Cornelius & Anthony

I’m numb.  The pleasure I just experienced was beyond words.  I just sat there after I finished smoking my first Cornelius & Anthony cigar and I couldn’t think of anything but the experience I just had.  If sex didn’t exist, the pinnacle of pleasure was mine – all mine.   This is a cigar that will not only work its way into the marketplace, but may have a crack at a coup. 

“Cornelius & Anthony is the new premium cigar division of the Bailey family’s company portfolio.  The company’s owner, Steven Bailey, is the 5th generation to run his family business.  The Bailey family has been the largest tobacco grower in Virginia since 1866.  The company grows tobacco on 20 thousand acres in Virginia, manufactures cigarettes, manufactures vape products, and has now rounded out their family’s company with a premium cigar division.” (Smith)

Just a little more background, the cigar is made at the El Titan de Bronze factory in Miami.  This small factory has become a cathedral where tobacco is not just rolled into cigars with a special blend but has developed into a haven where raw nature is transformed into a product that cannot be found elsewhere.  El Titan de Bronze is a safe house where your senses cannot be fooled into cigar chicanery.  The cigars that are produced here are sacrosanct.

The Cornelius is the perfect blend of tobaccos – an Ecuadorian habano wrapper and binder, with a Nicaraguan filler – gently brought together to produce the impeccable rush of flavors.   The flawless essence of what pure satisfaction can be.  And I can’t believe I’m writing these superlative accolades so early in the game.   The pre-draw was as delicious as the lit cigar itself.  The flood of flavors the instant I put flame to the foot had me in a mellifluous state of astonishment.  This can’t be happening.  Something has to swerve this newcomer off the road into a horrible, devastating thump. But it didn’t happen.  It blossomed into one of the most existential experiences I can remember ever having with an unknown, boutique cigar.

There was charcoal, charred cherry wood, espresso, silken smooth cumulous clouds of aromatic aroma all being produced from the moment it was lighted.  The cigar is amazing.  How trite that sounds.   But if you are familiar with any work by the composer, Philip Glass, listen to Glassworks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Stu7h7Qup8 (skip the damn commercials) and you may be on the cusp of experiencing this new cigar without ever having the pleasure of smoking it.  It lulls you into a place where you never want to leave.  It draws you into the moment and hypnotically keeps you there.

There is no bitterness, nothing littered about to take your mind off the luxurious smoking experience at hand.  The flavors morph into a mix that complements each individual essence creating a cigar that has to be reckoned with.  And will be.

Toward the end of the smoke I did notice a subtle hint of spice and the definite lilt of charred cherry wood, perhaps from a pipe that has aged and sat and with this resting has been allowed to retain its pure natural wood flavor sans impurities once paired with tobacco.  How do I know this?  I’ve smoked a pipe made of cherry wood and that is exactly what this essence reminded me of.

I know of no other cigar that comes at you with such ferocity yet is as gentle as a lamb as it introduces what I would call one of the best cigars I have ever smoked.  And I have smoked many a cigar and none to my recollection has had this effect on me.

When the cigar will be released has not been officially announced.  But rest assured that when it appears in your shop take the time to pick one up and put aside an hour or a bit more and be ready for one of the most intoxitating, most memorable smokes you have ever had.  And if you’re honest, you will agree with me that this is truth, not conjecture or a guess or a hope or a prayer, or the empty words of a broker trying to sell his wares.  It is a fact.

Say the name aloud – Cornelius & Anthony.  Repeat it several times so it rolls off your tongue so when you request it at your tobacconist’s store you will walk in with confidence and know that you have found what some may consider the Holy Grail.

I know I’m bleeding all over this cigar, I rep it.  But I don’t have to rep it for you to experience it.  I won’t have to sell it; the cigar will sell itself over and over again.   I am still reeling from what I have just smoked – and you will too.

Conundrum

Conundrum.   A word not used very often.  The official definition from Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1977©) states, “1: . . . an intricate and difficult problem syn see mystery.”  It is the title to the seminal memoir (1974) of Jan Morris.  “Born James Humphrey Morris, 2 October 1926, is a Welsh historian, author and travel writer.   She is known particularly for the Pax Britannica trilogy (1968–78), a history of the British Empire, and for portraits of cities, notably Oxford, Venice, Trieste, Hong Kong, and New York City.  Born in England of an English mother and Welsh father, Morris was educated at Lancing College, West Sussex, and Christ Church, Oxford, and considers herself Welsh.   A trans woman, she was published under her birth name until 1972, when she transitioned from living as male to living as female.” (Wiki)

I hope you got this far in your reading because by now you’re asking yourself what the hell does the above have to do with cigars?  Everything and nothing.  Sounds like Yoda, uh?  No, I bring up her book because the cigar industry is in a conundrum.  It is changing.  Not its sex (obviously), but it is shifting and at such a rapid pace it is difficult to keep up with it.  Of course, that’s if you follow it, as I must because I am in the business.  For your ordinary bloke on the street a cigar is a cigar is a cigar.  Move on.

