Belated Report - Lone Star Cigar Bash 2013

Hey! Val here - just finished finals and grading... so here is our belated Lone Star Cigar Bash Report!

From Right to Left: Val, Bill Finck Jr., Emily Finck and Thomas showing off our donated ashtray
 

Thomas' father with his spiffy new bag

The Finck's outdid themselves this year. More vendors, 30 cigars, a beautiful nice duffel bag, cigar ashtray, Boveda bag and more! A very rewarding way to turn out for charity.

There were a lot of great deals, I think that Thomas and I wanted one of everything.

From memory, clock-wise around the room was: Finck's table,  Camacho, Casa Magna/Quesada/Pinar Del Rio, Perdomo, Ghurka, General Cigars, Oliva Cigars/Studio tobac, H. Uppman, Villager, Fuente, Xikar, Alec Bradley Ashton/Aroma de Cuba, Drew Estates,
Curivari, Miami, Torano, La Flor Dominicana and the Finck's rolling demonstration.


There were other cigar companies, unfortunately, grading a pile of essay exams seems to have an etch-a-sketch effect on my memory. Feel free to correct me in the comments.

There were a lot of great door prizes, including our custom made Lone Star Cigar Bash ashtray.

We spent a lot of time browsing the tables and talking to the vendors. Besides the cigars that the various cigar manufacturers donated, several representatives gifted us with cigars to try.  It is hard to really taste some when it gets smoky but the ventilation was much improved from last year.







The highlight of my evening though, was spending quite a bit of time discussing cigars and women cigar smokers with Cynthia Fuente and her daughter Christine.

I smoked 3 cigars during the event. The cigar donated by the Fuentes, The La Aroma de Cuba El Jefe, and then Gurkha Cellar Reserve.

I don't need to tell you all about the quality of the Fuente. It was well-made, and smoked beautifully.


The El Jefe was a very enjoyable cigar, at this size the filler flavors are even more apparent, and had a rich, full-bodied flavor. It is a bit too much cigar for me, lengthwise. I tend to prefer robustos, so I could almost cut it in half. Still, very enjoyable, and Aroma de Cubas tend to be one of my favorite smokes.



The representative for Gurkha allowed us to try the Cellar Reserve - it was absolutely delightful - man I wanted to buy a box of them after I tried it. This cigar burned smoothly, starting out with a white pepper and spice then building up to taste like tea and spices. It is a very short cigar, so it is hard to break it up into more flavors than that.
Gurkha had a reputation for expensive cigars in awesome packaging that perhaps did not live up to the presentation. They are turning that around with many of their latest offerings such as the Ghost, Red Witch and the Cellar Reserve.

Overall, I was really impressed, and had a great time. The only criticism I could give is that the food was almost identical to last time, and a variety of options would be nice. HOWEVER, their food choices did take into consideration Thomas' allergies. The other is that I wish the event were a little longer.

The other highlight for me was giving away the ashtray we made. Knowing that it was appreciated made Thomas and I really happy. Not only did the winner thank us, but his wife did as well and commented that everyone was stopping by to admire it.


This event more than doubled what they raised for Fisher House last year. I think it is incredible how generous the cigar community is when it comes to supporting our veterans.


Thomas here:
   I didn't think it was possible, but this year's Lone Star Cigar Bash was better then last year's: Great food, great people, and a great time. There were tons of great deals from all of the cigar companies and some wonderful door prizes as well. I was truly humbled that the ashtray we had made was so well recieved among all the other entries.

   The food was outstanding again and had a little bit of everything for everybody. The beer was cold and the samples from Rebecca Creek were smooth and tasty. Speaking of which, they announced the imminent release of a Peach flavored vodka that is flavored with peaches from Fredericksburg!

 When we got there it was nice to see that the layout of the tables was a bit more spacious and that a larger exhaust system had been installed. It got VERY smoky last year and it was much more pleasant this year.

All the reps were out in fine force more than willing to talk cigars beyond just what they had for sale. As Val and I walked around they each spent quite awhile just chatting with us and letting us know about New Stuff coming down the pipe.



In the handsome bag at the door was a wonderful selection of stogies, a commemorative ashtray, super spiffy hat (as modeled by me below), Boveda bag and humidifier, and more

 A hat so cool that it even looks good on my melon head.

 The Arturo Fuente company was represented by non other than Cynthia Fuente herself. She shared with us all the great things they are doing "back home" to spread education to children that would otherwise have to go without. In her speech she touched on the generosity and charitable spirit that the cigar community has and how touching it was that we all had turned out to help the Fisher House and the families it served.

This spirit of giving was evident throughout the event. Everyone got great deals on our cigars, but knowing it was going to such a great cause made us more generous as well.
 

