My Deployment Cigar Journal

[PigFish]

Great report my friend, stay safe. On a note other than cigars, I know some ships are powered with turbine engines and run jet fuel.... What kinda' fuel does that rig run on??? If you don't mind me asking. I am also curios as to how many tons of fuel comprises a "fill up?" Hope the techno stuff is not out of bounds. May the goo Lord keep you safe and well supplied with thin rings!

-Ray

[Onsto]

Great update Chris, keep em coming.

Bit of bad news for you - the way things are going they might have Gaddafi in chains before you get there

[drake2k]

I am very much aware that I am safe tonight because of you. Many thanks.

[riazp]

Another great journal entry Chance, We'll be sure to have a cigar in your honor at the Herf in toronto with Rob! Be safe my friend

[OZCUBAN]

Great post Chris

Riveting reading ,keep it up (when time allows ) have a safe trip keep your head down

Cheers Oz (Steve)

[headstand]

Great read Chance. Rest assured you are not boring us at all. Keep it coming.

[maverickdrinker]

great posts. when u r back in canada, let me know. i got a hook up for palio cutters. be safe out there.

[khomeinist]

Nice work man. Will note your Martinique assessment.

[kiwirwe]

Way to go Chris, gr8 read.

[ChanceSchmerr]

Time For Part 2 of my Update – that will bring us to the present day! Thanks again for those following in! I’ll try to keep your attention as best I can.

Ray – a more detailed answer will be coming to your inbox….but in simple (read: sanitized) terms, our ship runs on 2 gas turbines and a Propulsion diesel, and both types of engine use Diesel fuel – We leave the Jet fuel for the airplanes! A full tank of gas is about 170,000 Gallons of fuel…..so it does take a while to fill up; even when we have the flow and pressure we want! Thanks for the Thin-Rings wish - read on to see what I found!

Maverick - thanks man, If I am unsuccessful in finding a Palio while out here I will look you up when I get home

Khomeinst, everyone - Yes, stay the hell away from Martinique. For your own sake.

When last I left, we were passing through the Straits of Gibraltar. With the Rock now in our wake, we kicked into gear and powered up the Spanish coast towards our next destination, Palma de Mallorca, Spain.

For those not in the know….Palma is the principal city in the Balearic Islands, a set of islands off the eastern coast of Spain in the Med, directly south from Barcelona. These islands are now famous as tourist destinations, particularly the island of Ibiza for the raucous party scene there. Mallorca, the main island, is a bit of everything – tourist destination, transportation Hub, governmental center – it has everything. For me – I could see it had just about everything I was looking for – Sunny Beaches, Tapas bars, Old European Architecture…..and many Estancos (Tobacco stores) throughout the city.

The first full day in Port was my birthday, Aug 18th . Not wanting to make a big deal, my only real desire was two-fold – I wanted to have a great dinner at one of the best Tapas bars in town, and I wanted to smoke some fine cigars. The Cigar I started with was one of my treasured cigars from my collection, one of those boxes I can barely believe that I’ve even obtained at all – the El Rey Del Mundo Tainos. Box Code PEL NOV 00, this cigar so from the box has been either dream-like or passable. When on, with a good draw – it is spellbinding, filled with sweet, tangy flavours and aromatic, baking-spice twists throughout. When it’s not on, I get a difficult-to-draw frumpy bastard – barely willing to give me a ginger note here or a puff of sweet bread there. Since it was my birthday, I sorely hoped that it would be ‘on’. I was mostly pleased. The Tainos drew reasonably well, though still a little tight, and the burn fluctuated. The pre-light around was spot on – light gingerbread and fragrant aged tobacco – but the opening third seemed to want to hold on to something. It never truly opened up to me in the first third. The sweetness was there, and the light spice on occasion turned up….but it seemed like the cigar was content to keep me on the porch without inviting me inside. What the heck?!?! With the 2nd third, I began to break through and unlock the secrets, and was blessed with some tangy bursts of fruit flavor. The spices vanished but were not really missed. They turned up again in the final third, but in a blunt format – you know when you’re smoking a cigar and you expect a piquant-type of pepper spice….the kind that tingles your tongue? And instead you get what could best be described as an overall ‘push’ on your palate of generic pepper, a spice without definition but still present? That’s what happened to those cinnamon-baking spices in this Taino. Maddening to discover that this cigar still didn’t want to come out and play! Ah well, in the end, I’ve smoked plenty worse cigars than this. I gave it a 91.