But for us in the industry, the speed at which it’s headed is going to experience a brick wall collision and it’s mighty close to the clay-molded, oblong objects, fortified with mortar now.  And when it hits this ersatz wall and comes smashing down it will leave an absolute conflagration of cigar chaos that may take years to sort through to organize and begin the rebuilding process.  But I respectfully remind everyone of 9/11 and as horrific the incident – we came through.  We survived.  But we changed.

I speak of the many manufacturers that are going ape-shit creating cigars for anyone and everyone who wants a brand made.  Anyone.   Me.  You.  Your neighbor.  Your cigar store owner.  The lawyer.  The physician.  The welder.  The list can go on forever.  Of course, we’re talking business.  Of course, the manufacturer has the product; you have the idea for a blend – and the money, so let’s get together and make this thing happen.

The appetite that the consumer has for new cigars is ravenous.  I always think of the movie, “Insatiable,” – a “deep blue” classic where the main character’s appetite for sex was incapable of being satisfied.  No one and nothing thought of was enough for her gratification.  And that’s where we are in the cigar industry right now.  More and more cigars are being produced and brought into a market that is already saturated with brands – brands that will be around for maybe a year or two.  There is no intent to build the brand, but only to sell the cigar, get on FB or some other form of social media and become an instant cigar star.  Any Warhol was right – everyone wants their 15 minutes of fame.

“Fifteen minutes of fame is short-lived media publicity or celebrity of an individual or phenomenon. The expression is credited to Andy Warhol, who included the words ‘In the future; everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes’ in the program for a 1968 exhibition of his work at the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, Sweden.  Photographer Nat Finkelstein claims credit for the expression, stating that he was photographing Warhol in 1966 for a proposed book.   A crowd gathered trying to get into the pictures and Warhol supposedly remarked that everyone wants to be famous, to which Finkelstein replied, “Yeah, for about fifteen minutes, Andy.”

So where does that leave us?  The manufacturing of new cigars is not going to stop.  This includes the BIG boys, too.  One “boutique” manufacturer who has now gone main stream has over 30 brands, not to mention the house and private blends he produces.  A doctor, lawyer, a kid, has been hankering to make a cigar and finally comes up with the cash.  So the trip to Honduras, or Nicaragua, or the Dominican Republic is made and the search is on.  “I’m gonna make me a cigar.” 

And so the process begins.  And wouldn’t ya know it, the cigar is made and it’s a good one.  Friends, local shops, and customers they all like it.  So after three weeks of fame, the maker decides to go national and make it big -ergo, the glut of boutique cigars we are experiencing today.  This is a conundrum.   It’s a speeding industry getting closer and closer to the wall and when it hits – tobacco brands will be scattered all over the place.  And not one good one will be left standing.  At least Jan Morris only changed once, became who she wanted to be, and made a living without further additions or subtractions.  She built herself as the brand and went on to become a courageous prolific writer.

The cigar industry manufacturers must create some type of governor for themselves on manufacturing new cigars and making too many out of the same factory or they will all start to taste the same – some do already because a brand is not being built – a cigar is being sold.   And well-known brands that are even recognizable by the non-smoker – will never exist again.  Only the new will keep coming out and then fading away after the cachet has worn off.  Build a brand first.  Add sizes, wrappers, and limited runs later.  Slow down manufacturers.   Start stepping on the brakes cigar star hopefuls.  I’m beginning to see red, oblong bricks in the distance.

 

Freedom!

You are now reading a FREE blog.  Nothing is off limits as regards special interests or the accusations of spamming, or intrusions of any kind.  It is your choice to get in contact with the blog and I hope that you do.  Yes, I am disappointed with the way the blog was bandied about from some of the groups.  I was under the impression that we are all a cohesive cigar community of leaf lovers and what a broker would have to say about his daily observations would be of interest to anyone that smokes a cigar.  I was wrong.  So now, you have your own choice of reading The Blog! or not.  (You always did, all you needed to do was scroll past the article – no harm no foul.)  Now you can read the blog on my wall, and the following links (if you like my page you get the blog automatically)  https://www.facebook.com/IrvCigarBrokerPage/  or directly thru WordPress at https://irvcigarbroker.wordpress.com  or  https://www.facebook.com/irv.cigarbroker (if we are friends the blog is posted automatically)   or  https://www.linkedin.com/ – or you are now able to download my app:   Irv CigarBroker: The Blog! via iTunes or the Android app stores.

I actually thought of trashing the whole project, but too many people were on the positive side of the ledger and I will not disappoint.  Maybe, now knowing what I know, I will be even more open about the cigar business, cigar reviews and cigar-related news, etc.  My blog is not your typical one, and I had enough comments of “Keep it up brother;  I love reading your blog; I’ve been entertained by your work,” to roll over and p&#s on myself.  So that’s the last I have to say about my move away from the groups.  The end.  And now for today’s blog. . .

