Stocked my Harland Brown on-wall humidor a couple hours ago. Yes, shitheads, the humidity level was at 53% when I was putting in the cigars. It's sitting at 63% right now. I have around 10 cigars that I couldn't fit in here and they'll have to stay in the ammo can humidor until I go through some of the sticks in here.
Harland did a great job. The craftsmanship is excellent. I like the built-in LED lighting, which comes with a remote control for turning on/off and adjusting the brightness level.
Stocked my Harland Brown on-wall humidor a couple hours ago. Yes, shitheads, the humidity level was at 53% when I was putting in the cigars. It's sitting at 63% right now. I have around 10 cigars that I couldn't fit in here and they'll have to stay in the ammo can humidor until I go through some of the sticks in here.
Harland did a great job. The craftsmanship is excellent. I like the built-in LED lighting, which comes with a remote control for turning on/off and adjusting the brightness level.
Stocked my Harland Brown on-wall humidor a couple hours ago. Yes, shitheads, the humidity level was at 53% when I was putting in the cigars. It's sitting at 63% right now. I have around 10 cigars that I couldn't fit in here and they'll have to stay in the ammo can humidor until I go through some of the sticks in here.
Harland did a great job. The craftsmanship is excellent. I like the built-in LED lighting, which comes with a remote control for turning on/off and adjusting the brightness level.
His work is the best you can buy. Period. Full stop. Looks great.
Can honestly say that it was probably the best cigar smoking experience I've ever had.
I've never been a big Rocky Patel fan, but this cigar was a pleasure. I don't know what it had "hints" of, and I don't know what "notes" I was tasting (I can never taste all that stuff that the afficionados describe), it was just really good.
Took about 90 minutes to finish and it was a smooth, consistent burn throughout.
It was the first time that I ever logged on and ordered more for the humidor before I was even finished smoking the one in my hand.
Can honestly say that it was probably the best cigar smoking experience I've ever had.
I've never been a big Rocky Patel fan, but this cigar was a pleasure. I don't know what it had "hints" of, and I don't know what "notes" I was tasting (I can never taste all that stuff that the afficionados describe), it was just really good.
Took about 90 minutes to finish and it was a smooth, consistent burn throughout.
It was the first time that I ever logged on and ordered more for the humidor before I was even finished smoking the one in my hand.
I had this one as well and thought it was very good. But, the one that really blew my skirts up was the Diamond Crown Classic #4. I did just like you and ordered a box. Very very good smoke.
Ok, so I met a rich Moldovan guy ( @RatherBeBrewing ) at a watch event I was at recently and he had a couple of Behike 56's in a pocket travel humidor. He gave me one of them. It was a really nice smoke, but to be honest I'd never spend 120-160 bucks per stick on them. I mean Pledge Prequels are probably better for 10 bucks a stick for shits sake. Still cool to have the most in demand cigar in the world. And they are really good. Not trying to diminish the stick, I just don't wipe my ass with hundreds so I am not spending 1500 bucks for a box of 10.
Anyway, we (Moldovan and I) end up hitting it off pretty good and after the weekend he ships me a full box of these things - the exact same thing happened the year before at the same watch event - a guy I met sent me a box of vintage Cohiba Magicos from 2006 (this is the best cigar I have ever smoked btw) that go for like 200 bucks a stick at auction if you can find them. It pays to hang out with the ultra wealthy when you are a schlub like me.
Back on point, so I get this box of Behike 56s, and they are ALL FUCKED UP! He shipped them with no sealed bag and no humidification device or Boveda, and I get them and try one and it bursts on me. Not a small crack but an actual burst. So what this means is the cigars were stored in extremely high humidity, and are incredibly moist, but because they were then shipped dry the wrapper dried out (it loses moisture long before the filler) and so you have the worst possible combo of over-humidified cigar with a dry wrapper. Cigar swells as it gets hot and a brittle dry wrapper and BOOM! Cigar Guernica.
So, I am trying to bring these things back into balance in my 65rh humidor. Will take weeks, probably months. And it made me think....did this guy completely fuck up the hardest cigars in the world to get because he is a dumb Moldovan like @RatherBeBrewing says, or is it because he's so rich that 1500 bucks for a box of these things is just nothing to him. Or is it a combo? I am happy as hell to have gotten cigars I'd never buy on my own, just incredulous that rich Moldovans are either too stupid or just don't care about keeping them in good shape. CSB I know.
Ok, so I met a rich Moldovan guy ( @RatherBeBrewing ) at a watch event I was at recently and he had a couple of Behike 56's in a pocket travel humidor. He gave me one of them. It was a really nice smoke, but to be honest I'd never spend 120-160 bucks per stick on them. I mean Pledge Prequels are probably better for 10 bucks a stick for shits sake. Still cool to have the most in demand cigar in the world. And they are really good. Not trying to diminish the stick, I just don't wipe my ass with hundreds so I am not spending 1500 bucks for a box of 10.
Anyway, we (Moldovan and I) end up hitting it off pretty good and after the weekend he ships me a full box of these things - the exact same thing happened the year before at the same watch event - a guy I met sent me a box of vintage Cohiba Magicos from 2006 (this is the best cigar I have ever smoked btw) that go for like 200 bucks a stick at auction if you can find them. It pays to hang out with the ultra wealthy when you are a schlub like me.
Back on point, so I get this box of Behike 56s, and they are ALL FUCKED UP! He shipped them with no sealed bag and no humidification device or Boveda, and I get them and try one and it bursts on me. Not a small crack but an actual burst. So what this means is the cigars were stored in extremely high humidity, and are incredibly moist, but because they were then shipped dry the wrapper dried out (it loses moisture long before the filler) and so you have the worst possible combo of over-humidified cigar with a dry wrapper. Cigar swells as it gets hot and a brittle dry wrapper and BOOM! Cigar Guernica.