After the cigar, I ventured into town to begin my search for cigars. I had actually started the previous evening, going on an excursion to the El Corte Ingles, the Spanish Department store that served me so well last year in Vigo, Spain, where I found the basement “Cava del Puros” simply overflowing with Habanos. It would appear that not all El Corte Ingles have Cigar Stores! Neither of the two locations in Palma has a Cava Del Puros….that was somewhat disappointing. In any case, my birthday was a good time to go on the hunt. Without a rental car (high season + exhorbitant rates {PS F*** You, Europcar…..how do you sleep at night with ridiculous rates like that !?!?!} meant I was walking in this port) I strolled into town, which in the massive heat and humidity was quite a difficult trek. Once in town, I treated myself to a nice bottle of birthday whisky (to bring home…..2 drinks per day in ports during a mission!), something hard to find back in BC, the Caol Ila 12 Yr. I likes my peaty whisky! From there, I went after the cigars.

I will break down my finding into two stores. Mods – please forgive me if I am too descriptive with these stores – I only wish to inform and advise if anyone else goes to visit Palma. The first store I went to is downtown on the main “Born” road, right in the center of town. A small Estanco, it advertised their selection of Habanos outside, so I went in. A long, narrow store, it had glass window-cases along the right side, where single sticks of every cigar they had in stock was standing on end with a price and name tag. A neat way to show your wares if you have limited space and can’t have customers in the humidor itself! Given the central location and tons of pedestrians walking by, I can understand the reasoning. What I CAN’T understand was not doing anything about the beetles! About 1/3 of the cigars in the window were riddled with beetle holes, and clearly they had not moved them in some time – you could see the tobacco dust in little piles right underneath the holes….Disgusting! I asked what the deal was, but the proprietor spoke no English….greeeeeeat. Wish I spoke some Spanish right about now! Anyway, what I could see of their humidor in the back did look much better maintained…I reasoned that they saw no need to regulate the window cigars because they were for ‘show’ anyway, to display what people could get. I set to work requesting boxes I was after. First, I asked for a box of the Sancho Panza Quijotes, the RE for 2010 that has finally be released. One was in the window but they were all out. Damn. Alright, how about the ERDM Coronas De luxe? I was excited as I asked about this box – I almost jumped out of my shoes when I saw one in the window. Could it be that I actually could get a box of these beauties? I’d been wishing for a box for so long, and after finally trying one last month, I was even more determined to find some….success! They had a box! I eagerly examined it. 2001 box…..hmm well you could still find good smokes from this year. Ok let’s open it. Dagger through the heart. Mold!!!! A big web of it on the right side of the box onto the right-most cigar, as well as various cigars on the top row. I felt like crying. Why is it so hard to let me get these damn discontinueds?!?!?! I almost considered buying the box anyway, in the hope that some of them were still smokable, but I couldn’t – such a waste. I showed the store owner and he tried to tell me that it was ok, by wiping off the mold and saying something about how it was like “the vino, like the vintage!” Right, buddy. I’m sure the Spitbucket boys are lining up for moldy bottles of wine from an acknowledged crummy vintage year. I pressed on. Surely this guy had something I wanted that wasn’t molded over? How about the El Rey Del Mundo Petit Coronas? Wonders….they had two boxes! Both from 2009, the first box was kind of iffy – little aroma, crummy wrappers…the second Box, OTS MAR 09 – now here was something good! Nice Aroma, good looking wrappers….sold! Something I actually wanted and couldn’t find anywhere else so far! I pressed on again – what about Ramon Allones Gigantes? No stock….ok how about the RA Small Club Corona? He came back with a 2/3 box, saying something I didn’t understand. I asked if they had any full boxes…he motioned this was all he had. I wanted them, they looked alright so I said ok….at which point he held up a finger as if to say “one moment” and disappeared into the humidor again…..and came back with a full, unopened box! What a bugger this guy is! POL JUN 10, the box of RASSC was great – delicious beany aroma, good feel and appearance, I jumped on them. So this was looking like a win, even with the ERDM CDL shame. Before leaving, I remembered that a shipmate had asked me to find him some nice cigars, and gave me a certain amount of Euros. Given that Corona Gordas were a little over his price range here, I thought about asking for some Trinidad Coloniales – reasonable price in Spain, and I’m sure he’d probably enjoy them. The owner came back with a box, OUR OCT 07. Hmm, 4 years old, not bad…I opened it up and had a look. Music from the heavens! The oiliest, deep dark richest wrappers I’d seen all day! Where have you been??!? I couldn’t let these guys go – I asked the store owner for another box. He came back with a second, exact same box code, and just as delicious-looking! I mean, you could eat these things, they looked so good! Serendipity…I bought a box for me as well as the box for my friend. A good haul, here…..despite the disgusting window display and moldy CDL’s.

