For this Photo Friday I grabbed my humidor, staged a quick pic, set the lens to macro mode, and started shooting. I had to fiddle with the flash and a hack diffuser (read: a couple of tissues), but finally got something about what I wanted.

Now I have the urge to light one up

I’m not sure I’ll have time (or a place) to smoke cigars in California, but last year VisionCon was (mostly) cigar-friendly, so next week maybe I’ll get to fire one up.

I bit the inside of my lip and had a nasty sore, so I’ve held off on the celebratory cigar for my Evileye Books announcement until I could be sure the smoke wouldn’t irritate or infect the wound. Now that it’s smoothed over again, I got my ass back out on the front porch and lit up a Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real. It only took a few puffs to remember why it’s one of my go-to smokes for casual smoking.

I’ve ranted about the joys of the RyJ plenty of times in the past, though, so this time I thought I’d concentrate on the Cigar Spike I used to pierce the end cap for smoking. I’m normally a punch guy, but in my experience, most of them don’t hold an edge and I sometimes feel like I’m about to break the cigar or I’ll compress the tobacco near the foot as I’m punching the hole. This is especially a problem when a cigar is a little too moist and the cap doesn’t cut as easily.

On those occasions I’ll turn to a cutter. I can’t say I’ve got much of a preference between the cutter and the punch other than a punch is more convenient to carry (I tend to use the coin pocket in my jeans for my lighter and cutting gear), so it’s not a big deal to switch back and forth. However, if the cap isn’t fixed properly, they may fall apart. I’ve also had problems with some cigars crushing before cutting, and often times I’ll get bits of tobacco in my mouth.

The Cigar Spike promised to solve all of these problems: they’re tiny and portable, there’s no knife edge to lose sharpness, and because they’re pushing a hole into the cap there are no bits of tobacco falling out. I was a bit skeptical, but for three bucks shipped, I decided to give it a shot. A few days later my three Cigar Spikes arrived.

They delivered on being tiny and portable. The small piece of smooth plastic fit into my pocket with ease, right up against my lighter. Because it’s not metal, there’s no danger of it scratching or scuffing my trusty Xikar lighter, either. The point is slightly rounded, so it won’t poke anything and there are no worries about it going dull. Time to put it to work.

It took no effort to push the Spike through the Reserva Real’s cap, which made me happy. No compression or excessive pushing to endanger the draw is a good thing. I took a test draw on the unlit cigar and it felt a little tough, so I pushed the Spike in again to widen the hole (just push in farther and the hole gets wider), then turned it ninety degrees and poked again. I didn’t get a plus sign some of the reviews mentioned, just a small, roundish hole a bit smaller than a punch would have made. The next test draw proved smoother and easier.

Satisfied that far, I left the punch and cutter inside and went out to light up. I will say the draw with a punch or cutter is a bit looser, but the spiked draw worked just fine. An hour into the cigar I had zero problems with the draw. I tend to bite the end from time to time, though, and a half hour later the draw got tougher. Another quick and effortless poke, though, and the draw was right back to the way it started.

All in all, I’m happy with the little guys. I look forward to trying them again with a few more smokes, and I’m going to give one to a local friend, a rookie smoker who just purchased his first box of Avos (after sampling a couple I gave him, natch). I’ll let you know how it goes in my next Smoke Blog entry.

The bike has a name at last: Lenore.

Making it official

The name wasn’t on my list of candidates. Instead, like every good name, it just popped into my head and it clicked. (For those of you who missed why a name is important, read this.)

Now to finish that cigar (a Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real) and get some writing done.

How to Spot a Good Cigar
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri.

This new batch of Romeo y Julieta Reserva Reals I purchased is killing me.

Not because they taste bad or anything like that, but because they take so damn long to smoke. The sticks in this box have averaged two hours a piece, which keeps me on the porch far longer than I expected. It’s a good thing my wireless is still in reach.

As you can see from the picture, I stick through to the end. How do you know when a Reserva Real is done? When it goes out and it’s so short you risk burn your face off relighting it. Mild flavor, good ash, heady smoke, a clean draw… it’s hard to find anything to complain about with these bad boys. My only mistake may have been opting for the Double Corona size, but I’ll live.