So, I am trying to bring these things back into balance in my 65rh humidor. Will take weeks, probably months. And it made me think....did this guy completely fuck up the hardest cigars in the world to get because he is a dumb Moldovan like @RatherBeBrewing says, or is it because he's so rich that 1500 bucks for a box of these things is just nothing to him. Or is it a combo? I am happy as hell to have gotten cigars I'd never buy on my own, just incredulous that rich Moldovans are either too stupid or just don't care about keeping them in good shape. CSB I know.
100% certainty that he didn’t consider humidity when it came to shipping cigars, as a result of being Moldovan and independent of wealth.
I bet he keeps them in a humidor at home, but he does this for no reason other than this is an expensive device for storing cigars - that one is a combination of being rich and Moldovan. He doesn’t ponder the point of it, he just knows that it costs more than a regular box and no further questions are necessary. When presented with something new most people will wonder why, or how. Moldovans have survived by not concerning themselves with such questions.
It reminds me of this joke about what we called “new Russians,” the nouveau riche that appeared in the 1990s. No formal manners, bad taste, and an obsession with having the most expensive everything:
Two Russian businessmen bump into each other, and one compliments the others bright yellow neck tie. The one wearing the tie thanks his friend and tells him he just bought it at the store down the street, it was $5,000. The other one just laughs and tells his friend he was ripped off. The store a few streets over has the same exact tie for the much better price of $10,000.
Semi related note, but EE love them some watches. My dad included. He liked his watches big and gaudy, which is standard for the region. His favorite; a Breitling the size of a dinner plate.
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian church. His people Photoshopped his watch off his wrist, but forgot the glossy table reflection. God pays well, and that Breguet is nothing compared to the vintage Daytona his underling the Metropolitan of Moscow wears.
The vow of poverty doesn’t extend to Putin’s long time press secretary Dmitry Peskov. That’s a $620,000 Richard Mille watch, not bad for a government employee. He’s been photographed in a much more casual one from the same watchmaker, a simple $100,000 one he was wearing while gardening. At work he prefers a Rolex or Omega, to not draw attention.
The flag raising over the Reichstag was staged, as the photographer brought his own flag, and unhappy with the Asiatic looking original flag hoisting Red Army private, he picked out a photogenic Ukrainian who had managed to do some looting. Either that or he needed to know the time badly enough to wear multiple watches.
Ok, so I met a rich Moldovan guy ( @RatherBeBrewing ) at a watch event I was at recently and he had a couple of Behike 56's in a pocket travel humidor. He gave me one of them. It was a really nice smoke, but to be honest I'd never spend 120-160 bucks per stick on them. I mean Pledge Prequels are probably better for 10 bucks a stick for shits sake. Still cool to have the most in demand cigar in the world. And they are really good. Not trying to diminish the stick, I just don't wipe my ass with hundreds so I am not spending 1500 bucks for a box of 10.
Anyway, we (Moldovan and I) end up hitting it off pretty good and after the weekend he ships me a full box of these things - the exact same thing happened the year before at the same watch event - a guy I met sent me a box of vintage Cohiba Magicos from 2006 (this is the best cigar I have ever smoked btw) that go for like 200 bucks a stick at auction if you can find them. It pays to hang out with the ultra wealthy when you are a schlub like me.
Back on point, so I get this box of Behike 56s, and they are ALL FUCKED UP! He shipped them with no sealed bag and no humidification device or Boveda, and I get them and try one and it bursts on me. Not a small crack but an actual burst. So what this means is the cigars were stored in extremely high humidity, and are incredibly moist, but because they were then shipped dry the wrapper dried out (it loses moisture long before the filler) and so you have the worst possible combo of over-humidified cigar with a dry wrapper. Cigar swells as it gets hot and a brittle dry wrapper and BOOM! Cigar Guernica.
So, I am trying to bring these things back into balance in my 65rh humidor. Will take weeks, probably months. And it made me think....did this guy completely fuck up the hardest cigars in the world to get because he is a dumb Moldovan like @RatherBeBrewing says, or is it because he's so rich that 1500 bucks for a box of these things is just nothing to him. Or is it a combo? I am happy as hell to have gotten cigars I'd never buy on my own, just incredulous that rich Moldovans are either too stupid or just don't care about keeping them in good shape. CSB I know.
100% certainty that he didn’t consider humidity when it came to shipping cigars, as a result of being Moldovan and independent of wealth.
I bet he keeps them in a humidor at home, but he does this for no reason other than this is an expensive device for storing cigars - that one is a combination of being rich and Moldovan. He doesn’t ponder the point of it, he just knows that it costs more than a regular box and no further questions are necessary. When presented with something new most people will wonder why, or how. Moldovans have survived by not concerning themselves with such questions.
It reminds me of this joke about what we called “new Russians,” the nouveau riche that appeared in the 1990s. No formal manners, bad taste, and an obsession with having the most expensive everything:
Two Russian businessmen bump into each other, and one compliments the others bright yellow neck tie. The one wearing the tie thanks his friend and tells him he just bought it at the store down the street, it was $5,000. The other one just laughs and tells his friend he was ripped off. The store a few streets over has the same exact tie for the much better price of $10,000.
Semi related note, but EE love them some watches. My dad included. He liked his watches big and gaudy, which is standard for the region. His favorite; a Breitling the size of a dinner plate.