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Every once and awhile I have a cigar that’s a sleeper.  It moves, but at a tortoise’s pace.  It’s a great cigar, has won blind-taste contests over Cuban cigars, and has longevity on its side.  That cigar is the Daniel Marshall Red Label Cigar.  

Daniel’s cigar has been in production since 1996.   It’s a Nica cigar that has street cred.  It just doesn’t have a fancy name, or a band that glows in the dark.  It’s a traditional cigar that is to be smoked as one would relax and enjoy the whole experience.

The flavor is not a mish-moshed cornucopia of pencil lead, leather, or corned beef hash, it is a true, long leaf filler cigar with tobacco that delivers what I think every cigar smoker in the world wants, aged tobacco flavor with the subtle essences of chocolate, espresso, and the expectation of consistency along with the perfect draw and burn.  And he has achieved this over and over and over again each year now for the past 20 years.

So why isn’t the Daniel Marshall Red Label cigar on everyone’s rotation?  Because he has invested his time and energy promoting the cigar in Europe, going head-to-head with the Cuban cigars.  His enthusiasm is also plowed into his production of some of the finest humidors ever made.  He has literally traveled the world presenting his humidors to Heads of State. Presidents, movie stars, and the glitterati of the cigar social set (and there is a cigar social set).

His mark has been made in the European market for both his artisanal passions, and now he wants the cigar smokers in the US to experience that same feeling of elegance and élan that seems to be second nature in Europe.  He wants to concentrate on the smokers in the US so they, too, can be entranced with his style of panache.

He has just come out with a 10-count box of all his sizes.  There are seven sizes, so no one can say he is not giving the cigar smoker – young and old – a choice.  His line includes the robusto, torpedo, churchill, corona, petite corona, the gigante for those who just have to get their mouths stretched, and the “Papa Joe” panatela.

Daniel is also introducing a new blend and this is exciting news after all these years.  He’s experimenting with a new manufacturer and who knows what he’ll come up with.  All I know is that he is only interested in producing the “Talk of the Town.” (New Yorker)

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And it goes so well with a Taratino film.  I picked “Django Unchained” and even though I wasn’t able to smoke the cigar while watching the movie, I mentally immersed myself simultaneously in both the movie and the cigar.  The Daniel Marshall Red Label was the perfect complement to a sad and sordid chapter in our history that was made watchable with the memory of a calming cigar by one of the best.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf1B9ktRCkg

 

 

LAST GROUP POST.

IrvCigarBroker

LAST GROUP POST: This will be the last time I send out my blog to ANY group.  If you would like to continue to read it, please download the app.  Or become friends or like my FB business page https://www.facebook.com/IrvCigarBrokerPage/ and you’ll get it automatically.  All the info is below.  Thanks to all those who read and enjoy it.

It’s been a challenge for me to keep up with the warp speed of today’s technology.  Hell, I still write my cigar orders on paper forms and fax or email them into the manufacturer.  So to announce what I have to offer to those who faithfully read or will eventually become readers of my blog each day – Irv CigarBroker: The Blog!  I am so very proud and excited to announce that you can now access The Blog through MY NEW APP!

The app, with its iconic logo of me walking…

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Diana Silvius Gits (1934-2016)

It was unusually sunny this day.  More often than not in January in Chicago, the skies are cloudy, and the threat of a storm is more likely than the look of the beginning of spring.  But what a fortunate glow to celebrate and pay homage to one of the Titans of Tobacco – Diana Silvius Gits, who passed away last week at the age of 81.

For those of you who live in the world of tobacco, especially those who live in Chicago, her name is synonymous with cigars.  For those of you who are not familiar with this Legend, Diana Silvius Gits was “the” lady in the cigar industry.

If I were to sum up the contribution Diana gave to the cigar industry, it was that no matter what your passion – you can make it.  Diana loved two businesses one was art (An award winner and later an art instructor.), the other the tobacco business.

She and her then husband, Gerald Gits, opened an art gallery in 1963 in the Old Town section of Chicago.  The gallery sold work by local artists, a variety of merchandise, and tobacco products.  The name UpDown came from the fact that the art was downstairs and the cigars etc. were located upstairs.  As her interest in cigars grew so did her desire to be a cigar specialty shop.  She moved to the present location in 1976.  She also renamed the business UpDown Cigar and the rest is history.   Many believed that a woman couldn’t survive in an industry that was predominately run by men for men – but she did.

I was never close to her in business, but anytime I would meet her (usually at the conventions), she always remembered my name and greeted me with her eyes sparkling behind her signature over-sized glasses and what I would call her bright smile.

