Well, it’s time now to go.  We’ve had a great run, but I’m giving up gars for a while, and Brother Dicksbain is focusing on his new beer website.   Time to focus on my health in the new year.

It’s been a blast, and thanks for reading.  If you had 1/10th of the fun we did, it was well worth it.

We’ll continue to be online, but no new posting.  Not for a while.

I want to thank our loyal readers, my brother, and the great cigar makers of the world.

Thanks.

Uncle Moneybags.

PS:  The best cigars ever are the Padron 1964s.  My secret favorite.  I will miss them dearly.  Everything else is second place at best.

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One Foot Fall

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Ok, ok, I haven’t written for a while.  But there is a new CAO out, and I have to tell you about it.  As always, the packaging is clever and the bands are pretty–similar to the Cx2, but with gothic grey smoke.  The box is clad in velvet and is attractive.  (But who really cares about packaging, aside from than the Gurkha Titans of course?)

Also similar to the Cx2 is the name “Lx2,” which stands for Ligero “times 2″.  The Cx2 featured two cameroon wrappers; the Mx2 featured two maduro wrappers.  This cigar features to Ligero wrappers.  Think of it as a La Flor Dominica Double Ligero with less flowery after taste (which is a good thing in my book).

CAO seems to release a new cigar every year.  Last year, it was the America–which I loved.  The year before that, it was the Cx2, and before that, the Soprano Edition.  All unique.  All great smokes.  CAOs used to be somewhat inconsistent, but I believe they have improved the quality of their production in the last year or two.  Today, while some still smoke better than others, I rarely have a CAO that is unsmokeable.

OK, so how is the Lx2?  In a word, “STRONG.”  By far the strongest CAO ever.  It smokes well and has a clean draw and burn.  Lots of puffy, pure white smoke with a equally white ash that seems to go on for miles.  Normally, I rave about anything new from CAO, and there’s lots to rave about here.  For me, however, it’s almost TOO strong.  Often times, it’s hard to smoke like a regular cigar.  I keep wanting to put it down (like I am supposed to) and give my mouth a rest.  For many, that will be a good thing.   For me, it’s good, but kind of a draw back (no pun intended) because the cigar almost forces a new style of smoking on you.

Bottom line: Another fine addition from CAO that’s definitely worth trying for yourself.  I recommend starting with the Robusto size, if only because I can’t imagine anyone has the time these days to smoke one of the big Belicosos or Toros (also available).  If you’re a patient smoker who loves a big bold taste, this is a dream come true–although it does take a little while to warm up and gets a little bitter toward the end.

LT Rating: 7.0

By the way, the second band contains the words “Fortaleza Tres.”  I suspect many people will wonder what that means, so I did a little research.  Basically, it means “three strength.”  In Cuban terms, there are “Seco,” “Viso,” and “Ligero” strength cigars (classified as uno, dos, and tres, respectively).  So, the second band is basically a declaration that the cigar is as strong as it gets.  And it is.  Times two.

Another take from CigarJack: “When the CAO America was released many felt it didn’t live up to the hype; this cigar is a different story. I was expecting something along the lines of a stronger CAO Brazilia, and expecting something that was all spice. Instead it kind of reminds me of a mix between the CAO Mx2 and CAO Brazilia. Even after all the cigars I smoked in Las Vegas the CAO Lx2 stands out. When they hit the shelves at my local shop I’m picking up a box.”

Yet another take from Cigar Smokers Journal: “I used a punch cut on this cigar to limit the smoke intake because of how strong everyone said these cigars are. I believe due to the fact I used to hole punch the cigar appeared to be more medium bodied to me. As I said in my preface this cigar is highly anticipated and should live up to the hype for most people. It is to date the best CAO I have ever smoked, and I consider myself a big fan of their smokes. If the appearance was better it would of scored 2-3 points higher.”

