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Hot or not Cigar Pairings

Annnnnd the #CigarSunday Oscar goes to..........

2/22/2015

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Is there anyone with a more awesome last name then that Cumberbatch dude? That should win and Oscar on its own.
So as earlier posted all workouts in this week and a good week at that.
So for the beverage this week for #cigarSunday, i wanted to try something that i havent had before. So off i went on Saturday to our local emporium de booze. For such a small section in the liquor store I was there for an hour or more trying to pick something. Next time I will do my research at home instead of reading the label and then looking things up on my phone.
I had it narrowed down to GlenDronach; Talisker 10; and Old Pulteney, okay and Hghland Park 10.  The reason i went with the GlenDronach 12 was the color. All the others had a very bright bronze color which i associate with not quite ready yet. They are probably all great but taint cheap to get a single malt and if i was laying out the dough i wanted to make sure i was going to like my selection. I was totally not disappointed.
I may have found a new favorite.
To use the words from the website: 
This superb richly sherried single malt is matured for at least 12 years in a combination of the finest Spanish Pedro Ximenez and Oloroso sherry casks. Non-chill filtered, of natural colour and bottled at 43%, the GlenDronach 12 year old Original is a sweet, creamy dram.
Well they aint wrong. This is a very tasty single malt. You can totally task the sherry notes in the scotch and it is very drinkable. Very. haha
I will having this as a permanent staple in my home bar.
Now todays cigar was given to me by my goddaughter Piper. It is so nice to see the young generation helping the older generation with their vices haha. I have been saving this cigar for a special occasion and todays workout of swimming, biking and running and kicking a little butt on my previous times was, in my opinion, worthy.
Romeo y Julieta Numero Dos. 
It even sounds awesome.
This is probably the best cigar i have had this year, maybe in the last couple of years. You cant really go wrong with anything from Romeo y Julieta, but this one was exceptional. Kept away from the air in its sealed tube, it was just the perfect feel, color, and smell.
It was a great pairing with todays scotch, the sweet taste from the GlenDronach and the medium fresh smokey flavor from the cigar, even in the rain, I was so, so happy.
Anyone looking to try a larger cigar with a medium flavor, find this cigar. 
As i cant find anything of this quality around the Nish, looks like my next trip into Halifax will be partly used to find a cigar store to stock up on some of these guys.
All and all, a great day in the gym and a great #cigarSunday.
Dear the weather, anytime you want stop with the snow and the rain on Sunday, both my cigar, scotch and I would appreciate. #kisses
Now on to watch and make fun of the Oscars.
Slainte
Sean "BigBoyRunning" Ryan
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STORM A COMIN'!!!!!

2/16/2015

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If you are reading this and you are from Nova Scotia, well, I dont have to tell you how much snow has fallen here over the last 48 hours, for those of you who are not in Nova Scotia, well, it is exactly one shit ton. It is difficult to measure a shit ton, but let me tell you that I possess the technology to adequetely measure a shit ton, and that is what we have, a shit ton of snow. Not a crap load of snow, not a lord tunderin jesus amount of snow. A shit ton.
Thank goodness we have caring and professional weather personel to direct us in Nova Scotia to follow proper shit ton snow dropping storms procedure and suggest oh so subtly what supplies we should carry in the house to get through a storm that will deposit a shit ton of snow on to our doorsteps, driveways, and cigar smoking locations. Of course I am talking about Frankie.
I like many, love Frankie's storm reporting, if you dont know who I am talking about search Frankie MacDonald on you tube and you will quickly get acquainted with our regional icon. Now of course there are some that make fun and are negative about Frankie, those people will all burn in hell I am sure, I for one, wish that I could receive the weather like this all the time, anyone who recommends to get STORM CHIPS, has my vote for weather person of the year.

So after getting all my workouts in last week it was time to celebrate with a cigar, however, thanks to Frankie, I knew i might not get the chance to have my reward on Sunday, as we were getting a shit ton of snow, wind, rain, and eventually a flash freeze. To which all of the previous did happen. However, there was a lull in the shit ton of weather we were receiving, like the eye of shit ton snow storm-acain, and I was able to escape our home, and venture out into this mild interlude and enjoy my cigar and beverage of choice this week.