The industry has indeed lost a Tough Titan of Tobacco. But she was able to push doors that were difficult to open, accomplish things that were never done before, and lasted longer in a competitive business – again, dare I say – run by men.

I was at the memorial service and the crowd that gathered in the back of St. Michael Church in Old Town was all buzzing with stories, moments of memories that led to laughter, and much hugging as any pre-service memorial would inspire.

As I paid my last respects to Diana, I couldn’t help but think that the world of cigars will go on without her. While I was driving to the church, the streets of Chicago’s Loop were teeming with cars as they continued to swerve for position and then sped right along down La Salle.  I passed the White Palace Grill at 1159 S. Canal – busy as usual – one of Chicago’s landmark diners.  A food truck was waiting for the lunch hour crowd and the movement of buses, taxis and people never stopped unaware that a local legend had passed and would never be heard from again.

So when I arrived at the church, the first person I see is Phil Ledbetter, the current owner of UpDown Cigar.  He shook my hand and said he appreciated that I could make it.  I greeted many other reps, and people I know in the business, and then I slowly moved to the casket on my left to pay my respects.

Afterwards I sat down in a back pew and began to admire the magnificent beauty of St. Michael Church where the service took place.  With the sun bursting through the ornate stained-glass windows, it turned the towering altar into a stunning array of hues and colors.  I sat there motionless and began to think of the business.  It’s not always so beautiful, it’s not always so sunny, it’s not always so happy – but I began to think of all the changes that have taken place in the cigar industry and how changes will continue – with or without Diana.

Then I got up and left my pew and walked outside.  I took a photo of the church and walked back to my car.  Then I drove to 1550 N. Wells St. and parked.   I got out, and at the best angle I could find, considering the blazing rays of the sun, took a shot of one of the most famous cigar shops in the city of Chicago, created by the most famous cigar woman in the city of Chicago – and perhaps the cigar industry.

 

A Trio of Events

During the years of 1970 and 1973, Rod Serling of “Twilight Zone” fame, hosted a spin-off television show called “Night Gallery.”  It was an anthology series and each show began with Rod surrounded by a group of paintings.  His intro usually was, “Good evening and welcome to a private showing of three paintings, displayed here for the first time. Each is a collector’s item in its own way—not because of any special artistic quality, but because each captures on a canvas, suspends in time and space, a frozen moment of a nightmare.” (Wiki)

Today was no nightmare, but rather a collection of various segments or photos, if you will, of a span of about an hour.  Each segment had its own subject, but all are interconnected with cigars.  So, sit back and relax and enjoy an hour in the life of Irv CigarBroker.   (My introduction.)

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My main goal today was to visit Old Stogies Cigars and Barber Shop.  Yep, right on 214 E. Main are Larry’s businesses.  It’s a unique combination and it works like a charm.  I usually see him during his lunch hour as I did today.  We’ll sit in the lounge and smoke cigars.  I gave him a whole slew of samples today because he isn’t buying until he gets back from his trip to Nicaragua in three weeks. 

But he was enthralled by the Flor D’Crossier Coloniales from the brand’s Selection No. 512 series.  Larry said he usually doesn’t pick up distinct flavors in a cigar, but he was sure talking about this one.  Price is a big factor where he is located in Streator, Illinois.  So in this case showing him that cigar was right on the money.

His shop is a rather unusual, eclectic collection of what some folks might call junk. But each piece has a special meaning to Larry and adds flavor to the atmosphere.  So if you’re a guy who just likes to sit and look around there’s enough there to keep you busy.  Otherwise, there’s the screen.  Always the screen.

******

During my time with Larry I decided to light up another Don Abram Harris selection.  This time I tried the Don Abram Harris Presidential Reserve Churchill (7×48).  He “created these as his personal cigar. Those few who had the opportunity to try them soon convinced him to make the cigar available to the public. A cigar of this magnitude is one to be kept on the top shelf and smoked on the best occasions. Created with a special blend of the finest Puerto Rican tobacco, this cigar is set off by a subtle lacing of 150 Anniversary Grand Marnier that is sure to please your palate. This is a cigar you take your time smoking – one that shouldn’t be rushed, so sit yourself down and enjoy.”  (Website)

And I did.  But the taste of Grand Marnier was so subtle it was lost in the mix of the aged Puerto Rican tobaccos.  I enjoyed the Cameroon wrapper and it also comes in U.S. Connecticut.  The burn was good and the draw was a bit tight for my liking.  By the time I was half way through, it had opened up and the pure tobacco was burning and the smoke turned into a smooth, pleasant experience.

******

After the hour was up, Larry could see that there were two guys waiting at the door.  So we ended our meeting.  Larry donned his barber shop attire.  “Take a bit more off the top and not so much off the sides,” I recall the gentleman who sat in the chair first say.  His buddy was already immersed in the local paper and barely grunted a “Hey” when I said hello.  “See you when you get back, Larry.”

