Hearing music from smoking cigars is not usually found in the same sentence. But, if taken into account that most writing is based on rhythm, then the idea of a cigar providing tonality is not so far-fetched. Today, I will make good on my promise to review the Horacio Jacques Chancel Editión Limitada 2015. Now, the Horacio brand is not known at all in the US save for the articles I’ve written. So don’t feel left out. Brokers do have a distinct advantage and I am very fortunate to be a part of a discovery akin to when British archaeologist Howard Carter and his workmen discovered a step leading to the tomb of King Tutankhamen in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.
An extraordinary find that has fascinated people from all walks of life. King Tut, a little known young man who died at the age of 18. Why was his tomb so adorned with so many artifacts and decorated with so much gold? The most splendid architectural find was a stone sarcophagus containing three coffins nested within each other. Inside the final coffin, which was made out of solid gold, was the mummy of the boy-king Tutankhamen, preserved for more than 3,000 years. Most of these treasures are now housed in the Cairo Museum. (www.history.com).
Today was my day of discovery – the Horacio Jacques Chancel Editión Limitada 2015. It is a treasure that has gone beyond the simple discovery of a great cigar. It has miraculously been joined together with the delight of music that can be heard throughout the smoke. No, I am not smoking weed. I am relating to you my impressions that are real, and when you try this cigar you may experience the same delights that I had a chance to partake in if you allow yourself to let go of any other preconceptions of what a cigar is or can be.
The cigar itself is made in Nicaragua, and has hints of Costa Rican and Nicaraguan tobaccos intermixed. The brown color wrapper defies the meaning of what is deep, rich and luxurious. The oils would have made Howard Hughes green with envy. Its smoothness cannot be described except maybe by New York Magazine’s restaurant critic Adam Platt, but I could not find words that would adequately allow the reader to feel, yes, feel the creamy smoke as it entered my mouth and mixed with the air as exhaled.
It was a slightly windy day, so Mother Nature had a chance to enjoy the aroma as well, and rightly so considering she was totally responsible for its existence. I was having a love affair with a cigar. I can hear the cackles of the people as they read my truth. But I couldn’t take my eyes, or my senses, off the beauty of this creation.
It was as if I were riding in a train car all alone and a female passenger walked through the door, and for whatever reason, sat across from me – eyes down. She was looking at her cell phone. I was looking at her. I noticed her hair, her complexion, her hands, her nails, her clothing, her glasses – everything.
Eventually I had to avert my eyes back to my magazine as I could feel that she could sense she was being watched. I became slightly embarrassed, but I could not completely take my attention off her beauty.
The cigar continued to radiate its deep aroma. The melody of music persisted in my mind. I was completely intrigued that I had found a cigar that could conjure up a song. The flavors all intermingled, coffee, chocolate – both bitter and sweet, with a slight woodsy lilt that remained throughout – a teaser that could have over powered the taste but actually accentuated the complex combinations of essences.
The sun was beating down on my neck as I sat on the patio – the train. My mystery lady was still in her seat and I was able to occasionally catch a glimpse of her. This is the romance of a cigar. This is the reason I examine everything, including the ash, the gorgeous white, gray, black streaked remnant that forms and holds onto the cigar as two lovers clasping hands.
The sounds of this symphonic cigar continued to twirl in my mind. The mystery passenger finally stepped off the train at her stop. But the memory of her – the cigar, the moment – was embedded in my mind for all eternity. I smoked the cigar to the very end. The flavors lasted until the very end; the ash was faithful until the very end. I was totally enraptured with this cigar and I pray it is truly a limited edition, so that when you get a chance to pick one up you can experience the soothing sounds, the stunning fusion of flavors, and the feelings that I did this afternoon.
Cigars are not just leaves and smoke. Cigars are sensuous extensions of nature. They are not just a product to sell. A true lover of cigars will seek out an experience such as the one that I was fortunate enough to realize today – and even more privileged to share it with you.
(By the way, listen to the tune that ran through my head the entire smoke. It will only take you a few minutes and may draw you into a world you never knew existed. Go to http://www.irvcigarbroker.com/ and click on IRV TV!)
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