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian church. His people Photoshopped his watch off his wrist, but forgot the glossy table reflection. God pays well, and that Breguet is nothing compared to the vintage Daytona his underling the Metropolitan of Moscow wears.
The vow of poverty doesn’t extend to Putin’s long time press secretary Dmitry Peskov. That’s a $620,000 Richard Mille watch, not bad for a government employee. He’s been photographed in a much more casual one from the same watchmaker, a simple $100,000 one he was wearing while gardening. At work he prefers a Rolex or Omega, to not draw attention.
The flag raising over the Reichstag was staged, as the photographer brought his own flag, and unhappy with the Asiatic looking original flag hoisting Red Army private, he picked out a photogenic Ukrainian who had managed to do some looting. Either that or he needed to know the time badly enough to wear multiple watches.
Deeply impressed you worked a nice watch segment into a treatise on dumb Moldovans. YBE!
Also, speaking of Russians and big gaudy watches...Ulysses Nardin had made an absolute mint off oligarchs, as has Hublot. In the case of Hublot there are enough shit for taste Premier League footballers to keep them in business, but without the eastern Euro trash and Russians, UN would be defunct. Which is a shame, because I really like the Freak as a marvel of watchmaking, and some of their more restrained Maxi Marines are quite nice, but I always think if I buy one someone will assume I'm all mobbed up Soviet style. I feel like I'd need stars on my shoulders, or pay with wheelbarrow loads of rubles, just to buy it.
Ok, so I met a rich Moldovan guy ( @RatherBeBrewing ) at a watch event I was at recently and he had a couple of Behike 56's in a pocket travel humidor. He gave me one of them. It was a really nice smoke, but to be honest I'd never spend 120-160 bucks per stick on them. I mean Pledge Prequels are probably better for 10 bucks a stick for shits sake. Still cool to have the most in demand cigar in the world. And they are really good. Not trying to diminish the stick, I just don't wipe my ass with hundreds so I am not spending 1500 bucks for a box of 10.
Anyway, we (Moldovan and I) end up hitting it off pretty good and after the weekend he ships me a full box of these things - the exact same thing happened the year before at the same watch event - a guy I met sent me a box of vintage Cohiba Magicos from 2006 (this is the best cigar I have ever smoked btw) that go for like 200 bucks a stick at auction if you can find them. It pays to hang out with the ultra wealthy when you are a schlub like me.
Back on point, so I get this box of Behike 56s, and they are ALL FUCKED UP! He shipped them with no sealed bag and no humidification device or Boveda, and I get them and try one and it bursts on me. Not a small crack but an actual burst. So what this means is the cigars were stored in extremely high humidity, and are incredibly moist, but because they were then shipped dry the wrapper dried out (it loses moisture long before the filler) and so you have the worst possible combo of over-humidified cigar with a dry wrapper. Cigar swells as it gets hot and a brittle dry wrapper and BOOM! Cigar Guernica.
So, I am trying to bring these things back into balance in my 65rh humidor. Will take weeks, probably months. And it made me think....did this guy completely fuck up the hardest cigars in the world to get because he is a dumb Moldovan like @RatherBeBrewing says, or is it because he's so rich that 1500 bucks for a box of these things is just nothing to him. Or is it a combo? I am happy as hell to have gotten cigars I'd never buy on my own, just incredulous that rich Moldovans are either too stupid or just don't care about keeping them in good shape. CSB I know.
100% certainty that he didn’t consider humidity when it came to shipping cigars, as a result of being Moldovan and independent of wealth.
I bet he keeps them in a humidor at home, but he does this for no reason other than this is an expensive device for storing cigars - that one is a combination of being rich and Moldovan. He doesn’t ponder the point of it, he just knows that it costs more than a regular box and no further questions are necessary. When presented with something new most people will wonder why, or how. Moldovans have survived by not concerning themselves with such questions.
It reminds me of this joke about what we called “new Russians,” the nouveau riche that appeared in the 1990s. No formal manners, bad taste, and an obsession with having the most expensive everything:
Two Russian businessmen bump into each other, and one compliments the others bright yellow neck tie. The one wearing the tie thanks his friend and tells him he just bought it at the store down the street, it was $5,000. The other one just laughs and tells his friend he was ripped off. The store a few streets over has the same exact tie for the much better price of $10,000.
Semi related note, but EE love them some watches. My dad included. He liked his watches big and gaudy, which is standard for the region. His favorite; a Breitling the size of a dinner plate.
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian church. His people Photoshopped his watch off his wrist, but forgot the glossy table reflection. God pays well, and that Breguet is nothing compared to the vintage Daytona his underling the Metropolitan of Moscow wears.
The vow of poverty doesn’t extend to Putin’s long time press secretary Dmitry Peskov. That’s a $620,000 Richard Mille watch, not bad for a government employee. He’s been photographed in a much more casual one from the same watchmaker, a simple $100,000 one he was wearing while gardening. At work he prefers a Rolex or Omega, to not draw attention.
The flag raising over the Reichstag was staged, as the photographer brought his own flag, and unhappy with the Asiatic looking original flag hoisting Red Army private, he picked out a photogenic Ukrainian who had managed to do some looting. Either that or he needed to know the time badly enough to wear multiple watches.
Deeply impressed you worked a nice watch segment into a treatise on dumb Moldovans. YBE!
Also, speaking of Russians and big gaudy watches...Ulysses Nardin had made an absolute mint off oligarchs, as has Hublot. In the case of Hublot there are enough shit for taste Premier League footballers to keep them in business, but without the eastern Euro trash and Russians, UN would be defunct. Which is a shame, because I really like the Freak as a marvel of watchmaking, and some of their more restrained Maxi Marines are quite nice, but I always think if I buy one someone will assume I'm all mobbed up Soviet style. I feel like I'd need stars on my shoulders, or pay with wheelbarrow loads of rubles, just to buy it.
