Another Final Goodbye

I must have stopped and started this post a million times. The particulars don’t matter too much. I learned when we lost the Little Robusto that the “if’s” and “why’s” can drive you mad. My older brother died this past weekend. He was four years older than me which came in handy my high school years. He was there when I was a freshman (he a seasoned senior) giving me pointers on how to ask a girl to homecoming and …

Mike’s Top Cigars of 2012

Cigar of the year

Emilio AF Suave

An amazing mild to medium cigar that I have already bought 2 full boxes plus numerous singles of. I can smoke this stick one right after another and still enjoy them all the same. I bought more of this cigar than any other cigar released this year and it comes in at a great price point.

Rest of the top 10

Ortega Serie D natural

Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, this is a hit. People …

November 30th

Last November I penned a post about the 5 Things I Know To Be True (Cigars Edition). November is always a crazy month for me. Lots of highs and lows filled with a roller coaster of emotions. There is the thankfulness for family and friends around Thanksgiving, the sadness of the Little Robusto and today, my ten year wedding anniversary. Ten years ago, I was 25, still bald, working a unfulfilling data entry job, my now teenage nieces were …

Invincible?

My dad spent 30 years in the Air Force. As you can imagine that meant a lot of time away from home while me and my brothers were growing up. Other than my dad there have been two influential father figures in my life. The first was a man named Terry Kreft who taught me about hard work and the meaning of an honest days work for an honest days pay. He also taught me how to change a tire, …

5th Annual Smoke a JJ for JJ Day

We are less than a month away. This is always a bitter sweet time of year. I find myself always looking forward to this year but at the same time, dreading the emotional roller coaster it triggers. If you remember my post last year about Three Things I Know to Be True (Cigars Edition) you will remember I wrote how cigars can be a band aid. I wrote:

When I’m in the dumps missing the Little Robusto. I’ll step outside,

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It’s a Boy!

My wife Kate and I are proud to share the joyous news that our son, Charles Francis Greenbacker IV, was born at 10:17pm last night. Everyone is doing quite well: mother and child are resting peacefully, and dad is over the moon.

Birth stats: 8 lbs 6 oz, 20.75 inches

Since there are already several “Charlies” in our family, we’ve chosen the nickname “Chase” for our little guy.

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve selected the My Father No. 1…

Mike’s Look at Cutters

Welcome back once again my friends to another week of me battling this dang cold with a sore throat, cough and taste buds that seem to have been burnt off at the roots.

I am going to talk just a little bit about different cuts on cigars this week. I know most of you will groan but there are a lot of newer smokers or even veterans that have never seen nor tried anything other than the standard straight cut, …

The Story of The Little Robusto Project

For those of you who come here often, you already know or at least have an idea of what The Little Robusto Project is. “Little Robusto” was the affectionate nickname I gave my son JJ. Sadly, JJ passed away on November 2, 2007 from SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) while at daycare when he was just 3.5 months old. When JJ was born, the first cigar I smoked to celebrate his birth was the Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ…

Three Things I Know to Be True (Cigars Edition)

This is a bit different post than I normally do. For awhile now I’ve been a fan of TED | Talks. TED stands for Technology Entertainment and Design. Since being the father of a baby girl (she’s actually a toddler these days but she’ll always be my baby) a TED | Talk earlier this year caught my wife’s attention and thus mine was one by Sarah Kay. Sarah Kay is a spoken word poet and her TedTalk …

Smoke A JJ for JJ Day Tribute

The generosity of the cigar community never ceases to amaze me. I’d like to thank our long time friend JerseyJay who is graciously holding a tribute and contest on his blog, CigarPhoto.net. You can read more about Jay’s contest to raise awareness for this event and for SIDS in general. I appreciate everyone who helps me keep the memory of my Little Robusto alive. Thanks Jay.

JJ for JJ Day Tribute

We are deviating from cigar photography today to

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