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So my cigars from the US still havent shipped. So frustrating. I really want to cancel the whole fucking thing, but I really want to smoke a couple of those cigars. I did get someone from there via email, there were many apologies, and a renewed effort to try and get these cigars to me, the reality is if they actually do get them in the mail, I am still probably 20 days out before I see them. GAH!
This week I have 2 pairings that I am going to profile, the first is a CAO Flathead 554 Camshaft, paired with Fortress Rum.
The second is a Dominion Cigars Black Lotus with a Barking Squirrel Lager from Hop City Brewery.
So lets go with the Friday night selection of the Fortress Rum and the CAO Flathead 554. I have tried two other cigars from this series the 660 Carb and the 770 Big Block. I really enjoyed the 660, the 770 was a monster, I wasnt sure if I was actually going to be able to smoke it all in one night.
The Fortress rum is something I have seen around, not being a huge rum drinker anymore, rum is not something I really ever look for when picking something to pair cigars with, but when I saw this bottle in a liquor store in the valley a couple of weeks back it called to me.
Something about the dark caramel brown colour and the wax seal, I knew I was going to have to give this a shot. A quick chat with the clerk about the aging process and I was in.
The 554 lit really well and had an excellent draw. It has a great dark wrapper, you would almost think its a lindt dark chocolate bar. I would say the ash held until about a third of the way in and then the wind took it off. The 554 like its fellow cigars, is really well rolled, I would say its smoking time for me was about 60 minutes. I am usually a faster smoker so to get about 60 minutes out of it was great. Its flavour palette, I would come to find, was a fantastic match for the rum. To the point it had me questioning if I have been missing the boat on rum when pairing.
The spice and coffee notes were enhanced with the easy drinking, smooth carmel and vanilla hits from the rum. Its one of the first time's I have just had rum on the rocks and kept topping my glass off as I was going.
I was really blown away by how exceptional this rum was, and it is local to Nova Scotia which is an added bonus.
Luckily I have found a shop not too far away that stocks the 660, 554 and the 642 piston. So I have the chance to pair up these two again in the not to distant future.
The second pairing, I guess I should start off with, will I never learn. There is something about pairing hoppy ales and cigars that I cant seem to get on board with. Dark ales, porters, creams, bocks, I can totally understand, not sure if I will ever bother again with anything IPAish. Nothing wrong with the beer on its own, but that citrus and the flavour from the Black Lotus were really fighting each other to the point I stopped drinking the beer.
So for the rest of this write up, Ill focus on the cigar.
It was very nice! I am starting to get the sense that maduro cigars are my happy place as I seem to focus alot of my attention on those dark beauties.
It lit well and had a very easy draw. I was worried that it was going to smoke fast as it looked like it was going to burn through the middle, but after some love, it started to settle down and burn correctly. I did seem to smoke the first third rather quickly though. It held its ash fine, but a misplacement on the Fastest Man Alive, ended up knocking off the ash. Once I stopped trying to make the beer work and focused on the cigar, it def slowed up a lot. I think I clocked in around the 50 minute mark for this cigar, I let it burn to the knuckles, as I tend to do and the last third stayed true and didnt get chemically to the taste. I dont do a lot of research aside from checking out the factory notes when I pick cigars. I am really looking for something new each time, or within my price range.
I have started looking into how cigars are taxed across Canada and its really awful. I get it, its not a great habit, it causes bad things to happen, but for someone that doesnt smoke many ( trust me after seeing how many cigars others put back in a week, I am total light weight) having to pay a 79% per cigar cigar tax is pretty shocking. I can understand why there is not a market for cigars in Canada, and specifically Nova Scotia. If the government is trying to discourage people, way to go!! Not me, but maybe other people haha.
