Saturday at the Hut started a little early for me with a phone call from Mike G in Tennessee. My wife handed me the phone and with no introduction, I heard Mike's voice say, "When you go to The Tobacco Hut today I'd like you to pick up two La Gloria Cubanas and drive them 600 miles to the north. I'll be waiting on my front porch for them." It was great talking to Mike especially since I seem to keep missing him when he comes into town occasionally. He asked how Joe was enjoying his retirement and offered a tip on how to kill small projects around the house by describing them as very large projects: "Okay, honey, you want those flowers planted. I'm going to start by renting a backhoe..." Classic Mike.
In attendance today were Joe K, Peter G, Steve B, Ed B, myself, and Lou (of course). Steve brought a friend, Bobby, who - like Peter - has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of all things sports. I'm always amazed how people can hang on to little seemingly arcane bits of information about practically every team in every sport. I was glad to hear that Bobby was a Cleveland Indians fan and he's not even from Cleveland. I grew up there so it's kind of an automatic thing that I would be an Indians fan, but he's from Gainesville and made the choice voluntarily - wow!
On my recent trip to Key Largo, I was able to bring back Joe's favorite cigar, the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros. Joe first tried them at Lou's and fell in love, but they've been on back order ever since. I first tried the tobacco store in Key Largo, Island Smoke Shop, which is a large, well-stocked cigar store. They didn't have any de Tabaqueros, but I did pick up a sampler of their El Original line of house cigars. I brought back one for Lou and Peter and though I haven't tried one yet, Peter enjoyed his maduro torpedo.
On the trip back from the Keys, we drove through Sarasota, so I was able to stop at Bennington's at St. Armand's Circle. Boy, do I love this store! Hundreds of pipes, lots of tobacco choices, and very knowledgeable staff. I could spend all day in there, and I'm sure the hour we did spend seemed like all day to my wife. No new pipes since I had just purchased a new one a couple weeks ago in Boston, but I did pick up a couple Bennington blends of tobacco. And Joe's much-coveted de Tabaqueros cigar.
Saturday at the Hut I enjoyed one of those Bennington blends, No. 15. Like Lou, Bennington's blends their own tobacco and has since 1965. I had the privilege of speaking with Gary Bennington, who blends the tobaccos himself. They also stock a lot of commercial tins of tobacco, and Gary was able to point me in the direction of some of their mixes that mirror the commercial blends. I had actually come in with the intention of buying some more Frog Morton, but ended up with a couple packages of theirs.
I tried the No. 15 in a Crown Viking from The Tobacco Hut (are you reading, Tim?) and it was excellent. According to Gary, it was patterned after the famed Balkan Sobranie White Label, out of production for over a decade now. This tobacco is a light, medium-bodied English Mixture containing a high percentage of Turkish Yenidge leaf, flue-cured Golden Virginia Ribbon and Cyprus Latakia. At first, it burned a little hot, probably because of the Virginia, but it soon settled down and became a most enjoyable smoke, especially in the beautiful Crown Viking from The Tobacco Hut (still reading, Tim?).
Next week I'll try their No. 5, a mix of Latakia, Virginia, and Burley. Not sure which pipe I'll try it in. Maybe one of the other Crown Vikings from The Tobacco Hut, or one of the several Petersons I've picked up from The Tobacco Hut over the years. Maybe even the Comoy I bought from The Tobacco Hut. (Are you still with me, Tim?).
That's all for this week - cheers!
In attendance today were Joe K, Peter G, Steve B, Ed B, myself, and Lou (of course). Steve brought a friend, Bobby, who - like Peter - has a near-encyclopedic knowledge of all things sports. I'm always amazed how people can hang on to little seemingly arcane bits of information about practically every team in every sport. I was glad to hear that Bobby was a Cleveland Indians fan and he's not even from Cleveland. I grew up there so it's kind of an automatic thing that I would be an Indians fan, but he's from Gainesville and made the choice voluntarily - wow!
On my recent trip to Key Largo, I was able to bring back Joe's favorite cigar, the La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros. Joe first tried them at Lou's and fell in love, but they've been on back order ever since. I first tried the tobacco store in Key Largo, Island Smoke Shop, which is a large, well-stocked cigar store. They didn't have any de Tabaqueros, but I did pick up a sampler of their El Original line of house cigars. I brought back one for Lou and Peter and though I haven't tried one yet, Peter enjoyed his maduro torpedo.
On the trip back from the Keys, we drove through Sarasota, so I was able to stop at Bennington's at St. Armand's Circle. Boy, do I love this store! Hundreds of pipes, lots of tobacco choices, and very knowledgeable staff. I could spend all day in there, and I'm sure the hour we did spend seemed like all day to my wife. No new pipes since I had just purchased a new one a couple weeks ago in Boston, but I did pick up a couple Bennington blends of tobacco. And Joe's much-coveted de Tabaqueros cigar.
Saturday at the Hut I enjoyed one of those Bennington blends, No. 15. Like Lou, Bennington's blends their own tobacco and has since 1965. I had the privilege of speaking with Gary Bennington, who blends the tobaccos himself. They also stock a lot of commercial tins of tobacco, and Gary was able to point me in the direction of some of their mixes that mirror the commercial blends. I had actually come in with the intention of buying some more Frog Morton, but ended up with a couple packages of theirs.
I tried the No. 15 in a Crown Viking from The Tobacco Hut (are you reading, Tim?) and it was excellent. According to Gary, it was patterned after the famed Balkan Sobranie White Label, out of production for over a decade now. This tobacco is a light, medium-bodied English Mixture containing a high percentage of Turkish Yenidge leaf, flue-cured Golden Virginia Ribbon and Cyprus Latakia. At first, it burned a little hot, probably because of the Virginia, but it soon settled down and became a most enjoyable smoke, especially in the beautiful Crown Viking from The Tobacco Hut (still reading, Tim?).
Next week I'll try their No. 5, a mix of Latakia, Virginia, and Burley. Not sure which pipe I'll try it in. Maybe one of the other Crown Vikings from The Tobacco Hut, or one of the several Petersons I've picked up from The Tobacco Hut over the years. Maybe even the Comoy I bought from The Tobacco Hut. (Are you still with me, Tim?).
That's all for this week - cheers!
- Bob
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