When it comes right down to it, I am a creature of habit. I thrive on routine and find great comfort in it. Throw off my schedule and suddenly I’m stressed out and over analyzing the situation. As you would imagine, this means I have a morning routine that I very much like to stick […]
I’ll Be Damned – That Cigar Actually Looks Like a Little Fish
The room was dark and I found myself staring blankly at the ceiling. I had been awake for a few minutes and resisted the urge to roll over and look at the clock. It had to be close to 4:00am. Waking up like this, shortly before my alarm sounded, was becoming an all too common […]
Aging The Opus X: Do or Don’t?
A night or two ago I was smoking a well-aged Opus X Perfecxion No. 5. As is my custom, I spent a few minutes thinking about what I was tasting- grass, caramel, cedar, maybe a little white pepper. I also noticed it didn’t seem as robust a cigar as the last few Opus X’s I’ve […]
Do you shy away from a big fat stick?
Every single cigar shop across the country has that one guy. You know the one. “An 80 ring gauge! For Christ’s sake, smoking that must be like putting your mouth around a big ol’…” You get the idea. Regardless of the phobias some people have about big ring cigars, they seem to be all the […]
Cigars and Talk
Sunday was a beautiful day here in Pennsylvania. It was so nice, in fact, that I couldn’t resist the urge to fire up the lawn tractor and and tame my wildly growing lawn. With my wife and daughter out visiting my mother in-law, it was a perfect opportunity for me to light up a cigar […]
Cigars and Light Beer
Have you ever made the mistake of posting a photo of a cigar and light beer pairing on social media? Your friends probably read you the riot act for drinking anything other than a high octane, micro-brew, or pinky-finger-up boutique. I’m here to tell you it is alright. I feel your pain and have been […]
Satisfaction Guaranteed
About fifteen years ago I graduated high school with no interest in going to college. Instead, I learned the trade of cabinetmaking and set myself up with a job right away. The position wasn’t exactly what I wanted. You see, I spent the vast majority of my time working with plastic laminate and flakeboard. We […]
For Your Consideration
A little twist on our Week in Smoke series…For Your Consideration is a collection of items (cigars, food, wine, books, quotes, etc) that I’ve been enjoying and naturally, you should consider enjoying yourself. Don’t expect this to be to be some in depth exploration into pairings. This is supposed to be fun. So, sit back, […]
A Discussion of Private Lounge Membership
Earlier this week I put together a quick blog post talking about a deal I got at my local cigar shop. We received a handful of comments on the subject with each person sharing stories of their own local deals. One comment, made by George, sparked a side discussion about Memberships. I was curious of […]
I want to let you in on a little secret…
Last night my daughter and I were relaxing in the living room, watching Phineas and Ferb, when I turned to her and asked what she wanted for dinner. After some back and forth we settled on grilled hot dogs and mixed vegetables. We made a quick run to the grocery store then I began the […]