Came across this article..sounds like a great smoke.  I’m not a fan of the regular Edmundo (even though I’m told their starting to taste better these days) but I’ll have to give these a try when I’m in Havana next week.  Also looking forward to seeing the guys at the Partagas shop again, Kiki and Abel are great, Abel actually invited me to the annual dinner/celebration they have coming up in April but I wont be able to make that.

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I found the perfect “all-purpose” cigar yesterday at the Partagas factory shop. It’s the Por Larrañaga Petit Corona. The cabinet boxes of 50 are to die for, and at $165 a box, they’re reasonably priced. The cigar delivers wonderfully balanced aromas and flavors of blanched nuts, cedar, honey and tobacco. What a wonderful smoke. 92 points, unblind tasting. I have been smoking them like my children eat gummy bears in England!

While the price is reasonable, if you are paying in dollars you have to add a 20 percent commission, as well as an exchange rate of .898 cents to the Cuban convertible peso. I don’t think the global stock market, European Central Bank or any other international monetary institution has anything to do with the exchange rate in Cuba. You even get charged 11 percent commission on credit card purchases.

Nothing I can do about all that. So if you are here, you have to pay. Unfortunately, the prices for cigars are about the same as buying in less expensive markets in Europe, such as Spain, or even Switzerland. Much of the incentive for buying Cuban cigars as a tourist on the island is gone.

Still, there’s nothing more satisfying than kicking back in one of the top cigar shops on the island — such as Partagas, Havana Club or Quinta — and shooting the breeze with one of the merchants, smoking and maybe having a coffee, or rum or two. That’s the good life…

I was speaking with Enrique (Kiki) Lopez at the Partagas shop; he, along with director Abel Exposito, is a rock star of cigars in Havana. Lopez was saying how his customers are loving the Petit Edmundo, or the “perfect one-coffee” cigar. He said you can smoke it in 10 or 15 minutes and it delivers all the richness and flavor you could expect out of quick-fix smoke. It’s about the same time it takes to enjoy a good Cuban coffee, he says. I couldn’t agree more.

http://www.cigaraficionado.com/

I have had a ton of stuff to blog about lately, done some travelling, been to some cool events but I’ve been lazy to blog about it.  I came across something that gave me some energy to blog, some cool cigar quotes…

“The enjoyment of a cigar after a hard week gives me a feeling of well-being and relaxation that a Valium could not match. While there may be a more ideal form of stress reduction, I haven’t yet discovered anything else as effective and easy.” – Lou Gehrig

“If smoking is not allowed in heaven, I shall not go.” – Mark Twain

“No one can tell me what is a good cigar – for me. I am the only judge… There are no standards – no real standards. Each man’s preference is the only standard for him, the only one which he can accept, the only one which can command him.” – Mark Twain

“A good Cuban cigar closes the door to the vulgarities of the world.” – Franz Liszt

“A woman is only a woman, but a good cigar is a smoke.” – Rudyard Kipling

The Cohiba Pirámide Edición Limitada is now on store shelves. The last
of the 2006 Edición Limitada cigars from Habanos S.A. have finally
reached the global market.

The Cohiba Pirámide, which was first released as one of the 2001
Edición Limitada cigars in boxes of 25, now comes packaged in varnished
wooden boxes of 10 cigars with a red stain finish. The cigar measures 6
1/8 inches long by 52 ring and retails for 25pounds ($47.50) in the United
Kingdom. Approximately 10,000 Pirámides were produced — typical for
Edición Limitada releases.

“We particularly like ten-count boxes, as they are accessible to the
smoker who cannot afford a box of 25 or simply does not want a box of
25,” said Michelle Duzikova, general manager of C.Gars Ltd., which owns
retail shops throughout England. “We sold out within 24 hours.”

CigarAficionado