In that vein, Val and I just felt the need to do something more than just attend. So we planned and created an ashtray for the event. An all metal patio ashtray painted to look like an ash stand cigar with the Lonestar Cigar Bash Logo on it. I was a little self conscious about it. Being the perfectionist I thought it was okay, but I had done better. Val's painting of the Logo was what really pulled it together... But the joy in the face of the fellow who won it really made me feel better about it. The fact that there was a crowd over at his table looking at it and oooing and aaahing made it all worthwhile.

So, once again, the Finck Family and their volunteers pulled off a great party for a great cause. I can hardly wait till next year!

Finck's Lone Star Cigar Bash!

Here is one of the door prizes for today's Lone Star Cigar Bash, made by Thomas and I.

We thought it would be fun to do a rustic folk art interpretation of their logo. This is a one of a kind handmade cigar ash tray.

See you there!

Finck's 2nd Annual Lone Star Cigar Bash April 2013!

Finck's Cigar Factory Outlet just announced that the 2nd Annual Lone Star Cigar Bash will be April 27th at 3pm at Pedrotti's North Wind Ranch.

Tickets will be available soon!

Here is a link to our blog posts about this year's cigar bash.  The Finck's say that this one will be even better!

Be there or be square

Val

Toraño Exodus 1959

She said:

Val here, tonight was stressful, so I went to Finck's by myself to have a cigar.  I decided to check out the new Bandera Rd store, and it is very nice.  I love the ventilation in the smoking lounge, the air stayed clear.

Trey helped me out, and I picked out several cigars, and the one I chose to smoke tonight was the Toraño Exodus 1959, and it was outstanding!  Now this is what I was expecting out of all of the times my friends recommended the Toraño line of cigars.

The cigar was superbly constructed, firm with a nice dark wrapper.  I couldn't get much flavor on the pre light draw, but it lit quickly and burned well.

The ash held on very well and was about 3-4" before it dropped.  I didn't have to touch it up at all and stayed lit.  


The flavor started out somewhat mild and not very distinctive, but about 1" into the cigar the rich earth and coffee notes and a woody element to it as well and the flavor just got better and better as the cigar burned.  All in all it made my day, thank you Toraño!

Cigar Review: Finck's - Travis Club Family Blend

We got this cigar at the Lone Star Cigar Bash, and smoked it at a friend's house later that evening.

Finck's describes the cigar as " full-bodied, rich combination of Cuban-seed Nicaraguan long filler, Broadleaf binder and exquisite, silky-smooth Ecuadorian Shade wrapper."

She said:
The Travis Club Family Blend is a very well rolled cigar, the ash held on a long time before dropping.  It had a good draw, and was a pleasure to smoke.  The flavor was very earthy with strong mushroom notes, overall a somewhat complex flavor that is unique to any cigar I have ever tried.  I would say the strength was on the lower end of medium, but the flavor really stands out.

This is not on my list of all time favorites, but it is high on my buy for the occasional change of pace list.

He said:
This was kind of a surprise. Travis Club's are a decent cigar but are usually on the really mild side and I prefer a little bit stronger cigar. The Family Blend it a great addition to the Brand. It has a fuller flavor and just enough strength to make it a very enjoyable smoke. There was some hints of mushroom and earth, almost like a Padilla Miami, but not quite as strong.

This was a well constructed cigar and needed touching up only a couple time during the evening.

This is a solid addition to the Finck's Family stable of labels.

Get your tickets for the Lone Star Cigar Bash! Discounts for Veterans

The folks over at Finck's Cigar Outlet posted this yesterday. Their Lone Star Cigar Bash is promising to be one epic event.  This is our favorite humidor/Cigar shop.  Thomas and I get out there whenever we can.

If we want this to become an annual event, we have to make sure it is big big big.

How can you beat getting one ticket 80% off when you buy one full ticket.  You just need to have served in the military or be active duty, police, or fire department.  Finck's has always been generous to those who serve our country.  And that ticket still gets you everything a full priced ticket does.  Go ahead, call them up, you know you want to...

This event goes to benefit Fisher House - a home away from home for the families of wounded soldiers.  I think this is a charity we can all get behind.

Thank you to the Finck family, who makes these amazing events possible and to the vendors who are participating, and to the generous customer that made this discount possible.

So who will be joining us out there Saturday?

Val and Cigars

Hello all! Val here - thought I would tell my readers about my journey smoking cigars.  I am not a fancy cigar snob, nor am I one of the "tee hee look at me a sexy girl with a cigar" types.  I am a pretty woman who enjoys a good cigar, and will tell you about it in plain English.  Does that work for you?

The point of this post is to give you an idea what goes into my choices of cigar, what my particular biases are when it comes to types of cigars, so you know how much to rely on my opinion.  If you like more bitter cigars and I hate them all, you can probably discount a review in which I say a cigar is too bitter.  Similarly, if you don't like leather notes in your cigar, me telling you "OMG best cigar evar!!!" should be taken with a bucket of salt because I love leather notes in my cigars.