As someone who just can’t wear a watch, mostly because it makes me feel off balanced - but also because it makes slipping my hand down my pants to adjust my balls more difficult, I’ve never been a big fan. But I can see the appeal.
Hublot gets a joke in the Ukrainian president’s sitcom, as it sounds very similar to the word for dickhead - huylo. Which is also Putin’s nickname. I’m not kidding, for the last eight years if you say huylo anywhere in Eastern Europe, even with no context, everyone knows who it’s about. On his TV show Zelensky is getting a makeover to be more presidential, and they tell him he needs a luxury watch. As they’re showing him watches “Patek Phillipe is what Putin wears, Hublot” to which Zelensky says Putin, huylo?
As for cigars there, friendly trade relations with Cuba and a nearly non-existent tobacco tax means I get to bring back as much as I think I can get past customs. Looking online a box of 25 limited edition Cohiba Piramides is ~$150 from a Ukrainian retailer, and it might even be cheaper from the stores the Cuban govt tobacco monopoly operates there. https://ua.all.biz/en/cuban-cigars-of-cohiba-piramides-limited-edition-g11408040
Smoked a very nice Oliva last eve whilst drinking Cold Smoke - my favorite MT beer - and bantering about shitty Seattle politics with a buddy whom I'd given a Macanudo and a Romeo & Julietta to enjoy later.
One second after handing him the R&J, I realized that was my last short & fatty in that ammo box and I almost grabbed it back, but my buddy was already sniffing it. (FUCK!).
Fortunately I had several more in my other humidor at home, but the urge to re-order on a phone app was strong in the moment.
I must register an upvote for the Oliva brand while I'm here. Another underrated cigar in the marketplace. Very smooth, burns very well, never gets too hot or acidic in my experience.
Smoke, muthafuckas! Smoke!
I got up today and checked the weather app. 11 degrees headed to a high of 28. FML. No smoke again. Too goddamn cold to enjoy it.
Be a man @Swaye and tell the old ball and chain you’re installing the indoor smoking lounge.
I've been wondering what it would cost to have walls built (with huge glass segments), sealed doors, carpet torn out and hardwood laid, a full air cleaner system and room level humidification system, glass custom Spanish cedar shelves....50-60K I'd guess? Maybe more? You could cut the cost by NOT having room level humidification or huge custom shelves installed. You could just add another big humidor and all the air purification stuff to smoke in there. Probably cut out a bunch of the cost. A ton of money, plus a bunch of square footage gone to smoking. Hmmmm....
North of 100k in the shithole City of Seattle. If you could even get anyone to bid it.
I cannot defend the cost of living in this butthole of a City, but it is what it is, and memories and nostalgia are powerful forces against me.
Also explains my attachment to Husky Football, methinks.
Smoked a very nice Oliva last eve whilst drinking Cold Smoke - my favorite MT beer - and bantering about shitty Seattle politics with a buddy whom I'd given a Macanudo and a Romeo & Julietta to enjoy later.
One second after handing him the R&J, I realized that was my last short & fatty in that ammo box and I almost grabbed it back, but my buddy was already sniffing it. (FUCK!).
Fortunately I had several more in my other humidor at home, but the urge to re-order on a phone app was strong in the moment.
I must register an upvote for the Oliva brand while I'm here. Another underrated cigar in the marketplace. Very smooth, burns very well, never gets too hot or acidic in my experience.
Smoke, muthafuckas! Smoke!
I had an Olivia Connecticut Churchill last summer. Not great.
But a Olivia Maduro Robusto to try today. Some of their stuff gets rated very high so we’ll see if I like this one.
My experiences with Olivas have been good, but I've had similar inconsistency issues with Monte Cristos. Premiums kinda disappoint, but the regulars have all been good.
Currently enjoying a R&J on the back patio in front of my old white trash old wood stove I keep on a furniture mover so I can roll it wherever I want it. I'd give R&Js a strong A- for consistency and flavor. Don't recall ever having a bad one.
Once this old POS wood stove rusts through, I think I'll replace it with a Breeo made in USA fire pit. Fuck the Chinese Solo pits.
Ok, so I met a rich Moldovan guy ( @RatherBeBrewing ) at a watch event I was at recently and he had a couple of Behike 56's in a pocket travel humidor. He gave me one of them. It was a really nice smoke, but to be honest I'd never spend 120-160 bucks per stick on them. I mean Pledge Prequels are probably better for 10 bucks a stick for shits sake. Still cool to have the most in demand cigar in the world. And they are really good. Not trying to diminish the stick, I just don't wipe my ass with hundreds so I am not spending 1500 bucks for a box of 10.
Anyway, we (Moldovan and I) end up hitting it off pretty good and after the weekend he ships me a full box of these things - the exact same thing happened the year before at the same watch event - a guy I met sent me a box of vintage Cohiba Magicos from 2006 (this is the best cigar I have ever smoked btw) that go for like 200 bucks a stick at auction if you can find them. It pays to hang out with the ultra wealthy when you are a schlub like me.
Back on point, so I get this box of Behike 56s, and they are ALL FUCKED UP! He shipped them with no sealed bag and no humidification device or Boveda, and I get them and try one and it bursts on me. Not a small crack but an actual burst. So what this means is the cigars were stored in extremely high humidity, and are incredibly moist, but because they were then shipped dry the wrapper dried out (it loses moisture long before the filler) and so you have the worst possible combo of over-humidified cigar with a dry wrapper. Cigar swells as it gets hot and a brittle dry wrapper and BOOM! Cigar Guernica.