So this week I thought i would give a new cigar a try, one that i have not had before it is a CAO MX2. When i bought the cigar I did not have any idea about it at all. It looked cool in its black felt cigar box, had a nice dark color, shape and length. It felt tightly packed so it was going to be worth the 10.99+taxes price and not burn to fast I predicted, and I was right. I really enjoyed this cigar. I thought maybe it might be a strong flavor because of the color but was really happily suprised that it provided a smooth middle of the road flavor.
The cigar store employee couldnt really offer me anything in the way of information about its country of origin. After smoking it, I had a really hard time placing its flavor. It tasted both cuban and dominican, so I took to the internet to see where this fella came from in the world.

So CAO MX2 is a limited production cigar that employs two flavorful wrappers. The outermost leaf is an ultra dark, super oily Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro, while the inner wrapper is a fuller-flavored Brazilian Maduro. This double-wrapper combination promotes a rich, flavorful smoke that’s smooth throughout with lingering hints of spice. To mix the pot even more, the folks at CAO use a blend of select long-fillers from Nicaragua, Honduras, Peru, and the Dominican Republic to complete this complex cigar, packing it full of spicy sweet layers of flavor.​ ( taken from Cigars International Website)

So that explains why i couldnt place it, it has components from many different cigar producing countries, which gives it an incredible flavor, burn time and smoke. Depending on finances I will be getting a couple more of these for future #cigarSundays. I would recommend this cigar for those who have tried smoking a mild cigar looking to move up the flavor spectrum.

The companion beverage for the CAO was Chivas 12 year old blended scotch. I have been a long time fan of Chivas ever since Mr. Lundy and Daniel Hillard were pounding them in 'Bridges' restaurant in Mrs Doubtfire. See product placement works people.
When trying this new cigar I thought that Chivas would be a good way to go. As a blend scotch it has a fruity mellow flavor that would pair well if the cigar ended up having a harsher flavor. With the CAO landing more in the medium flavor of smoke the Chivas was a great pairing. One that i may have to try again haha.

I did have some company this #cigarSunday with my wife and former sweetheart ( my father-in-law's saying). As much as i do enjoy the quiet of our back deck, even covered in a shit ton of snow, it was nice for us to escape the house for a few minutes and enjoy the mild turn in the weather, have a beverage and think about all the great times we will have in the spring and the fall when our deck and pool are not buried under a shit ton of snow. Even as i write this now on 'Family day Monday' and look out at strong winds, white out conditions and wait for our plow guy to dig us out, I know that as bad as we get this winter, the spring and summer are just around the corner, and there is no place greater in the summer then Nova Scotia.
Until next time, GET YOUR STORM CHIPS READY,
Sean"BigBoyRunning" Ryan



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One for me, and one for my homie