On to the other Estanco! This one was just down the street from the large El Corte Ingles. It appeared to be a more professional store – it had a lit-up buzzing sign outside proclaiming Puros within! What a turnaround from the other place! This store had a owner who spoke very good English, who let me into his walk in humidor and was happy to have me look through his stock. He had less boxes than what I wanted….his turnover was much higher. I came away with a couple singles of the Partagas de Partagas No. 1….he had about a half box there and I’d never tried this Lonsdale before! As well, he had 3 singles left (and no boxes) of the ERDM Coronas De Luxe…I snapped those up quick. He also had a few Sancho Panza Bachilleres hanging around, with dark, oscuro wrappers that looked almost like they were Cameroon wrappers. I bought a couple of them to try out. No SP Corona Gigantes or I’d be all over those ones. I also picked up a Bolivar 108 RE Espana, and a Vegas Robaina Maestros RE Espana – to see if these were worth picking up as a box. The owner was very kind and though he didn’t have any boxes of what I was looking for, he would try to find some of the ones I was asking for (like the Sancho Panza Quijotes RE – surprising how hard it was to find these!) I told him I would return before my ship sailed.

These are the two cigar sources in Palma that I could find. There may be others but I believe these are the two biggest. The second store I visited told me he was the specialist for cigars on Mallorca, and given his professional surroundings, I tend to believe him. I would recommend him in a second for any visitor to Palma. The other store…..well, I guess you roll your dice, if you can get past the window beetles!

That evening, I did indeed get to enjoy a wonderful Tapas dinner – the first place we tried was rated the highest, but was chock-full with a lineup, so we went to “Tast”, just off the square at the end of the Born road. It was full as well, but since we had 8 people they were able to put us downstairs right away at a large table, and we ate like kings! I actually got to try this “Iberico Ham” that Cigar Aficionado wrote up a while back – my God was it ever delicious! I can see why it is up to 150 Euros a kilo!!! The Octopus was fabulous, and I lost count of how many tapas I had. Great company with my fellow officers, couldn’t ask for a better birthday dinner.

Afterwards, we went back to the ship and I settled down for one more cigar while calling my fiancée back in Canada. I pulled out one of the Partagas de Partagas No. 1 that I picked up at the good store earlier. A rectangular box-press, this cigar looks for all intents and purposes like a cigar that wants to tease me by being hopelessly plugged. The aroma was a hint of pepper, blended with aged tobacco. I lit up – she drew ok! Indeed, it was a little tight, but a second, deeper cut took care of that, and I settled down to a remarkable cigar. I really love the Aged Partagas profile. If I can ever find a good box of Partagas anything from the 1990s I will jump all over it. This cigar was subtle, refined and elegant…..while at the same time true to the marca, loaded with white pepper blasts and hot spice. The pepper is never allowed to overpower, framed perfectly by a smooth, earthy/wood combo that borders on creamy in texture. Does that make sense? I guess you had to be there A really well-blended cigar, to be sure – I enjoyed it as much as I did the phone call home! It just……delivered, in a way the ERDM Tainos didn’t. The tight draw did eventually return and brought down the score a little, but on the whole the tastes were enough for me to want more of these. A good 92 for this one.

The Next morning, I strolled into town again, keen to close up at a webcafe for a video chat home and good, fast internet to catch up with emails and FOH. I smoked the Bolivar 108 RE Espana on my way into town, eager to give it a try. I shouldn’t have been. Understood that these are young cigars and newer RE’s…..but Jesus, they should have something in them to make them redeemable, if not a hint of ability to age! The cigar was made properly, burned properly, looked and smelled nice…and tasted like sh*t! First Bolivar RE that I’ve ever had that wasn’t a great smoke in it’s own right, if not true to the Marca. I was thoroughly disappointed – the blend was all wrong, with different notes pushing through with each puff, and each one less enjoyable than the last. Sweet wood, followed by acrid pepper, followed by oaky ammonia, followed by peppery paper…..just a blecch cigar. Not recommended, I gave it an 83, and the only reason it broke the 70s at all was that only the flavour was awful. It was clearly made properly, someone just screwed the pooch with the blend.

