Seems like almost a replay of last week, eh? Some of the same brands, different cigars. I smoked the Adrian Magnus XO, which is Cognac infused, and decided it wasn’t for me. Besides the fact that I haven’t touched spirits in over 30 years and have no frame of reference for that flavor palate, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. Less said about it, the better, but if you like that sort of thing, go for it. So I hoped for some redemption with the Gurkha 35th Anniversary Toro. This has a Habano wrapper, Indonesian binder and Criollo 98 Nicaraguan Esteli fillers in a 6″ x 54 format, made at the Artista factory. I don’t usually look up the stats on cigars before smoking them, but I was not at all surprised when I read that this was predominantly Criollo. This is a really nice looking cigar, the Habano wrapper is a nice café au lait brown, and it was well made. Criollo tobacco has a tart bite that I don’t care for, going back many years. So much for redemption. If I smoked cigars I really liked all the time this would be a boring blog. If you like Criollo tobacco, you’ll really like this Gurkha 35th Anniversary, and it’s reasonably priced.
Adrian Magnus does made some really good cigars, and the Supremos is another one that I tried and really enjoyed. Maybe I didn’t enjoy this one as much as the Imperials, but I certainly liked it more than the XO. This is a medium bodied cigar made in the Dominican Republic in a 5″ x 50 format. It boasts seven year aged tobaccos, and to my eye, the only way I could tell it apart from the Imperials is by the color of the band. Again, the company is not forthcoming with blend details. The flavor is different though, so it’s definitely more than just the age statement. This starts with a sourness, not off putting, but like a sourdough bread. Eventually a sugar cane sweetness takes over, not excessive, but enough to be interesting. I enjoyed this one, but find myself wanting to go find an old favorite to smoke.
I have a story to tell that I probably should have told nearly 2 years ago when it happened, but I had some reasons for holding off. Since I just heard that the store has closed, I’m going to put it out there. When Son’s Cigars opened up in late 2020 I was told by the manager that if I ever wanted part time work to let him know. It wasn’t until the winter of ’21 that I was in the position to work some extra hours, and I offered my services for Friday nights. Knowing the manager (who has since moved on to another shop), I trusted that compensation would be handled at some point, I wasn’t looking to get rich, but I wasn’t looking to do volunteer work either. Over the course of three months I put in over 40 hours before I said “enough is enough”, I gotta start seeing a paycheck here, and the fun started. I was told that the owner, who also owned a shop or two in NY, and owns a cigar brand, hadn’t approved my hiring, so I couldn’t be added to the payroll. He offered to compensate me with a store gift card. Then, he came back and reneged on that and said that my purchases using an employee discount was equal to the compensation I was due. I could have made a scene, I only mentioned it to a couple people, and I avoided the owners offer to meet to tell me his side of the story because I really didn’t want to hear it, I’ve heard plenty of stories about this guy and just wanted to chalk it up to experience. It was just better for my sanity to let it go and walk away. I spent a few Friday nights smoking cigars and helping customers select cigars that they might enjoy. In the future, I’ll get some details ironed out up front, I was dealing in good faith, and that was taken advantage of. I think the manager was complicit in this as well, he had to know, as I knew he was getting screwed over by the owner as well. I wish he’d have been a friend enough to cut things off before I had to. I distanced myself from the establishment, I even gave back a sample of the owners cigar to his distributor at the trade show on principle. I’ve left the names out to not be a complete d*ck, but it’s not hard to put things together. It’s a shame that Son’s wasn’t handled better, but there are better places around now. Karma gets you every time. I have Cigar Mojo less than a mile away, which has a much nicer lounge, and the selection is getting there…
Speaking of Cigar Mojo, I stopped in yesterday looking for something that I hadn’t smoked before, but I felt would scratch that itch I was having. I was fortunate to run into Trae, one of the owners, there and we had a nice chat. I ended up getting a couple HVC Black Friday 2023 Petit Gordo that I hadn’t smoked. This turned out to have been a great choice. The Petit Gordo is 4½ x 56, just the right size for a hockey period! It has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper with a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Nicaragua, which are lower primings. This is a medium bodied cigar, like a larger Black Friday Firecracker, without the kick! It was smooth and chocolaty, not that it didn’t start with some spice, it did, but it was quite good. It scratched my itch and I’m glad I got more than one and there’s a bunch of them a mile away if I want more! I need to sample more of the HVC line as I have always enjoyed the ones I’ve smoked. I haven’t met Renier Lorenzo, but I’ve heard good things about him. I’ll grab some more HVCs.
That’s more than enough for today, until the next time,
CigarCraig
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