So I get in the car and I’m running through the messages on my phone when it rings and the ID comes up “Unknown Caller.”  Usually I let those go, but I was curious and picked up.  And lucky I did.  It was a gentleman from a cigar manufacturer who was looking for me.  “Irv?”  “That’s me.”

 

Well the conversation escalated from introduction to an offer to rep a new cigar that I haven’t even tried yet.  The reason he was calling me was because I was recommended and he liked what he heard from those who gave me the thumbs up.  And you know you could feel his enthusiasm over the phone.  I liked that.  And I even liked better when he said he needed this territory covered and he wanted me to do it.  I think my chest puffed out a bit, but you wouldn’t know, it was so cold the coat I had on covered that ego trip.

He talked about the cigar, the finances backing it, and the quality of the manufacturer.  I happen to know the factory where the cigar will be made and I’m here to say that he picked a good one – a very solid, reliable cigar rolling heaven.  His excitement was infectious so I said I would take a look at the cigar samples and that I would email him my mailing info and email.  He told me he’d get those samples out straightaway.

******

And all this happened in about an hour.  And I still had the afternoon to go.   Who knows what other three photos I would encounter?  So off to McDonald’s I went, again scrolled through the screen on my phone, and was on my way.  I tell you, every day is a surprise in this business and that ain’t bad.

A Blend is Born.

Pipe sales spike during the winter cigar slowdown.  So when the iron is hot. . .

The other night I was invited to participate in The Humidor of Westmont’s first Pipe Show and Blending Contest.  I have to admit I started out the evening smoking a cigar.  But as the guys began to show up and the sweet aroma of various blends began to fill the air, I took out one of my favorite pipes and began to blend (had to. . .) into the crowd.

I brought a variety of French, Greek, and Italian pipes, including free style, full bent, straight, half bent and a multitude of shades and stem colors.  The store was offering a double discount so it was hard for customers to refuse the deals.

Along with the pipe show, Dennis Blunt, regional sales manager from The Scandinavian Tobacco Group was invited to hold a blending contest for the guys at the shop.  I had never been involved with this type of contest before and I was intrigued.

So I asked Dennis what the deal was and he told me that the guys have a choice of several tobaccos, some from Lane others from Stokkebye.  On a long table were canisters filled with an eclectic array of tobaccos, but at the time I didn’t know one from the other nor did the soon-to-be-participants.  Each canister had been assigned a letter and the goal was to pick a little bit of that and a smidgen of this and mix what would eventually be judged as the best tobacco blend of the night.  And it’s not just that you win the contest, but your blend will have an official name and be offered at the The Humidor for all to buy.

So it didn’t take long for the lounge to fill up and as Michael Buffer would announce, “Let’s get ready for blending!”   It was a rush of hands over hands of anxious guys filling little plastic red jello cups with various amounts of tobacco from canisters labeled A,B,C, and E etc.  The list of the names of the actual tobaccos was tucked away in Mr. Blunts’s folder so no one had access, not even me, of any of the brand names.   And they would not know until the very end when the winner was chosen.

The momentary pandemonium settled into quiet time, the necessary slice of solitude to pack the pipes and test out what may become a famouns blend or a dud.  Muffled conversation filled the room as did the aromas, of rum, cherry, whisky, Latakia, and honey tobaccos.  It was so much different than a cigar event in that the convergence of so many flavors added a dimension that doesn’t exist at a cigar smoker.

And in the meantime, I’m running back and forth to the display of pipes in front as new customers walk in and peruse the selection of my wares.  But all the action was in the back lounge and there was plenty of it despite the genteel manner in which pipe smoking is often perceived.

Eventually the smoking stopped and Dennis called for all the blends to be handed in so he could mark them, and pick two judges to decide on the top three blends.  I was lucky enough to be chosen along with another fellow who obviously had a good nose for the job ahead.

First he opened the bags and he swished the tobacco with his fingers and inhaled a huge gulp of the aroma and then immediately switched to gentler sniffing so his olfactory senses would be pleasantly pleased or dramatically damaged.  Really, there are an infinite number of blends that you can mix so is there really a bad one?  It’s a preference as are the choices of cigars cigar smokers pick.  I discovered a wide variety of differences in smells.  Some were sweet, some sour, others had an acidic tinge to them while there were blends that released alluring aromas that you just couldn’t put down.  But we had to make a decision.  So after having gone back and forth a number of times, we picked the final three.

We gave the three bags to Dennis and he distributed them to the guys who would be the final judges of which blend would be crowned the winner.  There were a few agreements right away and then there were hushed discussions like at a ball game between the pitcher and the coach; you don’t know what each is saying but you do know it isn’t all good.