So after that disaster, I log on to FOH, to find Rob’s announcement of all the discontinued cigars for 2011/2012. Heresy!!!! ERDM PC – thank God I just got a box – now I better find another one if I can! Punch PC – I havn’t even tried that and I’ve wanted to!! Boli Corona Extra…I’ve only just been introduced and now they are on the way one, what the hell?!?! Habanos SA – I really hope you go bankrupt from these changes once people realize how lifeless the large RG cigars can frequently be. Then maybe proper businessmen who understand the nature of your product can take over and listen to what the market demands, as well as what your history and repeat customers demand. What a Freakin’ joke.

I end up spending hours online at the web café – didn’t want to leave, I ended up having a great long video chat with my fiancée – no capability of this at sea so I need to take advantage when I can! I returned to the ship ready to head to bed, I am exhausted from the heat. On the way back, I try out one of the Sancho Panza Bachilleres, again from the good Estanco I found. Now this is interesting – here is Sancho Panza at it’s earthiest. Smoking this little guy was like a cup of black, black coffee – it was almost like eating the ground up-beans, it was that earthy and coffee-laden. Wow – certainly a different experience! Very little of the salty SP profile I usually get. It’s so pungent I want to not like it…..at the same time I am intrigued – a truly original cigar! It drew quite well, however the burn was all over the place, partially because of the wind near the water I’m sure. Also, I may not have been paying attention as I walked past a Cliffside beach that apparently was also a nude beach….Yay Spain! I’m a gentlemen….so I didn’t stop to gawk. I did, however, look to make sure that uh….none of my shipmates were there. Yeah. Anyway – the Bachilleres. The more I think about it, the more I want to see more of this smoke, it caught my interest by being so different…even though I still don’t know if I like it! Gave it an 87…..because I just don’t know where to place it. I have one more….let’s see what that one gives me with a little more time to rest. Is the Non Plus ever like this? I've only had one and didn't really like it, too blah for me.

The next morning I got up with two goals.

1 – I am going to find some Punch Petit Coronas if I can so that I don’t miss out again on discontinueds, and

2 – I’m going to the beach!

I won’t leave this vacation island without at least getting a little sun! I make my way into town and visit first (mainly because it was on the way) to the suspect cigar store in the town center. Yes, he has Punch Petit Coronas. No, they do not look good – no aroma, crappy wrappers….No thanks. I want ‘em, but not that bad. Another swing and a Miss! On to the good Estanco! Along the way, I run into a couple of my engineering Petty Officers. One of them is looking for Football jerseys for his 4 kids, so I took them to El Corte Ingles to find what he’s looking for. After that, I find out that the guy would also like to get a nice Cigar, he enjoys one every once in a long while. This is news to me! I offer to take him along to the good Estanco, so off we go down the street. Good news – the store owner has been able to find a box of the Sancho Panza Quijotes! With dark, smooth wrappers and cigar bands that are a much darker shade of color than the faded purple SP band that we are all used to – these look really good! Before picking up the box, I inquire about Punch PC’s……he has a box, and they are in good condition too! OES FEB 07….these have 4 years of age, and although the aroma is light, they feel and look very good. Now the dilemma – I only have enough Euros for one box, either these PC’s or the Quijotes. I bite hard (because I’ve been waiting for the Quijotes for almost 2 years now, knowing that SP needs this shot in the arm as a marca) and take the Punch PC’s -I know I won’t forgive myself if I pass them up. I do pick up a single of the Quijotes…I will be smoking it sometime in the coming months. Let’s hope it lives up to my internal hype! For my friend meanwhile, he decides to try a Dominican and a Cuban cigar – I set him up with a Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure Especial, and some Domincan Vega Fina or some such cigar. The Epi Especial’s looked great, and they are actually good from what I've smoked, not like those BS Epi No. 2s. I am storing them for him in my humipouches, and look forward to enjoying them with him once he’s in the mood! Always happy to help introduce guys to Habanos!

