Riverside Cigar Shop and Lounge, Jeffersonville, IN

 I finally made the trip across the river to this cigar shop. Ever since Louisville banned smoking in bars/lounges, there has not been a 'legal' place to buy and enjoy a good cigar. Not only is this a cigar shop, but they have added the Match Cigar Bar to buy a great meal and drinks to enjoy along with your cigar. The cigar shop had a reasonable assortment of the main cigar brands and a few I had not heard of.(Reviews coming on some of them). They had generic wooden matches for those without their own lighters. I was disappointed they did not have some nice custom cedar matches, but ehh, if you did not bring your lighter to a cigar bar, whose fault is that. Pic of the walk in humidor is below. The Match bar and grill had plenty of seating. I thought it could have used more air flow and the vent fan they had did not seem to pull smoke out even though I was sitting right next to it. They feature a changing menu and a lot of different bourbons. The burger I had was excellent. See that picture below. There is another dance bar next door, so if you are looking for a night out with some friends then this is a great stopping point.
Just minutes from Downtown Louisville at 201 Spring Street in Jeffersonville, Indiana. Phone number is (812) 284-6198. Hours: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 12 a.m Friday-Saturday.

Is it real, or is it Memorex?

We have an intern at work that wants to enjoy the finer things in life.  He is from Ecuador, very young and impressionable.  He likes good Scotch, bourbon and food, but he thinks wine in a box is a technical marvel and loves it.  He is going to throw a party for his friends and wants to add cigars into the mix, so he has been asking a lot of questions on what a bunch of newbies should smoke.

In comes his brother with a box of Cuban Cohiba Esplendidos.  I offered to store them in my humidor since they have been sitting in an office for "a while".  We opened the box when he brought them into the office, and they looked really good, for a while.  I wanted to be sure of what he had, so I took them down to my buddy Steve's cube.  He noticed right off the label on the outside was not positioned where it should be.  Steve pulled up websites where we could compare and what we found was the inside label had white showing, not a good sign.  And the little piece of paper was missing the tobacco leaf.  And to put another nail in the coffin the bottom had no stamp for manufacture date.

My Ecuadorian friend wanted me to smoke one to see what I thought.  Hey, I am here to help.  All signs are that it is Memorex (fake), but it was a very nice smoke none the less. The ash was a decent grey, the smoke was relatively think, but I did have to touch it up a couple time where it wanted to burn uneven and it smoked a bit fast for a Churchill (1 hr 15 mins).  Then the final nail, the band was a little thin and virtually no embossing.

After revealing my findings, my good buddy Steve brought in one of his, pictured in this blog as being given to him by a Cuban friend.  He wanted to know if his were real, so he offered it to me to smoke so I could compare.  Hey, still in a helping mode, so I took another one for the team.

Yet another very fine smoke, but with some differences.  Even being in a humidor for just 3 weeks after 5 years of sitting in a box dying, this cigar smoked for more than an hour and a half and burned even, no touch-ups necessary.  The smoke was thicker, heavier and the ash was a little darker grey.  And this one was stronger and grew as it went along where the first one was very mild throughout.

Very interesting experiment and I was more than happy to assist.  One is counterfeit and one is real and you can tell the difference.  However; not sure it would have been so noticeable if there was a couple weeks between them.  As it was, I had 3 Cuban cigars in 4 days and one turned out to be Memorex, but I think my friend and all his buddies will still enjoy it and probably better for a first smoke.

Thank you Luis and Steve and do not hesitate to call on me again. :-)

Oh yeah....The band on Steve's Cohiba was wider, better quality, slightly heavier paper and it was embossed.

Here is the bands for you to compare, they are actually starting to get better than they used to be.

Which one is fake and which is real?  Scroll over the letters hidden below with your mouse to see.
The one on left is real, notice the comma after Habana and the squares are more consistent.

Winston Churchill and sacred rite to smoke

Found this story, thought I would share. 

While visiting King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, Winston was informed he could neither smoke nor drink, Whereas Roosevelt had respected the king's
wishes and refrained from smoking in his presence,
Churchill did the opposite. As he wrote in his memoirs,

"If it was the religion of His Majesty to deprive
himself of smoking and alcohol I must point out that
my rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite
smoking cigars and also drinking alcohol before, after,
and if need be during all meals and in the intervals
between them." He puffed cigar smoke in the
king's face.