A video of the box from Stogie Review:

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Happy Thanksgiving to all.  I spent yesterday brewing up a 5-gallon batch of India Pale Ale.  It’s fermenting nicely in my basement right now.  This is my 5th batch since getting into the new hobby.

This year I decided to use some of the home brew equipment to deep fry the Thanksgiving turkey.

It was a sunny 39 degree day here in Cleveland, OH.  I had a tough time keeping the oil at 350 degrees, but the turkey still came out amazing after 48 minutes in the hot oil bath.  I smoked 2 cigars during the cooking process; a 5 Vegas Series “A” and a Perdomo Habano Maduro.  Both good smokes to have while tending to the fryer and sipping my homebrew Hop Nog 2008 IPA.

I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend.  Cheers.

Deep Fried Turkey Rating:
Hop Nog 2008 IPA Rating:
Thanksgiving Cigars:

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With all the talk over the past few weeks and months of CHANGE, CHANGE, CHANGE I was inspired to mix things up here at Leafytimes.com.

The reason the cigar reviews have been non-existent since Hudgar can be attributed to my new hobby - Home Brewing Beer.  I’ve brewed up 20 gallons so far (India Pale Ale, American Pale Ale, Belgium Triple, Holiday IPA) with no signs of slowing down.  It’s a great hobby that I’m really enjoying every aspect of it.  I had thought of starting a NEW blog, but recently thought that I could easily combine CIGARS and BEER into one.  It’s a natural marriage of the good life.

So hope and change have made there way to LeafyTimes.  Stay tuned for more excitement, hope, change, disappoint, etc.

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We kicked off the 2nd Annual Hudgar on Thursday, August 14. For those of you that don’t follow our wacky blog, Hudgar is our two-man bi-annual cigarfest. We started this 3 years ago when I moved from SoCal to Ohio as an excuse to get nostaglic about the “good old days” of doing nothing more than smoking cigars in the garage.

A quick run down of the 3 day event:

Thursday, August 14 2008

• I flew in the CLE airport from Nashville, TN
  • Drank three Great Lakes Brewing Company Black Out Stouts
  • Waited 3 hours for my brother
  • Played GW with Scott and Gile.
• Brother arrived at gate C10 from LAX at 10:50PM
• Lit up a CAO Gold for the drive home.
• Stopped by a horrible Taco Bell in Twinsburg, OH - Order was all wrong.
• Stopped by my work to get the Logitech Sound System and Indians Tickets.
  
• Drove to the Hudson house
  • Sparked up the Padron 1964 Exclusivo
  • Drank some Lagunitas Maximus IPA
  • Watched South Park, Simpsons, and Family Guy
  • Montecristo 444 Africa capped out the cigars for the night.
  • Went to sleep @ 5AM

Friday, August 15 2008

• Started the morning off with some cigars:
  • I had the Perdomo Lot 23 Churchhill
  • Brother had the Perdomo Exclusivo
• Drove to QDoba for lunch
• Drove to PR Cigar in Solon, OH and purchased several cigars.
• Lit up the Arturo Fuente Best Seller for the drive.
• Drove to Downtown Cleveland
• Tried to drive to Little Italy, it was closed for THE FEAST.
• Drove back to Downtown Cleveland and smoked on the pier by the Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame.
  • I had the Padron 5000
  • Brother had the CAO Black Gold Maduro
• Ditched the car on the west side of Cleveland.
• Walked to Fat Fish Blue on W 9th Street.
  • Ate lots of Fries and shrimp.
  • Drank Great Lakes Burning River and Fat Fish Brew
• Lit up a severed JR Cigar Macenudo knock off. We split it.
• Walked to “The Prog” (Progressive Field - Home of the Cleveland Indians)
• Watched a great baseball game. Anaheim vs Indians. Indians win 2-3
• Drive home Padron 1964 Exclusivo Maduro
  • Brother had a Macenudo Prince for the drive

  Sparked up Perdomo Habana Series

• Started drinking Stone IPA, Hopping Frog, and more Lagunitas.
• Capped the night off with Montecristo Africa 444s.