So, I am trying to bring these things back into balance in my 65rh humidor. Will take weeks, probably months. And it made me think....did this guy completely fuck up the hardest cigars in the world to get because he is a dumb Moldovan like @RatherBeBrewing says, or is it because he's so rich that 1500 bucks for a box of these things is just nothing to him. Or is it a combo? I am happy as hell to have gotten cigars I'd never buy on my own, just incredulous that rich Moldovans are either too stupid or just don't care about keeping them in good shape. CSB I know.
100% certainty that he didn’t consider humidity when it came to shipping cigars, as a result of being Moldovan and independent of wealth.
I bet he keeps them in a humidor at home, but he does this for no reason other than this is an expensive device for storing cigars - that one is a combination of being rich and Moldovan. He doesn’t ponder the point of it, he just knows that it costs more than a regular box and no further questions are necessary. When presented with something new most people will wonder why, or how. Moldovans have survived by not concerning themselves with such questions.
It reminds me of this joke about what we called “new Russians,” the nouveau riche that appeared in the 1990s. No formal manners, bad taste, and an obsession with having the most expensive everything:
Two Russian businessmen bump into each other, and one compliments the others bright yellow neck tie. The one wearing the tie thanks his friend and tells him he just bought it at the store down the street, it was $5,000. The other one just laughs and tells his friend he was ripped off. The store a few streets over has the same exact tie for the much better price of $10,000.
Semi related note, but EE love them some watches. My dad included. He liked his watches big and gaudy, which is standard for the region. His favorite; a Breitling the size of a dinner plate.
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian church. His people Photoshopped his watch off his wrist, but forgot the glossy table reflection. God pays well, and that Breguet is nothing compared to the vintage Daytona his underling the Metropolitan of Moscow wears.
The vow of poverty doesn’t extend to Putin’s long time press secretary Dmitry Peskov. That’s a $620,000 Richard Mille watch, not bad for a government employee. He’s been photographed in a much more casual one from the same watchmaker, a simple $100,000 one he was wearing while gardening. At work he prefers a Rolex or Omega, to not draw attention.
The flag raising over the Reichstag was staged, as the photographer brought his own flag, and unhappy with the Asiatic looking original flag hoisting Red Army private, he picked out a photogenic Ukrainian who had managed to do some looting. Either that or he needed to know the time badly enough to wear multiple watches.
Deeply impressed you worked a nice watch segment into a treatise on dumb Moldovans. YBE!
Also, speaking of Russians and big gaudy watches...Ulysses Nardin had made an absolute mint off oligarchs, as has Hublot. In the case of Hublot there are enough shit for taste Premier League footballers to keep them in business, but without the eastern Euro trash and Russians, UN would be defunct. Which is a shame, because I really like the Freak as a marvel of watchmaking, and some of their more restrained Maxi Marines are quite nice, but I always think if I buy one someone will assume I'm all mobbed up Soviet style. I feel like I'd need stars on my shoulders, or pay with wheelbarrow loads of rubles, just to buy it.
As someone who just can’t wear a watch, mostly because it makes me feel off balanced - but also because it makes slipping my hand down my pants to adjust my balls more difficult, I’ve never been a big fan. But I can see the appeal.
Hublot gets a joke in the Ukrainian president’s sitcom, as it sounds very similar to the word for dickhead - huylo. Which is also Putin’s nickname. I’m not kidding, for the last eight years if you say huylo anywhere in Eastern Europe, even with no context, everyone knows who it’s about. On his TV show Zelensky is getting a makeover to be more presidential, and they tell him he needs a luxury watch. As they’re showing him watches “Patek Phillipe is what Putin wears, Hublot” to which Zelensky says Putin, huylo?
As for cigars there, friendly trade relations with Cuba and a nearly non-existent tobacco tax means I get to bring back as much as I think I can get past customs. Looking online a box of 25 limited edition Cohiba Piramides is ~$150 from a Ukrainian retailer, and it might even be cheaper from the stores the Cuban govt tobacco monopoly operates there. https://ua.all.biz/en/cuban-cigars-of-cohiba-piramides-limited-edition-g11408040
Sounds like I need to put in an order on your next trip to Ukraine.
Ok, so I met a rich Moldovan guy ( @RatherBeBrewing ) at a watch event I was at recently and he had a couple of Behike 56's in a pocket travel humidor. He gave me one of them. It was a really nice smoke, but to be honest I'd never spend 120-160 bucks per stick on them. I mean Pledge Prequels are probably better for 10 bucks a stick for shits sake. Still cool to have the most in demand cigar in the world. And they are really good. Not trying to diminish the stick, I just don't wipe my ass with hundreds so I am not spending 1500 bucks for a box of 10.
Anyway, we (Moldovan and I) end up hitting it off pretty good and after the weekend he ships me a full box of these things - the exact same thing happened the year before at the same watch event - a guy I met sent me a box of vintage Cohiba Magicos from 2006 (this is the best cigar I have ever smoked btw) that go for like 200 bucks a stick at auction if you can find them. It pays to hang out with the ultra wealthy when you are a schlub like me.
Back on point, so I get this box of Behike 56s, and they are ALL FUCKED UP! He shipped them with no sealed bag and no humidification device or Boveda, and I get them and try one and it bursts on me. Not a small crack but an actual burst. So what this means is the cigars were stored in extremely high humidity, and are incredibly moist, but because they were then shipped dry the wrapper dried out (it loses moisture long before the filler) and so you have the worst possible combo of over-humidified cigar with a dry wrapper. Cigar swells as it gets hot and a brittle dry wrapper and BOOM! Cigar Guernica.