I am still fairly new to cigar smoking.  It is something I have grown to enjoy over the course of my time with Thomas.  He loves cigars and will merrily chat away about leaf types, regions, brands, and flavors.  Not in a snobby way, but in that helpful, informative way he discusses everything he loves.

I started off reluctantly trying them, having never been fond of the smell of cigars.  Early on he would ask me to meet him at Finck's. I wasn't sure if I would be welcome at the lounge - it is very tastefully decorated, but feels neutral to masculine in gender.  The lounge is usually frequented by men, and women are relatively rare.  You will see women in the store, but not many sit in the lounge, and even less smoke.

I walked in hesitantly, and asked if I was interrupting a meeting of the "He-man woman haters' club" to which the older men looked confused for an instant protesting that they LOVE women... up until I gave them the hand under the chin wave from Little Rascals, and they all laughed and decided I was cool.  They just didn't expect such a vintage joke out of a woman who is barely into her 30's.  They always make me feel very welcome, and are always willing to give me recommendations on which cigar to choose.

Thomas started me of with some "girly flavored" cigars such as Irish creme and others. He highly recommended the Caramelo Joe by CAO.  If I recall correctly, this was the first cigar I really liked.  I then tried Acid's Kuba Kuba, and liked those for a while, until I stumbled into types of unflavored cigars I liked much better.  Now I can't smoke Kuba Kuba's anymore, and generally stick to unflavored cigars most of the time, with the exception of the occasional Caramelo Joe.

The first cigar that wasn't flavored I remember liking is the Hoya De Monterrey En Cedros.  It has a nice cedar scent to the tobacco and rich earth and coffee notes that blend well with my morning coffee.  Thomas and I like to get away to Finck's on Saturday mornings and have a smoke, and this one is one of my usual cigars.

Since then, from all the times sitting in the lounge and listening to the guys talking, I have gathered up some knowledge of cigars, started learning to recognize different flavors, and transition from the girl who would ask her boyfriend to pick out something she would like to either knowing exactly what I want, or at least being able to walk up to Rosemary or Alex (two of my favorite people at Finck's due to their helpfulness) and say - "I am looking for a cigar with a good draw that has earth, leather, or coffee notes in the flavor...what do you recommend?" and get some outstanding recommendations.  Since then, I don't think a cigar selection has ever been "off".  I also went from keeping a humidor at my apartment for his convenience to having two humidors of my own - one for everyday smokes and the other one for aging my premium cigars.

Over all the flavor profile I prefer is a medium to full flavored cigar, decently strong, but not knock you out. I like medium to dark wrappers - corojo - maduro wrappers - Connecticut shades are a bit too mild for me, though Finck's AN7 are rather nice for a mild cigar.  I prefer certain flavors - in order of preference are: coffee, leather, earth, and am not overly fond of bitter or overly spicy cigars.

I don't always have patience to smoke a long cigar, and many short cigars are too narrow in ring gauge and I end up disliking them because the wrapper flavor is too strong. Over time I have discovered that the best type of cigar for me is the Robusto size. Just the right balance between wrapper and filler, and time spent smoking it.

I like Hoya De Monterrey En Cedros, Excalibur Dark Knight, Perdomo Habano Corojo,  also La Sirena.  There are more, and as I discover them, I record notes about them in my little cigar book.

So one of the uses for this blog will be for me to share my thoughts about various cigars I try.  I am not a fancy pants super taster, so don't expect super high brow reviews on cigar flavor profiles, but I will do my best in lay man (or woman's) terms to explain what flavors I do taste and how much I enjoy each cigar. Please feel free to comment with your own thoughts if you have tried the cigar.  I love hearing other people's thoughts and recommendations.

April/May plans

So where will we be?

Friday we will be going to spend the evening at Naara Cafe, and we will live blog from their patio.  It is a great place to hang out!

Saturday May 5, 2012 from 3 - 7pm is the Lone Star Cigar Bash - hosted by Finck's Cigar Factory Outlet.

We will be liveblogging from the event, it is Val's birthday gift to Thomas.

I am now going to plug this event to my readers: it is a fundraiser benefiting Fisher House - a Home Away from Home for Families of Wounded Warriors, a wonderful charity that provides a place for the families of wounded soldiers to stay while they receive treatment here in San Antonio.

Tickets are STILL available:
$125 for cigar smokers - comes with 20 premium cigars (check out the link for more info!)
$75 for non-smokers (with purchase of a smoker's ticket)

Both tickets get you food, drink and entertainment for the afternoon at Pedrotti's North Wind Ranch.
This is a seriously good deal, and the cigars and lighter that come with the ticket are worth more than the actual ticket price.  Local distilleries and a wide variety of cigar manufacturers' representatives will be there.  We would love to see y'all join us, share fine spirits, fine cigars and fine company benefiting our nation's heroes and their families.