Happy Dominican Mornings.  Brother Dicksbain celebrated his return from a business trip with a CAO Pato and a Sun Ripened Oscuro, while Uncle Moneybags enjoyed a Padron 1926 Serie No. 35 Maduro and an Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Robusto.  Good times.  Uncle Moneybags is nearing the closing date for his house, still hating work, but surviving.   He was able to visit “P-town” this weekend, which included a visit to Vendomes, our favorite seventies-themed liquor store.  The prices there are terrible, but the parking is ample.

Topics Discussed:
Retro gaming and Xbox 360 purchase (waiting for HDMI version with HD DVD player and price drop)
CISSP test for Brother Dicksbain - studying hard
Uncle Moneybags’ mo’ money mega mansion
Ergonomics Computer Arms - for that ultra slick desktop
Freezing rain in Cleveland; weather much nicer in Nashville
Chilly in SoCal - high 50s
CAO Vision - all the hype, and no sales
Work Woes
Living in RSM
Simpsons Movie

Gars Smoked:
CAO Crillio Pato
Sun Ripened Oscuro
La Aurora Preferido Robusto (x2)
Arturo Fuente Don Carlos Robusto
Sol Cubano Connecticut
CAO Gold Corona Gorda
CAO Italia Caio
Padron 1926 Serie No. 35 Maduro

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With Uncle Moneybags’s housing search over (see below), the brothers were able to take some time out this weekend to enjoy some special cigars, including several Cubans from Brother Dicksbain’s travels.  (For any “federales” that may be reading this, relax: they were preembargos!)  Of course, the weather in Cleveland was unforgiving, while the weather in So Cal was nice, but windy.  All-in-all a rather laid back weekend, free of work and full of carefree smoking.

Gars Smoked:
Padron 1926 Serie No. 35 Maduros (x2)
CAO Gold Corona Gordas (x3)
Gurkha Castle Hall Reserve Toro
Arturo Fuente Don Carlos
Leon Jimines Leonenes (SP?)
Gurkha Barber Pole Mega-gar

Topics Discussed:
Eve Online: the return, the redemption; Brother Dicksbain gives in and orders
Work Woes - plentiful for Uncle Moneybags still (but the end is in sight)
Uncle Moneybag’s Finds a House in Rancho Santa Margarita, marking the beginning of his triumphant return to Orange County!
Xbox on the new 62″ DLP
Problems with cigar.com weekly special order page (shame, cause it was a good deal)
Housing inspectors, insurance, escrow–where does the fun end?

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The CAO Vision may actually be launching in 15 days. Haven’t we heard this before? Yes. This is the third launch date I’ve seen for this cigar, so I won’t hold my breathe. Something a bit shocking is that CAO is indeed keeping the futuristic case-modded cigar box we saw in some early promo pics.  LEDs and a power source included.  Looking at the ’secret’ pics we obtained, it also appears that a digital hydrometer is integrated into the box. If these actually launch in 15 days (Feb 28, 2007), I’ll buy a box and let you know what I think of this mythical Dominican cigar from the future.

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This box-pressed beauty is a pure joy. Loads of smoke, with great draw, good burn, and long ashes. A surprisingly mild cigar, spicy and chocolaty in taste with orange peel and almond overtones. A truly refreshing take on maduros. Not the slightest bit bitter or harsh on the palate. Of all the CAOs, this one may be my favorite. And for the price, it simply can’t be beat. If you’ve overlooked this line of CAOs in the past because you don’t like maduros (like I don’t), overlook no more.

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Happy Dominican Weekends! This weekend marked a return to the classic DMs we’ve enjoyed in the past. For the past few weeks, Uncle Moneybags has been super-busy looking at houses all over the OC, leaving Brother Dicksbain on his own. Rest assured, we’ve been having gars in the mornings, but the cold weather and short timeframes have left us without enough material to justify a full post. But shame on us. We should be posting anyway.

Enough said. This weekend, Uncle Moneybags started off with another Padron Serie 1926 No. 35 Maduro–a super-premium from his year-end “bonus” box. Brother Dicksbain had a La Aurora Dominican Robusto–a testament to how cold it has been in Ohio (this cigar was from a deal over a month ago, proving how few gars Dicksbain has had over the past few weeks). There are bound to be many-a-gar during the super bowl as well. Unofficially, we’re both rooting for the Colts.

Topics Discussed:
Work Woes - better for Dicksbain (even though he’s working this weekend); still miserable for Uncle Moneybags, but the end is in sight and the hours haven’t been that bad;
Eve Online - Brother Dicksbain makes his triumphant return to this “stellar” game (bad pun, sorry);
Blingy-blingy 62″ DLP purchase by Brother Dicksbain, how jealous I am;
Uncle Moneybags’ house shopping–5 Saturdays in a row, over 40 properties, 5 bids, 2 offers, including one from today!
OC housing market (see above) - with rising interest rates sure to “break” arms, where can it go but down?
Dreamfall: The Longest Journey - great game, though a little short, low on gameplay, and disappointing in the end; terrific soundtrack, though derivative of other works;
Prey - the only first person shooter that has Art Bell voiceovers and doesn’t suck… until you realize it’s the same level over and over again; sort of a snoozer by the end.
A used car specifically for car gars (wouldn’t need to have much other than an engine, working windows and a working heater to replicate SoCal weather), though neighbors might object to Datsun from 1982 sitting in driveway….

Gars Smoked:
1926 Serie Padron No. 35 Maduro
CAO Maduro Churchill (amazing smoke for the price!)
La Aurora Dominican Robusto
La Aurora Preferido Robusto (wonderfully complex, like smoking dark chocolate with orange peel)
CAO Brazillia Churchill
Gurkha Expedition Toro
CAO Criollo Robusto - Uncle Moneybags still doesn’t like that much
(more to come!)

God Bless DMs!

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