So, I am trying to bring these things back into balance in my 65rh humidor. Will take weeks, probably months. And it made me think....did this guy completely fuck up the hardest cigars in the world to get because he is a dumb Moldovan like @RatherBeBrewing says, or is it because he's so rich that 1500 bucks for a box of these things is just nothing to him. Or is it a combo? I am happy as hell to have gotten cigars I'd never buy on my own, just incredulous that rich Moldovans are either too stupid or just don't care about keeping them in good shape. CSB I know.
100% certainty that he didn’t consider humidity when it came to shipping cigars, as a result of being Moldovan and independent of wealth.
I bet he keeps them in a humidor at home, but he does this for no reason other than this is an expensive device for storing cigars - that one is a combination of being rich and Moldovan. He doesn’t ponder the point of it, he just knows that it costs more than a regular box and no further questions are necessary. When presented with something new most people will wonder why, or how. Moldovans have survived by not concerning themselves with such questions.
It reminds me of this joke about what we called “new Russians,” the nouveau riche that appeared in the 1990s. No formal manners, bad taste, and an obsession with having the most expensive everything:
Two Russian businessmen bump into each other, and one compliments the others bright yellow neck tie. The one wearing the tie thanks his friend and tells him he just bought it at the store down the street, it was $5,000. The other one just laughs and tells his friend he was ripped off. The store a few streets over has the same exact tie for the much better price of $10,000.
Semi related note, but EE love them some watches. My dad included. He liked his watches big and gaudy, which is standard for the region. His favorite; a Breitling the size of a dinner plate.
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian church. His people Photoshopped his watch off his wrist, but forgot the glossy table reflection. God pays well, and that Breguet is nothing compared to the vintage Daytona his underling the Metropolitan of Moscow wears.
The vow of poverty doesn’t extend to Putin’s long time press secretary Dmitry Peskov. That’s a $620,000 Richard Mille watch, not bad for a government employee. He’s been photographed in a much more casual one from the same watchmaker, a simple $100,000 one he was wearing while gardening. At work he prefers a Rolex or Omega, to not draw attention.
The flag raising over the Reichstag was staged, as the photographer brought his own flag, and unhappy with the Asiatic looking original flag hoisting Red Army private, he picked out a photogenic Ukrainian who had managed to do some looting. Either that or he needed to know the time badly enough to wear multiple watches.
Deeply impressed you worked a nice watch segment into a treatise on dumb Moldovans. YBE!
Also, speaking of Russians and big gaudy watches...Ulysses Nardin had made an absolute mint off oligarchs, as has Hublot. In the case of Hublot there are enough shit for taste Premier League footballers to keep them in business, but without the eastern Euro trash and Russians, UN would be defunct. Which is a shame, because I really like the Freak as a marvel of watchmaking, and some of their more restrained Maxi Marines are quite nice, but I always think if I buy one someone will assume I'm all mobbed up Soviet style. I feel like I'd need stars on my shoulders, or pay with wheelbarrow loads of rubles, just to buy it.
As someone who just can’t wear a watch, mostly because it makes me feel off balanced - but also because it makes slipping my hand down my pants to adjust my balls more difficult, I’ve never been a big fan. But I can see the appeal.
Hublot gets a joke in the Ukrainian president’s sitcom, as it sounds very similar to the word for dickhead - huylo. Which is also Putin’s nickname. I’m not kidding, for the last eight years if you say huylo anywhere in Eastern Europe, even with no context, everyone knows who it’s about. On his TV show Zelensky is getting a makeover to be more presidential, and they tell him he needs a luxury watch. As they’re showing him watches “Patek Phillipe is what Putin wears, Hublot” to which Zelensky says Putin, huylo?
As for cigars there, friendly trade relations with Cuba and a nearly non-existent tobacco tax means I get to bring back as much as I think I can get past customs. Looking online a box of 25 limited edition Cohiba Piramides is ~$150 from a Ukrainian retailer, and it might even be cheaper from the stores the Cuban govt tobacco monopoly operates there. https://ua.all.biz/en/cuban-cigars-of-cohiba-piramides-limited-edition-g11408040
Sounds like I need to put in an order on your next trip to Ukraine.
Might be a bit of a wait - KLM regrets to inform me that they are not able to operate Amsterdam to Kyiv at this time. They are also curious if I’d like to go back to Sint Maarten or Curacao, and would like me to see a picture of a happy Dutch family with a turtle. Pretty good deals on tobacco and booze there as well, odds of becoming a Russian hostage much lower, radiation levels more compatible with not getting ball cancer.
@Swaye and I have been exploring the world of small cigars for cold weather. I got some Padron Serie 1926 No 35 naturals. A good way for a pour like Yella to enjoy the Padron lifestyle. They do not disappoint.
@Swaye and I have been exploring the world of small cigars for cold weather. I got some Padron Serie 1926 No 35 naturals. A good way for a pour like Yella to enjoy the Padron lifestyle. They do not disappoint.
I ordered some Padron Londres Maduro from Hilands Cigars two months ago. Backordered they tell me. I want to join you in your Padron lifestyle, but can't. Did pick up a box of Opus X Lost City Robustos yesterday though! BAM!
Snagged this sampler from perfectcigarblend.com today. It was $495. I priced these individually and the sampler was about a $125 value. (Note that I'm calling $500 worth of cigars a "value". "Value" is clearly in the eye of the beholder).
Once these come in, the humidor will be mostly set for the next few months. Or, until I get the urge to buy more, next week. Adding to the stash is more addicting than the nicotine.