So I feel like I am the Morgan Freeman character in Shawshank Redemption in regards to my US cigar order:
I find I'm so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a mail call can give. A mail call at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope my mail call can make it across the border. I hope to see my mail call and smoke those cigars. I hope the Comacho flight is as colourful as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
Sean "BigBoyRunning" Ryan
This week I have 2 pairings that I am going to profile, the first is a CAO Flathead 554 Camshaft, paired with Fortress Rum.
The second is a Dominion Cigars Black Lotus with a Barking Squirrel Lager from Hop City Brewery.
So lets go with the Friday night selection of the Fortress Rum and the CAO Flathead 554. I have tried two other cigars from this series the 660 Carb and the 770 Big Block. I really enjoyed the 660, the 770 was a monster, I wasnt sure if I was actually going to be able to smoke it all in one night.
The Fortress rum is something I have seen around, not being a huge rum drinker anymore, rum is not something I really ever look for when picking something to pair cigars with, but when I saw this bottle in a liquor store in the valley a couple of weeks back it called to me.
Something about the dark caramel brown colour and the wax seal, I knew I was going to have to give this a shot. A quick chat with the clerk about the aging process and I was in.
The 554 lit really well and had an excellent draw. It has a great dark wrapper, you would almost think its a lindt dark chocolate bar. I would say the ash held until about a third of the way in and then the wind took it off. The 554 like its fellow cigars, is really well rolled, I would say its smoking time for me was about 60 minutes. I am usually a faster smoker so to get about 60 minutes out of it was great. Its flavour palette, I would come to find, was a fantastic match for the rum. To the point it had me questioning if I have been missing the boat on rum when pairing.
The spice and coffee notes were enhanced with the easy drinking, smooth carmel and vanilla hits from the rum. Its one of the first time's I have just had rum on the rocks and kept topping my glass off as I was going.
I was really blown away by how exceptional this rum was, and it is local to Nova Scotia which is an added bonus.
Luckily I have found a shop not too far away that stocks the 660, 554 and the 642 piston. So I have the chance to pair up these two again in the not to distant future.
The second pairing, I guess I should start off with, will I never learn. There is something about pairing hoppy ales and cigars that I cant seem to get on board with. Dark ales, porters, creams, bocks, I can totally understand, not sure if I will ever bother again with anything IPAish. Nothing wrong with the beer on its own, but that citrus and the flavour from the Black Lotus were really fighting each other to the point I stopped drinking the beer.
So for the rest of this write up, Ill focus on the cigar.
It was very nice! I am starting to get the sense that maduro cigars are my happy place as I seem to focus alot of my attention on those dark beauties.
It lit well and had a very easy draw. I was worried that it was going to smoke fast as it looked like it was going to burn through the middle, but after some love, it started to settle down and burn correctly. I did seem to smoke the first third rather quickly though. It held its ash fine, but a misplacement on the Fastest Man Alive, ended up knocking off the ash. Once I stopped trying to make the beer work and focused on the cigar, it def slowed up a lot. I think I clocked in around the 50 minute mark for this cigar, I let it burn to the knuckles, as I tend to do and the last third stayed true and didnt get chemically to the taste. I dont do a lot of research aside from checking out the factory notes when I pick cigars. I am really looking for something new each time, or within my price range.
I have started looking into how cigars are taxed across Canada and its really awful. I get it, its not a great habit, it causes bad things to happen, but for someone that doesnt smoke many ( trust me after seeing how many cigars others put back in a week, I am total light weight) having to pay a 79% per cigar cigar tax is pretty shocking. I can understand why there is not a market for cigars in Canada, and specifically Nova Scotia. If the government is trying to discourage people, way to go!! Not me, but maybe other people haha.
So I feel like I am the Morgan Freeman character in Shawshank Redemption in regards to my US cigar order:
I find I'm so excited that I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it's the excitement only a mail call can give. A mail call at a start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope my mail call can make it across the border. I hope to see my mail call and smoke those cigars. I hope the Comacho flight is as colourful as it has been in my dreams. I hope.
Sean "BigBoyRunning" Ryan
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