So Dennis went around the table and collected the bags.  He asked each pipe smoker and it was a unanimous decision – blend number three and it belonged to the guy with the Charles Dickensonian-era moustache – one Allan Boyd.  Part of the winning prize is that his blend will have an official name and be offered at the shop for public consumption.  The name he picked for his tobacco blend was “Friar of the Briar” and for those who just have to know the details it was all Lane tobacco.   It consisted of one part Proper English, half part Latakia, and two parts Champaign.  (So there goes that secret formula.)

Included in the prize was for the winner to pick out so many ounces of a blend from the front of the shop for free.  Then the guys were given the go ahead to take however much they wanted of the loose tobacco brought by Dennis with them back home and some fistfuls were enough to last weeks.

It was an evening of firsts, and Sam who owns the shop and Tim his manager were pleased with the turnout and the future of the pipe shows.  The word will get out and the crowds will grow, because pipes are on their way back and the stores that see this trend are jumping on it.

Yes, it does happen.

“One day in the nineteen-fifties, Carol Aird (Cate Blanchett), a wife and mother, is shopping for Christmas presents at a department store in Manhattan.  She comes across a salesgirl, Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), and they fall in love, right there.  (How long has it been, you ask yourself, since a movie delivered a proper “coup de foudre?”)  Todd Haynes’s film then follows the women as they meet for lunch, hang out at Carol’s home, embark on an aimless journey, and go to bed – conscious, all the while, of what they are risking, flouting, or leaving behind.  Therese has a boyfriend (Jake Lacy), and Carol has a husband (Kyle Chandler) and a child, although the maternal instinct gets short dramatic shrift.  That feels true to Patricia Highsmith, whose 1952 novel, “The Price of Salt,” is the foundation of the film.  The fine screenplay is by Phyllis Nagy, who drains away the sourness of the book; what remains is a production of clean and frictionless beauty, down to the last, strokable inch of clothing and skin.  Yet Haynes and his stars, for all their stylish restraint, know that elegance alone will not suffice.  Inside the showcase is a storm of feeling.  With Sarah Paulson, as Carol’s best friend.” – A.L.  (New Yorker 11.23.15)

The above is the review of the movie “Carol” recently released in select theatres.  It is one of the best pieces of movie review writing I’ve run across in years.  And I must agree that the movie is one of the best films ever made about a topic that had been taboo for years and is now just another subject matter-of-factly to be discussed – even in polite conversation.

Why bring this up?  Beautiful writing attracts the reader because it becomes effortless to absorb.  The same way an exquisitely crafted cigar attracts the cigar smoker so it becomes an extension of a pleasurable moment without interruptions.  I bring this up because I wanted to smoke a cigar while I was watching this film and, of course, I wasn’t able to do that.  So I did the next best thing I could think of, smoke the cigar before seeing the movie and draw upon the memory of that experience and relate it to the film.

I’ve given some thought to representing cigars by the Don Abram Harris Cigar Company.  He has four cigars to offer, The Presidential Reserve, the Consigliere, the En Passant, and the El Jefe.  I didn’t have a whole lot of time to smoke, so I chose the El Jefe robusto to start.  I will get to the others at another time.

The El Jefe’s copy on the web reads, “(an) amazingly long smoke in this box pressed robusto cigar.  The El Jefe is the Boss of the Don Abram Harris Cigars. The dark rich Brazilian Maduro wrapper holds in the full earthy taste of our special blend of aged Puerto Rican full leaf tobacco. The Don Abram Harris El Jefe is one cigar that you will want to be real selective on (whom) you share them with.  Heck, you just might want to keep them (all) to yourself.”

That blurb intrigued me and I wanted to relate a different cigar to this movie because the movie is so different.  I have not seen “Carol” before, and I was ready for anything.  I’m reading the book the movie is based on, “The Price of Salt” now, but anyone knows the movie and the screenplay are rarely copied, but rather used side-by-side as guides for each other.  The movie has to do with two women who fall in love in the 50s – and the El Jefe is chock-full of Puerto Rican Tobacco enrobed in a Brazilian wrapper.  What an intriguing relationship.

Both the movie and the cigar held back nothing.  Indeed Carol’s relationship with Therese is out there.  They are not trying to hide their romantic feelings for one another.  And the El Jefe is similarly outed as the perfect cigar not only for this movie, but for the smoker who is looking for something on the edge of what one might call conventional.  Confident. 

I loved the atmosphere of the movie, the sets, the castings were perfect; the ambiance of the entire film was made in the 50s – today.  I loved the feel of the El Jefe, its wrapper, its perfect size, its being able to burn with self-reliance to release its dominant flavor without any hints of this or traces of that.

The beginning of the smoke was a bit confusing, as was the film.  I was not sure where the screenplay would go as I had no idea where the cigar would go.  This was my first El Jefe, and it was my first look at a tastefully produced film tied to the forbidden romance between two women, especially one so young (Therese) and one so mature (Carol) and both so very attractive.