Saturday, August 16 2008

• Started the day off strong with the Aston VSG Churchills.
• Got lunch at Mavis Winkles Irish Pub.
• Smoked some more cigars.
  • I had the CAO Brazilla Gol
  • Brother had the Fuente Best Seller
  • Drove to Acme to get more beer and snacks.
• Uncle Moneybags’ Wild Ride on the John Deer (blades off).
• Ordered Zeppes Extra Saucy Extra Large w/ Olives.
• Created Brothers Mii on the Wii.
• Played some GTA and Dead Rising.
• Split the Temple Hall Estates churchill - severed edition.
• Both of us smoked Cohiba Siguelo VI and God of Fire Carlos 2005s.
• More beer, more games, more cigars.
• Capped the night off with a CAO Black and Montecristo 444.

Sunday, August 17 2008

• Drove brother back to CLE airport at 6am.
• Guild Wars
• Final cigar of Hudgar - remote edition - Aston VSG Churchill

It was another great event and I’ll be counting the days until Hudgar III.  I will be posting my full review of the cigars I smoked shortly.

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We had a good weekend.  Lots of Guildwars, plenty of cigars, and good weather for both of us.  We’re both really excited about HudGar2008–now less than two weeks away.  As I write this, I’m already wishing I could do it again.  Something to look forward to in life is important.  Let’s cherish the countdown to that wonderful occasion.

Topics Discussed:
HudGar2008 - further discussion on selections.
Guildwars — Uncle Moneybags doing well, Diks Baina banned (wtf?!?!)
Dinner with Stan
Friends we’ve lost touch with (for one reason or another)
State of the family
Jeep purchase for Dicksbain?
Mysterious monitor disappearance from Spruce place
Uncle Moneybags - on the wagon after HudGar?
The importance of aging cigars
Converting old jazz records into to MP3s
Baseball (Angels kicking ass; Cleveland “rebuilding”)
HudGar2008 entertainment and furniture

Gars Smoked:
Rocky Patel Olde World Toro (overhyped, but still good)
CAO Gold Robusto
Arturo Fuente Single Chateau Fuente
Cohiba Siguelo VI (oh, wait, I’ve said too much)
Rocky Patel Cuban Blend Belicoso
La Flor Dominica Single Liguero (60 x 5.75)
Don Lino Africa

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A few weeks ago when I did the inaugural LGAR post, I reviewed the Macanudo Hyde Park. I wasn’t overly impressed with that cigar and I rated it a 6 / 10. Unfortunately for me, JRCIGAR tossed in a JR Alternative with the shipment to try and lure me into buying their branded sticks. So I fired it up for today’s lunch time break to decide if it was at a 6.

I’ve had a few brushes with the JR Alts before. I’ve never been overly impressed with there taste. There OK for bargain cigars, but don’t fool yourself ever thinking that the JR Alt of a CAO Gold will be able to stand proudly next to the real thing. In fact I believe most of the JR Alts tastes the same, despite JR offering 204 different varities. They’re generally good construction, decent burn, and good draw…but they lack the heart of the their true counterparts. The subtle tasting notes that make a great cigar are always absent. Sure, it’s a flaming stick of tobacco that you paid pennies for, but that doesn’t make it the same. I’ve also noticed that they don’t disclose the origin of the wrapper, binder, or filler…so it’s hard to think of a Pardon alternative that is made in Mexico having the same taste.

Specifically, the JR Alt Macanudo surprised me at first. It wasn’t a bad cigar. It was nothing like the original. It had a really bitter after taste all the way through. It burned very hot no matter how long I let it rest. I made it to the half way point and pitched it. Life is too short for alternatives.

Leafytimes LGAR Rating: 2

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Happy Dominican Mornings.  We had a lot of good smokes this weekend and played Guild Wars at length (special event weekend).  We’re both doing well, generally, but itching for a break — i.e., HudGar2008.  It’s a good thing it’s only a month away.  Too bad work just won’t just step aside until then.

