This is a true story.
Super Bowl Sunday. Location: My daughter's house. Number of guests: 5 couples, including my wife and I.
I am the only one over the age of 35. Way over. Before the game, after the nachos were eaten, I suggested we smoke a cigar. The ones with testosterone in their blood streams nodded their approval.
We started to head towards the basement when my daughter and my wife stopped us. The ventilation system can't handle 5 cigar smokers.
So we were banished to my daughter's Ford Explorer. We crammed in and turned the engine on to heat the vehicle. It was about 25 degrees outside. We turned the light on so we could see what we were doing.
Since they were are all moochers, they looked to me for the cigars. I had just attained some La Flor del Caneys from Mike's Cigars. Just enough for the 5 of us. I had 2 more in my humi.
I never smoked one but Oded, the owner, recommended it. This is from his web site:
“CIGARCYCLOPEDIA states that “La Flor del Caney is an.. old Cuban brand, now made in the Dominican Republic and released in 2001 by Mike’s Cigars.” Crafted to strict specs by master blender Manuel Quesada. It competes in quality with the best of them. He is personally responsible for the Fonseca, Licenciados, and Casa Blanca.LA FLOR DEL CANEY is made with the finest tobacco from the Cibao valley in the Dominican Republic, with Cameroon wrapper aged in tercio, letting the leaves sweat in their own juices for the entire aging process.”
I passed around my Xikar back stop cutter to everyone. This way, no one would cut off too much. The first two guys, Kurt and Andy clipped away thinking that one clip isn't sufficient. I yelled at them to stop. I shook my head. “One clip is enough. That's the point of the cutter's design.”
Everyone took out their Bic lighters and proceeded to light the stick like it was a bonfire. I started to say something, but kept my mouth shut. They are all cops and I didn't want to become Rodney King.
The Caney has a natural Cameroon wrapper. The filler is Dominican and the binder is Indonesian. Manufactured in in the DR.
I told them all to puff gently and take their time. I don't want cops, with the spins, puking anywhere near me.
I had taken the time to sniff the cigar before lighting. It had a woody, leather and bit of cocoa smell. Very pleasant. Upon light up those same aromas became the taste plus I got an earthy profile. This is a hearty cigar.
Throughout the first third, the profile was the same as the beginning. Not really very complex but a good medium body, full flavored stick. Very reminiscent of a Quesada smoke.
Then I heard a shriek like a little girl. The SWAT cop screamed because he dropped ash on his bare leg. Tough cop. Wears shorts in 25 degree weather. Built like the Hulk.
It so startled everyone, their heads started turning looking for something bad happening outside the car. I knew what had happened because the cherry was still part of the ash and I sat next to him. “Do you scream like this when you have to tussle with a perp...or is it more manly? He thumped me in the head. That wasn't nice.
In the second third, some spice entered the profile. I love spice. So now we had a hearty cigar with a spicy flavor. I tried guiding them along explaining the nuances of the flavors. I'm pretty sure they were just playing along. It takes more than a few cigars in your life to appreciate the complexity of a cigar and to train your palate.
At the halfway mark, the body went from medium to full. I again told them to smoke slowly. So far, they were listening to me. But they were all telling cop stories so it forced them to smoke slowly.
I think this is a good medium/full body cigar without anything fancy going on. Construction is good. Solid, no soft spots. The wrapper had a consistent color of dark tan. There were some veins, but not much. It felt firm in the hand.
I pretty much kept my mouth shut and just listened to the stories. Giving me the chance to really enjoy the cigar. Mark said he liked it. But I had trained Mark, since I live in his house. He had a pretty good sense of flavor and complexity. He was mostly quiet too.
It was getting pretty cold in the car and it was started once more. Giving us the opportunity to turn the lights on. Everyone's cigar was burning perfectly. No runs or canoes. A couple more shrieks as they took turn burning each other due to the close quarters.
I told them that they were a bunch of babies. I shouldn't have said that. Cops don't like criticism very much. One of them pulled out his handcuffs and dangled them in front of my face. I can't write what I said. So I shut up after I made my declaration of wussy-dom.
We sat in the truck for over an hour. The Toro would have lasted longer but a couple of them thought you are supposed to stop at the band. “Take it off very carefully and continue, men.”
I can do it in the dark. They couldn't. I could see in the shadows that wrappers were torn and hanging in the light emitted from the street lights. I kept my mouth shut.
Here's the bottom line. This is a good hearty cigar. Not very complex but a solid smoke with the right flavors and the right strength for the moment. The spice ramped up at the end and that made me happy. Did I mention I like spice? And I have to hand it to these guys. No one wussed out and put it out half way through. They all asked about where I got and where they could buy some for themselves.
We got out of the truck and the S.O.B. and 3 others grabbed me and handcuffed me to the door handle. “OK. Very funny. Put an old man in cuffs and walk away. Very funny." They actually went into the house and left me there in the cold. Mark likes me so he came back out immediately and removed them. What great senses of humor!
So next time you are stopped or confronted by a police offer, have a 5 pack of La Flor del Caneys in your travel humidor on the seat next to you. Hand them over and drive on.
Thanks to Oded Ben-Arie at Mike's Cigar for the sampler.
http://www.mikescigars.com/brands/la-flor-del-caney
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