A couple of favorites for the last few months have been these:
Fuente Rosado Magnum R 56:
My Father Fall 2021 Exclusive Toro:
And, gonna add this video of 3 guys discussing how to light a cigar. I found it both interesting and helpful. I also found the entire mood/attitude/discourse strangely relaxing. I'd like to hang with these guys, just so I could feel both fascinated and completely out of my league.
Great find on the OpusX sampler. I just bought it. That place has great samplers at decent prices in general.
So I found this new local joint, and got an intro to them from one of their biggest clients (I met him through watches - the gift that keeps on giving)...what I like about them is they carry all my favorite brands - Fuente, Padron, Davidoff, DE, etc. Best selection anywhere around DC/NOVA...and if you go in and splash some cash and talk to the owner, he will actually pull out the "rare and hard to find" stuff and sell it to you. Dropped 3 grand there, but he sold me a box of Plasencia Year of the Tiger, a box of 2017 Davidoff Gold Bands, a box of Davidoff LE Grand Toros, and a box of Liga Privada 10 year Anniversary. So, mission accomplished. I have to pay more to shop local, but if I call up Fox and ask for something special they tell me to fuck off. No personal touch with internet places, just cheap prices. So, I'll do a mix of both now. Online to get stuff I can't get local or super deals (like Fox deals on Carillo), and the local guys for rare shit.
When I was there he also gave me a few freebie sticks (including an Ashton 23 which is like a 30 dollar stick), and one of them was the new Nica Rustica Adobe. EXCELLENT value buy stick. I cannot say enough about this cheaper cigar. Adobe. Try it. Great. He also gave me two 3 packs of My Father event only cigars (pictured below). These things are goddamn delicious.
Almost forgot @DHD it doesn't show in the pictures below (I bought like 15 boxes so they obviously aren't all shown) but the owner of the place STRONGLY recommended those My Father Exclusive Toro that you got above, so I bought a box of those as well. He was really high on those so hopefully they are great.
Other big news. I just ordered a small totally custom cabinet style humidor from Harland Brown. This one will be a drawer style arrangement, with front cabinet door, and small. Roughly 22 inches tall, 15 inches deep, and 18 inches wide. 3 drawers I think we are leaning toward. Outside will have inlays and some of the finest vintage wood he has. Should be absolutely epic when done. I will report back with an update.
Cigars have to be the most fun hobby in my life, and I have a ton of hobbies.
Comments
Thought I would throw this one in also
twice MrsIamnotinLebam had to ask me to quit drooling in public
Harland did a great job. The craftsmanship is excellent. I like the built-in LED lighting, which comes with a remote control for turning on/off and adjusting the brightness level.
Had one of these the other day.
Can honestly say that it was probably the best cigar smoking experience I've ever had.
I've never been a big Rocky Patel fan, but this cigar was a pleasure. I don't know what it had "hints" of, and I don't know what "notes" I was tasting (I can never taste all that stuff that the afficionados describe), it was just really good.
Took about 90 minutes to finish and it was a smooth, consistent burn throughout.
It was the first time that I ever logged on and ordered more for the humidor before I was even finished smoking the one in my hand.
Anyway, we (Moldovan and I) end up hitting it off pretty good and after the weekend he ships me a full box of these things - the exact same thing happened the year before at the same watch event - a guy I met sent me a box of vintage Cohiba Magicos from 2006 (this is the best cigar I have ever smoked btw) that go for like 200 bucks a stick at auction if you can find them. It pays to hang out with the ultra wealthy when you are a schlub like me.
Back on point, so I get this box of Behike 56s, and they are ALL FUCKED UP! He shipped them with no sealed bag and no humidification device or Boveda, and I get them and try one and it bursts on me. Not a small crack but an actual burst. So what this means is the cigars were stored in extremely high humidity, and are incredibly moist, but because they were then shipped dry the wrapper dried out (it loses moisture long before the filler) and so you have the worst possible combo of over-humidified cigar with a dry wrapper. Cigar swells as it gets hot and a brittle dry wrapper and BOOM! Cigar Guernica.
So, I am trying to bring these things back into balance in my 65rh humidor. Will take weeks, probably months. And it made me think....did this guy completely fuck up the hardest cigars in the world to get because he is a dumb Moldovan like @RatherBeBrewing says, or is it because he's so rich that 1500 bucks for a box of these things is just nothing to him. Or is it a combo? I am happy as hell to have gotten cigars I'd never buy on my own, just incredulous that rich Moldovans are either too stupid or just don't care about keeping them in good shape. CSB I know.
I bet he keeps them in a humidor at home, but he does this for no reason other than this is an expensive device for storing cigars - that one is a combination of being rich and Moldovan. He doesn’t ponder the point of it, he just knows that it costs more than a regular box and no further questions are necessary. When presented with something new most people will wonder why, or how. Moldovans have survived by not concerning themselves with such questions.
It reminds me of this joke about what we called “new Russians,” the nouveau riche that appeared in the 1990s. No formal manners, bad taste, and an obsession with having the most expensive everything:
Two Russian businessmen bump into each other, and one compliments the others bright yellow neck tie. The one wearing the tie thanks his friend and tells him he just bought it at the store down the street, it was $5,000. The other one just laughs and tells his friend he was ripped off. The store a few streets over has the same exact tie for the much better price of $10,000.
Semi related note, but EE love them some watches. My dad included. He liked his watches big and gaudy, which is standard for the region. His favorite; a Breitling the size of a dinner plate.
Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian church. His people Photoshopped his watch off his wrist, but forgot the glossy table reflection. God pays well, and that Breguet is nothing compared to the vintage Daytona his underling the Metropolitan of Moscow wears.