So as I’m sitting there watching the film, recalling the book, and the cigar I just smoked, I was more than capable to get into the characters of the film as I was able to immerse myself in the characteristics of the cigar I had only an hour before.  Both film and cigar had sweetness to it.  It was all there for the taking.  The draw was perfect, the pairing of the cigar with the movie was precisely on point, the flavor was of pure aged tobacco, not a mixture of essences that can – at times – confuse and confound the smoker, just as the plot was easy to follow and entertain you and allow you to think about why two people clearly fall in love and why this one particular cigar never would have been a distraction once I got past the beginning.

Did I know Mr. Harris’s cigar would be the right one to smoke for this film?  No.  I guessed on that.  And I guessed correctly.  The ash held firm, the draw was smooth, the plumes of smoke accentuated the cigar’s pleasing flavor and it all blended together to become a balanced work of art as was the film –  a daring, intriguing story that had a romantic, satisfying ending – as did El Jefe.  No bitterness, no softness, no guessing, no regrets.

In the end, as Therese walks into the dinner party Carol invited her to, past the protesting maître d’, searching for Carol, who Therese told earlier she wanted to end the relationship and finally spots her through the crowded room at a rear table, she stops – an ever so slight smile appears on her lips – and she looks into Carol’s eyes.  As Carol notices her she stops talking and returns Therese’s passionate gaze because they both know their love for each other has come full circle.  It was meant to be.  It was a public display of romance just as there can be that passion between the public display of a man and his cigar-like the El Jefe – igniting an exciting relationship without boundaries.  (Now would be a good time to reread the review.)

 

 

Rakesh or Gagosian?

Is Rakesh “Rocky” Patel the cigar world’s Larry Gagosian?  It’s the closest I can come to the comparison of what epitomizes instant recognition in two high-profile industries that attract both the poker guys and the high rollers.

Rocky Patel is one of “the” most famous cigar makers in the history of the business.  Larry Gagosian’s is one of “the” most famous and influential art dealers to ever walk the earth.   To briefly profile each man:

*****

Rocky was born in India in 1961.  He was originally a Hollywood attorney who represented a variety of actors including Arnold and Gene Hackman.  Rocky was exposed to cigars by spending time with such luminaries and this led to his interest in the industry.  As a direct result, he sold his legal practice and spent several years in Honduras educating himself by working and being around the cigar manufacturing trade.

Eventually the itch needed to be scratched and Rocky introduced Indian Tabac in the mid-90s, and in 2002 changed the name from Indian Tabac to Rocky Patel Premium Cigars.  From that point on, with his marketing skills racing at high speed, and utilizing his tireless work ethic, the man became the face of cigars.

But it wasn’t until 2004 when Rocky introduced The Edge that his name became a beacon in the cigar firmament.  It was in that year he took the market by storm with The Edge Corojo and The Edge Maduro at an affordable price that cigar smokers fell in love with and sales of the cigars have yet to show signs of abatement. Rocky has produced so many cigars before The Edge and since that it’s a wonder that anyone can keep track of the multitude of his brands that are on the market.  But the point here is that when you say the word cigar, the name Rocky is soon to follow.

Larry Gagosian had a somewhat different beginning.  He was born (1945) in Los Angeles to Armenian parents.  His first interest was English, in which he majored at UCLA.  He had a variety of jobs including, working in a record store, a book store, and a supermarket.   But he got his start in the art world by “opening a schlocky poster shop in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. . . “(and has since) built a contemporary and modern art empire unlike any other the (art) business has ever seen, with galleries in New York, Los Angeles, London and Rome.  His stable of talent – nearly all of them poached from rivals – includes eight-figure luminaries like Richard Prince, Jeff Koons and Damien Hirst.” (NYTimes David Segal)

So what makes the two titans of business even closely related?  Passion.  Mr. Patel’s is cigars; Mr. Gagosian’s is dealing in art.  Both have created instantaneous recognition in each of their respective fields.  But instant recognition is one thing, discovery of new talent and extending the businesses within each industry is quite another.  Yes, both Mr. Patel and Mr. Gagosian have hob-knobbed with the rich and famous, rubbed elbows with movie stars, journalists, and attracted crowds of fans when they appear.  But the question that I pose is “Who has done the better job?”

This is not an indictment or judgement on either man.  This is strictly my opinion.  Who has extended their industry to create more talent and hasn’t sat on their laurels while their businesses produce millions of dollars on an annual basis.  Yes, there have been many cigar manufacturers that have succeeded without the help of Rocky Patel.   And yes there have been many artists that have opened in galleries without the influence of Larry Gagosian.  Both men have indeed must have had an influence on the drive of a would-be cigar manufacturer or a would-be artist.  I’m sure the novice mentally mused, “If they can do it, why can’t I?”  Both are inspirations and both have expanded what I would call esoteric businesses, and given them credibility in a world where smashing ideas and dreams into atomic smithereens is the rule – not the exception.