I had this one out on my folks’ porch Friday night, and I thought they lived in a sleepy little town until this weekend. The Fourth of July weekend brings out the crazy in rural Indiana.

For starters, two of their immediate neighbors lit off so much ordnance I thought I was sitting in the middle of the Hatfield/McCoy feud. Judging by the frequent cries of “Oops!” and “Oh shit, run!” they were more a danger to themselves than one another, however. After the rest of the town joined in, the place sounded like a war zone. I was tempted to grab a rifle and start painting “Wolverines!” on the sides of trucks.

I watched the largest raccoon I’ve ever seen walk down the sidewalk across the street. That struck me as odd until a kid shouted “Raccoon!” and burst out of the front door. His thick goggle glasses reflected the street lamps, and as he sprinted after the raccoon it struck me that this may well have been the inspiration for the karate kid in Smokin’ Aces. His sister shouted after him and he stopped short at the curb, then slunk back to the house. He emerged twice more, each to do little more than run in a circle or to sneak around Bluto Blutarsky-style in his front yard. I’m not sure what he’d have done with the raccoon had he caught it, but I imagine getting his face torn off was high on the list.

Then came Scooter Man, who doesn’t know it but he came within inches of the end of his life. The motor on his little turdmobile sounded like a swarm of angry gnats all digging into your ear canal at once. And he rode up the street and back several times, sometimes on our street, sometimes on the next block north or south. One time someone else rode by on the scooter and returned, and then he reappeared. I thought he might have been making a beer run from a party, but he must have gotten really, really lost along the way. That or he decided it would be more fun to shuttle the case home one can at a time. After the fifth or sixth pass of his whiny little engine, even the Wife wanted to end him.

There were other instances of minor strangeness: the large woman on a bicycle belting out “Angie” by the Stones; the SUV with tinted windows and thumping bass that rolled to a sloooow stop in front of the house, then drove on a moment later; the giant, unidentified bug that I stomped flat and burned to a crisp with my butane lighter, just to be sure it was dead, dead, dead; the trio of children who were obsessed with a six-inch square of asphalt for over ten minutes.

Normally these nights on my folks’ porch are completely uneventful. It was like I fell into some redneck version of the Twilight Zone. Meanwhile, tonight’s main fireworks display was postponed due to rain, so the neighborhood idiots have filled in. A third neighbor put on a nice display, but then three window-rattling booms shook the neighborhood, so we took cover.

There’s a fire extinguisher in the next room. I’ll let you know if I have to put out any pinheads tonight.

First up, CAO Cigars sent me an LX2 after I participated in a simple contest via Twitpic. LX2 is shorthand for “ligero times two,” making it a full-bodied smoke. Talk about truth in advertising! I enjoyed this one, but I may have been better off saving it for a time I could sample it alongside a good lager. A very bold smoke, full of leather and spice, with good construction that held up to a windy evening on my front porch. I don’t normally stock full-bodied smokes in my humidor (they’re tougher to share with cigar rookies), but I’d seek these out again in a cigar bar.

Shortly after the CAO contest, I picked up a follow from Nub Cigars. I’d not heard of them before, but I recognized the name on a box of smokes at the shop on Saturday and thought I’d give their Habano a try. They’re a very unusual-looking cigar, with a fat ring gauge (about an inch in diameter) and a short length (4 inches), making “nub” a suitable moniker. I expected it to be a short smoke like a robusto, that it might be good for those times I don’t have a full hour to hang out on in the back yard. Instead it took an hour, easily matching an average-length cigar. I do think the ring gauge worked against me in the wind out here, as the rim would cool off and the interior would keep on burning. As a result, a burn appeared on the outside of the wrapper about a quarter-inch back from the end, then started spreading and effectively circumsizing the end. As for flavor, no problems there: I tasted pepper before I even lit her up, and that more or less set the trend for the smoke. It had a surprisingly clean draw given the ring gauge, and my only regret was not smoking it indoors somewhere to keep the burn problem at bay.