With that – I’m almost out of Euros for this port and there is only one thing left to do – hit the beach! With a couple of buddies in tow, we take a cab down to Caya Mayor….and I am not disappointed. Why can’t North American beaches be so forgiving of toplessness? Prudes, I say. I settle in to a beach chair and light up the Vegas Robaina Maestros. I will say – I watched the Review that Rob and Ken did of this cigar while I was in the web café in this port…..and I have to agree with them. I do not see the real point with this cigar. It was pleasant, and fresh, and smooth, with sweet honey notes and a medium body that allows it to float on the palate……but it wasn’t a great cigar. It was a good way to pass the time. I enjoyed the beach so much more than the cigar – it was along for the ride, and in this instance, this did not do the cigar any favours as far as my thoughts towards it. I had hoped it would show me that I made a mistake in not picking up a box, but instead I am vindicated – this cigar is just another muddled RE trying to pick up a buck for HSA, IMHO…..and shame on me, it picked up my buck. It won’t pick it up again! A blah 86 for this cigar – I expected much more. At least the beach was great! The water was warm, the sand was good quality, and the beer I had at the beachside snack bar was icy cold. Highly recommend this beach , I will return here if I ever come back to Palma!

Our last night in Palma – we are all on the ship to get ready to sail the next day. Before heading to bed, I make one more call home and decide to smoke one of the three El Rey Del Mundo Corona De Luxes I picked up at the good Estanco. I don’t have a box date for these but they have to be well-aged – the aroma is that of tobacco that has matured to perfection – smooth, mouthwatering with almost a cookie smell to it. The draw is perfect and the pre-light taste is that of light citrus. I’m in for a treat. The first few puffs are bang on with the pre-light aroma. I am met with wave after wave of sharp, citrusy sweetness, underscored by a sugar-cookie base that is just delicious. The burn remains near-perfect throughout, despite the cigar going out once while I spoke a lot on the phone! This really is a revelation – impossibly smooth throughout the smoke, not a hint of pepper or strong spice. As it passes the halfway point, I begin to note some mild baking spices, almost a brown sugar flavour, but always underscored by the fresh sweetness from ripe fruits. These are not the deep stone fruits from say, SLR or Punch or even Ramon Allones, but rather the lighter fruits, citrus and berries. No edges to this cigar, it is like a soothsayer to my palate. In the final third it tapered off some, the fade was rather quick, took me by surprise. Still, it didn’t hold back a golden 95 score for this cigar – a great way to finish off the port visit! Must Find a box of ERDM Corona De Luxes!!!! If anyone has a good box they would be willing to trade when I return in the new year - I am willing to pay a reasonable price in return!

At last we set off from Palma, off to do what we came here to do – Patrol off the coast of the troubled area (that I’m sure you are all aware of). I cannot speak too much about the mission itself, as you know there are security issues with that. I will merely keep it to the cigars. For a recap – the cigars I picked in Palma were –

ERDM Petit Coronas – box 25 OTS MAR 09

Ramon Allones Small Club Corona – box 25 POL JUN 10

Punch Petit Coronas – box 25 OES FEB 07

Trinidad Coloniales – cab 24 OUR OCT 07

Vegas Robaina Maestros RE Spain 2007 – Single cigar

Partagas de Partagas No. 1 – 2 Singles

El Rey Del Mundo Coronas de Luxe – 3 singles

Bolivar 108 RE Spain 2010 – Single cigar

Sancho Panza Quijotes RE Spain 2010 – Single Cigar

Sancho Panza Bachilleres – 2 singles

I will not post prices – they can be found on the Spanish Tobacco Gov’t Site anyway. Let’s just say they were reasonable.

Shortly after leaving Palma, curiosity got the better of me and I delved into my box of Punch Petit Coronas to give one a go. A word about the nomenclature – my understanding was that Punch Petit Coronas were the 50 cab version of this cigar, discontinued long ago, and that the 25 DB version is actually called Punch Petit Corona Del Punch…..well the sticker on the side of the box calls it just Petit Coronas….so that’s what I use. In any care – I picked out the first one from the box. Wrapper was good, a prominent vein but a nice earthy prelight aroma and good construction. The Draw was great and the pre-light taste was deep demerara sweetness. I lit up with anticipation, and was met with a decent spectacle of an everyday cigar. Punch flavours of rich, deep sweetness, flecked with hot spice here and there, but something was holding it back a little bit – it felt like the cigar was running at about 80% - kind of like the flavour was there, but the intensity of the flavour could have been turned up a bit. Regardless, what I got, I enjoyed. It evolved through the middle of the cigar towards a spicier, full smoke, and that rum/cherry sweetness faded into the background somewhat, but the change was not that unwelcome. It was no blockbuster, but there was nothing wrong with it whatsoever. This cigar came in with a plan and executed from what I can tell, and all that was missing really was the intensity of the flavours delivered. I nubbed this one, and it was enjoyable to me right to the end. I gave it a solid 90 – and I will be searching for another box for sure now. A comparison note – vs. the Punch RS 12 (same size cigar), I feel that the RS 12 is deeper and more refined, and has an extra element of baking cinnamon/cloves for my palate. Both a pleasure to smoke, but to make an analogy – the RS 12 and PC are two girls in a bar. The RS 12 is a little more curvy, a little more inviting, perhaps showing a little more skin. You know you’re going to have a damn good time with her, she knows what she’s got going on. The PC beside it looks kind of plain in comparison….but you set her apart, and you realize that she’s just about as attractive as the other one – she’s got curves going on too, and she has plenty to show you as well, she was just holding it back a little bit, perhaps a little intimidated by the RS 12. Both will show you a great time, and you are happy with either one you choose – the only real issue is that you’re naturally drawn to the RS 12 because she shows you more, that’s all – it’s not really fair to the PC, but just know that you aren’t a loser if you end up with the PC – the joke is on the suckers who are clambering to get with the Cohiba Siglo VI and Behike girls in the back of the bar….the ones that take your money and leave you with a hollow, cheated feeling! How'd you like that analogy?