2/7/2015

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Well, hello. Happy to say all work outs accomplished this week so a #cigarSaturday was a welcomed treat. Todays pairing was a Jose L. Piedra cigar and Tomatin single malt highland scotch ( thanks again to my wonderful goddaughter Piper for this wonderful Christmas gift).
First the cigar. I have to say I am not the impressed. Now mind you you get what you pay for, and i bought this in a pack of five not long ago, as i had been smoking cigars mostly from brazil and the dominican i thought i would try a cuban cigar. The first one i had from the pack, burned very quickly. There is also a consistent wrapping issue with the cigar from either end. Out of the 5 in the pack I have had the wrap come off around the end that i cut and the lit end while smoking. This does happen occasionally with cigars but i have never seen it happen with every cigar from the same brand.
One the up side, this would be a good transition cigar for anyone wanting to try something bigger then a cigarello, but not a full sized cigar. It has a very mild flavour and is not overpowering with any beverage. I have had these five with various beverages but pairs the best with a Merlot or Scotch.
Today i broke out one of the good scotches with my Tomatin 12 year old scotch. This is only my second sip of Tomatin, and I have to say it is really a great flavourful Scotch. It is aged in sherry wood casks which gives it almost a fruity start and a peppery finish, matched great with the mild choice of cigar today. Recommend giving this scotch a try if you havent and are looking for something new.
Now some may have the question, why, if you like the scotch so much are you drinking it out of a Tim Hortons cup?
Well this week is the anniversary of my Dad's passing. My dad passed away in early February 2013. My dad lived off of cigarettes and Tim Hortons coffee. He loved his Tims and would probably between many runs to tims and instant coffee could easily polish off at least 5-7 coffees a day. Not quite a chain smoker, but lets just say the warnings on the labels did not discourage my dad at all.
What is amazing about his addiction to Timmy's and Smokes my dad pulled off some pretty amazing physical activity later in life.
In his younger days he was an athlete, played both hockey and football for St.FX and is on a StFX football team that is inducted into the Nova Scotia hall of fame for being undefeated during the season.
My dad held a physically demanding job and a Geologist in his adult life. Spending most of that time hiking up and down the northern reaches of Canada searching for various metals and minerals for different companies. This as you can imagine took a pretty significant toll. I say this to give you an understanding at how amazing it is that in his sixties, after having both hips replaced he became a long distance peddle biker.
After getting rid of his car and buying a bike, my dad began riding around New Victoria, and the New Waterford area. He started out only being able to do a few kilometers at a time. But gradually kept pushing out farther and farther until he was doing tens of kilometers a day.
Eventually he decided to put himself to the test and decide a longer trip. He wanted to come visit his grandchildren. At the time we lived in New Minas approximately 500km away.
So he got himself organized with route planning and figuring out how to strap camping gear, food and clothing to his bike, and unbeknownst to him, picked the hottest week in July to come for a visit.
It was an adventure to him, a chance to test the skills he has built up, and to do something, just to see if he could.
So he huffed and puffed his way from New Waterford to New Minas. Now if you have driven anywhere in Cape Breton and Nova Scotia just think, close your eyes and think about the roads and highways along the way from CB to the valley. We are not talking about the prairies, there is very little flat.
My dad did this trip in 4 days.
The whole time stopping for every timmy's he could get his hands on and smoking all the way.
He loved his time on the road. He loved meeting fellow bikers and most of all loved the freedom of being able to trust your body and your will to get you where you wanted to go.
He made two other long distance trips over the next couple of years, again to the valley and then to Antigonish once we moved here.
He loved to moan about the fact that we only chose houses that were at the tops of hills, which we did, but he didnt see the humor after riding the bike for hundreds of kilometers.
We attempted a bike trip together one summer, after i had had my first hernia operation and started running and getting in shape.
We were going to tackle the East side of PEI, take the ferry over, ride to St.Peters Bay, stay the night in a hotel ( my feelings on camping are already documented in a blog post) then off to Souris around the eastern tip, and then back to the boat.
This did not go as planned.
My dad had not really been doing as much biking leading up to our trip and his body ( knees and legs) were starting to fail him. He was not really honest about how much he was hurting, but he didnt want to let me down and gave it a real hard try.
It was really tough to see how something that he had loved so much, that he encouraged me to take up, he was now unable to keep going. We stopped at a pub in Montague for a bite to eat and regroup. Luckily the server when to StFX and after a conversation was able to find someone to drive my dad to our destination for the evening at St. Peters Bay. I kept going on the bike so that I could see if I could do it. 
Anyone who says PEI is flat is full of horse shit.
The ride from Montague to St. Peters Bay is pretty much hill after hill, after bigger hill, after good luck bub hill.
Eventually, after climbing the last hill, I rolled into St.Peters Bay.
There waiting to greet me was my dad, drinking a tim hortons coffee and having a cigarette. A big grin on his face, cheering as i came to a stop in the parking lot.
We decided not to carry on as his legs didnt have the gas, and we never had the chance to give it a try again as his health started to decline over the next few years with prostrate cancer and diabetes.
I havent really been back on my bike since, but i think i inherited his spirit of testing my own personal limits in the amount of running i have accomplished the last number of years, and now this triathlon.
There are not too many days I dont think about how encouraging he would be as in preparing for a run or now for this triathlon, how he came to a couple of races and how proud he was of me when i would cross that finish line. 
Having the chance to include biking in this training has helped me to realize that I have unfinished business in PEI and will in the next summer or summer after that, will finish the ride we intended to do. I think he would like that. Still not camping tho.
Everytime i have a #CigarSunday on my back deck, I am always thinking of the times you would visit, sit out back with your smoke and sing a little song. So this #cigarSaturday is for you.
Rest in peace pop, love you.
Sean "BigBoyRunning" Ryan
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