Hello Y'alls!! Its been an interesting week in the world since we last spoke, hard not to feel completely deflated about the human condition when you watch the news coming out of the states in relation to violence or politics. I know like many of you with children that are now able to comprehend whats been going on have been having some pretty tough conversations over the weekend no doubt. Unfortunately I am sure there will be more to come.
Well, in times of darkness, it is important to find some light, so here we go with sampling of new to me products for this weeks review.
So last week was a decent week in regards to workouts, I was pretty much done most by Friday. Friday was a little longer of a workday also, so when I was able to get home, it was time for a little wind down with a cigar and beverage.
Since I returned home from Vancouver there has been one cigar that has been calling my name everytime I have walked by the cabinet that house my #cigarSunday friends. I have seen it posted about many times in the various cigar blogs and social network pages for a while now and I really wanted to try it. 
The CAO Flathead 660. This newer cigar line is based off of the muscle cars of days of yore. The flathead part comes into play with the squaring off of the end of the cigar, along with its very sleek shape. Its dark maduro wrapper gives off some great flavor of cocoa, spice and has a nuttiness that I have not really experienced before. It took some work to get it lit, but it had a fantastic draw, and really held its ash. Probably top 10 cigars all time for me, I am hoping on a very upcoming trip through the states into Toronto that I can find a few more.
I paired it with a new to me local to Nova Scotia - Dark Cream Ale from Hell Bay Brewing Co. from Liverpool NS. I have always been a fan of porters and stouts, but dont really recall much in the way of Dark Cream Ale's in the past. But upon giving the cigar a sniff or 9, I though I would forgo the usual scotch paring and give this local beer a try. So glad I did!
It has an interesting flavour on its own, but when paired with the cigar, the flavors of both are completely lifted. I forget sometimes how crazy it can be when pairing cigars what can happen when you strike a great balance.  It was just what the end of the week needed. I like it so much I bought another case on Saturday.
Saturday was pretty much a blur, I had to forgo any work outs as Saturday would be the only day that our little nook of Nova Scotia would have sunshine. So advantage must be taken.
I hit the grocery stores early to get my shopping done, then home and straight into washing the house. Our house tends not to get sunshine on one side, great for sleeping in the summer, but awful as there tends to be some green funk that grows on the siding because it is never not damp.
Of course my long handled brush broke right before i started so I scrubbed the house by hand and then pressure washed off the soap. What a difference if I do say so myself. So after that task was complete it was time to move onto the pool. I really havnt done much to it since we set it up a few weeks ago. So I finished getting the filter set up, and with the help of my neighbour, got it working again. Get the right mix of chemicals and bob's yur uncle.
Next up the lawn. Well this is where the wheels fell off, well more like the blade deck actually.
Our neighbours are awesome, we couldnt ask for better, Im not sure they would say the same. We have 3 obnoxious dogs, and aside from our sense of humour and friendship I dont know we have ever had much to offer. They on the other hand offer all of the above. help with projects and the use of their equipment. Which brings us to the mower. Now I am not a lawn obsessed person, nothing against that, its just not me. But I do appreciate the nice look that comes with a recently mowed lawn. I have put off buying my own mower, because our neighbours freely offered theirs, and I never really had anywhere to store it.
However, I am not sure for how much longer the offer will be extended as i have the worst luck with anything equipment related and true to form something happened when I was on the mower. Now this is about the 4th time something has happened when I have been on this mower, so I should have known things were going to well.
So I did the drive of shame back over to my neighbours to explain how I have, again, broken his mower. 
There was no shock, or suprise, more of a reluctant chuckle and lets go see what happened this time from my amazingly patient neighbour. After a short review, yes I had indeed broken the mower. Again.
There was a generous offer of a push mower, but at this point I didnt want to break anything else, and our lawn is such that it probably would have taken me way more time then I would ever want to devout to such a task.
I slinked back to the house, the mantle of shame weighing heavy on me. I puttered around and got a couple more things done, made super for the clan and contemplated a #cigarSaturday. Should I? Shouldnt I? I did a lot today, but enough to warrant a bonus cigar? 
As I struggled with this internal battle, we were invited to a bonfire at our neighbours. Baby Jebus had spoken. A #cigarSaturday was unavoidable.
So I again turned to my Vancouver selections and picked another new to me cigar, the Rocky Patel Edge Habano. Now I have seen the Rocky Patel brand over the last couple of months and always wanted to try one. This one was among the favs from one of the staff at City Cigar so I bought it. 
This cigar is full on Nicaraguan in every aspect from its wrapper to the blend of leaf inside. It is a very flavour filled cigar. It has a fantastic dark wrap that has a shiny hue. It lit extremely well, and has a peppery, earthy, woody nose and flavour. So far I am 2 for 2 out of the Vancouver selections. I didnt want to pair it with the same beverage from the night before, but I did want to ride this dark beer pairing another night.
So a quick drop into the liquor store and I picked up a couple of bottles of the Rare Bird Full Steam Stout. Another local brewery here in Nova Scotia, just down the road in Guysborough. It did not have the stout taste I am familiar with, it hit almost some tart, dry coffee flavour that was out of this world. There was also faint cocoa and maltiness that really lent itself to the RP cigar.