In the end, two great smokes, both thanks to Twitter. I could really get used to this.

I tried the robusto from my Habana Reserve sampler pack a few weeks ago, and this time opted for the torpedo. I’ve been puffing on it for over an hour now, and I’m just over halfway through it. I’ve been puffing steadily, mind, and I’ve had no need to relight it nor have I experienced the tunneling problems I had with the robusto.

I’m impressed.

Again, the Habana Reserve is a bit stronger than the Reserva Real, and the Habana’s flavor is more toward the spicy side versus the Real’s creamy notes. I’m also getting the same finish, a peculiar blend of pepper and leather that I’ve not experienced in any other cigar. It produces quite a bit of smoke, which looks rather cool in the glow of my MacBook Pro’s LCD monitor. My neighbors must think my head is on fire.

This smoke could easily creep up into my top five, right up there with their sister Reserva Reals and the Avos I’ve tried.

The weather warmed up again, so the rugrats and I headed outside. I rolled Eve out of the garage and fired her up, then made sure all the signals, the brakes, and so on were in working order. I even conned the rugrats into sweeping up the garage for me.

I also broke out the first warm-weather smoke of the year: a Plantation Reserve my in-laws picked up for me from the Cigar Factory New Orleans. The plantation reserve is a panatela with a Connecticut Shade wrapper, so I counted on it being short and relatively mild, which would make it easy to work around and would go by fast enough that the rugrats wouldn’t get tired of being outside.

I tasted a hint of chocolate on lighting up, and the mild smoke was very pleasant. It held up well in the soft breeze, and I dropped the ash only when I tapped it off, which is rather impressive for a thin cigar (ring gauge 36). The flavor and finish were consistent to the end, and I took it well down to the ring. What a great way to start the smoking season.

I ever make it down to New Orelans, the Cigar Factory will be on my must-visit list.

Tonight’s smoke of choice: the Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve. I stumbled across a sampler offer in a magazine a few months ago, ordered it, and then forgot about them. I was quite pleased when I nearly tripped over the UPS box the other day.

Not a half bad smoke. It was heavier than I expected, but had a very pleasant, consistent flavor. The light went easy, but I did have a hard time keeping it lit and had a few problems with tunneling. It was cold and breezy out and I was multitasking as usual, though, so I’m not going to hold the burn issues against it until I try a couple of the others from the sampler. (It’s also hard to say how long they were sitting around before shipping.)

Though they’re a little stronger than the RyJ Reserva Real, I look forward to trying the next one. I suspect these would go well with a good lager, something I’ll have to test when grilling season returns.

Avo & Me
Originally uploaded by MikeOliveri.

Friends & Family Day at the karate dojo went well today. Now we’ve got a quiet weekend evening with no real plans, giving me some much-needed time to play catchup and get some writing done.

That’s why I’m out front with an Avo #3 and the MacBook Pro. I’m looking at some sketches from an artist for one project and doing a quick bit of research for another. I’m catching up with a couple Twitter friends and doing some web maintenance. I’m grabbing the day’s pics off the camera and preparing them for upload.

Most important, I’m clearing away all distractions to get some writing done tonight. A good cigar centers me. When it’s finished, I’ll retire to the office, cue up a playlist of writing music, and start hammering on the keyboard.

Ten pages of script are due on the 30th. If I focus, I can get them done tonight.

Now if only I can narrow down the selection between these two possible villains for the book…

Normally the Avo line is out of my price range (single, celebratory smokes excepted), but I found a great deal at an online store and pounced. I would prefer to visit a brick and mortar cigar shop, but I don’t always have that luxury out here.

Plus it’s damn hard to turn down a savings of nearly 50%.

The Avo is every bit as good as I remembered and then some. Their smooth draw and solid construction make them a joy to hold, and they produce plenty of silky smoke. The bold, earthy flavor gives way to a creamy finish with a hint of leather. This finish survives to the next puff, but is far from overstaying its welcome.

In short they are worthy successors to my beloved RyJ Reserva Reals, if not superior. I’m on my third from the box and it’s just as pleasing as the first. If this continues, I won’t hesitate to order the next box.