Yes…..I’ve been a while at sea now! It’s tough sometimes haha!

A few days later, I realized I hadn’t been up to the upper decks much, so I picked out the single Sancho Panza Corona Gigantes I brought from home and went up to have a nice break. This was one acquired in trade from an FOH member, not sure of the box date. The appearance was good, a sandy brown wrapper with that faded Sancho Panza band, and the clipped draw was good, with salty tobacco notes pre-light (surprise!) Unfortunately, it never really got much better than that! The Burn was fine, but the flavours frequently went away, replaced by a flinty hollow tobacco taste – close to the taste of burning paper. It really kind of disappointing, because when the proper flavours did come through, they were as they should be – nice, aged tobacco with a woody, oaken core and saltiness on the periphery. I only got to smoke about half of it before getting interrupted…..can’t speak to why, of course, only that the 2nd half of that cigar is on the bottom of the Med now, where it can no longer trouble anyone else but the fishes. An incomplete Rating for this one, for what I did get to smoke, a middling 87. Pretty good so far on the trip – I’ve only lost two cigars due to operational interruptions! This is why the very best ones like the RA 898 (for when the mission is done) and the Monte Sublimes (for when Gaddafi is finally caught) are not getting smoked unless I can be damn sure I won’t be interrupted and have to toss away haha!

Finally, the last smoke I’ve had to date I smoked yesterday, a San Cristobal Muralla. I’ve waxed on about these before – Flawed Geniuses, and this one was no different. A nice oily wrapper and good contruction throughout promised much, and the draw was more than fine. Pre-light impressions were of a honeyed path, lit with spices, sweet and sharp. The 1st third was very approachable, with a profile in line with the first impressions – Honey sweetness, punctuated by various spices in tune with each other. I am struck by the depth of flavour here, there really is an earthiness that creeps into the cigar as I smoke it, coming to the fore in the 2nd third. The earth is deep, with almost stone-fruit notes pushing through, but frequently it flips face and goes back to a honeyed profile again, almost as if it’s trying to decide what it wants to be. Could these need more aging still? From AGO 07, they just reached 4 years of age….I guess they could use some more time. I am very curious to see who will win the battle, the honey or the earth! Meanwhile, with this smoke I am impressed at how long the ash held – nearly half the cigar before it finally dropped off! The draw remains good throughout but the burn tended to canoe just a little bit. Moving into the final third, the palate became somewhat harsh, overtaking both the honey and earth together. Yeah….these could definitely use a little more time. On the same token though, it was still a good cigar to smoke, the battle between the two profiles was actually fun to observe. I have to say that I like this cigar, despite its girth. A 91 for the Muralla.

8 Pages of writing! Whoever gets through this whole thing without passing out, I commend you! I will try to keep those next entries a little shorter – it will be a while before my next port visit, at the very least. I really enjoyed seeing the pictures from the Toronto Megaherf – kudos for throwing a great show for Rob and company – like I said, it is pretty much the only time so far that I wish I was somewhere else instead of here. You guys did it right, maybe now we can get Rob to come visit us in the Canada just a bit more often! Did you save one of those Hamlet Robustos for me? haha!

Back to my duties here – I hope you all enjoy! Apologies again for the lack of photos, especially of the cigars I picked up in Palma. At the very least, I will post a nice gallery of all my acquisitions when I return next year.

