Friday, November 06 2009
By Gary J. Arzt
Another "must-attend" cigar in-store event
In my October column about in-store cigar events, I neglected to mention one the most interesting, educational and enjoyable of all such events.
Jose Blanco of La Aurora Cigars, does a Blending Seminar that could just as easily be considered a graduate course! This event is truly educational, and as many times as I have attended one, I have never failed to learn something about cigar blending that I was, previously, unaware of.
Generally, twenty-five to forty avid smokers - or novices, for that matter - gather at a cigar store where Jose has come to regale them with the intricacies of blending and to amaze them, politely, with the fact that what they thought was so, about cigars, is not.
I suggest that the next time you see a flyer or recieve an email for one of these events, you make it a point to attend.
Happy Birthday Mr. Garcia
Pepin Garcia celebrated his 59th birthday on Saturday, 24 October at the "Garcia Compound" in Miami, FL (I prefer to refer to it as Hyannisport). When Marie & Pepin, Janny and her family, and Jaime and his family lived in the one, big house, I tended to refer to it as "Southfork." Now that Dianalys & Jaime have had the twins, more room was needed. So, they purchased the house next door and took down the wall between the two properties. Hence, "Hyannisport South."
The party was a great event that included, as guests, Pete Johnson, Nestor Miranda, Rene Castaneda, Jorge Valdes, Aquiles Legra, Erik Espinosa, Orlando Espinosa, Gustavo Cuna, and John Brooke, the up-and-coming blogger and social network marketing consultant.
The Garcia Family knows how to party with a capital 'P.' Pepin loves to sing, Jaime dances like Fred Astaire. Why even Janny's two oldest sons, Joseph and Joshua, dance like Michael Jackson. You should see them do the Moonwalk.
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Stand up for your rights, or else. . .you may lose them
It's hard to believe, but cigar lovers obviously don't understand the jeopardy we are in with regard to being able to enjoy the simple pleasure of smoking a cigar. Take a look at what Mayor Bloomberg is doing in NYC! What is it? Have you not been deprived of enough of your rights?
Here's a good example of what I'm talking about: When Miami Cigar & Company staged National Nestor Miranda Cigar Day, on 12 June, at 500 tobacconists throughout the country, everyone who purchased a box of Nestor Miranda 20 Aniversario cigars got a one year VIP Membership to Cigar Rights of America compliments of Nestor Miranda.
I shan't tell you how many boxes were sold that day; suffice it to say they expected a bill from CRA of many thousands of dollars. At last count, they paid for only 31 memberships! For heaven's sake, it was free and required only two minutes of time at your computer. Sadly, less than 3% of the purchasers signed up.
Folks, you better wake up! For the price of three good cigars, you can at least make an effort to join CRA and help stem the tide of anti-smoking legislation, local bans, and increased taxation.
I put it down to ignorance. What do you say?
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IMO: Cigars we can live without
Room 101. More surprising, Fuente has confected a cigar called Angelenos to appeal to the same fickle audience that Room 101 appeals to. Let's see how long this lasts.
The smoking lamp is lighted.
