Cigar Club Annual Event Receives Smoking Ban Citation

Here is the link to an article from STLToday.com about the Ritz in Clayton receiving a ticket for allowing cigar smoking at the annual Cigar Club formal party Saturday night.

It was Clayton's first citation issued since their law went into effect last July. I guess we'll find out on February 16th (court date for the citation) what will come of this. I wonder if there were any 'influential' people at the event? Also, it sounds like an anti-smoking activist was there waiting to call as soon as they lit up. That's kind of creepy.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on the story? Do you think they were made an example out of because the high profile of the party and the press the citation would receive?

-Joe

January OCCS Evening (01/14/2011)

My cigar smoking has been greatly reduced this winter because of the consistently very cold weather. So, I was really looking forward to the January OCCS evening at Alcorn's.

Members that attended were Jeff, Matt, Adam and I. Friends and/or family members Michael and Matt also attended and we hope to see them again if they can handle it. Absent members were John and Rich and we are hoping to see them next month.

We had Sam's Club pizza for dinner and played Rummy Royal. After a complicated poker chip disbursement, the Rummy Royal game seemed to be enjoyed by all. If we play again, I'll stop at the bank and bring change instead of poker chips. No movies or Blues games.

The cigar of the evening was the La Flor Dominicana Airbender Chisel. The draw, flavor and strength of this cigar hit the spot after eating the pizza. This was a very enjoyable cigar that received a 10 ranking in Cigar Aficionado's 2010 top 25. The chiseled head took a little getting used to, and the price was a little high ($9.xx), but overall I was pleased with the evening's choice.

Alcorn's was noticeably more crowded than our previous Friday evenings there. I wonder if the opening of their fully stocked bar and/or the St. Louis City/County smoking ban that took effect at the beginning of the year had anything to do with the full crowd. Maybe the recession is over or everyone is just blowing their Christmas money. Either way, we left at 11:30 and the place was still crowded. Despite the crowd, we even agreed that Alcorn's is a great place to go to enjoy an evening while smoking great cigars. The atmosphere is low-key and everyone is very friendly.

Harold (aka 'The Genius', 'The One Who Has It All Figured Out', 'Walking Cigar Encyclopedia', or just the owner of Alcorn's) was kind enough to gift OCCS with another 5 cigars for review and I believe they were Alec Bradley Family Blend Toros. I can't remember who ended up with them (I may have), but whoever did will no doubt enjoy them and we look forward to the review. Thanks Harold.

Until February, take care and stay warm-
Joe

Tatuaje "The Face" Review

*photo by Tatuaje

Cigar Name: Tatuaje “The Face”
Wrapper: Mexican
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Figurado 6-3/8” x 56
Strength: Full
Body: Full
Price: $13.00/each. (limited release)

Smoking Time: About 1 hour and 30 minutes

You probably know that I love Tatuaje cigars. I can only remember two cigars that have been made by Pete Johnson/Don Pepin Garcia that have been disappointing. This cigar is the 2010 version of the MONSTER series that Tatuaje releases every Halloween. I was lucky enough that my wife got me a box for my birthday. You can read more about it on tatuajecigars.com.

Appearance: This is a very rustic looking cigar. Very oily and almost chocolate in color. What makes it stand out is the “label”. As part of the Monster series, this was named after Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. As you can see from the picture, it has a lighter colored band to represent the face of the legend. Very cool. 10/10

Construction: Of the 6 I have had, there were only one problem. It didn’t last long enough. This is a fairly dense cigar with no soft spots. I couldn’t have asked for anything more. 10/10

Burn: This thing held a fire for a long time. On two of them, I had to set them down for extended periods of time to eat, do something for my wife or something like that and it held the flame for a good 5-7 minutes. No touch-ups at all. 10/10!

Aroma: Lots of chocolate and lots of leather. It was a great combo. 9/10

Draw: Perfect. Smooth, no hot boxes. 10/10!

Flavor: Tons of chocolate, spice and nuts. VERY complex and different flavors just kept bombarding me. AWESOME 10/10

Availability: Aye, there is the rub. Only 666 boxes of 13 were made and they sold out in a week. Also, the price is on the high end for a cigar but 7/10

Personal Overall Experience: Freakin loved it. This was my favorite cigar that I had for 2010. I only wish there were more of them to have. Man, do I love these. 30/30.

Total: 96/100

Matt

review cuba libra one

1. cigar name: cuba libra one 2.wrapper: dark Habano-seed ligero wrapper 3. binder: a Habano leaf from the Jalapa Valley and a flavorful Costa Rican leaf. 4. filler: Esteli , Condega , Honduras 5. size : robusto 6: strength: full! 7: body: full 8: price: 5:50 this stogie could be my new favorites guys APPEARANCE: brownish red is color no vanes ,nice looking silver band complements the wrappers color 10/10 CONSTRUCTION: very firm feel, not to light and not to heavy a few blemishes,,but atractive none the less 9/10 BURN: very even burn even though i had a few relights,nothing major though 8/10 AROMA: this thing smell incredible before and after lighting 10/`10 DRAW: nice smooth draw 8/10 FLAVOR: great flavors,spicy ! 9/10 AVAILABILITY: have only seen this cigar online,but i'm keeping my eyes open,for sure 6/10.......HAPPY SMOKING EVERYONE ...........JEFFRO
   

New Years Resolution recap and new for 2011

So here is my list of 2010 resolutions:

*Loose 40 lbs (CAME CLOSE, LOST 30)
*Expand our home garden (YES, ADDED 2 RAISED BED GARDENS)
*Buy NO cigars (exception of when I host a meeting) (YES, AND I WILL NEVER DO THAT AGAIN)
*Pay off our car (6 months ahead of schedule) (YES, THANKFULLY)
*Go camping a minimum 3 times this year (WE TRIED IT ONCE. EVELYN WAS JUST GETTING OVER BEING SICK AND IT WAS THE HOTTEST WEEKEND IN JULY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, WE DROVE HOME AT 1AM IN THE MORNING B/C MY LITTLE BABY COULDN'T GET TO SLEEP.)

For 2011 I have similar ideas, but different concepts:

1. Go camping more (I don't want to put a number on it just in case - even if it is in the back yard)

2. Work out a minium of three days a week

3. Pay off 20% of our debt

4. Expand our basement pantry

5. Do one honey-do list item per week

So, I may have bit off more than I can chew for this year, but I least I can smoke as many cigars as I want while I am doing it.

How did everyone else do?

Matt

Look what I got!

I got a BIG box of goodies from CBID. Gentlemen, I welcome 2011!

Matt

Cigar Aficionado's Top 25 & Top Bargain Cigars of 2010

Cigar Aficionado has released their rankings/ratings/opinions of cigars for the year 2010. The list includes their top 25 rated cigars of the year, and more interestingly, to me anyway, their top bargain cigars of the year.

If anything, it is interesting to see the cigars CA has rated highly, read a little bit about them and take a mental note of some to try in 2011.

If you're interested, here is the link to Cigar Aficionado's website for their best of 2010.

Our January meeting is this Friday at Alcorn's. See you all then.

-Joe