Hasta Luego! (I looked that up in my Spanish Phrasebook! Why the hell didn't I bring this damn thing with me into Palma when I went???)

[OZCUBAN]

Great posts Chris

It's almost like being there, I agree on the Rs#12 analogy ,I would go the #12 every time .

Keep up the posts, enjoyable reading

Cheers OZ( Steve)

[ChanceSchmerr]

I love the RS12 vs. PPC analogy! Have to remember that one. Also I think I have been at sea for too long.

[Onsto]

Nice one Chris, though your analogies are showing your 'frustrations' for sure. Glad you liked Palma!

[JY0]

This could be a book. Thanks for sharing and serving.

JY

[lemmycaution]

Thanks for taking the time to post your experiences. It's been a great read so far. Also, happy belated birthday. Take care.

[aavkk]

Thanks for sharing Chris and I have to say that reviewing the Maestros with Rob and Ken I'm not completely ready to give up on that cigar. It showed so much promise when young, perhaps its due to box variation I dont know. I'll pull one out in a few years and I'll bet the cigar will shine. They aren't showing well now and I think they are in a bit of a sick or transition period.

[CanuckSARTech]

Holy crap, Chris. Well done.

I just caught this thread of yours. Very interesting to see the progression, in your cigar adventures, and that of your mission (well played on that too, sir).

I'll be keeping my eye on this thread of yours with some interest for sure, in the weeks and months ahead. I'm pleased that I got to trade with you for one of those Dip 1's - similar experiences, I might say, and it was nice to trade with a BOTL on here for a nice vintage stick. I have some more treats ready for you when you sail back.

Cheers, happy sailing, and good luck hunting.

[Northwoods]

What great reviews, and it was an easy read not long like you stated. Tuned in for the next one...

[ChanceSchmerr]

Hey Guys, Thanks again for the kind words!

You may be right about the Maestros, aavkk - Right now they are on my "will buy if there is no discontinueds around" list. I mean, they weren't terrible like the Boli 108's. Keith - you survived Basic Training AND a herf with Rob and Hamlet and Frank - that should be good for at least some kind of Medal!

A shorter entry this time around, Just a couple of cigars but I figured I'd get my thoughts on them down sooner while they are still fresh in my mind.

Been out on patrol a couple of weeks now. As you can imagine, it is hot as **** outside! Sunny as can be, but luckily with no blowing sand over the water - one of those problems that ships in the Persian Gulf have that so far we have yet to face. All I know is that every time I go for a cigar outside, by the time I'm done I'm sweating like (insert dirty joke here). I can definitely say that I miss my glass of Whisky with the cigars I'm having. Our mission continues and I wish I could talk about all the stuff we are doing, but you know how it goes. I look forward to sharing stories with FOH brothers when I get to meet you some time in the future!

A few days back I realized that I hadn't had a good cigar in a while, things had been so busy that it didn't really occur to me, so I decided it was time to try one of those Trinidad Coloniales I found in Palma. I am trying my damnest not to dip into the RASSC's or the ERDM PC's because they are only 1-2 years old, but I think OUR OCT 07 cigars have had enough time to at least settle down, so I went for it! Again, I have never had a Coloniales before, I bought these because they were so oily I could not resist. Up to the top decks I went. This cigar looks delicious. Oily, silky wrapper, with a sweet cocoa aroma mixed with some barnyard elements, the draw showed a miniscule amount of resistance and tasted of deep, rich tobacco. From the first light, it is a bombardment! Deep and full, I am overwhelmed with waves of chewy earthen spice. Far stronger than I anticipated, I thought these would be medium-bodied, but this is on the level with a Partagas Lusitania - it screams out for my attention and takes no prisoners! I stay with it but the taste begins to jump around a bit, from grassy sweetness to pepper bomb, followed by a few puffs of Dark Chocolate, it is difficult to keep up. To be honest, it actually detracted from the cigar, the number of times the profile took a hard right turn and went somewhere else. It was clear to me that there was real potential in this cigar - so many powerful flavours, each one enjoyable in it's own right, but none able to take command and make for a smooth transition. I cannot really distinguish the differences between thirds for this Coloniales, I could only make note of the many tastes imparted. Earthy baking spice, dusky cocoa, honeyed cinnamon, pepper + Cloves, strong STRONG Coffee - the list went on. I can only conclude that this cigar needs a heck of lot more time to really find itself. I will probably smoke one more before the trip is out, but Damn.....I can barely make heads nor tails of it! All I can truly say is that the flavours filled me with anticipation as to what this could be in another few years time. The burn - now that was a troublesome, and might have lead to the issues I found on the palate. Very uneven, I frequently had to touch it up to just to get it to burn properly, and it would soon resume an uneven line again. I think this Coloniales could have used a good day in the dry box before smoking - the oilyness of the wrapper probably made it almost too wet to burn properly. I am storing my cigars in large-size Humipouches on board - no room for a proper humidor or Cooleridor on board, and I have generally found the pouches to do the trick for my cigars - I think in this case dry boxing would have made a difference. In any case, I give it a 90 - because none of those flavours was unpleasant, and there is a lot of potential here. Dry Boxing for sure next time!

