Saturday, July 18, 2009

Saturday at the Hut - 7/18/09

Today saw a pretty good sized crowd at The Tobacco Hut - some of the Saturday regulars were missing, but some infrequent visitors are becoming more regular. As long as they spend money, Lou doesn't mind!

Joe K is still dodging icebergs on his Alaska cruise but we expect him back next week. Hopefully he'll bring pictures and video to show and some cool stories about how he narrowly escaped the jaws of a polar bear.

Kevin S was there (the guy who made Lou the table), his friend Tom, their friend Paul, as well as Darryl G, Ed B, and fellow LEO Scott. With three cops in the room, the stories were about as thick as the smoke.

Speaking of smoke, I heard an interesting story on Joe's favorite news source, NPR. It was titled "An Industry Icon's Quest for the Signature Cigar", about Ernesto Perez-Carrillo, a third-generation cigar maker in Miami. The creator of the La Gloria Cubana cigar is on a quest for another "hit", this time with Nicaraguan tobacco. It's a great article that can be read or listened to, and offers a lot of positive press about cigars at a time when it's desperately needed.

Today I smoked some Tinder Box Reserve 1928 in my Mauro Armellini smooth finish pipe. The flame grain and birdseye is particularly nice in the briar and the tobacco smoked all the way down with just a couple re-lights. I bought the pipe at a Tinder Box in Savannah, Georgia a few years ago and it has never disappointed.

Until next week...cheers!

- Bob

Friday, July 3, 2009

Friday at the Hut - 7/3/09

Since The Tobacco Hut is closed on Saturday for the holiday, and many of us were off work today, we met a day early. The roll call included Bryan J, Joe K, Paul V, Joe D, Steve B, and myself. Lou was there of course, but not nearly as keyed up as he was last week for the anniversary party. We also had a special guest as Lou's daughter Diane surprised us with a visit and a special delivery: a Blizzard from Dairy Queen for herself and Lou. The joy and cheer we all felt when Diane walked in was dampened a little however when it became apparent that she didn't bring Blizzards for all of us.

For my second pipe in two months' time, I turned once again to the Tinder Box Reserve 1928, this time in a Bjarne billiard. It made for a fine smoke and burnt down almost completely.

Joe K reported a milestone in his little side computer business - assisting someone in setting up a new Mac. Joe is the proud owner of a 24" iMac, of which I am insanely jealous, and he successfully helped somebody with a new MacBook Pro get it all set up. Kudos to Joe!

It was good to see Paul again as he always has some interesting historical facts and trivia to discuss. He was at the Hut's party last week, but it was difficult to have a meaningful conversation with so many people in the store.

Paul was very thoughtful today by bringing Lou a Diet Mountain Dew - oops, sorry Lou, Brand X. Well, I called it thoughtful; Joe K called it stupid as Lou gave Paul the Look of Death.

It was a good thing I kept the leftover bag of chips in the car and didn't bring them in. I've flirted with death enough these last few weeks - I didn't want to risk it again at the hands of Lou.

Not much else to report this week. I do have to get busy with a request from Lou - he wants a link to this blog and the addition of the Smoke Stik brand of e-cigarettes he carries on his website. Can't keep the boss waiting...

Cheers!
- Bob