Add that to a lot of laughs, smores and a bonfire with friends and you really couldnt have asked for a better night in Nova Scotia.
With a week or more of rain lined up in the coming days, it was really the best the day could have been ( aside from the mower).
Sean 'BigBoyRunning' Ryan

Hey um, hi, so, I maybe, just a little, over did it last week and change. Its not you, Its me. What happens in Vancouver, stays in Vancouver, unless you have social media and a blog? Thats a saying right?!
Okay well, whats done is done.
Okay so had an amazing cigar experience in Vancouver for a few reasons.
One, the locations you could smoke at the hotel were wicked great, rain or shine!  As you can see from on pic above, there were these very nice patios set up with flora and fountains and water features. So that was great then having to hang out in some alley way or standing around the front of the hotel.
Second, there were def a couple of days, where a fella needed to be alone with his thoughts and have a cigar.
Third, a fellow cigar smoker was revealed and it would be bad etiquette to not carve out some time to have a smoke together. 
So lets run down the sticks, the accompanying beverages are not my usual fare, as I was away i didnt have access to my liquor cabinet and on a couple of failed searches there was not much in the way of local whiskey, found one, and it didnt look appealing for the price tag. Some of the single malts I am usually drawn to, were all at least 20$ more expensive then I could find at home, so my scottish/irish heart would not allow me to spend that on something I could get cheaper at home. So most cigars were accompanied with a Kickstart. Again not the best choice for a diabetic, but you cant beat the #puppymonkeybaby of it all.
So first up the Partagas Corona Tubos. This one was sent to me from friends of the show, Marjie and Monica on a recent vacation in Cuba. Literally sent it while still on vacation and I received it while they were still on vacation. I can tell you how much I liked this cigar. Really nice draw, easy to light, great ash, very good smoke time, and had nice peppery and coffee notes throughout. Its so nice when others indulge my habits, so thanks again to team M&M for the great treat.
Next up was a DR Cohiba and a new to me whiskey called THUNDER BOLT!!! hahahaha
Yes I bought it because of the name. It hails from High River Alberta and exclaims proudly on the bottle that it is 100 proof!! Sign me up.
I was expecting it to be really rough, but it was actually extremely rough haha. I think it was more akin to paint remover then whiskey but it took the edge off, the sides off, and maybe some underbelly. The cigar of course was great, I really have enjoyed smokes these cohibas over the last month or so, so no big news, enjoyable flavors, great length of time, and draw. It was the better part of the pairing by a country mile.
Third on the list was a new to me cigar the Padilla Artemus Toro. I was really in a mood the day I smoked this and wanted something that was going to last a while to get me out of my funk. It was paired with a delightful KickStart Cherry flavor haha.
It was a bugger to get lit, but it was windy and raining so that may have played into it. It had a hang time on smoking, i think at least an hour or more, and flavor wise, right in the money spot for where I like cigars. It was one of my last Cigar of the Month Club cigars. Here is there review:
The Padilla brand is built upon high quality, low volume handmades that utilize rare, very expensive materials. It continues to earn high ratings, receive top honors, and wow enthusiasts at the same time. The limited edition Padilla Artemis Toro you have in your shipment today borrows its name from the Greek goddess of the hunt, forests & hills, the moon, and archery. Manufactured at the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras, this handmade features a zesty blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos, a Honduran binder, and a Nicaraguan Cuban-seed Habano wrapper. Light it up and you’ll find flawless construction and rich Cuban-esque notes of cedar and earth, with a sweet peppery finish. We paired it with a bourbon and found it to be an excellent accompaniment.
Last on the list was another COTMC selection the Don Thomas Sun Grown. I am not a stranger to the Don Thomas brand and to be truthful I have left this one on the sidelines for a while because of how many of them I have had over the last couple of years.
COTMC says:
Don Tomás cigars have been the pride of Honduras for generations. Released in August 2007, this Honduran puro is no different, even earning a 90 point rating from Cigar Aficionado. Painstakingly handcrafted in the old fashion, this handmade uses carefully aged long-fillers and binder, and is cloaked with a leathery brown sun-grown Honduran Connecticut wrapper. Together, this medium-bodied smoke has a tasty bouquet of earth and tobacco with a sweet spicy finish. Perfectly constructed, enjoy this baby with a scotch.
I did not have scotch, but i did have some vodka on ice with lime and it was a really refreshing pairing. Of all the Don Thomas I have smoked this one was probably the best. It had a great taste, and was really hitting the spicy/sweet notes, held a great ash almost all the way through until the wind took it out. Really enjoyed it. I know its probably not the coolest cigar to smoke, but I really liked it.
Even better was getting the chance to enjoy a cigar with a fellow enthusiast. I dont often meet others that enjoy cigars like I do, so it was a great chance to talk some cigartalk with another dabbler. I am sure as we continue on in our conference lives we will get this opportunity again, its just to bad we live on opposite sides of the country. 
So there you have it, one legit #cigarSunday and 3 shameful, bad bad boy ones. 
Okay this is already crazy long and I havent even gotten into my cigar shop reviews. Maybe another blog post is in order, suffice to say, not all intraweb reviews are created equal. There is a pick of my new to me beauties, gonna have to work my butt off this week to get one!!!
Sean "BigBoyRunning" Ryan