Somehow I have managed to procrastinate blogging for three months. Perhaps nothing really exciting caught my attention, or maybe I was just plain lazy. Yesterday at Tampa Humidor however, I found myself smoking a 7" cigar that was actually enjoyable all the way through! The wonderful product of a partnership of the Master himself, Pepin Garcia, with one of the giants of the cigar industry, Nestor Miranda, the "Danno", a 7 x 56 monster with a production limit of 1000 boxes, is the crown jewel of the Nestor Miranda collection and I highly recommend it.

 

In celebration of Miami Cigar and Company's 20th anniversary, Miami Cigar will make a gift of a Nestor Miranda Special Selection 20 Aniversario (7” x 56 - Danno) to every smoker who wants one. All the smoker has to do is to buy a cigar – any cigar, made by any cigar maker – at one of the 500 Nestor Miranda Special Selection Authorized Dealers, on Friday, June 12, 2009, which has been designated as “National Nestor Miranda Cigar Day.” The tobacconist will give him or her the “Danno,” with Miami Cigars’ compliments.

To locate your Authorized Dealer, go to nestormirandacigars.com and follow the instructions on the site. “All I ask,” said Nestor Miranda, “is that they smoke the “Danno” that afternoon. Anyone who wishes to comment on the cigar, after smoking it, can e-mail me at Nestor@NestorMirandaCigars.com. I am very interested in receiving those comments.” The cigars will be available at each Nestor Miranda Special Selection Authorized Dealer as long as supplies last. Enjoy it!

I managed to make it to two of the four events last Thursday, as they were fairly close to each other. The J. Fuego event at Cigar Castle was my first stop and it was quite a thrill to meet the man behind the much talked about J. Fuego cigar. The J. Fuego Delirium was an enjoyable smoke that started the night just right. Jesus Fuego is a very knowledgeable cigar man and it was a pleasure talking to him about his experience, the state of the industry, and what the future may bring. My next stop was at Tampa Humidor for their CAO event. I was hoping to chat with my friend Armando, who recently took over the Orlando-Tampa corridor in addition to his previous South Florida territory, after Kyle's departure. Unfortunately, he had another event that same night in South Florida, so his boss took Armando's place for the event. He confirmed we won't be seeing the Flavourettes any longer; apparently they became too much of a burden so we'll have to wait and see what they come up with next. For this event I chose a CAO Brazilia, which is still one of my favorites, though there is a lot to be said about the new LX2, which I enjoy more as an after dinner cigar. Till next week, mis amigos!

Tuesday night I went to check out the new cigar shop that replaced "Havana Dreams" in Ybor City. The new shop is called "Casa Del Tabacco" [sic] and the occasion was the "Don Gonzalez" tasting event. While enjoying my "DG" Torpedo Maduro I had the opportunity to chat with Ariel, the shop owner, and talk about all the new features of the shop, as well as what's in the future for "Casa De Tabacco" All in all, I was very impressed with the new look, the friendliness of the management and staff, and the ambience of the place. I wholeheartedly recommend you stop by next time you're in Ybor City and check it out.

By the way, "Don Gonzalez" events are taking place all over town as part of Super Bowl week so don't miss your chance to meet (or greet) Don Pedro Gonzalez, the man behind those wonderful "DG" cigars. He's quite knowledgeable and very friendly.  His last stop will be at "Smokers Den" on Sunday, Super Bowl day, and he tells me it's going to be the mother of all cigar events! I am planning on been there and I hope to see many familiar faces, so join us and watch the game in a 120" screen while puffing away at a "DG" and partaking of all the goodies Angelo and his team will be providing. See you there!

Thursday night at The Boardroom with one-arm Kyle from CAO was quite good but Friday night was even better; had a great time talking to Frank and Jose from Reyes Cigars (of Puros Indios fame) about their new line of cigars, drinking an excellent Cuban coffee and playing dominoes with Linda, Jim, and his wife Joanne. How can you go wrong with that? There weren't a whole lot of people at neither event, and neither one was an actual tasting, as we have to buy in order to try, which might explain why not many people showed up, but we still managed to have a good time. Viva Los Dominoes!