The vow of poverty doesn’t extend to Putin’s long time press secretary Dmitry Peskov. That’s a $620,000 Richard Mille watch, not bad for a government employee. He’s been photographed in a much more casual one from the same watchmaker, a simple $100,000 one he was wearing while gardening. At work he prefers a Rolex or Omega, to not draw attention.
The flag raising over the Reichstag was staged, as the photographer brought his own flag, and unhappy with the Asiatic looking original flag hoisting Red Army private, he picked out a photogenic Ukrainian who had managed to do some looting. Either that or he needed to know the time badly enough to wear multiple watches.
Also, speaking of Russians and big gaudy watches...Ulysses Nardin had made an absolute mint off oligarchs, as has Hublot. In the case of Hublot there are enough shit for taste Premier League footballers to keep them in business, but without the eastern Euro trash and Russians, UN would be defunct. Which is a shame, because I really like the Freak as a marvel of watchmaking, and some of their more restrained Maxi Marines are quite nice, but I always think if I buy one someone will assume I'm all mobbed up Soviet style. I feel like I'd need stars on my shoulders, or pay with wheelbarrow loads of rubles, just to buy it.
Hublot gets a joke in the Ukrainian president’s sitcom, as it sounds very similar to the word for dickhead - huylo. Which is also Putin’s nickname. I’m not kidding, for the last eight years if you say huylo anywhere in Eastern Europe, even with no context, everyone knows who it’s about. On his TV show Zelensky is getting a makeover to be more presidential, and they tell him he needs a luxury watch. As they’re showing him watches “Patek Phillipe is what Putin wears, Hublot” to which Zelensky says Putin, huylo?
As for cigars there, friendly trade relations with Cuba and a nearly non-existent tobacco tax means I get to bring back as much as I think I can get past customs. Looking online a box of 25 limited edition Cohiba Piramides is ~$150 from a Ukrainian retailer, and it might even be cheaper from the stores the Cuban govt tobacco monopoly operates there. https://ua.all.biz/en/cuban-cigars-of-cohiba-piramides-limited-edition-g11408040
I cannot defend the cost of living in this butthole of a City, but it is what it is, and memories and nostalgia are powerful forces against me.
Also explains my attachment to Husky Football, methinks.
Currently enjoying a R&J on the back patio in front of my old white trash old wood stove I keep on a furniture mover so I can roll it wherever I want it. I'd give R&Js a strong A- for consistency and flavor. Don't recall ever having a bad one.
Once this old POS wood stove rusts through, I think I'll replace it with a Breeo made in USA fire pit. Fuck the Chinese Solo pits.
See what I did there.
https://secretocigarbar.com/
Great guy to do business with. Check out his baller kits. Epic.
pro-tip: Look under "Mug Dealer" where he keeps the Saka/Dunbarton (no idea why) and get a box of Sin Compromiso. You'll thank me later.
Snagged this sampler from perfectcigarblend.com today. It was $495. I priced these individually and the sampler was about a $125 value. (Note that I'm calling $500 worth of cigars a "value". "Value" is clearly in the eye of the beholder).
Once these come in, the humidor will be mostly set for the next few months. Or, until I get the urge to buy more, next week. Adding to the stash is more addicting than the nicotine.
A couple of favorites for the last few months have been these:
Fuente Rosado Magnum R 56:
My Father Fall 2021 Exclusive Toro:
And, gonna add this video of 3 guys discussing how to light a cigar. I found it both interesting and helpful. I also found the entire mood/attitude/discourse strangely relaxing. I'd like to hang with these guys, just so I could feel both fascinated and completely out of my league.
https://youtube.com/watch?v=KxTQXmZo9Lc
Great find on the OpusX sampler. I just bought it. That place has great samplers at decent prices in general.
So I found this new local joint, and got an intro to them from one of their biggest clients (I met him through watches - the gift that keeps on giving)...what I like about them is they carry all my favorite brands - Fuente, Padron, Davidoff, DE, etc. Best selection anywhere around DC/NOVA...and if you go in and splash some cash and talk to the owner, he will actually pull out the "rare and hard to find" stuff and sell it to you. Dropped 3 grand there, but he sold me a box of Plasencia Year of the Tiger, a box of 2017 Davidoff Gold Bands, a box of Davidoff LE Grand Toros, and a box of Liga Privada 10 year Anniversary. So, mission accomplished. I have to pay more to shop local, but if I call up Fox and ask for something special they tell me to fuck off. No personal touch with internet places, just cheap prices. So, I'll do a mix of both now. Online to get stuff I can't get local or super deals (like Fox deals on Carillo), and the local guys for rare shit.
When I was there he also gave me a few freebie sticks (including an Ashton 23 which is like a 30 dollar stick), and one of them was the new Nica Rustica Adobe. EXCELLENT value buy stick. I cannot say enough about this cheaper cigar. Adobe. Try it. Great. He also gave me two 3 packs of My Father event only cigars (pictured below). These things are goddamn delicious.
Almost forgot @DHD it doesn't show in the pictures below (I bought like 15 boxes so they obviously aren't all shown) but the owner of the place STRONGLY recommended those My Father Exclusive Toro that you got above, so I bought a box of those as well. He was really high on those so hopefully they are great.
Other big news. I just ordered a small totally custom cabinet style humidor from Harland Brown. This one will be a drawer style arrangement, with front cabinet door, and small. Roughly 22 inches tall, 15 inches deep, and 18 inches wide. 3 drawers I think we are leaning toward. Outside will have inlays and some of the finest vintage wood he has. Should be absolutely epic when done. I will report back with an update.
Cigars have to be the most fun hobby in my life, and I have a ton of hobbies.