What the heck is Dominican Mornings?

• Discussion on ashtrays. CAO Cubist. Prometheus Teadrop.
• Moneybag$ Mo Money Mega Mansion in exclusive^{[citation needed]} Dove Canyon.
  • LG Washer/Dryer Combo Installation today.
• Three/Four-Way light Switchs discussion.
• Dicksbain’s Chalk Board project.
• “Shut up Becky!“
• Weather:
  • Hudson, OH - 58° F Fog/Mist
  • Dove Canyon, CA - 62° F Overcast
• XBox 360 Elite - Fact or Fiction?
• MoMoney Ladder purchase?

Cigars Smoked:
Perdomo ESV ‘91 Robusto
Perdomo Cabinet Cameroon 444

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A mere season after it opens, the anti-smoking zealots have forced the closing of the Montecristo Club at PNC Park. The club featured cocktails, cigars, and live jazz for the lucky 200 who were admitted to each of the 81 home games last season. Even with their state-of-the-art ventilation system in place, the clubs doors are closing due to an impending Allegheny County-wide smoking ban.

The Montecristo Club has been renamed “Club 21” in honor of former Pittsburgh Pirates Hall of Famer Roberto Clemente. For those non-baseball fans, Clemente was an amazing right-fielder who played his entire career as with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1955 – 1972). He sadly died in 1972 in a plane crash delivering aid to the cigar-nation of Nicaragua.

These smoking bans are far too broad. Cigar bars should be exempt from any ban, period. Capitalism works, we’ve proven that in our 200+ year history as a country. Why we as a society keep imposing more laws upon ourselves boggles my mind. Was attendance down in 2006? No… 1,861,549 vs 1,794,237 in 2005. One could easily make the argument that the cigar bar helped increase attendance by 4%. Simply put, let the system work. Money is king. If I open a smoking restaurant or bar and across the street a non-smoking establishment does triple what I’m selling, I’d probably switch to non-smoking real quick. And vice-versa. There simply is no need to keep imposing more and more laws to make the “majority” feel better about themselves. The original constitution had10 amendments…we’ve added literally millions of laws on top of this with each slowly giving away our freedoms. Eventually we’ll be back where we started, dumping leafs in the bay and declaring revolution.

There are plenty of anti-anti-smoking rants out there already, so I won’t continue mine. If you read this site, you’re probably pissed off about all the anti-smoking laws already. Do what you can to stop these nut jobs from destroying this country.

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I truly believe Perdomo is one of the finest cigar companies of the modern era. Sadly, they get little press in the mighty ‘Cigar Aficionado‘ and thus many people don’t believe their cigars can stand proudly next to Arturo Fuentes and CAOs. I’m a believer; I finally purchased my first box of Perdomos.

First off, the ESV box is something special. Recessed hinges, great detail on the cardboard relief that covers the face of the box.  Quality.

The wrapper is a thick, oily, and rough Nicaraguan leaf. I’ve had 4 from this box now and I will say the construction is good, not great. They run the risk of burning too hot/bitter if you don’t keep them in check. I have yet to have one go to waste because of this, but this isn’t a smoke you can mindlessly puff away at and expect it to burn perfectly to the end. The taste is distinctly Perdomo. Earthy and leathery. Hints of cedar and other woods finish it off. Volumes of great smoke.

A good cigar and I’m happy with the box purchase. As the weather warms up here in Ohio, I’ll be happy knowing I have some of these resting in the humidor.

LT Rating: 8/10

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I first tried this gar with Brother Dicksbain just over two years ago. We found these at Vendomes and we were so impressed that we went back after smoking these and immediately bought two more and smoked them as well. While they are not the Holy Grail we once thought they were, they are still fantastic smokes–probably the best Hondurans out there. Rich and oily, with biting Cameroon flavor, these cigars will always hold a special place in my heart. Take my ship, take my land, take me where I cannot stand….

