Tag Archives: Bernie Parent

A Padilla, an Alec Bradley, a Hockey Game and Some Cigar News

A little snow here and there isn’t enough to deter me from enjoying a fine cigar! That’s what I did on Sunday. We’ve been getting off easy with little snow showers here and there, which is just fine with me. Sunday I took an afternoon walk with a Padilla Reserva. This is a 6” x 50 Toro with what looks like a nice Habano wrapper. I enjoyed the heck out of this cigar, although not quite as much as it’s maduro sibling. It had nice, smooth flavors that I found appealing. It performed flawlessly and was quite enjoyable. I think if I were to come across this cigar in a shop I’d pick a few up, provided they were out of the tasty maduro! Thanks again to Mike Staiber of Oliva for turning me on to these!

 

Monday evening I picked out a nice Alec Bradley American Sungrown robusto. I picked this up on a visit to the Cigars International store in Hamburg, PA I think, I probably picked up a couple another place too. Maybe I buy too many cigars? Anyway, I really like this cigar, and I like the American Classic with the Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper quite a bit too. I think the Sungrown has that extra little pop I need in the winter months. These have the added advantage of being very well priced, usually under $5. This is a great anytime cigar that is probably a cigar a broad range of people can appreciate. This is a great cigar to have around to share or smoke those days you have trouble deciding what to smoke and you just want a good cigar.

 

Tuesday night my youngest son and I went to the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia for the Flyers game. It was a great game with the Flyers winning over the Tampa Bay Lightning. After the game we stopped in the Cigar Bar in the center. This used to be Holt’s Cigar Lounge many years ago, and I don’t think it would be a bad assumption on my part that they still get their cigars from Holt’s, given the Holt’s cutter and matches that came with the cigars I purchased. I’m sure many wouldn’t be shocked by an $11 price tag on a Fuente Hemingway Short Story, especially in a cigar tax free state like PA. I rationalized it to myself figuring I was in on a free pass, and didn’t pay the membership fee that would come to something along the lines of $16 per game. We smoked out Short Stories while the 19,000 people outside were sitting in traffic and got to chat with Bernie Parent for a while. Of course, you may recall that Bernie has a cigar out, the BSB #1 Bernie Parent by Rocky Patel. He mentioned that they are going to add a Round Toro and a Box Pressed Torpedo to the line and use a band design featuring his crest. I am surprised that the Cigar Bar didn’t have the BSB #1 on their menu, but Bernie said they are working on it. It seems like an appropriate place to carry the cigar!

 

A Joke

 

A doctor on his morning walk, noticed the old lady pictured above:,

She was sitting on her front step smoking a cigar, so he walked up to her and said,

“I couldn’t help but notice how happy you look! What is your secret?”

“I smoke ten cigars a day,” she said. “Before I go to bed, I smoke a nice big joint.

Apart from that, I drink a whole bottle of Jack Daniels every week, and eat only junk food.

On weekends, I pop pills, have sex, and I don’t exercise at all.

“That is absolutely amazing! How old are you?”

“Forty,” she replied

Contest Winner!

The winner of the ScrewPop Punch and the 5-pack of My Uzi Weighs a Ton Baitfish and a MUWAT cap is MattRoss81!  The Random Number Generator spit out the number 6, and The Commish had won a prize in the 12SDOCG’s (12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways) so he was disqualified!  Matt, please send me your address! Thanks again to Drew Estate and ScrewPop for sponsoring this contest!

That’s all for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

 

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Special Report: Ned’s Cigars Launches the BSB No. 1 by Bernie Parent Cigar

When I was 10 and 11 years old I had a Flyers T-shirt commemorating their back to back Stanley Cup wins. It was a big deal in the Philadelphia area and nobody was a bigger deal than the man between the pipes, Bernie Parent. I was very excited to be able to attend the launch of a new cigar, the BSB No.1 by Bernie Parent.

 

This particular cigar adventure began with a visit to Ned’s Cigars in Newtown, PA. I was welcomed by Luca, the owner of the store, which has been there for somewhere around 80 years. This is located in a historic building on the main street through the borough and exudes warmth and hospitality. The cigars are housed in cabinets on two walls along with an antique counter/humidor. The facings are limited by the space, but the selection is quite varied and covers all the bases. The Panacea cigars from the Flatbed Cigar Co. are prominently displayed as that company is based nearby. The lounge is a cozy space filled with leather chairs, TVs and a section of humidors for the members. Luca is one of those guys who makes you feel at home and like you’ve known him for years.

 

After a brief visit at the store I tagged along with Luca and his staff the the Green Parrot, which was the venue for the evening’s festivities. The Green Parrot appears to be a very nice bar and restaurant with an enclosed patio area which was where the event was held. The staff at this place was excellent, very efficient and attentive, and the food was delicious. They pride themselves on only using fresh and organic ingredients and claim to not even have a freezer on the premises! It was an excellent venue for a cigar dinner, although if the outside temps had been colder I can see where having most of the vinyl curtains open could get a bit chilly. On the other hand, smoke wasn’t a problem.

 

The reason Luca was able to round up 40 or 50 of his customers and friends (the Mayor of Newtown was there as well) was to celebrate the launch of a special cigar made by Rocky Patel Cigars for the legendary NHL goaltender and local hero Bernie Parent, the BSB No. 1 Rocky Patel, came up with the concept for the packaging, and Nish Patel handled the blending. What they came up with was a box pressed petite robusto with an outer band covering the majority of the cigar which was designed to look like a goalie pad, with an orange band underneath with the “BSB No.1 by Bernie Parent”  in black. The box that these cigars are packaged in is Flyers Orange and Black with gold lettering. The presentation is pretty awesome, at least from the perspective of a hockey fan such as myself. The cigar has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper which gives it a nice spicy flavor and I was impressed with how long this 4” cigar lasted considering the draw was very loose. It’s a tasty smoke that should age well. Bernie was truly a gentleman and stayed for the whole event. The event was terrific, great food, great cigars and wonderful people. Thank you to Luca for his hospitality, I appreciate the opportunity to attend such a special event.

 

Here is some video from the event with some interviews and pictures:

Contests!

Tomorrow is the day you’ve all been waiting for, the beginning of the 12 Spectacular Days of Cigar Giveaways. I think you’ll be impressed with the gifts this year, leave a comment to enter each day’s contest and try not to drool all over your keyboards!

 

Until tomorrow,

 

CigarCraig

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