Today, one of my Petty Officers invited me up for a cigar, and since I never get invited to join some one for a smoke (since so few guys on board smoke cigars!) I could not resist! I decided upon that Sancho Panza Quijotes, the Spanish RE from 2010 that has just recently appeared in the Spanish market. I had long waited for this cigar, and wanted so much for it to be great so that Sancho Panzas could regain some appreciation again in Cigar circles. The first thing one notices about this Double Corona is the band - the faded, almost sad SP band is born again, with a dark brown, crisp colour with writing as clear as a bell, instead of the old purple band that looked like it went through the washing machine a couple of times first. The design is the same, it's just a darker colour and properly defined writing - no embosssment though. The cigar itself is a little spongy, but reasonably firm with a shiny, smooth colorado wrapper and light aroma. The draw was good, with quite a cedar taste to it, pre-light. I have tried to temper my expectations to give this a fair trial - I'm not sure how successful I was. The first few puffs were.......disappointing. All of the worst parts of some lousy Sancho Panza Sanchos that I've had are here in spades - tired, wispy wood notes, a flinty spice that adds nothing, and an airy element to it that lowers the heart and plummets all hope. I am saddened - please don't tell me that they've managed to cock this one up too! Where is the rich salty wood element found in a nice SP Corona Gigantes? Where is the smooth mellow sweetness that some of the finer Sanchos exhibit? I press on, throughly demoralized.....and am slowly rewarded. The Quijotes fights back! Slowly into the first third, I start to notice some salty, doughy flavours. The wood element starts to crystallize and make itself known, and the mellow sweetness arrives at last as I transition into the middle third. It's rarely all there at once - the cigar is quick to fall back on a fallow emptiness, but the good parts are there, struggling to get through. It's like this for the majority of the middle third, and only in the final third does it level off to a consistent woody sweetness, akin to brown sugar on rye toast. The strength is mild to medium, but more medium in the final third, and a complete lack of pepper in this case is welcomed - it would shatter what semblance of calmness this cigar has built. In the end, I smoke it to about 1 inch remaining before finishing. Did my high expectations sink it? I think not - the crappy start was it's own doing. It fought back, to the point where I did enjoy it in the second half, but that first half does concern me. Could it be chalked up to youth? Likely - Sanchos do need some substatial years to show their true colours. In the same token - I'm just not convinced that this is worth the price - I don't know that it will put Sanchos back on the map. The band is the most colourful part of the cigar! I give it a merciful 88 - based solely on that second half. On the whole the cigar would have been closer to 85. Will I buy a box if I see them again in Spain? I think these are going with the Maestros in that "If there is no Discontinueds" list. I'd be curious to see where they stand in 5 years....but not that curious. One last point - it's possible that the downfall of this RE was the ring gauge - if they had gone skinny, maybe done a lancero or something, I bet the flavour profile would have been very much improved. The fact that it was a Double Corona probably diluted that flavour that is SP's meal ticket. Let's just hope this is not the last hurrah for this once-great marca.

That's it for now, chaps! All the best and I'll write again in a little while - probably after my next port visit, wherever that ends up being!

PS - Here is a pic of us in Palma de Mallorca - enjoy!!!

[Puros Y Vino]

Great prose there Chris... all those tasting notes on the Coloniales are familiar to me. I'm down to my last one of a five pack and they've beena rollercoaster ride of flavours. Probably the most engaging Trini I've ever smoked. I got the STRONG COFFEE too. Almost like a spoonful of ground espresso bean in the cheeks. Looking forward to the next update. Cheers and stay safe

[Onsto]

Couldnt agree more on the Coloniales - total powerhouse and a little overwhelming