LT Rating: 8 / 10
Purchase at a discount from tinderbox.com

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I first tried the Preferido Robusto during HudGar 2006. It was the final smoke of that event, and by then my taste buds were so fried that I couldn’t appreciate it. I had another one in January of this year. I was so impressed that I ordered an entire box (at just $179 from cigar.com). I’m down to my last 5. They are simply amazing. Rated a 93 by CA, these gars are chocolately in taste with hints of orange peel and cinnamon. They are well worth the $8 price tag. That said, they are not an everyday smoke, as they quickly lose their appeal if you smoke more than one a week or so.

LT Rating: 8.5 / 10
Purchase Here

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Another week, another set of Dominican Mornings. Good times. Brother Dicksbain skipped out on Saturday morning to go shopping at Ikea (a short 4-hour drive to Pittsburgh), while Uncle Moneybags went to do the final walkthrough on his mo-money mega mansion in Dove Canyon. Uncle Moneybags donated one of his famed Cubans to his realtor, but no worries–there are still 9 left for the upcoming wedding/Hudgar festivities. Uncle Moneybags assisted Sister-L in purchasing a new 328i BMW sedan (and got to see the 335i coupe again!). He even turned down a chance to drive a black hardtop M6 (wtf?). Other than work, life seems pretty good. Can’t wait to get back to the OC–even if it is a little more south than where we’re from.

Gars Smoked:

Cuban Montecristo No. 2 (by far, the best smoke I’ve ever had, this time while watching the Sopranos on DVD);
La Aurora Preferido Cameroon Robusto (while Sister-L was filling out the financial forms for her new kick-ass car);
CAO Gold Robusto (in between work, sucks);
Oliva Serie G Toro (after work, while drinking!);
Padron Serie 1926 No. 35 Maduro (an amazingly strong smoke, on Friday night with Brother Dicksbain);
CAO Gold Carona Gorda
Gurkha Dos Capas Barber Pole - an excitingly complex smoke
Hoyo de Monterrey Excalibur 1066 Merlin - saved this one for over a year before smoking; amazing; reminds me of the old Firefly days in the Spruce place; we discovered these almost two years ago to the date at Vendomes
Montecristo White Toro - a terrific morning smoke
Topics Discussed:

New car purchase for Sister-L;
Warmer weather in Cleveland makes for some fine smokes;
ESV 1991 Perdomo purchase by Brother Dicksbain — a sweet deal on some fine cigars;
Xbox360–when will they put the HDDVD unit inside the box? Gears of War: great game;
Uncle Moneybags mo-money mega mansion — closing on Monday!; moving date uncertain
Uncle Moneybags’ Work woes — almost done, searching for new job;
Dicksbain’s BBQ and late night Y2K/Daylight Savings Time Work
Angles Baseball - no one’s left; time to rebuild the team; Kennedy back to the Cardinals; Erstad’s gone too; fatty Molina remains?
Odds of David Eckstein winning a World Series MVP award 5 years ago (a billion to one)
CAO Sopranos Cigars - surprisingly good for a marketing gimmick

Beers Drank:
Coors Light;
Corona Light;
(Brother Dicksbain to add more here…)

Video Games Played:
EVE: Online
BF1942: Secret Weapons of World War II
Dreamfall - the Longest Journey (watched the end again)
GTA San Andreas - great game, but no longer working on Uncle Moneybags’ system
KOTOR - ok, I didn’t play, but just thinking about playing this game almost 4 years ago always brings a smile to my face.

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Greenermedia (Hippies w/ Cameras?) have posted a nice little 5 minute video of a recent trip to Dominican Institute of Tobacco in, you guessed it, the Dominican Republic. It’s always fascinating to me seeing the process from little tiny plants to the assembly line and ultimately my mouth. Cigars are one of the few products left where the manufacturing process hasn’t changed much over the years. You won’t see Hi-Tech computers or stainless steel counters. Cigars are personal, from beginning to end.

The video gives a glimpse at life in the Dominican Republic, a place I plan to visit one day soon.

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