Friends in Island places

So one of my friends who is from Cuba says "I have some old cigars that I have had in a box for 5 years, would you like them?"   I will have to keep these in the humidor for long while to rehydrate, but should be good.

Aging Room M356 review

Yesterday was a nice, crisp 55 degrees in Louisville and seemed to be a good time to enjoy a cigar and a glass of wine on the deck.  I pulled the M356 from my humidor and headed outside with the dogs to enjoy the pleasant evening.  This cigar drew exceptionally well and was spicy from the start.  It was not mild, but not too strong either.  Not long into it there was a change, the flavor dropped the spice and could notice the strength a little more, definitely more full, but still not too strong and maybe a little smoother even.  And it reamined a nice smoke till the end, burning evenly and slowly throughout and the ash was fairly firm, although I knocked it off when I bumped into the deck railing.  I hate when that happens.  It was not the best pairing with the sweeter wine I was drinking, but was not bad either.  Probably would have been better with a nice Pinot Noir or a nice smooth bourbon with a little bite.

I liked this little cigar, which was about 40-45 minutes to get 2/3rds or a little more smoked.  Thanks to my buddy +Steve Medved for throwing it my way to try.  I would smoke it again and I always need cigars of this size to have around.

Rookie Rantings -- San Lotano Oval

Wow!  That about sums-up my experience with this cigar.  I'm glad I've had several other prior to smoking this bad boy because if I'd had this first, nothing would compare.  I read this was the #2 rated cigar last year and then found it in a sampler pack.  I had to get it.  This was a wonderful cigar experience! 

Right out of the wrapper it had a wonderful smell.  My initial draw (which was very easy) was light and flavorful.  The smoke had a wonderful aroma.  From the first draw to the end, it was very balanced and did not get bitter.  The ash was very compact and probably would stay intact for a long time, but I'm a bit paranoid about the thing dropping in my lap.  I sat outside in freezing weather to finish this cigar.  I didn't want to put it down.  This is, officially my #1 favorite cigar and I would smoke it anytime.

Made By:AJ Fernandez Cigars

Wrapper:Habano 2000 Wrapper

Binder:Nicaragua

Filler:Nicaragua / Honduras/ AJ Fernandez Secret Filler

Rookie Rantings -- Padilla Miami Robusto

I originally began enjoying cigars because on a couple occasions my buddy Kevin shared with me his Padilla cigars.  This was one he had given me.  I think the first third of the Miami Robusto is a very flavorful cigar.  After that it does get stronger and I could only get about half way through it before I'd had enough.  Since I'm still a rookie I can't 'man up' like my buddy. It burns well, and has a very nice ash.  Now that I've experienced a few different cigars, I'd say it draws a little harder than others.

I'd have this again, but I'm looking forward to trying the Oscuro Kevy's been raving about.

Size: 5 x 54

Binder:

 Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Full
Flavor: Full

                                                                            

Rookie Rantings - Obsidian Robusto

I'm not sure my buddy Steve knew what he was doing when he gave me the reins to his log, but since I have them...let's ride this thing!  :-)  I'm new to cigar smoking so many of you may completely disagree with my opinions.  That's the great thing about opinions, they're ours and we're right (until convinced otherwise).

Last night I smoked an Obsidian Robusto (5.5" x 54).  It was part of a sampler I purchased (that's about all I'm purchasing right now).  The Obsidian had a nice aroma. It burned well and had a very nice draw.  The ash was kind of funky.  Many of the other cigars I've had the ash stayed together.  This cigar kind of "splintered" and I could see the leaf "veins."  I don't know what that means, but it was interesting.  I consider this a medium bodied cigar with a decent flavor.  I don't know Steve's rating scale well enough to rate this cigar, so for now I'd say I'd consider having this again (unless something better is available).

Montecristo

Made my way to Cromwell to visit Up In Smoke cigar shop across from lowes. " Honey, I have to run and get a few things at Lowes, I will be back in two hours".  I will post some pictures on my next visit. Bought a Montecristo Epic Premium Selection 07, in maduro. Medium to full bodied, wonderful draw and excellent grey ash. Just as the three feet of snow started to wear on me, I can stop here on the way to work to smoke and relax before another non stressful day of teaching the youth of America a interesting trade.

Nice home cigar lounge pics

Home Cigar Lounge
Found this on Reddit.com thought I would share. Click link above for more pics.