohiba Lanceros, R&J Churchills, and if I can find them, a box of Upmann Petit Coronas, the three cigars of the some of the 20th century's cigar smoking icons.