Let me put in another way, Jean Jacques Basquet’s work would not be worth millions of dollars today had it not been for the exposure of his work by Larry Gagosian.  Damien Hirst may still be wondering what to do with his rotting shark in a tank had it not been for the Gagosian gusto to have a show at one of his galleries.  Jeff Koons could be sitting atop one of his glass bubbles staring off into the distance had it not been for the faith (read future dollar signs if I wanted to be cynical) had it not been for the exposure his work received at a Gagosian gallery.

Has Rocky produced a Hirst, Koons or Basquet?  We really don’t know.  There’s no way to tell, but if an Indian lawyer from Green Bay Wisconsin can make it in a business saturated with Cubans, I dare say he has had a tremendous amount of influence on many a cigar manufacturer to try to make his or her own cigar dream come true and become as well-known and popular as Rocky Patel.

And the art world has Larry Gagosian.  He has made millions by making others successful.  His name means art dealer.  And artists still are foaming at the mouth to get a show at one of his galleries.  Just to get the Gagosian dust sprinkled on their dream to become famous in today’s world into the future and maybe into eternity.

So I have answered my own question.  Both men have done admirable jobs to bring others into the world of art and cigars and without a doubt had it not been for them, who knows who would have missed out on a career of their dreams.

What is That Flavor?

When there is a flavor in a cigar that is unique that I cannot describe I am obviously at a loss for words.  Today I am flummoxed.  I’m smoking the Caldwell Long Live the King (52×6) – the petite double wide short Churchill.  You can see the blends next to the cigar in the photo.  (The last date is 2007 for those anal enough to want to know.)

I fired up the cigar in the garage, ergo my getup, and the first draw produced a tinge of this flavor and then it disappeared.  It aroused my interest.  Early.  A lot of cigars don’t reveal their flavors until a bit further down the stick.  This was almost instantaneous.  My brain began to flip through its records of what essence this could be.  I had no answer.

So I continued to smoke the cigar and began to recognize some of the, let’s call them distinguishable, flavors.  One that stood out was a woody essence with a slight dryness that stayed with the smoke throughout.  But then as I was smoking the cigar that mystery flavor wormed in and I hoped that it stayed around long enough so that I could recognize it.  But it was so fleeting that I again was left without a clue as to what it was.  And I liked it.  I liked it enough that I wished it would travel up with the blend as I smoked it down.  But it didn’t.

The cigar is as flavorful as can be.  The plumes of smoke were effortlessly drawn and never once did I feel heat or bitterness.  The burn at this point was a bit uneven and the ash was flaky with a dark, almost black hue.  It seemed as if the cigar was getting ready to do something and I was ready for it – if that was the intent of Robert Caldwell when he had it blended.

The construction was excellent, although I found a few bumps in the wrapper that aesthetically took away from the overall appearance, but in reality I can’t taste bumps so I let that go.  There is a lilliputian pigtail on the end and the foot is swirled with tobacco to give the cigar a pleasing look – almost refined. 

I have to say that the overall flavor was of a delicate nature, kind of like when a master baker is mixing egg whites to make a meringue. First you gently whisk the egg whites in a copper bowl until they begin to froth and air is forced into the viscous liquid producing a mellifluous white substance with a luxurious texture that is perfect when it peaks.  Light, airy and sublime in nature.

There isn’t a lot of change that goes on with this cigar once you hit the halfway mark.  But that’s not a bad thing because it’s so delicious that you want to keep drawing on that flavor and hope it never stops.  Only one more time did the mystery essence come through and then it was pure smoking pleasure.

There was a tad bit of spice that tried to edge its way into the smoke, but only momentarily, and then that dissipated as well until the final quarter when it became rather dominate and gave me dry mouth.  I didn’t particularly care for that, but again it was the final end and made for a splendid finish.

The original Caldwell Collection consisted of three cigars, the one I smoked, the Eastern Standard, of which I have The Cream Crush; and The King is Dead, of which I have The Last Payday, a torpedo.  Each cigar comes in a variety of sizes and the blends are varied.

More blends and cigars have been added since the original came out, but since this is not a dissertation on Caldwell Cigars I will let you discover and taste them for yourselves.

I have to give Mr. Caldwell full props for introducing a new cigar that has attracted a lot of attention.  In fact, The Last Payday was ranked as No. 19 in Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 cigars of 2015.  Here the blurb states that “this cigar uses a wrapper (that) is grown from another Dominican varietal called Negrito.”   A variety of tobacco that I will do some research on and find out more about and what it offers to the smoker.   It is not included in the blend of Long Live the King.

So as I was receiving another text from a cigar maker asking me to try his blend, I agreed to do so because you never know when there is something out there that will peak a cigar smoker’s interest and put him or her in a quandary of ecstasy.