Topics Discussed:
HudGar2008
Guild Wars - Underworld Run (again), and UncleMoneybags’ Tank Build
TeamFortress 2 and Portal - more great games
Garage furniture
Work woes
Spruce days
GW Nightfall purchase?

Gars Smoked:
Aston VSG Carona Gorda (amazing smoke - arguably as good as an OpusX)
Oliva Serie V Double Ligero Belicoso (getting better every month)
CAO Gold Robusto (probably the best value, everyday smoke around)
Arturo Fuente Single Chateau Fuente
Don Lino Africa Dumas (chocolaty and sweet, with earthy overtones, an amazing smoke)

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Dominican Mornings got off to a late start today, but it was fun as always.  We’re both looking forward to HudGar2008.  In the meantime, things are shitty at work, but manageable for now.  Generally we’re doing OK otherwise.  Looking forward to a solid weekend of gaming, with various car and home improvement projects in between.

Topics Discussed:
HudGar 2008 - The Return
Car Battery for Explorer - Dead
Garage improvement projects - Gladiator install during Hudgar?
Dog door installation for Uncle Moneybags’ new dog (he doesn’t like it).
Super expensive vet bullshit - nickle and dime, nickle and dime
BF:2 - still at it
Guild Wars - Four Horsemen, the impossible mission?
Company visiting Dicksbain = no Friday games
Killer deal on 100 Anos La Aurora at Famous-smokes.com this week (missed out)

Plus: Cigar-loving Governor/Moviestar/General Badass Schwarzenegger speaks out against Hollywood’s anti-smoking BS.  At least someone has the balls to say anti-smoking has gone too far….

Gars Smoked:
1964 Maduro Exclusivo
Arturo Fuente Single Chateau
Diablo Picantes

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The Brothers (and presumably Bill Clay) have an annual Christmas tradition where we watch one of the first two Die Hard movies together. We’ve done it for the past 9 years (at least), and it’s always a lot of fun. For years, we have talked about doing a Fourth of July Die Hard viewing to watch Die Hard: With A Vengeance (the third installment), which takes place around the Fourth of July (as opposed to Christmas, like the first two) and co-stars Jeremy “Genuine Class” Irons. This year there’s another Die Hard movie out on DVD: Live Free or Die Hard, released around the Fourth of July 2007 (and which Uncle Moneybags saw in a theater Hawaii on July 3 that year). After some deliberation–and after discovering that Amazon.com had LFoDH for just $7.99–we decided to buy and watch LFoDH. Plan is to start at 1:00 p.m. EDT.

Of course, one of the advantages to watching a movie at home is that you can have a nice stoggie while enjoying the show (damn Democrats and their “smoke free this” and “smoke free that“). I’m sure we’ll do a post or two to capture this event and the sweet cigars we smoke. Stay tuned.

Special Note from Brother Dicksbain: Hard to believe it was two years ago during this holiday weekend that we celebrated the first and only Figueroa Evenings.

Update: Well, we watched the movie; it was good; and even better, we smoked the Cuban Cohibas– which lasted an hour and a half each.  God bless America and God bless cigars. Have a great weekend.

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Well, it’s semi-official.  After a two year hiatus (see also here), we’re reconvening in Hudson, Ohio for HudGar 2008.  This year we plan to pull out all the stops for this now-biennial event.  In addition to a hefty supply of our regular staples, we’re considering 4-5 of the following bad boys:

1.  God of Fire Robusto
2.  La Aurora 100 Anos Robusto
3.  CAO Sopranos The Boss
4.  Oliva Special S Torpedo
5.  Fuente Fuente Anejo No. 77 (aka “The Shark“)
6.  Fuente Hemingway “Best Seller”
7.  Padron 1964 Exclusivo
8.  Ashton VSG Belicoso
9.  La Flor Dominica “Mysterio”

Tell us what you think.  What would Jesus smoke (WWJS) if he were at HudGar?

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